Air Arabia adding flights to Greece this summer
Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost airline in the Middle East and North Africa, will expand its European network by adding direct flights to Greece this summer. As of June 28, the company will inaugurate a direct flight between Athens and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), four times a week. This new itinerary aims at increasing accessibility for professionals and leisure travelers, and strengthening economic and cultural ties between Greece and the UAE. Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Abdullah Ali said Sharjah is a city known for its rich history, culture, and business opportunities. “The start of Air Arabia flights to Athens reflects our continuing commitment to provide our clients with unobstructed connectivity between the two cities, while offering economic and affordable travel options,” he added.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 23:21 UTC
Nuclear set for record highs as race to develop SMRs heat up
The European Commission is expected to unveil a new alliance on small modular reactors (SMRs) by next month, with the aim of deploying small nuclear projects across the continent by 2030. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, which is about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors. Data into nuclear energy: World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2023Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov points out that the world’s first floating nuclear power plant that began commercial operation in May 2020, is producing energy from two 35 MW(e) SMRs. Nuclear generation set to grow over next few yearsThe developments being touted for SMRs come as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that by 2025, global nuclear generation is forecast to exceed its previous record set in 2021. “After completion, it is expected to achieve an annual power generation capacity of 1 billion kWh, which would meet the needs of about 526,000 households.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 18:03 UTC
Millwall 1-1 Preston North End: Brad Potts equaliser sees Lilywhites take a point at The Den
Brad Potts rescued a point for Preston as they held on to draw 1-1 with Millwall at The Den. Zian Flemming gave Millwall an early lead, but Potts got Preston back on level terms with 12 minutes remaining of the first half. The result leaves Preston in 12th in the Sky Bet Championship, while the Lions leapfrog Blackburn into 17th. Despite being on a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions, Millwall looked lively and took the lead after just five minutes. "The way we responded to the goal was poor, we completely lost our way from the goal until half-time."
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 17:39 UTC
Buried in Wegovy Costs, North Carolina Will Stop Paying for Obesity Drugs
In June 2021, the insurance plan for North Carolina state employees was paying for 2,800 people to take weight-loss drugs. Last year, it paid for nearly 25,000. Medications like Wegovy cost the North Carolina State Health Plan $100 million last year, rising seemingly out of nowhere to represent 10 percent of its spending on prescription drugs. “This is something we never anticipated,” said Dale Folwell, the state treasurer, whose office runs the health plan.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 17:15 UTC
North Gazans Scrounge Animal Feed for Flour as Markets Empty
The Earthshot Prize Innovation SummitBest of The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit 2023 is a global prize designed to incentivize change and help to repair our planet by awarding five winners each year for their contributions to environmentalism. This year’s Innovation Summit featured finalists selected by the Earthshot council in addition to panelist speakers from heads of state, grassroots organizations and tech leaders. This special Bloomberg program highlights the event's biggest interviews and news makers.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 15:41 UTC
Daunting Trends in North America’s Electricity Market
(click to enlarge)Electricity peak demand and energy growth forecasts for the next decade are projected to be higher than at any point in the past 10 years, based on industry forecasts, past consumption patterns and weather forecasts from 2023. This trend has raised concerns about the electricity sector’s ability to provide sufficient transmission and generation capacity to meet the growing demand. Additionally, many industry experts highlight that, despite increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity grids, the demand for fossil fuels will remain strong. A significant factor in these projections is the increased use of AI and other data systems, which will inevitably lead to higher energy demand. AI, especially during testing phases, is a major energy consumer, and its usage is expected to grow substantially in the next decade.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 15:34 UTC
Italian Grid Operator Increases Investments to $12.5 Billion
Italy is enhancing its overall energy security by significantly increasing investments in both energy transition and conventional hydrocarbon infrastructure. By 2027, the Italian grid operator SNAM will invest approximately $12.5 billion or 11.5 billion euros in its energy transition business, covering transport, liquefied natural gas infrastructure, and storage. Additionally, EUR 1.4 billion will be used to expand or upgrade storage sites, and EUR 1.5 billion will be spent on LNG infrastructure. Venier highlighted the need to take all measures to counter potential energy supply security issues in Italy. Italian energy supply also still is under pressure of ongoing instability inside of Libya, while the pressure is on for Egypt’s LNG potential.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 15:34 UTC
Bjorklund leads St. Thomas against North Dakota
North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (11-10, 3-3 Summit League) at Saint Thomas Tommies (14-7, 4-2 Summit League)Saint Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 8 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: St. Thomas takes on the North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks after Parker Bjorklund scored 32 points in St. Thomas’ 79-66 win over the North Dakota State Bison. St. Thomas is the leader in the Summit League in team defense, giving up 63.2 points while holding opponents to 43.1% shooting. North Dakota is seventh in the Summit League with 11.6 assists per game led by Eli King averaging 2.3. St. Thomas is shooting 46.2% from the field this season, 1.3 percentage points higher than the 44.9% North Dakota allows to opponents. North Dakota has shot at a 43.4% rate from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points higher than the 43.1% shooting opponents of St. Thomas have averaged.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 15:02 UTC
Supply chain diversification: Africa's chance to rise
Between 2004 and 2022, AfDB provided over $13 billion to finance regional road corridor projects. Nevertheless, addressing supply chain obstacles in African countries requires proactive policy measures. The most important factor influencing Africa’s potential to be a global supply chain leader is the abundance of critical minerals and metals, including aluminium, cobalt, copper, lithium and manganese, vital components in technology-intensive industries. Compared to other parts of the world, Africa as a continent has many disadvantages in its logistics infrastructure and supply chain system. However, the current geopolitical issues, macroeconomic challenges and the trend of supply chain diversification is the chance for Africa to change its fortune.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 12:43 UTC
Dakar to host 6th International Congress on Marine Protected Areas in 2027 – The North Africa Post
Dakar, the capital of Senegal, will host in February 2027 the International Congress on Marine Protected Areas (Impac6), for the first ever in the history of the continent. The city has been chosen by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to host the event also known as IMPAC 6. The event, held every four years, will be held in Africa for the first time. This choice is not insignificant insofar as the continent is the “junction point of all the world’s seas and oceans”, explains Mamadou Sidibé, Senegal’s Director of Community Marine Protected Areas (DAMCP). Senegal has stood out on the continent as it currently boasts 17 marine protected areas (MPAs) established in recent years.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 12:02 UTC
Niger temporarily halts issuance of new mining licenses – The North Africa Post
Niger’s authorities have temporarily halted the issuance of new mining licenses and ordered an audit of the industry, the Ministry of Mining announced, according to press reports. However, it comes amid the increase in the price of the commodity on the international market. Last week, the price of a pound of uranium on the spot market reached $100, a level not seen since 2007, reports revealed. The incumbent authorities answering to a junta that seized power on July 26, 2023 after deposing President Mohamed Bazoum, want to control mining activities in the country. The country has one major uranium mining operation, run by France’s State-owned Orano company.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 12:02 UTC
Time ripe to rethink ways councils generate revenue
The revenue value chain is about achieving four goals that include predictability through management, completeness of revenue (through billing and collecting every rand), protection of revenue following defined processes and growth. The process has to use revenue data science techniques to analyse complex volumes of municipal data to identify revenue leakages and discover opportunities to increase revenue from existing and, importantly, new sources. In the context of revenue, data science is about utilising data analytics across all the revenue collection and management phases to create dashboards that will indicate how and when revenue is generated. Revenue management and increase require a scientific, entrepreneurial discipline to design, test and grow new revenue lines. In addition, municipalities must implement the “science” of revenue management to achieve completeness of revenue and eliminate revenue leakages in the value chain.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 11:09 UTC
Atmospheric dust’s origins aren’t what we’ve assumed, researchers say
For decades, scientists have assumed the majority of global dust emissions came from windswept deserts in North Africa. Two studies, published in JGR Atmospheres and Science of the Total Environment, say dust emissions actually vary by season and across hemispheres — and the total amount of dust emissions worldwide is much lower than previously thought. “When dust emission models were developed, there were few continuously varying global data sets available and simplifying assumptions were made for their implementation,” they write in the JGR Atmospheres paper. Atmospheric dust affects both the climate and human health, even in areas far from its source. Overall, the researchers write in the JGR Atmospheres study, the old model differs from the satellite observations by up to two orders of magnitude.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 11:04 UTC
Italian PM reveals "Mattei Plan" for African development ahead of Italy-Africa Summit
Over 50 delegations, mainly from African countries, as well as EU leaders and representatives of international organizations, will arrive in the Italian capital for the occasion. Though critics argue that the plan, dubbed “Mattei Plan”, after Enrico Mattei, an Italian public administrator who, in the 1950s, advocated for Italy to support North African governments to grow their economies and develop their natural resources. Seventy years on, Meloni is showcasing the Mattei plan as the crown jewel of her foreign policy, aiming to once again renew Italy’s approach to the African continent. The widespread lack of awareness further provides an opportunity for Meloni to portray the Mattei plan as non-exploitative toward African nations, despite the absence of concrete evidence. Carbone questioned whether the government has the necessary African development knowledge or experience to make the plan work.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 10:38 UTC
Mali’s Peace Deal Ends: Warring Parties Should Abide by International Humanitarian Law
Mali‘s junta announced yesterday the end of a 2015 peace agreement with armed separatist groups. Should fighting intensify, it’s critical that the warring parties abide by international humanitarian law—the laws of war—and protect civilians against dangers arising from military operations. In recent months there has been a surge in attacks by armed Islamist groups across Mali. The parties to Mali’s conflict will need to take all necessary measures to minimize harm to civilians and end unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian property. Peace deal or not, the threat to civilians across Mali remains grave.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 27, 2024 09:44 UTC