World

Wedding party saved Moroccan villagers from deadly earthquake

A wedding celebration saved all the people of a Moroccan village during Friday’s deadly earthquake, which destroyed their stone and mud-brick houses while they were enjoying traditional music in an outdoor courtyard.

The marriage of Habiba Ajdir, 22, and apple farmer Mohammed Boudad, 30, was due to take place at his village of Kettou on Saturday, but by custom the bride’s family held a party the night before the wedding.

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A video filmed by a guest showed the moment the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck, with images of musicians in traditional clothes playing on flutes and handheld goatskin drums, suddenly giving way to chaos, darkness and screaming.

Standing beside his wife on Tuesday, and still wearing their wedding clothes nearly four days after the quake buried their possessions in rubble, Boudad said the tremor had overwhelmed him with fear for her as he waited in his own village.

“We wanted to celebrate. Then the quake hit. I didn’t know whether to worry about her village or mine,” he said.

As he spoke, Boudad held his wife’s hand. He smiled shyly when asked how they had met, saying only that they were “brought together by fate.” Ajdir was so traumatized by the earthquake she did not want to speak to strangers, he said.

Her impoverished village of Ighil Ntalghoumt was left in ruins, and many of its people are now homeless, but unlike in other parts of the Adassil region, close to the tremor’s epicenter, there were no deaths or serious injuries, residents said.

The earthquake was Morocco’s deadliest since 1960, killing more than 2,900 people, mostly in remote settlements in the High Atlas mountain range south of Marrakech.

Fears

On the video, people scream and shout “earthquake,” or call for family members as the overhead electric lighting from the music and dance is replaced by pinpoints of flashlights from mobile phones.

Only one person in Ighil Ntalghoumt, eight-year-old Ahmed Ait Ali Oubella, was injured in the quake when a rock fell on his head, cutting it open, and he can be seen in the video being carried to safety by his father.

The party was a traditional pre-wedding celebration thrown by the family of the bride before she was to depart the next day for the house of the groom, Boudad, waiting in Kettou.

Despite the disaster, she travelled to Kettou on Saturday with Boudad’s brother and his wife, who had been at the party, leaving behind her marriage gifts and arriving in the afternoon.

The roads were so bad they had to walk the whole way and when they arrived they found widespread damage but no deaths.

As in Ighil Ntalghoumt, a communal event had saved many lives, with villagers commemorating a funeral in a house that stayed upright. Boudad had bought 150 chickens and 30kg (66 pounds) of fruit to celebrate the wedding that afternoon but much of it has now rotted.

“When she arrived there was nowhere to sleep. We are just looking for a tent,” he said.

Escape

Many people from villages around Ighil Ntalghoumt had also come to enjoy the Ajdir family’s celebration and a shared meal of beef tagine stew, meaning they too escaped being trapped in their homes by falling rubble.

The bride’s father Mohamed Ajdir, 54, had set up a big tent in the courtyard of his house for wedding guests to enjoy the party. That tent is now being used as shelter for the villagers, though they say they need more robust shelters soon, with colder, wetter weather expected later this week.

As he walked around the village, Ajdir pointed to signs of Friday night’s chaos, with dainty dress shoes abandoned in the rubble.

The terrible fate the people of Ighil Ntalghoumt escaped was clearly visible a few kilometers back down the winding mountain road towards Marrakech where the village of Tikekhte was almost entirely wiped out.

Not a house was left standing and some 68 people perished out of the village’s 400 inhabitants.

But while the people of Ighil Ntalghoumt were saved, they were still in dire need of help and some of them could be seen walking down the mountain to ask the authorities for aid.

In Kettou, all the survivors were now sharing their meagre supplies. “The village is a big family. We share all we get,” he said.

Morocco wants IMF-World Bank meetings to proceed despite quake losses

MBS offers condolences in phone call with Morocco’s king after devastating earthquake

World

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi meets with CEOs of leading Norwegian companies

H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has met with a group of CEOs from leading Norwegian companies, as part of their participation in the UAE-Norway Investment Forum, held alongside his official visit to the Kingdom of Norway.

During the meeting, H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed underscored the UAE leadership’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation with its international partners.

He highlighted that investment in innovation and knowledge is a cornerstone for achieving sustainable development, noting that enhancing collaboration with Norwegian companies across key sectors will open new avenues for mutual economic growth between the two countries.

The UAE-Norway Investment Forum, taking place in Oslo, aimed to highlight available investment opportunities and strengthen trade relations between the UAE and Norway, fostering shared interests and supporting innovation and knowledge-based economic visions.

-wam

World

At the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS inaugurates 10th global office, releases four books

As part of its Asian research tour, partnership with Aletihad News Center, and
primary sponsorship of the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS
Research & Advisory inaugurated its office in Jakarta, marking its 10th location
worldwide. It also released four books in Indonesian.
The inauguration event was attended by ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, and
Jordan to Indonesia, chairpersons of the UAE and Indonesian Publishers’
Associations, the Director of TRENDS’ Jakarta office, and a group of researchers
and academics.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS
Research & Advisory, stated that TRENDS’ international offices—set to reach 15
by the end of 2024—aim to enhance the Center’s research efforts and deepen its
role in disseminating knowledge, thus serving as a global knowledge bridge.
He emphasized, “At TRENDS, we believe in the importance of cooperation
between think tanks and prioritize this endeavor. We believe the TRENDS office in
Jakarta will enhance the exchange of knowledge and ideas between think tanks in
Asia and the Middle East, opening new horizons for collaboration in various
fields.”

Four books in Indonesian
As part of the Jakarta office’s inaugural activities, four books were released in
Indonesian, including the 11th and 12th books of the Muslim Brotherhood
Encyclopedia and Global Trends in AI and Automation and the Future of
Competition between Man and Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision.

Hostility to Arab states
The 11th book of the Muslim Brotherhood Encyclopedia, The Concept of the State
According to the Muslim Brotherhood, highlights its hostile stance toward Arab
states since its inception. The group views them as an obstacle to its ascent to
power. It opposed the modern principles upon which these states were built,
considering them incompatible with the group’s unique interpretation of Islam,
which it claimed to embody exclusively.

Exclusion of nonconformists
The 12th book, The Muslim Brotherhood: Rejection of Tolerance and Exclusion of
Nonconformists, examines the Muslim Brotherhood’s stance towards
nonconformists, individuals, and entities. The book reveals the group’s binary view
of the world, categorizing others as allies or adversaries. It ties these relationships
to the Brotherhood’s internal power struggles and self-serving interests.

Global Trends in AI
The third book, Global Trends in AI, explores significant developments in AI and
its impact on various aspects of life, including the economy, society, and
governance. It also offers a comprehensive analysis of technological advancements
in AI, its applications across sectors, the ethical and social challenges it presents,
and its future trajectory.

Automation

The fourth book, Automation and the Future of Competition between Man and
Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision, addresses the growing challenges
faced by the human workforce in the face of widespread automation and AI
applications. The book concludes that while automation presents a significant
challenge to the labor market, it simultaneously creates new opportunities. It
emphasizes the importance of preparing for this shift through skills development,
continuous education, and adopting economic and social policies that support the
workforce.

Prominent pavilion and active presence
The TRENDS’ pavilion at the Indonesia International Book Fair has attracted
numerous visitors, including academic researchers and officials, such as the
ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey. Additionally,
chairpersons of Arab and Indonesian publishers’ associations, authors, publishers,
and students visited the pavilion. All were impressed with and praised TRENDS’ diverse, valuable publications. They also commended TRENDS’ active
international presence and ability to address global developments with rigorous
analytical research.
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali honored the esteemed guests, including
ambassadors of the UAE and Bahrain to Indonesia, Wedha Startesti Yudha,
Chairperson of the Indonesia International Book Fair Committee, Arys Hilman
Nugraha, Chairman of the Indonesian Publishers Association, and others,
presenting them with TRENDS’ publications and commemorative shields.
Additionally, he awarded TRENDS’ Research Medal to Ni Made Ayu Martini
Indonesian Deputy Minister of Marketing, Tourism and Creative Economy
It is worth noting that during its current Asian research tour, TRENDS announced
the launch of the TRENDS Research Medal, awarded to individuals who make
significant contributions to the development of scientific research and promote collaboration with TRENDS in strengthening a culture of research across various fields.

World

US determined to prevent full-scale war in Middle East, Joe Biden tells UNGA79

US President Joe Biden highlighted the US Administration’s determination to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire Middle East region, noting that a diplomatic solution “remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely”.

In remarks he made today before the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79), the US President said, “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” adding that a diplomatic solution is still possible.

He also touched on “the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank”, and the need to “set the conditions for a better future”, which he said featured “a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalised relations with all its neighbours, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own”.

President Biden underscored the ceasefire and hostage deal put forth by Qatar and Egypt, which the UN Security Council endorsed. He said, “Now is the time for the parties to finalise its terms, bring the hostages home,” adding that this would help ease the suffering in Gaza, and end the war.

-WAM