The Federal Government of Nigeria says plans are underway to add 204 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity to boost power supply in Ekiti state.

The Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, said this in a a statement by General Manager, Public Affairs, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mrs Ndidi Mbah, on Wednesday, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Abubakar said the Federal Government had begun the construction of a 132 kilovolts transmission line and a 2 by 60 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) transmission substation and a switching station in the state to raise the capacity by 204 megawatts.

The minister, who was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony in Ado Ekiti, said that the project consisted of a 50 km stretch of 132kV transmission line from Ikere (Ado Ekiti) with a turn in – turn out at Ijesa Isu that terminates at Ilupeju Ekiti.

Aliyu, represented by the Managing Director of TCN, Mr Sule Abdulaziz, said the project
also had a 2X60MVA, 132/33kV transmission substation with four line bays at Ijesa Isu Ekiti with a switching station at Ikere (Ado Ekiti).

”For TCN, this is a very strategic project and we believe it will have massive impact on bulk power transmission in Ekiti and environs.

“The project is part of the many projects being undertaken by the Transmission Company of Nigeria in pursuit of its grid expansion programme.

”Which is in line with Mr. President’s mandate for the expansion of the power sector for sustainable development,” he said.

The minister said that in various transmission regions, nationwide, TCN is equally executing substations and lines projects which are all at various stages of execution.

”’These are clear indications that the Federal Government is not relenting in its determination to ensure that the nation’s power sector receives the desired boost.

“For the residents of Ekiti State and its environs, the additional 204MW capacity to the grid means that more bulk supply will be readily available for offtake by Benin DisCo for its customers in Ekiti and environs,” he noted.

”The substations’ project will also take care of suppressed load in this axis and relieve the Ado-Ekiti substation which has been overburdened to ensure a more reliable electricity supply to the people of Ekiti,” he said.

Aliyu called on Ekiti residents to support government efforts against vandalism of power facilities.

A huge wildfire that has destroyed more than a dozen homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents was sweeping through the Gironde region of southwestern France on Wednesday.

More than 1,000 firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft were fighting the fire that has razed more than 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) and is still burning out of control.

France, like the rest of Europe, is struggling with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record.

Dozens of wildfires are ablaze across the country, including at least four other major ones.

Camille Delay fled her home town of Hostens on the orders of emergency services with her partner and son as a wall of flames drew rapidly closer.

The couple grabbed their two cats, chickens and house insurance documents before taking flight, she said.

“Everyone in the village climbed onto their rooftops to see what was happening – within 10 minutes a little twist of smoke became enormous,” the 30-year-old said.

The local Gironde authority described the blaze as “rampant”. Firefighters said more evacuations were likely.

The Gironde was hit by major wildfires in July which destroyed more than 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) of forest and temporarily forced nearly 40,000 people from their homes.

Authorities believe the latest inferno was a result of the previous fires still smouldering in the area’s peaty soil.

Fires were also raging in the southern departments of Lozere and Aveyron.

In the Maine-et-Loire department in western France, more than 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) have been scorched by another fire.

Meanwhile, an ailing beluga whale that strayed into France’s Seine river has been put down after it was successfully removed from the waterway, according to authorities.

The development came after rescue divers overnight guided the whale into a net before a crane lifted it from the river in an operation which lasted six hours.

It was then transported in a refrigerated truck to the Channel port of Ouistreham.

During the journey by road, the already-weak beluga suffered respiratory failure and it was euthanised by vets shortly after arriving in Ouistreham to prevent further suffering.

“Despite an unprecedented rescue operation, it is with sadness that we announce the cetacean’s death,” the local Calvados authorities said.

The plan had been to move the malnourished whale to a saltwater basin in the hope it might recover some strength before being transferred to the sea. But it was a risky venture.

The four-metre (13.1-foot) male weighed 800 kilograms (1,763 pounds), well below an adult beluga’s typical weight of 1,200kg, and had not eaten since it was first spotted in the Seine last week.

Rescuers believe it was sick before it wandered up the river to within 70km (43 miles) of Paris.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has offered an apology to the nation for the troubles caused by heavy rain across the country this week.

” I express my deepest condolences to the victims and would like to convey my apologies, on behalf of the government, to all those who suffered inconveniences from the heavy rain.”
.

Chairing back-to-back response meetings Wednesday at the Seoul Government Complex, President Yoon instructed his government to pay extra close attention to the vulnerable groups in society to ensure that they are well protected against the historic rainfall.

He called for measures to address related issues in a fundamental way, and asked that all officials base their responses on the worst-case scenario, saying the state is fully responsible for the safety of the public.

Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park is a national park that is located in the Llanquihue Province, of the Los Lagos Region, within the Republic of Chile.

Considered to be the oldest park in the country, it was established as such in 1926, and even nowadays this amazing place covers an area of about 2,530 sq km (977 sq mi) and within this large chunk of land there are very dense and humid forests, Todos los Santos Lake, and three amazing volcanoes, Osorno, Tronador and Puntiagudo.

Due to the lush greenery and abundance of water in the protected park, Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park is turned to be one of the most visited and main destinations within Chile that attract a great number of visitors.

Visitors here are able not only to hike and enjoy the amazing landscape, but they can also enjoy thermal baths, do a boat trip where they can do some fishing, and most importantly walk and observe the local flora and fauna that is flourishing here.

The best place to get here is from the city of Puerto Vartas which is the nearest city, and from here the real adventures are starting, in particular, the exploration of the Andes Mountains and the 31 mountain peaks that could be seen within the park.

From those peaks, the highest point is Cerro Tronador which stands at 3,429 meters (11,250 feet) above sea level which can be well distinguished from its quite sharp peak.

Throughout the seasons, the climate could vary, and it depends not just on the season, but also on the elevation where the visitor is located. Generally, the temperature is temperate, with precipitation that is highest between June and August, which creates wet winters, while during the summer months between January and March, the area is drier and the eastern part of the park receives typically less precipitation than the western part.

Still, it is interesting to be noted that even though in summertime the temperature is higher, there is still snow that covers some parts of the park which are at and above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level.

The landscape of this important national park was shaped throughout millennia through the action of glaciers during the ice age, where huge glaciers descended from the Tronador Volcano, went as far as the Central Valley of Chile, while in the meantime created the stupendous Todos los Santos Valley.

This can be also seen nowadays since there are clear scratches on the surface that were left by stones carried by the enormous glacier. Furthermore, the ecosystem of the park is known to be montane, with very rich flora that includes Valdivian temperate rain forests, with the Dombey’s Beech (Nothofagus dombeyi) tree being the most common and most visible one.

On another hand, the fauna is comprised of some 30 mammal species among which puma, kodkod, South American gray fox, Molina’s hog-nosed skunk, lesser grison, southern river otter, monito delmonte, long-clawed mole mouse, Chilean climbing mouse, among the most common, however, it must be noted that the American mink together with the European red deer were introduced to the park in the past, and today they wrought enormous havoc to the entire ecosystem.

Some 80 bird species could be seen at Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, most of them are fulltime residents, while a small number is seasonal migrants and visitors. Among the most common are the chucao tapaculo, black-throated huet-huet, torrent duck, a lot of hummingbirds and many others.