Lake Markakol is a lake in East Kazakhstan. It is another beautiful spot in the Kazakhstan Altai which is 38km long, 19km wide and up to 30 metres deep, standing at an altitude of more than 1,400m and close enough to the Chinese border. A border zone permit is required.

This high mountain lake is the most picturesque of its kind in Kazakhstan.

The lake’s northern shore offers a wonderful view of the Sarymsakty (Garlic) Ridge, with its snow-covered peaks of Burkitaul (Eagle’s Eyrie, 3,373 metres) and Aksubas (Head of White Water 3,308 metres).

The lake is fed with small rivers and streams, its coasts are cut up by gulfs, and it is the largest lake in the Katonkaragay District of East Kazakhstan Region, which is called a pearl of this region.

More than 100 streams flow into Markakol Lake, but only a single river, the Kalzhyr, flows out, south towards the Black Irtysh. The lake is renowned for its crystalline water.

The lake and its surroundings of splendid mountain taiga forest were officially declared a 75,000 hectare natural reserve in 1976; especially in late September, this gorgeous place look like something from a fairy tale.

In 1976, a state nature reserve was founded on Markakol Lake in order to protect the 700 species of vegetation, 254 bird species and rare mammals such as the snow leopard manul (Pallas’s cat), red wolf, maral (Siberian red deer), brown bear, sable and striped and flying squirrels.

In all, 714 square kilometers are under the strictest protection here-in theory; as in almost all other cases, however, the area lacks the necessary funds to pay for wildlife rangers and monitoring systems, and is thus vulnerable to poachers, especially from across the Chinese border, which is very close.

The lake and its environs are still largely undeveloped, mainly because the area was closed to both foreign and domestic tourists until relatively recently.

The Business Process Automation of Certificate of Occupancy (e.C of O) for Federal Lands has been unveiled in Abuja the Nation’ capital.

Nigeria’s Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, at the unveiling said that the initiative was another level of technological advancement in the country.

He called on the ministry to sustain and maintain the initiative to the expected next level.

He explained that manual processing of application for and signing of C.of.O which used to be cumbersome and time – consuming would stop with the introduction of this digital platform.

He stressed that the system would also end the era of carrying several bags of files of C of O for manual endorsement.

“Our digital platform is meant to make life better, the thing that used to take three months will now be available in 24 hours. I, as the head of the Ministry, will stop carrying Ghana most go filled with C of Os from Abuja to Lagos or my house, I can now sign many of them on the system within some hours. I think that’s where Nigeria as the biggest black Nation should be,” he said.

The Minister also revealed that about 2,276 files so far, have been digitalized.

In his remarks, the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Folorunso Esan, commending the Ministry for the successful implementation of the initiative said the project was awarded on February 17, 2022.

He confirmed that the project will boost public consumption and also enable easy payments.

On his part, the Head of Department and Director, Lands & Housing Development, Mr. Felix Appah, said that the process will enthrone transparency in the activities of land certification and ownership which will also serve as legal collateral to such land owners in accessing loans.

Mr Appah, listed its benefits to government as improving efficiency in registration, prevents the issuance of counterfeit C of O, increase revenue to government, having a central digital repository for all document, reduce process time for C.of.O applications, digital archiving with index, Reduce storage and printing costs amongst others.

In addition, Nigeria, implementing an electronic land titling is in line with international best practices in land administration

Highlight of the event was presentation of C.of.O to some of recipients.

Heavy rain has led to flooding in the area, causing damage to towns and villages and the UN’s humanitarian response agency (OCHA) warned of an increase in diseases such as cholera as local infrastructures are affected

Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in central Somalia after the River Shabelle burst its banks in Beledweyne.

Local resident, Abdihafid Mohamed Yusuf, shared his experience:

“We fled from the flash floods that submerged the city like so many others,” he said.

“People ran out of the city to safety. For four days, the floods poured massively into the city.”

Shopkeeper, Nur Abdulle Hassan, added that the heavy rains had impacted on trade.

“Our businesses have been badly affected by the massive flooding in Beledweyne and the movement of people. This has resulted in a reduction in the presence of our customers.”

The flooding comes as international figures show a record number of internally displaced people worldwide with natural disasters accounting for 32.6 million such movements last year.

Deputy Governor of the Hiran Region, Hassan Ibrahim Abdulle, said almost the entire population of some regions have had to move out.

“Most of the inhabitants of the four districts of the town of Beledweyne are displaced because of the flash floods,” he explained.

“90 per cent of the local towns have fled. 10 per cent are still in the town because they have been stranded or they live in the highlands.”

The flooding comes in sharp contrast to months of drought which has killed tens of thousands of people and wiped out crops and livestock.

Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in central Somalia after the River Shabelle burst its banks in Beledweyne.

The flooding comes in sharp contrast to months of drought which has killed tens of thousands of people and wiped out crops and livestock.

It is feared the rains could force many families into destitution.

The Nigerian Government is partnering with investors to deploy five million solar power connections in communities that are not connected to the national electricity grid.

Under its Solar Power Naija Programme, the government, through the Rural Electrification Agency, held an investor match-making event in Abuja to provide the opportunity for potential investors to pitch their financial offerings to developers.

The REA is the implementing agency of the Federal Government under the Federal Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities to boost economic growth through the supply of electricity.

The agency stated in a document that “the Solar Power Naija Programme was launched as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan to achieve the roll-out of five million new solar connections in off-grid communities.”

It added, “this programme is expected to generate an additional N7bn increase in tax revenues per annum and $10m in annual import substitution. The objective of the programme is to expand energy access to 25 million individuals (five million new connections) through the provision of Solar Home Systems or connection to a mini-grid.

“It is to increase local content in the off-grid solar value chain and facilitate the growth of the local manufacturing and assembly industry and incentivise the creation of 250,000 new jobs in the energy sector.”

The event, which was organised in collaboration with the Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Programme, provided a networking and match-making forum that brought together key investors and high-performing developers in the power sector

It is expected to generate an additional N7bn increase in tax revenues per annum and $10m in annual import substitution.

The objective of the programme is to expand energy access to 25 million individuals (five million new connections) through the provision of Solar Home Systems or connection to a mini-grid.

“It is to increase local content in the off-grid solar value chain and facilitate the growth of the local manufacturing and assembly industry and incentivise the creation of 250,000 new jobs in the energy sector.”