In the last 12 hours, coverage centered on renewed diplomatic and security signaling around Western Sahara, alongside Morocco’s domestic energy and infrastructure planning. Zambia reiterated support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2797, framing Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only credible basis for a solution. At the same time, the US mission to the UN condemned projectile attacks claimed by the Polisario Front near Smara, explicitly linking the violence to threats to regional stability and to the spirit of Resolution 2797. Moroccan academics also argued that Resolution 2797 is reviving attention on Morocco’s borders with both Algeria and Mauritania—an interpretation that ties the UN process to wider regional boundary questions.

Several items in the same window also reflect a parallel “pressure and counter-pressure” dynamic involving Algeria and Western Sahara. Algerian expulsions from France were described as resuming, with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirming the restart and citing consular-pass constraints and a push to accelerate deportations. Meanwhile, older but still relevant reporting in the 12–24 hour band shows how Western Sahara remains intertwined with international legal and political advocacy: UN human rights experts urged US lawmakers to reject a bill that would designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization, warning it could undermine international law and humanitarian work.

A major non-diplomatic development dominating the broader 7-day coverage is Spain’s record cocaine seizure in the Atlantic near Western Sahara. Multiple reports describe the Guardia Civil intercepting the cargo ship Arconian off the coast near Dakhla, with estimates ranging from 30 to 45 tonnes (and detailed figures of 35,000–40,000 kg), arrests of 23 people, and the case being handled under judicial control in Spain. This thread is corroborated across several articles, making it the clearest “major event” in the dataset, even though it is not confined to the most recent 12 hours.

Finally, the last week also shows continuity in institutional and humanitarian engagement around the Sahara file. UN mine action reporting highlighted clearance of nearly 150 million square meters and ongoing risks from explosive remnants of war, while MINURSO field inspections were reported after projectiles landed near Smara. On the political side, Italy’s parliamentary human-rights leadership and delegations visiting Sahrawi institutions in the region were used to underscore calls for a “fair and lasting” solution and attention to humanitarian conditions—though the most recent evidence is more sparse on these themes compared with the strong diplomatic and security items from the last 12 hours.