They said support from charity Age UK North Tyneside helped them to successfully apply for pension credit worth about £10,000 a year. The couple also discovered they qualified for the winter fuel payment, after the government limited eligibility to the benefit to pension credit recipients. "A lot more people are eligible for pension credit than actually claim for it," Ms Sear said. Government campaignThe main qualification for pension credit is an income below £218 a week for individuals and £332 for couples. A government spokesman said it had "turned up the dial" on encouraging eligible pension credit claims, with its current campaign boosting claims by 152%.

A 20MWp solar PV plant is set to be constructed in Namibia after the project reached financial close. The plant is touted to become the first fully merchant Independent Power Producer (IPP) trading all of its renewable energy on the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Model could speed up building of renewable energy plantsFunding for the project is being provided by the UK-headquartered Solarcentury Africa with the support of its parent company, international energy trading group BB Energy. Solarcentury Africa and their local partners, Sino Energy recently announced that they have reached financial close on the plant. The power generated will be sold by the company’s trading arm Solarcentury Trading, a member of the SAPP.

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan postponed her planned official trip to Cuba this week as a safety precaution following early reports that the Caribbean island nation was about to be hit by Hurricane Rafael. President Samia was due to arrive in Havana on Wednesday for a three-day State visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties between the two countries, which the Foreign ministry said would now be rescheduled for a new date to be announced later. President Samia was due to arrive in Havana on November 6 and depart on November 8. Kiswahili symposiumShe was also due to be the chief guest at the opening of an international Kiswahili symposium in Havana on Friday (November 8) before flying back to Tanzania later in the day. Commenting on the symposium, Minister Kombo said the President had instructed that it should go ahead despite her absence, under the leadership of himself and the Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports, Damas Ndumbaro, who is also already in Havana as part of the advance team.

While this is the situation for many Egyptian students at the moment, they should not lose heart. Egyptian students also worry about increasing tuition fees and cost of living; these are valid concerns that we can offer support to address. We host events including, most recently, a table tennis tournament for high school students in Cairo that we put on with one of our partners, Kaplan International Pathways. About the author: Amer Mourad is the founder and CEO of Global Study UK (GSUK), an education consultancy based in London, United Kingdom. Always inviting change and looking at new ways to develop GSUK to better serve their students, Amer believes that evolution is key to continuing to help students succeed.

Oil firm blames windfall tax for North Sea pull-outApache Apache said changes to windfall tax make production in the North Sea "uneconomic"A US oil firm has said it will end all its operations in the North Sea by the end of 2029, blaming the impact of the windfall tax. Apache said recent confirmation in the Budget that the windfall tax on oil and gas firm profits would rise and be extended to 2030 had made production uneconomic. The Texas-based firm took control of the Forties field, east of Fraserburgh, in 2003 but suspended all new drilling activity last year. The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) - the official name for the windfall tax - is a levy on profits made from extracting UK oil and gas. It was introduced in May 2022 after energy firms recorded bumper profits due to the rise in energy prices.

When he came to power in 2020, Biden promised to elevate the continent, reviving the US-Africa Summit, which had almost died in Covid-19. Except that Biden, like Trump, never visited Africa on their terms. Biden has, of course, promised to visit Angola next month, after initially postponing a trip planned for October. Analysts say that even if President Biden visits Angola, he won't make any long-term deals. President Biden once considered Angola to be the most important country in Africa for the US.

Telecom Egypt and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) have landed the Africa-1 subsea cable system at the Ras Ghareb cable landing station in Egypt. According to Telecom Egypt, this was the first of two planned landings in Egypt - the second Egypt landing will be on its Mediterranean coast. Telecom Egypt said the Africa-1 subsea cable system is scheduled to be ready for service sometime in 2025. Subsea cable landingsTelecom Egypt and ASN's successful landing follows the telco's announcement that it had signed a cooperation agreement to land the first Saudi submarine cable connecting the Kingdom to Egypt with Mobily. That landing followed the telco's completion of two cable landing stations in Egypt for the India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) subsea cable system with SubCom in June 2024.

The inclusion of women in the energy sector is not a matter of equity but a catalyst for change that will benefit communities. It was reported that organisations are accelerating gender equality in the energy sector through a variety of programmes. Empowering women in energy across AfricaSheri Adoghe, SLB’s Production Systems Division Manager for West Africa, said the initiative had helped more than 930 women in 94 countries since its inception. The panel took place at Africa Energy Week. After an insightful Women in Green Economy Breakfast at Africa’s Green Economy Summit 2024, Sharon Myburgh-de Gois, Project Manager for circular economy and energy efficiency, spoke to us about how important it is to include and collaborate with women in the development of Africa’s green economy.

Moroccan retail-tech startup Chari has partnered telecoms firm Orange Maroc to accelerate the digital transformation of Moroccan neighbourhood retailers. Through the partnership, Orange Maroc and Chari will offer Moroccan neighbourhood retailers tailored digital solutions. “The vast majority of Moroccan grocery stores already distribute services from the telecom operator Orange. This partnership with Orange will allow Chari to digitise the distribution process of these services by adding them to its eCommerce app. This will contribute to better training grocers in using digital tools and promoting their digital inclusion,” said Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and co-founder of Chari.

The National Sanitation Utility of Tunisia, ONAS, has published a tender for a wastewater treatment plant for Skhira in the governorate of Sfax. Skhira is a coastal town in Sfax Governate in central-eastern Tunisia. The demanded works under the present public procurement consist of:Construction of wastewater treatment plant “Turnkey” according to the process of activated sludge at low load with tertiary treatment with the capacity of 2,770m3 per day and 1150kg DBO5/d as well as the treated wastewater transfer system. The supply, transport, assembly and testing services of mechanical, electromechanical and electrical equipment must be trusted to a specialised company. All documents submitted must be in FrenchThe technical offer and the financial offer are placed in two separate closed and sealed envelopes and in two copies (original and copy).

Despite 70% of carbon emissions in the Middle East and North Africa now being included in net-zero pledges, many businesses still lack clear guidelines to successfully meet climate goals, a new report has warned. It added that MENA businesses often encounter significant challenges due to the lack of clear guidelines and best practice on reporting that are tailored to the region’s unique context. “The proactive adoption of sustainability practices, supported by clear regulatory frameworks and incentives, is essential for the region to navigate this complex landscape successfully," he added. The report suggested ways to help MENA companies align their practices with global sustainability standards, address specific regional challenges and strengthen resilience. These commitments will help OCP achieve carbon neutrality in operations and energy sources (scope 1 and scope 2) by 2030.

The parallels between the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem and the emerging African tech landscape were evident, but so were the gaps. Building on this momentum, Marcella partnered with MAGIC Fund, founded on the principle of “founders backing founders”, and the belief that innovation knows no borders. Engaging with founders at the earliest stages across various markets, Marcella has observed striking similarities between emerging innovation ecosystems, particularly between Latin America and Africa. Capital constraints have only gotten greater recently, given the way the current global capital shortage has disproportionately affected African founders. “These challenges have made it increasingly difficult for promising African companies to secure the necessary funding to scale,” she said.

Matthew le Cordeur will be a speaker at C&I Solar + Storage Summit in Johannesburg on a session called Exploring Strategies to Accelerate the Adoption of C&I Solar and Storage Solutions in South Africa. The Just Energy Transition Research Manager at Krutham says the boom in private sector generation investments are really taking over the public procurement process in south Africa. “But after loadshedding ended seven months ago we saw a sudden decline in private sector projects in the beginning of this year and this has suddenly changed in the third quarter of 2024 with 2 GW of new private generation being added including a 475MW solar PV project in the Free State. “There seems to be a realisation that with Eskom’s proposed 36% tariff increase the cost of utility scale electricity will continue rising,” said le Cordeur. Attend the C&I Solar + Storage Summit at the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg from 19 to 20 November to find out how the rollout of solar and storage technologies and solutions into the C&I sector are shaping up around Africa.

An eight-year-old mountaineer from Cumbria said he felt “so proud” after completing an “emotional” expedition up the highest peak in north Africa with his mother. Frankie and Basia McMillan (Basia McMillan/PA)However, Frankie became ill just before they were to climb Toubkal and was forced to return to the nearby village, where he rested and recuperated. Ms McMillan explained: “After dinner, we packed our bags to go up Toubkal the next day in the morning, and Frankie was sick. Ms McMillan said: “Frankie was very emotional actually. On what they learned from the experience, Ms McMillan said: “Just be patient and persevere, because the time will come.

The head of France’s state development bank expects other development finance institutions to add to a €400 million ($432 million) climate loan for South Africa that partners will likely sign within days. “The idea is not do it in a pure France, South Africa partnership,” Remy Rioux, the chief executive officer of AFD, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Thursday. The success of the South African partnership — the first of its kind — is key as funders pursue similar deals with Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. To date, aside from grants, the only money that South Africa has received through the pact is the earlier loan from the AFD and €800 million from Germany. The AFD’s board has approved the loan and the lender has to iron out some final details with South Africa before signing, Rioux said.