EU’s Says Natural Gas Leading Source Of Energy Emissions: Analysis

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April 16, 2021

Gas power plants overtook lignite coal plants in 2020 to become the European Union’s largest single source of emissions from energy, an analysis of the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme showed Friday.

Gas plants produced 231 million tonnes of carbon dioxide across the continent in 2020 according to the analysis conducted by energy think tank Ember.

Emissions from coal plants meanwhile plunged, with lignite emissions falling 23 percent in 2020 compared with 2019.

Charles Moore, Ember’s European programme lead, said gas was now the biggest emitter thanks to cheaper renewables and carbon pricing squeezing coal out of the market.

But he warned that nations investing heavily in gas infrastructure risked losing out as the price of renewables such as wind and solar continues to fall over time.

“Nations making short-term decisions to switch coal for gas have ignored the mega-trend from fossil fuels to renewables,” Moore told AFP.

“Investments in new large gas plants now, with normal lifetimes of 25 years, will already become stranded assets in the 2030s.”

If emissions from hard coal power plants are factored in, total coal power emissions in the EU are now 58 percent below levels registered in 2013.

The analysis showed that overall emissions from the power sector was responsible for just over 50 percent of the total emissions covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme, down one percent from 2019.

In absolute terms, power sector emissions fell 140 million tonnes, or 17 percent, year-on-year in 2020.

While emissions from lignite and hard coal combined were higher than natural gas, they were considered as separate fuels in the analysis given the divergence on cost and emissions intensity.

Low gas prices last year and robust carbon pricing meant that gas was cheaper even than the historically inexpensive lignite last year.

In 2020 gas plants accounted for 33 percent of power sector emissions in the ETS, up from 16 percent in 2013.

Gas in 2020 was the largest emitting fuel used in 11 EU countries, the analysis found, including in Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Malta, Latvia and Ireland for the first time.

Egypt Seizes Cargo Ship Blamed For Blocking Suez, Demands $900 Million

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Elizabeth Williams

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April 16, 2021

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Egypt has impounded the Ever Given amid a financial dispute with the owners of the massive cargo vessel which blocked the Suez Canal last month.

Suez Canal authority says huge container ship ‘officially impounded’ because owners ‘do not want to pay anything.

Egypt has impounded the Ever Given — the massive container ship that blocked the Suez Canal and disrupted global commerce for days — while officials negotiate a hefty compensation payment with the boat’s owner, reports say.

An Egyptian court allowed the Suez Canal Authority to seize the ship until the Japanese firm that owns the vessel forks over $900 million for last month’s traffic jam, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported Tuesday.

That amount accounts for the cost of moving the 400-meter-long ship after it ran aground along with costs for lost transit fees and stalled traffic that piled up during the six-day blockage, according to the Associated Press.

Netherlands Loses Bid To Overturn EU Ban On Pulse Fishing

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Elizabeth Williams

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April 16, 2021

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The Netherlands on Thursday lost a bid before the European Court of Justice to overturn an EU law banning electric pulse fishing, a practice widely used by Dutch fisherman.

The court rejected arguments that the EU law ignored certain scientific opinions regarding its impact on marine ecosystems.

“None of the arguments put forward by the Netherlands demonstrates the manifestly inappropriate nature of the technical measures in question,” it ruled.

The verdict triggered a sharp response from Dutch fishing industry representatives.

“The decision-making in Europe to ban pulse fishing is based on emotional smear campaigns and not on the best available scientific advice,” the umbrella Dutch Fishing Union and VisNed organisations said in a statement.Netherlands loses bid to overturn EU ban on pulse fishing

The European Court’s ruling was the “last hope for many family businesses using pulse fishing in these already difficult times,” they added.

Pulse fishing involves electrodes being deployed to cause muscular spasms in fish to dislodge certain flatfish species and shrimp that dwell close to or in the sea bed. It does not kill or stun the fish, but rather causes them to jump up into the path of nets trawled along by commercial vessels.

Syria Devalues Pound After Sacking Central Bank Governor

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Elizabeth Williams

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April 16, 2021

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Syria’s central bank devalued the pound on Thursday, bringing the currency’s official exchange rate closer to the black market rate, two days after the government sacked its governor.

The pound was now officially valued at 2,512 to the US dollar from around 1,250 previously, central bank data showed. The black market rate is more than 3,000 to the greenback.

The move means the Syrian currency has officially shed more than 98 percent of its value since the start of the country’s civil war in 2011.

It follows the government’s decision to dismiss central bank governor Hazem Karfoul on Tuesday after a three-year tenure that coincided with a severe economic crisis.

The pound stood at 47 pounds to the dollar before the conflict.

Syria last devalued the pound in June 2020, giving in to weeks of depreciation on the black market as new US sanctions took effect.

The country’s war-battered economy is now reeling from the knock-on effects of a financial crisis in neighbouring Lebanon that has stemmed the flow of dollars into government-held areas.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government also blames Western sanctions against Syria for the economic crisis.

The economic crunch has plunged millions into food insecurity nationwide, as food has over the years become 33 times more expensive than before the war, UN figures show.

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai Sentenced To 14 Months For Pro-Democracy Protests

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Zoe Maven

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April 16, 2021

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Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after being found guilty of unauthorised assembly.

Lai, the 73-year-old founder of Apple Daily and a fierce critic of Beijing, was one of several activists in court on Friday who were earlier found guilty of charges relating to large pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

Lai was sentenced to 12 months for the 18 August demonstration and another eight months for 31 August.

However, the judge ordered for the sentences to be served concurrently except for two months. Former lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan was also jailed for both demonstrations.

The verdict comes as the mainland is increasingly cracking down on Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms.

Several other activists were sentenced on Friday for participating in two demonstrations, on 18 August and 31 August 2019. They include veteran campaigner Martin Lee, and lawyer Margaret Ng, whose sentences were suspended.

The tycoon faces another six charges – two of which were imposed under the country’s new National Security Law, which can carry a maximum term of life in prison.

The law, implemented in Hong Kong by China last year, criminalises secession and subversion. Earlier this month, Beijing overhauled the territory’s electoral rules to ensure more loyalty to the mainland.

Their Defence team had argued that freedom of assembly is protected under Hong Kong’s constitution, and that authorities had approved a demonstration which only then grew into the unauthorised march.

Spain Must Keep Euro Games -Federation President Rubiales

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Zoe Maven

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April 16, 2021

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The president of the Spanish football federation Luis Rubiales says he will do everything humanly possible to ensure Spain hosts its four Euro 2021 games this summer.

Speaking on Friday ahead of this year’s Spanish cup final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, Luis Rubiales said it was essential they are able to host.

Bilbao is due to host three group games and a match in the last 16 but the possibility of supporters attending is in doubt after the regional government insisted on a number of strict health conditions.

If UEFA decide in a meeting on Monday that Bilbao cannot host games, Rubiales has suggested Seville could be an alternative option.

Rubiales said it would be disastrous if the four games were transferred to another country but said he would see to it that whatever is decided in the meeting on Monday does not harm Spain.

UEFA has confirmed nine of the 12 original host cities expect to be able to have stadiums filled to at least 25 per cent capacity this summer.

The remaining three – Bilbao, Dublin and Munich – have been given until Monday to submit additional information on fans attending fixtures, before a final decision is made.

The city’s La Cartuja stadium will stage a second Copa del Rey final in two weeks on Saturday after the same venue also held the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January.

Iran Says It Has Begun Enriching Uranium To 60 Percent

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Zoe Maven

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April 16, 2021

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The Islamic republic says it would sharply ramp up its enrichment of uranium on Tuesday, two days after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that it blamed on arch-foe Israel.

On Friday, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, confirmed the country was now producing uranium enriched to 60 percent purity.

Later on state television, Salehi said they are now getting nine grams per hour and that scientists at Natanz were still working on how to install the two centrifuge lines.

The move to enrich uranium to 60 percent purity takes Iran closer to the 90 percent level required for use in a nuclear weapon.

The Islamic republic has gradually rolled back its nuclear commitments since 2019, a year after the US withdrew from the accord and began imposing sanctions.

The 2015 deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Under the accord, Iran had committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 percent, though it had stepped this up to 20 percent in January.

Negotiations aimed at ensuring the return of the United States to the JCPOA and the lifting of sanctions resumed this week in Vienna.

But the announcement cast a shadow over talks in Vienna aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers which US president Donald Trump abandoned almost three years ago.

Britain, France and Germany had expressed “grave concern” over Iran’s latest enrichment move.

Biden Administration Still Seizing Land Near Bother Despite Plans To Halt Wall Building.

By

faith Jegede

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April 16, 2021

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Reports have shown that the Biden administration has continued to seize land at the US-Mexico border likely to be used to continue the building of the wall.

The federal government has seized six acres of land in Hidalgo county, Texas that have been part of a court case brought during the trump administration.

A member of one of the affected families, expressed frustration about the Biden administration saying “I’m … very, very disappointed in Joe Biden. I thought he was a man of his word but apparently he’s not keeping his word. He said not one more foot of wall and no land forfeitures. We took him at his word and we want him to keep his word.”

The president had condemned his predecessors hard line immigration policies, including his plans for border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

However, a review of government resources allocated to the wall, which should have been completed by march 20 has been delayed, which leaves court cases connected to it open and active as the Department of Justice would not end court cases till the review is complete.

Which means that contrary to what was promised, the Biden administration did not withdraw or dismiss the case in Hidalgo County.

A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said that the federal agencies are developing a plan to submit to the president soon.

“Funds had been diverted from military construction and other appropriated purposes toward building the wall, and wall construction was being challenged in multiple lawsuits by groups alleging serious environmental and safety issues” the spokesperson said.

UN says aid situation worsening in Tigray, no Eritrean pullout

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Henry Williams

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April 16, 2021

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People have started to die of hunger in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit northern Tigray region where the humanitarian situation has deteriorated and sexual violence is still being used as a weapon of war, the UN’s aid chief told the Security Council Thursday.

Mark Lowcock, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said there was no evidence of a promised withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the region — and urged them to make good on their pledge, according to a text of his speech seen by AFP.

Lowcock gave a sobering assessment of the situation on the ground in Tigray during the closed-door meeting, the first in more than a month, requested by the United States.

“Unfortunately, I must say that neither the UN nor any of the humanitarian agencies we work with have seen proof of Eritrean withdrawal,” Lowcock said.

“Without a ceasefire, this already-grave humanitarian crisis is only going to get a lot worse,” said Lowcock, who this week received the first report of “four internally displaced people dying from hunger.”

“I again reiterate the need for Eritrean Defense Forces to halt atrocities and withdraw. Announcing it is not the same as doing it.”

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a statement that Washington was “horrified by the reports of rape and other unspeakably cruel sexual violence that continue to surface,” as she warned that Eritrea “must withdraw its forces from Ethiopia immediately.”

Lowcock said there have been reports of Eritrean soldiers wearing Ethiopian uniforms, adding: “Regardless of uniform or insignia, humanitarian staff continue to report new atrocities which they say are being committed by Eritrean Defense Forces.”

“But the Eritreans are not the sole actor,” he said. “There are reports of civilians being attacked and driven from their homes in western Tigray by Amhara militias, and Amhara authorities are restricting access to those people.”

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to detain and disarm leaders of the once dominant regional ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

He said the move came in response to TPLF-orchestrated attacks on federal army camps.

The Eritrean government has previously denied reports that Eritreans have committed abuses against civilians, including mass killings and rapes.

– ‘Weapon of war’ –

But the UN’s chief humanitarian said sexual violence was on the rise in Tigray.

“There is no doubt that sexual violence is being used in this conflict as a weapon of war, as a means to humiliate, terrorize and traumatize an entire population today and into the next generation,” Lowcock said.

The majority of rapes, he said, were being perpetrated by members of the military, including “Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense forces, Amhara Special Forces, and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia.”

“Fighting needs to stop,” Lowcock said, calling for humanitarian assistance to “dramatically scale up.”

As many as nine in 10 among the region’s population of six million are estimated by the government to need emergency food assistance, he said.

“Improvements in access and a reduction in conflict and atrocities have often proved temporary and sporadic. There is not nearly enough aid reaching people who need it. So they are getting hungrier and sicker,” he told the council.

Since the conflict began in November, “civilians have endured indiscriminate shelling of towns, targeted violence, mass killings and executions, and systematic sexual violence as a weapon of war.”

Lowcock said the number of displaced people in Tigray had grown to 1.7 million by the end of March.

EU/Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Partnership Conclude Agreement

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Zoe Maven

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April 16, 2021

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The European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States have formally concluded negotiations on the new partnership agreement.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said the new agreement deepens the partnership between the EU and the 79 members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

Also, Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey says the main objective for signing the agreement is to improve of the living conditions of the populations of the two blocks.

The new Agreement substantially modernises the cooperation and extends the scope and scale of the EU and OACPS’ ambitions to better address current and future challenges.

The Agreement also includes a strong new regional focus and governance structure, tailored to each region’s needs, a first in over forty years of collaboration.

The document is not due to be signed until the second half of this year, but the framework for political, economic and sectorial cooperation over the next two decades has already been documented.

Partners have raised their commitments in priority areas such as: peace and security, democracy and governance, human rights, human development which covers health, environmental sustainability and climate change among others.

In April 2020, the ACP Group of States became the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, an international organisation with 79 members, following the entry into force of the revised Georgetown Agreement.