Biden announces $9 billion in student loan relief

President Biden on Wednesday announced another $9 billion in student debt relief. About 125,000 borrowers will benefit from the move, the latest that Biden has taken to expand student loan relief since the Supreme Court blocked his effort to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt. "This kind of relief is life-changing for individuals and their families. But it's good for our economy as a whole as well," Biden said. The latest measures include $5.2 billion in relief to 53,000 people covered under Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs, and nearly $2.8 billion for 51,000 borrowers qualifying for "income-driven repayment" who have made 20 or more years of payments without "relief they were entitled to," the White House said. Reuters

What is known about the earthquake in Morocco that has left more than 1,000 dead

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Marrakesh resident walks on rubble after earthquake

September 8, 2023

Updated 4 hours ago

The death toll after a strong earthquake hit central Morocco has reached 1,037, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

The earthquake — measuring 6.8 — sent people running into the streets of Marrakech and other nearby cities.

An aftershock, magnitude 4.9, was felt 19 minutes later.

Many of the deaths occurred in difficult-to-access mountainous areas. There are also records of 1,200 injuries, many of them in serious condition, and reports of people trapped in rubble.

Moroccan reporter Aida Alami grew up in Marrakech and has kept in touch with her parents, who live in the city. She says the earthquake was completely unexpected.

“It is not a country where people know what to do in case of earthquakes. People just stay outside. They were really worried about the aftershocks and didn’t know what to do and no one was telling them what to do,” she said.

“Some of the shocking images we saw this morning are of the ancient walls that surround the old city."

“And we’re seeing rubble and a lot of destruction inside. They are very old buildings, they were probably not built solidly enough.”

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The Brazilian Embassy in the capital Rabat issued a statement saying that there is no news at this time of any dead or injured Brazilians and that it is closely monitoring the developments of the earthquake.

It was reported that the diplomatic corps in the country "works on duty, and can be contacted by phone +212661168181 (including WhatsApp)".

The Brazilian Olympic team delegation, made up of players up to 23 years old, is in the city of Fez, where they played a match against the Moroccan team.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), according to GloboEsporte, reported that the members of the delegation were taken to the hotel swimming pool and returned to their room an hour after the initial tremor.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in the High Atlas Mountains.

Journalist Alice Morrison is in the region and told the BBC that the scene is "apocalyptic", with "rocks everywhere, gigantic holes" and cracks in the ground.

Most of the victims were in Marrakech and several areas to the south, according to the Interior Ministry.

Hospitals in the city are receiving a large number of victims and authorities are asking for blood donations to be made at this time.

A cloud of dust was seen atop the historic 850-year-old Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech. People at the scene feared there could be a risk of collapse.

The tremor also affected the governorates and municipalities of al-Haouz, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.

The earthquake was still felt in the capital Rabat, around 350 km away, as well as in the cities of Casablanca and Essaouira.

'Shock and Panic'

“We felt a very violent tremor and I realized it was an earthquake,” Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old man from Marrakech, told the AFP news agency.

"I could see the buildings shaking. So I went out and there were a lot of people in the street. People were in shock and panic. Children were crying and parents were distraught.

“The electricity went out for 10 minutes, as did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on. Everyone decided to stay outside,” he said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, British journalist Martin Jay, who lives in Morocco, said: "There were reports in the Moroccan media warning people not to return to their homes."

“This was a national message released by authorities."

"It was a strange night [in] almost every city in Morocco, [where] most people sat on the ground outside their houses or apartment buildings because they were afraid of the second earthquake that they predicted would occur two hours later."

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Rescue work in Moulay Brahim, Al Haouz Governorate

The city of Marrakech was greatly affected

From the information available so far, Marrakech appears to have been hit hard. The historic heart of the city is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Unverified videos on X (formerly Twitter) show damaged buildings, other buildings shaking and streets covered in rubble.

People were seen running in alarm and some walking through clouds of dust.

Some buildings in Marrakech's old city collapsed, a resident told Reuters news agency.

Several clips on X show buildings collapsing, but the BBC has not identified precisely where they were recorded.

Biggest earthquake in decades

Morocco has witnessed some strong earthquakes in the past, including one in 2004.

19 years ago, an earthquake hit the city of Al Hoceima, in northeastern Morocco, and killed 628 people.

In 1960, the Agadir earthquake killed 12 thousand people.

These numbers give an indication of the scale of casualties we could see from the earthquake that occurred last Friday.

According to Jonathan Aman, science reporter at BBC News, few earthquakes of magnitude 6.8 were expected this year and not in Morocco.

Most of the tectonic activity in this region occurs in the Mediterranean, and towards Turkey, which suffered a violent earthquake earlier this year.

Surprise has consequences due to the lack of adequate preparation for this type of event.

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At least 12,000 people died in the earthquake that hit Agadir in March 1960

World leaders show solidarity

Leaders from several countries sent messages of condolence after receiving news of the tragedy.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he is “devastated” by the news and added that his country is ready to help with relief efforts.

Vladimir Putin stated that Russia shared “the pain and mourning of the friendly Moroccan people”.

Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine sent his "deepest condolences" to Morocco.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “All my solidarity and support for the people of Morocco after this terrible earthquake.”

Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country was hit by a tragic earthquake earlier this year, declared that he was ready to offer help.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “gave instructions to provide all necessary assistance to the Moroccan people,” according to a press release from his office.

And the African Union expressed its “great pain” at the “tragic consequences” of the earthquake.

Itamaraty says that approximately 4.5 million Brazilians live abroad

The number of Brazilians who decided to leave Brazil to live in other countries grew 44% in the last 13 years, according to data released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2009, there were around 3.18 million Brazilians residing abroad, a number that jumped to 4.59 million in 2022, which would be equivalent, in terms of population in Brazil, to Paraíba, the 13th most populous state in the country. Most emigrants live in North America (45.19%) and Europe (32.42%), but there are Brazilians in all corners of the world, including a single one who lives in North Korea.

The main communities are in the United States, where there are 1.9 million residents; Portugal, with 360 thousand; and Paraguay, a neighboring country, where 254,000 Brazilians live. In the Federated States of Micronesia, in Oceania, and in São Cristóvão and Neves, in the Caribbean, there is also only one Brazilian resident. According to the Itamaraty, there are countries that do not have Brazilians, such as Afghanistan, Libya, São Vicente and the Grenadines, Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa and Solomon Islands.

According to the ministry, the five general consulates with the highest concentrations of Brazilians –New York, Boston, Miami, Lisbon and London– are responsible for more than 1.6 million citizens, equivalent to the population of Recife (PE). Itamaraty points out that the data are only estimated, since the consular registration of nationals abroad is not mandatory.

Largest Brazilian communities by country

1st – United States (1.9 million)
2nd – Portugal (360 thousand)
3rd – Paraguay (254 thousand)
4th – United Kingdom (220 thousand)
5th – Japan (206,990)

Countries with less than five Brazilians

1st – North Korea (1)
2nd – Micronesia (1)
3rd – Saint Kitts and Nevis (1)
4th – Antigua and Barbuda (2)
5th – Tajikistan (4)

Proud Boys leader gets 18 years in prison for Capitol insurrection

A former member of the far-right Proud Boys was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Friday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — tied for the longest sentence related to the riot. Ethan Nordean received the sentence after previously being convicted of seditious conspiracy. The Justice Department wrote that Nordean had "participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol," resulting in violence, assaults on police and the destruction of property. His 18-year sentence matches that of Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy. In addition to Nordean, a co-defendant, former Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars. 

Maui wildfire death toll rises as search for missing continues

The death toll from last week's wildfire that destroyed the historic seaside town of Lahaina, Hawaii, rose by three to 96 late Sunday. The fire in western Maui is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and search crews with cadaver-sniffing dogs are still combing through the ruins as an unspecified number of people remain missing. Gov. Josh Green said over the weekend that the number of fatalities would "continue to rise. We want to brace people for that." Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Pacific Disaster Center maps showed that about 2,200 structures, 86% of which were homes, were damaged or destroyed in Lahaina, with total losses near $6 billion.

5k, 8k or 10k: How many steps a day do you need to improve your health?

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The idea that walking 10,000 steps a day is the amount of exercise necessary to stay healthy is so widespread that the World Health Organization (WHO) has already recommended that number as a goal.

This idea became popular in the 1960s, when a Japanese company launched the first step counter and ran a major advertising campaign at the time of the Tokyo Olympics.

The device, called mempo-kei, set that goal of 10,000 steps a day (about 8km).

Since then, the scientific community has been testing this hypothesis to understand what the goal really should be.

Analysis of the health habits of more than 226,000 people worldwide showed that 4,000 steps are already associated with a reduced risk of dying prematurely from any cause.

Every extra 1,000 steps beyond 4,000 is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of premature death, the study says, up to the 20,000-step limit (i.e., more exercise than that has no extra benefit).

Just over 2,300 are already benefiting the heart and blood vessels.

Researchers confirmed that walking benefits people of all ages and genders, regardless of where they live. However, the greatest benefits were seen among those under 60.

"I believe we should always emphasize that lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, which were the main heroes of our review, can be at least as, if not more, effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging life than medication." , said Maciej Banach of the University of Lodz.

Walking is a suitable habit for "almost anyone" because it is a low-impact activity that is easy on the joints and muscles.

For Pozo Cruz, 10,000 steps is a great goal, but the most important thing is for people not to give up if they fail to meet it.

"Another conclusion we came to is that taking 4,000 steps a day is associated with up to a 25% decrease in the risk of dementia," he wrote.

Understanding that even a smaller amount of walking brings benefits, he says, is comforting and helps with motivation.

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10,000 steps is a good goal, but any amount of walking is beneficial.

"People who are not motivated or who are starting to get into the habit of walking should know that the benefits begin to accrue from just a few steps a day," he wrote.

That is, those who are looking for the maximum benefits from walking can set a goal of 10 thousand - but the most important thing is not to stand still.

According to WHO data, insufficient physical activity is responsible for 3.2 million deaths each year - the fourth most frequent cause in the world.

Lack of exercise can slow your metabolism and affect muscle growth and strength, which can cause pain, says Honey Fine, personal trainer and trainer at global fitness company Barry's.

"Sitting for too long can also cause all kinds of back problems," she says.

"We find a lot of this in people with office jobs, where the back is constantly placed in a compressed position, which causes a lot more problems later in life."

Day to day tasks that make people move are already preferable to standing still.

"Tasks like standing up, carrying groceries, washing floors, vacuuming, pacing while talking on the phone – it's all the little things that make us more active that help us burn calories more efficiently" , she says.