With Energy as a major issue on the frontburner, European Union countries agreed Monday that all natural gas storage in the 27-nation bloc should be topped up to at least 80% capacity for next winter as they prepare for the possibility of Russia further reducing deliveries.
The EU is trying to slash its use of Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine and find other sources. A ban on imports of Russian coal will start in August, and an embargo on most oil from Russia will be phased in over the coming eight months.
Meanwhile, Moscow is disrupting natural gas deliveries, a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity that the EU didn’t include in its own sanctions for fear of seriously harming the European economy. Before the war, the bloc got about 40% of its natural gas from Russia.
Moscow has reduced gas supplies to several EU countries, including heavy importers Germany and Italy, and cut off deliveries to other members, such as Poland and Finland.
The Industrial Park of Hoechst is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, June 23, 2022. Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies saying the country faces a “crisis” and warning that storage targets for the winter are at risk due to dwindling deliveries from Russia.
The Industrial Park of Hoechst is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, June 23, 2022. Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies saying the country faces a “crisis” and warning that storage targets for the winter are at risk due to dwindling deliveries from Russia.
Sri Lanka is sending two government ministers to Russia to negotiate for fuel — one of the necessities nearly exhausted amid the Indian Ocean island nation’s economic collapse.
The development comes as Washington and its allies aim to cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Since the invasion in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed, sparking a number of countries to seek out Russian crude, which is being offered at a steep discount.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said two ministers are scheduled to leave for Russia on Monday to continue talks that Sri Lanka has been having with Russian authorities to directly purchase fuel, among other related issues.
He urged people Saturday not to line up for fuel, saying only limited stock will be distributed to limited stations throughout next week. He said until the next shipments arrive, “public transport, power generators and industries will be given a priority.”
Residents have had to queue for hours and sometimes days to get fuel, sometimes resorting to burning charcoal or palm fronds for cooking.
Wijesekera’s comments come while a high-level U.S. delegation is visiting Sri Lanka, seeking ways to help the island nation cope with an unprecedented economic crisis and severe shortages of essential supplies.
Nasarawa state government said, a total of 775, 905 Children under the ages of five years across the 13 Local government areas of Nasarawa State had been administered with malaria prevention drugs in 2021.
The commissioner for health, Ahmed Yahaya stated that, “About 816,532 Children between the ages of 3- 59 months were targeted in the 2nd year of the SMC Intervention programme being implemented in the state.”
Yahaya further said that in the first year of implementation, over 10,000 personnel were involved while a total of 775,905 children between the ages of 3-59 months across the 13 LGAs were administered the prevention drugs in the state.
He stressed that in the year 2022, of SMC implementation, 816,532 children have been targeted, and over 9,000 personnel have been engaged adding that the state has keyed into the SMC Intervention strategy on-going in the Sahel and Savannah Regions of the Country in the last 10 years, aimed at reducing the prevalence of Malaria, particularly amongst children less than 5 years.
“The burden of Malaria has drop from 60 percent since the creation of the State to 30 percent in 2010 and to 14. 6% in the 2018 survey. This achievement is as a result of the consistent effort put in by the leadership of the state, the State Ministry of Health, Healthcare Workers as well as support from Implementing Partners, through various strategies.”
According to the Commissioner, the achievement was as a result of Enhanced Environment & Vector Control Activities, Improved utilisation of Insecticide Treated bed Nets (ITNs), Appropriate Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), Improved Case Management, improved Diagnosis & prompt, appropriate Treatment.
The Commissioner attributed the success to support from partners and enhanced environmental and vector control activities, improved utilisation of insecticide treated beds nets (ITNs) while noting that the state government was doing everything possible to eliminate malaria completely from the state towards achieving a zero prevalence in the next few years.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) and other stakeholders to step up efforts toward breaking illicit drug supply and distribution chains.
Osinbajo was the Special Guest of Honour at the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on Monday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
The event was organised by the NDLEA in collaboration with United Nations Office on Drugs(UNODC), MTN and EU.
The vice president commended the NDLEA for the impressive number of drug users it had counseled and rehabilitated within the year.
“The number of drug trafficking cases reported this past week proves that there is even much more illicit drug activity ongoing.
“The expressed vision of the NDLEA goes beyond getting more drug criminals arrested; it is to have no drug criminals at all. We must therefore deepen the effort.
“Relentlessly breaking illicit drug supply chains and distribution networks; discouraging drug use through intensive outreach and sensitisation; and also promptly prosecuting traffickers.
“But above all, we must intensify rehabilitation of drug addicts because what we are faced with is indeed a public health crisis – a crisis that is taking lives, destroying families and shattering communities.
“I am glad to hear that in 2021, about 8,000 drug users were counseled and rehabilitated by the NDLEA, and in the first half of this year alone, over 11,000 drug users have been counseled and treated.’’
He said that there must be a multi-dimensional and holistic approach to tackling drug abuse.
Osinbajo regretted that access to illicit drugs became easier with online sales and contactless drug transactions– both influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drugs
“However, the new normal still offers us opportunities for increased innovation in tackling this menace, through technology-based monitoring systems for promptly detecting and addressing drug market changes.
“And also accelerating mobile outreach programmes, remote consultation, and treatment for those who suffer from drug use disorders and are without appropriate care.
“ As much as the Federal Government through its agencies and the state governments will lead the charge with decisive policy initiatives, these strides must be complemented by changes at the family and community level.
“The kind of change we seek regarding drug abuse cannot happen without the collaboration of families, faith-based organisations and community leadership at the local levels.
“We must spearhead massive value reorientation across the country, reassessing cultural factors and systems that support drug abuse and trafficking.’’
He said that communities everywhere must rise to this challenge, adding the Federal Government would continue to support the NDLEA to fulfil its mandate.
The vice president said that through data-driven and evidence-based policy making, enduring and sustainable solutions to the underlying causes of drug abuse would continuously unearthed.
“Once again, let me again commend the new, dynamic and greatly improved NDLEA, and appreciate the gallant officers for their service to our country.
“We must also appreciate our development partners for the successes recorded so far and for their firm resolution to support the effort to ensure a clean and drug-free Nigeria.
“We are winning this war; the days of the scourge of drug abuse and dependency are clearly numbered; but it will involve even greater investment in focus and determination for the long haul,’’ he said.
Earlier in his opening speech, NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, said that the World Drug Report 2021 indicated that Drug use killed almost half a million people in 2019.
He said the report showed that drug use disorders resulted in 18 million years of healthy life lost, mostly due to opioids.
Marwa said that the concerns raised by the World Drug Report 2021 were not farfetched because in Nigeria.
“We are beginning to see similar patterns from the findings of the National Drug Use and Health Survey 2018.
“The survey recorded an estimated 376,000 high-risk drug users in the country, of which one in every five injects drugs.
“And with a total of 80,000 People Who Inject Drugs (PWID), the risk of the spread of HIV, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases was high and this in turn raises the stake of a public health crisis.
“Hence, there was no questioning the rationale of treatment for drug users,’’ he said.
He said that to check that to eliminate obstacles standing in the way of those that genuinely need help, the agency would unveil a toll-free, 0800-10203040, and the website, ndleahelpline.com.ng.
On his part, Country Representative, UNODC, Oliver Stolpe, said that the UN had renewed its commitment to ending the scotch and supporting those who fell victim to it.
The vice president afterwards, unveiled the NDLEA Testing Kit and presented gifts to students that excelled in the MTN Quizz 2022.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Newcastle United are reportedly willing to pay big money to try and sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli, according to reports in Italy.
According to CalcioNapoli24, which cites Gazzetta dello Sport, Newcastle have been preparing to push again to sign Osimhen, who is thought to be valued at at least the £86m mark by the Italian club.
Osimhen’s name is nothing new when it comes to English teams being interested. Arsenal are known to be long-term admirers of the Nigerian striker, while Tottenham have been linked with him during this current window.
However, while Newcastle are thought to be keen on signing Osimhen, there is a problem. The forward is said to favour staying with Napoli due to the lack of Champions League football on offer from those interested clubs in England. Of course, that would only come his way if Tottenham made their move.
Osimhen rattled in 18 goals for Napoli last season as he once again showed his potential and quality in front of goal.
Labelled a ‘phenomenal‘ player for his performances in the past, Osimhen has already scored 15 goals in just 23 games for Nigeria. Napoli paid huge money to sign him from Lille two seasons ago.
While Newcastle and Eddie Howe might be big fans of Osimhen, if Napoli are demanding over £80m, it’s hard to see that deal being done any time soon.
Osimhen is a quality operator though. And should Newcastle qualify for the Champions League in the next few seasons, then he might be a realistic signing then.
Tyson Fury claims he has sought to set up a scrap with Anthony Joshua six times in the last five years — but insists they will never meet because he is retired and his ‘diva’ rival scuppered the proposed bouts.
Heavyweight rivals Fury and Joshua signed terms in March 2021 for a colossal showdown that would have been one of the most lucrative fights of all time, only for a court arbitration to order the Mancunian to face Deontay Wilder instead.
Joshua lost his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO against Oleksandr Usyk in London in September 2021, a month before Fury knocked out Wilder for a second time in Las Vegas to retain his WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles.
Fury’s US promoter, Bob Arum, said earlier this month that he would ‘do the best he can’ to ensure his fighter meets the winner of Joshua’s rematch with Usyk, which takes place in Saudi Arabia on August 20.
Emphatically dismissing the idea of a scrap with Joshua, Fury told iFL, “I tried to make that fight six times at least, in my memory, in the last five years and have been unsuccessful every single time because you’re messing with a diva who doesn’t want to fight.
“Years ago, when he was an undefeated knockout artist, people thought, ‘you know what? He could beat Tyson Fury, maybe.’
“Then when Anthony Joshua got bounced off the canvas by Andy Ruiz (in June 2019), people said, ‘he’s a bodybuilder — Tyson’s right, he hasn’t got a chance.’
“Then when he looked shockingly s*** in the (December 2019) rematch against Ruiz – who didn’t train for a day, by the way, he was out in Mexico partying with the president – people said he was shot to bits.
“Then he goes and gets beaten by a cruiserweight (Usyk). That bird has flown. I am the undefeated heavyweight king.”
Nigeria’s 4x100m men team failed to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon after a poor performance at the trials in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Sunday.
The team ran 38.34secs on the opening day of the championships, but clocked 38.84secs in the final on Sunday.
With the time, the team dropped from 16th to 17th position, after Team Liberia’s performance took them to the 16th and final position for the World Championships in Oregon, USA.
Also in the women’s race, an exchange of baton in the last leg between Tobi Amusan and Rosemary Chukwuma affected the performance of the team, despite winning ahead of Ghana and the Benin Republic.
Ese Brume retained her title as the country’s No.1 long jumper after jumping 6.89m in the final as Mike Edward improved on his Season’s Best of 2.15m that won him a silver medal at the African Athletics Championship in Mauritius to a new SB of 2.20m to win the men’s high jump.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, who graced the final day of the three-day trials, applauded the performance of the athletes and promised the government’s continuous support for the team.
He added that the ministry and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria were working together to ensure that the athletes were in good shape for the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Farmers driving tractors blocked highways in the Netherlands on Monday and set small blazes outside at least two town halls in the latest protest sparked by a government pledge to rein in pollution emissions, a move that will hit the country’s agriculture sector.
Authorities urged motorists to check traffic updates before setting off, amid the protests that follow a gathering last week of tens of thousands of farmers in the central Netherlands that also caused traffic chaos around the country.
“We advise road users to be extra alert,” the government’s road and water department said in a statement. Several highways around the country were affected by the protests.
Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius condemned the protests.
“Several highways are currently blocked by farmers. You don’t make your point by endangering road users. This can have serious consequences. Then the police have no choice but to intervene where possible, if necessary afterwards. Don’t let it get that far,” the minister tweeted.
Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that farmers lit small fires outside town halls in the city of Apeldoorn and the town of Epe in the central Netherlands.
The Dutch governing coalition has mandated reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia of up to 70% in many areas of the country close to protected nature areas — even reaching as high as 95% in some places. The government has been forced to act after courts in recent years began blocking permits for infrastructure and housing projects because the country was missing its emissions targets.
The government has earmarked an extra 24.3 billion euros ($25.6 billion) to finance agricultural reforms that will likely make many farmers drastically reduce their number of livestock or to get rid of them altogether.
The pollution reduction targets, which have to be achieved by provincial governments, have been opposed even by members of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s own party and other members of his coalition. Provincial governments have been given a year to formulate plans to meet the targets.
Officials from the Group of Seven wealthy nations announced that they will aim to largely end greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors by 2035, making it highly unlikely that those countries will burn coal for electricity beyond that date.
Ministers from the G-7 countries meeting in Berlin also announced a target to have a “highly decarbonized road sector by 2030,” meaning that electric vehicles would dominate new car sales by the end of the decade.
And in a move aimed at ending the recurring conflict between rich and poor nations during international climate talks, the G-7 recognized for the first time the need to provide developing countries with additional financial aid to cope with the loss and damage caused by global warming.
Coal is a heavily polluting fossil fuel that is responsible for a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. While there are ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, experts say it is almost impossible to reduce it to zero, meaning it will likely have to be the first fossil fuel to be phased out.
Meanwhile, Germany and several of its European neighbours are returning to coal-fired power plants in order to conserve precious reserves of natural gas, a temporary — but some say necessary — move after Russia cut back its gas exports following the invasion of Ukraine.
Coal is much dirtier than gas, and it emits significantly more climate-warming greenhouse gases when burned.
Though Germany’s climate-focused government was on its way to phasing out coal from its energy sector, it has to make sure it reserves enough gas to heat homes, said Chris Bataille, an adjunct research fellow with the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.
Leaders of the Group of Seven economies G7 met in Germany’s Bavarian Alps on Sunday, looking to show they are united against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine while discussing ways to minimize the war’s effect on rising global food and energy costs.
U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met ahead of formal talks that also included the leaders of Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and the European Union.
Biden announced the G-7 nations would ban new imports of Russian gold, the latest in an array of sanctions Western nations have imposed on Russia in an attempt punish it for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth month.
After the three-day G-7 summit, the world leaders will travel to Madrid for a NATO summit.
Talking about food security U.S and Germany have accused Russia of plunging the world into hunger through grain war
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock; Russia’s war against Ukraine, not Western sanctions, will add another 40 or 50 million more people to the ranks of the hungry.
Western Leaders have continued to blame Putin for what it described as’cynical grain war’leading to global food crisis since the attack on its neighbour since February.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
