#delegation from NDC

[kyreniacommentator]

President Tatar received Turkish National Defence Committee Chairman Hulusi Akar

[ghanashowbizonline]

Video - Commencement of voting in NDC Odododiodioo Parliamentary election

Voting has commenced for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as over 2300 delegates gather to select their Parliamentary Candidate for the Odododiodioo constituency in the Greater Accra Region. This follows the dismissal of an interlocutory injunction application filed by disqualified candidate Michael Nii Yarboi Anan. The initial postponement of the election, resulting from the legal…

[korlieblog]

Mahama thanks Duffour and other aspirants

John Dramani Mahama, former President of Ghana, expressed his gratitude to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) delegates who voted for him in the primary elections held on May 13, 2023. He emerged as the flagbearer-elect of the NDC with 98.9% of the total valid votes, while his contender Kojo Bonsu managed to secure 1.1%. Dr Kwabena Duffuor withdrew from the race a day before the election.…

[moderndiplomacy]

COP27 begins a ‘new era to do things differently’

The UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, should shift the world towards implementation of previously agreed plans to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge, Simon Stiell, the new Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Convention (UNFCCC), said on Sunday at the opening of COP27.“Today a new era begins – and we begin to do things differently. Paris gave us the agreement. Katowice and Glasgow gave us the plan. Sharm el-Sheik shifts us to implementation. No one can be a mere passenger on this journey. This is the signal that times have changed,” Mr. Stiell told delegates gathered in the main plenary room of the Tonino Lamborghini International Convention Centre.

The creation of rules on international emissions trade risk being delayed for another year as negotiations stumble in Sharm el-Sheikh over whether host countries can amend or even revoke their authorisation for the transfer of carbon credits.

The UN climate chief said leaders –be they Presidents, Prime Ministers or CEOs – would be held to account for promises they made last year in Glasgow.

“Because our policies, our businesses, our infrastructure, our actions, be they personal or public, must be aligned with the Paris Agreement and with the [UN Climate] Convention”, he underscored.

The UNFCCC convention entered into force on 21 March 1994 to prevent “dangerous” human interference with the climate system. Today, ratified by 198 countries, it has near-universal membership. The Paris Agreement, agreed in 2016, works as an extension of that convention.

Deliver what has been promised

Acknowledging the current complex geopolitical situation, Mr. Stiell said that COP27 is an opportunity to create a safe political space, shielded from whatever is going on “out there”, to work and deliver world change.

“Here in Sharm el-Sheikh, we have a duty to speed up our international efforts to turn words into actions”, he emphasized.

The UNFCCC Executive Secretary underlined three critical lines of action for the Conference:

Demonstrate a transformation shift to implementation by putting negotiations into concrete actions.

Cement progress on the critical workstreams – mitigation, adaptation, finance and crucially – loss and damage.

Enhance the delivery of the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the process.

“I welcome detailed plans on how we deliver what we have promised”, he told delegates.

No backsliding allowed

Mr. Stiell, dubbing himself an “accountability chief”, stated that 29 countries have now come forward with tightened national climate plans since COP26, five more since the publication of last week’s UNFCCC NDC Synthesis report, but still not a majority.

“So here I am now, looking out at 170 countries that are due to be revisiting and strengthening their national pledges this year,” he said.

He reminded delegates that last year the Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed at COP26, and he expected them not to rescind their word.

“Stick to your commitments. Build on them here in Egypt. I will not be a custodian of back-sliding,” he said.

An inclusive process

In words that drew an ovation in the plenary room, the UN climate chief underscored that women and girls must be placed at the center of climate decision-making and action.

“Their empowerment leads to better governance and better outcomes,” he said, also highlighting the importance of civil society organizations and the youth in the COP27 process.

[zonradiogh]

My Humble Appeal To NDC Delegates - Mustapha Abubakar

My Humble Appeal To NDC Delegates – Mustapha Abubakar

I have cited a statement from some friends of Dr Duffour attacking some individuals and also calling for a free and fair elections in the upcoming Presidential primaries. Well the attacks are unfortunate especially when these same people were only doing a sacrificial job without any pay. Look how the congress was beautifully done. It’s also a matter of fact that all our past elections from the…

[kumasionlinegh]

Delegates Repose Confidence In New NDC Squad

Delegates Repose Confidence In New NDC Squad

DELEGATES OF the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have described the newly-elected National Executives as “competent” and well-able to bring the Party back to power in 2024. “The delegates did well by electing the most competent people that will cause a nightmare to the NPP and I believe with this new crop of executives, victory is assured in 2024,” Mudy Smardy, a delegate from Asawase…

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil wants more from COP26 than it is willing to give

The government’s green rhetoric in Glasgow clashes with inaction at home

[Image description: the Brazilian flag, except the green is replaced by cut trees on brown dry ground.]

BRAZIL USED to be one of the main protagonists in global climate talks, its politicians and wonks proposing all sorts of new-fangled ways to boost greenery. No longer. This week Jair Bolsonaro, the beleaguered president, decided to eat gnocchi with distant relatives in northern Italy rather than attend COP26, the UN climate conference in Glasgow. “Everyone would throw stones at him,” explained Hamilton Mourão, the vice-president.

The country’s record on climate change is indeed dire. Since Mr Bolsonaro took office in 2019, the rate of deforestation is up by 45%. Brazil’s total greenhouse-gas emissions rose 9.5% last year, according to a study sponsored by the Climate Observatory, a network of 70 NGOs and think-tanks, even as emissions fell in the rest of the world. But whereas Mr Bolsonaro once seemed to relish his reputation as a pariah—backing out of hosting COP25 in 2019 and picking a fight with Emmanuel Macron, the French president—he now seems keen to try to improve his reputation. “I’m not as bad as people say,” he told Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, when she approached him at a G20 dinner in Rome on October 30th, at which he was sitting alone. Brazil’s COP26 delegation hopes to convey the same message.

Last month, in an attempt to look greener, the government announced two climate-focused initiatives: a revamp of an existing plan to encourage low-carbon agriculture and a new green growth programme, which is meant to generate jobs in sustainable fields. In addition, on November 1st Joaquim Leite, the environment minister, said that Brazil would increase its target to cut emissions, to 50% by 2030 from their level in 2005, and bring forward the year by which it plans to reach net-zero emissions from 2060 to 2050, as many countries have done. According to Leonardo Cleaver, the top negotiator, Brazil will be “more flexible” on Article 6, a contentious clause of the 2015 Paris agreement that lays out rules for global carbon trading.

Environmentalists are not convinced. Brazil wants all of the benefits and none of the costs from COP26, says Caroline Prolo, a lawyer. Most of the government’s plans for meeting its targets are “vague promises that contain the word ‘green’”, says Stela Herschmann of the Climate Observatory. Last year Brazil’s formal UN pledge to cut emissions (known as a nationally determined contribution, or NDC) put the country among a tiny minority that not only failed to increase their ambition since the Paris agreement in 2015, but did the opposite. The CO2 baseline was revised upwards, but the pledge remained the same.

Continue reading.

[awkwardpariah]

This is only semi-serious as there are now a handful of progressives talking about a primary challenge against Biden in 2024. As of right now, I'm not convinced Biden will actually run in 2024 and I tend to favor the idea that the progressive wing of the Democratic party might split from the party rather than try to tough it out... however, a few folks recently pointed out to me that the Congressional Progressive Caucus is now almost as large as the New Democratic Coalition (95 members vs. 97), and if in 2022 the Democratic lead overall declines, but the CPC lead exceeds the NDC after 2022 (the year Pelosi has committed to stepping down as Speaker following the elections), things could get very interesting in Congress, and ultimately get very interesting during the 2024 general election if indeed Biden is serious about running again. So here's a scenario about how that might play out. 2022 - The Democrats perform better than expected, but still lose their majority in the House, if only narrowly, while the Senate actually sees Democrats with a net-gain of 2 seats. However, to the notice of very few, Progressives now find themselves in control of the Democratic party, with a total of 104 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus out of a total 206 House Democrats. 2023 - In the months following the election the national attention is largely on Trumpist Republicans (now decidedly the majority of the party) calls for Donald Trump to be elected Speaker and plans to impeach President Biden. Within the Democratic party a smaller, but no less significant drama plays out as Nancy Pelosi prepares to step down as Speaker of the House as per the deal made following the 2018 midterms and her return to power. While both factions are largely in favor of Pelosi's long suspected nominee to succeed her, House Democratic Chair Hakeem Jeffries, Progressives have issued challenges to ever other level of the party's leadership, including committee assignments, and unfortunately for the New Democrats, they have the votes. Steny Hoyer is almost immediately ejected from the leadership, and Jim Clyburn maneuvers to replace him in a last minute deal that elevates Katie Porter to House Whip. The 118th Congress begins with Speaker Kevin McCarthy beginning impeachment proceedings which fail by Summer and are seen as largely farcical by most voters. 2024 - After 3 years of consistent policy failures, compromises, and an increasing contempt towards the leadership of his own party, Joe Biden finds himself to be the first incumbent since Jimmy Carter to face a serious primary challenge. His opponent is dismissed by most media outlets as someone who will at most pick up a few extremely left wing contests and only embarrass the President. Debates are not even seriously considered before the first contest is held in February... which is exactly why Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez wins the Iowa Caucuses by running the only campaign that's actually on the ground in that state. By New Hampshire, thanks in large part to Biden actually showing up, AOC narrowly loses. By South Carolina Biden's victory is far more decisive, however the margin of victory among black voters is cause for concern. On Super Tuesday AOC picks up Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Democrats Abroad, and California briefly elevating her ahead of Biden in the delegate count. The Media panics, painting AOC as a dangerous radical, digging up every word she's ever said out loud in her life, and obsessing over her youth while occasionally weirdly sexualizing her. However, talking heads and commenters online can't help to discuss AOC's odds against any of the Republican candidates in the general. Her policies also begin getting mainstream attention, and while they are often presented as pie-in-the-sky proposals, they are consistently popular. Further, the constant playing of old footage of her time in the House and in prior campaigns only serves to make her actual demeanor and positions more approachable to voters that previously only knew of her in the headlines as a young rabble rouser. There is only one debate, a concession by the Biden campaign to the networks. It does not go well for the 81-year-old President; the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez's wit and ferocity only shines a light on Biden's age, particularly when he clumsily tries to quote Reagan's response to the age issue in the 1984 debate with Mondale. Biden also can't help but look out of touch to a great many voters. He continues to tout economic statistics that mean nothing to anyone without an investment portfolio, often lashes out at voters who point out his administration's failings, and generally comes across as a crotchety old man. Fortunately for Biden, this last point isn't really a problem in a country with 80 million retirees, and even among working-age voters, a majority are still skeptical at an out and proud Democratic Socialist. By summer, the AOC campaign is simply running out of money. Biden's willingness to take an unlimited supply of corporate money and a huge media buy in the remaining contests simply can't be stopped by a campaign that has used up most of its comparatively meager funds from small online donations. After a string of defeats in the Midwest and South, particularly in Florida, Biden secures his renomination. The mood at the convention is tense. Many on the left continue to push conspiracy theories about DNC manipulation of election results, make absurd requests that Biden not accept the nomination, or call for leaving the Democratic party all together. Older Democrats revile AOC as trying to cut the legs out from under their President, and demand a full throated endorsement in her concession speech. Biden and AOC meet behind closed doors. Of what was said between the two, all that is known is that AOC agrees to join the President on the dais and deliver some brief remarks before Biden makes his acceptance speech. Billed as concession by the media, AOC delivers an eloquent and stirring speech that decidedly overshadows the acceptance speech made by the nominee. After the convention, there are few doubts about who would be the Democratic nominee in 2028. NOTE: The states are based on a simple election scenario I put together in xcel, combining the vote totals of Bernie and Warren in 2016 (no they wouldn't have won if one had dropped out) and increasing their totals by 25%. Not a huge bump, but not unreasonable. I added to AOC's roster a couple states that voted after Bernie had largely dropped out and COVID had turned the primary into a one-horse race.

[dnewstrending]

NDC ELECTIONS: 20 constituencies postponed in the NDC election in the Central Region

NDC ELECTIONS: 20 constituencies postponed in the NDC election in the Central Region

The three were Upper Denkyira East, West, and the Agona East constituencies. The remaining 20 will hold their election on Sunday, October 23, 2022, following a delayed arrival of ballot papers from the Election Committee. With the development communicated to supporters late, drama broke out at the Gomoa East and Awutu Senya West Constituencies when delegates showed up to cast their…

[obuabamedia]

Bawumia’s Ghana card-interchanges comparison was misconstrued – Prof. Attafuah

The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Ken Attafuah, has jumped to the defence of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia following the latter’s comparison of Ghana card and physical projects. Speaking at the launch of two new high-level information technology programmes at Accra Business School at Baatson in Accra on Thursday, July 14, 2022, the Vice President said he would choose the Ghana card over 1000 interchanges as the former has a greater impact. This sparked funny reactions from Ghanaians, who took to social media to ridicule Dr. Bawumia. The Deputy General Secretary of NDC, Peter Boamah Otokunor also threw a jab at the Vice President while delivering his goodwill message at the New Patriotic Party’s Delegates Conference at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, July 16, 2022. He said, “When we were coming , I decided to buy a ball of kenkey. This ball of kenkey sells for 5 cedis. The leaves on the kenkey alone will be 3 cedis; more expensive than the kenkey itself. Guess what, ladies and gentlemen, I bought the kenkey with my Ghana Card.” Responding to the reactions on the Citi Breakfast Show, the NIA Executive Secretary said, “I think that there is a bit of a misunderstanding. The Ghana card has been underappreciated. We cannot begin to quantify the level of impact the Ghana card will have on our civility.” He supported his stance with more benefits the Ghana card presents to the country. “By the time we have captured about 2 million people on the system, we will never have to queue to register for anything. If the EC’s plans as raised by the minority comes to fruition, we will have continuous registration just with your Ghana card. There will be no contestations about citizenship, and age.” “SSNIT will be a cleaner place. Pension payments will be sanitised. Identity conflicts will be a thing of the past,” he noted. Read the full article

[glitzempireofficial]

Asiedu Nketia Receives Special Invitation For The Annual Ghana Media Music And Dinner Night

Asiedu Nketia Receives Special Invitation For The Annual Ghana Media Music And Dinner Night

The General Secretary for opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr Asiedu Nketiah has received a high powered delegation from organizers of the maiden annual Ghana Media Music and Dinner Night scheduled for July 30, 2022 at the Accra International Conference Centre. The courtesy call led by Dr Bernard BNA Yartey, CEO of Lakeside Village, was to officially invite the outspoken…

[ghanashowbizonline]

GH Trends - Mahama leads NDC to mourn with President Kufuor

Former President John Dramani Mahama and a delegation from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) visited former President JA Kufuor and his family to express their condolences over the passing of former First Lady Theresa Kufuor. Theresa Kufuor, affectionately known as the mother of the Nation during her time as First Lady, was recognized for her dignified personality. The delegation included…

[qubemagazine]

New Post has been published on Qube Magazine

New Post has been published on https://www.qubeonline.co.uk/taking-the-heat-out-of-data-centre-energy-costs/

Taking the heat out of data centre energy costs

NEWS FEATURES FIRE & SECURITY SUBMISSIONS RESOURCES

Faced with potentially disastrous climate change, countries and organisations are urgently seeking ways to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and one of the most obvious solutions is energy efficiency. Sectors consuming large amounts of energy are therefore under a high degree of scrutiny. The following article explains how cooling efficiencies can be implemented at energy-hungry data centers. It also describes the dramatic cost savings and improvements in environmental performance that are made possible by accurate measurements.

Background Delegates at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow returned home with the alarming news that the combined Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reductions in GHG emissions would be insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 Deg C above pre-industrial levels. Countries and organisations are therefore urgently seeking ways to achieve their Net Zero ambitions.

It has been estimated that the world’s 18 million data centers used 200-250 TWh in 2020 (1) which represents about 1% of global electricity consumption. This heavy power requirement at data centers is driven by IT infrastructure (approx.60% on average) and the associated cooling and air-conditioning systems (approx. 40% on average). To-date energy efficiency improvements at data centers have managed to decouple growth in data traffic from energy use. IT equipment is becoming more efficient, but also cooling systems must be tightly monitored and controlled to minimize energy consumption. With energy costs spiralling, the drivers for optimizing the energy efficiency of data centers are both environmental and financial.

The USA currently has by far the most data centers with 2,670, followed by 452 in the UK, 443 in Germany, and significant numbers in China, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, France and Japan (2).

The energy costs of data centers and other IT-based activities are facing stricter regulatory measures as governments seek resilience in energy supplies and progress towards Net Zero. In Singapore for example, data centers are responsible for around 7% of electricity consumption and a moratorium on new data centers has only just been lifted (3). In future, existing and new data centers will need to be more efficient. In Ireland, a recent report estimates that 29% of total demand will come from data centers by 2028 (4). In the UK, consultancy firm Carbon3IT estimates that data centers account for at least 12% of UK electricity consumption (5).

Cryptocurrencies are imposing enormous energy demands. Bitcoin mining for example, is increasingly being undertaken by new large data centers, some of which use cheap energy from fossil fuels. The environmental effects of cryptocurrencies are now becoming better understood and this creates risks and challenges for the sector to become more energy efficient. For comparison, it has been estimated (6 & 7) that Bitcoin mining alone uses more energy than some countries – including Norway, Argentina, the Netherlands and Pakistan.

In recent years, the growth in demand for data centers has seen the closure of older inefficient facilities, and the construction of new efficient hyperscale data centers. This has helped to lower the rate of growth in energy consumption. However, with more data being stored in the Cloud and with the development of more IT-based resources such as AI, machine learning, self-driving cars etc. it is commonly accepted that energy demand may grow significantly.

The importance of keeping cool With cooling and air-conditioning (A/C) responsible for around 40% of energy usage, it is clear that this non-IT infrastructure has to be managed as efficiently as possible. However, accurate temperature and humidity control is also vital for the correct functioning of IT equipment.

“In many modern facilities 99.999% uptime is expected; representing annual downtime of just a few minutes. These extremely high levels of performance are necessary because of the importance and value of the data and processes being handled by the IT infrastructure,” says Anu Kätkä, an industry expert from Vaisala.

“Low humidity increases the risk of static electricity, and high humidity can result in condensation. Incorrect or fluctuating temperature can also harm IT devices or shorten their lifetime. It is therefore extremely important that monitoring and control systems are supported by sensors that are stable, accurate and reliable in the long-term. Vaisala devices are capable of temperature measurement accuracy as high as ±0.1 °C and humidity measurement up to ±0.8% RH which is an optimal fit for the data centers. “

Highlighting the importance of accurate sensors, one of Vaisala’s customers has estimated that a mere 1°C in overcooling could increase annual cooling energy costs by up to 8.5 percent. “To put this into perspective, the increased energy costs for a small data center would be over 0.4 million Euros over 10 years, and for a large data center it would cost over 4 million Euros,” Kätkä adds.

In addition to its complete range of sensors for data centers, Vaisala is also the world’s leading manufacturer of meteorological monitoring equipment, which is important because many data centers employ economization; measuring the outdoor environment to enhance the optimization of indoor conditions and to improve energy efficiency.

Answering the growing need for effective process measurements Traditionally, air cooling is employed in data centers, but as rack densities increase, there is a growing demand for more effective cooling systems. Liquid cooling solutions are therefore becoming popular because they are much more effective at removing heat. To support this trend, Vaisala has developed a new high-quality sensor for measuring cooling / heating liquid temperatures.

“The new Vaisala TMI110 is an immersion temperature transmitter, supplied with a calibration certificate and offering excellent response time with accuracy of ±0.1 °C. We are happy to include this product into our portfolio, because customers can now source all of their most important sensors from one supplier – air temperature, humidity and differential pressure sensors for rooms and ducts, meteorological sensors for outdoor weather, and now immersion temperature sensors for cooling systems,” Anu Kätkä concludes.

Summary In comparison with the energy, environmental and financial costs of energy inefficiency, investments in accurate, stable measurement systems are negligible. So, just as space missions are using Vaisala’s measurement technology in the most demanding conditions, data center managers are choosing the same solutions for their most critical environments, here on Earth.

By tightly controlling ventilation and cooling systems with accurate, stable sensors, data center managers can lower energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint and future-proof their sector as the demand for GHG emissions reduction intensifies.

  Taking the heat out of data centre energy costs

NEWS FEATURES FIRE & SECURITY SUBMISSIONS RESOURCES

[thelatestnews1]

Raila hits out at UDA for temporarily kicking out media at NDC

Raila hits out at UDA for temporarily kicking out media at NDC

Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 18:01 ODM leader Raila Odinga. PHOTO/COURTESY Raila Odinga Presidential Secretariat has hit out at United Democratic Alliance leadership for blocking media houses from covering its National Delegates Congress (NDC) for about an hour on Tuesday. Through the spokesperson of the Secretariat Makau Mutua, Raila said Ruto will “switch off the lights of democracy” if elected…

[kumasionlinegh]

NDC is my first wife: Ofosu-Ampofo on last minute campaign

NDC is my first wife: Ofosu-Ampofo on last minute campaign

Incumbent National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has justified why he should be retained by delegates. As the first person to champion the election of a Speaker of Parliament from an opposition party, winning an election in 2024 will be a cool chop. On Saturday, Saturday 17, delegates of NDC will head to the polls to decide who they wish to lead the party ahead…

[thecountiesinfo]

Why Media Was kicked out of UDA NDC

Why Media Was kicked out of UDA NDC

United Democratic Alliance (UDA NDC) on Tuesday temporarily locked out members of the press from their ongoing National Delegates Convention at Kasarani Stadium gymnasium. Members of the media were asked to leave the event moments after Deputy President William Ruto who is expected to be crowned as the UDA presidential candidate arrived at the venue. “Just as we had announced before, that, once…