5-year-old trapped for days in deep well dies, Moroccan king says
IGHRAN, Morocco — A 5-year-old boy who was trapped for four days in a deep well in Morocco has died, the royal palace said Saturday.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI expressed his condolences to the boy’s parents in a statement released by the palace.
The boy, Rayan, was pulled out Saturday night by rescuers after a lengthy operation.
A reporter saw the boy wrapped in a yellow blanket after he emerged from a tunnel dug specifically for the rescue.
His parents, Khaled Oram and Wassima Khersheesh had been escorted to an ambulance before the boy emerged. His plight had captured worldwide attention.
The palace statement said the king had been closely following the frantic rescue efforts by locals authorities, “instructing officials to use all means necessary to dig the boy out of the well and return him alive to his parents.”
Hundreds of villagers and others had gathered to watch the rescue operation.
Online messages of support and concern for the boy poured in from around the world as the rescue efforts dragged on.
Rescuers used a rope to send oxygen and water down to the boy as well as a camera to monitor him.
By Saturday morning, the head of the rescue committee, Abdelhadi Temrani, said “it is not possible to determine the child’s condition at all at this time. But we hope to God that the child is alive.”
Rayan fell into a 105-feet well located outside his home in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s mountainous northern Chefchaouen province on Tuesday evening.
The village of about 500 people is dotted with deep wells, many used for irrigating the cannabis crop that is the main source of income for many in the poor, remote and arid region of the African country’s Rif Mountains. Most of the wells have protective covers.
The exact circumstances of how the boy fell in the well are unclear.
US population: Overall, 2021 will go down as the year with the slowest population growth in U.S. history.
New census data shows why: Both components of growth — gains from immigration and the number of births in excess of the number of deaths — have fallen sharply in recent years. In 2021, the rate of population growth fell to 0.1%.
Yet within these figures a new pattern is emerging. Immigration, even at reduced levels, is for the first time making up a majority of population growth.
In part this is because Americans are dying at higher rates and having fewer babies, trends accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. But it is also because there are signs that immigration is picking up again.
Even after four years of stringent controls on immigration imposed under former President Donald Trump, the overall share of Americans born in other countries is coming close to levels last seen in the late 19th century.
As of December, immigrants represented 14.1% of the U.S. population, matching the peak of the decadeslong immigration boom that began in the 1960s.
The record was 14.8% in 1890. Journalist arrested: Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir said
they arrested a prominent journalist on accusations of publishing “anti-national content,” in a widening crackdown against media in the disputed region.
Fahad Shah, the editor of news portal Kashmir Walla, was arrested Friday after questioning.
Police said he was identified among Facebook users and portals that had published “anti-national content,” without specifying what it is.
It said the content was posted with “criminal intention” to create fear and could “provoke the public to disturb law and order.” It said such content was “tantamount to glorifying the terrorist activities.”
The case relates to a gunfight between rebels trapped inside a civilian home and Indian troops on Jan. 30 in the town of Pulwama. Kashmir Walla carried reports on the fighting presenting both sides of the story.
Shah, 34, was arrested under India’s anti-terror and sedition laws, which include punishment of up to seven years.
On Saturday, police tweeted that Shah was wanted in three cases for “glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news & inciting general public for creating L&O (law and order) situations.”
Erdogan tests positive: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tested positive for COVID-19, he tweeted Saturday.
“Thankfully, we’re experiencing slight symptoms that we have learned is the omicron variant,” he wrote. “We are on duty. We will continue to work at home. We look forward to your prayers.”
Erdogan, 67, sent the message after appearing on video at a tunnel-opening ceremony from Istanbul.
The president’s health is a touchy subject in Turkey. Investigations were launched against
social media users in November for “manipulative” tweets amid speculation about his health.
Turkey has seen record levels of COVID-19 cases in recent days, with 111,157 cases reported by the Health Ministry on Friday. In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000 but have risen due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Rogan apologizes: Spotify’s popular U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan apologized Saturday after a video compilation surfaced that showed him using a racial slur in clips of episodes over a 12-year span.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Rogan said his use of the slur was the “most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” But he also said the clips were “taken out of context.”
Rogan’s apology comes as Spotify is promising to combat the spread of COVID19
misinformation as part of a damage-control campaign sparked by musician Neil Young, who called out the streaming service’s top podcaster for magnifying vaccine skepticism.
Austrian avalanches: Authorities in Austria warned Saturday of “considerable” risk of avalanches in the west of the country after nine people were killed within 24 hours.
Police said eight people died in three separate incidents in the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol on Friday. In one avalanche near the Austrian-Swiss border, four Swedish citizens and their Austrian guide were killed.
On Saturday, Tyrol authorities reported the death of one person in near the village of Schmirn in an avalanche and a second person was missing.
Officials warned skiers and snowshoers that even slight tremors could trigger a snow slide.