Last modified on Fri 22 Jan 2021 11.09 EST
By 2050 most people will live downstream of a large dam built in the 20th century, many of which are approaching the limits of the useful lifetime they were designed for, according to global research.
To avoid the potential for dam failures, overtopping or leaks, the dams will require increasing maintenance, and some may have to be taken out of service. Many governments have not prepared for these needs, warn the authors of a study by the United Nations University.
The volume of water stored behind large dams is estimated to be 7,000 to 8,300 cubic km, or enough to cover 80% of Canada’s landmass in a metre of water. Good maintenance can ensure a well-designed dam can last for 100 years without problem, but many of today’s large dams were built long before the risks of the climate crisis became clear.
Rare earth metals are used extensively in clean energy technologies But how safe are they?
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Reach every home: building universal digital services
By Adam Branson on 18/01/2021
A digital infrastructure for everyone: affordability and public confidence are as crucial to online service delivery as network coverage. Credit: Forestinteractive/Wikimedia.
Governments need strong digital infrastructure to provide citizens with online services and boost economic growth. At a GGF webinar, the panel considered how to develop national communications networks – and how to get people using them. Adam Branson reports
During 2020, governments around the world responded to the coronavirus by rapidly moving services online – making them available to citizens even during lockdowns, while protecting both staff and users from the risk of infection. But availability doesn’t guarantee accessibility: to ensure that everyone can use online public services, governments must extend digital networks into every home. And as the pandemic pushes ever broader swathes of activity online – from
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Published 17 January 2021
Recently, the Governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, revealed that some foreign interests sponsor the Boko Haram terrorist group to recruit children as fighters.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians not to see the insurgency in the north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa as a northern problem but a challenge that affects everyone.
For years, there had been reports of children being used as suicide bombers by the insurgents.
In 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund revealed that the insurgents used children to carry out attacks on Konduga town in Borno State on June 18, 2019. It said the suicide bombers killed no fewer than 30 persons in the triple suicide attack.
Ebere Onwudiwe: Good Friend, Fine Scholar, By Jibrin Ibrahim 5 min read
The death of Professor Onwudiwe is painful not just because he was a committed intellectual but also a perfect gentleman, and good friend who nurtured his friendships, a committed nationalist and fine scholar who so many of us will miss dearly. He gave up a high-flying academic career in the United States to contribute his quota to the development of his country.
The coming of 2021 has not abated the tragedies of sickness and death associated with 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. For my friend, Ebere, the announcement from his son, Memme, came as a huge shock: “With deep sadness and submission to the will of God, we announce the sudden death of Chief Prof. Ebere Onwudiwe, Mba 1 of Isunjaba, due to the complications of the global pandemic, on January 9, 2021.” I did not know he was sick and we had last spoken just after Christmas, which he spent in the village. I continue to feel that this w
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