More than 2,100 dead in Morocco quake
A powerful earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night, killing more than 2,100 people and setting off frantic rescue efforts in rubble-strewn city streets and remote rural areas, as some residents sifted through mountains of debris with their bare hands. The next days are critical: After four or five days, the possibility of survival dwindles.
The quake, which had a magnitude of 6.8 and was centered about 50 miles from the southern city of Marrakesh, was the strongest to hit the area in a century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It shook not only Marrakesh but also Agadir, a resort on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, and Ouarzazate, a major city in the southeast.
The extent of the damage and the number of casualties remain unclear: The hardest-hit communities were in the High Atlas Mountains, where debris blocked access to the few roads, and where phone service and electricity were knocked out. A 3.9-magnitude earthquake, almost certainly an aftershock, struck the area just before 9 a.m. yesterday.
A closer look: These maps shows the breadth of the destruction, and these photos show what it’s like on the ground.
Russian drones target Kyiv
Ukraine’s military said that it had foiled a large Russian drone attack on the capital, Kyiv, shooting down 26 of 33 drones. The fate of the other seven drones was unclear. Blast waves and falling debris wounded four people and damaged dozens of buildings, according to local military authorities.
Since beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 18 months ago, Russia has regularly unleashed barrages of missiles, rockets and drones on Kyiv. Last week, the region experienced one of the most significant barrages in months, in campaigns that aim both at destroying military and energy infrastructure and at terrorizing the local population.
‘Merchant of Death’: The arms trafficker Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the U.S. and who was returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange, is running for local office as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Novak Djokovic wins his 24th Grand Slam title
The Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic triumphed in the U.S. Open’s men’s singles final last night with a clinical, straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The stadium swaddled Djokovic with a kind of love he has never felt in New York. He sobbed in his chair as it washed over him before the final game.
Coco Gauff, who burst onto the scene four years ago with a first-round win over Venus Williams at Wimbledon, captured her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, winning the U.S. Open women’s singles final, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, over Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
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Around the World
A new account from Paul Landis, one of the Secret Service agents just feet away from John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, could change the understanding of what happened that day.
“There’s no goal at this point,” he said last month in Cleveland. “I just think it had been long enough that I needed to tell my story.”
SPORTS NEWS
Luis Rubiales: The head of the Spanish soccer federation has resigned, weeks after a nonconsensual kiss with a female player drew accusations of abuse of power.
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Antony: The Manchester United winger will not return to England “until further notice,” as he continues to address allegations of assault, which he denies. (Here’s what you need to know.)
ARTS AND IDEAS
At the Venice Film Festival
“Poor Things,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, won the Golden Lion on Saturday for best film at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. Like many other actors in films screened at the festival, Stone was not in attendance, as the Hollywood actors’ strike continued. (Read our review of the film.)
The Silver Lion went to “Evil Does Not Exist,” by the Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, about a small town trying to fend off a planned glamping site. And the best screenplay honor was given to “El Conde,” a vampiric reimagining of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean dictator, written by Guillermo Calderón and Pablo Larraín.
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