Morocco’s meteorological agency announced Friday that 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded in the country, reflecting record temperatures globally.

In an annual report, the agency said it recorded an average temperature anomaly of +1.49 degrees Celsius last year compared to the 1991-2020 period.

“The year 2024 stands out as the hottest ever recorded in Morocco,” she said, adding that every month of 2024, except June and September, had been warmer than the average for the 1991-2020 reference period.

According to the agency, several cities broke daily heat records last July, with 47.6 degrees Celsius in Marrakech and 47.7 degrees Celsius in Beni Mellal.

 According to the meteorological department, the kingdom is facing its seventh consecutive year of drought, with an average rainfall deficit of -24.7% in 2024.

The agency also noted “an increase in thermal anomalies, particularly during the fall and winter seasons.”

Morocco’s all-time heat record was set in August 2023, when temperatures reached 50.4 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Agadir.

The second week of the Israel-Iran war started with a renewed round of strikes despite talks between European ministers and Iran’s top diplomat.

Friday’s talks, which aimed at de-escalating the fighting between the two adversaries, lasted for four hours in Geneva, but failed to produce a breakthrough. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to weigh his country’s military involvement and concerns spiked over potential strikes on nuclear reactors.

Still, European officials expressed hope for future negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but stressed Tehran wasn’t interested in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continued attacking.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Friday emphasized the critical importance of political and diplomatic solutions to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, warning of potential nuclear confrontation amid ongoing tensions.

Zakharova made the remarks on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which opened on Wednesday in Russia’s second-largest city. The forum brings together participants to address global challenges.

The spokeswoman called for balanced international measures to ensure regional security and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Tehran vows to make Grossi ‘pay’

A senior adviser for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, vowed in a social media post Saturday to make the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency “pay” once the war with Israel is over.

Ali Larijani’s threat comes as IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has become a major target for many Iranian officials who say his conflicting statements about the status of Iran’s nuclear program incited the Israeli surprise attack last week.

Grossi told the United Nations’ Security Council Friday that while Iran has the material to build a nuclear bomb, it appears they have no plans to do so.

The criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced in absentia the former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki to 22 years in prison, with immediate effect.

The court also handed the same sentence to his former advisor, Imed Daimi, and former bar association president, Abderrazak Kilani.

The ruling, announced on Friday, stems from terrorism-related charges, though details of the case and specific accusations have not yet been disclosed publicly.

The verdict was delivered in their absence, as the three men are on the run abroad. Two other defendants, also on the run, received the same sentence on similar charges.

According to judicial sources, the Tunis Court of Appeal, through its indictment chamber specializing in terrorism cases, had previously ordered their referral to the criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance.

The latter was therefore asked to rule on several accusations related to terrorist offenses, without the precise details of the charges being made public at this stage.