Volatile Gas Could Turn Rwandan Lake Into a Freshwater Time Bomb Nov 17, 2009
16, 2009) A dangerous level of carbon dioxide and methane gas haunts Lake Kivu, the freshwater lake system bordering Rwanda and the Republic of Congo ... In a region prone to volcanic and seismic activity, the fragility of Lake Kivu is a serious matter ... An international group of researchers will meet Jan. 13-15 in Gisenyi, Rwanda, to grapple with the problem of Lake Kivu. (Science Daily)
Congo-Kinshasa: Govt Creates Safety Net by Diversifying Economy [analysis] Nov 12, 2009
Opportunities in the sector include boosting copper and diamond production, exploitation of methane gas in Lake Kivu, oil prospecting and exploration; and transport infrastructure. Mining project in Katanga. (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: Country Drafts Oil Exploration Policy Oct 20, 2009
The legislative framework should be completed particularly to facilitate oil exploration in Lake Kivu. The Minister recently held detailed discussions with the President of Vangold Resources Limited, Mr Dal Brynelsen, on the way forward for oil exploration in the lake. (allAfrica.com)
Congo-Kinshasa: Stopping Rape As a Weapon of War [press release] Sep 23, 2009
Human Rights Watch's executive director, Kenneth Roth, and the senior researcher on Congo, Anneke Van Woudenberg, met with President Kabila in a tent on the shores of Lake Kivu. "We made the greatest progress on an anti-rape strategy," Roth says. (allAfrica.com)
Smart switching could solve communication tangle Sep 15, 2009
A rush to extract methane from the depths of Africa's Lake Kivu could trigger a huge upwelling of suffocating gas, potentially affecting over 2 million people. FEATURE: 10:20 15 September 2009. (Yahoo News -- Instant Messaging)
Rwanda: Exporters Mull Cargo Plane for Lucrative Mid East Aug 31, 2009
Apart from working to invest in hydro-electricity, Rwanda has discovered substantial methane gas volumes in Lake Kivu and is currently nearing final exploratory stages of oil prospects. The country is also exploring wind and geothermal energy potentials. (allAfrica.com)
Africa: World Bank Chief Urges Reforms, Rule of Law Aug 18, 2009
While visiting the Lake Kivu Methane Gas to Power Pilot plant, Zoellick sought to learn more about the importance for African countries of the potential for hydropower, solar, wind power and other new renewable resources within the continent's energy portfolio ... He commended Rwanda for developing a viable gas to electricity process, and for Rwanda's planned cooperation with the DRC in developing and sharing energy generated from Lake Kivu. (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: Country On Course to Produce Bio-Diesel Aug 14, 2009
Butare also added that talks are going on with a South African company to produce liquid fuel from methane gas in Lake Kivu. Statistics show annual growth in diesel consumption in Rwanda and by 2013 the country will consume approximately 12 million tons of diesel per annum based on a 10-year average. (allAfrica.com)
Secretary of State in Congo Aug 12, 2009
Clinton delivered a strong message on that point to Congolese President Joseph Kabila when they met earlier Tuesday in a tent at the former Belgian colonial governor's compound on the shores of Lake Kivu in Goma. "We believe there should be no impunity for the sexual and gender-based violence committed by so many -- that there must be arrests and prosecutions and punishment," she told reporters after the meeting. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
East Africa: Burundi to Join Rwanda, DRC in Gas Project Aug 11, 2009
Kigali Burundi will join Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the exploration of methane gas reserves from the Lake Kivu ... Minister Butare however explained that the coming into force of the joint exploitation project does not stop the ongoing national initiatives that aim at benefiting from the natural resources in Lake Kivu waters. (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: Kagame, Kabila Agree to Tackle Hutu Rebel Menace Aug 7, 2009
The two nations pledged to work together to foster economic cooperation especially trade, infrastructure as well as plans to explore methane gas in Lake Kivu jointly. Once again Kagame assured the Congolese that the issue of Laurent Nkunda is a small problem which has been put out of the equation and that the two countries are sorting out the issue, but the bigger challenge remains creating stability, not Nkunda. (allAfrica.com)
Egypt shows support for Sudans BashirUN chief frowns at Sudanese indecency trialUN chief wants Chad, Sudan to foster regional stabilityChad denies bombing Sudan UNHCR chief urges nations to help Somali refugeesUNICEF says exclusive breastfeeding will save Somalia children12,000 Somali IDPs await chance to cross Aden GulfSome European experts to train Somalis for piracy control MONUC rejects rape charges against peacekeepersDRC has 2 million internally-displaced personsDeath toll in DR Congo train crash now 60Kagame, Kabila meet to strengthen relations Ivorian Prime Minister urges mutinous soldiers to remain calmGbagbo: "Whoever delays Ivorian elections is a criminal"Gbagbo reaffirms his desire for Ivorian peaceGbagbo signs Ivorian amnesty law ON THE WIRE Kagame, Kabila meet to strengthen relationsGisenyi, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwandan and Congolese Presidents Paul Kagame and JosephKabila respectively were dueto meet Thursday as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relationships between the two countries. 06/08/2009 Full Text... Aug 7, 2009
The meeting would begin at the border area between the two countries and continu e in the Rwandan town of Gisenyi (north-west), at the official inauguration of a factory built to extract gas fro m the neighboring Lake Kivu, according to an official statement ... Lake Kivu contains some 55 billion cubic metres of methane that will serve as a new source of energy in the sub-region. (Panapress.com)
'New era' for DR Congo and Rwanda Aug 7, 2009
They also agreed to develop projects to exploit natural gas reserves in Lake Kivu, which lies between the two countries, and to revive joint commissions that have lain dormant for years. The meeting comes a month after both sides appointed ambassadors to their respective capitals and has been seen as a further sign of improving relations between the countries. (BBC News -- Africa)
Rwanda: Arab Investors Eye Energy Sector Jul 16, 2009
Apart from working to invest in hydro electricity, Rwanda has discovered substantial methane gas volumes in Lake Kivu and is currently nearing final exploratory stages of oil prospects. The country is also exploring wind and geothermal energy potentials. (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: Tribunal Risks Supporting "Victor's Justice" Jun 1, 2009
Rwandan children cook sweet potatoes and corn cobs in a hot spring near the Nyiragongo volcano, on the shores of Lake Kivu, May 21, 2009. The Rwanda Red Cross on May. (AlertNet)
Scientists: Congo volcanoes set to erupt May 8, 2009
The Nyiragongo crater is 11 miles north of Lake Kivu, where Goma is located. Wafula estimates that 1. (Boston Globe)
Congo-Kinshasa: Volcanic Activity 'Threatens Goma' May 8, 2009
An estimated two million people who live around Lake Kivu, which straddles the DRC and Rwanda, are also at risk of pollution from the airborne ash, which is usually triggered by a volcanic eruption ... According to the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), there is a mass of methane gas under the base of Lake Kivu and a volcanic eruption could release a lethal cloud of carbon dioxide from the lake, which could be disastrous for surrounding communities. (allAfrica.com)
Congo-Kinshasa: The Case For The Congo May 6, 2009
Whether in terms of its abundant precious and strategic minerals, the tremendous amount of renewable energy that could be generated by the Inga dam project on the Congo river, the natural gas in Lake Kivu or the geo-thermal potential of the volcanic mountains in the east, the second lung of our planet that is its rainforest, or the extraordinary - and exhaustively demonstrated - resilience of its people, the Congo has everything to be the central pillar around which Africa rises. Should the... (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: Why Investors Are Flocking to Country Apr 10, 2009
The largest single investment in Rwanda to date is ContourGlobal's $325 million Kivuwatt project, which will be the first large scale facility to extract methane gas from Lake Kivu. But investment in almost every other sector of the economy proves that smaller investments are not only possible but welcome. (allAfrica.com)
Kenya: Petroleum Conference Opens in Mombasa Mar 12, 2009
Flanked by the Interim Director General of the Unit for the Promotion and exploitation of Lake Kivu gas, Charles Nyirahuku, Mukasine, took participants through the Lake Kivu Methane Gas Project. "Participants at the conference are very eager to know how all this is working out. We are getting many visitors coming to our stand because we are actually the only people with the computer technology showing whatever is going at the exploitation site in Lake Kivu," Mukasine said. (allAfrica.com)
Rwanda: U.S. Company Lands U.S.$325 Million Gas-to-Power Deal Mar 10, 2009
The deal is to generate100 Megawatts of electricity from methane gas in Lake Kivu, Western Rwanda ... "Lake Kivu's gas will provide a clean source of power generation for a region suffering from extreme shortages of reliable and affordable electricity. Utilization of the lake's gas resource will also serve to reduce the risk of an uncontrolled release of the lake's gas," ContourGlobal's President, Joseph Brandt said in a release ... The government's wish is to serve the electricity needs of its... (allAfrica.com)
"What Are They So Scared Of? I'm Just a Little Old Lady." Feb 17, 2009
GOMA, Democratic Republic of CongoI'm writing from the Congolese border town of Goma, overlooking the expansive waters of Lake Kivu and, in the near distance, the hills of Rwanda. Sunset here always seems to promise a tomorrow in which the region's sad history of violence might pass. (Slate)
Rebels, villagers said killed in Congo fighting Feb 14, 2009
"About 40 (Congolese and Rwandan) soldiers entered town and captured some FDLR. Others fled," Mutower Bashamwami, 38, told Reuters at a camp for displaced civilians in the town of Minova on the shores of eastern Congo's Lake Kivu. "After the soldiers left, the FDLR came back and started shooting people because they were angry. I have five children. Two were hit by bullets and killed as we ran away. Another one is lost and two are here in the camp with me," he said. (AlertNet)
