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Morocco youth protests spread and turn deadly, two killed

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Two people were killed and others injured in Lqliaa, near Agadir, when security forces used firearms to prevent a group of individuals from stealing their weapons on Wednesday night, local authorities said, in an incident that marks a deadly turn in anti-government protests that initially rallied for social justice reforms.

The protests, which began Saturday with demands for better education and healthcare, have been organized online by a loosely formed, anonymous youth group calling itself “GenZ 212.” The group has used platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and the gaming app Discord to mobilize support, Reuters reported.

Security forces had to use firearms in self-defense after tear gas failed to stop the group from storming into the security forces (gendarmerie) facility, local authorities said.

Armed with knives, the group managed to set fire to a part of the facility and to a vehicle, forcing security forces to use firearms in self-defense, said local authorities, who did not specify how many were injured.

The GenZ 212 movement is inspired by similar youth-led protests in Asia and Latin America. Membership in GenZ 212’s Discord server surged from around 3,000 last week to more than 130,000 today, reflecting the rapid growth of the youth-led protest movement.

Authorities initially responded with attempts to quash the rallies, but the demonstrations escalated into widespread unrest on Tuesday night. Reuters images showed security forces encircling protesters forcefully hauling them into vans.

The Interior Ministry said, opens new tab 263 members of security forces and 23 civilians were injured during Tuesday’s clashes.

WAVE OF YOUTH ANGER

On Wednesday night, violence spread to Salé, near the capital Rabat, where groups of young men in densely populated neighborhoods hurled stones at police, looted shops, set banks ablaze, and torched police vehicles, according to witnesses.

In Tangier, on the Strait of Gibraltar, young men threw stones at security forces.

Smaller towns in the Souss region near Agadir saw for the second consecutive night some of the most intense unrest. In Sidi Bibi, masked youths burned the commune headquarters and blocked a main road, said local resident Hassan Berkouz.

South of Agadir in Biougra, a bank was ransacked and shops damaged.

“I was in the cafe watching PSG vs Real Madrid match when young men started hurling stones at shops. We watched the game still inside the closed cafe,” Abdeslam Chegri, a local civil society activist, said.

Morocco’s tourist hub Marrakech saw violent clashes as protesters burned a police station, according to local media LeDesk.

The recent wave of youth anger was sparked by earlier protests in Agadir over poor hospital conditions, which quickly spread to other cities.

In Taroudant, usually a quiet town east of Agadir, demonstrators clashed with security forces, attacked shops and burned cars.

By contrast, peaceful demonstrations were held in Casablanca, Morocco’s economic capital, and in the eastern cities of Oujda and Taza.

Protesters there called for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to resign and chanted slogans such as “The people want an end to corruption.”

Morocco’s unemployment rate stands at 12.8%, with youth unemployment reaching 35.8% and 19% among graduates, according to the national statistics agency.

While Morocco has seen recurring peaceful protests over economic and social grievances, this week’s unrest is the most violent since the 2016–2017 demonstrations in the northern Rif region.

Earlier in the day, the Interior Ministry said it would uphold the right to protest within legal boundaries and pledged to respond with “restraint and self-control, avoiding provocation.”

On Tuesday, in posts on social media sites discussing the protests, the “GenZ 212” group said it rejected violence and was committed to continuing peaceful protests. It said it had no conflict with the security forces, only with the government.

So far, 409 people have been taken into police custody following the unrest and 193 will face trial – mostly on bail – on charges including arson, ransacking, attacking security forces, according to the prosecutor.

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Israeli attacks kill 31 Palestinians in Gaza, including children

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At least 31 Palestinians, including six children, were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis since early Saturday, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.

The strikes came a day before Israel is scheduled to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, marking the first reopening of the border crossing since May 2024.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since a United States-brokered ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

According to local health authorities, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 71,769 Palestinians and wounded 171,483 others since it began in October 2023. In Israel, at least 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, with approximately 250 people taken captive.

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Guterres warns of UN’s ‘imminent financial collapse’

In his letter, Guterres said “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”

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The U.N. chief has told member states the organisation is at risk of “imminent financial collapse,” citing unpaid fees and a budget rule that forces the global body to return unspent money, a letter seen by Reuters on Friday showed.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly spoken about the organisation’s worsening liquidity crisis but this is his starkest warning yet, and it comes as its main contributor the U.S. is retreating from multilateralism on numerous fronts.

“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” Guterres wrote in a letter to ambassadors dated January 28.

The U.S. has slashed voluntary funding to U.N. agencies and refused to make mandatory payments to its regular and peacekeeping budgets.

U.S. President Donald Trump has described the U.N. as having “great potential” but said it is not fulfilling that, and he has launched a Board of Peace which some fear could undermine the older international body.

Founded in 1945, the U.N. has 193 member states and works to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights, foster social and economic development, and coordinate humanitarian aid.

In his letter, Guterres said “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”

He did not say which state or states he was referring to, and a U.N. spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Under U.N. rules, contributions depend on the size of the economy of each member state. The U.S. accounts for 22% of the core budget followed by China with 20%.

But by the end of 2025 there was a record $1.57 billion in outstanding dues, Guterres said, without naming the nations that owed them.

“Either all Member States honour their obligations to pay in full and on time – or Member States must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse,” he said.

U.N. officials say the U.S. currently owes $2.19 billion to the regular U.N. budget, another $1.88 billion for active peace-keeping missions and $528 million for past peace-keeping missions.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Guterres letter.

Guterres launched a reform task force last year, known as UN80, which seeks to cut costs and improve efficiency. To that end, states agreed to cut the 2026 budget by around 7% to $3.45 billion.

Still, Guterres warned in the letter that the organisation could run out of cash by July.

One of the problems is a rule now seen as antiquated whereby the global body has to credit back hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to states each year.

“In other words, we are trapped in a Kafkaesque cycle expected to give back cash that does not exist,” said Guterres, referring to author Franz Kafka who wrote about oppressive bureaucratic processes.

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Man sprays U.S. lawmaker Ilhan Omar with liquid, disrupting Minnesota event

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Police arrested a man who sprayed Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar with a foul-smelling liquid in Minneapolis on Tuesday as she condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota.

Omar, the frequent target of political insults from President Donald Trump, was uninjured. A security guard immediately grabbed the man and took him to the ground, according to a Reuters witness and video of the town hall event, Reuters reported.

Police said they arrested the man for third-degree assault.

In her remarks, Omar was criticizing ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that Noem resign after the recent shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge.

“ICE cannot be reformed, it cannot be rehabilitated, we must abolish ICE for good, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,” Omar said, to applause.

Moments later, a man seated in a front row stepped toward her and sprayed her with the contents of what police described as a syringe, telling Omar, “You must resign.”

Omar defiantly took a few steps toward him, with her hand raised, before he was subdued.

She continued her remarks after a short break, resisting associates’ urging to seek medical attention, saying she just needed a napkin. Her office later issued a statement saying she was OK.

Forensic scientists were gathering evidence at the scene, Minneapolis police said in a statement.

A Reuters witness said the liquid smelled of ammonia and caused minor throat irritation.

“I learned at a young age, you don’t give in to threats,” Omar told the audience, after refusing to suspend the event. “You look them in the face and you stand strong.”

Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar in public remarks and social media posts, also taking aim at her Somali nationality.

“Ilhan Omar is garbage,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting in December. “She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage.”

Omar, 43, came to the United States as a 12-year-old girl and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

On Tuesday, U.S. Capitol Police said its threat assessment cases rose in 2025 for the third year in a row, spiking nearly 58% from 2024.

In 2025, it investigated 14,938 instances of statements, behavior, and communications directed against members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol complex, it added, up from 9,474 in 2024.

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