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New York City Making Big Investment In Renewable Energy

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Mayor de Blasio has debuted a nearly $200 million plan to power the city on 100% “clean” electricity by 2030.

Offshore wind turbines, such as these giants, are envisioned as the cornerstone for “green” energy production in New York.

New York City is making a big investment in renewable energy that will literally change the city’s landscape.

Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans for a $191 million investment in offshore wind turbines that will help the city reach a goal of 100% clean electricity production by 2030 and reaching full carbon neutrality by 2050.

Developed in collaboration with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Offshore Wind Vision plan promises to reduce 34.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of removing 500,000 cars from Manhattan streets, while generating 13,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in average annual investments.

“The climate crisis is real,” De Blasio said in a release. “New York City will serve as the model for taking climate action and growing the offshore wind industry with a real long-term vision plan focused on equity. We have the opportunity now to deliver on promises and set the city on a path towards a sustainable future.”

New York Senator Charles Schumer praised de Blasio for understanding that “transforming our energy system will drive our economy to new heights.”

“This forward-looking plan to grow the offshore wind industry sets New York City up to reduce emissions while creating good green jobs,” the Senate Majority Leader said in the statement.

To ensure the program benefits the city and its residents while still providing safe and renewable energy, the Economic Development Corporation will establish an advisory council composed of community, business, scientific, and environmental-justice leaders.

40% of jobs and investments will be directed toward women, minorities, and environmental justice communities.

Today, offshore wind generates less than 1 % of the world’s electrical power. But according to the International Energy Agency, as countries look to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, the market will expand 15 fold and transform into a trillion dollar industry by 2040.

The White House has set a national goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, which would generate electricity for 10 million American homes while cutting 85 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Sixty-thousand Rwandan students fail national exams

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The Rwandan government has announced that more than 60,000 students will have to re-sit classes for their current school year because of poor national exam results.

More than 44,000 of the pupils had sat their primary school leaving tests. The others were in secondary school.

The country’s education authorities are clamping down on an automatic promotion policy which they ditched last year in an attempt to boost academic performance, according to local The New Times site.

The education minister said the students in question would be offered help, according to the same paper.

“The next step”, Valentine Uwamariya said “will be to trace the students and their schools, and then there will be a special programme to help them improve, in collaboration with REB (Rwanda Education Board), districts and schools”.

The decision has sparked anger online with some people saying it is unfair.

Top Malawi businessman jailed for bribe attempt

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The Malawi High Court has sentenced a well-known business tycoon to nine years in prison, after he was found guilty of trying to bribe judges in an election case.

Thomson Mpinganjira wanted to get the judges on the side of then-president Peter Mutharika, in a case whereby the opposition had challenged a fraudulent election won by Mr Mutharika.

Mpinganjira – one of the richest people in Malawi – was recorded on tape offering financial inducements to one of the judges to influence the outcome.

Buhari to present 2022 budget to NASS on Thursday

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President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2022 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday, October 7, deputy Senate president, Ovie Omo-Agege has said.

Omo-Agege made this known when he presided over Senate Tuesday’s plenary.

The president had earlier on Tuesday, presented a revised 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the Senate for approval.

The revised MTEF/FSP provides the basic structure for the estimates and assumptions that underline the annual budget.

Nigeria stocks gain N247bn as investors take advantage of lower prices

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Nigeria’s stocks market has strengthened its journey northward as investors continued on Tuesday, October 5 to take advantage of the lower entry points across the board.

Tuesday’s remote trading session closed with year-to-date (YtD) positive return of + 1.11percent.

The market’s twin performance indicators – the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation increased further by 1.18percent and N247billion respectively from 40,243.05 points and N20.969trillion recorded the preceding trading day to 40,716.66 points and N21.216trillion.

The record positive close on the Bourse followed increased buy activities in favour of stocks like FBN Holdings, Pharma-Deko, Courteville Business Solutions, Learn Africa, and Jaiz Bank.

Federal Road Safety Commission, Gombe State Partner On Tree Planting

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The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Gombe State, in collaboration with the government, has embarked on tree planting campaign under the Gombe Goes Green (3G) Initiative.

The Sector Commander, Mr Ishaku Ibrahim, stated this on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 during the tree planting exercise at the command’s headquarters in Lafiyawo Community, Akko Local Government Area of the state.

Ibrahim said that the tree planting campaign was designed to complement the 3G initiative being implemented by the state government.

He said that tree planting should not be left for the government and environmentalists alone but a collective responsibility for all including organisations.

The Sector Commander said that the corps had earlier planted several trees under the first phase of the programme, adding that the trees were being nurtured and in good shape.

According to him, the resolve of the state government to plant one million trees every year is a “noble initiative that will improve the environment.”

He called on organisations and corporate bodies to support tree planting and other environment-friendly programmes, to mitigate environmental challenges in the state.

Ibrahim stated that for the trees to be sustained, “every officer had been assigned to a tree and it will be their responsibility to nurture.”

In his remarks, Dr Mohammed Tafida, Director-General, 3G Coordinating Office, said that the tree planting exercise at Lafiyawo was on the instance of the Corps.

Tafida said that Gov. Inuwa Yahaya had directed the 3G initiative to expand the scope of its outreach to offices towards improving the quality of air.

He disclosed that over 1.2 million trees were planted across the state under the 3G initiatve, adding that more trees would be planted under the second phase of the programme.

“We are still planting and we are open to anyone who wants trees to come for them but they must assure to nurture them,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Garba, Project Manager, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) Project in the state, said that planting of trees was vital towards addressing erosion-related challenges.

Garba said, “we are in erosion control and one of the reasons for gully erosion is indiscriminate felling of trees.

“This is why tree planting which is part of our development objectives has been prioritised.”

According to him, collective effort in tree planting will help address environmental challenges while reducing vulnerability to soil erosion.

The Manager appealed to other agencies to emulate the FRSC by embarking on tree planting in their offices and homes.

Extra allocation to INEC, others see Buhari raise 2022 budget

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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has written to lawmakers seeking a 17.67 percent increase of the Federal Government’s projected expenditure in 2022 to N16.45 trillion from N13.98 trillion.

The projected increase in expenditure equates to N2.47 trillion additional spending, which Buhari said was partly due to the N100 billion extra provision to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cater for 2023 General Elections.

President Buhari made the demand in a submission of the Revised 2022-2024 Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), accompanied by a letter read by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila at plenary on Tuesday.

Today In History – Oct. 6 – 1882 – 1st World Series Baseball Game 1

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1917 Battle of Passchendaele: Canadian troops capture the village of Passchendaele in the Third Battle of Ypres, after 250,000 casualties on both sides

1939 Adolf Hitler announces plans to regulate Jewish problem

1948 Earthquake in Ashgabat kills 100,000 in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

1948 Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey finds the first partial fossil skull of Proconsul africanus, an ancestor of apes and humans on Rusinga Island, Kenya

1949 US President Harry Truman signs Mutual Defense Assistance Act (for NATO)

1951 Joseph Stalin proclaims the Soviet Union has the atomic bomb

1956 Scientist Albert Sabin announces that his oral Polio vaccine is ready for testing; it would soon supplant Jonas Salk’s vaccine in many parts of the world

Today in Film & TV
1927 “The Jazz Singer”, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson and May McAvoy, released, 1st film with a soundtrack (Honorary Academy Award 1928)

1960 “Spartacus”, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, premieres in NYC

Today in Music
1987 “Faith” single released by George Michael (Billboard Song of the Year 1988)

Today in Sport
1882 1st World Series Baseball Game 1: Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA) beat Chicago White Stockings (NL), 4-0 at Bank Street Grounds, Cincinnati

Do you know this fact about today? Did You Know?
51 Pegasi discovered as the first major star, apart from the Sun, to have a planet orbiting around it, on this day in 1995

Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
Tavern owner “Billy Goat” Sianis buys seat for his goat for Game 4 of Baseball World Series, is escorted out and casts goat curse on Chicago Cubs, on this day in 1945

California Oil Pipeline: Authorities Investigating Leak

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A 4,000-foot section of a California oil pipeline that spewed more than 100,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean was displaced laterally about 105 feet and had a 13-inch split on the side of the pipe that was likely the source of the spill, authorities said Tuesday.Divers and footage from remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, confirmed Monday the split along a section of a 17.7-mile pipeline off the coast of Southern California, according to the Unified Command of agencies investigating the incident.The divers and ROVs also found no indications of continued oil release at the potential source of the leak, authorities said.The discovery explains the likely source of a spill, widely reported Saturday, of as much as 144,000 gallons of crude oil about five miles off the coast of Huntington Beach.The spill has shut down prized beaches, damaged the environment and presented possible health hazards for local residents.Authorities investigating the leak also sought to clarify the timeline of when authorities and the pipeline company learned about the spill and what they did in response.The Unified Command said the National Response Center first received a report of an unknown sheen of unknown source on Friday evening.”These types of reports are common and in many cases, the sheen reported can be natural seepage of oil or sheen that is never located,” the Unified Command said in a press release. “NOAA satellite imagery was reported to agencies early morning reporting a possible oil anomaly.”Crews from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response went to investigate before sunrise, but conditions were foggy and the crew returned to shore, authorities said.”The Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriff deployed at first light once fog lifted to investigate.A Coast Guard aircraft was diverted to support the investigation.

Today In History – Oct. 5 – 1947 – Harry Truman Makes 1st Presidential Address Televised From White House

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1274 Around 1,000 soldiers of the Mongol army land on the Japanese island of Tsushima, the first attack of Kublai Khan’s Mongol invasion of Japan

1789 French Revolution: Women of Paris march to Versailles in the March on Versailles to confront Louis XVI about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism, demand bread, and have the King and his court moved to Paris

1813 Battle of the Thames; American forces under General William Henry Harrison defeat Tecumseh’s Confederacy and their British allies led by Henry Procter near Chatham, Upper Canada

1864 Most of Calcutta destroyed by cyclone, approx 60,000 die

1978 Over 30 major nations ratify the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare that has widespread, long-lasting or severe effects

1988 Chile votes in a referendum 56-44 against extending Augusto Pinochet’s regime by 8 years thus ending the dictator’s 16½ years in power

2000 Mass demonstrations in Belgrade culminate in the resignation of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević, often called the Bulldozer Revolution

Today’s Historical Events
Today in Film & TV
1947 Harry Truman makes the 1st Presidential address televised from the White House

1962 “Dr. No”, 1st James Bond film based on the novel by Ian Fleming and starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, premieres in London

Today in Music
1962 The Beatles release their first record, “Love Me Do”

Today in Sport
1922 NY Yankees and Giants play out a controversial 3-3 tie in 10 innings in Game 2 of Baseball World Series at Polo Grounds, Manhattan, NY; Giants win series, 4-0-1

Do you know this fact about today? Did You Know?
Monty Python’s Flying Circus begins airing on BBC TV, on this day in 1969

Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
A strong hurricane known as the Saxby Gale devastates the Bay of Fundy region in Maritime Canada. Incredibly British naval officer Stephen Martin Saxby predicted the storm 10 months earlier in December 1868 via astronomy, on this day in 1869