Environment

China oil giant, Sinopec, has struck oil in its first exploration well drilled in Nigeria's Block 137, previously owned by Canadian oil giant, Addax Petroleum.

According to Reuters report, the Udele-3 well of Block 137, in the Niger Delta, was the first exploration well Sinopec drilled in Nigeria this year after its acquisition of Swiss oil and gas explorer Addax almost a year ago.

n earth tremor that lasted for seconds and which occurred at around 3pm hit western Kenya threw the residents into shock and panic.

In Kisumu town, people fled from buildings to areas that they considered secure.

"The building that I was in started to shake and I had to flee for my safety," said Mr Apollo Apollo, a Kisumu resident.

More than 100 people have been killed by floods and thousands others displaced as the rains continue to wreak havoc.

Some 500 families have been displaced in Trans Nzoia District by the floods that have destroyed human life and vegetation.

Kenya Red Cross Society communications officer Nelly Muluka said some of the displaced families risked contracting water- borne diseases.

WITH the passing of the Mining Act 2010 by the Parliament last week, local mineral processing plant will be set up as the government had finally set its sights on retaining a certain percentage of all minerals in the country for processing before export.

President Museveni has told visiting Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Uganda does not support acquisition of nuclear weapons by new countries.

In a speech delivered over dinner at State House Entebbe on Friday night, Mr Museveni, however, insisted that the use of nuclear technology for civilian purposes such as electricity generation is "a right" of every country.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan returned to the country yesterday after a four-day working visit to the United States where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit, met President Barack Obama and had other engagements.

It was his first official visit outside the country since he emerged Acting President on February 9 following President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's ill-health.

As the heavy rains subside, signifying the end of the rainy season, a cholera outbreak is sweeping through the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

Humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), issued an alert on Apr. 9 concerning a cholera epidemic that has swept the city.

As part of efforts to check cases of river blindness or onchocerciasis in parts of Nigeria , over 19million Nigerians infected or at the risk of infection by the disease have been availed professional treatment and drugs in the last 12 years to arrest the spread of the tropical disease in the country.

GOVERNMENT has decided to build a nuclear power plant in Namibia within the next 15 to 20 years, Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina has confirmed.

Six people have been confirmed dead and five others are reported missing following flash floods as heavy rains pound parts of the country. Two of the deaths were reported in Nakuru, one person in Mogotio and three children who drowned in Dukana, Marsabit district, according to Kenya Red Cross.

Kenya's status as an innovator in the budding mobile money industry has been boosted with the shortlisting of two of the country's money transfer solutions for global awards.

The Federal Government says it has so far prosecuted 109 people over the 2009 Boko Haram crisis in Borno state.

The Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in protest against western education, rampaged in August 2009, killing indiscriminately.

THE Minister of Power, Dr. Lanre Babalola, has disclosed that an investment of over $10 billion must be made over the next ten years in the power sector if Nigeria must attain the quantity and quality of power needed for massive development of the country.

A Dutch court has said it has jurisdiction over a case of alleged oil spills brought against Royal Dutch Shell's subsidiary in Nigeria by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth, a court spokeswoman told ANP-Reuters yesterday.

"The court has decided that it is competent, so we will be handling the case," said the spokeswoman.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to act in concert to ensure that a legally binding treaty is reached next year.