Day: February 3, 2022

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Dubai says planned coal-fired power plant to instead use gas

Dubai, A planned $3.4 billion coal-fired power plant in Dubai will instead be converted to use natural gas.

The move was announced, amid the United Arab Emirates’ wider pledge to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The announcement Thursday came in a statement quoting Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and CEO of the group owning the long-haul carrier Emirates.

The statement offered no details on how much the conversion would cost, nor how that would affect the plant’s planned time to come online in the energy-hungry sheikhdom.

The plant also will include a desalination plant to provide the water needed to green its desert dunes.

The Hassyan power plant near Dubai’s border with Abu Dhabi is being built in part by China, which describes the plant as a “major engineering project of the Belt and Road Initiative,” a project which seeks to expand its influence in Africa and Asia.

China had anticipated that the plant, which has General Electric Co. involved in its construction, will meet 20% of Dubai’s electrical demand.

Its construction comes as the world is warming, mainly due to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, according to the vast majority of peer-reviewed studies, science organizations and climate scientists.

By far, most of the increase in temperature is the result of human activity, which includes burning coal, oil and natural gas. Those warming temperatures fuel extreme weather, such as powerful storms.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

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Sergio Mattarella sworn in for second term as Italian president

Rome, Sergio Mattarella was sworn in for a second term as Italy’s president on Thursday, after a drawn-out election last week that resulted in him being chosen for a job he was no longer interested in holding.

The 80-year-old took the oath of office in a ceremony at a joint session of parliament in Rome, afterwards encouraging his countrymen to face the many challenges of the present: from the Covid crisis and the need for reform to demographic issues, opportunities for women and the fight against racism. “Italy is a great country,” Mattarella said.

Mattarella had repeatedly ruled out a second term in office – which lasts seven years – but changed his mind when Italy’s main parties failed to agree on a successor and no other way out of the impasse appeared available, said dpa.

After a chaotic round of haggling, the Sicilian allowed himself to be persuaded to drop his retirement plans and accept re-election in a vote by more than 1,000 lawmakers and regional delegates last Saturday.

While the Italian president is mainly tasked with ceremonial matters, the role can also wield great power at certain times. Among the powers of the presidency are the power to block legislation, to dissolve parliament and call new elections, and to approve or block the appointment of ministers.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

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Nearly 900 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast in past week: IOM

TRIPOLI, Nearly 900 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya in the past week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced.

From Jan 23 to 29, 872 migrants were rescued or intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, the IOM said in a statement, adding a total of 1,476 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya this year.

According to the IOM, 27 illegal immigrants have died and 55 gone missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route since the beginning of the year.

In 2021, a total of 32,425 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 662 died and 891 others went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, IOM revealed.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The North African country has turned into a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

Source: Nam News Network