Uganda : new trial over Tilenga project
Also, in Ghana, the European Union is ramping up its investments on the continents.. including more than €800 million being pledged to major infrastructure projects in Ghana... The support of the countrye's improvement's to enrgy, health, and transport is another sign of the bloc's shift in it's approach to Africa as US partnerships become increasingly unpedictable.. Justice baidoo has more.
Finally, one way to a continent's heart is through its stomach. For Beninese culinary tour de force Georgiana Vou, the value of that transcontinental exchange goes both ways. Having been inspired by the flavours of West Africa, she earned a Michelin star here in France, and now her perspective attracts customers in both Europe and Africa. PKG
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
3 hours ago
- Local France
REVEALED: Where in Europe has the cleanest and dirtiest swimming spots
More than three quarters of bathing waters monitored in the European Union, Albania and Switzerland were of "excellent" quality in 2024, the 27-member bloc's environment agency said on Friday. All but four percent met the EU's minimum standard ("sufficient") and just 1.5 percent were of "poor" quality, the European Environment Agency said in its annual update on the beaches, rivers and lakes that are tested for faecal contamination. Overall, Europe's bathing waters were of the same standard in 2024 as in the year before. The EEA monitors more than 22,000 bathing areas for bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and intestinal enterococci, caused essentially by pollutant run-off from livestock farms and household sewage pipes. "Europeans can confidently bathe in the vast majority of the EU's bathing sites that meet the EU's bathing quality standards," European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said. The best bathing waters last year were in Cyprus, where 99.2 percent were of excellent quality, followed by Bulgaria with 97.9 percent, Greece with 97, Austria with 95.8 and Croatia with 95.2. Other countries covered by The Local also featured in the top 10 of the EU's cleanest waters: Denmark was in sixth place with 92.9 percent of its water found to be of excellent quality. Germany was a little lower in eighth place with 90.5, closely followed by Italy with 90.2 and Spain with 87.6. Swiss bathing water quality falls below EU average Switzerland was a little further down the rankings with 83.1 percent of its waters deemed to be of excellent quality last year, down over eight percentage points on 2023. Closer to the bottom of the list were France and Sweden, with 74.2 and 73.5 percent, respectively. The EU-wide average was 85 percent. This EEA map shows bathing water quality across Europe in 2024 Albania came bottom in the ranking, with just 16 percent of excellent quality bathing waters -- a drop of more than 25 percentage points over the space of a year. In general, beaches were cleaner than rivers and lakes because of seawater's better capacity for renewal. Many of central Europe's inland bathing areas are found in relatively small lakes, ponds and rivers, which are more susceptible than coastal areas to short-term pollution caused by heavy rains, the EEA said. The agency said climate change was expected to increase the intensity and frequency of various extreme weather events, including heavy rains. "In turn, these events will impact bathing water quality through pollution from sewer overflows, floods or surface run-off. Advertisement "This will come with corresponding potential increased health risks for bathers," it said on its website. The EEA no longer collates data on bathing water in the UK, which left the bloc. But the national Environment Agency found that in 2024, just 64.2 percent of England's bathing waters were "excellent" and 8.2 percent failed to meet the minimum standard and were classified as "poor". British water companies, privatised since 1989, have repeatedly come under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea. More than 3 percent of waters 'poor' in France and Sweden EU members meanwhile are obliged to monitor popular bathing places from May to September and rank the water quality as excellent, good, sufficient or poor. Advertisement In four European countries – Estonia, Sweden, the Netherlands and France – water quality was poor at 3 percent or more of bathing waters last year. But of the 321 bathing sites that were recorded as poor in 2023, a fifth had improved by last year. This includes Sweden, which had 19 sites (4 percent), five fewer than in 2023, that fell into this category. France, however, had 16 more poor bathing areas in 2024 than the year before at 115 (3.4 percent), driven largely by a drop in water quality in its rivers. When waters are found to be poor, authorities must shut the area to bathers the following year and take steps to reduce pollution and health hazards before they can re-open. You can check bathing water quality for your country here .
Euronews
18 hours ago
- Euronews
Romania's new president nominates centre-right former mayor as PM
Romania's new pro-Western president, Nicusor Dan, on Friday nominated a centre-right former mayor to be prime minister. The nomination comes as Romania, a European Union and NATO member state, seeks to usher in a new government to end a protracted political crisis that has gripped the nation since last year. Dan nominated 56-year-old Ilie Bolojan of the centre-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, after a fresh round of talks Friday following weeks of deliberations. Bolojan had previously served as acting president from February to May, when Dan defeated a hard-right opponent in a heated presidential election rerun. The closely watched vote came months after the previous election was annulled by a top court, which plunged Romania into a deep political crisis. Dan described Bolojan as the 'most suitable person' for the job, which includes tackling a budget crisis. 'It is in Romania's interest for the government to be supported by a solid majority, and the parties have understood this,' he said. 'Romania's urgent priority is economic recovery, but ... you need a solid foundation.' Nomination will need to be approved by lawmakers Bolojan's nomination will need to be approved by parliament, and his government is expected to be comprised of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the PNL, the reformist Save Romania Union party, and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party. The PSD has pushed for a power-sharing agreement that would see a rotation of the prime ministerial post. Responding to his nomination, Bolojan said he's 'fully aware of the great responsibility' the role will bring and acknowledged it 'will not be an easy undertaking.' 'I will continue discussions with political parties to secure a parliamentary majority, finalise the government, and define the governing program,' he said. 'I will pursue three priorities: to restore order to the country's finances, to work toward good governance that creates conditions for development in Romania, and ... to show proper respect to the Romanian people.' Reducing Romania's considerable budget deficit—one of the greatest in the 27-nation EU bloc—will be one of the main challenges facing a new government. Deep social divisions in the nation were also made clear by the controversies that surrounded the presidential election. According to Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, the new government will face the challenge of reaching a longer-term consensus over already delayed state reforms. 'There is only a disputed agreement on very short-term measures for the economic and budget crisis,' he told The Associated Press. 'If the short-term measures come with a social cost, inflation ... (and) will not be met by profound changes in policies and institutions, then the political crisis will loom over the next years and (future) elections.' In the wake of the May presidential election, Bolojan, acting as president, named PNL's Catalin Predoiu to lead the cabinet after Marcel Ciolacu resigned when his coalition's candidate did not advance to the runoff.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Romania names pro-EU PM after months of instability
Bolojan, 56, leader of the liberal party (PNL), will be tasked with tackling Romania's dire finances and reconciling the divided EU member. Romania was plunged into political chaos when presidential elections were annulled in December over allegations of Russian interference, with a far-right candidate mounting a massive social media campaign. In an official address Friday, centrist Dan, who won a rerun of the presidential vote in May, said Bolojan was the person "best suited to make the necessary adjustments in the Romanian state apparatus". Bolojan said he was "aware of the great responsibility" he was assuming in the face of Romania's prolonged budget crisis -- its deficit stood at 9.3 percent at the end of last year, the highest in the European Union. Bolojan's appointment will need to be confirmed by parliament, where he hopes to secure the support of four pro-European parties and form a government next week. He will face a daunting task to unify a nation deeply polarised after recent elections, with far-right parties winning a third of parliamentary seats in December. The talks to form a new government excluded the far-right parties, a decision defeated presidential candidate George Simion labelled as "a disgrace and an insult" last week. The European Union has voiced concerns over the rise of Eurosceptic parties in NATO member Romania that are opposed to sending military aid to Ukraine. - 'Drain' of public money - Bolojan came through the ranks of the liberal party he joined in 1993, serving as mayor of the city of Oradea in the north-west before eventually rising to the national level last year and taking over as party leader. He took over as senate president late last year and fired 150 people in a bid to "stop" the drain of public money, a move critics branded as "abusive". "Such cuts can be made in many institutions," he said. In a press conference last week, Bolojan said Romania was "in a complicated situation", adding that the incoming government would have to resort to "unpopular measures" that could include cutting public spending and imposing tax rises. Political scientist Sergiu Miscoiu told AFP that Bolojan was "the person best placed to take unpopular measures to tackle the serious budget crisis".
