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Morocco's King Chairs Meeting to Address Water Scarcity

King Mohammed VI chairs the meeting in Rabat on Tuesday. (MAP)
King Mohammed VI chairs the meeting in Rabat on Tuesday. (MAP)
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Morocco's King Chairs Meeting to Address Water Scarcity

King Mohammed VI chairs the meeting in Rabat on Tuesday. (MAP)
King Mohammed VI chairs the meeting in Rabat on Tuesday. (MAP)

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI urged on Tuesday authorities in the water sector to be vigilant in their work and to be efficient in implementing programs.

He chaired a meeting in Rabat dedicated to overseeing progress in the implementation of the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation.

Meanwhile, Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka delivered a presentation detailing the water situation in the country and the progress made in the program.

Through the national program, the government is working to connect the Sebou, Bouregreg, and Oum Er-Rbia water basins, construct new dams, and update the costs of about twenty dams that should increase the storage capacity to 6.6 billion cubic meters of freshwater.

Under the program, the government will also accelerate the transition to non-conventional water sources, such as desalinating seawater and increasing the treatment of wastewater for reuse.

The national program covers plans to boost the supply of drinking water to rural areas in Morocco.

King Mohammed also ordered the government to activate, as in the previous year, the emergency measures of the Program to combat the effects of drought.

In this context, a significant additional investment has been granted to the program, bringing its overall budget to 143 billion dirhams ($14.7 billion).

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US Draws Roadmap to Disarm Lebanon’s Hezbollah

The UN Security Council meets in New York. AFP file photo
The UN Security Council meets in New York. AFP file photo
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US Draws Roadmap to Disarm Lebanon’s Hezbollah

The UN Security Council meets in New York. AFP file photo
The UN Security Council meets in New York. AFP file photo

The United States has drawn a roadmap to end the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, calling for the group's withdrawal from the border area and its disarmament.

Ambassador Robert Wood, US Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, told the Security Council on Thursday that “for the diplomatic resolution to be durable, the parties must fully implement Resolution 1701,” which calls for Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the border area and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.

The Council’s emergency meeting was called by France.

Wood called for enforcing an arms embargo and “taking steps to help ensure that Iran does not resupply what remains of its terrorist proxy.”

He urged “Lebanon’s political leaders set aside their differences and assemble a government that responds to the needs of the Lebanese people.”

“In other words: The solution to this crisis is a not a weaker Lebanon. It’s a strong and truly sovereign Lebanon, protected by a legitimate security force,” the Ambassador added.

Wood urged the international community to condemn Iran “for undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty,” saying “we must be prepared to impose severe costs on Iran for flouting this Council’s resolutions.”

The UN political chief called the international community’s failure to stop escalating military action in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria “damning” and warned that the region is “dangerously teetering on the brink of an all-out war.”
Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the emergency meeting of the Security Council that every effort must be made now “to reverse this cycle of violence and bring Lebanon and Israel – and the region – back from the brink of catastrophe.”

In Lebanon, she said, Hezbollah militants and other armed groups must stop firing rockets and missiles into Israel, and Israel must stop bombing Lebanon and withdraw its ground forces.

As for Lebanon's acting UN Ambassador Hadi Hachem, he told the Council that the country is fully committed to the French-American initiative for a 21-day cease-fire “during which we can settle outstanding border issues.”

He accused Israel of agreeing to the initiative “before reneging on it and escalating its aggression.”