LONDON: British foreign minister David Lammy repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire amid reports of a potential escalation in the Israel-Lebanon conflict, after discussing the matter with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the phone on Monday.
“We’ve both seen the reports in the media about a next phase for Israel in Lebanon,” Lammy told Sky News, amid growing indications that Israel was on the verge of sending ground troops into Lebanon.
“We both agreed the position that we had at the UN last week that the best way forward is an immediate ceasefire and to get back to a political solution.”
Earlier in the day a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged “all parties to show restraint.”
Lammy also repeated the government’s advice that British citizens leave Lebanon.
“We have secured places on commercial flights that are flying tomorrow so that UK nationals can get out. I urge them to leave, because the situation on the ground is fast moving,” he said.
“Whilst we will do everything we can to protect British nationals and those plans are in place to do so, we cannot anticipate the circumstances and the speed with which we could do that if things escalate in a major way over the coming hours and days.”
UK’s Lammy repeats calls for ceasefire after talk with Blinken on Middle East
https://arab.news/65nh5
UK’s Lammy repeats calls for ceasefire after talk with Blinken on Middle East
- David Lammy: ‘The best way forward is an immediate ceasefire and to get back to a political solution’
- David Lammy: ‘I urge UK nationals to leave, because the situation on the ground is fast moving’
Morocco to secure 60% of water needs from desalination
- Rabat boosts investment in facilities powered by renewable energy, minister tells Marrakech conference
MARRAKECH: Morocco, which has endured seven years of drought, plans to supply 60 percent of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030, up from 25 percent, its water minister said, as Rabat accelerates investment in desalination plants powered by renewable energy.
The push is crucial to ensure a steady water supply and to maintain Morocco’s status as a key producer and exporter of fresh produce amid climate change, as droughts have dried up some of its main water reservoirs and depleted underground resources.
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The plant will have a capacity of 350 million cubic meters and will supply urban centers in Morocco’s food basket as well as farmlands.
The North African country plans to produce 1.7 billion cubic meters of desalinated water annually by 2030 from projects under construction and plants for which it will hold tenders starting next year, Nizar Baraka said on the sidelines of the World Water Congress in Marrakech.
The largest plant — with planned investment of about 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion) — will be located near Tiznit, 615 km south of the capital Rabat.
It will have a capacity of 350 million cubic meters and will supply urban centers in the country’s food basket as well as farmlands, he said.
“Studies are underway as part of preparations for the plant’s tender, to be announced by mid next year,” Baraka said.
Besides the northern cities of Nador and Tangier, plants are also planned in Rabat in partnership with the French group Veolia, as well as in Tantan, where the government is considering building a port dedicated to green hydrogen and ammonia exports, Baraka said.
Morocco currently operates 17 desalination plants producing 345 million cubic meters annually.
Four additional plants are under construction with a combined capacity of 540 million cubic meters, scheduled to be ready by 2027, including a major facility in Casablanca, the country’s most populous city.
“All new desalination plants will be powered by renewable energy,” Baraka said.
Morocco has also faced rising temperatures and worsening evaporation in dams.
To counter this, it installed floating solar panels on a dam near Tangier to reduce evaporation, which accounts for 30 percent of the country’s surface water loss, according to the minister.
“The experiment will be expanded to include dams in the south and mountainous regions,” Baraka said.
