A picture taken on September 8, 2019 shows the wreckage of a bus, following a flood-related accident in southern Morocco that left at least six people dead. (File photo: AFP)

A bus crash in northern Morocco killed 17 people as the vehicle overturned, the health ministry said on Monday, in the second such accident in North Africa the same day.

The bus crashed on Sunday near Taza, a town between the Rif and Atlas mountains, local authorities said, with the cause of the accident unclear.

The ministry told AFP the death toll had risen to 17, while 36 others were injured.

An investigation was opened into the accident at Taza, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Fez, authorities said.

Public television 2M tweeted a photograph of the bus’s interior reduced to a mass of metal.

Elsewhere in North Africa, a bus crash in Tunisia also Sunday killed at least 26 people as the vehicle plunged into a ravine in the mountainous northwest.

Nearly 3,500 people die each year in road accidents in Morocco, a country of 35 million people.

The government has launched several road safety campaigns, particularly in the wake of the kingdom’s worst-ever bus accident which left 42 dead in 2012.

A National Road Safety Strategy aims to halve the number of accidents in Morocco by 2026.

source: AFP

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”