Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa has said that evacuating Nigerian students from warring Sudan will not be possible at this time even though there are plans already in place to make that happen.
The fighting in Sudan has claimed over 400 lives, leaving thousands wounded since it began on Saturday between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and is commonly known as Hemeti.
In a tweet on Friday, she said the tensed situation makes it gravely risky and impossible for any flights at this point in time.
She tweeted: “Update on Nigerians in Sudan: While @nemanigeria and the Nigerian Mission in Sudan have put in place necessary arrangements, any flight now is gravely risky. Airlines on ground at the airport were all burnt today , there is a curfew in place and no flights can operate.
“Humanitarian groups are making efforts to distribute food, water, medicals, while all efforts are being put in place to hopefully get the warring parties to ceasefire. Our thoughts and prayers are with our citizens there , and the whole country.”
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo departed Nigeria on Saturday for the United States of America where he is scheduled to deliver a Special Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, UPenn, in Philadelphia.
UPenn, which is one of the eight private universities known as the Ivy League in the United States, was initially established in 1740 as a charity school.
It was later transformed into an academy in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin, a future founding father of the United States, who also served as the first president of the Board of Trustees of the University.
It was founded through the merger of the Afro-American Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. The Center is hosting the Vice President’s Special Lecture in partnership with other faculties of the University such as PennCarey Law, Perry World House, Wharton Business School, Coalition for Equity and Opportunity and Perelman School of Medicine.
A spokesman for the Vice President, Laolu Akande said in a release that Prof Osinbajo’s lecture on Monday would be themed around Climate Change and a Just Transition, and is hosted by the University’s Center for Africana Studies.
“Besides the lecture, the VP will also participate in an interactive session with students and faculty coordinated by Prof. Wale Adebanwi, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Prof. Osinbajo, a leading voice and strong advocate for a Just Energy Transition for Africa and the developing world, is currently spearheading efforts aimed at creating the African Carbon Market as one of the pathways of a just and sustainable transition.”
Akande said Prof. Osinbajo is expected back in Abuja right after his engagements in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania.
Following public outcry regarding the contamination of the river Benue by waste produced by the Pure Bio Tech ethanol company in Benue State endangering human and aquatic life the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency NESREA has shut down the plant.
State Coordinator NESREA Daniel Iormough led the team to seal the facility for contravening environmental laws by discharging pollutants into the public water system thereby endangering lives and the environment.
The pure Bio-tech ethanol company limited situated along the Makurdi Gboko road in Benue State north central Nigeria has been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent time.
This led authorities of the National Environmental Standards and regulations enforcement agency to look into the company leading to it shutting down of operations for non availability the required effluent treatment plant which would ensure its waste are treated before being discharged into the environment.
In addition the facility was also found to be operating without an environmental impact statement and did not complete the process of conducting an environmental impact assessment before commencement of operations.
A new app created by Twitter’s co-founder and ex-CEO as an alternative to the Elon Musk-owned platform has just launched a version for Android users.
Bluesky, created by Jack Dorsey, promises a future-thinking “social internet” that allows users more choices and frees people from platforms, according to its website.
The app, however, is still in development and only available to access through an invite code.
Dorsey began working on Bluesky as a side project in 2019 with funding from Twitter, and it was first rolled out to iOS users in late February.
Many users have said Bluesky’s current beta version is similar to a pared-down copy of Twitter, according to Tech Crunch.
Demand for the exclusive app has been growing, and the platform reportedly has about 20,000 users in its current form, the technology outlet reported.
Moving forward, the app developers hope to give users “algorithmic choice,” which would allow them to choose how content is fed onto their screens, instead of a one-fits-all algorithm controlled by the app developers.
Greek development firm Archirodon has joined forces with Saudi Arabia’s Arabian Construction Co. to build a staff village at one of Red Sea Global’s leading tourist destinations.
The joint venture will see the construction of facilities in the Amaala development, including a beach club, mosque, and multifunctional hall, according to MEED.
The reported SR1 billion ($267 million) contract will also see the developers responsible for the engineering, installation, and other assorted aspects of the residential assets and infrastructure.
Archirodon has previously worked on the Red Sea project with regards to coral transplantation, including the relocation and transplantation of around 21,000 crates of the sea organism.
Once complete, Amaala will be home to more than 3,000 rooms across 25 hotels, as well as hosting around 900 luxury residential villas, apartments, and estate homes.
In January, RSG awarded a nearly SR1 billion contract to Saudi-based Al-Ayuni Investment and Contracting Co. to develop utilities infrastructure systems at one of its resorts.
The firm will carry out the work in the first phase of development at AMAALA, while also working on minimizing Triple Bay’s carbon footprint.
RSG has made involving Saudi companies in its development a key goal, and has organized a series of local and regional meetings highlighting partnership opportunities.
Representatives from more than 100 businesses attended the first regional meeting, held in Doha in March, with RSG looking to award about SR25 billion worth of contracts as the development grows.
So far in 2023, 70 percent of existing contracts were awarded to Saudi companies.
Speaking in March Ben Edwards, group head of cost, commercial and procurement, talked up the opportunities in construction for Red Sea Global destinations, including building infrastructure, marine and civil engineering, plumbing and furnishing.
He added that the company is also looking for partners with global experience in tourism, such as food and beverages and other hospitality services.
The Red Sea project is set to open its first three resorts this year, and its Red Sea International Airport is nearing the first phase of completion.
The Chilean government’s newly announced plan to have the state take a majority stake in the lithium industry disconcerted business leaders, though analysts cautioned that the proposal appears to try to strike a middle ground between competing interests.
President Gabriel Boric announced in a national broadcast Thursday night that private companies will have to partner with the government in exploiting Chile’s lithium, a metal used to make rechargeable batteries.
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric speaks during an event to present the National Lithium Strategy in Antofagasta, Chile, on April 21, 2023.
Boric said the state would take a controlling interest in each partnership, leading some to call it a nationalization of the industry, while others disagreed.
Chile is the second largest producer of lithium and holds the world’s third largest reserves of the metal.
Demand for lithium is expected to soar amid the transition to renewable energy around the world and the growth in electric vehicles that are powered by lithium batteries.
The South American country has recently been losing ground to others in the race to exploit the metal so there was much anticipation over what Boric, a leftist, would announce as the country’s strategy for the industry.
“There were no great surprises, which doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very important change in the model,” said Mariano Machado, principal analyst for the Americas at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence firm.
Two companies currently mine lithium in Chile, Albemarle Corp. of the United States and local company SQM with concessions set to expire in 2043 and 2030, respectively.
Shares in the two companies plunged Friday following Boric’s announcement.
Creation of the new company would require approval from Congress, which has already shot down several of Boric’s key initiatives.
Attorneys general in 17 states in the U.S. urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge.
Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last decade do not have engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.
Videos circulating on social media have shown how people can start Kia and Hyundai models by using only a screwdriver and a USB cable.
In Los Angeles, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by about 85 percent in 2022, now accounting for 20 percent of all car thefts in the city, according to the California attorney general’s office.
These social media-inspired thefts have often ended in tragedy, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blaming the stolen car trend for 14 reported crashes and eight deaths.
In October, a police commissioner said that a car crash in Buffalo, New York, that left four teenagers dead may have been linked to the social media challenge.
In the incident, a total of six teenagers were in a speeding Kia that crashed, Buffalo police said. The car had been reported stolen.
“The bottom line is, Kia’s and Hyundai’s failure to install standard safety features on many of their vehicles have put vehicle owners and the public at risk,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release. “Instead of taking responsibility with appropriate corrective action, these carmakers have chosen instead to pass this risk onto consumers and our communities.”
Bonta and the other attorneys general sent a letter on Thursday to NHTSA requesting a nationwide recall. The letter also was signed by attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Two boats carrying Saudi citizens and other nationals rescued from battle-scarred Sudan arrived Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi state television said, in the first announced evacuation of civilians since fighting there began.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that diplomats and international officials were among those who arrived in the evacuation operation carried out by the Royal Saudi Navy with the support of various branches of the armed forces.
It added that 91 citizens had been evacuated, and 66 other nationals from Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso.
“The Kingdom worked to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The first evacuation vessel from Sudan has arrived, carrying 50 (Saudi) citizens and a number of nationals from friendly countries,” the official Al-Ekhbariyah television said.
The first boat docked at the Red Sea port of Jeddah where the four other ships carrying 108 people from 11 different countries was expected to arrive later from Sudan, the broadcaster said.
Those who have arrived in Jeddah include the crew of a Saudi passenger plane that was hit by gunfire while preparing to take off from Khartoum at the start of the fighting on April 15, according to Saudi state TV.
A convoy of vehicles carried the evacuees to Port Sudan from where they boarded ships to Jeddah, according to the Saudi broadcaster.
Earlier on Saturday, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry announced that Saudi Arabia will start arranging the evacuation of its citizens and several nationals from other “brotherly and friendly” countries from Sudan as clashes intensify despite an Eid truce.
In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry said the evacuated people will be flown to Saudi Arabia.
An online video has shown the moment a waterspout crashed onto a beach full of people.
Strong winds sent one man flying backwards but fortunately to no harm at Hollywood Beach, Miami.
The waterspout dissipated when it reached the shore so did little damage apart from the scattered beach chairs and tables.
Waterspouts are similar to tornadoes, but form over water. This one was a tornadic waterspout so developed downward during a thunderstorm and was accompanied by high winds.
Parc National du Delta du Saloum is a vast park area that covers the river delta of the Saloum River, and it is located at the juncture of the Saloum River and the North Atlantic Ocean within the western part of the Republic of Senegal.
Covering an area of about 76,000 hectares (190,000 acres), it was established as a national park in 1976, where together with other parts of the Saloum River creates an enormous area of natural habitat.
This entire area covers some 180,000 hectares (440,000 acres) of the biosphere reserve, from which some 61,000 hectares (150,000 acres) are covered with water, which is why it is part of the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat.
Due to the remarkable synergy between the natural environment that contains extensive biodiversity and the style of human development, it is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site list that makes it more attractive.
This vast saline wetland is dotted by plenty of islands that are accounted for some 850 sq km (330 sq mi), although during the dry season there are tidal or seasonal flats, while during the rainy seasons some are becoming very small or disappearing.
These spectacular islands have intertidal mangroves and saltwater vegetation which is accounted for 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres), while 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) are savannah and forest cover.
One of the most interesting facts is that the Saloum Delta National Park lies on the East Atlantic Flyway migration route making it a quite important place for birds who breed or winter in the area, and it was declared as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International.
From all of the bird species that can be seen here, the most common include royal tern, greater flamingo, Eurasian spoonbill, curlew sandpiper, ruddy turnstone, and little stint.
Furthermore, many shell mounds are well preserved and sometimes they have enormous proportions.
Being a direct testimony of sustainable and very ancient socio-economic practices, they are the ones that made possible the creation of islets that man has converted into living grounds and found a way to coexist with the very fragile nature.
One of the more impressive places is the village of Djifer where dolphins and other marine creatures can often be seen, but the local pirogue sailors are exceptionally famous for their skills of navigating around the delta, which attracts many people who would like to experience the Saloum Delta first hand.
The other fishing villages are Dionevar and Niodior which are built on islets in the winding estuary waters.
All in all, even though the Saloum Delta National Park is not so famous around the world, it is quite enthralling to visit it and see in person the amazing diversity it contains, and how interesting and alluring the culture of the local population is.
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