Egypt
turns off streetlights to cope with power shortage
21
January, 2013
Due
to 15 power stations in Egypt having halted electricity production
because of fuel shortages, the country is turning off half its
streetlights to save 700 MW.The streetlight reduction follows an
earlier energy saving measure in which the government required
earlier closing times for shops and restaurants. Although unpopular
with much of the public, the closing time rules went into effect in
December 2012.
Meanwhile,
the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is providing US$250 million to
finance a 1,950MW power station in the country’s south. The new
power plant will eventually be linked to Egypt’s national
electricity grid with additional stations to be constructed soon.
Egypt received an initial US$200
Syria
Power Outage Hits Damascus, South Of Country
21
January, 2013
Russia
said Monday it is sending two planes to Lebanon to start evacuating
its citizens from Syria, the strongest sign yet that President Bashar
Assad's most important international ally has serious doubts about
his ability to cling to power.
The
Russian announcement came as anti-government activists reported
violence around the country, including air raids on the town of Beit
Sahm near Damascus International Airport, just south of the capital.
Russian
officials said about 100 of the tens of thousands of Russian
nationals in the country will be taken out overland to Lebanon and
flown home from there, presumably because renewed fighting near the
airport in Damascus has made it too dangerous for the foreigners to
use that route out of the Syrian capital.
Assad
has dismissed calls that he step down. He has proposed a national
reconciliation conference, elections and a new constitution, but the
opposition insists he play no role in a resolution to the conflict.
The U.N. says more than 60,000 people have died in the civil war
since March 2011.
Russia
has been Assad's main ally since the conflict began, using its veto
power in the U.N. Security Council to shield Damascus from
international sanctions.
Russia
recently started to distance itself from the Syrian ruler, signaling
that it is resigned to him losing power. Russian President Vladimir
Putin said last month that he understands Syria needs change and that
he was not protecting Assad.
Russian
officials say the evacuation of thousands of its citizens from Syria
– many of them Russian women married to Syrians – could be by
both air and sea.
A
squadron of Russian Navy ships currently is in the Mediterranean for
a planned exercise near Syrian shores later this month. Military
officials earlier said that the exercise will simulate marines
landing and taking people on board from the shore.
Earlier
this month, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy
for Syria, said that Russia seemed as determined as the United States
to end Syria's civil war, but that he didn't expect a political
solution to emerge anytime soon.
The
Arab League chief said Monday that Brahimi's mission had not yielded
even a "flicker of hope."
In
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nabil Elaraby proposed that the heads of state
gathered there at an economic summit call for an immediate meeting of
the U.N. Security Council. He suggested the security council adopt a
resolution calling for a cease-fire in Syria and establish a
monitoring force to ensure compliance.
Syria's
defense minister said Monday that the army would keep chasing rebels
all over the country "until it achieves victory and thwarts the
conspiracy that Syria is being subjected to."
Gen.
Fahd Jassem al-Freij's comments came as activists reported air raids
and shelling around the nation.
Monday's
fighting included a helicopter raid in the northeastern town of Tabqa
that killed eight people, according to the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
The
Observatory also reported a car bombing in the Damascus neighborhood
of Dummar and said another car bomb exploded late Monday in central
Syria, killing at least 30 pro-government gunmen in Salamiyeh.
In
addition, the group said there were clashes in the town of Ras al-Ayn
near the border with Turkey between fighters from the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party, or PYD, which leans in favor of Syria's
government and anti-government rebels, who entered the town in
November.
Tensions
have flared between Syria and Turkey after shells fired from Syria
landed on the Turkish side of the border. As a result, Germany, the
Netherlands and the United States decided to send two batteries of
Patriot air defense missiles each to protect Turkey, their NATO ally.
On
Monday, German soldiers unloaded trucks carrying the missile systems
at the port of Iskenderun, while another ship, carrying the Dutch
shipment, waited its turn anchored at the harbor.
The
U.N. said that there are an estimated 4 million people were in urgent
need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, including at least 2
million who are internally displaced. With harsh winter conditions,
people are facing heavy rains and sub-zero temperatures, often
without adequate food, shelter, water or access to medical care.
The
McClatchy news organization published a report on Monday, supporting
activists' claim that Syrian forces have been targeting bakeries.
According to data compiled by the news organization, government
forces attacked bread lines and bakeries at least 80 times last year,
causing hundreds of casualties and in most cases destroying the
bakeries.
The
Syrian government, meantime, blamed a rebel attack on a key power
line for a blackout that hit Damascus and much of the country's south
overnight, leaving residents cold and in the dark amid a fuel crisis
that has stranded many at home.
The
Syrian capital's 2.5 million residents have grown used to frequent
power cuts as the country's conflict has damaged infrastructure and
sapped the government's finances. But some said Monday that the
overnight outage was the first to darken the entire capital since the
conflict began.
The
blackout hit residents especially hard because of rampant fuel
shortages and below-freezing temperatures.
"We
covered ourselves from the cold in blankets because there was no
diesel or electricity for the heaters," said retired teacher
Mariam Ghassan, 60. "We changed our whole lives to get organized
for power cuts, but now we have no idea when the power will come or
go."
By
midday Monday, power had returned to more than half of the capital,
and Electricity Minister Imad Khamis said authorities were working to
restore it in other areas.
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