Back to school after lockdown. Campaign with Sofonie Dala. Don't miss it! Webisode 15

Students may repeat a grade due to COVID-19 school closures.

Over 6 months millions of students were left without learning. Most of them do not have home internet access or a suitable device to access online content, as a result thousands of students like Francisco may repeat the grade. 

Today we are doing something different, we invited a boy. He will share with us his worries and challenges caused by covid-19 pandemic. 

1. Introduction

Good afternoon, my name is Francisco Venancio, I am 14 years old studying in the 6th grade.

2. How has covid - 19 affected your student life?

The Covid-19 pandemic affected me in an unpleasant way, I was not prepared. I was informed that if I fail and do not get the certificate I will repeat the same grade. I don't want to repeat, I am very worried about this situation.

3. Now that schools have reopened, have you gone back to school?

Classes started thank God, I went back to study.

4. Has your school distributed any biosecurity materials?

Unfortunately my school did not distribute any biosafety material to students, we bring our own alcohol gel and masks, we only have the school guard with a thermometer to measure our temperature and they also made a division of desks.

5. What are the prevention measures against covid - 19 you saw that the government / school created to ensure your safety?

Always wash and disinfect hands, do not touch popular places such as handrails, pedestrian irons, have no physical contact with colleagues and also do not share personal things.

6. How do you feel? Are you enjoying going to class?

Thank God, I'm happy to go back to school. I am not afraid of this pandemic, I am sure that the way I take care of myself I will not catch the virus and I also do not want any of my colleagues to get sick.

Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Join us!

Share your experiences learning / teaching during the school closures & the projects or initiatives you've launched to get girls back to school post # COVID19 in your local communities.

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Angolan Oil and Gas institute under sanitary fence

Sumbe - The National Oil and Gas institute, located in Sumbe, coastal province of Cuanza Sul, is under sanitary fence since last Monday, due to positive cases of Covid-19 registered in the last 24 hours.

The institution, which trains middle-level staff and provides professional training for companies, registered 148 positive cases among the academic community, of the 149 diagnoses done.

Regarding the new cases, the Provincial Technical Commission of Covid-19 appealed, in a press note, for calm and serenity to parents and guardians, in particular, and to the population in general.

According to the commission, the situation is under control, with the corresponding bio-safety measures.

The Provincial Technical Commission reiterates the need for everyone to respect and accept the measures, always washing the hands with soap and water, disinfecting them with Gel alcohol, always maintaining physical distance and avoiding clusters.

The province has 172 cases, with four recovered, two deaths and 166 active.

The Institute has more than 600 students.

Trump threatens lawsuit ahead of elections

 As largely expected, US president Donald Trump has sent an alert that “the night of — as soon as that election is over — we are going in with our lawyers.”

Experts had warned that with the polls staying consistently in favor Democrat Joe Biden, trump’s only path to retaining power lies in litigation and pushing alllegal fights to the Supreme Court where his Republican party now enjoys a 6-3 advantage after rushing to seat Amy Barret to fill the seat vacated by Anthony Scalia’s death.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening, Mr Trump denied a report that he was preparing to declare victory on election night before the country had received an official vote count. But he claimed there was potential for “fraud” and “misuse” in the vote counts for Pennsylvania and Nevada — two swing states that have Democratic governors.

“I think it’s a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election,” Mr Trump told reporters, referring to a Supreme Court decision which will allow ballots in Pennsylvania to be counted for up to three days after election day.

The United States constitution does not do an effective job of ensuring a peaceful transfer of power from an intransigent president, but that had never been a problem until Trump came along.

If Trump refuses to concede the election even with a clear electoral win by Biden, he can still plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis using the courts.

With 93 million already cast by Americans as at the eve of the Tuesday November 3 election, the 2020 contest is poised to draw the highest turnout in contemporary American history.

DNT News

How the controversial Nile dam might fix Sudan’s floods

 Unprecedented flooding in Sudan this year led to the deaths of more than 100 people and affected 875,000 others.

Entire residential neighbourhoods were destroyed while power and water supplies were disrupted when the River Nile recorded its highest level in living memory.

Some experts said that if the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, upstream on the Blue Nile tributary, had been fully operational, the effect on Sudan would have been less disastrous.

Ethiopia started building the dam in its northern highlands, from where 85% of the Nile’s waters flow, in 2011 and this year the reservoir behind the dam started to fill. When it is fully operation in several years’ time it will become Africa’s largest hydroelectric plant.

But it has been fraught with controversy as Egypt, which is downstream, fears the $4bn (£3bn) dam will greatly reduce its access to water.

Negotiations, which have not reached a deal, are centred on how fast to fill the dam – and Sudan has been stuck in the middle.

Salman Mohamed, a Sudanese expert on international water law and policy, says Egypt’s Aswan dam shows how flood waters can be regulated effectively on The Nile.

“We lost people, and properties of billions of pounds, but look at Egypt – they haven’t lost a single seedling because they normally keep the flood water in their high dam and we don’t have one like that, so the Ethiopian dam could have saved all that,” he said.

Sudan does have eight dams on The Nile.

“But our dams are too small,” says Dr Mohamed, who is a fellow at the International Water Resources Association.

“Egypt has managed to use the flood water it collected for its agricultural projects in the desert.”

Safety concerns

During fraught talks over the filling of the dam and how much water it should release – which recently restarted under the auspices of the African Union – Sudan has tended to side with Egypt.

This stance was adopted under the government of former President Omar al-Bashir – and the generals who remain part of the transitional government now ruling Sudan after the 2019 coup are strong allies of Egypt.

Sudan’s negotiator under Bashir, Ahmed El-Mufti, had also raised concerns about safety and security of the dam.

He said that if it was destroyed, it could damage the entire region, including Sudan’s capital, Khartoum – where the White and Blue Nile meet.

Footage of man beating wife to death on Chinese street sparks outrage

 Video footage and pictures that appear to show a man in China beating his wife to death as onlookers stood by and did nothing have sparked outrage and raised new questions about domestic violence.

Pictures of the assault first appeared on social media and in domestic news outlets on Sunday and have been shared millions of times.

State media said the violence erupted after the married couple accidentally hit a vehicle while driving an electric scooter in Shuozhou city. Police said in a statement the woman was killed on Saturday morning.

“The suspect is in the custody of public security organs, and the case is being fully investigated,” police said.

In the footage, cyclists, motorists and pedestrians, including children, can be seen watching the street-side attack.

Media posts about the incident drew tens of thousands of comments, with most criticising the inaction of the bystanders and the lax attitude towards domestic violence in some sectors of Chinese society.

“He’s not holding a machine gun, why did no one step forward to control him?” asked one commenter in a widely shared response.

China only introduced a specific law criminalising domestic violence in 2015. Activists say violence within families is often ignored.