Kristin Harila is on the verge of completing mountain climbing’s most difficult challenge.
The Norwegian climber has reached the summit of 11 of the world’s 14 tallest mountains – all over 8,000m (26,000ft).
If Harila is able to climb the remaining three peaks by November, she will become the fastest person in the world to achieve this accomplishment.
Currently the record is held by Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in six months and six days.
Comprehensive toxicology studies are still underway since 10 tons of dead fish have been removed from the river.
Hundreds of volunteers were working to help collect dead fish along the German side while fishermen expressed their concerns.
The Oder River runs from Czech Republic to the border between Poland and Germany before flowing into the Baltic Sea.
Laboratory tests following a mass die-off of fish in the Oder River detected high levels of salinity but no mercury poisoning its waters, Poland’s environment minister said Saturday as the mystery continued as to what killed tons of fish in Central Europe.
Germany’s environment minister said the mass die-off of fish in the Oder River is an ecological catastrophe and it isn’t clear yet how long it will take for the river to recover.
Steffi Lemke spoke Sunday at a news conference alongside her Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, after a meeting in Szczecin, a Polish city on the Oder River.
Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the deployment of adequate security around schools, hospitals and critical infrastructures across the country.
The Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement via its Twitter handle on Sunday, August 14, 2022.
The IGP gave the directive while reviewing reports from commands and formations on the security situations across the country.
Nigeria’s inflation rate in the month of July 2022 rose to a 17-year high of 19.64%. This compares to 18.6% recorded in the previous month of June 2022.
The latest inflation data is according to the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for the month of July 2022, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The last time Nigeria’s inflation was above 19.64% was in September 2005 when it rose to 24.32%. This is according to Nairalytics, a web portal that publishes Nigeria’s historical macroeconomic data. Notably, the uptick in the inflation rate was driven by increases in the food and core index.
Further breakdown of the report shows that the urban inflation rate rose by 2.08% to 20.09% in July 2022 from 18.01% recorded in July 2021, while the rural inflation rate hit 19.22% from 16.75% recorded in the corresponding period of 2021
Richard Ajah, chief executive officer, El-kanis and Partners says the Sustainable Agriculture Programme for Rural Livelihood (SAPRUL) is targeting over 7,000 farmers in Cross River and Ebonyi States.
Ajah, who stated this in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, lamented that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has negatively impacted many African countries, including Nigeria.
As a result, he said prices of rice and maize have gone up in the last six months, and to this end, SAPRUL is to upscale the average yield of maize in Cross River and Ebonyi from 1.8mt/ha to 3.6mt/ha and rice from 2mt/ha to 3mt/ha.
According to Ajah, El-kanis and Partners will provide support to 4,000 maize farmers and 3,000 rice farmers for increased productivity and product supply. He added that Nigeria was also experiencing a decline in the already low output of its two major staple foods – rice and maize due to COVID 19.
Ajah, who spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting with farmers from Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Ebonyi, said already, 1,100 farmers have been trained in Cross River and Ebonyi. He said over 1.419 metric tonnes of maize have been planted in Cross River and Ebonyi State, while 4.540 metric tonnes of rice would be planted in the next two months
He also said 870 farmers have been trained out of which 520 are youths, including 439 farmers trained for maize farming.
A member of the House of Representatives from Ondo State, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has launched a N50 million scholarship scheme for 1000 indigent students, who are indigenes of Akoko area of the state.
The lawmaker, representing Akoko North-East/North-West Federal Constituency, said the scheme was to assist the indigent students who were in tertiary institutions across the country.
In a statement made available to news correspondent on Monday, Tunji-Ojo, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Niger-Delta Affairs, said the gesture was part of his efforts to contribute to the educational development of his constituency and state in general.
According to the statement, the registration for the scholarship scheme, which had commenced on Monday, was for indigent students who were from the Federal Constituency.
The statement reads, “This is in fulfillment of my education support drive which has seen me facilitate several blocks of classrooms, computer sets, educational materials, free Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination forms and coaching for 2,000 students and other notable interventions in the education sector.
“The education support drive is to help reduce the burden of education on the parents and also ensure that no child is denied access to quality education.”
“The registration form is totally free and can be obtained from presidents of students’ bodies in each community in the Federal Constituency. This is to ensure that nobody is denied access to the form.”
The authorities in Nigeria have uncovered a haul of crystal methamphetamine that was concealed in heads of fish packed in boxes for export to Dubai.
The haul was found on Friday in a 11.9kg consignment that was presented for export at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced the seizure on Sunday.
The agency said the haul was in 442 pieces – each wrapped with foil paper and concealed in the heads of hundreds of smoked catfish. They were carried in seven boxes.
The freight agent who took the boxes to the airport was arrested, NDLEA said in a statement
Deputy President William Ruto has won Kenya’s presidential election, the electoral commission chairman has said, amid dramatic scenes.
He narrowly beat his rival, Raila Odinga, taking 50.4% of the vote.
The announcement was delayed amid scuffles and allegations of vote-rigging by Mr Odinga’s campaign.
Four of the seven members of the electoral commission refused to endorse the announcement, saying the results were “opaque”.
“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,” said Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
This was the first time Mr Ruto, 55, had run for president. He has served as deputy president for 10 years, but fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Mr Odinga to succeed him.
1461 Empire of Trebizond surrenders to forces of Sultan Mehmet II – last Byzantine Empire remnant to fall. Emperor David exiled and later murdered.
1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton, England, with 102 Pilgrims
1900 The Boxer Rebellion: In China, the Empress, her family and court retainers flee while foreign troops move through Peking in an attempt to quell the rebellion
1947 India gains independence from Great Britain, remains a dominion until 1950
1998 Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220
2021 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country as Taliban forces enter the capital Kabul and take control
HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY
TODAY IN FILM & TV
1918 Longest work of animation then produced – “The Sinking of Lusitania” by Winsor McCay
1939 “The Wizard of Oz”, American musical fantasy film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s book, premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood; directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor with cast featuring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch); songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
TODAY IN MUSIC
1969 Woodstock Festival opens in Bethel, New York on Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm; performers include Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez
TODAY IN SPORT
1903 New Zealand’s All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia’s Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground; New Zealand win 22-3
MORE FACTS…
1635 1st recorded north American hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony
2015 North Korea creates its own time zone -moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5
FAMOUS WEDDINGS
1515 King Christian II of Denmark marriage ratified to Isabella of Austria, granddaughter to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I at Copenhagen Castle (married by proxy 1514)
1958 American rock singer-songwriter Buddy Holly (21) weds receptionist Maria Santiago
1985 Anti-apartheid lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka marries in South Africa
Italy’s worst drought in decades has reduced Lake Garda, the country’s largest lake, to near its lowest level ever recorded, exposing swaths of previously underwater rocks and warming the water to temperatures that approach the average in the Caribbean Sea.
Tourists flocking to the popular northern lake Friday for the start of Italy’s key summer long weekend found a vastly different landscape than in past years.
An expansive stretch of bleached rock extended far from the normal shoreline, ringing the southern Sirmione Peninsula with a yellow halo between the green hues of the water and the trees on the shore.
“We came last year, we liked it, and we came back this year,” tourist Beatrice Masi said as she sat on the rocks. “We found the landscape had changed a lot. We were a bit shocked when we arrived because we had our usual walk around, and the water wasn’t there.”
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