We are delighted to announce the launch of ''Corona Voice'' - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala. Webisode 1

One of the main tasks of the show is to refute the saying "you can't help things with a word." The heroes of the program are the most ordinary citizens - they share with the audience their songs, poems and real stories of how the Coronavirus pandemic affected their lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to education, public health, food systems and the world of work.

Our today's special guest is Domingas D'Carvalho, she is a teacher and at the same time a student. Today she will share with us how covid-19 has affected her social life.

Greetings!

My name is Domingas, I'm here to talk about how the coronavirus pandemic affected me!

Honestly, covid - 19 has affected me negatively. In the field of studies, I always used to go to school but we had to stop studying suddenly.

In the social context, I used to catch taxi at the bust stop easily, but now it's difficult because taxi drivers take small numbers of passengers, the bus stops are crowded with people without keeping any social distancing and also the transport stops circulating very early, before the pandemic they circulated until midnight.

In addition, not all taxi drivers comply with biosecurity rules, collectors do not use masks, drivers do not use masks and many of them do not use it correctly.

In the work context, I am a collaborator teacher and covid-19 affected me a lot in this area. In this time of the pandemic I am not receiving any income, because students in primary education will not return to school this year and I am a primary school teacher.

Therefore, until today, students from the fifth grade to preschool children have not returned to school and we, the teachers are out of wages.

After sharing with us the challenges she faces during the pandemic, Domingas decided to read a beautiful poem for us.

In the middle of this pandemic, everything was isolated

Although it was the joy

But fear prevailed

In these pandemic times

Hugs are a danger

It is better to prevent ourselves

Than hurt our friends

The coronavirus has shaken

Our whole society

Very fast spread

And reached all ages

The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.

Click here to watch free full webisodes: https://coronavoice-angola.blogspot.com/

Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) Young Engineers Programme 2021 for young Nigerian graduates

 Application Deadline: December 20th 2020 

Buoyed by a mission to redefine customer experience and be the provider of choice wherever energy is consumed, the Ikeja Electric (IE), Nigeria's largest power distribution network, came into existence on November 1st, 2013 following the handover of the defunct Power Holding Company Of Nigeria (PHCN) to NEDC / KEPCO Consortium under the privatization scheme of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Requirements

Preferred fresh from the university but certainly with not more than 2 years' experience

Must be highly intelligent, hardworking, having the ability to apply common sense in analyzing and resolving problems and who value integrity more than wealth.

Minimum B.Sc. or, preferably, M.Sc. Degree in Engineering, in one of the following disciplines Electrical Engineering and Electronics Engineering from reputable Universities with a minimum of 2nd class upper

Must have completed NYSC

Maximum age of 27 years as of December 2020

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/39IDgjM

GNPC Ghana Local Undergraduate Scholarships 2020/2021 for Ghanaian students.

 Application Deadline: December 31st 2020 

The GNPC Ghana Local Undergraduate Scholarships is open to eligible Year one and continuing Ghanaian Students pursuing undergraduate studies at any accredited tertiary institution in Ghana.

Requirements

Applicants must be Ghanaian

Must have obtained admission to pursue an undergraduate degree program at any accredited tertiary institution

Persons with disability (Applicants with any form of disability are required to upload a medical certificate stating the level / seriousness of disability)

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3on0foj

European University Institute (EUI) STG Policy Leader Fellowship 2021/2022 (Fully Funded to Florence, Italy with € 2,500 Monthly Grant)

 Application Deadline: 22 February 2021

The School of Transnational Governance (STG) at the European University Institute (EUI) is offering fellowships to early- and mid-career policy professionals for the academic year 2021-2022. The STG Policy Leader Fellowship is a global program at the vibrant campus of an international institution.

The STG's Policy Leader Fellowship is a global program providing a unique opportunity for policy professionals from around the world to further develop their policy work and professional skills whilst participating in workshops, training and skills development sessions, conferences and other events, in addition to interacting with the other fellows, policy makers and the academic community at the EUI.

Grant

The basic grant is € 2,500 per month.

Travel expenses

Fellows (but not their families) receive reimbursement for the incoming trip from their place of origin to Florence, and for the outgoing trip to their destination at the end of their fellowship.

First-class rail (travel by car is also reimbursed on this basis)

Economy class air fare

The maximum amount for travel reimbursement amounts to € 1,200 including both incoming and outgoing trip. Taxi expenses are not reimbursed.

Click here to apply:  https://bit.ly/39zpD6g

Challenge Campus 2030 for students and university professors/researchers worldwide.

 Application Deadline: February, 7th 2021 

University campuses are at the heart of the change: in 10 years, they should have achieved the 17 SDGs to be able to welcome and educate the next generation! What will these Campuses be like?

Imagine a solution that will allow these sites to be considered socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

Requirements

Student. Any individual aged eighteen (18) years and / or with full legal capacity, who (i) is currently enrolled at a post-secondary institution during the current scholar year 2019-2020, with a student card as verification. Each Student may only participate once in each Challenge. If the participant is a minor, he / she must provide this authorization signed by a parent or guardian.

Teacher / Professor. Any individual aged eighteen (18) years and / or with full legal capacity, who (i) currently a teacher-researcher enrolled in higher university education and able to prove it by a document attesting to their teaching load at the university and / or their membership of a university laboratory. Only one participation in the Challenge per person will be allowed.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3qy5DHk

BIGSAS/DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme 2021 for female African Scholars

 Application Deadline: 24 January 2021

The Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies, BIGSAS, invites outstanding female African scholars based on the continent to join an international community of early career researchers working in the field of African Studies. BIGSAS provides a center for creative and innovative doctoral training based on the inter- and multi-disciplinary research environment of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth.

In 2021, BIGSAS is awarding two scholarships within the Graduate School Scholarship Program (GSSP) provided by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). For these, BIGSAS will nominate candidates who have successfully passed the application procedure. The final selection will be made by the DAAD. The scholarship periods begin in October 2021 at the earliest (including a German language course starting in summer 2021, if applicable). The scholarships are awarded for a total scholarship period of up to four years.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/33KEgzR

UK says EU trade talks at tricky point as hopes of deal dim

 Britain's business minister said Friday that U.K.-EU trade talks are at a “difficult” point, as British officials poured cold water on hopes of an imminent breakthrough - and France said it could veto any agreement it didn’t like.

U.K. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said Britain was “committed to reaching an agreement.”

“But, of course, time is short and we are in a difficult phase. There’s no denying that, ”he told the BBC. "There are a number of tricky issues that still have to be resolved."

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, his British counterpart David Frost and their teams remained locked in talks in a London conference center Friday after a week of late-night sessions fueled by deliveries of sandwiches and pizza.

U.K. officials sought to dampen hopes of an imminent deal, briefing media outlets that the EU had set back negotiations by making last-minute demands - an allegation the bloc denies.

The U.K. left the EU early this year, but remains part of the 27-nation bloc’s economic embrace during an 11-month transition as the two sides try to negotiate a new free-trade deal to take effect Jan. 1. Any deal must be approved by lawmakers in Britain and the EU before year’s end.

Talks have dragged on as one deadline after another has slipped by. First, the goal was a deal by October, then by mid-November. On Sunday, Britain said the negotiations were in their final week. Now the two sides say they could stretch into the weekend or beyond.

European Council President Charles Michel noted that it wasn’t the first time that deadlines had slipped.

“We will see what will happen in the next days,” he said in Brussels. “But the end of December is the end of December and we know that after the 31st of December we have the 1st of January, and we know that we need to have clarity as soon as possible.”

A trade deal will allow goods to move between Britain and the EU without tariffs or quotas after the end of this year, though there would still be new costs and red tape for businesses on both sides of the English Channel.

If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will bring huge disruption, with the overnight imposition of tariffs and other barriers to U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides, but the burden will fall most heavily on Britain, which does almost half its trade with the EU.

Months of tense negotiations have produced agreement on a swath of issues, but serious differences remain over the “level playing field” - the standards the U.K. must meet to export into the bloc - and how future disputes are resolved. That's key for the EU, which fears Britain will slash social and environmental standards and pump state money into U.K. industries, becoming a low-regulation economic rival on the bloc’s doorstep.

But the U.K. government, which sees Brexit as all about “taking back control” from Brussels, is resisting curbs on its freedom to set future economic policies.

Another sticking point is fish, a small part of the economy with an outsized symbolic importance for Europe’s maritime nations. EU countries want their boats to be able to keep fishing in British waters, while the U.K. insists it must control access and quotas.

Fishing is especially important to France, which is seen by many on the U.K. side as the EU nation most resistant to compromise and likeliest to scuttle a deal.

“If there was to be an agreement and it was not good ... we would oppose it,” Clement Beaune, France’s junior minister in charge of European Affairs, Europe 1 radio. "France like all its (EU) partners has a veto right."

If there is no weekend breakthrough, next week will bring more complications. On Monday Britain's House of Commons will vote on a bill that gives Britain the power to breach parts of the legally binding withdrawal agreement it struck with the EU last year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government acknowledges that the Internal Market Bill breaches international law, and the legislation has been condemned by the EU, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and scores of British lawmakers, including many from Johnson's own Conservative Party.

The House of Lords, Parliament's upper chamber, removed the law-breaking clauses from the legislation last month, but Johnson's government says it will ask lawmakers to reinsert them.

That would further sour the talks, demolishing any good will that remains between the two sides.

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Source: AP

COVID-19: Restrictions, lockdowns return as deaths reach 1.5m

 More than 1.5 million people have died worldwide due to coronavirus, a third of them in the last two months alone.

Nearly 65 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and in the past week, more than 10,000 died on average every day.

The figures underscore the severity of the pandemic amid the announcement of a vaccine rollout in the UK.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday the world could be fighting the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic for decades to come even if vaccines are quickly approved.

However, governments around the world have been enforcing stricter restrictions and lockdowns given the rising numbers.

Italy

On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced new lockdown measures ahead of the Christmas period due to fears of a further spread of the virus.

Movements across regions in Italy will be banned from December 21 to January 6, while people will not be allowed to move across towns on December 25 and 26.

A curfew from 10pm (21:00 GMT) to 5am (04:00 GMT) remains across the whole country, but will be extended to 7am (06:00 GMT) for January 1.

United States

The United States continues to witness a surge in infections with record daily deaths and hospitalisations this week.

On Wednesday, the country reported more than 203,300 new cases, at least 2,700 deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations in the past 24 hours.

President-elect Joe Biden said he will make masks mandatory during his first 100 days in office.

Gaza

A partial lockdown will begin this weekend in the Gaza Strip after COVID-19 infections spiked in the densely populated territory.

Mosques and most schools will be closed during the day although many businesses will be allowed to remain open until a nighttime curfew forces residents to stay at home.

There will be a full closure at weekends.

Interior ministry spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom told reporters authorities were also considering moving to a complete lockdown if needed.

South korea

South Korea said it is considering tightening its social distancing rules as it reported 629 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the most since the first wave of infections in the country peaked in late February.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the situation was critical as infections continued to rise at an alarming rate despite the reimposition of social-distancing rules late last month, and added that the government would decide on Sunday whether to upgrade restrictions.

Authorities are concerned that university entrance exams which nearly half a million students sat on Thursday could prove to be another source of infections.

United Kingdom

Britain will pay individuals who suffer any severe side-effects from COVID-19 vaccines under an existing program, ahead of a rollout of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine in the country.

COVID-19 will be added as a “precautionary step” to the list of diseases covered for potential liabilities under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS).

Under the scheme, individuals are entitled to a lump sum capped at 120,000 pounds ($ 161,676) if they can prove to have been seriously disabled as a result of a vaccination.

Iran

Iran said its novel coronavirus infections surpassed one million cases on Thursday, as the authorities consider easing restrictions in many parts of the country.

The country has recorded 1,003,494 COVID-19 infections since announcing its first cases in February, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on state television.

____

Source: Aljazeera

UNITA PARLIAMENTARY BENCH WANTS INQUIRY INTO BPC BANK

 The UNITA parliamentary group asked the National Assembly to set up a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) into the management of the Banco de Poupança e Crédito - BPC (Savings and Credit Bank, in English).

The capital of BPC is entirely constituted by State Entities, with 75% subscribed directly by the State, while the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) holds 15% and the Social Security Fund of the Angolan Armed Forces CSS / FAA) subscribes to the remaining 10%.

During a press conference held last Wednesday, in Luanda, the second vice president of the UNITA parliamentary bech, Navita Ngolo, justifies that, based on the 2019 report and accounts, the institution (BPC) recorded a loss of 404.7 billion Kwanzas (US $618.549.338 Equivalent).

For this reason, the institution is in a situation of technical bankruptcy with liabilities higher than assets, of around 87.2 billion kwanzas and a solvency ratio below the minimum regulatory limit defined by the Central Bank.

It also points out the constant embezzlement that has been taking place in the same bank and successive recapitalizations without success.

Situation of Public calamity

UNITA understands that Presidential Decree nº 276/20, on the Exceptional and Temporary Measures to be in force during the Situation of Public Calamity declared by force of Covid-19, in its articles 25º on the “Activities and Meetings”, as well as Article 29 on “group of people on public places” restricts citizens' rights, freedoms and guarantees.

In this regard, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, clarified, on the 26th of November of the current year, during the meeting with young people, that there is no restriction of fundamental rights, being only a preventive measure to prevent mass contamination of Covid-19.

According to the Head of State, the rights enshrined in the Constitution continue to be safeguarded by the country's authorities, stressing that the government is not against demonstrations, as long as they are peaceful and carried out within the parameters of the law.

João Lourenço reiterated that the demonstrations are not prohibited in Angola, but it is still not prudent to carry out gatherings on the public road, on account of Covid-19.

Presidential Decree No. 276/20, on Exceptional and Temporary Measures to be in force during the Public Disaster Situation declared by force of Covid-19, prohibits gatherings of more than five people on the public road, in order to avoid mass contamination.

ANGOLA ATTENDS SADC-PF 48TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY

 The National Assembly (AN) will take part on the 4th and 5th of this month in the 48th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), which will be held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Angolan delegation, which will take part in the event by videoconference, will be headed by the speaker of the Parliament, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos.

The event, whose opening will be chaired by the President of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, reserves, between others, analysis of the Executive Committee Report on Financial Issues of the Forum, notification of the Draft Resolution on a matter of Urgent and Regional Importance:

Pan-African Parliamentary Voice Support to the Global Campaign for the Cancellation of the Africa's debt, presentation of the Executive Committee's Report on SADC-PF Regulations and Administrative Affairs.

The agenda also includes the consideration of the Draft Resolution on an Urgent and of Regional Importance: The Impact of the African Migratory Grasshopper on Agriculture and the Food Security in Southern Africa, notification of the Draft Resolution on a Urgent Matter of Regional Importance: Repudiation of Terrorist Attacks in the Republic of Mozambique and Expression of Solidarity with the Government and People of Mozambique.

The agenda also comprises Statement by the speaker of the Zimbabwean National Assembly on an Issue of Importance for the Forum, in accordance with Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure.

The Parliamentarians will also elect the Speaker and Vice Speaker of the SADC-PF, for the Biennium 2020/2022, presentation of portfolios and acceptance speeches.

The SADC-PF was established in 1997 on the occasion of the 17th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, held in Blantyre, Republic of Malawi.

Its Plenary Assembly brings together 84 parliamentarians from the regional community.

COVID-19: UNICEF ANGOLA RECEIVES EU FUNDING

 UNICEF has received three million Euros from the European Union (EU) to strengthen its activities in response to Covid-19 in Luanda province, with particular focus on the municipalities of Cazenga, Belas, Talatona and the urban districts of Sambizanga and Maianga.

According to a note that ANGOP had access to, the funding granted by the Directorate General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) will support the authorities of Luanda province in providing integrated health, nutrition, water and sanitation services and social protection actions.

With this project and in coordination with the municipal and district offices, the funds will specifically serve to strengthen the management of cases of child malnutrition and make nutritional supplements available, expand the cash transfer programme to families with malnourished children, provide personal protective equipment for health units and hygiene kits for schools, orphanages and old people's homes, install hand washing facilities in public markets.

According to the institution, it is also intended to improve vaccination and promote healthy habits and personal hygiene measures.

COVID-19: ANGOLA REPORTS 105 RECOVERIES, 42 NEW CASES

 Angolan health authorities announced Thursday the registration, in the last 24 hours, of 105 patients recovered from Covid-19, 42 new infections and one death.

According to the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, who was speaking at the usual Covid-19 update session in the country, of those recovered, 60 are from Luanda, 27 from Cunene, 15 from Benguela, two from Moxico and one from Zaire.

As for the new positive cases, he pointed out that they involve citizens whose ages are between two and 87 years old, 28 men and 14 women.

According to the official, 29 cases were diagnosed in Luanda province, four of them in the country's capital.

Each for Cabinda, Benguela and Uige provinces, as well as a case for Lunda Sul.

Franco Mufinda made it known that the death was of an Angolan citizen, 68 years old, and resident in Luanda.

Angola has 15,361 positive cases, 352 deaths, 8,244 recovered and 6,765 active people.

Of the active cases, six are in critical condition with invasive mechanical ventilation, six severe, 99 moderate, 147 with mild symptoms and 6,507 asymptomatic.

The health authorities follow up 258 patients in the country's treatment centres.

LUANDA HOSTS CONFERENCE ON ECOWAS TRADE AND INDUSTRY

 According to the spokesman for the event, Adriano Campos, the conference will also serve to formalise and launch the ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola.

"The creation of the said ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola will boost business in the organisation's member countries," he said.

He noted that Angola has a very large community of people from the ECOWAS (Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, among others).

He added that the purpose of this chamber is to show society the importance of these entrepreneurs in Angola and strengthen the commercial and industrial relationship between Angola and the ECOWAS countries.

The event will be attended by national and foreign entrepreneurs, as well as by all interested in establishing commercial and industrial relations.

ECOWAS is a regional integration organisation comprising fifteen countries in West Africa.

COVID-19 VACCINATION TO COVER 90 PERCENT OF POPULATION IN ANGOLA

 Angolan President João Lourenço Thursday in Luanda announced that the country has a vaccination plan to cover initially 90 percent of all its priority population.

Speaking at the 31st Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Covid-19 response that went online, President João Lourenço said that the speedy development of safe and effective vaccines against the SARS-COV-2 virus is an indication that the humanity is capable of making it whenever threatened.

According to him, Angolan Government has until now used from its own resources the amount of Usd 164.6 million.

He explained that the above mentioned amount includes an emergency fund of Usd 14.4 million secured by the World Bank.

Despite this, the Head of State added, Angola will need more assistance, especially concerning the access to the vaccines that prove to have efficacy.

The President welcomed the Covax Facility effort to put in place resources that equitably ensure the access to vaccination of at least 20 percent of the populations from medium and low income countries.

He called on for a major effective effort of solidarity in order to ensure a useful global coverage that curbs the spread of the virus and enables the return to normalcy, as it would prevent the aggravation of disparities among the countries.

President João Lourenço stressed that since early this year, Angola reacted  with the adoption of measures to contain the spread of the pandemic, through drafting a flexible contingency plan, adjusted to the country’s epidemiological context.

In this regard, he said the epidemiological surveillance has been reinforced throughout the national territory, including other measures like the training of rapid response teams and international entry ports control.

He also pointed out the setting up of quarantines and control of mobility among the various regions of the country.

Among the measures, he also highlighted the progressive increase in the capacity for carrying out RT-PCR, serological and antigen tests.

João Lourenço also spoke of the construction of infrastructures exclusively dedicated to the treatment of existing Covid-19 cases, such as field hospitals.

Still in relation to infrastructures, the Head of State said that all existing hospitals have been adapted to attend these cases, having increased the number of available beds by five thousand, of which more than one thousand for intensive care.

"At the moment, we only have community transmission in Luanda, the country's capital and most populated city, with transmission in the remaining provinces of the country limited to known occasional outbreaks," he mentioned.

He stated that despite the growing number of positive cases, which on November 24 totalled 14,742, the transmissibility of the virus from person to person has been decreasing, currently standing at 0.9%.

According to the statesman, the fact that the pandemic has adversely affected the country's economic and financial resources and economic and social development programmes, has not stopped Angola from continuing to make efforts and taking actions to reduce the poverty rates.