The OPEC+ countries have decided to extend the agreed oil production quotas for 2025 until 2026. The decision was made during meeting of the OPEC+ ministers.
Day: December 7, 2024
US response to Georgia violence
According to Senator Ben Cardin and Congressman Joe Wilson, chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, the United States must respond to the current events in Georgia, support the Georgian people, and take measures against Ivanishvili’s regime. Cardin and Wilson made these remarks in an interview with the Voice of America outlet.
“I think you will see measures from the United States against those responsible for the violence in Georgia,” said Cardin, referring to the security forces and politicians behind the brutal dispersals of protests.
Meanwhile, Joe Wilson blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the events unfolding in Georgia:
“I am deeply concerned that the [parliamentary] elections in Georgia were indeed rigged. There needs to be full recognition of this, and the European Union and others must also conclude that this was orchestrated by the war criminal Putin. It’s incredibly sad because Georgia had such a brilliant future ahead!”
The congressman added that Russian aggression is nothing new for the Georgian people and that Tbilisi must once again become free and independent:
“The people of Georgia are remarkable, and I am proud of the courage shown by Georgia’s president [Salome Zourabichvili]. Everyone should stand in support of them.”
Earlier, U.S. Senators and co-chairs of the Helsinki Commission, Ben Cardin, Roger Wicker, and John Cornyn, stated that the ruling party “Georgian Dream’s” decision to abandon negotiations on Georgia’s EU membership is a betrayal of its people.
The senators once again reaffirmed their support for the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations while condemning the authorities’ attempts to violently suppress peaceful protests in Tbilisi and other cities.
Joe Wilson also issued an urgent statement, calling on the State Department and European allies to impose personal sanctions on the Mayor of Tbilisi, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and “all those responsible for organizing the repression.”
The public secondary school in the village of Velistsikhe is the only one in the Gurjaani municipality in eastern Georgia to feature an energy-efficient laboratory.
The laboratory is fully equipped to support environmental sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives.
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The laboratory features working mini-models of wind turbines and solar panels, devices for measuring and comparing the energy efficiency of different types of lamps, electrical measurement tools, a device for demonstrating the thermal conductivity of building materials, a dimmer device for controlling lamp brightness, solar phone chargers, and more.
Using this equipment, students can observe, describe, and compare, for example, how much electricity different appliances consume or which building materials have higher or lower heat loss.
This laboratory at the Velistsikhe village school was established by the Association of Civil Development of Georgia as part of the grant project Georgia Climate Action Project, implemented by the environmental organization CENN with financial support from the European Union.
What is Georgia’s Climate Action Project?
The four-year Georgia Climate Action Project is implemented with financial support from the European Union by the organization CENN, in collaboration with the Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), the Chiatura Union (ACU), the Association for the Development of Agrotourism in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti (RLS-ADA), and the Union of Young Teachers (YPU). The project spans four regions of Georgia—Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti—and aims to strengthen civil society and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, with a particular focus on the rights to water and a healthy environment.
As part of this program, CENN announced a small grants competition for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, which enabled the Association of Civil Development of Georgia to establish the environmental education center at the Velistsikhe school.
- A Green Club focused on sustainable development and energy efficiency was established.
- A demonstration stand featuring energy-efficient equipment and devices was set up.
- A specialized training program was developed.
- Teachers received training in sustainable environmental development and energy efficiency.
- Thematic television programs on these topics were organized in local media.
- A memorandum was signed requiring the school to operate the center for at least five years.
Project manager Giorgi Bokeria noted that their goal was to create an educational center for sustainable development and energy at the school, aimed at playing a crucial role in promoting environmental awareness.
Environmental expert Alexi Chankotadze added that the center is not just for children from Velistsikhe village, as a memorandum was also signed with other schools in the Gurjaani municipality.
“This means that children from other schools can also visit the center and explore the demonstration stand. Our trained teacher-mentors will provide them with a 1.5–2-hour program,” Chankotadze explained.
How teachers from Gurjaani joined the initiative
As part of the project, 25 teachers from 22 schools in the Gurjaani municipality underwent specialized training on energy efficiency.
Among them was Nana Nikolaishvili, the current head of the Green Club and a civics teacher.
“Teachers from our school’s natural sciences department attended the training sessions. Additionally, one teacher from each school in the Gurjaani municipality, specializing in ecology or related subjects, participated.
We were provided with a ready-made curriculum, which required teachers to study the energy efficiency laboratory: what each piece of equipment includes, its purpose, and how to translate the knowledge gained here into our daily lives,” Nana explained.
Under Nana Nikolaishvili’s leadership, the Green Club, consisting of 30 students, organized a variety of environmental activities.
These included a clean up and greening campaign, an essay and drawing competition on energy efficiency, a field trip, screenings of themed films and cartoons, collaboration with eco-clubs from other schools in Kakheti, and more.
“The students were highly engaged in the center’s activities. Initially, they helped the organization’s representatives set up the equipment and arrange the supplies. After that, we trained the senior students, and with the administration’s approval, they conducted an ecology lesson for younger students. It was a fun and rewarding experience for everyone involved,” said Nana Nikolaishvili.
Why it’s important to establish such centers in schools
Frequent landslides, wildfires, earthquakes, and floods are all consequences of climate change. One of the driving factors behind climate change is the inefficient use of energy in daily life.
This provides a reason to reflect, even briefly, on the importance of using energy efficiently and the potential consequences of reckless resource consumption.
Energy efficiency and sustainable environmental development are global challenges that are becoming increasingly relevant. Research shows that implementing energy-efficient measures helps reduce household electricity bills and improves quality of life, positively impacting health, the environment, education, and working conditions.
“There are numerous agreements and legal frameworks that require not only countries but also cities, municipalities, and individuals to contribute to achieving sustainable development goals. Everyone must play their part in this effort.
Today’s schoolchildren may become engineers, economists, or other professionals in the future, and in any field, they need knowledge about renewable energy sources, principles of sustainable environmental development, and how to apply them,” explains project manager Giorgi Bokeria.
He also emphasizes that, since many public schools in Georgia lack the necessary infrastructure, it is essential to have at least one such laboratory or educational center in every municipality.
The article was written as part of the “Georgia Climate Action Project,” funded by the European Union and implemented by CENN in collaboration with the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF), the Chiatura Union (ACU), the Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti Agrotourism Development Association (RLS-ADA), and the Youth Pedagogues Union (YPU). The project’s aim is to strengthen civil society and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in four target regions of Georgia—Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, and Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti—with a focus on the right to access water and a healthy environment.
On Friday, 6 December 2024, beginning around 1pm Baku local time, our newsroom lost contact with a number of individuals, some of whom who collaborate with Meydan TV.
While trying to reestablish contact, we learned that these individuals are currently being held at the Baku City Police Department. They are the following:
Khayala Agayeva / Xəyalə Ağayeva
Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig) / Aytac Əhmədova (Tapdıq)
Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunesh) / Aynur Qənbərova (Elgünəş)
Ramin Jabrayilzade (Deko) (independent journalist) / Ramin Cəbrayılzadə
Natig Javadli / Natiq Cavadlı
Aysel Umudova
The homes of some of the journalists named above were searched, and personal equipment and some of their belongings were seized.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ramin Jabrailzade (Deko) was detained based on information received regarding the illegal import of foreign currency into the country. In addition, several individuals were detained as part of the investigation. Ramin Deko works as an independent journalist and reporter.
We as the management of Meydan TV, firmly state that the detention and interrogation of our journalists is illegal, and we refute all accusations.
Since the day we started our activities over a decade ago, our brave journalists have been arrested, and they and their families have been subjected to persecution. Journalists who cooperate with us have been illegally banned from leaving the country, and have been surveilled by Pegasus spyware, among other forms of pressure.
Our website has been officially banned within the country’s borders since 2017, and Oor social media channels have repeatedly been subjected to cyberattacks.
Despite these attempts to silence us, we at Meydan TV have continued our work as journalists, publicized the events taking place in the country and the problems of ordinary citizens, and have done this all free of censorship.
Our goal has always been to be an independent and alternative media organization in Azerbaijan, informing our audience daily. The pressures and accusations against us since our establishment are groundless, and these novel attacks will neither silence us nor stop our work.
The post Meydan TV’s statement regarding latest arrests of journalists appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
#Georgia‘s anti-government protests spread across the country. By Will Neal @willneal93, Nicholas Pearce @nickpearce_3 , Guga Chomakhidze. https://t.co/v76bBOG3Ih
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) December 7, 2024