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WORLD NEWS Friday 4 November 2022
Italy silent as ships with 1,000 rescued migrants seek help

By MASSIMO di NONNO "We are here on board with
and COLLEEN BARRY Asso- 572 people, some of them
ciated Press have been with us already
ABOARD THE GEO BAR- for 6 days,'' said Caroline
ENTS (AP) — Humanitar- Willemen, MSF Coordinator
ian groups caring for 1,000 on the Geo Barents. "As you
rescued migrants aboard can see, the situation here
three ships in the central on the deck is extremely
Mediterranean are sound- overcrowded. People do
ing an alarm about dete- not have space to move.
riorating conditions, but so The MSF team we are do-
far Italy's new far-right-led ing everything we can to
government has not re- take care of them.
sponded to requests for "It is absolutely necessary
a safe port as it hardens that they can disembark as
its position against rescue soon as possible in a place
boats. of safety,'' she said.
The country's new interior The rescued migrants were
minister, Matteo Piantedosi, struggling with the crowd-
has already set the ground- ed conditions and the un-
work to ban humanitarian certainty.
ships from its ports, while ap- "We don't have enough
pealing to countries whose space to sleep. We are
flags the rescue ships fly to Part of the some 572 survivors rescued by the NGO Geo Barents rescue ship are packed on the sleeping down on the floor
take on the migrants and deck of the ship cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, in this picture taken Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. and it's very cold at morning
relieve the burden on Italy. and at night,'' said Khaled
The moves are reminiscent tors without Borders' Geo 1,000 people, interior min- The crew of the Geo Bar- Mahmoud Mansour, a Pal-
of the anti-NGO posture Barents with 572 people on istry figures indicate that ents is struggling to ac- estinian. "Actually the situa-
taken by League party board, SOS Mediteranee's 6,383 others have been commodate the migrants tion is becoming day after
leader Matteo Salvini, now Ocean Viking with 234 peo- brought to its shores by Ital- picked up in seven opera- day more difficult."
the deputy premier, who ple on board and the SOS ian authorities over the last tions starting Oct. 22. They After failing to get a re-
prevented humanitarian Humanity's Humanity 1 with week. include more than 60 un- sponse from either Italy or
ships from accessing Italy's 179 rescued people. All Migrant arrivals by sea to accompanied minors, yet Malta, the SOS Meditera-
ports when he was interior were rescued over a week- Italy are rising this year, to more families with children nee also issued requests
minister from 2018-19. long period beginning Oct. 85,991 so far, compared and pregnant woman, as for safe ports to Greece,
So far, Italy, along with Mal- 22. with 53,825 in the same pe- well as the elderly. Many Spain and France. "The 234
ta, have remained silent Even while Italy is de facto riod last year but still well are sleeping on the floors, rescued people on board
in response to requests for blocking the humanitarian below peak arrivals in 2014- and supplies were running must be disembarked ur-
a safe port from the Doc- ships from disembarking the 2016. low. gently,'' the group said.q

Europe urged to save natural gas to avoid shortage next year

By DAVID McHUGH to act now to reduce use, war in Ukraine after coun- governments need to be strictions. That all means Eu-
AP Business Writer the International Energy tries were able to build up taking immediate action to rope could face a shortfall
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Agency said in a report storage of the fuel to heat speed up improvements in of 30 billion cubic meters of
— Europe could face a Thursday, warning against homes and generate elec- energy efficiency and ac- gas next summer, the key
severe natural gas short- complacency in an energy tricity this winter. celerate the deployment period for filling supplies
age next year and needs crisis triggered by Russia's The IEA said Europe ben- of renewables and heat ahead of the winter heat-
efited from some Russian pumps and other steps to ing season, when there is
gas supplies over the sum- structurally reduce gas de- stronger demand for the
mer and sharply reduced mand." fuel.
competition from China The cutoff of most Rus- The figure represents al-
for scarce shiploads of liq- sian pipeline gas because most half the gas required
uefied natural gas, or LNG, of the war in Ukraine has to fill storage facilities in Eu-
and those factors could be sparked a winter energy rope to 95% capacity be-
one-offs, the Paris-based crisis in Europe. Russian de- fore the 2023-2024 winter
organization said. Along liveries were close to nor- starts.
with mild weather, that has mal for the first half of the Use by industry has fallen
pushed down natural gas year. The country has since as prices have grown, and
prices from August highs. turned off all but a trickle of a campaign to buy LNG
"With the recent mild gas, and even that could that comes by ship from
weather and lower gas be unavailable next year. countries like the U.S. and
A sticker reads "natural gas" on a pipe at the French company prices, there is a danger On top of that, if China's Qatar succeeded in filling
R-CUA plant, in Strasbourg, eastern France, Oct. 7, 2022. The of complacency creep- imports of LNG recover to storage to 95%, accord-
International Energy Agency says Europe could face a severe ing into the conversation 2021 levels, that could con- ing to figures compiled by
natural gas shortage next year and needs to act now to conserve. around Europe's gas sup- sume over 85% of the ex- Gas Infrastructure Europe,
In a report Thursday, Nov. 3 the Paris-based organization warned
against complacency in an energy crisis triggered by Russia’s plies, but we are by no pected increase in global an association of compa-
war in Ukraine after countries were able to build up storage of means out of the woods supply. China's economy nies that operate pipelines,
the fuel to heat homes and generate electricity this winter. yet," IEA Executive Director has been weakening due underground storage and
Fatih Birol said. "This is why in part to strict COVID-19 re- LNG facilities. q