OMDURMAN: For almost a year, Randa al-Mansour, a 31-year-old Sudanese housewife, has relied on solar energy panels installed on the rooftop of her building to survive the recurrent blackouts triggered by the war-torn country’s deteriorating electricity grid.
“We are suffering big time,” said al-Mansour, who lives with her three children in Omdurman, just outside the capital of Khartoum.
“When kids arrive at school in the morning, they find no electricity there, so they are forced to head back home, where there is none either. It is very hard for them to study under such a high temperature.”
The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April 2023, killing at least 59,000 people, though aid groups say the number could be higher, and displacing some 13 million.
The conflict also has strained an already weak power infrastructure, forcing many Sudanese to seek alternative energy sources, especially during scorching summer heat. The United Nations Development Program has estimated the damage inflicted on the electricity grid at $3 billion.
“We resorted to solar energy as a way of adapting to this situation. However, not everyone in Sudan can afford this solution,” said al-Mansour, who supports her family with remittances from her husband working in Saudi Arabia.
In recent months, billboards advertising solar panels, batteries, and inverters have expanded in the capital as more Sudanese consider transitioning to solar energy.
“For a low-income family, installing a solar panel system is a huge sacrifice but an inevitable choice,” said Mohey Eddin Abu-Bark, owner of a solar systems business in Khartoum, adding that a typical household 10-kilowatt solar system costs nearly $5,000.
Manahel Madany, a 43-year-old diabetic civil servant, cannot afford the transition, despite needing steady electricity for her fridge for her insulin.
“Every three to four days, I am forced to throw away all my insulin stock after it goes bad due to heat and power outages,” said Madany.
She lives in a two-bedroom house with her mother and sister in Omdurman, and like many Sudanese, the three are forced to sleep in their house courtyard to escape the searing heat indoors.
“Not all pharmacies can afford to install solar panels for medical storage, and that’s why most medications have become unavailable,” Madany said.
The Sudan Doctors’ Network, which tracks violence across the country, warned that the continued electricity cuts could impact patients in hospitals, especially kidney patients who need constant care.
At least 30% of Sudan’s population has no access to electricity, with rural areas bearing the brunt, according to the World Bank. Conditions in grid-connected urban centers have also deteriorated, with power outages reaching up to 16 hours in many parts of the country in recent months, according to two electricity department officials who spoke to The Associated Press.
Electricity production has dropped from 4,400 megawatts before the war to 1,100 megawatts as many power plants were hit by drones launched by the RSF, while nearly half of Sudan’s best electricity engineers and technicians have also left the country since 2023, the officials said, citing a survey by a local labor union.
The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Sudan has limitless potential to generate solar energy given the long hours of sunshine that often exceed 4,000 hours per year, according to the U.N. However, the high upfront cost of imported solar energy systems and a depreciating local currency derail the transition to clean energy.
PITTSBURGH — Jared Jones pitched six strong innings, Jake Mangum had an RBI double in the second inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the skidding Angels 1-0 on Friday night.
The MLB-worst Angels (53-88) lost for the 10th time in 11 games. The Pirates have won five of six games.
Jones (3-6) blanked the Angels on three hits to win for the first time in eight starts since beating Cleveland on July 18. He struck out nine, walked one, and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Wilber Dotel pitched two innings, and Mason Montgomery worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter and the Pirates’ ninth shutout of the season. Montgomery had his ninth save.
Ryan Johnson (3-8) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts and has given up zero or one run in five of those outings.
Prized rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin returned from the injured list for the Pirates and made an immediate impact when he scored the lone run from first base on Mangum’s one-out double to right field in the second inning.
Griffin had been sidelined since July 6 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The Pirates signed the 20-year-old to a nine-year, $140-million contract, the richest in franchise history, in April.
The Angels hit back-to-back singles to open the top of the second, but Jones got Christian Moore to foul out, then struck out Jose Siri and Adam Frazier. The Halos have been shut out 12 times.
Up next: Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) faces RHP Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59) on Saturday night in the middle game of the series.
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GrafTech International (EAF) up 5.3% post-market Monday after saying it plans to permanently close its graphite electrode manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, winding down operations in phases before expecting to end production in Q2 2027.
The company said the planned closure is intended
THE OLDEST scientific attraction in Britain is set to close for more than two years – as it undergoes a multi-million pound renovation.
Visitors have just over two months to make the most of the site before it temporarily shuts.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich has confirmed it will close all buildings from November 2, as part of its “First Light” renovation project.
Following the closures, the 351 year-old site will begin its £77million renovation to transform the area with new galleries, displays and conserving the observatory‘s most historic sections.
Changes set to come include an upgraded visitor entrance, a new lift tower to the Great Equatorial Telescope, and a “revitalised” landscape.
A spokesperson for Royal Observatory Greenwich told News Shopper: “The First Light project represents the most significant transformation of the Royal Observatory in recent years and will secure the future of this internationally important site.
“Although visitors will not be able to access the observatory buildings during the redevelopment, we are committed to ensuring people can continue to engage with astronomy through a wide range of activities and events taking place.”
In place of the main observatory, a temporary planetarium and the Astronomers Take Over gallery will open at the National Maritime Museum.
The attraction is expected to remain closed until 2028 while works are being carried out.
The project, known as First Light, claims it will bring the story of the “historic site to life” and “make science and astronomy accessible to everyone”.
The landmark project was funded with the help of The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Peter Harrison Planetarium at the site is currently already closed, having shut on September 5 last year.
Ashley Sanchez scored twice to break the single-season goals record for the North Carolina Courage in a 2-0 victory over Angel City on Wednesday night.
The former All-American at UCLA leads the National Women’s Soccer League in scoring this season with 15 goals.
Sanchez scored her 14th goal in the 41st minute, tying Lynn Biyendolo’s record for the North Carolina set in 2019. Evelyn Ijeh’s backheel flick found a charging Sanchez, who blasted it into the far corner.
Sanchez added her record-breaker in the 78th, running down a long ball sent forward by Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and out-running three Angel City defenders before burying her shot. Sheridan, who got the assist, ran up the field after the goal to celebrate with Sanchez.
Sanchez also had a pair of goals in the Courage’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Legacy on Saturday. North Carolina has won (11-3-7) has won five of its last six games.
The loss ended a four-game streak of draws for Angel City (7-6-7). Angel City played to a scoreless tie at home with Gotham on Sunday.
North Carolina’s Maycee Bell made her 50th NWSL regular-season appearance but she was injured early in the second half and had to be stretchered off with an apparent arm injury.
