Solar refrigerators in Kenya reduce food waste
Milk and egg vendor Caroline Mukundi has lost a lot of her stock in her years of selling fresh food at a Nairobi market.
Mukundi said she had no way to keep food fresh, and the cost of refrigerating was out of reach.
'The food would go bad,' she said, and she would have to throw it away. 'It was a big challenge for me.'
Mukundi said her situation turned around when she acquired a solar-powered refrigerator.
The refrigerators, named Koolboks and manufactured in Kenya, are fitted with ice compartments that can chill food even without a source of power. The devices can keep food cool for up to four days without electricity, even with limited sunlight.
Customers can buy the refrigerators on a customized payment model, said Natalie Casey, chief business officer at the Koolboks startup company.
'They can be between 1,500 and 3,000 US dollars, because it includes not only the appliances but also the solar panels and battery storage to enable the continuous cooling,' she said. 'We've decided what might be more accessible to them is to first pay a down payment between 20 and 35% of the total, and the customer can pay in installments of up to 24 months.'
Koolboks has sold about 7,000 solar-powered refrigerators.
Conventional refrigerators for businesses can cost anywhere from $11,000 to $100,000 or more, said Dorothy Otieno, program manager at the Center for Environmental Justice and Development.
'Some businesses, especially small businesses, are not able to afford it,' she said.
'We are looking at, for example, how businesses can be supported to get access to [the Koolboks refrigerators], especially for communities that are not able to afford,' she said.
The refrigerator was among dozens of innovations showcased at the recent Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. The conference's founder, Andrew Fassnidge, told VOA that such creations are crucial to solving local problems on the continent.
'What's interesting with ... Koolboks refrigeration is, if we look at the Covid vaccine, one of the biggest issues at the time was refrigeration, and it's still an issue in most markets,' he said.
Koolboks markets a refrigerator specifically for vaccines.
The refrigerators could have an impact on climate change, too.
A 2024 survey by the U.N. Environmental Program showed Kenya has a high level of food waste, with annual waste ranging from 40 to 100 kilograms per person.
Environmentalists say high levels of organic waste worsen climate change, so preventing food waste can have an impact.
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Voice of America
14-03-2025
- Voice of America
Exclusive: Second Iranian ship suspected of carrying missile ingredient leaves China
A second Iranian ship that Western news reports have named as part of a scheme to import a missile propellant ingredient from China is heading to Iran with a major cargo load, an exclusive VOA analysis has found. Ship-tracking websites show the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Jairan departed China on Monday, a month later than the expected departure cited by one of the news reports. The Jairan was named in January and February articles by The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN as one of two Iranian cargo ships Tehran is using to import 1,000 metric tons of sodium perchlorate from China. The three news outlets cited unnamed Western intelligence sources as saying the purported shipment could be transformed into enough ammonium perchlorate — a key solid fuel propellant component — to produce 260 midrange Iranian missiles. The other Iranian cargo ship named in the news reports, the Golbon, completed a 19-day journey from eastern China to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Feb. 13. During the trip, it made a two-day stop at southern China's Zhuhai Gaolan port and delivered an unknown cargo to Iran, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic. Both the Golbon and the Jairan are sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as vessels operated by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which itself is sanctioned for being what the State Department has called "the preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents." As the Golbon sailed from China to Iran in late January and early February, the Jairan's automatic identification system transponder — a device that transmits positional and other data as part of an internationally mandated tracking system — reported the vessel as being docked at eastern China's Liuheng Island. In a joint review of the Jairan's AIS data on MarineTraffic and fellow ship-tracking website Seasearcher, VOA and Dubai-based intelligence analyst Martin Kelly of EOS Risk Group determined that the Jairan reported no significant draught change while docked at Liuheng Island through February and into early March. That meant the Iranian vessel was sitting at the almost same depth in the water as when it arrived in eastern China late last year, indicating it had not been loaded with any major cargo since then. The Jairan remained at Liuheng Island until March 3, when it headed south toward Zhuhai Gaolan and docked at the port on March 8. Two days later, the Jairan departed, reporting its destination as Bandar Abbas with an expected arrival of March 26. The Iranian ship also reported a significant draught change upon leaving Zhuhai Gaolan, transmitting data showing it was sitting more than 2 meters deeper in the water and indicating it had taken on a major cargo at the port, Kelly told VOA. As of Friday, local time, the Jairan was in the waters of Indonesia's Riau Archipelago, heading southwest toward the Singapore Strait. The U.S. State Department had no comment on the Jairan's departure from China when contacted by VOA. Iran's U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a similar VOA request for comment, emailed on Tuesday. Last month, the State Department told VOA it was aware of the January news reports by The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal regarding Iran's purported use of the Golbon and Jairan to import sodium perchlorate from China. A spokesperson said the State Department does not comment on intelligence matters but "remains focused on preventing the proliferation of items, equipment, and technology that could benefit Iran's missile or other weapons programs and continues to hold Iran accountable through sanctions." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the news reports in a Jan. 23 press briefing, asserting that China abides by its own export controls and international obligations and rejects other countries' imposition of what Beijing considers illegal unilateral sanctions. In the past month, Chinese state media have made no reference to the Jairan, while China's social media platforms also have had no observable discussion about the Iranian ship, according to a review by VOA's Mandarin Service. In its Jan. 22 report, The Financial Times cited "security officials in two Western countries" as saying the Jairan would depart China in early February, but it did not leave until March 10. Gregory Brew, a senior Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said Iran may also have wanted to see if the Golbon could complete its voyage from China without being interdicted before sending the Jairan to follow it. "Ships carrying highly sensitive materials related to Iran's missile industry, which is under U.S. sanctions, are at risk of interception, and the Iranians likely are conscious of that," Brew said. Eight Republican U.S. senators led by Jim Risch and Pete Ricketts sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the purported Iran-China chemical scheme dated Feb. 4, urging him to work with global partners of the U.S. "to intercept and stop the shipments currently underway" if the press reports proved accurate. There was no sign of the Golbon being intercepted on its recent China to Iran voyage. Responding to VOA's query about the letter, a U.S. State Department press officer said: "We do not comment on Congressional correspondence." Ricketts' office also did not respond to a VOA inquiry about whether Rubio has responded to the senators' letter. VOA's Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
Can the US pry Russia away from China?
Western politicians have repeatedly called on China to limit or cease tacit support for Russia's bloody war against Ukraine. In response, China's leadership insists it is committed to peace and respect for the territorial integrity of other nations. But unlike most United Nations member states, China has never condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and their military-diplomatic partnership — from joint bomber flights near the U.S. state of Alaska to votes in the U.N. Security Council — has only helped the Kremlin overcome its international isolation. While President Donald Trump has said he has good personal relations with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, there is a consensus among experts in Washington that the China-Russia partnership poses a threat to U.S. interests, and that while Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, tried to establish a strategic dialogue with China, the Trump team appears to be prioritizing normalized ties with Russia while punishing China over trade. As the White House talks about the possibility of restoring economic cooperation with Russia, some of its officials are hinting at lifting or reducing the sanctions Washington has imposed on Moscow in recent years. Charles Hecker, an expert on Western-Russian economic ties and risks, and author of the book Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, says some Western companies will quickly return to Russia if sanctions are lifted, particularly those involved in energy, metals and minerals. 'There's only so much oil in Norway, and there's only so much oil in Canada; the rest of it is in some countries that have a very high-risk environment,' Hecker told VOA's Russian Service. 'And so, these kinds of companies are accustomed to business in these sorts of places, and they have the internal structures to help protect them. You know, there are energy companies doing business in Iraq right now. And I don't want to compare Russia and Iraq, but they are high-risk environments.' Still, Hecker cautions, their return to doing business in Russia wouldn't signal an overall U.S.-Russian rapprochement — let alone a fracturing of Sino-Russian relations. 'I think it will be very difficult for the West to pull Russia away from China,' he said. 'Allowing Western companies back into Russia doesn't necessarily change President Putin's hostility towards the West. 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"China does not perceive Russia as a reliable, safe and equal partner,' he said. 'Russia annexed the Amur Region from China; Russia adopted a completely colonial policy towards China during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, in my opinion, it is entirely possible to consider historical frictions as a vulnerability.' A media analyst at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Gatov also noted that, despite the Kremlin's expectations, China's economic presence inside Russia today remains 'several times smaller' than that of either Europe or the U.S. before Russia invaded Ukraine. Thus, while Russian and China have overlapping interests, they are not 'marching in lockstep.' "They are very different, they have very different geopolitical focuses, very different political philosophies,' he said. Other experts, however, question the Filterlabs findings, warning that random Russian and Chinese opinions online are of limited value, especially as those casting the insights aren't likely to influence policy. "People who have the time and desire to comment on things on social media do not have much influence on how state policy is conducted,' Alexander Gabuev, director of the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told VOA. 'And these people certainly do not have much influence on whether China transfers components for Russia's weapons or takes certain military technologies from it, since the people who comment on this simply do not have real knowledge of what is actually happening.' Gabuev added that 'the Chinese leadership has reasons to think that they have something to take from Russia in terms of military technology,' suggesting that China is extremely interested in gaining Russian experience in countering Western weapons during Russia's war in Ukraine. Does Trump see China as a threat? One critical question about whether Washington's improved ties with Russia will loosen the Sino-Russian pact, say some analysts, is how Trump perceives China. Ali Wyne, senior research and advocacy advisor on the U.S. and China at the International Crisis Group, describes Trump as an anomaly for U.S. policy. 'Widespread bipartisan agreement in Congress and from one administration to the next [is] that China is American's foremost strategic competitor,' he said. But 'President Trump, in many ways, is the most prominent dissenter from this alleged China consensus.' 'He doesn't view President Xi [Jinping] in adversarial terms,' Wyne said. 'He actually calls President Xi a 'dear friend' of his. And he believes that his personal rapport with President Xi will be the decisive dynamic in setting — or resetting — the U.S.-China relationship over the next four years.'
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
ສະຫະລັດຂາດດຸນງົບປະມານ ໃນເດືອນຕຸລາຫາເດືອນກຸມພາ ບັນລຸເຖິງ 1.147 ພັນຕື້ໂດລາທີ່ເປັນສະຖິຕິສູງສຸດ
ການຂາດດຸນງົບປະມານຂອງສະຫະລັດໃນຊ່ວງຫ້າເດືອນທຳອິດຂອງປີງົບປະມານ 2025 ທຳສະຖິຕິສູງທີ່ສຸດເຖິງ 1.147 ພັນຕື້ໂດລາສະຫລັດ ຕາມການກ່າວໂດຍກະຊວງການເງິນ ເມື່ອວັນພຸດຜ່ານມາ ເຊິ່ງລວມເຖິງການຂາດດຸນ 307 ຕື້ໂດລາໃນເດືອນກຸມພາ ທີ່ເປັນນຶ່ງເດືອນເຕັມທຳອິດຂອງປະທານາທິບໍດີ ດໍໂນລ ທຣໍາ ໃນການດຳລົງຕຳແໜ່ງ ຊຶ່ງເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 4% ຈາກປີກ່ອນ' ອີງຕາມລາຍງານຂອງອົງການຂ່າວຣອຍເຕີສ. ການຂາດດຸນໃນເດືອນຕຸລາຫາເດືອນກຸມພາ ຊຶ່ງປະກອບດ້ວຍເກືອບ 4 ເດືອນຈົນເຖິງວັນທີ 20 ມັງກອນ ເຊິ່ງຢູ່ພາຍໃຕ້ການນໍາພາຂອງອະດີດປະທານາທິບໍດີ ທ່ານ ໂຈ ໄບເດັນ ທີ່ໄດ້ກາຍສະຖິຕິເກົ່າ 1.047 ພັນຕື້ໂດລາ ໃນລະຫວ່າງເດືອນ ຕຸລາ 2020 ເຖິງເດືອນກຸມພາ 2021 ຊຶ່ງເປັນຊ່ວງທີ່ມີການໃຊ້ຈ່າຍບັນເທົາທຸກຈາກພະຍາດ ໂຄວິດ-19 ທີ່ສູງ ແລະ ລາຍໄດ້ທີ່ຈຳກັດເນື່ອງການລະບາດໃຫຍ່. ກະຊວງການເງິນເປີດເຜີຍວ່າ "ຕົວເລກຂາດດຸນເດືອນກຸມພາເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 11 ຕື້ໂດລາ ຈາກເດືອນດຽວກັນຂອງປີ 2024 ເນື່ອງຈາກລາຍຈ່າຍດອກເບ້ຍໜີ້ສາທາລະນະ ປະກັນສັງຄົມ ແລະ ສະຫວັດດີການດ້ານສຸຂະພາບ ສູງກວ່າການເຕີບໂຕຂອງລາຍໄດ້.' ຜົນການສໍາຫຼວດສະແດງໃຫ້ເຫັນວ່າ ຜົນກະທົບພຽງສ່ວນໜ້ອຍຈາກພາສີນໍາເຂົ້າເບື້ອງຕົ້ນຂອງ ທ່ານ ດໍໂນລ ທຣໍາ ທີ່ມີຕໍ່ຄູ່ການຄ້າລາຍໃຫຍ່ ແລະຄວາມພະຍາຍາມຂອງລັດຖະບານໃນການຫຼຸດການໃຊ້ຈ່າຍຂອງລັດຖະບານລົງ ຈົນເຖິງຂະນະນີ້. ລາຍຮັບລວມໃນເດືອນກຸມພາຢູ່ທີ 296 ຕື້ໂດລາສະຫະລັດ ຊຶ່ງເປັນສະຖິຕິສູງສຸດໃນເດືອນນັ້ນ ຕົວເລກດັ່ງກ່າວເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 9% ຫຼື 25 ຕື້ໂດລາ ເມື່ອທຽບກັບຊ່ວງດຽວກັນຂອງປີກ່ອນ ແຕ່ລາຍຈ່າຍໃນເດືອນກຸມພາ ຢູ່ທີ່ 603 ຕື້ໂດລາ ຊຶ່ງກໍ່ຍັງເປັນສະຖິຕິສູງສຸດ ໃນເດືອນນັ້ນເຊັ່ນກັນ ແລະ ເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 6% ຫຼື 36 ຕື້ໂດລາ ເມື່ອທຽບກັບປີກ່ອນ. ຫຼັງຈາກການປັບປະຕິທິນສຳລັບລາຍຮັບແລະລາຍຈ່າຍແລ້ວ ຕົວເລກການຂາດດຸນທີ່ປັບແລ້ວ ຈະຢູ່ທີ່ 311 ຕື້ໂດລາ ຊຶ່ງເທົ່າກັບສະຖິຕິຂາດດຸນງົບປະມານໃນເດືອນກຸມພາ 2021 ໂດຍເກີດຈາກພະຍາດ ໂຄວິດ-19. ຄະນະກຳມະການເພື່ອຄວາມຮັບຜິດຊອບດ້ານງົບປະມານຂອງລັດຖະບານກາງ ຊຶ່ງເປັນກຸ່ມກວດສອບທາງການເງິນກ່າວວ່າ ການກູ້ຢືມຂອງລັດຖະບານໃນປີງົບປະມານນີ້ ມີມູນຄ່າປະມານ 8 ຕື້ໂດລາຕໍ່ວັນ. ລາຍຮັບໃນປີງົບປະມານປັດຈຸບັນເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 2% ຫຼື 37 ຕື້ໂດລາ ຂຶ້ນສູ່ລະດັບສູງສຸດທີ່ 1.893 ພັນຕື້ໂດລາ ແຕ່ລາຍຈ່າຍເພີ້ມຂຶ້ນ 13% ຫຼື 355 ຕື້ໂດລາ ຂຶ້ນສູ່ລະດັບສູງສຸດ 3.039 ພັນຕື້ໂດລາ. ອ່ານຂ່າວເປັນພາສາອັງກິດ he U.S. budget deficit for the first five months of fiscal 2025 hit a record $1.147 trillion, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday, including a $307 billion February deficit for President Donald Trump's first full month in office that was up 4% from a year earlier. The October-February deficit, which included nearly four months until January 20 under former president Joe Biden, topped the previous record $1.047 trillion from October 2020 to February 2021 - a period marked by high COVID-19 relief spending and pandemic-constrained revenues. The Treasury said February's deficit rose $11 billion from the same month in 2024, as outlays for debt interest, Social Security and health care benefits swamped growth in revenues. The results showed little impact from Trump's initial import tariffs on major trading partners and his administration's efforts to slash government spending so far. February receipts totaled $296 billion, a record for that month. That figure was up 9%, or $25 billion, compared with the year-earlier period. But outlays in February totaled $603 billion, also a record for that month, and up 6%, or $36 billion, from a year earlier. After calendar adjustments for both receipts and outlays, the adjusted deficit would have been $311 billion, matching the record February reported budget deficit in 2021, which was driven by COVID-19. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group, said government borrowings so far this fiscal year work out to about $8 billion a day. "What needs no confirmation is that we are almost halfway through the fiscal year and yet we have done nothing in the way of making progress toward getting our skyrocketing debt under control," the group's president Maya MacGuineas said in a statement. Fiscal year-to-date receipts rose 2%, or $37 billion, to a record $1.893 trillion, but outlays grew 13%, or $355 billion, to a record $3.039 trillion.
