Mediaboss Marketing

As the European Union has stated its strong desire to create alternative energy supplies, here is a look at what role Libya can play in the future for the unions needs.

The worlds attention is fully focused on Ukraine following Russias military assault on the country.

The international community as a whole is concerned but when it comes to European countries, they have a deeper apprehension because of the potential energy crisis they face in the short and long term.

In response to Russias recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk) and its subsequent order of a military operation, Germany announced the halting of the 1,230 kilometre, $11 billion Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project which was completed in September but awaited certification.

Last week, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, also warned that Europe should accelerate its transition to sustainable energy sources, as a path towards independence from their reliance on Russian gas.

Russia is one of the largest suppliers of natural gas to Europe which provides some 40 percent of the continents supplies.

Amid the tensions, Libyas UN-backed Government of National Unitys Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, said his country can become a major gas exporter following the exploration of new fields.

Stressing Libyas capacity in terms of its large energy stock, he said there is an opportunity for cooperation with foreign countries to face international challenges by exploring their natural resources.

The instability in Libya had a large impact on oil and gas production, he added.

On Thursday, following Dbeibahs speech, the embassies of the US alongside four European countries (France, Germany, Italy and the UK), urged all actors in Libya to respect the unity, integrity, independence and preserve the apolitical, technical nature of the Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation (NOC), whose continued, uninterrupted operations benefit all Libyans.

In a written statement published by the US embassy in Libya, the statement read; We appreciate NOCs commitment to improve financial transparency and we caution against acts that undermine the NOC, in line with multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, 2571 (2021), 2441 (2018), 2259 (2015), and 2146 (2014), and underscore the need to avoid such actions that may pose a threat to the peace, security and stability of Libya.

So is Libya a feasible option for Europe?

Oil

The north African country has the largest oil reserves on the continent and the ninth largest known reserves in the globe. Proven oil reserves of the country stands at 48.3 billion barrels.

According to experts, the extraction cost of gas and oil in Libya is more favourable compared to other countries in the region.

Libyas current daily oil production is 1.2 million barrels but the exact amount supplied to the black market is not known as warlord Khalifa Haftar has control over several facilities and is allegedly selling it illegally allowing him to generate $450-500 million per month.

The state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya recently announced that with the opening of a new oilfield, Tahara, the field will be able to produce 14,000 barrels of oil per day.

It was also stated that the field might have the capacity to increase output to 40,000 barrels per day with additional wells in the future.

Gas

Libya also has 53 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves according to numbers in 2021 which already place the country at 21 in the hierarchy of proven reserves on earth. However, the country ranked 40th when it came to production.

The countrys proven reserves are equivalent to almost 340 times of its annual consumption which means Libya still has 340 years of gas left based on current consumption levels (It should be noted that these figures are based on proven reserves).

The previous datas showed that Libya exports more than 40 percent of its gas production.

According to the NOC, the opening of Tahara oilfield will also pave the way for Libya to increase its natural gas production to 6 million cubic feet per day.

Source: TRT World

Go here to read the rest:
Can Libya become the EUs energy supplier following the war in Ukraine? - TRT World

Collectively, the refugee protestors created a long list of demands addressed to the Libyan authorities, the UNHCR, and the EU. They ranged from evacuations, safety, and the closure of detention centres to Libya recognising the 1951 Refugee Convention and the EU ending support for Libyan militias. These armed groups have intercepted over 32,400 individuals trying to escape Libya across the central Mediterranean Sea in 2021 alone.

Many of the protestors have survived unimaginable hardship. Raids, mass detention, murder, as well as systematic forms of abuse, including torture, rape, and forced labour, are everyday experiences of marginalised refugee communities in Libya. For years, numerous international organisations have denounced the hellish conditions in Libya, the inhumane treatment, and the systematic incarceration of people on the move. To date these condemnations have changed nothing.

The protestors chose the site of the UNHCR building strategically, hoping that it would offer some protection from the Libyan security forces. The UNHCR, however, was dismayed at the protest camp outside its doors. It announced that it was suspending the services at Community Day Centre due to the security situation on 7 October and later closed the place entirely. In response, the protestors moved outside the main UNHCR office in the neighbourhood of Sarraj, which quickly put its activities on hold as well. The EU Head of Delegation to Libya, Sabadell Jose, voiced concern about the situation outside the UNHCR building and called upon the Libyan authorities to ensure security & to protect people & premises.

The refugee protestors felt abandoned by the UNHCR and feared that the suspension of its services would render them increasingly vulnerable to the violent Libyan security forces. They were particularly dismayed that the UNHCR repeatedly drew distinctions between protestors, on the one hand, and vulnerable individuals on the other. For example, one UNHCR statement said: We call on protestors not to block vulnerable asylum-seekers, including women, children, from accessing premises for help. And they were at a loss when the UNHCR called on protestors to disperse and to respect Libyan laws and regulations laws and regulations that had never protected refugees from systematic oppression or their shelters from destruction. Besides, where could they even disperse to?

Undeterred, the protestors remained on site and used their social media account Refugees in Libya to report on tactics of intimidation by authorities and the UNHCR. They rejected the UNHCRs attempt to divide them and worked together to build up the infrastructure of their collective struggle. They held large assemblies where discussions were translated into several languages. Multilingual committees also emerged around particular tasks, including political campaigning and negotiations, media work, cleaning of the camp site, mediating between protestors, and organising medical care.

The protest campaign of the refugees in Libya echoes other recent collective mobilisations, such as Lampedusa in Hamburg or the acts of resistance at Choucha refugee camp in Tunisia. Further mobilisations are currently emerging, such as those outside the UNHCRs offices in Zarzis and Medenine in the south of Tunisia.

In order to produce and circulate information and updates on their struggle, the refugee protestors in Libya launched a website and a Twitter account seeking to reach an international audience. Under the hashtag #EvacuateRefugeesFromLibya, the demands of protestors reverberated beyond Libya, especially in Europe where solidarity activists took to the streets to highlight that Libyas migration governance was inextricably also a European affair. While much of the mainstream media failed to report on these transversal struggles, forms of international solidarity multiplied.

Read the rest here:
One hundred days of refugee protest in Libya - Open Democracy

The fourth wave of Covid-19 in Libya is ebbing, the Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Haider Al-Sayeh, has confirmed, indicating that it was less damaging than the third wave.

The NCDC head lauded all who worked to confront the pandemic, saying they had a significant role in the receding of this wave.

"Some of them returned to work and ended their sit-in in response to the centre's call, but they are now waiting for their rewards and rights that we failed to pay."

According to Al-Sayeh, the broadly expanded Covid-19 vaccinations, which continued over the past year, had also led to the improvement of the epidemiological situation, noting that easing or continuing with some precautionary measures depends on the progress of the vaccination process.

As Ramadan approaches, Al-Sayeh said they are considering easing measures on Mosques during this holy month depending on the stability of the epidemiological situation and the progress of the vaccination campaigns.

He pointed out that schools may return to giving daily classes starting next semester.

Read the original here:
NCDC: Fourth wave of Covid-19 in Libya is waning - The Libya Observer

Led by Caretaker Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, the current government of National Unity pledged that the construction of three urgent power plants in Libya is nearing completion.

Also Read:License Issued for Construction of Solar Power Plant in Ghadames, Libya

The projects in question, which are the Tripoli West gasoline power station, the Misrata power station, and the Tobruk gas power station, will be operational before the summer (which begins in July) when electricity demand is high according to Aldabaiba.

This move by Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba is reportedly intended to curb the North African countrys electricity problems.

Tripoli West gasoline power station

The gasoline power station, which will be located in Tripoli, is expected to have a power production capacity of 670 MW and an 87 percent completion rate. It is said that the project is currently being executed by two organizations, Siemens of Germany and ENKA of Turkey.

Misrata power station

Another of the three urgent power plants in Libya is the Misrata power station project. It is defined as one of the Libyan governments revival of life initiatives to revitalize development projects in the nation.

Once finished, the Misrata power station is expected to have a production capacity of 640 MW. Its construction is being overseen by the General Electric Company and implemented by Siemens of Germany and ENKA of Turkey.

The projects current completion rate is 83 percent.

Tobruk gas power station

Tobruk power station is third on the list, with an 80 percent completion rate. Implemented by Metka, a Greek firm, the Tobruk power station is expected to have a production capacity of 740 MW, the most of the three urgent power plants, with the first of its four units anticipated to be functional before the summer peak period.

If you have a remark or more information on this post please share with us in the comments section below

View post:
Three Under Construction "Urgent" Power Plants in Libya to be Operational by Q3 2022 - Construction Review

Treasure Coast Newspapers

I appreciated Dominic Calabro's guest column Citizens must have easy access to public notices on Feb. 17. I belong to many environmental organizations and as conservation chair of one and government affairs representative of another I need to be able to access information about plans and meetings of the city of Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, South Florida Water Management District, the Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies plans that might affect the environment, our drinking water, waterways, the air we breathe. Also, changes that will affect wildlife, businesses, tourism and even our economy due to their policies that affect our surroundings.

There is not enough time each day to go on each of these and other organizations' websites, but I can find out their plans by checking your newspaper's public notices. If this stops, we all may suffer from not knowing what special interests may have gotten our public officials to do without our being able to have input. Please contact your state representative and ask them to continue to provide these important notices in the newspaper.

Diane Goldberg, Port St. Lucie

The West Corridor of Vero Beach is not being served fairly by the Indian River County Commission. Dozens of separate communities were approved and developed without any overall plan that includes mixed zoning, retail and business properties, as well as homes. Then these communities were left with limited county services such as parks, recreation programs and office buildings. The goal should be to provide citizens with these amenities without having to drive downtown.

To my knowledge there are no parks or recreation programs west of 58th Avenue. Additionally, infrastructure is non-existent or in poor repair. Examples include the horrible and dangerous condition of the 12th Avenue roadway; lack of adequate lighting on 74th Avenue south of SR 60, particularly at the bridge crossing at 14th Lane; the dangerous intersection at 74th Avenue and 16th Street, and the general lack of sidewalks and bike lanes throughout the West Corridor.

So, whats the solution? Tens of thousands of citizens are living in the West Corridor. We need to make our voices heard by getting involved in the commissions work. Additionally, lets support the movement to single-member districts rejected recently by the commission so we will know whom to hold accountable. Our commission argued that this would lead to provincialism. Perhaps that would be a good result given that our current elected-at-large commissioners are not serving the entire county equally.

Betty Hearn Morrow, Vero Beach

I appreciated Cray Littles Jan. 5letter, in which, in the context of a discussion about democracy, he wrote: Admitting our failures is painful, and Human behavior is addicted to pain avoidance. It is true that acknowledging anything less than genius of our sacrosanct Founding Fathers isnt always easy. Is it possible that the conditions surrounding the establishing of our election processes were unique, and that the authors were not thinking 200 years into the future?

True confession No.1: I probably wasnt paying as much attention as I should have been during high school civics class. And true confession No. 2: At the 2000 George Bush/Al Gore recount, my heart was too heavy with losing to notice that, recount or not, there were still more votes for Al Gore on a national level than ever would have made a recount necessary.

I hereby penitently admit, it took me years to notice that the election did not always go to the candidate achieving the most votes nationally. Time may or may not heal all wounds, but it does have a way of bringing illumination. I now understand that the Electoral College, so ominously and suddenly a player on election night, has never once in its long archaic history actually overturned an election.

I have to say: It is ironic that the racial inequalities meant to be addressed by the tradition of winner-take-all states are now heightened by it. Every Vote Counts! minorities are urged. And, Voting Matters! From sea to shining sea, however, two recent elections have proven that not every vote may count. Democracy is a matter of luck. Officially, it is little more than a mirage.

Until Electoral College reform is confronted, a country governed by its people is an option higher than the moon.

Chris Lowery, Palm City

The Feb. 21 article about "Stand Your Ground" laws is very misleading. Most importantly, the SYG law did not even apply in the George Zimmerman prosecution. The SYG law applies if you exercise your right of self-defense in public and it gives the prosecution a heavier burden of proving that you could have avoided the use of deadly force.

In the Trayvon Martin case, at the time Zimmerman drew his gun, Martin had him pinned to the ground and was banging Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, placing him in fear for his life. That's what the jury heard and why there was an acquittal. There was no issue of whether Zimmerman could have withdrawn and avoided the use of force. The fact that Zimmerman approached Martin before the two became engaged in a struggle is not relevant. The only thing that is relevant is the situation at the time Zimmerman drew his weapon.

Tom Morris, Jensen Beach

Visit link:
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 26, 2022 - TCPalm