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Marrakech Declared Islamic World's Capital of Culture in 2024

ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
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Marrakech Declared Islamic World's Capital of Culture in 2024

ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)

Rabat is the Culture Capital of the Islamic World for 2024, announced ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced the closing ceremony of its year-long program of activities, including artistic and cultural events and celebrations, such as the International Museum and Exhibition of the Prophet's Seerah and Islamic Civilization.

Malik reviewed the 260 key activities held during the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World.

He thanked King Mohammed VI, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and all Moroccan ministries, institutions, bodies, associations, and individuals who did not hesitate to contribute to this celebration.

Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, lauded the distinguished cooperation between the Ministry and ICESCO, which resulted in the organization of several activities as part of the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, and the inscription of 27 Moroccan heritage elements on ICESCO's Islamic World Heritage Lists.

Bensaid stated that after a year of distinguished cultural and artistic activities, the closing of Rabat Celebration as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022 is an occasion to highlight the efforts aimed at making Rabat a metropolis at the international level.

The closing ceremony took place with the presence of high-profile Moroccan government officials, ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom, public figures, writers, thinkers, artists, and the general public.

Several artists performed at the event, such as Samira al-Qadri and Said Belkadi, who entertained the audience with traditional Moroccan poems. The Andalusian Music Choir, conducted by Amin al-Dubbi, and the Symphony Orchestra, by Samir Tamim, also played at the ceremony.

During 2023, Marrakech will host several groups of cultural, intellectual, and artistic events that highlight Islamic civilization.

It will be an opportunity to show the richness of the Red City, as Marrakesh is one of the cities included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The city is witnessing urban and cultural development, and the "Marrakech, Capital of Culture in the Islamic World" event will be an opportunity to highlight its attractions, intangible heritage, and archaeological sites.

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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP

The record-breaking retreat of Antarctic sea ice in 2023 has led to more frequent storms over newly exposed parts of the Southern Ocean, according to a study published Wednesday.
Scientists know that the loss of Antarctic sea ice can diminish penguin numbers, cause ice shelves to melt in warmer waters, and impede the Southern Ocean from absorbing carbon dioxide, AFP reported.
But this new research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, explores another consequence: increased heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere, and an associated rise in storms.
Since 2016 there has been a large-scale reduction in Antarctic sea ice, but nothing like 2023 when a record amount failed to reform over the winter.
For this study, Simon Josey of the UK's National Oceanography Center and colleagues focused on three regions that experienced unusually high levels of sea-ice retreat that year.
Using satellite imagery, ocean and atmospheric data, and wind and temperature measurements, they found some newly ice-free areas experienced double the heat loss compared to a stabler period before 2015.
This was accompanied by "increases in atmospheric-storm frequency" over previously ice-covered regions, the authors found.
"In the sea-ice-decline regions, the June–July storm frequency has increased by up to 7days per month in 2023 relative to 1990–2015."
The loss of heat caused by reduced sea ice could have implications for how the ocean circulates and the wider climate system, the study added.
Oceans are a crucial climate regulator and carbon sink, storing more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped near Earth's surface by greenhouse gas emissions.
In particular, sea-ice retreat could mean changes in how a deeper layer of cold, dense Antarctic bottom water absorbs and stores heat.
The authors said further in-depth analysis of possible climate impacts were needed, including if sea-ice retreat could have even further-reaching consequences.
"Repeated low ice-cover conditions in subsequent winters will strengthen these impacts and are also likely to lead to profound changes further afield, including the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere," it said.