May 26, 2023

Murere wins Namibia’s fourth medal at Nottwil Grand Prix

Namibian T46 sprinter and long jumper Bradley Murere on Thursday won Team Namibia’s fourth medal with a seasonal best jump at the World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix in Switzerland.

The fifth round of the WPA Grand Prix is underway at the Sport Arena Nottwil located at the Schweizer Paraplegic Centre. This year’s Grand Prix forms part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

On what was the opening day of the championship on Thursday, Team Namibia walked away with four silver medals from the 200 metre (m) and long jump events.

Adding to the three medals that were won earlier on the day in the 200m sprints by T11 male sprinter, Immanuel Alfredo Bernado; T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile and T37 sprinter, Petrus Karuli; Namibian long jumper Murere jumped his seasonal best of 6.09m. He has a personal best jump of 6.25m.

Alejandro Ochoa Jose Messu of Colombia won the gold medal with a jump of 6.30m, while German athlete Dominik Jonas Winkeler took the last podium position with a jump of 5.53m.

Nine athletes and five guides are representing Team Namibia at the 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix, which ends on Friday.

The athletes are T11 male sprinters Ananias Shikongo, Kinda Chris and Alfredo Bernado; T11 sprinter Lahja Ishitile and T12 sprinter Lahja Ipinge; T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala; T46 sprinter Bradley Murere; T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli; and T44 sprinter Denzel Namene.

The athletes are accompanied by guides Even Tjiuiju, Hatango Murere, Kelvin Goagoseb, Philipus Paulus and Sem Shimanda.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 26, 2023

Karuli and Ishitile win first gold for Namibia in Nottwil

Namibian T46 and T11 sprinters Petrus Karuli and Lahja Ishitile won Team Namibia’s first gold medals at the World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix underway in Nottwil, Switzerland.

The final round of the WPA Grand Prix is underway at the Sport Arena Nottwil located at the Schweizer Paraplegic Centre. This year’s Grand Prix forms part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

Day two of the Grand Prix saw Namibian athletes compete in the 400 metre (m) sprints. Karuli who competed in a mixed race of T37/38, walked away with gold from his sprint of 57:48 seconds.

Meanwhile, another gold for team Namibia came from T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile and her guide Sem Shimanda, who won their race with a time of 01:00:92. The men’s T11 400m sprint saw Ananias Shikongo and his guide Even Tjiuiju win a silver medal and Chris Kinda and his guide Riwaldo Goagoseb took a bronze medal.

Gauthier Makunda of France ran the best time out of the three 400m heats with a time of 52:64 seconds and walked away with the gold medal. Shikongo and Kinda clocked 54.23 seconds and 54.31 seconds to finish second and third respectively.

T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala also walked away with a silver medal in the 400m sprint, while T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and her guide Fillipus Kotokeni took home a bronze medal, her first in this European Tour.

After two days of competition, Team Namibia has won 10 medals, of which two are gold, seven silver and one bronze.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 26, 2023

Reinforcements from the ATMIS and its allies managed to repel the attacks

The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) today confirmed that al-Shabab militants stormed its military base in southern Somalia.

Reinforcements from the ATMIS and its allies managed to repel the attacks launched by suicide bombers and other al-Shabab fighters earlier in the day in Bulo Marer, about 120 km southwest of Mogadishu, the mission said in a statement.

However, the AU mission did not reveal the number of casualties, saying it will continue working closely with the Somali government and other international partners to protect the country from al-Shabab and other armed groups.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 26, 2023

Much anticipated green hydrogen project kick-starts

The Namibian Government and its preferred green hydrogen bidder, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy on Friday signed the Feasibility and Implementation Agreement (FIA) to kick-start the green hydrogen project in the Tsau ?Khaeb National Park in the ||Kharas Region.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at State House, National Planning Commission Director General, Obeth Kandjoze said the N.dollars 10 billion agreement marks the beginning of Namibia’s plans to become the clean energy of hub of Africa and Government’s recognition of the urgency to deliver tangible improvements in the lives of all citizens.

He said the project will create up to 15 000 jobs including 3 000 permanent employment during its operation of which 90 per cent will be sourced locally, mostly youth, adding the project will source up to 30 per cent of its procurement of goods, services and materials during the construction and operational phases from local SMEs and business.

Kandjoze emphasised that the project will generate significant income to the Namibian fiscus through the payment of land rentals, royalties on all project revenues and taxes, noting the government also has an opportunity to be a co-investor in the project with the right to take up to a 24 per cent equity interest at cost.

“Green hydrogen plays a crucial role in the global decarbonisation effort because of its versatility and unique ability to connect power, gas, chemicals and fuel markets, especially in hard-to-abate sectors. Namibia is investigating the feasibility of green hydrogen and ammonia as a transformative strategic industry to respond to the global cry,” he said.

Kandjoze noted Hyphen Hydrogen Energy is responsible for the technical, financial, environmental, social and commercial delivery of the first project, whist the government is responsible for the provision of land on which the project will be established, and providing development and implementing of the required legal, fiscal and regulatory environment necessary for the establishment and sustainable operation of Namibia’s green hydrogen industry.

Kandjoze also noted that Hyphen Hydrogen Energy was selected from nine dynamic proposals received from six different international developers.

At the same event, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Chief Executive Officer, Marco Raffinetti said the Namibian green hydrogen project represents a global benchmark of economic and sustainable development as the world gears towards achieving decarbonisation.

“We feel the weight of the expectation of the country and working hand in hand with the government to deliver upon the ambitions set out in the Harambee Prosperity Plan. The project truly has the opportunity to transform Namibia’s economy,” Raffinetti noted.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 26, 2023

S.Korea Keen to Strengthen Trade, Dev’t Ties with Ethiopia: Ambassador Seokhee

South Korea has been working to further strengthen its exiting development and trade relations with Ethiopia, Ambassador of South Korea in Ethiopia, Kang Seokhee said.

South Korean embassy in Addis Ababa has today announced a logo to depict the 60th anniversary of the commencement of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Korea.

During the occasion, Ambassador Kang Seokhee said the existing historical and diplomatic relations between the two countries has still been sustained.

According to the ambassador, the ties, that had been initiated even before the official commencement of the diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and South Korea, has now spanned more than 70 years.

The sacrifices that Ethiopia had made to the peace and stability of South Korea during the Korean War by sending more than 6,000 soldiers has a great contribution to the current economy development in South Korea, he added.

South Korea has been enjoying bilateral and development cooperation with Ethiopia over the last 60 years, the ambassador indicated.

“South Korea has the largest development cooperation projects in Ethiopia. Some 100 million USD worth of projects are being implemented in Ethiopia annually, which is the largest in Africa. We hope our friend Ethiopia will grow economically and socially.”

The Ambassador stressed the need to identify future vital areas of cooperation that should be implemented by the two countries as they celebrate the 60th anniversary their diplomatic relations.

Ambassador Seokhee pointed out that the exchange of trade is crucial to help the efforts being carried out in Ethiopia to ensure sustainable development.

The 60th anniversary of Ethiopia and South Korea will be celebrated with various programs including photo exhibition and exchange of experiences.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

May 26, 2023

Malawi Keen to Share Experience of Ethiopia in Energy Sector, Boost Trade Ties

Malawi wants to share the experience of Ethiopia in the energy sector and strengthen trade relations, Charge d’Affaires Diana Jere said.

Malawi’s Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy in Ethiopia, Diana Nkomba Jere said the two countries really need to strengthen their bilateral relations in many fields so that both can benefit.

We need to strengthen trade between Malawi and Ethiopia because Ethiopia is a big and larger economy, she added.

In Malawi, “we are struggling with energy issue, and we might get some help and guidance and direction from Ethiopia. We do need to boost our economy through trade and energy.”

According to her, the two countries also need to find ways of engaging each other in bilateral issues.

For example, the issue of free movement of people and people getting across Malawi without permission to go there.

As a government, we need to work together to ensure that these issues are resolved amicably and find ways of making sure that our people are interacting at equal basis, she elaborated.

In this regard, the Charge d’Affaires said that the African Continental Free Trade Area is important because if we put a lot of restrictions in a way people move, that would be like a shortcoming to free trade.

Therefore, we need people to learn from each other, teach each other and benefit from each other countries skills and knowledge so that the two countries can benefit, she stated.

“Africa is blessed in a way that we have different economies. There are some countries who are doing very well and those can teach the other countries. Because if one country is remaining behind, it means the other cannot progress very well. So we need to find a way of balancing the two.”

Jere further said that as Africa we are saying that we want Africa to be in this way. “One thing that I want to agree with the 2063 Agenda is that we want an Africa that is working together with less conflict and respect each other.”

Official documents show that Ethiopia and Malawi had diplomatic relations as far back as the 1960s and the two countries have been working very closely together in various areas.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency