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Morocco Opposition Leader Resigns

Ilyas El Omari has resigned as head of Morocco's opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) after it came second in legislative polls last year. (AFP)
Ilyas El Omari has resigned as head of Morocco's opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) after it came second in legislative polls last year. (AFP)
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Morocco Opposition Leader Resigns

Ilyas El Omari has resigned as head of Morocco's opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) after it came second in legislative polls last year. (AFP)
Ilyas El Omari has resigned as head of Morocco's opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) after it came second in legislative polls last year. (AFP)

Moroccan opposition chief Ilyas El Omari personally announced his decision to resign from the party’s leadership.

Speaking at a Tuesday press conference, he told reporters that his resignation from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was “unilaterally decided.”

El Omari cited personal reasons for his departure, adding that it was a final and irreversible decision.

He expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of his party in governing offices and said he resigned to take responsibility for the troubles facing PAM, including last year's election defeat, the party said.

The party was beaten in legislative polls in October, but more than doubled its number of seats in the new parliament.

El Omari was elected PAM Secretary General in January 2016 and vowed to lead his party to win the parliamentary elections. In the polls, his party came second behind the ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD).

A PAM statement released late on Monday said El Omari "assumes the political responsibility" of the party's decline, particularly after the election.

El Omari is also president of the regional council for the restive north and media reports said his resignation was partly linked to unrest in the neglected Rif region, which has been shaken by weeks of protests and violence this year.

“Given his political responsibility as Secretary General who has supervised the different phases, which the party has undergone for over a year, including elections, El Omari handed in his resignation from the position of PAM’s secretary general, and underlined that he will remain, as he has always been, an activist within the party and its bodies,” PAM said in the statement.

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Varieties

Scientists Identify 64,000 sq Miles of Coral Reef Capable of Surviving Climate Crisis

FILE PHOTO: Fish swim at a coral reef inside a 'Rahui' or restricted area in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Fish swim at a coral reef inside a 'Rahui' or restricted area in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Scientists Identify 64,000 sq Miles of Coral Reef Capable of Surviving Climate Crisis

FILE PHOTO: Fish swim at a coral reef inside a 'Rahui' or restricted area in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Fish swim at a coral reef inside a 'Rahui' or restricted area in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Scientists have identified nearly 166,000 sq km (64,000 sq miles) of coral reefs that are capable of surviving and recovering from climate change, three times more than previously estimated, research showed on Tuesday.

The world's coral reefs, which sustain a quarter of all marine life, have come under severe stress as a result of violent tropical storms, pollution and mass "bleaching" events caused by soaring ocean temperatures, with some scientists warning that they are facing irreversible decline.

But an analysis of 45,000 coral surveys together with decades of climate and ocean data has identified climate-resilient ⁠reefs across 71 ⁠countries and 100 territories, including in parts of the Caribbean and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that have not previously been recognized.

"Coral reefs are often framed as ecosystems beyond saving," said Emily Darling, director of coral conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and one of the report's ⁠authors.

"This research shows otherwise: we know where the hope is and what we need now is political will."

Countries are currently drawing up action plans aimed at bringing 30% of their land and marine environments under formal protection by the end of the decade, a target known as "30 by 30", and the new research will enable governments to consider the location of coral reefs in their planning.

"Only 28% of the reefs currently fall within protected and conserved ⁠areas, so ⁠the opportunity is clear, and so is the urgency, especially as we face an upcoming super El Nino event," Reuters quoted Darling as saying at a briefing.

Stacy Jupiter, co-author and executive director of the WCS's Global Marine Program, said the data could give governments the information required to decide where limited funds are deployed and give the more resilient reefs the best possible chance of surviving.

"In certain cases, where reefs are below certain benchmarks for ecosystem function, it may be a case of triage, where we may need to leave those places," she said.

Varieties

Spanish Prehistoric Cave Suggests Human Settlement More Than 4,000 Years Ago

The cave is located in the Nuria Valley in the Girona region of Spain (Shutterstock)
The cave is located in the Nuria Valley in the Girona region of Spain (Shutterstock)
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Spanish Prehistoric Cave Suggests Human Settlement More Than 4,000 Years Ago

The cave is located in the Nuria Valley in the Girona region of Spain (Shutterstock)
The cave is located in the Nuria Valley in the Girona region of Spain (Shutterstock)

A mysterious ancient settlement has been discovered surprisingly high in the Pyrenean mountains in Spain, according to BBC Science Focus.

Documented in a new study, the prehistoric cave known as Cova 338 sits 2,235 meters above sea level, in the Nuria Valley – making it the highest altitude dwelling of its kind to date in this area.

For decades, archaeologists have thought that areas above 2,000 meters were only used by people passing through. But the new discovery suggests that, over the course of 5,000 years (between the 5th and 1st millennia BC), multiple populations actually occupied the caves for long periods of time.

Excavations of the cave took place between 2021 and 2023, and have posed a major logistical challenge, as access to the cave is only possible on foot from the Nuria Valley, with no motorized support allowed.

This has required all materials and sediments generated during the digs to be transported manually.

The main conclusion of the study was published last May in the magazine, Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. It documented high-mountain prehistoric occupations of significant intensity, characterized by repeated activities and the direct exploitation of mineral resources within the cave.

Lead author of the study, Carlos Tornero, professor in the Department of Prehistory at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), said: “For a long time, these spaces were assumed to be marginal. What we document here is recurrent occupation, with complex activities and a clear exploitation of mineral resources.”

In the layers of the excavations, researchers found remains of fires and animal bones, ceramic fragments and even two pendants: one from a marine shell and one from a brown bear tooth.

The cave also contained a collection of green minerals, which the researchers think are likely malachite – a copper carbonate mineral – suggesting some of the earliest evidence of copper extraction in Western Europe.

Arab World

Egypt, UAE Leaders Underscore Importance of Preserving Security of Arab Countries

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
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Egypt, UAE Leaders Underscore Importance of Preserving Security of Arab Countries

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed on Monday the importance of maintaining coordination in stances between Arab countries to preserve their security and interests.

Sisi welcomed Sheikh Mohamed in Cairo for talks in wake of the agreement to end the US war on Iran and on the eve of the Egyptian leader's trip to Evian where he will meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Sisi and Sheikh Mohamed held expanded talks, with Egyptian Presidency spokesman Mohamed El-Shennawy saying they were part of the “ongoing close consultations” between their leaderships.

Sisi reiterated Egypt’s firm support for the stability and sovereignty of the UAE and the steps its leadership takes to protect the security of its territories and people, he added.

“The security of the UAE and Gulf countries is indivisible to that of Egypt’s national security,” Sisi declared.

“Egypt is committed to supporting the Gulf countries and all other Arab nations,” he declared, according to the spokesman.

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed expressed his keenness on the ongoing consultations with Sisi over various developments.

He also expressed his appreciation for the Egyptian leader’s constant support for the UAE and Gulf countries.

President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reacts as he bids farewell to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, at Cairo International Airport, in Cairo, Egypt, June 15, 2026. (UAE Presidential Court/Handout via Reuters)

Sisi had visited Abu Dhabi in May where he underlined Egypt’s support for the UAE amid the escalation in the region.

Ali El-Hefny, former assistant foreign minister and secretary general of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said the visits between the Egyptian and UAE leaders offer an opportunity to maintain consultations on the highest levels between their countries.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said Sheikh Mohamed’s visit is significant because it took place soon after the US and Iran reached an agreement to end the conflict in the region.

Relations between Egypt and the UAE have reached the level of “comprehensive strategic partnership, which demands constant follow-up so that it can be elevated further,” he went on to say.

Sheikh Mohamed’s visit offers an opportunity to achieve more cooperation over everything related to regional and international affairs, added El-Hefny.

Egypt had on Monday welcomed the US-Iran deal, saying it was significant in helping restore regional and international security and stability.

On Sisi’s upcoming meeting with Trump, El-Hefny said the leaders will tackle several issues and the talks gain greater significance in wake of the agreement with Iran.

Talks may also tackle the situation in Gaza where Egypt has been playing a mediating role.

Sisi is set to meet with several world leaders on the sidelines of the G7.