The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, flagged off the oil drilling campaign in Wadi-B prospect, Chad Basin, Tuba Community, Jere Local Government Area, Borno State.

He said the flag-off had signaled the formal resumption of physical activities for the exploration of crude oil and gas in the Chad Basin area.

Buhari, who flagged off the drilling campaign virtually, said he was aware that crude oil and gas exploration activities had been ongoing in the Chad Basin since 1976, as well as the discovery of some commercial gas at Wadi-1 well in 1985.

“I am also aware that active drilling activities were suspended in 1995 to enable re-evaluation of exploration activities in the entire frontier basins.

“I am happy that the NNPC has since then conducted extensive analysis and the evaluation of all frontier basins leading to the successful drilling and discovery of crude oil and gas in commercial quantities in Kolmani River-2.

“It has also provided insight into the ongoing crude oil and gas drilling campaign in Nasarawa State, as well as the current re-entry activities into the Chad Basin,” Buhari stated.

The President noted that the consequential effect of the likely positive outcome of the Chad Basin exploration campaign was in increasing the national crude oil and gas reserves and production, enhancing national energy security and ensuring greater prosperity for Nigerians.

Buhari said he was looking forward to a successful drilling campaign in the Chad Basin through the collaborative efforts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, host communities, state and other partners.

The Lagos State Government through the Lagos Bus Service Limited (LBSL) has officially launched the revolutionary proof-of-concept phase of the Electric Vehicle (EV) mass transit buses for passenger operations in the State.

Each of these Yutong electric buses has the ability to travel 280-kilometers at full charge.

Travel distance far exceeds an average daily usage of 200-kilometers from existing diesel-powered BRTs.

According to the Lagos State Government, each of these electric buses has the ability to travel 280km at full charge, which far exceeds an average daily usage of 200-kilometers from existing diesel-powered BRTs.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on April 30th announced the arrival of the first set of Yutong electric buses for the state’s mass transit scheme as part of the State Government’s increased effort to modernise every sector of Lagos.

Taken to his Instagram page on Sunday to share pictures of the Electric buses, Sanwo-Olu also revealed that the State Government shall be running a pilot scheme over the next few months.

“I am excited to announce the first set of electric buses in the Lagos Mass transit master plan as part of our increased effort to modernise every sector of Lagos. Thanks to our partnership with @Oando_PLC, Lagosians can expect a cleaner and greener public transportation system.”

“With the ability to travel 280km at full charge, taking into account our unique travel times in Lagos, our electric buses are a game-changer. With an average daily usage of 200km by existing BRTs, there is no need to fear that the buses can stop on the road.”

Aldrich Mansion is a large property that is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, located by the beautiful Narragansett Bay in the City of Warwick, part of the State of Rhode Island, within the United States of America.

Originally this French-inspired mansion began being constructed in 1896 by the Senator of Rhode Island, Nelson W. Aldrich, however, it took nearly 16 years for the entire property to be finished.

In 1901, Abby Aldrich, one of the Senator’s eight children, wed John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at the estate, which was considered to be the biggest and most important event organized then.

Still, in 1939 the Senator’s heirs transferred the Aldrich Mansion together with the rest of the property to the today’s owner, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence for approximately 75,000 dollars.

Nowadays, the entire property is wrapping a 29 hectares (72 acres) of impressive paradise that includes stables, boathouse, seminary chapel, together with the seminary’s classrooms, dormitories, gymnasium, and dining facilities.

With the spectacular water view and outstanding architecture, the Aldrich Mansion creates breathtaking place which is perfect for wedding receptions, as well as conferences and fund raisers, nevertheless, it is also used as the place for occasional television and film production work.

Animals are at much greater risk of extinction in China than in other countries, with habitats threatened by urbanisation and human encroachment, according to a Chinese government assessment published this week.

In a bid to reverse the damage done to its environment by rapid growth, China has been setting up national parks, nature reserves and an ecological “red line” scheme aimed at putting vulnerable habitats beyond the reach of human activity, with 30% of the country’s territory now protected.

But significant numbers of species remain at risk as a result of rapid urban expansion, disruptive infrastructure development and animal exploitation, according to a survey of more than 4,300 native species conducted by 213 experts led by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

“The results show that the extinction risk of vertebrates in China is far higher than the world average,” the ministry said in a report published late on Monday. “Species extinction and regional extinction events have occurred in all animal groups.”

“Human economic activity has changed the characteristics of the land … causing the loss and fragmentation of wild animal habitats and the reduction or even disappearance of vertebrate populations,” it added.

The ministry said nearly 30% of China’s reptile species were under threat, higher than the global rate of 21.2%. The total number rose to 137 species, up from 110 since an earlier 2004 survey.

Meanwhile, a total of 176 amphibian species were also identified as threatened, up from 128 and amounting to more than 40% of the total, also much higher than the global rate.

Progress has been made, especially with “charismatic” species like the giant panda, which has seen its population reach around 1,800. The panda was downgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021.

The total number of threatened mammal species also declined to 178 from 223 in 2004, the ministry said, with five “critically endangered” species downgraded to “endangered”.

Wildlife officials in north Cameroon are struggling against a marauding herd of elephants that wandered into a regional capital this week after trampling through surrounding villages, killing at least two people, they said on Wednesday.

An estimated 6,830 elephants live in Cameroon, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, making it one of the largest populations of the endangered species left in Africa.

Conservation efforts have increased their numbers over the past years. But the loss of habitat to plantations and villages causes the animals to occasionally wander into human settlements, trampling crops and homes and sometimes charging people.

Forestry and wildlife official Jean Nyemeg said elephants had trampled a child to death this week in a village near to Maroua, the capital of Cameroon’s Far North region. The four elephants then made two incursions into Maroua itself.

“The elephants moved in search of water due to the arid nature of the region,” Nyemeg said, adding that the herd was first spotted near the border with Chad.

Footage shared on social media showed people scattering and taking videos with their phones as the herd wandered down asphalt roads. Reuters was unable to verify the images.

Rangers on foot have been trying to woo them into a national park around 120 kilometers (74.56 miles) from Maroua, Nyemeg said.

The deputy mayor of the nearby Kalfou district, Oumarou Tamboutou, said the elephants killed a man there last week.

The Ministry of Forests and Wildlife said in a statement that the animals were migrating to the Waza National Park when a crowd of onlookers unaware of the danger blocked the route.

Disoriented elephants killed a person, named as Bintou, in the locality of Balda, the ministry said, and asked locals not to approach the animals as they were still moving towards the national park.

Wildlife groups in Cameroon have been seeking to resolve the conflict between elephants and humans, which has led to street protests in the past, and prevent poaching.