Africa
Europe Pledges 600 Billion for Clean Energy Projects in Africa
The EU's Global Gateway plan is challenging China's Belt and Road Initiative to influence Africa, by providing funding that will expand access to electricity. Nearly 600 million Africans--half the continent's population--are without electricity, largely because of the continent's limited distribution network, and Africans make up the vast majority of those worldwide without electricity access. But the European Union wants to change this. At the end of September, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a โฌ545 million ($636 million) investment package to support renewable energy and electrification in Africa. New EU-funded projects will include a high-voltage transmission line in Cรดte d'Ivoire, the electrification of hundreds of rural communities in Cameroon, the exploitation of wind and hydro energy in Lesotho, and the installation of mini-grids in remote areas of Madagascar.
Tesla investigated over self-driving cars on wrong side of road
Tesla is being investigated by the US government after reports the firm's self-driving cars had broken traffic laws, including driving on the wrong side of the road and not stopping for red lights. It said it was aware of 58 reports where the electric cars had committed such violations, according to a filing from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). An estimated 2.9 million cars equipped with full self-driving tech will fall under the investigation. Tesla, whose boss Elon Musk recently became the world's first half-trillionaire, has been approached for comment. The NHTSA's preliminary evaluation will assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) mode.