OPEC is ready on oil production freeze to combat low prices - Minister of State for Petroleum

In spite of recent disagreements between the organizatoin’s members, Minister of state for Petroleum Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that OPEC will be able to come together in an agreement to freeze oil production as a way to combat low oil prices.

“The Minister for energy in Qatar and the President of OPEC is leading that pact and there is a lot of conversation going on and there’s a lot of consensus building on the issue of the freeze,” Kachikwu said in an interview in Qatar
“Saudi Arabia and Russia are aligned on the issue of a freeze, so I think the chances are very high,” Kachikwu added

Former Nigeria Leader Son In Ghastly Auto Accident

Former President Obasanjo’s son, Oba, was in a ghastly auto accident today on his way from Ilesha in Osun state where he had gone to attend the 75th birthday party ceremony of his stepmother, Mabel.

An eyewitness said the car he was driving is now a write-off with occupants including Oba sustaining critical injuries. A family source told Saharareporters that Oba and others injured in the accident have been taken to the University teaching Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo state for treatment.

Sex is not just an emotional mystery. Its very existence poses a deep question

GUILT-FREE intercourse may, as Philip Larkin wrote, have begun in 1963, but sexual reproduction has been around a good deal longer than that. Single-celled organisms began exchanging and mixing up genetic information in ways modern biologists recognise as rudimentary forms of sex about two billion years ago. Yet the question of why sex exists at all remains troublesome. A creature which reproduces asexually passes on all of its genes to each of its progeny. One that mates with another, by contrast, passes on only half of them. On the face of things that is a huge selective disadvantage. There must therefore, evolutionary biologists believe, be equally huge compensating benefits.

Two ideas exist about what these might be. One is that the constantly changing genetic variety sex creates stops parasites and pathogens evolving stable techniques for exploiting a host species. This is the “Red Queen” hypothesis, an allusion to a character in “Through the Looking-Glass” who had to run as fast as she could to stay in the same place. The other idea is that the continual mixing of genes from generation to generation separates good and bad mutations, permitting the bad ones to be purged by natural selection without taking the good ones along for the ride. This process was described by Joel Peck, one of its progenitors, as plucking rubies from rubbish.

Despite having two sexes, known as mating-types a and alpha, yeast’s default mode of reproduction is asexual, so Dr Desai’s first task was to work out a way to turn his yeast cells on to sex, as it were. He did this by adding to their DNA genes for resistance to two antibiotics, hygromycin and G418, and arranging for this resistance to be turned on only when the gene for mating was also active. Adding the antibiotics to the yeast’s growth medium meant only sexually active yeast cells could survive.“Plucking rubies” and the “Red Queen” are not mutually exclusive. Both could be true. But, while the queen has experimental evidence to back her up, rubies have had little such validation. Until now. For Michael Desai of Harvard University believes he has demonstrated such plucking experimentally in brewer’s yeast. This is a well-understood experimental organism and one ideal for Dr Desai’s purpose because it can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Studying the switch between the two modes, he hoped, might illuminate the purging process. And, as he and his team writein Nature, it has.

This done, he and his team set up 24 lines of this modified strain (12 of mating-type a and 12 of alpha) and let them grow for six months, a period that corresponds to about 1,000 yeast generations. Six lines of each mating type were forced to undergo sexual reproduction every 90 generations, by mixing the sexes together and adding the antibiotics. Others were left to carry on cloning themselves. At these 90-generation break points the researchers also sampled each line to look for any genetic mutations that had arisen in the intervening period. Such mutations are the stuff of evolution, and Dr Desai hoped they might tell the story of why, in an evolutionary sense, sex works.

They did. The researchers found, as predicted, that when a beneficial mutation appeared in a few of the asexually reproducing cells, it would spread only if its positive effects outweighed the negative effects of any deleterious mutations that appeared in the same cells. Even if a good mutation prospered, it did so slowly, as any bad mutations associated with it came along for the ride when the genome it was in passed from one generation to the next.

In the sexual yeast population, however, good and bad mutations often went their separate ways when the parent cell’s genome was chopped up and mixed around during reproduction. This permitted different combinations of good and bad mutations to pass to the genomes of different offspring of the same parent cells. That made it easier, in an evolutionary sorting of wheat from chaff, for the good mutations to spread, even if they first appeared in bad company. So, as evolutionary theory predicts, over the course of the experiment genomes containing deleterious mutations disappeared and positive mutations accumulated in the genomes of cells that remained.

The crucial test, though, came at the end of the experiment, when Dr Desai compared the asexual to the sexual strains. In every case, the descendants of sexually reproducing yeast cells bested their asexual rivals in the competition for food and resources. His experiments thus confirm that the ruby hypothesis works—at least, in a laboratory. That puts it on an equal footing with the Red Queen. What goes on in the wild, though, has yet to be determined.

With The Economist

Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders in South Carolina primary

Hillary Clinton demolished Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, soothing the sting of her defeat in New Hampshire and setting the stage for a Super Tuesday triumph.

The final margin of victory was a staggering 48 points, with Mrs Clinton winning among black voters by a four-to-one margin and erasing large deficits among young people and progressives.

The candidates will now move on to “Super Tuesday”, when eleven states will go to the polls in a single day. If Mrs Clinton delivers a strong performance three days from now, that could well be the knockout blow to the Sanders campaign.

“Today you sent a message: in America when we stand together there is no barrier too big to break,” Mrs Clinton told jubilant supporters at a victory rally in Columbia, South Carolina. “Tomorrow, this campaign goes national.”

The former secretary of state, who had yet to secure a resounding victory prior to Saturday, had looked to South Carolina as her firewall after early stumbles in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The majority of the Democratic electorate in the southern state is black, and the Clinton family has built an extensive network in the state over the past two decades.

No one anticipated such a massive gap between the rival candidates, however, and there was little question after the results came in about who would enter the upcoming contests with the wind at her back.

Some attributed Mrs Clinton’s dominance to the “Trump factor”. As Donald Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican nomination, the theory goes, Democrats have begun to consolidate on the candidate they view as the strongest alternative in the general election.

Whatever the cause, it was a far different result than eight years ago, when Barack Obama defeated Mrs Clinton in the Palmetto State, a victory which fuelled his drive to the Democratic nomination that year.

Mr Sanders was gracious in defeat, congratulating Mrs Clinton on a “very strong victory”.

“In politics on a given night sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Tonight we lost,” he said, before noting that he expects to win “many, many” delegates on Super Tuesday.

He had fled South Carolina before the results came in, and it was a subdued Mr Sanders who took the stage on Saturday in Minnesota.

“What this election is about is not just electing a president - yeah, that’s pretty important - but it is about transforming America,” he said.

He did signal that he will fight on, however, criticising Mrs Clinton for taking money from Wall St and refusing to turn over transcripts from her paid speeches.

Polls show Mrs Clinton out front in eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states, many of which are in the Southeast and resemble South Carolina from a demographic standpoint.

Mr Sanders leads only in Massachusetts and his home state of Vermont (there is no recent polling data from Colorado).

If Tuesday unfolds as Saturday did, with Mrs Clinton continuing her dominance among minorities while making inroads among the key Sanders demographics of young and well educated voters, the race will be all but over.

With The Telegraph

DISCOs throws the nation into darkness, after new tariff rejection

The Guardian reported that the current huge drop in electricity supply across many parts of the country might be the result of subtle protest or even sabotage by Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOS).

The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had kick-started a new tariff regime February 1, 2016. The move was, however, resisted by labour unions and other Nigerians who took to the streets in protest. Besides, a suspension order by the Senate put paid to the plan.

Following the directive by the upper legislative chamber, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies (ANED) had warned that suspending the new tariff could throw the nation into darkness. And true to their threat, the nation has plunged into darkness for two weeks and still running.

According to the Executive Director, Advocacy and Research of the Association, Sunday Oduntan, the absence of what he called a market priced tariff could cause performance failure by the operators.

In Enugu State, home of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), residents say supply has gone from bad to worse. Generators run full throttle, even as some parts have been without power for weeks. While in some places, supply is erratic; in others, the EEDC has resorted to load shedding.

They noted that the situation degenerated only after the Senate had refused to give a nod to the tariff increase. “The EEDC has not fulfilled any of its promises in the last two years. Several areas with old and malfunctioning transformers have been left to their fate. The Company has not installed any single pre-paid meter since it took over. Dilapidated facilities can be seen all over the five states it covers. The issue of estimated billing still holds sway, amid the poor supply.

“The Company itself appears to be more interested in improving revenue than providing supply to the residents,” said Mr. Ikechi Ugwu, who regretted he had been paying for darkness at his Emene residence.

Moving a motion in the lead up to suspension of the new tariff, Senator Suleiman Nafiz (APC Bauchi North) had said: “The increase is only intended to protect the investment of a select few and not to serve the interest of Nigerian masses who are already battling with the prevailing economic situation.”

EEDC’s Communications Manager, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, could not be reached for his reactions as at press time. A source close to the Company, however, attributed the problem to debts EEDC might have incurred during acquisition, and which it might be struggling to service, adding that the development has hindered new investment that should have enhanced supply in the zone.

The situation is no better in Edo State where several parts have experienced abysmal plunge in supply. In Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Some residents complained that rationing of supply has become the order of the day. Inhabitants of Ujabhole-Uwessan Irrua in Esan Central Local Government say there is no indication their eight-month spell of darkness would change any sooner. In parts of Benin, they say there has been no improvement in supply to justify any increase in tariff, while power in the last one week has turned epileptic in the Igbukhioko area of Ekenwan Road.

‎At Isior and Adolor areas, it was a litany of woes. One owner of a guesthouse, who gave his name as Kelvin, regretted how he now spends about N6,000 daily on fuel to keep his generators running.

But the Assistant General Manager, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) argued that the ongoing shortfall in supply has nothing to do with the Senate’s directive, which put on hold the implementation of the new tariff.

Alhaji Abdulazeez Abdullahi said: “Far from it; there is nothing like sabotage in electricity supply,” adding that the National Assembly does not have the power to direct a return to the old tariff.

KEDC attributed the current poor supply in its franchise area to low allocation from the National Grid, occasioned by vandalisation of gas pipelines and other facilities in the south-south and south-west regions of the country.

Abdullahi said: “The frequency in the National Grid has been fluctuating and has been highly unstable lately. Kaduna Electric was allocated only 181 megawatts (today) for distribution in Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States, the operational territory of the Company, as against 410 megawatts that hitherto was being allocated.”

Kaduna residents, meanwhile, are groaning under the burden of the poor supply. One angry consumer said: “The salaries of civil servants have not been increased; why should they, from the meager amount, offset increase in tariff?”

For Kano resident, Ahmad Baban Bene: “We have been facing this problem because of the Senate’s decision.” Affected parts of the state include Rijiyar Zaki, Sharada, Unguwa Uku, among others.

But Muhammad Kandi, Public Relations Officer of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), said people should dismiss such insinuations, stressing that there had been epileptic supply even before the Senate’s order.

“The generating companies are facing a serious challenge of gas supply; that is why we are having this problem,” said Kandi.
Asked whether the controversial increase in tariff has the prospect of guaranteeing stable power supply in the country, a public affairs analyst, Mr. Lai Omotola said: “The new tariff regime will not produce desired result the way the Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has painted it. The reasons are not too far-fetched. One is the technical capacity of our indigenous companies. The other is the financial capacity of the indigenous companies to bring together necessary infrastructure that can guarantee steady supply of electricity in the country.”

Omotola, who is the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of CFL Group of Companies and Publisher of InfraWatch Nigeria Limited, reasoned that the nation’s power sector missed the roadmap when it failed to bring on board dominant foreign equity players.

“From the beginning, we said it was not enough for indigenous companies to just bring technical partners. It would have been better for indigenous companies to bring technical partners that would also bring equity into that partnership, which is lacking.

“If the man brings equity, it means he is not just a contractor to the indigenous company, but also an investor. The indigenous company will now be able to leverage on two things: its technical competence and financial coverage. That was missing in the bid and now, we are where we are today. As far as the sector is concerned, we do not have a dominant foreign equity player.”

Predictions:Daily News picks 2016 Oscars winners

Leading up to Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast, more attention has been paid to the lack of diversity in the acting contenders than in the performances of the nominees themselves. And no single film will challenge the record of 11 wins shared by “Ben Hur” (1959), “Titanic” (1997) and “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (2003).

That doesn’t mean, however, there isn’t plenty of drama surrounding the biggest night in the movie business. Here are the Daily News’ picks:

                                                                              COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

"The Revenant" is riding a wave of momentum, with awards from the Directors Guild of America and at the BAFTAs. It may also signal the big award, finally, for Leonardo DiCaprio.

Best Picture

“The Big Short”

“Spotlight”

“The Revenant” — Just a few weeks ago, the spotlight seemed to be on “Spotlight” as the front-runner for best picture, but “The Revenant” has since come in out of the cold. The intense survival saga about real-life trapper Hugh Glass has caught major momentum with nods from the Directors Guild of America and at the BAFTAs, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. The box office hit has earned $165 million since opening Christmas Day.

“Bridge of Spies”

“The Martian”

“Room”

“Mad Max: Fury Road”

“Brooklyn”

Best Director

Adam McKay, “The Big Short”

Lenny Abrahamson, “Room”

Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”

George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”

Alejandro González Iñárritu, “The Revenant” — It’s another feather in the cap for Iñárritu, who won last year for “Birdman.” The Mexican-born filmmaker would be the first director to nab back-to-back statuettes since Joseph L. Mankiewicz managed the feat with “A Letter to Three Wives” and “All About Eve” in 1949 and 1950.

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”

Matt Damon, “The Martian”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant” — Consider this as much a lifetime achievement award for a perennially snubbed talent as it is an honor for his dialogue-sparse performance in the best picture front-runner. But DiCaprio also got points from voters impressed with the hellish conditions he endured to shoot the movie in the frigid Canadian tundra.

Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”

Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, “Carol”

Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”

Brie Larson, “Room” — The 26-year-old has dominated awards season and critics’ lists with her performance as a kidnapped mother trying to give her son a sense of normalcy in captivity. Larson already has a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a SAG Award on her mantle, and is considered a slam dunk by prognosticators.

Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”

Saorise Ronan, “Brooklyn”

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, “The Big Short”

Sylvester Stallone, “Creed” — Hollywood loves a comeback story, on and off the screen, and Stallone put forth a heavyweight performance as the aging former champ in this Rocky spinoff. Still, it’s noticeable amid the uproar over the lack of diversity at the Oscars that the only nominee in one of the most inclusive movies of the year wasn’t its black director (Ryan Coogler) or lead actor (Michael B. Jordan).

Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”

Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”

Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”

Rooney Mara, “Carol”

Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”

Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”

Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl” In the most wide-open of the major categories, the Swedish actress has delivered arguably the best overall performance of the year. Though co-star Eddie Redmayne had the showier turn as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, Vikander more than held her own as the landscape painter’s fiercely loyal wife, Gerda.

Best Animated Film

“Anomalisa”

“Inside Out” — It’s hard not to be animated about the chances of this Pixar masterpiece, which was the highest-profile nominee at the box office and strong enough to notch a best original script nomination.

“Boy & the World”

“Shaun the Sheep Movie”

“When Marnie Was There”

Best Original Screenplay

“Spotlight” — Fittingly enough for a movie about ink-stained scribes, the real heroes behind this tale are screenwriters Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer.

“Inside Out”

“Ex Machina”

“Bridge of Spies”

“Straight Outta Compton”

Best Adapted Screenplay

“The Big Short” — The stock is rising on this pick, thanks to Adam McKay and Charles Randolph’s deft job in turning Michael Lewis’ book into a comedic yet chilling look at the 2008 financial crisis.

“Carol”

“Room”

“The Martian”

“Brooklyn

After 3 years closure Borno highways re-opens

According to NAN, the Nigerian Army announced on Saturday that it had re-opened all major highways linking Maiduguri, Borno, with other parts of the country after being shot for about three years due to suspected Boko Haram terrorist attacks.


Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), announced this at the launch of Army Combat Motor Bikes in Damboa, headquarters of Damboa local government area of the state.


Buratai said that the army will work towards securing the lives and properties of motorists plying the roads.


"From today the road - Maiduguri-Damboa and Damboa-Biu highway will be opened.


"The road is going to be entrusted into the hands of the Brigade Commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade,'' he said.


Buratai added: ``I do not want to hear any case of attack on innocent civilians or motorists on the road henceforth.


"Our troops will be on alert 24 hours to ensure that the road is kept open.’’
He said that the Nigerian Army had also re-opened other highways, including the Maiduguri-Bama, the Maiduguri-Mafa-Dikwa-Gamboru/Ngala roads, among others.

"All other major roads have been re-opened to motorists in the state.

"We are deliberate in ensuring that the roads are opened and the people that ply the roads and indeed the residents are safe.

"Those who left should come back, I know that the Borno State Government is doing something and the Federal Government is doing something too on the issue,'' Buratai said.


He explained that the launch of the Motor Bikes was aimed at beefing up security on the highways to prevent attacks on innocent persons.

"I am here to formally launch the Motor Bike Battalion of the Nigerian Army, we see it as a first multiplier to the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists.

"We intend to use the Motor Bikes effectively to ensure that our roads are kept safe and the terrorists are pursued anywhere they go,'' Buratai said.

He added that the Motor Bikes were fitted with fire power and communication gadget for effectiveness.

"This is a first multiplier with added fire power with the speed as well as the communication that is being added to the bikes.

"The reach of these Motor Bikes will be a very important element in ensuring that our troops maintain the initiatives and continue the exploit what they have so far achieved,'' Buratai said.

"So as the roads are re-opened now people should be able to move freely and we will do our job to ensure that they are secured.''

Buratai also launched the posters of the second batch of the Boko Haram most wanted terrorists.

"We are also launching the second batch of Boko Haram most wanted terrorists on our list.

"The choice of Damboa is not by accident; it is deliberate knowing the centrality of Damboa in this operation,'' he said.

"The vigilantes here will play important role in identifying these terrorists.

"We will send the posters across the country to ensure that those that have run away will be fish out.

"We call on the public to look at the posters carefully, identify and report any person they can recognise and report accordingly.

"We want to appreciate the support of the public, indeed all Nigerians, because we received tremendous support in the first set of 100 pictures and many of them had been identified and arrested.

"Although we are still pursing some of them we call on all Nigerians to support us by identifying these terrorists on these posters,'' he urged.

A teenager made robots from e-waste

A childhood photograph of Quipse selling some his first creations made from copper wires

Seventeen-year-old Esteban Quispe is busy at his computer. Seated in the room his parents have turned into a workshop, Quispe is surrounded by different materials - electrical wires, metal sheets, and bulbs of different sizes and colours - all of which he has collected from a local rubbish dump to make into robots.

Quispe's creations are made from electronic waste and the teenager is entirely self-taught.

He proudly shows off a toy car with a circuit of bulbs that light from left to right like the KITT car from the 1980s American TV series Knight Rider; an LED cube which displays 3D images; and his most complex and beloved creation - a square-shaped robot that is a replica of, and is named after, the Pixar character Wall-E.

Quispe's hometown, Patacamaya, with a population of about 12,000, lies about 100km southeast of the Bolivian capital La Paz.

Bolivia remains  the poorest country in South America, with low levels of scientific and technological innovation. In Patacamaya, where many residents live in poverty and don't have access to secondary education, Quispe's talent for making electronic devices from e-waste has made him something of a local celebrity. 

The teenager's knack for building electronic devices caught the attention of local media last year after he won first prize in a high school robotics competition with his robot Wall-E.

In the landfill near his home, one Bolivian boy collected e-waste to build a robot inspired by the Pixar character Wall-E

He first came up with the idea of making it in 2008 after watching the Pixar film. Quispe began collecting materials to piece together the robot. After several attempts, he completed the final version in 2014.

"I immediately liked the character because of its intelligence and ecological conscience," Quispe explains.

"I am a bit like Wall-E," says the teenager, "as I wish Bolivia was a less polluted country."

Quispe describes one of the reasons why he focused on electronic waste. "I know electronic waste should be discarded separately from other kinds of waste because it's more dangerous, but here in Patacamaya people still don't understand the importance of differentiating," he says.

Quispe became interested in mechanics when he was a child - he used to watch his father, a former construction worker, make wooden toy cars in his spare time. Together, when Quispe was 10, they built a toy vehicle with a set of lights. Quispe began practising on his own, making small objects from copper wires, moving on to increasingly complex designs, and soon outdoing his father's models.

When he was 11, he started selling his first creations on the street. He would set them up on a table and sit on the pavement with his younger brother Hernan and other children from the neighbourhood and wait for people to stop by. 

Thanks to the money he made from selling his creations, Quispe's parents were able to buy schoolbooks for their sons. Now, with his father unable to work due to chronic back pain, Quispe hopes to utilise his skills to support his parents and his brother. 

"I can now make more sophisticated robots, like Wall-E, and I had a proposal from a person here in Patacamaya interested in buying it. I would be happy to use the money to help my parents and Hernan, especially after all they have done for me," he says as he walks out of his workshop into the garden.

Showing off photographs from her son's recent high school graduation, his mother Teresa Churata recounts with a timid smile that her son "has always been the first of his class". 

Churata herself began working at a young age to support her family. She never had the time to study. As a devout Catholic, she prays every night that her sons will have the chance to study at a foreign university.

Every week, Quispe visits the rubbish dump near his family's house to collect materials for his robots.

"It's not ideal, but the dump is the only place where I can find materials without having to pay for them. Using new materials would be better but I cannot afford them," he says.

"Also, I like the idea of recycling electronics that people throw away. I don't usually see many people there; I'm the only one making robots from waste here. Hernan always comes with me though."

Quispe's younger brother Hernan is now 14-years-old and eager to learn as much as he can from his older brother and always goes along on the landfill excursions.

As the brothers chase each other and play amid the mountain of burning waste thick with smoke at the dump, Quispe tells that he hadn't realised that collecting e-waste could be hazardous until the reporters who interviewing him brought it up.

"[They] told me that collecting e-waste directly from the dump is dangerous for my health because of contamination and air pollution," he says.

"I did not know these things before. I now try to be more careful, but there is not much I can do to reduce risks. Not coming any more would be the answer but I do not want to do that." 

Walking through the rubbish dump, filled with everything from discarded electronics to animal carcasses, Quispe demonstrates his meticulous material selection process. He carefully checks the e-waste and quickly determines whether or not something is of use.

After about 20 minutes, he decides that there's nothing interesting to take home with him that day and heads back.

Quispe shows how his Wall-E responds to commands sent directly from his mobile phone through software he created.

He plans to make a more sophisticated Wall-E that can recognise its owner's voice, respond to commands and complete simple activities, such as moving around in different directions, he says. He wants to sell it for about 11,000 Bolivianos ($1,600). 

Quispe is preparing to begin a five-year electronmechanics course at the Universidad Catolica de La Paz where he has been offered a scholarship, and although he is excited to live in "a real city with better services than Patacamaya", he has set his mind to go further.

"I love my country, but I think I would achieve more in a richer place," says Quispe, explaining that he plans to earn a postgraduate degree in Europe.

"People in Bolivia are still not aware of the importance of recycling, or of environmental issues in general. Studying in a country with more sophisticated technological instruments would allow me to invent more and to invent better." 

Nevertheless, Quispe believes in his hometown's potential to grow and wants one day to become an active player in its social and economic development.

"Patacamaya is already bigger than two years ago. So many more houses are being built and I am sure it will be a different place in five years' time. I would be happy to be able to run my own business here after my studies, and if I will have to travel a lot for my job, I will manage it from abroad," he says.

Although he is overwhelmed by the media attention, he believes sharing his story can only help.

"I have been working with e-waste for several years, but I only got an offer for a scholarship after reporters started writing about me. I'm not necessarily interested in being famous, but maybe if people talk about what I do, other universities in Western countries will offer me scholarships too," he says.

"I am ready to start my course in La Paz. Now I can only hope to make the most of this opportunity and to build a better future for me and my family."

With Al Jazeera