Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar met Italy’s defense minister and security chiefs in Rome on Tuesday, bolstering his stature as a key player in international efforts to stabilize his troubled country. Forces under Haftar’s command provide backing for a Tobruk-based adminstration that controls much of the east and south of the oil and gas-rich country. Former colonial power Italy has hitherto been the strongest backer among Western allies for the UN-recognized Government of National Unity, which is based in Tripoli and sees Haftar as an arch foe. But that did…
Day: September 27, 2017
Algeria to increase gas exports to Europe
Algeria’s state-run energy company Sonatrach has announced that it will boost its annual gas export to Europe by 10 billion cubic meters. The announcement was made by Sonatrach’s chief executive, Abelmoumen Ould Kaddouras, during his visit to Medgaz gas pipeline, which is located in Algeria’s western coastal city area of Beni Saf. Kaddouras explained that the company’s current the production capacity amounts to 8 billion cubic meters, stressing that it can be increased by additional two billion cubic meters. “The Medgaz gas pipeline can produce 10 billion cubic meters of…
Rick Perry tells climate hecklers the oil industry is ‘saving lives’
Energy Secretary Rick Perry scolded climate change activists at an oil conference on Monday by telling them that the oil industry saves lives. The two activists heckled Perry while he was delivering remarks in Washington, D.C., to the National Petroleum Council, including one who said, “people’s lives are on the line,” alluding to the impact of fossil fuels on the Earth’s temperature. Many scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels for heating the planet with potentially disastrous consequences. But Perry said the oil industry is helping, not hurting. “This industry…
UN rights experts encourage Tunisia to follow up lifting of marriage ban with more action on equality
Tunisia is being encouraged to do more to tackle discrimination by a group of UN experts* who have welcomed the abolition of a ban on Muslim women marrying men who are not of the same faith. “Tunisia has now taken a further step towards achieving its constitutional guarantee of equality between women and men,” said the experts in response to the lifting of the ban on 13 September. Civil servants have been forbidden by administrative circular dating back to 1973 from registering any marriage between a Tunisian woman and a…