Environment

Climate Activist, Thunberg Arrested For Protesting Against Coal Mine Expansion In German Village

Climate activist, Greta Thurnberg has been arrested alongside other activists for protesting against coal mine expansion in Lützerath, a village in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Reuters reported that Thunberg was held on Tuesday while protesting at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler II, 9km (5.6 miles) from Lützerath.

She was reported to have sat with a group of protesters near the edge of the mine.

The village of Lützerath, sits on the edge of an open-cast lignite coal mine and yields about 25 million tonnes of lignite — the dirtiest form of coal.

The mine spreads across around 14 square miles (35 square kilometers) in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).

Despite the mine creeping outwards and covering buildings, RWE, Germany’s biggest power company, plans to expand the mine.

The proposed expansion sparked series of protests from residents and climate activists who occupied the village and surrounded farmlands to stop the coal mine from being built.

Subsequently, Lützerath, which falls within the expansion area, began experiencing forced eviction from the police.

While marching with up to 6000 protesters, the Swedish climate activist called the coal mine expansion a “betrayal of present and future generations.”

“Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable,” she added.

However, the police say the arrested demonstrators will be released after their identities have been confirmed.

“Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity,” a spokesperson for regional police in Aachen said.

He added that “there is no reason to hold them for days. It might take hours or they will go immediately”.

Environment

Tornado Tears Through US State Of Mississippi, Kills 23

At least 23 people have died after a tornado tore through the US state of Mississippi on Friday night.

Dozens of residents have been injured while four persons are said to be missing.

The numbers are expected to rise as search efforts are underway to rescue people thought to be trapped under knocked-off buildings, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA).

The tornado caused devastation in several rural towns, yanking roofs off homes, nearly levelling some neighbourhoods and causing power outages.

Videos shared on social media showed piles of rubble, wrecked cars and search teams sifting through debris for survivors.

Environment

UNICEF Says 78m Children Risk Water Crisis In Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says 78 million children in Nigeria are at the risk of three water-related threats.

UNICEF listed the threats to include inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene, WASH; related diseases; and climate hazards.

This is contained in statement signed by UNICEF Nigeria Chief of WASH, Dr Jane Bevan, on Monday.

According to the statement, one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services.

“Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands due to lack of water and soap at home.

“As a result, Nigeria is one of the 10 countries that carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases, “Bevan said.

She called for an investment in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

According to her, such move is not only a matter of protecting children’s health today, but also ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

“I believe we need to rapidly scale-up investment in the sector, including from global climate financing, strengthen climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.

“Also, increase effective and accountable systems, coordination, and capacities to provide water and sanitation services, and implement the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework,“ she said.

Environment

Poultry Farmers Lose Over N30bn eggs To Naira Scarcity, Says Association

The Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN has lamented that its members lost more than N30 billion worth of over 15 million crates of eggs due to the effect of Naira scarcity in the country.

The National President of AFAN, Sunday Onallo-Akpa made this known on Friday in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

“The poultry farmers in the country have lost over 15 million crates of eggs being unsold and are damaged, The average loss to the poultry industry as at this press release is in excess of over N30 billion,” he said.

Mr Onallo-Akpa described the poultry industry in Nigeria as one of the most consolidated subsectors of the Nigeria agriculture contributing about 25 per cent of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product, AGDP, and employing over 25 million Nigerians direct and indirect.

He said the poultry industry has been a major employer of labour and a great source of financial empowerment and livelihood for many families, especially women and youths.

“The industry is completely private sector driven worth over N3 trillion,” he said, adding that it has been able to contribute to the local domestication of investments in the country.

Mr Onallo-Akpa however alerted that the poultry industry is on the verge of total collapse and extermination because of the negative and devastating consequences of the new currency policy on the industry.

“The near absence of Naira notes for Nigerians to make daily transactions have made businesses in the poultry industry more difficult.

“Eggs being daily produced by poultry farmers since the first week of February 2023 till date have never been offtaken by 20% because of the near absence and lack of the NAIRA notes to buy basic food items and other necessary proteins like eggs and chickens,” said the AFAN leader.

He therefore called for urgent intervention by the Federal Government to save the industry from eminent collapse.

Mr Onallo-Akpa also appealed to the federal government to mop up the eggs through the association for distribution to the most vulnerable old populations as part of the Social Investment Support to Nigerians.

“Encourage the Armed Forces in various peace keeping operations, the Nigerian Prisons, the Internally Displaced Persons and primary schools (School Feeding Programme) to be immediate offtakers of the eggs,” he urged.

He also appeal to the Presidency to direct the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the Directorate of Peace Keeping Operations of the Nigeria Armed Forces, the Social Investment Programme of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to work with the association on how immediate reliefs can be extended to poultry farmers across the country to prevent the collapse of the poultry Industry.

The AFAN president also appealed to the government to make available direct grants and financial support to the industry through the association in special packages to be worked out by the government and the association.

(NAN)