News

Namibia's clear night skies away from the larger cities are internationally known among hobby astronomers. Lesser known is the fact that about 100 km west of Windhoek, at 1,800 m altitude, there are several huge reflecting telescopes near the majestic Gamsberg, looking for cosmic rays since 2002 for scientific purposes. Around 260 scientists of 40 scientific institutes from 13 countries, including Namibia, are involved in the H.E.S.S. project at Farm Göllschau, the world's largest reflector telescope system for gamma rays.

Part-time aircraft engineer. Full-time royalty. This is not the kind of job description one sees on a CV every day. Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo has recently been crowned the new Ondonga King in the north of Namibia. Although Tatekulu Shuumbwa has assumed his new duties as king, he still fulfils certain duties as aviation auditor for the Namibian Air Force when his services are required.

The current drought is worse than that of 1981, which is known as the drought of the century, says the Chief Conservation Officer of famous Etosha National Park, Deputy Director Pierre du Preez. The last rainy season (2018/19) on average yielded only 30 percent of Etosha’s normal rainfall, and the problem is further aggravated by the fact that especially the park’s western parts have experienced drought for the past three years.

“Hit the Beat – In Rhythm we meet” - Waldorf School Windhoek would like to invite music and dance enthusiasts to their performance on 14, 15 and 16 August 2019. This extraordinary performing arts project involves 55 learners of Waldorf School Windhoek, as well as musicians, artists and teachers from Namibia and Germany.

A hundred kilometres east of Swakopmund on the B2, at the turnoff to Spitzkoppe and Henties Bay, is the Ûiba-Ôas crystal market, a gemstone market of note. An array of sparkling stones - fluorite, tourmaline, aquamarine, crystal quartz, garnets and topaz - fill the tables. The Erongo Region, where the crystal market is found, has many mining communities who earn their livelihood from the sale of their stones.

On the way to Palmwag from Damara Mopane Lodge near Khorixas, I stopped in at the small settlement of Vrede. Vrede looks like any other settlement along the route, but its residents have a very interesting history. The members of the twelve households that live in Vrede are all Riemvasmakers, their families having once lived in Riemvasmaak in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

Can I save water when taking a shower? How many people in Namibia cook with solar power, wood, gas or electricity? How can I save energy? How much water do I use every day and what for? What type of transport is the most environmentally friendly? These questions and many others are answered at the Urban Sustainability Centre of NaDEET (Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust) in Swakopmund.

The economic growth summit in Windhoek, which was organised to secure projects in order to stimulate Namibia’s economy, has received some N$20 billion (about 1.22 billion Euros) worth of investments. The Namibian government announced several policy reforms to improve the ease of doing business. Some 880 local and international delegates attended the two-day summit, which ended on 01 August and was held under the theme “economic revival or inclusive growth – strengthening the Namibian house”.

Gondwana Collection Namibia officially launched their new website Aux 4 coins de la Namibie on the 30^th July at The Wolfshack in Windhoek. This French news platform was created to promote Namibia to the French-speaking markets as the demand for information on Namibia in French is ever increasing.

The Namibian government received donations in cash and kind for drought relief worth N$104 million (about 6.5 million Euros) from the private sector, public companies and friendly nations like Russia and China. Namibia seeks some N$15 billion investments for projects disclosed at a business revival summit at month-end. Namibia’s inflation rate stood at 3.9 percent in June, down from 4.0 in May, the Namibia Statistics Agency announced in July.