Category: Africa

Source: APO – Report:

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The World Bank today released the Sixth Edition of its annual Liberia Economic Update, titled “From Stabilization to Inclusion – Pathways to Resilient Growth and Productive Jobs.” The report, focusing on Liberia’s recent economic developments, analyzes the status of the private sector and how it can be strengthened to deliver productive jobs.

The report highlights the importance of unlocking employment potential which requires enabling firm growth, expanding production capacity, and addressing spatial and sectoral concentration. As currently structured, Liberia’s private sector is unable to generate quality jobs on a large scale, amid a prevalence of informal, micro-sized firms with limited employment capacity.

“Achieving sustained and inclusive growth requires confronting Liberia’s employment challenges and maintaining macroeconomic stability,” said Georgia Wallen, World Bank Country Manager for Liberia. “Structural weaknesses in the labor market and the private sector continue to constrain the country’s growth potential. Tackling these barriers is essential not only for reducing poverty, but also for sustaining macroeconomic gains through a stronger domestic tax base, greater resilience to external shocks, and enhanced social cohesion.”

The update emphasizes that transformation of Liberia’s employment landscape hinges on a four-pronged strategy: stimulating labor demand through investment in agro-processing and light manufacturing; enabling firms growth through regulatory, financial, and technological support modernizing the business environment through high-level coordination, enabling legal environment, and public private Partnerships, and expanding labor participation through skills, youth, and gender-focused interventions.

“Transformation of the country’s employment status should be complemented by long-term investments in education and human capital, improved market access for local firms, and targeted incentives for firms that offer wage employment,” said Gweh Gaye Tarwo, Liberia Country Economist and lead author of the report. “Aligning industrial and labor policies with spatial development priorities and value-chain potential will also be essential to drive inclusive job creation and reduce regional disparities in employment opportunities.”

– on behalf of The World Bank Group.

Source: APO – Report:

Back Contact (BC) solar technology is emerging as the cornerstone of the next industrial phase for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects by combining record-setting efficiency with lower production costs.

By 2030, PV is expected to account for more than 70% of new renewable energy capacity, making it the single largest renewable power source worldwide. By 2050, cumulative installations could reach 18,200GW, meeting nearly half of global electricity demand.

However, the industry continues to face challenges including overcapacity, falling prices, and growing pressure to innovate for higher yields and reduced carbon footprints.

BC Technology: From Laboratory Concept to Industrial Mainstream

BC solar cells position all electrical contacts on the rear surface of the cell, eliminating front-side metal shading and significantly boosting light absorption.

This design enables mass-production efficiencies above 27%, outperforming conventional tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells by approximately 1.6 percentage points — a gain that has historically marked major market-wide technology transitions.

Through sustained research and process innovation, BC technology has evolved from a high-cost, niche solution to a scalable, industrial mainstream option.

Three Breakthroughs Driving Industrialization

1. Laser Patterning replacing photolithography, reducing manufacturing costs by over 60% and increasing throughput fortyfold.
2. Wet-process Simplification, cutting chemical steps from ten to three and halving processing time.
3. Zero-busbar and Parallel Soldering, reducing silver usage by 30% and improving both module reliability and efficiency.

Record Efficiency and Verified Reliability

In March 2025, BC cells achieved a world-record efficiency of 27.81%, only 1.3% below the theoretical silicon limit. Field data from more than 30 demonstration projects across Asia and Europe confirm that BC modules deliver 1.2% to 3.2% higher power generation than TOPCon under clear conditions, and up to 33% higher output under partial shading.

This performance advantage, combined with lower material intensity, positions BC modules as a sustainable and cost-efficient solution for investors and developers operating under tightening carbon-footprint regulations.

The BC Decade: 2025–2035

Industry analysts forecast that BC modules will capture more than 60% of global PV market share by 2030. The technology’s superior efficiency and shading tolerance make it particularly suited for urban rooftops, floating solar installations, desert-based systems, and other high-value commercial applications.

As global energy transitions accelerate, BC solar technology is set to lead the PV sector from price-based to value-based competition — where energy yield, reliability, and lifecycle sustainability define success.

Webinar Invitation

Industry professionals, project developers, financiers, and renewable energy policymakers are invited to join a technical webinar hosted by solar technology experts.

Date: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Time: 2:00–3:00 PM SAST
Topic: Back Contact (BC) Solar Technology — Fundamentals and Practical Advantages

Register here: https://apo-opa.co/4ntstvR

– on behalf of VUKA Group.

Source: APO – Report:

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) confirms that the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed us that two of our top leaders in Sudan have been designated as persona non grata, and asked to leave the country within 72 hours, without any explanation.

This decision to expel WFP’s Country Director and Emergency Coordinator comes at a pivotal time. Humanitarian needs in Sudan have never been greater with more than 24 million people facing acute food insecurity and communities impacted by famine.

WFP and humanitarian partners have made hard-won progress in recent months, scaling up assistance to reach more than four million people monthly, and helping to push back extreme hunger conditions in the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crisis.

At a moment when WFP and its partners need to be expanding their reach, this decision forces WFP to implement unplanned leadership changes, jeopardizing operations that support millions of vulnerable Sudanese facing extreme hunger, malnutrition, and even starvation.

WFP and senior UN officials are engaging with authorities to protest this action and seek clarification for this decision. We call on all parties to prioritize the lives and wellbeing of millions who depend on emergency food and nutrition assistance for their survival.

WFP remains unwavering in its commitment to ensure that the people of Sudan can access vital assistance during this period of unprecedented hunger, insecurity and humanitarian needs.

– on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

Source: APO – Report:

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President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government has decided to honour former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings with a state funeral.

The President was speaking when he visited her residence at Ridge in Accra with his wife, Mrs Lordina Dramani Mahama, and the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to commiserate with the family.

“We’re waiting for the family to meet and tell us what their desires are. But I just want to announce, as President, that we shall give her a state funeral. The family can do the traditional funeral after the state funeral,” President Mahama said.

President Mahama, on behalf of his wife, the government and the people of Ghana, extended heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Agyeman-Rawlings family.

“I want to express my condolences, on behalf of Lordina and I, on the passing of our mother. It actually came as a shock, and the state will give her the full honours she deserves as a former First Lady and Mother of the Nation,” he pledged, adding that the government will work closely with the family.

He described the late Mrs Agyeman-Rawlings as a pacesetter whose record remains unbroken as the longest serving First Lady for 19 years.

“As founder and President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, evidence of her achievements and the impact on the masses, particularly women and children, is abundant across the country, such as oil palm extraction projects, gari production projects, which are still operational.”

Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, on behalf of the family, expressed gratitude to President Mahama for his support during the period of their bereavement.

She also thanked the President for the declaration of three days of national mourning and the announcement of the state funeral for their departed mother.

– on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO – Report:

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President John Dramani Mahama has arrived in Paris, France, to participate in the 8th edition of the Paris Peace Forum.

The two-day event, which officially opens today, 29th October 2025, is a high-profile gathering that brings together government leaders, international organisations, civil society, experts, and businesses to discuss and foster new alliances to address conflicts, climate change, harness AI and technological advancement, and other global challenges.

This year’s event coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement to reinvigorate climate action ahead of COP30.

A statement signed by the Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said that from Paris, President Mahama will travel to Cairo, Egypt, as a guest of the Egyptian President, and will attend the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum on Saturday, 1 November 2025.

He is expected back in Accra on Sunday, 2 November 2025.

– on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.