Briefly

SOUTH AMERICA

Venezuela, Guyana agree not to use force

Venezuela and Guyana agreed on Thursday to avoid any use of force and not escalate tensions in their long-running dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo area after a meeting between their heads of state in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Tensions rose sharply this month after voters in a Venezuelan referendum backed a move to make the Essequibo area a new Venezuelan state. The two countries said in a joint statement that they "will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances" and "will refrain, whether by words or deeds, from escalating any conflict or disagreement". The two countries will continue their dialogue in Brazil within the next three months.

AUSTRALIA

Nation at risk of electricity shortfall

Australia is facing a growing risk of a shortfall in its electricity generation capacity amid the green energy transition, its market operator has warned. The Australian Energy Market Operator released a draft road map for the energy transition on Friday, warning that earlier than planned closures of coal-fired power plants are jeopardizing the reliability of the electricity grid. The Integrated System Plan calls for urgent investment to support new sources of affordable energy and double the rollout of new transmission lines by 2030.

EUROPE

Missing parts, aborted test add to space woes

The final flight of Italy's Vega rocket has been delayed after crucial parts went missing, while the latest test of Europe's new Ariane 6 has been aborted, the European Space Agency said on Thursday, the latest glitches to affect Europe's troubled launch sector. The aborted test of the upper stage of Ariane 6 should not affect plans for an inaugural launch in mid-2024, the ESA said. Europe is racing to restore independent access to space, after Ariane 6 suffered repeated delays and the Vega C was grounded after a launch failure, leaving a handful of launches of the original Vega version of the rocket.

Agencies - Xinhua