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UN envoy for the Sahara: “it’s time for Morocco to explain its autonomy plan”

The UN special envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan De Mistura, stressed yesterday before the Security Council that “the time has come for Morocco to explain and detail its proposal for autonomy,” something he said he had “reiterated respectfully but firmly” to the Government of Rabat.

In his presentation yesterday before the Council behind closed doors, to which the media had access today, De Mistura showed his impatience for the blocking of the peace process between Morocco and the Saharawi independence group Polisario Front, and confessed that he even proposed a partition of the Saharawi territory between the north, which would be for Morocco, and the south, which would become an independent state, but he regretted having reaped a refusal by both parties.

Exposition of the UN envoy

He dedicated a large part of his exhibition to exploring the idea of Moroccan autonomy -categorically rejected by the Polisario-, and said that it has worked in places of the world as different as Greenland, Upper Adige or Scotland, but it remains to know what Morocco proposes for the Sahara beyond “a three-page plan” exposed in 2007.

That plan,” said De Mistura, has created expectations “and even the right to better understand what it means,” a right shared by the people affected but also by the Security Council and the UN General Secretariat, and even by the countries that in one way or another have supported it as a principle.

“It must be explained how this option can provide some kind of worthy form of self-determination for the people of the Sahara, and under what modality,” De Mistura insisted before the Council, before recalling that Morocco “must provide details of its vision.”

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It’s almost 50 years since the beginning of the conflict

De Mistura concluded his speech by recalling that in 2025 it will be 50 years since the beginning of the conflict and that, if from now until six months there is no progress between the parties – that they do not even sit at the same table – it would be legitimate to ask about the involvement that the United Nations must continue to have in the process.

The UN sent a mission to the Sahara in 1991 (Minurso) in order to organize a self-determination referendum, but later Morocco put obstacles to that referendum and since 2007 has only proposed an imprecise offer of autonomy.

Since then, the Minurso has been left with the only task of observing the ceasefire, sporadically broken by both parties.

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Tehran engulfed in toxic cloud after strikes on fuel facilities

Tehran woke up under a sky that shifted from gray to black following strikes on fuel infrastructure, as the city has become engulfed in a toxic cloud that is turning daily life into a public health and environmental emergency.

Residents warn that what is falling from the sky is no longer just rain, but a mixture of oil and pollutants. Attacks on fuel depots have triggered prolonged fires, releasing thick plumes of smoke that continue to spread across the العاصمة.

For several days, facilities have remained ablaze, while a dark layer has settled over streets, homes, and even water reserves. Authorities have urged the population—more than nine million people—to remain indoors, especially vulnerable groups.

The extreme toxicity is linked to mazut, a dense petroleum byproduct with high sulfur content still used in Iran due to industrial limitations and sanctions. When burned, it releases hazardous particles that, when combined with moisture, result in contaminated rainfall.

The situation is worsened by Tehran’s geography. Surrounded by mountains, the city is affected by a temperature inversion phenomenon that traps pollutants near the ground, preventing their dispersion and creating a stagnant layer of toxic air over the population.

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Residents have reported symptoms such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Emergency agencies have also warned of potential chemical burns caused by acid rain.

Long-term concerns are mounting, as prolonged exposure to fine particles and heavy metals could lead to serious health conditions, including lung damage and cancer.

Contamination is also spreading to water sources and agricultural land, threatening the food supply in a country already facing water scarcity.

At a regional level, the environmental impact is expanding, with oil spills reported in the Persian Gulf, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities.

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FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.

Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.

Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.

The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.

A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.

“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.

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UN experts warn Nicaragua runs vast transnational network to monitor exiled dissidents

Nicaragua maintains an “extensive” transnational network to monitor and intimidate opposition figures living in exile, affecting “hundreds of thousands” of people, the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua warned on Tuesday.

In a statement, the experts said their report “details an extensive transnational architecture of surveillance and intelligence used to monitor, intimidate and attack the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad.”

The report, which will be presented on March 16 to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, states that the structure maintained by the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo includes the army, the police, migration authorities and diplomatic missions.

According to the statement, “the government has arbitrarily stripped 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, left thousands more exiled in a situation of de facto statelessness, and prevented many from returning to Nicaragua.”