Latest news with #NorthwestAfrica
CNN
23-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
Mediterranean monk seals: Back from the brink
Editor's Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. Mediterranean monk seals, with their big, round eyes and gentle appearance, are cleverer than they look. Known for their sneaky tactic of snatching the catch from fishing nets and sometimes ripping them in the process, they have not been popular with fishermen, with some deliberately killing seals in retaliation. The mammal, which was once widespread across the Mediterranean, Black Sea, northwest Africa, and the Atlantic islands of the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, was also historically hunted for meat, oil and skins. As a result of these threats, populations suffered a dramatic decline in the 20th century, with the species becoming one of the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. But in recent years, the tide has turned. While Mediterranean monk seals remain at risk, thanks to conservation efforts and legal protections, populations have bounced back. Some estimate that earlier this century, the population was between 400 and 600; now there are up to 1,000 estimated globally. In 2015, the species was reclassified from 'critically endangered' to 'endangered,' and two years ago, it was listed as 'vulnerable.' Scientists hope that with continued care, the species will have a brighter future.
CNN
23-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
Mediterranean monk seals: Back from the brink
Editor's Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. Mediterranean monk seals, with their big, round eyes and gentle appearance, are cleverer than they look. Known for their sneaky tactic of snatching the catch from fishing nets and sometimes ripping them in the process, they have not been popular with fishermen, with some deliberately killing seals in retaliation. The mammal, which was once widespread across the Mediterranean, Black Sea, northwest Africa, and the Atlantic islands of the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, was also historically hunted for meat, oil and skins. As a result of these threats, populations suffered a dramatic decline in the 20th century, with the species becoming one of the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. But in recent years, the tide has turned. While Mediterranean monk seals remain at risk, thanks to conservation efforts and legal protections, populations have bounced back. Some estimate that earlier this century, the population was between 400 and 600; now there are up to 1,000 estimated globally. In 2015, the species was reclassified from 'critically endangered' to 'endangered,' and two years ago, it was listed as 'vulnerable.' Scientists hope that with continued care, the species will have a brighter future.
Zawya
19-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Mauritania invites private players to bid for 550MW power plant
Mauritania is seeking bids in the next two to three weeks for a new 550 megawatt (MW) power plant tied to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project through a public-private partnership (PPP). 'All new power generation projects in Mauritania will be private,' Minister of Petroleum and Energy Mohamed Ould Khaled told the 'Invest in African Energy 2025 Forum' in Paris last week. 'State-owned companies will no longer be involved in power generation,' he said, adding the country has introduced a new local content policy and implemented new PPP and investment codes. Two projects, developed as IPPs, will be fuelled by domestic gas and contribute 550 MW to the national grid over the next couple of years. The power sector reform is part of a broader transformation to enable Mauritania to harness its gas and renewable energy resources to power industrialisation. Khaled said that LNG from the GTA project, shared with Senegal, will supply enough fuel for a 250 MW combined-cycle power plant in each country during the project's first phase. Mauritania, located in northwest Africa, is seeking to expand the BirAllah conventional gas field and the subsequent phases of the GTA project to reach 10 million tonnes of LNG per year. (Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
Arab News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Mauritania ex-leader Aziz jailed on appeal for 15 years
NOUAKCHOTT: An appeals court sentenced Mauritania's former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for abuse of office and illicit enrichment. Aziz, who came to power in a 2008 coup, had appealed his original five-year sentence after his conviction two years ago of using his power to amass a fortune. The former leader, who has been in custody since his original trial began in January 2023, appeared alongside several former top officials and advisers also facing charges of abuse of office, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and money laundering. The court in the capital Nouakchott also upheld the confiscation of Aziz's assets and the stripping of his civic rights. Aziz, 68, remained impassive when the decision was announced, an AFP journalist saw. Investigators estimate that Aziz, who led the northwest African country of 4.5 million people for more than a decade, accumulated assets and capital worth $70 million during his presidency. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail in December 2023. Aziz was excluded from the 2019 presidential election, won by his former right-hand man, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, who had been at his side for the coup and acted successively as his chief of staff then defense minister. Aziz led the country linking the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa until 2019, returning to general stability a nation once prone to coups and jihadist activities. He groomed Ghazouani as his successor and handed over to him after elections in 2019 in what was the first peaceful transition of power in a country that proclaimed independence from France in 1960 but then saw decades of political unrest. At the time of his indictment investigators estimated that Aziz, the son of a merchant, had amassed wealth and capital of 67 million euros ($75 million) over his time in power. Although not denying his wealth, Aziz has always strenuously contested the accusations against him, seeing a conspiracy to oust him from political life. His successor has always denied any interference in the case. After remaining discreet about where he had obtained his wealth, Aziz surprised everyone toward the end of his trial by implicating his successor. He claimed that, the day after the 2019 election, Ghazouani had handed him two suitcases filled with several million euros.
