Headline News 22/12/2021

Headlines:

• Pakistan Running out of Gas

• Trouble in the Balkans

• Libya’s Elections Postponed?

Details:

Pakistan Running out of Gas

Pakistan faces a severe shortage of gas this coming winter and the government is already rolling out its excuses. Chaudary Fawad Hussain, Pakistan’s erstwhile information minister bleats that Pakistan is fast depleting its gas reserves which are decreasing by over 9% per year, but future prediction and excuses do little to help when workers are laid off due to factory closures. International LNG prices have risen beyond the reach of most Pakistani households and bulk consumers and a resort to electricity will only exacerbate an already precarious position in its provision. Severe rationing of both gas and electricity are expected and this will surely be a winter of discontent for the PTI administration. Missed opportunities and vested interests conspire to maintain the status quo and as with most issues facing Pakistan there is no easy solution as decades of mismanagement cannot be reversed in weeks.

Trouble in the Balkans

The Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, has threatened to pull out of many Bosnia state-level institutions, including the national army, Judiciary and tax authority endangering an already fragile peace. Whether this is simply a Russian ploy to divert attention from the tense situation in Ukraine or a serious attempt to disrupt the Dayton peace agreement remains to be seen. The move threatens to reignite Europe’s worst conflict since the Second World War and plunge the region back into ethnic and religious strife. The position of Russia and Serbia together with the expected response of the US and its allies have significant influence on what will occur as without Russian and Serbian approval Republika Srpska has little chance of success.

Libya’s Elections Postponed?

The head of Libya’s High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) has ordered the dissolution of the electoral committees nationwide, in a move that effectively postpones this week’s presidential election. A leaked internal statement by Imad al-Sayeh dated December 20 outlined six points, chiefly “the disbandment of electoral regional and local branch offices and committees”. A member of the HNEC’s board of directors on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the document. Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, reporting from Tripoli, said growing tensions in recent weeks within the country’s political and security apparatus had cast doubt on whether the December 24 election would proceed as planned. Some observers have said they expected the polls to be postponed. Disputes about fundamental rules governing the election have continued throughout the process, including over the voting timetable, a controversial election law issued in September by the parliament speaker, the eligibility of the main candidates and the eventual powers of the next president and parliament.