DUBAI: Arab officials on Tuesday hit out at attempts to secure a phase-out of fossil fuels at COP28 as they met for a conference on regional energy cooperation in Doha. However, Kuwait’s oil minister dismissed the proposal as an “aggressive attack”, and accused Western nations of trying to dominate the global economy through alternative energy sources. Barrak called the move “completely unacceptable”, and added that he wondered on that basis how the negotiations at the climate conference “lasted this long”. In Doha, Iraq’s oil minister, Hayyan Abdul Ghani Al Sawad, said: “Fossil fuels will remain the major source of energy in the whole world. We cannot phase out the use of that energy.”He also took aim at nations that consume fossil fuels.

Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, officially launched Libya’s National Strategy for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency 2023-2035 at an event in Tripoli Monday. This strategy will contribute to organizing and developing programmes and projects related to renewable energies and reducing their consumption. Water heating programme using solar energy, which aims to save 1% of energy consumption. The fourth axis of the strategy concerns the main and supporting initiatives, which were based on energy-efficient lighting and heating water using solar energy. At the conclusion of the event, the Prime Minister launched the National Strategy for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency 2023-2035 and the start of work by the authorities related to the energy file.

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Emphasizing the reduction of gas flaring, the country aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030, supported by several initiatives led by Libya’s leading operators. By creating economic pathways to gas monetization, particularly for marginal fields in which gas flaring is a common practice, producers can capture more value from their resources, while eliminating a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Below are five noteworthy gas flaring reduction projects to watch. Mellitah Oil & Gas: Abu AttifelMellitah Oil & Gas, a joint venture between NOC and Eni, is committed to curbing flare gas emissions at its Abu Attifel onshore field. Arabian Gulf Oil Company: MeslaThe Arabian Gulf Oil Company has reactivated a dormant well on the Mesla field after 22 years.

The EU border agency and Malta's government have reportedly been providing a Libyan militia with invaluable help to drag refugees aboard boats back to Libya. The European Union's Frontex border agency and Malta's government have reportedly provided a brutal Libyan militia with coordinates to carry out 'pushbacks' of boats carrying refugees trying to reach Europe, according to a new investigative report. The TBZ boat was only able to find the boats and conduct the pullbacks thanks to coordinates received from Maltese and Frontex surveillance planes, the report said. The TBZ militia is a key part of the self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), which is led by Khalifa Haftar and rules over much of eastern and southern Libya. There have also been reports of torture and ill-treatment of refugees in detention camps run by militias linked to both Haftar militia and the internationally-recognised government in Tripoli.

The European Commission's self-declared policy of not doing any harm in Libya appears increasingly strained, following reports Frontex collaborated with the Tariq Bin Zeyad Brigade — a Libyan militia with ties to the Russian mercenary group Wagner. On Monday (11 December), the Brussels-executive skirted questions on how such collaboration adheres to its 'do no harm principle' when it comes to EU-funded operations in Libya. When pressed, a European Commission spokesperson demanded reporters field their questions to the Warsaw-based Frontex agency instead. Last year, Francisco Gaztelu Mezquiriz, a senior commission official, told European lawmakers that the European Commission had hired outside contractors to ensure its operations in Libya respects the do no harm policy. "So far, the contractor didn't report any violations of do no harm principle directly related to all costs by our trust fund programmes," he told European lawmakers.

Women – not welcome hereIn Libya, discriminatory legal, social, economic and political structures have long left many women feeling like second-class citizens. Now, cyberattacks have emerged as an additional form of violence against Libyan women, limiting their role in society and preventing them from participating in the drive to build a new society. Although a few women have managed to reach high-profile positions in the public and private sectors, Libyan women remain largely marginalised in the political sphere. Acutely aware that militias had previously killed several Libyan women known for taking a stance against extremism, the campaign shattered her mental health, she said. They say it does little to address the safety of women online.

The Libyan Ministry of Interior’s Election Security Section concluded on Monday the second training program on Electoral Security, supported by The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP said the training is aimed at empowering the ministry’s personnel to “share expertise and collaborate on formulating strategic approaches for national and subnational electoral processes.”“This collaborative effort strengthens the foundation for implementing electoral security activities and aligns with global best practices of transparency and accountability,” UNDP said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has organized a four-day first aid training for for 16 participants of Libyan security forces from the West Coast Military Region. According to brief statement today by the Red Cross via X, the training aims to “enhance their capabilities to save lives in emergencies.”

A shadowy Libyan armed group accused of unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention and enslavement, with alleged links to Russia’s Wagner Group, has been forcibly returning refugees with the help of European authorities, a new investigation has found. Under international law, refugees cannot be returned to unsafe countries such as Libya, where they are at risk of serious ill-treatment. The TBZ pullbacks from European waters began in May. Al Jazeera and its partners investigated five that took place this year, which overall saw hundreds being returned and many abused. Several refugees who have been intercepted by the group told Al Jazeera and its partners that TBZ militiamen have tortured, beat, and shot at them.

Using a large blue vessel, the brigade has been locating migrants at sea and taking them back to Libya. We were detained for 20 days by the TBZ brigade,” he said. To do so, he sought out a boat trip that was set to leave from the Lebanese city of Tripoli. A few days into their voyage, somewhere between Cyprus and Greece, the migrants on board noticed a plane surveilling them. When they arrived in Libya, the members of the TBZ brigade started to select people randomly.

This was the first recorded time that this vessel, the Tareq Bin Zeyad, took migrants back to Libya from Malta’s search and rescue waters. “Tareq Bin Zeyad, Tareq Bin Zeyad. Ten minutes later, the same aircraft found the Tareq Bin Zeyad vessel nearby with a group of people sat on the ship’s deck. MaltaToday approached the AFM with this recording, and asked whether it was standard practice to communicate with the Tareq Bin Zeyad brigade. The AFM did not confirm nor deny that it is standard practice for them to communicate with the Tareq Bin Zeyad brigade.

I was born in Libya and studied veterinary sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tripoli in Libya, graduating in 1999. Since May 2022, I have been head of the Department of Aquaculture at the University of Tripoli. I also think that it goes without saying that, academia and the commercial sector need to work together to progress aquaculture development in Libya. I would say that there are two things; Firstly a workshop called ’Aquaculture in Libya and its future’ that I organised in May this year. Secondly, more generally, my active involvement in progressing the aquaculture sector in Libya – I am currently interested in developing aquaponics in the south of the country.

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the ringleader of human smuggling racket involved in Libya shipwreck case during a joint crackdown with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), an FIA spokesman said Sunday. A migrant ship sails in a sea. — AFP/FileThe racketeer, identified as Faizullah, has been arrested from Umerkot and shifted to Islamabad for further investigation, the spokesman added. The suspect got Rs6.5 million for illegally transporting two young men to Italy through Libya, the spokesman quoting the statement of the complainant said, adding the AHTC would conduct raids to round up other suspects involved in the case.

Rather, it has always been a complex, winding route through an intricate web spun by a confluence of domestic and foreign interests, energized by armed groups in the country. However, a monolithic demobilization, disarmament and reintegration approach could do more harm than good in a nation where political power is not only divided but also deeply stratified. Armed groups in Misrata, Zawiya and Zintan, for example, offer a clear example of this complexity. For any demobilization, disarmament and reintegration efforts to succeed, government actors and citizens must be empowered to shape a strategic, inclusive and sustainable action plan. Security sector reform and demobilization, disarmament and reintegration will be indispensable factors in making that happen.