Rwanda said on Tuesday it had signed a $400 million deal to produce bottled gas from Lake Kivu, which emits such dense clouds of methane it is known as one of Africa’s “Killer Lakes.”

The project by Gasmeth Energy, owned by U.S. and Nigerian businessmen and Rwandans, would suck gas from the lake’s deep floor and bottle it for use as fuel. This should, in turn, help prevent toxic gas bubbling to the surface.

The seven-year deal, signed on Friday, was announced on Tuesday.

Rwanda already has two companies that extract gas from Lake Kivu to power electricity plants.

Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, told Reuters bottled methane would help cut local reliance on wood and charcoal, the fuels most households and tea factories use in the East African nation of 12 million people.

“We expect to have affordable gas which is environmentally friendly,” she said. “We expect that people can use gas instead of charcoal, the same with industries like tea factories instead of using firewood, they use gas. It’s part of our green agenda.”

The deep waters of Lake Kivu, which lies in the volcanic region on Rwanda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, emit such dense clouds of methane that scientists fear they might erupt, killing those living along its shore.

Eruptions from much smaller methane-emitting lakes in Cameroon, one causing a toxic cloud and another sparking an explosion, killed a total of nearly 1,800 people. The shores of Lake Kivu are much more densely populated.

Gasmeth Energy said it would finance, build and maintain a gas extraction, processing and compression plant to sell methane domestically and abroad.

The bottled gas should be on sale within two years, Akamanzi said, adding that prices had yet to be determined.
…

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Rwanda said on Tuesday it had signed a $400 million deal to produce bottled gas from Lake Kivu, which emits such dense clouds of methane it is known as one of Africa’s “Killer Lakes.”

The project by Gasmeth Energy, owned by U.S. and Nigerian businessmen and Rwandans, would suck gas from the lake’s deep floor and bottle it for use as fuel. This should, in turn, help prevent toxic gas bubbling to the surface.

The seven-year deal, signed on Friday, was announced on Tuesday.

Rwanda already has two companies that extract gas from Lake Kivu to power electricity plants.

Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, told Reuters bottled methane would help cut local reliance on wood and charcoal, the fuels most households and tea factories use in the East African nation of 12 million people.

“We expect to have affordable gas which is environmentally friendly,” she said. “We expect that people can use gas instead of charcoal, the same with industries like tea factories instead of using firewood, they use gas. It’s part of our green agenda.”

The deep waters of Lake Kivu, which lies in the volcanic region on Rwanda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, emit such dense clouds of methane that scientists fear they might erupt, killing those living along its shore.

Eruptions from much smaller methane-emitting lakes in Cameroon, one causing a toxic cloud and another sparking an explosion, killed a total of nearly 1,800 people. The shores of Lake Kivu are much more densely populated.

Gasmeth Energy said it would finance, build and maintain a gas extraction, processing and compression plant to sell methane domestically and abroad.

The bottled gas should be on sale within two years, Akamanzi said, adding that prices had yet to be determined.
…

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When he was younger, the only thing that Enrique Morales knew about marijuana was that you smoked it to get high.

 

Today, the former driver is a horticulturist on a cannabis plantation about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and he says drops of marijuana oil have been key to treating his mother’s osteoarthritis.

 

“My perception has now changed. It is a plant that has a lot of properties!” he said.

 

The company that owns the plantation, Fotmer SA, is now part of a flourishing and growing medical cannabis industry in Uruguay.

 

The country got a head start on competitors in December 2013 when it became the first in the world to regulate the cannabis market from growing to purchase, a move that has brought a wave of investment.

 

For Uruguayan citizens or legal residents over 18 years old, the law allows the recreational use, personal cultivation and sale in pharmacies of marijuana through a government-run permit system, and officials later legalized the use and export of medical marijuana to countries where it is legal.

No company has yet begun large-scale export operations, but many say selling medical cannabis oil beyond the local market of 3.3 million inhabitants is key to staying ahead of the tide and transforming Uruguay into a medical cannabis leader along with the Netherlands, Canada and Israel.

 

“The Latin American market is poorly supplied and is growing,” said Chuck Smith, chief operating officer of Denver, Colorado-based Dixie Brands, which recently formed a partnership with Khiron Life Sciences, a Toronto company that has agreed to acquire Dormul SA, which has a Uruguayan license to produce medical cannabis.

 

“Uruguay is taking a leadership position in growing high CBD, high value hemp products. So we see that as a great opportunity from a supply chain perspective,” he said, referring to the non-psychoactive cannabidiols that are used in medical products.

 

Khiron has said it should be able to export medical marijuana from Uruguay to southern Brazil under regulations of the Mercosur trade bloc, marking a milestone for Uruguayan marijuana companies focused on exports.

 

Fotmer, based in the small town of Nueva Helvecia, also currently employs 80 people and is investing $7 million in laboratories and 10 tons of crops that it hopes to ship to countries including Germany and Canada, which is struggling to overcome supply shortages in its cannabis market.

Fotmer s 35,000 marijuana plants are sheltered in 18 large greenhouses measuring 12.5 meters by 100 meters (41 feet by 328 feet), where workers such as Morales change into special clothing, wash their hands with alcohol and wear gloves and surgical masks to avoid any contamination.

 

Helena Gonzalez, head of quality control, research and development for Fotmer, said the precautions are important in producing a quality product that can be used in medical research into the effects of cannabis products.

 

“Aiding that research is another of our objectives,” she said.

 

The first crop of prized flowers will be harvested for their cannabis oil in March.

 

The oil containing THC and CBD will be extracted in its labs to eventually manufacture pills, creams, ointments, patches and other treatments for cases of epilepsy and chronic pain, among other ills.

 

Competition is arriving as well. In December, Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez inaugurated a $12 million laboratory owned by Canada s International Cannabis Corp., which aims to produce and export medicine from hemp, a variety of cannabis that contains CBDs but has no psychoactive effects.

 

Despite the momentum, experts say there is one key problem: Countries including Ecuador, Cuba, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala continue to prohibit both the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana and exports of cannabis products are subject to a complex web of international regulations that is still being developed.

Marcos Baudean, a member of Monitor Cannabis at the University of the Republic of Uruguay, says another difficulty is that the South American country is competing for market share. He said cannabis exports give the country a chance to expand beyond its traditional exports of raw materials into more sophisticated products involving science and biology.

 

Diego Olivera, head of Uruguay s National Drug Secretariat, said Uruguay s comprehensive cannabis law, along with its strong rule of law and transparent institutions, gives it a head start.

 

“Uruguay today has a dynamism in the cannabis industry that is very difficult to find in other sectors,” he said.
…

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When he was younger, the only thing that Enrique Morales knew about marijuana was that you smoked it to get high.

 

Today, the former driver is a horticulturist on a cannabis plantation about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and he says drops of marijuana oil have been key to treating his mother’s osteoarthritis.

 

“My perception has now changed. It is a plant that has a lot of properties!” he said.

 

The company that owns the plantation, Fotmer SA, is now part of a flourishing and growing medical cannabis industry in Uruguay.

 

The country got a head start on competitors in December 2013 when it became the first in the world to regulate the cannabis market from growing to purchase, a move that has brought a wave of investment.

 

For Uruguayan citizens or legal residents over 18 years old, the law allows the recreational use, personal cultivation and sale in pharmacies of marijuana through a government-run permit system, and officials later legalized the use and export of medical marijuana to countries where it is legal.

No company has yet begun large-scale export operations, but many say selling medical cannabis oil beyond the local market of 3.3 million inhabitants is key to staying ahead of the tide and transforming Uruguay into a medical cannabis leader along with the Netherlands, Canada and Israel.

 

“The Latin American market is poorly supplied and is growing,” said Chuck Smith, chief operating officer of Denver, Colorado-based Dixie Brands, which recently formed a partnership with Khiron Life Sciences, a Toronto company that has agreed to acquire Dormul SA, which has a Uruguayan license to produce medical cannabis.

 

“Uruguay is taking a leadership position in growing high CBD, high value hemp products. So we see that as a great opportunity from a supply chain perspective,” he said, referring to the non-psychoactive cannabidiols that are used in medical products.

 

Khiron has said it should be able to export medical marijuana from Uruguay to southern Brazil under regulations of the Mercosur trade bloc, marking a milestone for Uruguayan marijuana companies focused on exports.

 

Fotmer, based in the small town of Nueva Helvecia, also currently employs 80 people and is investing $7 million in laboratories and 10 tons of crops that it hopes to ship to countries including Germany and Canada, which is struggling to overcome supply shortages in its cannabis market.

Fotmer s 35,000 marijuana plants are sheltered in 18 large greenhouses measuring 12.5 meters by 100 meters (41 feet by 328 feet), where workers such as Morales change into special clothing, wash their hands with alcohol and wear gloves and surgical masks to avoid any contamination.

 

Helena Gonzalez, head of quality control, research and development for Fotmer, said the precautions are important in producing a quality product that can be used in medical research into the effects of cannabis products.

 

“Aiding that research is another of our objectives,” she said.

 

The first crop of prized flowers will be harvested for their cannabis oil in March.

 

The oil containing THC and CBD will be extracted in its labs to eventually manufacture pills, creams, ointments, patches and other treatments for cases of epilepsy and chronic pain, among other ills.

 

Competition is arriving as well. In December, Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez inaugurated a $12 million laboratory owned by Canada s International Cannabis Corp., which aims to produce and export medicine from hemp, a variety of cannabis that contains CBDs but has no psychoactive effects.

 

Despite the momentum, experts say there is one key problem: Countries including Ecuador, Cuba, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala continue to prohibit both the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana and exports of cannabis products are subject to a complex web of international regulations that is still being developed.

Marcos Baudean, a member of Monitor Cannabis at the University of the Republic of Uruguay, says another difficulty is that the South American country is competing for market share. He said cannabis exports give the country a chance to expand beyond its traditional exports of raw materials into more sophisticated products involving science and biology.

 

Diego Olivera, head of Uruguay s National Drug Secretariat, said Uruguay s comprehensive cannabis law, along with its strong rule of law and transparent institutions, gives it a head start.

 

“Uruguay today has a dynamism in the cannabis industry that is very difficult to find in other sectors,” he said.
…

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Taxi-drivers in the Spanish capital seeking tighter regulation of Uber and other ride-hailing services called off their indefinite strike on Tuesday after 16 days during which they obtained no concessions from the Madrid regional government.

Madrid’s refusal to accept drivers’ demands came after ride-hailing companies Uber and Cabify said last week they were suspending their services in Barcelona in response to the regional government’s imposition of limits on how they operate in the city.

Union representatives in Madrid said the strike had demonstrated the unity and power of the drivers, which would help them continue the fight for their demands.

“It is a long war, in which you can lose battles, but in the end I’m sure we can win,” Julio Sanz, head of the Taxi Federation union, told reporters.

The city’s taxi drivers started the protests on Jan. 20 against the private services, which offer rides that often undercut taxi prices and can be hailed via the internet rather than in the street.

Last week, riot police backed by a fleet of tow trucks had to clear hundreds of vehicles blocking the capital’s Paseo de la Castellana thoroughfare.

In September, Spain’s government gave ride-hailing companies four years to comply with regulation granting them just one new licence for every 30 taxi licences. The cab drivers are demanding stricter regulations now.

Following protests by Barcelona taxi-drivers, the Catalan government had ruled that ride-hailing services could only pick up passengers after a 15-minute delay from the time they were booked.
…

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Taxi-drivers in the Spanish capital seeking tighter regulation of Uber and other ride-hailing services called off their indefinite strike on Tuesday after 16 days during which they obtained no concessions from the Madrid regional government.

Madrid’s refusal to accept drivers’ demands came after ride-hailing companies Uber and Cabify said last week they were suspending their services in Barcelona in response to the regional government’s imposition of limits on how they operate in the city.

Union representatives in Madrid said the strike had demonstrated the unity and power of the drivers, which would help them continue the fight for their demands.

“It is a long war, in which you can lose battles, but in the end I’m sure we can win,” Julio Sanz, head of the Taxi Federation union, told reporters.

The city’s taxi drivers started the protests on Jan. 20 against the private services, which offer rides that often undercut taxi prices and can be hailed via the internet rather than in the street.

Last week, riot police backed by a fleet of tow trucks had to clear hundreds of vehicles blocking the capital’s Paseo de la Castellana thoroughfare.

In September, Spain’s government gave ride-hailing companies four years to comply with regulation granting them just one new licence for every 30 taxi licences. The cab drivers are demanding stricter regulations now.

Following protests by Barcelona taxi-drivers, the Catalan government had ruled that ride-hailing services could only pick up passengers after a 15-minute delay from the time they were booked.
…

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It is an unusual sight for Caracas: lines are forming outside currency exchange houses that had been largely deserted since the Venezuelan government introduced controls 16 years ago.

That is because the official exchange rate for remittances from the growing diaspora abroad is now more attractive than the black market rate, a reversal of a long-standing dynamic.

The government is loosening controls in a bid to capture more dollars at a time when its hard currency income is under pressure from U.S. sanctions imposed to help the Venezuelan opposition oust President Nicolas Maduro, industry sources say.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump last week imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, a key source of the OPEC nation’s revenue.

“For the time being at least, it’s worth coming here,” said Laura Espana, upon leaving a branch of Italcambio, one of the currency exchange houses authorized to operate by the government of Maduro.

Italcambio did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Espana said she had gone to the exchange house twice over the past week to receive bolivars for hard currency sent by her daughter who lives abroad.

On Tuesday, the official rate was 3,297 bolivars per dollar, well above the black market rate that was around 2,486 bolivars, according to the website DolarToday.

An ever growing number of Venezuelans receive remittances, given around one tenth of the population of 30 million has emigrated in recent years due to an economic collapse.

Consultancy firms estimate those remittances amount to around $1 billion per year.

“I’m receiving help from someone abroad to be able to buy some medicine,” said student Anggy Ochoa outside one exchange house.

Maduro’s government has sought to oblige Venezuelans to exchange their remittances at the official exchange rate, partly in order to tame inflation, the world’s highest.

Economists say the controls, first imposed by the government of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, are themselves partially responsible for galloping prices and an economic crisis that has led to a political one.

Most European and Western Hemisphere nations have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader and denounced Maduro as a dictator. Maduro, in turn, says he is victim of an “economic war” and a U.S-backed coup attempt.

Locals have long gotten around the controls by going through black market traders, agreeing transactions in person or via social media or texts.

But in January, the central bank for the first time hiked its own rate to parity with the parallel one. Since then, the black market rate has weakened.

“This is the first time I am selling dollars at a currency exchange house,” said Geovany Villarroel, a bank cashier, who just sold $35 for bolivars. “I used to do it by WhatsApp with a group of relatives to see who needed any.”
…

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It is an unusual sight for Caracas: lines are forming outside currency exchange houses that had been largely deserted since the Venezuelan government introduced controls 16 years ago.

That is because the official exchange rate for remittances from the growing diaspora abroad is now more attractive than the black market rate, a reversal of a long-standing dynamic.

The government is loosening controls in a bid to capture more dollars at a time when its hard currency income is under pressure from U.S. sanctions imposed to help the Venezuelan opposition oust President Nicolas Maduro, industry sources say.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump last week imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, a key source of the OPEC nation’s revenue.

“For the time being at least, it’s worth coming here,” said Laura Espana, upon leaving a branch of Italcambio, one of the currency exchange houses authorized to operate by the government of Maduro.

Italcambio did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Espana said she had gone to the exchange house twice over the past week to receive bolivars for hard currency sent by her daughter who lives abroad.

On Tuesday, the official rate was 3,297 bolivars per dollar, well above the black market rate that was around 2,486 bolivars, according to the website DolarToday.

An ever growing number of Venezuelans receive remittances, given around one tenth of the population of 30 million has emigrated in recent years due to an economic collapse.

Consultancy firms estimate those remittances amount to around $1 billion per year.

“I’m receiving help from someone abroad to be able to buy some medicine,” said student Anggy Ochoa outside one exchange house.

Maduro’s government has sought to oblige Venezuelans to exchange their remittances at the official exchange rate, partly in order to tame inflation, the world’s highest.

Economists say the controls, first imposed by the government of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, are themselves partially responsible for galloping prices and an economic crisis that has led to a political one.

Most European and Western Hemisphere nations have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader and denounced Maduro as a dictator. Maduro, in turn, says he is victim of an “economic war” and a U.S-backed coup attempt.

Locals have long gotten around the controls by going through black market traders, agreeing transactions in person or via social media or texts.

But in January, the central bank for the first time hiked its own rate to parity with the parallel one. Since then, the black market rate has weakened.

“This is the first time I am selling dollars at a currency exchange house,” said Geovany Villarroel, a bank cashier, who just sold $35 for bolivars. “I used to do it by WhatsApp with a group of relatives to see who needed any.”
…

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The spread of state welfare for children around Africa has the potential to make a major dent in global poverty, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Children account for the majority of those around the world in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.90 per day, with half of them in Africa, where social security systems are weak.

Globally, about a third of children are covered by social protection programs, but it ranges from 88 percent in Europe and Central Asia to 16 percent in Africa, said a new study by two U.N. bodies.

The evidence shows clearly that social protection benefits, and cash transfers in particular, have a positive impact on poverty, food security, health and access to education — thus helping to ensure that children can realize their full potential, breaking the vicious cycle of poverty,” it said.

Cash on its own was not a magic bullet and needed to be part of broader policies, supported by other benefits such as school meals, said the study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and children’s agency UNICEF.

In sub-Saharan Africa, expected to have 90 percent of children in extreme poverty by 2030, 40 out of 48 countries have some form of cash transfer program, but most pay too little and overall only 13.1 percent of children receive them.

“They aren’t all huge programs but it’s been a real growth in the region and it’s moving very, very quickly,” David Stewart, UNICEF’s head of child poverty, told reporters.

Children up to the age of 14 make up 42.9 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, where public spending on child welfare amounts to only 0.7 percent of GDP, compared to 2.5 percent in Europe, which has far fewer children.

Several African countries were to discuss expanding their coverage at a conference in Geneva this week, Stewart said.

Isabel Ortiz, head of social protection at the ILO, said South Africa was making massive progress but still did not offer universal coverage, while Ghana was reallocating fuel subsidies towards child benefits and Zambia was increasing tax on mining, showing some of the options if governments were willing.

“Just saying we don’t have the budget is not good enough,” she said.

The ILO-UNICEF study also warned about the re-emergence of poverty in Europe, where some governments are cutting back child benefits due to austerity.
…

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The spread of state welfare for children around Africa has the potential to make a major dent in global poverty, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Children account for the majority of those around the world in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.90 per day, with half of them in Africa, where social security systems are weak.

Globally, about a third of children are covered by social protection programs, but it ranges from 88 percent in Europe and Central Asia to 16 percent in Africa, said a new study by two U.N. bodies.

The evidence shows clearly that social protection benefits, and cash transfers in particular, have a positive impact on poverty, food security, health and access to education — thus helping to ensure that children can realize their full potential, breaking the vicious cycle of poverty,” it said.

Cash on its own was not a magic bullet and needed to be part of broader policies, supported by other benefits such as school meals, said the study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and children’s agency UNICEF.

In sub-Saharan Africa, expected to have 90 percent of children in extreme poverty by 2030, 40 out of 48 countries have some form of cash transfer program, but most pay too little and overall only 13.1 percent of children receive them.

“They aren’t all huge programs but it’s been a real growth in the region and it’s moving very, very quickly,” David Stewart, UNICEF’s head of child poverty, told reporters.

Children up to the age of 14 make up 42.9 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, where public spending on child welfare amounts to only 0.7 percent of GDP, compared to 2.5 percent in Europe, which has far fewer children.

Several African countries were to discuss expanding their coverage at a conference in Geneva this week, Stewart said.

Isabel Ortiz, head of social protection at the ILO, said South Africa was making massive progress but still did not offer universal coverage, while Ghana was reallocating fuel subsidies towards child benefits and Zambia was increasing tax on mining, showing some of the options if governments were willing.

“Just saying we don’t have the budget is not good enough,” she said.

The ILO-UNICEF study also warned about the re-emergence of poverty in Europe, where some governments are cutting back child benefits due to austerity.
…

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