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☆ Battery swapping spurs Kenya's electric motorbike drive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Workers at ARC Ride assemble an electric motorcycle at the company's warehouse in Industrial Area, Nairobi, Kenya November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiSummary Electric motorbike startups making inroads in KenyaSay battery swapping saves drivers time, moneyPlanning to expand model to Tanzania, UgandaNAIROBI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Over recent months, sets of sturdy, brightly-branded battery swapping stations have cropped up around Kenya's capital Nairobi, allowing electric motorcyclists to exchange their low battery for a fully-charged one. "It doesn't make a lot of economic and business sense for them to acquire a battery...which would almost double the cost of the bike," said Steve Juma, the co-founder of electric bike company Ecobodaa. EXPANSION PLANSEcobodaa is just one of several Nairobi-based electric motorcycle startups working to prove themselves in Kenya before eventually expanding in East Africa. "We're putting over 200 swapping stations in Nairobi and expanding to Dar es Salaam and Kampala," said Hurst-Croft.

☆ 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 Museveni rescinded restrictions on the disease's epicentre in the district of Mubende, which logged 66 cases and 29 deaths, and in the Kassanda region with 49 cases and 21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.

Farmers in both are fighting a losing battle to save the soil that produces our food. By contrast, there's not enough water in the vast Yangtze basin, which produces a third of China's crops. Soil erosion could lead to a 10% loss in global crop production by 2050, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Similarly, other measures such as digging thousands of new wells and encouraging farmers to switch crops to boost yields have limited impact. Options include not tilling soil to reduce erosion, and planting off-season cover crops to prevent erosion and nutrient loss.

☆ Ethiopia combatants sign deal to start implementing truce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The deal will be put into effect "immediately", mediator Olusegun Obasanjo told a news conference before the signing. Both sides said they were committed to the declaration, stressing it was the only way to restore peace and stability. One of TPLF's representatives, General Tadesse Werede, said the declaration on implementation had given them hope that the suffering of the people in Tigray would end. The two sides agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities in an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough in South Africa on Nov. 2. Reporting by Ayenat Mersie, Writing by Duncan Miriri and Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Clelia OzielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. Representatives of Ethiopia's military and government and forces from Tigray are in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to discuss how to begin implementing the ceasefire, with the talks set to last three or four days. Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigray authorities, said the talks were to figure out implementation of the agreement. In a statement on Monday, the AU said it expected the outcomes of the talks to "include modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access and the restoration of services in the Tigray region". The ceasefire agreement says Ethiopia's army will safeguard the country against "foreign incursion" but analysts are worried about whether Eritrea - the TPLF's sworn enemy - will listen.

☆ Drought has killed 205 Kenyan elephants in 10 months, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Drought in Kenya killed 205 elephants and scores of other wildlife between February and October as much of East Africa endures its worst drought in 40 years, tourism minister Peninah Malonza said on Friday. Although sporadic rainfall has finally started in the region, Kenya's Meteorological Department is forecasting below-average rainfall for much of the country for the coming months, raising fears that the threat to Kenya's wildlife is not over. There have also been 49 deaths of the rare and endangered Grevy's zebra. In September, conservation group Grevy's Zebra Trust said that 40 Grevy's had died in just a three-month period because of the drought, representing nearly 2% of the species population. Last month, charity Save the Elephants said that one famed calf, well-known for being a twin, a rarity for elephants, died during the drought.

☆ Kenya's Safaricom targets more fixed Internet users with 5G network
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pedestrians walk on a sideway outside the Safaricom mobile phone customer care centre in the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya, November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiOct 27 (Reuters) - Kenya's largest telecoms operator Safaricom (SCOM.NR) launched its 5G high-speed internet service on Thursday, becoming the first firm to deploy the technology commercially in East Africa. The company, whose internet provision business is one of its fastest growing, uses equipment from Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Huawei (HWT.UL) to power its 5G network. While Safaricom dominates the mobile data market - commanding about a 65% share - it holds only about a third of the fixed data market, data from the Communications Authority of Kenya showed. Customers with compatible phones would however be able to use the network soon, the company said, when it starts selling 5G data packages.

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