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  • Inside the COP27 Newsroom in Eqypt. FILE 
  • Journalists from around the world have been put to test to work together in this year's biggest Newsroom at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

    Chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan confirmed that over 3,000 journalists had been cleared to cover the event from Egypt and that a majority of them had already arrived at the venue.

    Whereas journalists are expected to arrange for their own accommodation, the organisers ensured that some facilities were availed to the media personalities on location. 

    For instance, at the venue is a 300-capacity writing press area which will be split into three to accommodate those who carry their personal laptops for wifi use, those who carry their laptops for hard wired internet access as well as those who work on computers provided at the venue.

    A road sign in Eqypt announcing the COP27 event.
    A road sign in Eqypt announcing the COP27 event. FILE

    For swift delivery, COP 27 site is being fed by a 40gb/s internet connection.  

    "The network has been configured in such a way so that all users have access to the full incomer and there is no throttling or segregation of that connection.

    "All internet connections will be capable of a minimum 10mb/s u/d and burstable up to
    100mb/s u/d," read the statement in part.

    Journalists were also advised to register for the events they intent to cover two-hours in advance.

    In cases of rooms where TV and radio journalists won't be permitted to access, feeds will be provided by the Egypt State broadcaster.

    Rules to be Followed

    According to the accreditation rules, all media houses were expected to deliver their equipment in bulk by using vehicle on November 3. 

    Henceforth, all journalists were expected to carry their equipment hand while getting in the main conference. 

    The foreign journalists were also banned from filming outside of the conference venue and must obtain clearance before proceeding.

    All attendees at the event will also be required to wear their identity badges at all time and should undergo a Covid-19 test daily.

    Kenya's Nation Media Group (NMG) sent a crew of 8 journalist- its largest ever to attend the event at a go.

    The other 3,000 journalists were drawn from 450 media outlets worldwide including Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg News and Fox News among others. 

    The event will be covered in 15 major languages, including Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. Over 

    40,000 individuals including President William Ruto are expected to attend the event.

    President William Ruto gives an address during the 2022 Taxpayers' Day at the Kenyatta International Conventional Centre on Friday, October 28, 2022.
    President William Ruto gives an address during the 2022 Taxpayers' Day at the Kenyatta International Conventional Centre on Friday, October 28, 2022.  Twitter, By Derrick Okubasu, Kenyans.co.ke
     
 

 

Access to electricity has increased from 2 per cent in 2000 to around 74.5 per cent as of today, according to Rwanda Energy Group (REG).

Of these, 50.9 per cent households are connected to the national grid while 23.6 per cent are using off-grid solutions including inter-alia standalone solar home systems and mini-grids.

The milestone was celebrated on Saturday, November 5 in an event which took place in Nyabugogo Cell, Nyarugenge District.

While speaking at the event, Ron Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of REG, thanked stakeholders who played a part, including entrepreneurs who powered households with solar home systems.

Despite the aggressive expansion of Rwanda’s electrical grid network, analysis has shown that grid connections will take time to reach all households. Therefore, off-grid solutions, including solar home systems (SHS), were introduced to increase access to electricity in areas located far from the grid and now present a viable alternative to grid connections.

According to REG, today, more than 640,000 households are connected through off-grid solutions.

Weiss added: "Although a lot has been achieved, we still have a long way to go to ensure 100 per cent access. 25 per cent of people should be connected in two years. It is still a big number but we assure you that this is achievable and we shall meet again in 2024 to celebrate."

Fidele Abimana, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), declared that this move portrays the government’s effort in general as well as that of REG and other stakeholders.

“As the Government of Rwanda, we recognise that electricity is a strong pillar in development and plays a vital role in improving health and standards of living of people,” he said.

“Considering an average of five people per household, around 10 million Rwandans have access to electricity today. That aligns with the government’s vision concerning having all households in the country accessing electricity by 2024.”

He added: “If we managed to power a million households with electricity in two years, and the same numbers of households remain, it is clear that we will achieve the goal in the next two years (2024).”

Abimana also urged people to keep preserving electricity infrastructures, among others.

During the event, one Richard Bigirimana’s household was awarded a token of electricity worth Rwf100,000 as the 2,000,000th to have access to electricity in Rwanda.

Speaking to the media, Bigirimana’s wife, Jeannette Yankurije, thanked the country and REG for the prize and for powering them with electricity which lit up their house and continues to help her children to study during night time.

Energy, and particularly access to electricity, is the Government's key priority. Significant investments made and progress registered led to the increase of households' access to electricity with the Government target of universal access by 2024.

From 1937, when REGIDESO was established in Rwanda and 1957 when the first ever power plant was built in Rwanda up to the year 2000, access to electricity in Rwanda was considered a rare privilege for those living in cities, with only 46,000 households connected.

In 2009, a special program to roll out access to electricity, especially in rural areas was introduced to increase the access rate in the Rwandan community. According to REG, at that time, only 6 per cent of Rwandan households had access to on-grid electricity.

The current electrification plan leading Rwanda to universal access shows that by 2024, around 70 per cent of households will be connected to the grid while around 30 per cent will be using off-grid solutions. - Patrick Nzabonimpa, The New Times

Raila Odinga’s Spokesman Prof. Makau Mutua now says the battle for the August presidential election won by William Ruto is still on.

Mutua said Odinga has never conceded and declared that the battle is still on.

“No one should imagine that the Kenyan presidential election is over we’ve never conceded anything. Stay tuned,” he tweeted without elaborating.

The surpise sentiments follows a challenge filed at the East African Court of Justice by Raila’s running mate Martha Karua.

Odinga lost to Ruto in a narrow victory which he challenged at the Supreme Court which dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

In Karua’s petition at the Arusha, Tanzania-based court, she accused the Kenyan court of undermining “the rule of law by violating the right to a fair trial”.

In the petition filed on Thursday, Karua, who is one of Kenya’s best-known lawyers, urged the regional court to order Kenyan authorities to conduct “transparent, independent, and professional investigations into all (the) violations” allegedly committed by the election commission and the country’s top court.

But the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous verdict in favour of Ruto, saying there was no evidence to back Odinga’s claims.

Observers had feared that the disputed outcome could fuel violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest, but voting day passed off peacefully. 

The East African Court of Justice came into force in 2001 to ensure adherence to the laws establishing the seven-nation East African Community bloc, made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

No Kenyan presidential election result has ever gone uncontested, with Odinga alleging fraud and hacking of the election commission’s servers.  By Vilenta Wakwelo, Capital News

Somalian soldiers attend a military training given by the Turkish Armed Forces's Somalia Turkish Task Force Command at the Anatolian Barracks on the coast of the Indian Ocean in Mogadishu, Somalia on May 25, 2022 [Erçin Ertürk - Anadolu Agency]

Backed by locals, elite Somali forces killed more than 100 members of the Al Qaeda-affiliated terror group Al-Shabaab, the country's Defence Ministry said on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Ministry spokesman, Abdullahi Ali Anod told reporters that two units of the elite Danab, or lightning brigade, troops with the support of, local militia forces known as "Macwisley," engaged Al-Shabaab in an operation since early Thursday.

The operation, which involved airstrikes, took place near the town of Adanyabal in the Horn of Africa country's Middle Shabelle region.

Anad said a large number of Al-Shabaab insurgents tried to defend the town but lost over 100 members on a single front.

The military has been conducting operations against the terror group since President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud declared an "all-out war" against it earlier this week, after a devastating twin car bombing that killed over 100 people in the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, which also wounded 320 others.

Experts believe the local forces that have been fighting alongside the country's army are playing "significant" role against Al-Shabaab.

READ: EU condemns Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

Ali Kulow, a former police officer now serving as a security analyst in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency that local militia forces helped the government reclaim strategic towns in its recent offensives in parts of the country.

"This militia, that has proven itself a fighting force, is seen by many in the country as a revolutionary force capable of defeating Al-Shabaab if they receive logistical support and strategic military planning," said Kulow.

He underlined that the militia knew the countryside better than anybody and had the support of the local population in terms of gathering intelligence on Al-Shabaab in the area.

"The government should use the anger and dedication towards Al-Shabaab because these people witness the real brutality and money extortion of Al-Shabaab. So, I can see a real opportunity here and the government should organise and use them and then integrate them into the national army," he added.

Somalia has been grappling with security threats for years, with Al-Shabaab being one of its main concerns.

Since 2007, the terror group has fought the Somali government and international forces in a deadly campaign that has claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by Al-Shabaab and groups aligned with the Daesh terrorist organisation.

At least 1,242 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018-2019, while 1,735 were injured, according to UN figures. MEMO(Middle East Monitor

 

Photo Courtesy Chams Media

More than 10,000 passengers were stranded as Kenya Airways pilots went on strike to demand better pay and working conditions.

The strike called by the Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA) started on Saturday, grounding more than 15 flights.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has termed the strike as “illegal” an act of “economic sabotage.”

“I visited the JKIA and was saddened to learn that so far, over 15 flights have been canceled and 10,000 passengers stranded,” he said after visiting Kenya’s main airport, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where he met the airline officials.

“I have been briefed by the Kenya Airways management that they working with other airlines to reroute some of the connecting passengers even as we seek a lasting solution to the challenge at hand,” Murkomen said.

The airline, partly owned by the government and Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in Africa, connecting multiple countries to Europe and Asia, but it is facing turbulent times, including years of losses.

The Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA) said that no Kenya Airways flight flown by its members had departed Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport starting from 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Saturday.

“The strike is fully in force,” KALPA union secretary general Murithi Nyagah said in a statement released on Saturday.

The pilots announced the strike in defiance of a court order against the industrial action and have given no indication of how long it will last.

 

Frustrated passengers described huge queues at the airport, with many travellers only learning about their cancelled flights when they showed up to check-in.

“We have been told nothing,” American tourist Jill Lee told AFP as she waited in line to figure out her next course of action after her flight to Dar es Salaam was cancelled at the last minute.

The 65-year-old had booked a safari in Tanzania but said she had no idea where she would spend the night after her connecting flight from Nairobi was cancelled.

“Many people here have nowhere to go. It’s pretty horrible.”

Kenya Airways on Saturday reported high call volumes at its service centre due to the “ongoing unlawful industrial action”, urging customers to only contact the airline if they were travelling in the next 48 hours.

The pilots, who have had a particularly fraught relationship with management, are pressing for the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund.

They also want back payment of all salaries stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.

KALPA representatives said Friday that a series of meetings with airline management had failed to resolve grievances.

“Kenya Airways management’s actions have left us with no other option,” Nyagah said, adding that a 14-day notice on the industrial action had ended without a solution. 

“We had hoped that the management of the airline would soften its stance and engage in negotiation on the issues raised.”

On Monday, the airline won a court injunction stopping the strike, but an official at KALPA, which has 400 members, told AFP the pilots “were acting within the provisions of the law” and that they were yet to be served with a court order.

The carrier warned earlier this week that the strike would jeopardise its recovery, estimating losses at $2.5 million per day if the pilots went ahead with their plans.

The airline was founded in 1977 following the demise of East African Airways and flies more than four million passengers to 42 destinations annually.

But its slogan “The Pride of Africa” rings hollow as it operates thanks to state bailouts following years of losses.

Like other carriers around the world, Kenya Airways saw its revenue nosedive after the pandemic grounded planes worldwide because of stringent travel restrictions, devastating the aerospace and tourism industries. By Ken Osoro, Capital News

 

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