Aviation & Consumer Law: Ryanair’s ultra-low-cost model is under scrutiny as the UK Competition and Markets Authority investigates whether mandatory fees for parents to sit with children are unfair under consumer law, adding pressure to an airline that still carried 208m passengers in the year to March 2026. Water & Infrastructure: Morocco is pushing desalination hard as drought becomes a structural risk, with a $650m Atlantic project near Casablanca aimed at supplying drinking water and supporting irrigation, though costs and brine disposal remain open questions. Border Mobility & Logistics: Spain and Morocco’s Operation Marhaba (10 June–15 September) is set to move nearly 3.5m travellers and about 900,000 vehicles, relying on tight port and route coordination across Europe and North Africa. Security & Trade Routes: A record 30+ tonnes cocaine seizure off Western Sahara is linked to a sustained West Africa-to-Europe smuggling route, with investigators pointing to Dutch fugitive Jos “Bolle Jos” Leijdekkers and sea transfers near Morocco and the Canaries. Mining & Cross-Border Tensions: Mauritanian artisanal miners’ unions deny claims that Mauritanian prospectors were targeted in a Morocco-linked drone strike near Akleibat El Foula, warning misinformation could strain relations. Western Sahara Industry Footprint: Heidelberg Materials says it increased cement output in occupied Western Sahara and supplies materials for major port and infrastructure projects in El Aaiún and Dakhla Atlantique, keeping business ties central to the dispute. Political Process: UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is set to visit Tindouf camps to help restart negotiations, framed as a bid to reduce wider regional instability risks. Sahrawi Historical Memory: Polisario marks the 50th anniversary of Luali Mustafa Sayed’s death, revisiting his ideas on organisation, armed struggle and alliance-building.