Despite a government ban on the cutting and transportation of shea trees in 2018 - and the sale of shea logs and products - they are still being felled in great numbers by charcoal dealers in northern Uganda, according to local leaders and experts. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall are making matters worse as the trees produce less fruit and drought-hit farmers turn to the wood for additional income.
War in Ukraine spurs drive to move away from Russian gas Green energy companies devising solutions to boost storage But financing and political will to invest in short supply By Umberto Bacchi June 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From dropping weights down old mine shafts to pumping compressed air into caves, companies are racing to develop inventive new solutions to store renewable energy as European nations try to move away from Russian fossil fuels.
By Hugo Greenhalgh March 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Germany must confront an often-overlooked homophobic chapter of its post-war history, says the star of an Oscar-shortlisted film that tells the story of gay men who were sent back to prison after being liberated from Nazi concentration camps. Gay sex was illegal until the late 1960s under Paragraph 175 of the German penal code, and many gay and bisexual men taken from Nazi camps at the end of World War Two were forced to serve out the rest of their sentences for same-sex relations in jail.
"Following criticism of Thai prisoners being forced to produce fishing nets for private companies… the Corrections Department will come up with measures to allow prisoners to work voluntarily," the department said in a statement on Tuesday. "The type of work has to be safe and must not cause harm towards prisoners." New committees will be formed to oversee reform in each of the country's 143 jails, according to the statement, and set inmates' pay in line with the minimum wage of each province. Thailand's minimum wage ranges from 313 baht-336 baht (about $10) per day, depending on the province.
AI used to tackle poverty, translate languages African data seen vital to fighting racial bias More funding, wider digital access needed, say developers By Kim Harrisberg DURBAN, Feb 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Determined to use her skills to fight inequality, South African computer scientist Raesetje Sefala set to work to build algorithms flagging poverty hotspots - developing datasets she hopes will help target aid, new housing or clinics.