Desertification & water stress: A new discussion on the Sahara’s southward creep highlights UN findings that much of the world’s drylands are becoming permanently drier, with the Sahara expanding by about a million sq km over the past century—raising urgent questions for arid-region water management. Saharan floods & land degradation: A separate piece revisits Algeria’s rare northern Sahara deluge in 2024, when intense rain briefly revived desert basins and lakes, but also damaged fragile soils and accelerated degradation—fueling calls for rainwater harvesting and hydrological restoration. Algeria’s energy shift: Algeria is positioning renewables and green hydrogen as a way to cut oil and gas dependence, with a target of 15 GW renewable capacity by 2035. Industrialisation signal: Morocco tops Africa’s industrialisation index for the first time, while Algeria ranks sixth—showing uneven progress across North Africa. Nuclear fuel corridor talks: Niger’s military-backed government renewed political support for Global Atomic’s Dasa uranium project, with trade links and talks involving Algeria to build an export corridor. Climate-linked migration pressure: Record May heat in the UK coincided with over 1,000 Channel crossings in days, underscoring how extreme weather can intensify humanitarian risks.