Category: General

At least 1,800 people in Tanzania’s southern region of Mtwara have been left homeless after their houses were submerged by flash floods caused by the ongoing heavy rains, an official said Saturday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Ahmed Abbas, the Mtwara regional commissioner, said the flash floods occurred in the past week after the Ruvuma River overflew following heavy rains upstream.

“The flash floods submerged over 150 houses in Maurunga and Kilambo wards in Mtwara district leaving 528 households with 1,800 people homeless,” Abbas said.

The homeless victims have been sheltered in primary schools as the regional authorities were organizing relief supplies, including tents and food, for the victims, he said.

He said the flash floods also destroyed more than 100 hectares of farm crops, including maize and potatoes, in the affected areas.

Source: Trend News Agency

The peaceful protest of Azerbaijani ecologists and young volunteers on the Lachin-Khankendi road passing through Shusha over the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits, especially the Gizilbulag gold and Damirli copper-molybdenum deposits located in the Azerbaijani territories, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed, has been going on for the 119th straight day. They performed the national anthem of Azerbaijan early in the morning. The protestors continue to chant various slogans in English and Russian calling for an end to ecocide against Azerbaijan, as well as demanding monitoring of Azerbaijan’s mineral deposits in the areas where the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been temporarily deployed. The unimpeded passage of the various types of vehicles, including ambulances and humanitarian convoys are being ensured and the road is open for humanitarian purposes.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

The protest rally that was organized by the Georgian opposition United National Movement party has ended in central Tbilisi, tAPA reports citing the Interpressnews agency.

More than 1,000 people took part in the five-hour rally. The participants demanded the authorities implement the European Union’s recommendations for obtaining the status of a candidate for the EU membership, including a law against oligarchs. The participants, waving the flags of Georgia and the European Union, insisted on the country’s Euro-Atlantic course.

The protesters also demand the release of former President Mikhail Saakashvili and Mtavari Arkhi television channel CEO Niki Gvarami, saying that they are political prisoners. The rally proceeded peacefully, with no incidents or provocations being reported.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with Russia-1 TV channel on Sunday highlighted the difference between the approaches of Russia and the United States in building relations with other countries, APA reports citing Teletrader.

He claimed that Washington urges everyone to live by the rules it sets, while Moscow advocates for living by international law.

According to Peskov, this is the key difference between the two countries’ approaches to international relations. “These are different things, because the law is universal in nature, and someone sets the rules. And just the Americans believe that everyone should dance to their tune and live by the rules that they, the Americans, set,” Peskov stated.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus addressed “the closest topics” when they met in the Russian leader’s official apartment in the Kremlin earlier this week, the Pul Pervogo Telegram channel close to the press service of the Belarusian president said on Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS.

In an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov answered in the affirmative to the question whether President Putin had invited his Belarusian counterpart to his apartment in the Kremlin.

“After the talks and a working dinner in the Kremlin, the leaders continued communication in the Kremlin apartment. Naturally, they discussed the closest topics,” Pul Pervogo said.

On April 5, the two presidents held one-on-one talks in the Kremlin and attended a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus on the following day.

The informal part of Putin’s talks with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping in March was held in Putin’s official apartment in the Kremlin. As Putin said later, they continued their discussion after the dinner in a comfortable, private atmosphere.

Source: Trend News Agency

Owning a combination of factors necessary for the development of the green hydrogen industry, Azerbaijan is set to become a regional leader and a reliable supplier to the EU, Vladimir Rogov, Managing Director and Partner of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), told Trend.

He pointed out that support of the green energy projects under the REPowerEU plan and the growing interest of investors create favorable conditions for the rapid development of the renewable energy sector (RES) and the hydrogen sector of the country’s economy.

“To reach net zero by 2050, low-carbon hydrogen is a novel option to decarbonize industries with hard-to-abate emissions, such as basic chemicals, aviation, steel production, shipping, and long-haul road transportation. While gray hydrogen is generated from natural gas or methane, low-carbon hydrogen is produced through electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources such as wind or solar, or fossil fuels paired with carbon capture and storage,” added Rogov.

The expert noted that in 2021, demand for hydrogen was around 94 million tons, most of it in the form of gray hydrogen, which is produced from methane or natural gas and therefore isn’t environmentally friendly.

“But by 2050, demand for low-carbon hydrogen will approach 350 million tons per annum (mtpa) under a 2°C global warming scenario or 530 mtpa under a 1.5°C scenario. Governments and companies will have to invest approximately $6 trillion to $12 trillion between 2025 and 2050 to produce and transport enough low-carbon hydrogen to meet demand, according to BCG’s calculations. Although investment opportunities will extend across the hydrogen value chain—from feedstock development and generation to hydrogen transportation and storage—$300 billion to $700 billion of that amount must be deployed soon, from 2025 to 2030,” said Rogov.

Source: Trend News Agency