NEW YORK: The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution extending its political mission in Libya — but only until Jan. 31, shortly after the country is to stage its presidential election, after a fierce struggle between Britain and Russia over the text.
The 15-member Council had been on track to extend the mission in mid-September for a year, key in the run-up to elections on Dec. 24, which are intended to turn the page on a decade of war.
But a dispute erupted between Britain and Russia, both of which have veto-wielding power on the Council.
Moscow rejected the language in a resolution drafted by London that would have called for the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya, as well as a clause on the future of the UN envoy to Libya.

Mired in the standoff, the Security Council was forced to technically extend the mission’s mandate by 15 days, until Sept. 30, to give more time for negotiations between Moscow and London — but the talks were in vain.
On Wednesday, Moscow once again threatened to veto the resolution as amended. And then Russia pushed the issue even further by putting forth its own text in a rare act of defiance.
After an emergency meeting on Thursday between the five permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — they adopted an abbreviated resolution, extending the mission until January 31, 2022.
Western and African members of the Council deplored the outcome on Thursday.
The US called it “unfortunate,” while Kenya called for an African to lead the process.
Libya was gripped by violence and political turmoil in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

DUBAI: As Arab Gulf states step up action toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the lead-up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have emerged as regional leaders in the shift to renewables and decarbonizing the energy sector.

A recent report by the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, highlights steps taken by both countries, while also offering a view of the unique challenges each faces in the global energy transition.

The report comes as climate scientists urge nations to drastically cut their carbon emissions and to make the transition away from fossil fuels toward clean renewable energy in an effort to prevent global temperatures rising any further.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have accelerated action toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including the adoption of renewables and methods to remove carbon from the atmosphere, as well as addressing their economic reliance on the export of hydrocarbon products.

According to the Atlantic Council report published last month, the amount of global energy demand met by traditional renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and hydro, has risen by more than 70 percent in absolute terms since 2000.

But with rapid population growth and accelerating economic activity, the report warns there will likely be a lag in the rate of penetration of new technologies designed to offset further emissions.

The report, titled “The Energy Transition in the Arab Gulf: From Vision to Reality,” and written by Jean-Francois Seznec and Samer Mosis, said that there is huge potential for solar energy in the Gulf region.

Indeed, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE rank among the top 15 countries worldwide in terms of practical photovoltaic power potential. Studies have shown that annual average solar radiation in the GCC countries is equal to 1.1 barrels of oil equivalent per square meter.

The report’s authors praise the Kingdom’s adoption of the circular carbon economy platform, or CCE, which lends an overarching strategy to Saudi Arabia’s approach to the energy transition.

They recommend the creation of a unified vision for decarbonization and, for good measure, centralized and transparent planning in the shift to cleaner energy and economic activity.

CCE is a closed-loop energy strategy designed to promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of carbon products and even their removal in an effort to eliminate harmful pollutants from the atmosphere.

Energy ministers from the G20 group of leading economies endorsed Saudi Arabia’s CCE approach to managing greenhouse gas emissions last year when the Kingdom held the G20 presidency.

In partnership with Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom has made energy efficiency and the minimization of flaring at its oil fields top priorities in mitigating climate change, alongside fossil-fuel reduction through substitution with low-carbon energy sources such as renewables, hydropower, nuclear and bioenergy.

Seznec, one of the report’s authors and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, praises efforts made by Saudi Aramco toward carbon capture and describes the main transition challenge as organizational.

“I am a great admirer of it and how it is managed,” Seznec told Arab News. “But their view is that, to have a proper transition and a decarbonized economy is to use the assets they have, which is carbon and oil, and to decarbonize that.

“The capture of CO2, which comes out of oil when they burn it, is then reinjected underground, and they’ve done some of that with medium-sized plants.”

By using this kind of technology, CO2 can be captured from the air and stored in the ground, or reused for useful products, such as fuels, bioenergy, chemicals, building materials, food and beverages. It can also be chemically transformed into new products such as fertilizer and cement, or other forms of energy such as synthetic fuels.

Methods such as these involving carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, or CCUS, are seen as a potential game-changer in the world’s efforts to quickly reduce CO2 emissions.

In its latest report published in August this year, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that without the widespread adoption of CCUS technologies, long-term global climate goals may be unreachable.

But because the type of plants used by Aramco are expensive, only a handful has been built worldwide. Aramco is in the process of developing more, which could make such technologies increasingly attractive to other countries.

Nevertheless, “from the point of view of oil producers, such as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Aramco, it is very important to continue producing, by keeping the value of the asset in the ground,” Seznec added.

According to the report, although Aramco is at the forefront of the Kingdom’s work on the CCE, it is not the only big player. Seznec argues that it makes sense to have a more centralized approach.

“In Saudi Arabia, this means support from the country’s leadership for Saudi Aramco and SABIC’s technologies in CCUS, crude-to-chemicals, and the circular carbon economy,” the report read. “For the UAE, this means staying the course with ADPower and ensuring that it has the bandwidth to extend its expertise to broader portions of ADQ.”

New technologies are set to play a pivotal role in cutting CO2 emissions worldwide and in the Gulf’s economic energy transition in the future. For Seznec, decarbonization will serve the Kingdom and the UAE best as they develop technologies to improve the process and sell it to the rest of the world.

“I would strongly suggest that the Gulf countries make an effort to control and develop the technology themselves, just as they did for chemicals, because once they do, then they can make money on the technology and the new sources of energy,” he said.

“It’s very important that it’s centralized and developed very actively on both sides. It should happen as quickly as possible, and it can only happen if what’s efficient is pushed first.”

Developing CCUS technologies could provide regional countries with another potentially valuable line of exports, Seznec said. But the future lies in the hands of inventors and engineers.

“Saudi Arabia has done this superbly in many other areas in the past, so I’m not worried they can’t do it in the future,” Seznec said. “The development of technology is really what needs to be centralized and the tech experts have to be given the means to do what they need to do to achieve that.”

The means to do this include strengthening the private sector through investment, in addition to government investments in state-owned companies.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE were advised in the report to limit the extent to which private firms can be taken over by state entities, while actively helping their respective private sectors acquire foreign tech firms, with a priority on knowledge and skills transfer.

It will also require investment in education. The report urged both countries to help universities and existing state entities, such as Aramco and SABIC, to research and commercialize locally developed technologies.

“Both countries should set a goal of making CCUS commercially viable, emphasize local content requirements in all renewables and circular carbon economy projects, much like Saudi Aramco has done with the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) program,” the report said.

It also urged the Kingdom and the UAE to “encourage national oil companies, such as  ADNOC and Saudi Aramco, to match the goals set by many international oil companies of getting to zero net emissions by a target date.”

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Twitter: @CalineMalek

CAIRO: Libyan security forces on Friday detained at least 500 African migrants, including women and children, two officials and a refugee group said.
The authorities described the raid as part of a crackdown on illegal migration but made no mention of any traffickers or smugglers being arrested.
Libya’s Interior Ministry said the migrants were rounded up in the western town of Gargaresh and taken to detention centers in Tripoli — places that rights activists say are rife with abuse and where migrants are kept in miserable conditions.
The ministry did not say how many migrants were detained. Gargaresh, a known hub for migrants and refugees, is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
Two security officials and the Norwegian Refugee Council said that “more than 500” were rounded up. The officials said many of those detained had “lived illegally in Libya” for years. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The chief prosecutor office said hundreds of arrested migrants were taken to detention centers. The Interior Ministry posted images purporting to show some of those detained, sitting clustered together on a street with their hands tied behind their backs. Another image, an aerial photo, showed men lying face-down on the ground at a crossroads, with military trucks and guards around them.
Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist working with the Belaady Organization for Human Rights, described the raid as the fiercest crackdown in western Libya in years.
Dax Roque, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s director in Libya, expressed his concerns over the detentions, saying the arrested migrants are at risk of abuse and ill-treatment. “Torture, sexual violence, and extortion is rampant in Libyan detention centers,” he said.
Libya has for years been a hub for African and Middle Eastern migrants fleeing war and poverty in their homelands and hoping for a better life in Europe. The oil-rich country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Traffickers have exploited the chaos and often pack desperate families into ill-equipped rubber or wooden boats that stall and founder along the perilous Central Mediterranean route. Thousands have drowned along the way, others were intercepted and returned to Libya.
Those returned to shore have been taken to government-run detention centers, where they are often abused and extorted for ransom under the very nose of UN officials.

DUBAI: A multiple reuse rocket. A desert farm where food grows using salt water. Pop-up theaters. A hyperloop carriage where passengers feel what it is like to travel in a superfast vacuum. These are just some of the experiences visitors can enjoy over the next six months at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Since 2013, when Dubai won over a panel in Paris with its presentation, the expo has easily been the most talked about event in the UAE.

Indeed, Expo 2020 has become a byword for an event to be celebrated not just for the scale and ambition of the projects and pavilions on display, but also because the organizers hope that it will be a game-changer for host Dubai.

The event, which got underway on Thursday with a grand opening ceremony, reportedly showcases over 200 participating entities, including about 192 countries, and features 60 events. Anticipation has grown because the opening has been delayed by a year due to the pandemic.

The fact that the expo is going ahead on such a scale with an expected “25 million visits,” even as travel remains difficult after 18 months of closures and postponements, is probably a feat in itself.

A 4.38-square-km site in Dubai South near the new Al-Maktoum International Airport, the city’s second, has been transformed over the past eight years. The center point is Al-Wasl Plaza, dominated by a massive molded steel dome designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture of the US.

The permanent structure is 130 meters wide and 67 meters tall. It can screen images both internally and externally and will host the expo’s main opening ceremonies.

Expo 2020 Dubai has an ambitious goal: to create lasting change in the world.

“What is extraordinary is the diverse range of programs Expo 2020 has put together — it is a global celebration evident in the events and festivities centered around 192 participating countries all showcasing their own culture, heritage and innovation,” Sumathi Ramanathan, vice president for marketing strategy and sales, told Arab News.

“More importantly, Expo 2020 reflects the inclusive spirit of the UAE, where we have over 200 nationalities living.”

The World Expo dates back to 1851 when the first event, then called the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations,” took place in London.

It served as the first of what are now called World Expos, which have been staged every five years at an international city for a period ranging from three to six months. Dubai is the 34th World Expo to take place and follows the one previously held in Milan in 2015. The next is scheduled to take place in 2025 in the Japanese city of Osaka, which also hosted the 1970 expo.

Today, the aim is to find solutions to global issues and challenges. Countries around the world have built pavilions that showcase their latest architectural and technological innovations, in accordance with a particular theme.

For Expo 2020, this is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” with the aim of exploring possibilities in the spheres of opportunity, mobility and sustainability. Technology on show should be unique, pioneering and sustainable.

The event, said Ramanathan, is taking place at “an inflection point in our society,” when the act of uniting and celebrating together has become a rare event.

“People have not been able to come together for nearly two years now,” Ramanathan said. “We are hosting an event at a time when the world is trying to manage the challenges of a global pandemic.

“People have not been able to meet, interact, experience, engage, or exchange in a physical environment, and that’s what makes this expo incredibly special — the ability to be able to bring together a platform for collaboration and cooperation at a time when the world perhaps needs it the most.”

Despite the challenges, Expo 2020’s ambitious goal of delivering 25 million visits over the course of its six months — it runs until March 31, 2022 — remains.

Every single country from the original 192 participants, said Ramanathan, is coming to Expo 2020. And it is not just the country pavilions that hope to capture the spotlight. Visitors can view a host of other attractions, such as a collaboration with Cartier to design and host a pavilion dedicated to highlighting the advancement of women in the Middle East.

Commencing as it does just weeks before the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, kicks off in Glasgow, UK, Expo 2020 predictably puts a strong emphasis on environmental protection and sustainability.

Terra — The Sustainability Pavilion, designed by UK-based Grimshaw Architects, aims to meet the highest available accreditation for sustainable architecture, the LEED Platinum certification.

There is also Alif — The Mobility Pavilion, designed by the award-winning architectural firm Foster + Partners. It features what it says is the world’s largest passenger lift, which can transport over 160 people at a time.

The pavilion is dedicated to discoveries in cutting-edge mobility devices and has a partially open-air 330-meter track for visitors to view new gadgets and technology in motion.

In typical Dubai style, the opening ceremony featured high-tech performances and an impressive line-up of international stars. They included opera singer Andrea Bocelli; classical pianist Lang Lang; international pop stars Ellie Goulding, Andra Day and Angelique Kidjo; and regional stars such as Mohammed Abdo, Ahlam Al-Shamsi and Hussain Al-Jassmi.

Ramanathan said more than 1,000 performers and technical crew worked on the 90-minute extravaganza, which the organizers hope will change the way people around the world view Dubai and the UAE.

She said ticket sales were strong, with an uptick in demand from countries across the world, including the UK, France, Germany, the US, Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region.

All an overseas visitor needs to be eligible to visit the event is a single successful PCR test and a flight ticket.

“The focus is really on what this expo will mean to you depending on what you are interested in,” Ramanathan said, adding that the programming is designed both for the individual and a broader collective, be it business networking, social and environmental change, knowledge and learning, space travel and exploration, or arts and culture.

What is proposed is an exercise in broadening and expanding knowledge about other people and places as well as introducing the power of new philosophies and ideologies, she said.

“What is most interesting is the fusion of the programming that we are offering,” Ramanathan told Arab News. “You can view the traditional, such as the heritage of each country, as well as the most avant-garde technology and innovation.”

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• Twitter: @rebeccaaproctor

BEIRUT: Lebanon said Thursday it has formed a new government delegation to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund aimed at rescuing the country from an economic meltdown.
The government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement that a four-member committee had been appointed to resume talks with the IMF.
The team — Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami, Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, Economy Minister Amin Salam and central bank governor Riad Salameh — would be backed by experts.
The eastern Mediterranean country is facing what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst economic crises since the 1850s.
Its currency, the pound, has lost almost 90 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market since 2019, and people’s savings are trapped in banks.
Inflation has soared, and 78 percent of all Lebanese now live under the threshold of poverty, according to the UN.
Power cuts are common in the country and basic goods including petrol and medicine have become scarce.
After defaulting on its debt in March 2020 for the first time in history, Lebanon started talks with the IMF but they hit a brick wall amid bickering over who should bear the brunt of the losses.
Lebanon hopes the talks with the IMF will help unlock billions of dollars in financial aid.
But the international community has demanded sweeping reforms and a forensic audit of the country’s central bank before any financial assistance is disbursed.
Finance expert Mike Azar recently told AFP that reforming the commercial banking sector and central bank, as well as restructuring the public sector, would be key for any deal with the IMF.