Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP-Services (text stories) | Imagine you could quench your thirst with water that doesn’t originate from a river, spring or lake, but comes directly out of the blue sky, from the air that surrounds you. What sounds like a science fiction movie is already a reality, and …
Read More »A ‘deal for nature’ to rescue wildlife: WWF chief
Paris, France | AFP | The global population of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals has declined 60 percent since 1970, according to the WWF’s “Living Planet” report released Tuesday. WWF director general Marco Lambertini tells AFP what went wrong and what’s at stake. – How bad is it? – …
Read More »S.Africa coal belt among world’s pollution hotspots: Greenpeace
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s eastern Mpumalanga province has the most polluting cluster of coal-fired power stations in the world producing record levels of nitrogen dioxide, a report by environmental campaign group Greenpeace said Monday. Mpumalanga, which borders Mozambique, is the hub of South Africa’s coal industry …
Read More »Is Africa starting to choke on China’s lending glut?
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | It was a time for smiles and handshakes as the delegations from Sierra Leone and China Exim Bank sealed a loan to provide the impoverished West African state with a new airport. Just months later, the much-trumpeted Mamamah International Airport scheme, estimated to cost …
Read More »Trump questions UN global warming report
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said he has yet to read a UN report warning of global warming-caused chaos unless drastic action is taken and added that he is skeptical. The landmark report released Monday said that time is running out to avert climate-induced disaster. …
Read More »Solar is Uganda’s best energy solution
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Esteeri Kabonero is the managing director for Powah Limited, a solar solutions energy company operating in Uganda. She spoke to The Independent’s Julius Businge about the recent grant that they obtained from Trade and Development Bank (TDB) formerly known as the PTA Bank to go …
Read More »Insurer boosts Uganda’s renewable energy projects
The African Insurance Agency will support solar PV, hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass and cogeneration technologies Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | The multilateral insurer, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), will provide up to US$10million as financial protection to new small and medium-sized renewable energy projects in Uganda to facilitate their smooth …
Read More »World Bank supports Rwanda energy sector
Off-grid power to meet connectivity targets Kampala, Uganda | DIAS NYESIGA | The World Bank is happy to be a strategic partner of the Government of Rwanda in the energy sector, according to Yasser El-Gammal, World Bank country manager for Rwanda. He was speaking about the 2018/19 fiscal year budget that was …
Read More »DR Congo planning to allow oil exploration in national parks: NGO
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo’s government is seeking to reclassify swathes of two UNESCO-listed parks so that oil exploration can be carried out there, an investigative group said. The London-based NGO Global Witness said it had seen documents about a scheme to “redraw the boundaries” …
Read More »Oil, metals prices set to rise amid trade tensions: World Bank
Washington, United States | AFP | Crude oil prices are expected to jump 23 percent this year amid strong economic growth, while metals prices are rising, hit by ongoing trade tensions, the World Bank said Tuesday. The World Bank raised its forecast for oil prices to an average of $65 a …
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