Today, only two African countries have nuclear power programs: South Africa and Egypt. South Africa has two 970 MWe nuclear reactors, which started commercial operation in the 1980s and which output accounted for 4.9 percent of the electricity production in 2022. Each time, the international legal framework and guidelines have been reviewed to prevent such situations from recurring. A country will need to ratify the conventions that form part of the international nuclear legal framework if it intends to develop a nuclear power program. Small and micro-modular reactors may be an alternative for countries to start building nuclear capacity, as their cost should be more accessible.

On Oct. 28, the British Library went dark. With over 170 million items, the British Library currently holds Europe’s largest collection of written material and is the second-largest library in the world. On Oct. 31, the British Library acknowledged that it was experiencing “a major technology outage” as the result of a cybersecurity incident. Two weeks later, on Nov. 20, the library confirmed that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack. Exploiting a weakness in the library’s cybersecurity, hackers from the cybercrime group Rhysida installed software that encrypted library data and prevented users from accessing digital services.

But Simon Williams, the RAC motoring group's fuel spokesman, said while tankers avoiding the Red Sea had the "potential to push up the oil price, the barrel is still below $80, $15 lower than it was at the end of September". "Talk of this immediately affecting fuel prices is unhelpful as we are still waiting for retailers to fully pass on the savings from much lower wholesale costs. We don't want to give them a reason not to continuing cutting their prices, especially at the most expensive time of the year," he added.

With repeated attacks on container ships and tankers on the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy has announced Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative "under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea." The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade. "In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, bp has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea. "ZIM will increase rates for its Asia - Mediterranean service that will avoid the Red Sea in favour of the longer route around Africa, up to the $3,300-$3,400/FEU range. BIMCO, the world's largest international shipping association, has called for an immediate end to attacks on international shipping.

According to the IEA’s Coal 2023 Report, coal mining projects in Africa dedicated to exports are stagnating even as actual usage on the continent might expand. Coal consumption in Africa is mainly driven by South Africa which accounted for 84% of the continent’s consumption in 2022. Predictions and Prognosis: South Africa mining and critical mineralsCoal mining in South AfricaSignificant investment and new projects in the coal mining sector in South Africa have been lacking for years. Against this backdrop, only two coal mining projects have entered the more-advanced stage recently, and one has entered operation. Global coal demand rises, but IEA forecasts decline is comingZimbabwe ramping upThe only new coal mining project known in Zimbabwe is the Lubu Coking Coal Project owned by Contango Holdings.

Palliative Care IndustryThe estimated value of the worldwide palliative care industry size in 2022 is US$ 13,087.9 million. International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) have listed 32 essential medicines for the hospice and palliative care, including analgesics, antiemetic etc. Palliative Care Market: Region-wise OverviewGeographically, the global market for palliative care is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to take greater share in global palliative care market because of good reimbursement and insurance coverage for palliative care services. Some of the key players and healthcare service providers in global palliative care market are: Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), UCLA Health, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, VITAS Healthcare, CHI Franciscan, University of Washington (UW Medical Center & UW Medicine), Seymour Health, KEHPCA (Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association) & others.

North Korea's news agency said that Kim Jong Un watched the launch of the ICBM at the site. North Korea said on Tuesday it had launched a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday as a drill to confirm the war readiness of its nuclear deterrence force in the face of mounting hostility by the United States. State news agency KCNA said the country's leader Kim Jong Un watched the launch of the ICBM at the site. The missile reached the altitude of 6,518 km (4,050 miles), flying 1,002 km (623 miles) and accurately hitting the intended target, KCNA said. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The 50th edition of the ‘International Debt Report 2023’ published by the World Bank features external debt statistics and analysis for the 122 low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debt Reporting System (DRS). Debt-service payments, which include principal and interest, increased by 5% over the previous year for all developing countries as global interest rates remain at four-decade highs. This comes after Ethiopia recently failed to pay a $33m bond coupon and looks set to become the latest African country to default on its debt. Rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Ethiopia’s credit rating on Thursday (14 December) to junk status, while markets now expect Ethiopia to join Zambia and Ghana as Africa’s latest debt defaulters. Another World Bank report entitled ‘Unlocking the Development Potential of Public Debt in Sub-Saharan Africa’ notes that a number of African countries have in recent years experienced a considerable increase in public debt and risk.

Last game in 2023 at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. FC Barcelona welcome Almería for the LaLiga matchday 18 fixture with three points a must. Xavi Hernández' side will want to end the year with a victory in front of the fans. If you are unable to watch for whatever reason, or if you wish to complement your viewing with second screen info, don’t forget that we have full coverage of the game, including the build-up live from the stadium and post-match reactions in our Match Center right here on the official website. That does not depend on us, and you should check their own websites for details.

The fourth episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series, recorded during the 2023 Doha Forum, looks at the regional reverberations of the war in Gaza, particularly from the perspective of key Arab Gulf monarchies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The podcast unpacks how these countries have reacted to the 7 October attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, the prospects of ongoing normalisation deals and negotiations between Arab Gulf monarchies and Israel, domestic dynamics in these countries, and potential future scenarios. How is Qatar managing the new cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine, and what role has it played? How have different Gulf countries positioned themselves on the war in Gaza? This podcast was recorded on 11 December 2023.

Canberra, Dec 19 (IANS) Leader of Australia's Northern Territory (NT), Natasha Fyles on Tuesday resigned after failing to disclose shareholdings in a mining company.Fyles announced her intention to stand down as Chief Minister of the NT on Thursday following a series of integrity scandals, reports Xinhua news agency. Tuesday's announcement came just a day after it was revealed that Fyles owned undisclosed shares in South32, a mining and metals company that possesses a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt off the NT's north-east coast. For this reason, I feel the honorable action is to resign as Chief Minister," Fyles told reporters. A former school teacher, Fyles became the Chief Minister of the NT in May 2022. Fyles also stood down from her role as the NT's Minister for Health but said she would not quit politics.

Egyptian startup Chefaa, a patient-centric pharmacy benefits platform, has raised US$5.25 million in funding to accelerate its growth and fuel expansion in Saudi Arabia. It follows Chefaa’s successful launch in Saudi Arabia, where it is now operating in eight cities, and will support its efforts to scale in the country. This has resulted in designing new services and features with our eyes on our mission and vision. We are thrilled that our investors share our passion and believe in our vision and mission,” said Doaa Aref, CEO of Chefaa. “As we have seen a solid growth in this tough business climate since 2022, we truly believe that Chefaa is becoming the uppermost patient-centric service provider in the region.

The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs met, Monday, in Rabat with the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa Joshua Harris. «The meeting focused on bilateral partnership and regional issues», wrote the Foreign Affairs Ministry on X (known as Twitter formerly). A press release that was republished by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media. The United States believes a negotiated political solution should be realized without further delay», reads the same statement. Joshua Harris met, on December 8 in Algiers, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf.

Si6 Metals has added further impetus to its highly-prospective Botswana precious and base metals play, with its latest drill program striking high-grade silver and copper and exciting visual nickel sulphides. The work included 3663m of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling and 2027m of diamond drilling across the company’s two high-grade copper-silver projects at Dibete and Airstrip, in addition to its promising Maibele North nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) play. It will also undertake a review of potential open-pit mining options at Maibele North and nickel-copper-PGE sulphide production, while also developing a field campaign for next year to advance multiple targets within the broader project tenure. Si6’s Botswana project sits within a prolific nickel district and covers more than 2000 square kilometres within the highly-prospective Limpopo Belt in eastern Botswana. The Maibele North deposit is centrally located 50km from Premium Nickel Resources’ world-class Selebi-Phikwe nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE mine and 80km from Norilsk Nickel’s Tati nickel-copper mine.

In November 2023, startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region secured a significant funding milestone, raising $764 million across 42 funding rounds. Modus Capital emerged as the most prolific investor, contributing $2.8 million across eight startups incubated through its flagship venture builder program. Saudi Arabian investors secured the second position in terms of activity, engaging in 10 deals. Startups founded by males secured the majority of funds, amounting to $753 million across 29 deals, accounting for 98.5%. Female founders, on the other hand, received less than two percent of the capital, totaling $9 million.