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More than a decade since the outbreak of the revolution in 2011, Libya remains mired in a political crisis and institutionally fragmented, having been the scene of two civil wars. This paper looks at the interrelationship between the national and international dimensions of the conflict to illustrate how the various rival political elites project an image of the country to the outside world (branding) in order to boost their national and international legitimacy, obtain material support and strengthen their bargaining position in the peace processes. To that end, it studies the discourses of the Libyan political elites in three periods: the first Libyan civil war (2011) and the transition phase, the second civil war (2014-2020) and the failed attempt to hold presidential elections in 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating electricity from renewable energy instead of fossil fuels brings great benefits to the environment and sustainable development. Thus, assessing the potential of wind and solar energy in agricultural coastal areas can identify sustainable energy solutions for meeting energy demand and producing fresh water for agricultural applications and domestic use. However, it is difficult to accurately assess the wind and solar energy potential in Libya due to the civil war, lack of measured data, and its limited availability. Consequently, this concise work is unique because it is the first to use daily measurement data from Az-Zāwiyah, Libya, for evaluating wind and solar energy based on one year of measured data for 2022. Moreover, the present study aims to investigate the potential of wind and solar energy as promising renewable sources for meeting energy demand in coastal agricultural regions in Libya using multiple datasets for the first time. In this paper, five satellite products (TerraClimate, ERA5, ERA5-Land, MERRA-2, and CFSR) were assessed and compared against measured data for January 2022–December 2022 to understand their suitability, accuracy, and reliability. The results showed that CFSR and ERA5-Land demonstrate the most favorable performance for assessing the wind resource, while all satellite products can be utilized for preliminary solar resource assessment. Then, the assessment of wind and solar resources was evaluated in five agricultural coastal regions (Aljmail, Az-Zāwiyah, Castelverde, Msallatah, and Sabratah) based on the best satellite product for the period of 2000–2022. Furthermore, the performance of the wind and solar power systems was investigated for typical farms, which were chosen to estimate the required energy demand according to daily electrical consumption. The results show that the positive outcomes of implementing these systems were highlighted, with an emphasis on their potential benefits to the entire Libyan agricultural sector. Accordingly, scaling up and generalizing the proposed systems and generalizing them to include all farms in Libya could have a significant impact on national electricity generation, mitigate greenhouse gases, and contribute to the development of the agricultural sector and the country's economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study area is the city of Zintan, in northwestern Libya, which has grown over the past 30 years. Its current population is roughly 30,000. Although the city is in part commercial, most of the population engages in agriculture and primarily grows cereal crops (wheat and barley). The demand of the growing city for agricultural products has increased, intensifying the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides. Consequently, concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE) in the soil have increased. To assess the soil quality (to provide a snapshot of the condition of the soil), systematic sampling was undertaken across a grid of about 2 km × 2 km. The main objective was to determine the chemical and mineral composition of the area of interest, keeping in mind the geological footprint of the terrain. The geologic framework itself is not conducive to elevated concentrations of elements like U, Th, Mo, As, Hg, Pb, and Cr. Therefore, metal concentrations greater than the amounts in the Earth's crust are most likely of anthropogenic origin. A total of 143 samples were collected and chemical analyses were performed using a Thermo Fisher Scientific Niton XL3t GOLDD+ XRF analyzer for the following elements: Mo, Zr, Sr, U, Rb, Th, Pb, Au, Se, As, Hg, Zn, W, Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, V, Ti, Sc, Ca, K, S, Ba, Cs, Te, Sb, Sn, Cd, Pd, and Ag. This paper provides examples of elevated concentrations, potentially harmful to the environment, such as those of the following: sulfur of unknown origin (two to three times higher than the Earth's crust average); arsenic, given that there are no related natural phenomena (all the samples measured displayed concentrations higher than those found in the Earth's crust); mercury (concentrations much higher than permissible levels); cesium (additional investigations required to determine the origin); molybdenum; and uranium likely resulting from the use of superphosphates (concentrations nearly always significantly higher than those in the Earth's crust). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short- and long-term volatility of oil and gas prices has a wide-ranging impact on both parties of petroleum contractual agreements, thus affecting the profitability of the project at any stage. Therefore, the government (first party) and the international oil company (second party) set the parameters of their contracts in a way that reduces the uncertainty. The effect of price fluctuations on economic indicators is investigated in this paper. The Taguchi method is used for the first time to find the best-agreement parameters, which are the "A" and "B" factors, in the standard Libyan agreement. There are four "A" components from "A1" to "A4", and four "B" components from "B1" to "B4". The purpose is to reduce the variability in the response variables, which are the company take (the percent of net cash flow for the international company) and average value of the second-party percent share of production (ASPS). The noise factors considered in this paper are oil, liquefied hydrocarbon byproduct (LHP), and gas prices. The method was applied to a case study of oil field development in Libya. The results showed that "A3" and "A4" were the most important control factors that affect the ASPS, while "B2" and "B3" are the most important factors affecting the company take. To obtain robust results, the most important factors to reduce variability were also determined. The effect of control parameters on the average NPV may be worth more than USD 22 MM in the 1-billion-barrel oilfield case study. The results showed that, for a given combination of "A" and "B" factors with a certain company take, the mean absolute deviation (MAD) of the NPV of the second party was reduced by 18% if the optimal combinations of the levels were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a cursory and insightful examination of the socio-economic implications of the illegal migration to and from Libya. It aims to provide an interrogation of the underlying causes and exacerbation of the development, its transformation to new forms of slavery and source of income for certain criminal elements, the role of the EU, and how it affects Nigerians and other sub-Saharan African citizens. The paper recommends that the European Union, Nigeria’s federal government, and other sub-Saharan African leadership should endeavor to man their borders very strategically and engage with the Libyan authorities effectively to reduce the illegal migration. Finally, the work recommends that the United Nations Commission for Refugees, International Organization on Migration, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and importantly, more stable governments of the Middle East, especially Turkey and Egypt should intervene in the process to curtail further conflicts in Libya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There has been a global increase in the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD), particularly in conflict hotspots. The limited amount of resources is one of the key barriers to effective treatment within Low- and Middle-income countries (LAMICs). The lack of service provision for mental health disorders in LAMICs has resulted in limited opportunities to conduct mental health research. Libya is a North African country that has suffered from ongoing conflict with the current political unrest in Libya further impacting the mental health of the population. Main text: The aim of this review is to conduct a synthesis of evidence regarding the estimated prevalence and associated risk factors of CMD in Libya. A search was completed in the academic databases; PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINHAL, and the Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRAAC) from inception to March 2020. Only studies that investigated prevalence and associated risk factors of CMD in Libya were included. A total of 219 studies were identified of which 15 met the inclusion criteria for the review. There were (n = 3) papers investigated the prevalence of depression, (n = 4) studies were focused on stress-related disorders and the remaining papers looked at both anxiety and depression. Statistically, sample sizes of the included studies ranged from (n = 41–13,031) for the prevalence studies (mean = 1188.6, median = 233). Conclusion: The status of Libya as a conflict hotspot has led to a reduced level of epidemiological data on mental health, with a vital need to conduct research in CMD. Libya requires better clinical governance which can allow for more scientific research into CMD and enabling the Libyan government to develop evidence-based policy initiatives for CMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to promote the sustainable utilization of locally available, environmentally friendly resources, making a substantial contribution to both mitigating global warming and fulfilling future energy needs. Hybrid renewable energy systems have demonstrated superior stability and reliability compared to single-source systems, all while operating at minimal costs. This paper provides an overview of various hybrid renewable energy systems employed for electricity generation. It underscores that in hot regions, despite high solar radiation, solar PV systems experience reduced electrical yield due to elevated solar cell temperatures beyond the recommended range, especially in summer. In such areas, leveraging solar thermal applications and abundant biomass energy from extensive agricultural activities is preferable. What sets this study apart is its innovative approach: replacing conventional hybrid systems, like PV, wind, diesel generators, and batteries, with a Stirling engine powered by dish solar concentrators, which offer high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The proposed Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES), consisting of a parabolic dish solar concentrator and Biomass Digester (PDSC/BG), transforms challenges into opportunities. It provides the community with a sustainable source of electricity, heating, and cooking gas, simultaneously addressing the region's waste management issues. The system is evaluated at Brack City, Libya, and comprises a 36,560 m3 biomass digester that produces 27 Mm3 annually, a 1230 kW Stirling generator, and a 6006 m2 PDSC collector area. The system will add 5,670,534 kWh of energy to the grid yearly, with a peak load capacity of 1230 kWh and a coverage of 5,892,666 kWh. The system's technical and economical viability is evaluated using SAM software. The project has a 20.04-year payback period, an estimated capital cost of $12,365,896, and an LCOE of $0.075/kWh. Annual CO 2 emissions will be reduced by 7.8 kton as a result of the project. • Introduce a novel off-grid hybrid system design. • Substitute storage with a more reliable, cost-effective biomass gasification source. • Utilize a single Stirling engine for both technologies to reduce capital investment and lower LCOE. • Evaluate the energy, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed system. • Assess biomass impact on different sizes of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper we report the first record of the Brassy Chub Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy and Giamard, 1825) from the Mediterranean coast of Libya. It is assumed that this species arrived into the Mediterranean from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. We stress the need of taxonomic study on the genus Kyphosus in the Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a scoping review methodology to identify, collate and summarise published literature relating to people with disability in Libya. Most sources came from peak international agencies, some from humanitarian agency media releases, a few were Libyan government reports and very little from scholarly journals. Four themes summarize findings and provide a means to examine assumptions regarding people with disability in Libya: (1) scant data and information gaps are the norm; (2) disability is a medical problem to be managed; (3) acquisition context matters: conflict versus non-conflict disability; and (4) disability human rights - social model on paper but not yet in practice. Findings reveal gaps in knowledge, promising signs of change and areas for action. People with disability in Libya need: a stable and secure community; visibility in reporting, planning and evaluation of services that are inclusive in design and delivery; and measures, technical definitions and socio-cultural understandings of disability that value function, activity and participation in everyday life as much as medical conditions, impairments and expert treatment. These actions will help provide people with disability in Libya an opportunity to actively contribute in rebuilding their communities in a post-conflict future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major public health problem in Libya. In this paper, we describe the eco-epidemiological parameters of CL during the armed conflict period from January 2011 till December 2012. Current spatiotemporal distributions of CL cases were explored and projected to the future using a correlative modelling approach. In addition the present results were compared with our previous data obtained for the time period 1995–2008. Methodology/Principal findings: We investigated 312 CL patients who presented to the Dermatology Department at the Tripoli Central Hospital and came from 81 endemic areas distributed in 10 districts. The patients presented with typical localized lesions which appeared commonly on the face, arms and legs. Molecular identification of parasites by a PCR-RFLP approach targeting the ITS1 region of the rDNA was successful for 81 patients with two causative species identified: L. major and L. tropica comprised 59 (72.8%) and 22 (27.2%) cases, respectively. Around 77.3% of L. tropica CL and 57.7% of L. major CL caused single lesions. Five CL patients among our data set were seropositive for HIV. L. tropica was found mainly in three districts, Murqub (27.3%), Jabal al Gharbi (27.3%) and Misrata (13.7%) while L. major was found in two districts, in Jabal al Gharbi (61%) and Jafara (20.3%). Seasonal occurrence of CL cases showed that most cases (74.2%) admitted to the hospital between November and March, L. major cases from November till January (69.4%), and L. tropica cases mainly in January and February (41%). Two risk factors were identified for the two species; the presence of previously infected household members, and the presence of rodents and sandflies in patient’s neighborhoods. Spatiotemporal projections using correlative distribution models based on current case data and climatic conditions showed that coastal regions have a higher level of risk due to more favourable conditions for the transmitting vectors. Conclusion: Future projection of CL until 2060 showed a trend of increasing incidence of CL in the north-western part of Libya, a spread along the coastal region and a possible emergence of new endemics in the north-eastern districts of Libya. These results should be considered for control programs to prevent the emergence of new endemic areas taking also into consideration changes in socio-economical factors such as migration, conflicts, urbanization, land use and access to health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current environment, contractors are had pressed to find ways to gain a competitive advantage and improve slim profit margins. In any given geographical area, construction labor, material and equipment costs are essentially the same. One of the few opportunities to improve the bottom line is to increase productivity. This paper is attempted to identify some ways to improve productivity at the construction site in Libya. Interviews were carried with contractors, owners and consultants. The paper has concluded that the consultants understand both best industry practice and the current construction technologies that can improve productivity. Perhaps most important, the consultants can provide the supervisor and crew with the training that will yield the greatest productivity improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaddafi’s revolution fundamentally changed the approach of socialist states to Libya and opened new possibilities for cooperation between the Eastern bloc and the newly formed Libyan Arab Republic. As Czechoslovakia did not want to be left behind, it started trying to break into the Libyan market in the early 1970s, especially using Czech experts in the fields of healthcare, geology, and engineering. Beginning in 1974, Czechoslovakia started seeking to consolidate its position in the Libyan economy and to aid the country’s modernization by sending out experts under a scientific and technical cooperation program. However, it faced a number of obstacles. One such obstacle was the competition between the Warsaw Pact states in Libya. Prague sent hundreds of civilian experts to Gaddafi’s Libya between 1970 and 1989, contributing substantially to the reputation of socialist Czechoslovakia not only in Libya but throughout the Third World. Based on never-before-used materials from Czech archives, this study attempts to portray the workings of the scientific and technical cooperation between Czechoslovakia and Libya and its importance to Czechoslovakia-Libya relations. The text discusses, among other things, the question of Czechoslovakia’s self-representation as an autonomous business actor, and the problematic aspects of the life of Czechoslovak experts in Libya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper presents a remote sensing workflow for identifying modern activities that threaten archaeological sites, developed as part of the work of the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project. We use open-source Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and the free tool Google Earth Engine to run a per-pixel change detection to make the methods and data as accessible as possible for heritage professionals. We apply this and perform validation at two case studies, the Aswan and Kom-Ombo area in Egypt, and the Jufra oases in Libya, with an overall accuracy of the results ranging from 85–91%. Human activities, such as construction, agriculture, rubbish dumping and natural processes were successfully detected at archaeological sites by the algorithm, allowing these sites to be prioritised for recording. A few instances of change too small to be detected by Sentinel-2 were missed, and false positives were caused by registration errors, shadow and movements of sand. This paper shows that the expansion of agricultural and urban areas particularly threatens the survival of archaeological sites, but our extensive online database of archaeological sites and programme of training courses places us in a unique position to make our methods widely available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the conflict in Libya in the context of international politics in the role of alliances against the hate regime of Gadhafi. Under Islamic socialism , Libya embraced globalization - trade liberalization in the recent past, but, yet, its leader remained a threat to many. The findings revealed the over zealousness of actors to capture, control and appropriate the national wealth of Libya - the oil, under a hocus - pocus paradigm of Neo-Democracy. The hate expressions, premeditated acts, propaganda and blackmail formed part of the contour that escalated the conflict. This, thus call for questioning and, the reexaminations of the role of the International communities and the United Nations in the arming of rebels/insurgence and the sponsoring of violence in a sovereign state under any platform. For, if the destructions in Libya was due to a particular individual or groups interest, then, grave implications on the global World remains a time bomb vis-à-vis the new phase of Neo-Democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: North Africa is the largest global source of atmospherically transported desert dust. Advances in satellite technology allow dust plumes to be spatially and temporally monitored, but little is known of near-surface dust deposition, as field-based studies are rare. This paper presents results from a year-long field-based dust monitoring study of three zones across Libya, ranging from the Mediterranean coast to the Sahara desert. Monthly deposition rates are compared with meteorological data, particle size distribution and mineralogy to establish potential source areas. Comparison of annual dust deposition rates with previous studies in North Africa shows that areas of Libya have the highest dust deposition rates on record. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The political upheaval and the civil war in Libya had a painful toll on the operational reliability of the electric energy supply system. With frequent power cuts and crumbling infrastructure, mainly due to the damage inflicted upon several power plants and grid assets as well as the lack of maintenance, many Libyans are left without electricity for several hours a day. As the country has a staggeringly immense potential of solar energy, it is inevitable to exploit such potential, to avert system-wide blackouts. This paper investigates the use of small-scale PV systems in local communities as non-wires alternative (NWA), offering excess energy exchange within local/neighboring microgrids (MGs) for reliable electric power supply. Different combinations of PV/storage/diesel distributed generations (DGs), with grid-interface options, were applied on a case study of a typical dwelling in the Eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Technical and financial feasibility assessments were carried out to contrast between various supply combinations. Sensitivity analysis of the PV-grid system was also conducted using Net Present Value (NPV) and the payback time indicators to determine the impacts of Feed-in Tariff (FiT) rates, financial incentives, electricity tariff, and inflation rate on the economic viability of the PV grid system. Results show that the PV-grid system has a promising potential under reasonable set of varying system parameters. On top of its social and environmental-friendly advantages, the PV-battery system is found to be more economical when adopted as a standalone NWA solution as compared to the diesel generator option, even at the lowest diesel price. The PV-grid system does not only provide a short-term remedy to the rolling blackouts in Libya but also enhances system operational reliability by providing a NWA to rundown or shattered grid infrastructure, thus bolstering energy provision in residential neighborhoods. • Decentralization can reinvigorate electricity system's operational reliability. • Local energy provision is a viable remedy to the rolling blackouts in Libya. • PV based NWA is more economical than diesel generation. • FiT along with inflation and subsidy are the main drivers for PV deployment. • Government subsidies for fossil fuels should be transferred to RE projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is focused on the economic and financial assessments of solar and wind power potential for nine selected regions in Libya for the first time. As the existing meteorological data, including wind speed and global solar radiation, are extremely limited due to the civil war in the country, it was therefore decided to use the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) database as a source of meteorological information to assess the wind and solar potential. The results showed that the country has huge solar energy potential compared to wind energy potential. Additionally, it is found that Al Kufrah is a suitable region for the future installation of the Photovoltaic (PV) power plant due to high annual solar radiation. Based on the actual wind speed analysis, Benghazi and Dernah are the best regions for large-scale wind farm installation in the future taking into account existing meteorological data limitations. The values of the wind power density in all regions are considerable and small-scale wind turbines can be used to generate electricity based on NASA average monthly wind data for 37 years (1982–2019). Moreover, this work aimed to evaluate the wind/PV systems technical and economically through RETScreen Expert (Version 6.0, CanmetENERGY Varennes Research Centre of Natural Resources Canada, Varennes, Canada). Focusing on the power supply crisis in the country, the potential of electricity production by 5 kW grid-connected residential/household rooftop PV in all regions is proposed and presented. Additionally, this paper evaluated a techno-economic analysis of the 50MW wind/PV system in suitable places. The performance of a 5 kW and 50 MW PV solar system with three PV technologies, namely mono-crystalline silicon, poly-crystalline silicon, and thin-film (CdTe), was also analyzed. The results demonstrated that the development of the wind/PV system in the selected regions is both technically and economically feasible. The outcomes of this study can help decision-makers in designing and installing PV power plants as an alternative source for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]