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The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. A Congolese representative argued that developed nations should provide more resources to nature conservation efforts in developing countries. [1/6] The leadership of the U.N.-backed COP15 biodiversity conference applaud after passing the The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 19, 2022. Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030. The agreement, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020.

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations summit approved on Monday a landmark global deal to protect nature and direct billions of dollars toward conservation but objections from key African nations, home to large tracts of tropical rainforest, marred the final passage. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. "The parties which are developed nations should provide resources to parties which are developing," the Congolese representative said through a translator. The deal, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the failed 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020. Investment firms focused on a target in the deal recommending that companies analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.

☆ Uganda president lifts all Ebola-related movement restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni lifted all Ebola-related movement restrictions on Saturday, saying the East African country had made progress in curbing the deadly disease. Museveni rescinded restrictions on the disease's epicentre in the district of Mubende, which logged 66 cases and 29 deaths, and in the Kassanda region with 49 cases and 21 deaths. In October, the Kampala government imposed travel restrictions and an overnight curfew and also shut places of worship and entertainment. Ebola causes vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea and spreads via contact with bodily fluids of the infected. The virus can sometimes linger in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of survivors and flare up years later.

Russia and Ukraine are not currently engaged in talks to end the fighting, which is raging in the east and south and reached Kyiv again on Wednesday. Zelenskiy said this week Russia should start withdrawing by Christmas as a step to end the conflict, Europe's biggest since World War Two. Moscow rejected the proposal outright, saying Ukraine must accept the loss of territory to Russia before any progress can be made. [1/5] Rescuers and police officers examine parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. DRONES STRIKE KYIVViolence returned to Kyiv, with the first major drone attack on Ukraine's capital in weeks.

☆ Moody's sees 'very high' foreign exchange risk for banks in Ukraine, Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Seher Dareen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Banks in countries such as Ukraine and Turkey face a "very high" risk from restrictions on capital flows, weak international reserves and a high level of foreign currency debt, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Monday. "The banks become vulnerable to an increase in defaults on foreign currency loans granted to unhedged borrowers which hurts the banks' profitability, while their liquidity and capital can also come under pressure." MSCI's index of emerging market currencies (.MIEM00000CUS) is on course for its sharpest drop since 2015. "Altogether 20 banking systems face high or very high foreign-currency risk," the report added. Foreign exchange risk is at the lowest in emerging markets such as Chile, Ivory Coast and Indonesia.

☆ Uganda's president extends Ebola epicentre's quarantine for 21 days
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has extended a quarantine placed on two districts that are the epicentre of the country's Ebola outbreak by 21 days, adding that his government's response to the disease was succeeding. Movement into and out of Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda will be restricted up to Dec. 17, the presidency said late on Saturday. It was originally imposed for 21 days on Oct. 15, then extended for the same period on Nov. 5. The government's anti-Ebola efforts were succeeding with two districts now going for roughly two weeks without new cases, the president said. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda recording downward trend in Ebola cases - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Uganda has recorded a drop in the number of new Ebola cases, with some districts going for at least two weeks without registering new infections, health ministry officials said. "We are also not seeing new cases in Kampala, in the greater Kampala metropolitan area, neither are we seeing cases in Masaka and Jinja," two other cities, she said. But three candidate vaccines against the Sudan strain are planned for a clinical trial in Uganda. The country has so far recorded 141 cases and 55 deaths, according to the ministry.

☆ African leaders agree on ceasefire in east Congo from Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KINSHASA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - African leaders have declared a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo starting Friday, which is aimed in particular at stopping attacks by the M23 rebel group, they said in a statement. The declaration was issued by the leaders of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola, and former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, after a summit in Luanda on Wednesday aimed at finding solutions to the east Congo crisis. Eastern Congo is facing an insurgency by the M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group which the Congolese government claims is supported by neighbouring Rwanda. In addition to the ceasefire, the statement said the M23 must withdraw from its occupied territories or face intervention by regional forces. "If M23 does not withdraw the East African Community (EAC) heads of states shall authorize use of force to compel the group to comply," it said.

☆ South African retailer Shoprite to close Congo operations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KINSHASA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - South African retailer Shoprite (SHPJ.J) has decided to shut its shops in Democratic Republic of Congo, a company statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed. The decision follows the closure of operations in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Madagascar as the group aims to focus more on its business in South Africa, Shoprite said. "The decision to close operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo during this period is regrettable but is part of the group's long-term strategy," its statement dated Nov. 21 said. South Africa's biggest retailer by market capitalisation launched in Congo in 2012 during a period of aggressive expansion push into African's frontier retail markets. Shoprite's three shops in Congo were among its 2,800 stores across 15 countries in Africa.

☆ Column: Key African nations set off on energy & emissions growth paths
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, the power mix varies greatly by country depending on locally available power sources, legacy power production infrastructure, and proximity to energy exporters. Electricity generation by source in key African economiesThis wide variance in power mix is clear when comparing the electricity source profiles of Africa's two largest electricity producers, South Africa and Egypt. In contrast, Egypt uses natural gas for 77% of its electricity, and uses no coal in electricity generation at all. The two countries' electricity systems have starkly divergent emissions footprints as a result of their different primary fuels. Across Northern Africa, natural gas is making rapid inroads into energy systems, primarily from the abundant local supplies in Algeria and Egypt.

☆ Historic Artemis I mission is just beginning its lunar journey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Artemis I mission launched on its journey to the moon Wednesday. NASAHours after the launch of Artemis I, the Orion spacecraft began to share its impressive views from space. The Artemis I mission is speeding along on a 25.5-day journey that will loop around the moon and return to Earth on December 11. Across the universeA newborn star is at the heart of a new James Webb Space Telescope image that looks like an hourglass. NASA/ESA/CSA/STScIAn awe-inspiring new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the gas and dust released by a chaotic newborn star.

☆ Chimpanzees could share another behavior trait with humans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The closest cousin of humans, this species of great ape has effective ways of communicating what it needs. Show-and-tellFiona had been engaged in what researchers call “leaf grooming,” a common behavior in which a chimpanzee will stroke and manipulate a leaf. Slocombe and her team always maintain a 23-foot (7-meter) distance when observing the chimpanzees in the wild, so as to not disturb them. This standard practice rules out the possibility that the behavior was learned from humans. She hopes it will encourage those who work with chimpanzees, in the wild or in captivity, to look out for more examples.

☆ Uganda to roll out trial vaccines as it scrambles to control Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mubende, Uganda CNN —Joseph Singiringabo has lost almost everything and everyone he held dear to Ebola. An Ebola treatment unit in Mubende, Uganda. Larry Madowo/CNNHe has been involved in every Ebola outbreak in Uganda as well as in Sierra Leone in 2017. However, the country is about to roll out three trial vaccines that have been certified as safe by the World Health Organization (WHO) working group. He has now barred traditional healers and witchdoctors from taking clients during the Ebola outbreak.

Two health workers at the hospital in western Uganda have died from Ebola in this outbreak. Nationwide, 15 health workers have tested positive and six have died. Intensive care staff work maximum eight-hour shifts and personnel from Ebola-free regions are rotated in, he said. "There are facilities where doctors and health workers are still touching patients without gloves because they (gloves) are not there," Nahabwe said. Case numbers remain low compared with a 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed at least 11,300 people.

☆ COP27: More countries join methane pact as focus turns to farms and waste
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | Laurie Goering | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The United States and the EU launched the Global Methane Pledge during the Glasgow climate talks last year. China is developing its own methane strategy but has not yet said whether it will join the global effort. Fifty of the signatories to the Global Methane Pledge have so far unveiled detailed strategies to cut emissions. The United States and EU will also launch other initiatives on Thursday under the Global Methane Pledge that tackle oil and gas, agriculture and waste sectors. The United States and EU also announced that Carbon Mapper, which tracks methane by satellite, will develop a global waste sector methane baseline assessment on landfills and dumpsites.

☆ COP27: Activists hoped Egypt would bring a focus on Africa. They were disappointed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt CNN —The crowd was loving what Bhekumuzi Bhebhe had to say, cheering loudly as he yelled “don’t gas Africa!” into the megaphone. Bhekumuzi Bhebhe speaks at a protest against the development of new fossil fuel projects in Africa. Experts and activists are stressing that many African countries are getting locked in fossil fuel investments that are polluting and will likely prove uneconomical in a few years. “Africa has contributed very little to the climate problem, but the fossil fuel companies are using that to their advantage. What Elmaawi, Adow and other activists want is for the COP27 conference to help African countries foster more investment into renewable energy.

☆ As Ebola outbreak grows in Uganda, US ramps up preparedness plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“All primary and secondary schools in Uganda are directed to close by November 25th, 2022 for third term holidays as a measure to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country,” Museveni said in a statement. Major US cities get Ebola plans in placeThe CDC estimates that 20% of travelers from Uganda will arrive without a cell phone or US-based phone number. “CDPH continues to work with our hospitals to screen patients for travel history and be alert for symptoms of Ebola virus disease or, more likely, malaria or circulating respiratory viruses. ‘We need to be prepared’The Ebola virus is transmissible – but not as transmissible as some other infectious diseases, like Covid-19. “If we do see any cases in the United States, the hope is that they will be identified quickly before there is further spread,” Barouch said.

☆ Africa is hosting the UN climate summit. It's also home to 3 oil-and-gas deals announced in just two weeks.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During the COP27 event, three oil-and-gas deals in Africa have been announced. In the past two weeks — essentially the time of the COP27 summit — three oil-and-gas deals were announced for Africa alone, in Egypt, Nigeria, and Tanzania. That demand is evident even in announcements that purportedly support renewable energy. Plus, the projects are more expensive than building out renewable energy like solar. "If we really want to improve the lives of people, we need to invest in community renewable energy," Elmaawi said.

☆ Ugandan leader says anti-Ebola efforts starting to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KAMPALA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Uganda's efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak were starting to succeed and the country has tightened restrictions in the outbreak's epicentre to further slow the rate of infections, President Yoweri Museveni said on Tuesday. "Bunyangabo and Kagadi districts have been dropped from the follow up list. He said authorities had handed names of all contacts of Ebola cases to immigration services at borders to prevent them from potentially travelling and exporting cases in other countries. The outbreak was declared in the country on Sept. 20. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda’s President Museveni slams ‘Western double standards’ over Germany coal mine plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has slammed Western countries over what he calls a “reprehensible double standard” in their response to the energy crisis brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In September, Russia which had come under a raft of Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, halted gas supplies to Europe, leaving the region that was dependent on Russian oil and gas imports scampering for alternatives. But Europe’s largest economy has now been forced to prioritize energy security over clean energy as gas supplies from Russia froze. Just like Germany, many other European countries are reviving coal projects as alternatives to Russian energy. Making ‘a mockery’ of climate targetsMuseveni, 78, says Europe’s switch to coal-based power generation “makes a mockery” of the West’s climate targets.

☆ Uganda confirms Ebola case in country's east as outbreak expands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - An Ebola case has been confirmed in Jinja in eastern Uganda, the country's health minister said on Sunday, the first time the outbreak has spread to a new region of the country from central Uganda where cases have been confined so far. Authorities have been struggling to contain the highly infectious and deadly haemorrhagic fever since the epidemic was declared on Sept. 20. Uganda has so far recorded a total of 135 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, according to the health ministry. In a tweet, health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the case in Jinja was of a 45-year-old man who died on Thursday. A sample that turned positive for Ebola had been obtained from the body by health workers at a private clinic where he had sought treatment.

☆ Uganda university drops mandatory pregnancy tests for students after outcry
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A university in Uganda has withdrawn a requirement for female nursing and midwifery students to take a pregnancy test before sitting their exams, after facing a backlash. Female nursing and midwifery students being asked to take a pregnancy test, at their own cost as a pre-condition for sitting exams is peak nonsense!!! !”Dr. Githinji Gitahi, CEO of non-profit Amref Health Africa, responded by tweeting: “What? Because pregnancy has what to do with exams? I wish you all the best in the forthcoming exams,” he continued.

☆ Kuda, a Nigerian fintech backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, is launching in the UK to offer remittances to Africans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nigerian fintech banking startup Kuda is launching its UK operations to offer remittances. UK to Nigeria remittances are worth $3.1 billion each year, according to data from the World Bank. Kuda has looked to diversify its sources of revenue in 2022 and is on the lookout for M&A. Nigerian fintech startup Kuda is launching in the UK to offer its remittance services for Africans. The banking startup, which was founded in 2017, has raised $90 million in funding from the likes of Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures and Target Global.

☆ Uganda Struggles to Contain Its Second-Deadliest Ebola Outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Uganda is struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak that has already infected at least 156 people and killed 74, including in the capital Kampala. The outbreak, first detected on Sept. 20 in a small farming town in central Uganda, is caused by a relatively rare strain of the virus for which there are no proven vaccines or antiviral treatments. It has since spread to eight districts throughout the East African country, including Kampala, a crowded city of around five million people, prompting warnings from the World Health Organization that neighboring countries should prepare for imported infections.

☆ Kenya deploys troops to Congo to help end decades of bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Edwin Waita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaNAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23 rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the warring groups in eastern Congo. "We have been working very hard to mobilise the international community to support the east African force," Kenya's defence minister Aden Duale said at the event.

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