Our Monday morning stroll around the world

🇦🇪 Newly discovered ruins in the UAE could be the lost city of Tawam. Tawam, a city mentioned in ancient Arabic texts, is believed to have been a major capital in eastern Arabia in the sixth century that was known for its pearl-fishing and precious gems. Archaeologists recently discovered the remains of homes and large jars with ancient Aramaic writing at a site near Dubai, which they say are likely ruins from Tawam.

🇫🇷 Paris residents are threatening to poop in the Seine River ahead of the Olympics to protest sewage contamination. Swimming in the Seine has been banned since 1923 due to high pollution levels. But Paris has embarked on a $1.5 billion cleanup effort in preparation for the 2024 Summer Games, with organizers hoping to hold some swimming competitions in the river. Some Parisians began threatening a poop protest after France’s president and the mayor of Paris both pledged to take a swim in the Seine, despite recent testing revealing high levels of E. coli. However, these protests were recently postponed after Paris’ mayor delayed her swim from June 23 to sometime next month.

🇸🇦 1,300+ Muslims died from extreme heat during the Hajj pilgrimage. During this year’s Hajj period (from June 14-19), daily high temperatures ranged between 117°F-119°F around Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where ~2 million pilgrims gathered to make the Islamic pilgrimage. Saudi officials say roughly half of the fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims from Egypt, where 16 travel agencies had their licenses revoked for sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia without government-issued Hajj permits.