Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, social media and online communication have become essential tools for maintaining social connections. Moreover, many young people have been independently promoting positive narratives and engaging in peacebuilding activities during the COVID-19 crisis.
Our today's guest is Meury, she will share with us her original covid-19 song.
Ladies and gentlemen meet our singer Meury, with the song "Corona arrived and life changed."
Corona arrived and life changed
Let there be protection beginning with you, always wash your hands with water and soap
use alcohol gel to disinfect your hands
and do not forget that the mask you should use
Let there be Prevention to start with you, and do not forget that these tips you must fulfill
To protect you and your family and all of us, coronavirus should be avoided.
Let there be Prevention
We launched the “Corona Voice show” campaign to provide a space for young women and men around Angola to share their views, experiences and initiatives.
This is the first and the only Coronavirus show in Angola where the most ordinary citizens show their brilliant talents.
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 lockdowns in response to COVID-19 have interrupted conventional schooling with nationwide school closures. Many students confined at home due to COVID-19 may feel stressed and anxious, and this may negatively affect their ability to concentrate on schoolwork.
This webisode attempts to gain a better understanding of how the COVID-19 crisis may affect girls’ learning.
Our today's guest is Arieth, she will share with us the challenges she faces during the time of covid-19 pandemic.
How did Covid-19 impact me?
Hello, my name is Arieth Valentim, I study in the 13th grade at a public school and I'm from Angola.
Covid-19 came to teach me to be a more independent person, this changed my life completely. Before the pandemic I interacted more closely with people and this disease came to separate us.
Covid-19 limited me from doing certain things that I was used to doing and I can no longer walk in public places without the use of masks.
How did it impact your academic life?
My way of learning is not the same, before I had the possibility to interact with colleagues, and teachers attended classes regularly but today this is no longer done, from time to time I have been watching video lessons but the quality of teaching is not the same.
But I have been studying hard because the present moment requires a lot of effort.
Now that the schools have reopened, have you gone back to school?
Yes I went back to study with a lot of fear, first of all due to public transport and school security. We know that since then public schools have never offered pleasant environments and now with the emergence of coronavirus things have complicated.
Good protection measures against the covid-19 were not created, we do not have people who do the sanitation of the courtyards and classrooms. The only prevention measure I noticed is the hand washing in the school main gate, in general there is no strict prevention measure to protect students from the coronavirus.
Didn't you forget anything you learned before the pandemic?
I forgot many things, it's been a long time that we stayed at home without studying. In the beginning I even tried to continue but after I started feeling lazy because we had no guarantee that we would go back to study this year.
So far, it is also being strange, many limitations, but I have been interacting with my colleagues on the internet and this has helped me a lot.
Did the school distribute any bio-security material?
No, they didn't distribute.
How have teachers behaved?
On the part of the teachers some attend classes and others don't. Also due to the risky ages, we have many elderly teachers in our institution and this has caused students a lot of damage and loss of class, we are limited to learning certain things.
Physical school closure and the lack of in-person contact may make students less externally motivated to engage in learning activities.
The effect of COVID-19 on education poses some key challenges for policymakers. First, measures should be taken to ensure that more vulnerable students will be able to make up for the learning loss they experienced during the lockdown. This should be done quickly and effectively, in order to avoid that such crisis results in permanent education and economic inequality.
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus would you like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school.Tell us your story!
Angola’s Cabinet Council Monday in Luanda approved the National Covid-19 Vaccination Plan which contains the guidelines for the people immunization process.
According to a note from the 12nd Session of the Cabinet Council chaired by President João Lourenço, the National Vaccination Plan will reduce death and sickness rate, contribute to the wellbeing of the population and help resume the economic and social activity.
The source adds that the Angolan government assures that the vaccine is efficacious and free of charge and the vaccination will comprise two stages, with the first covering people more than 40 years of age and those with high exposition risks.
The second phase will cater for people with ages from 20 to 39 years, market vendors, public servisse drivers and the like, the source also says.
Angola will start receiving the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in February 2021, the Health minister announced Monday in Luanda.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the 12nd Session of the Cabinet Council, Sílvia Lutucuta said February next year is in line with the plan Angola got from the vaccines producing company, Covax ".
The minister explained that the 12 million doses will not arrive in the country at once, assuring that a substantial number of doses of the vaccine will be in the country until April next year.
According to the official, the vaccines are a donation from Covax Initiative that will fund the program.
She said Angolan government will provide for the operational costs and reinforcement of the cold storage facilities.
Minister Sílvia Lutucuta stated that until January next year, Angolan government will have put in place all logistics, including the cold complex for the conservation of the vaccines.
The National Covid-19 Vaccination Plan was approved Monday by the Cabinet Council, comprising two stages. The first will cover people older than 40 years and those with high exposition risks.
The second stage will involve people with ages from 20 to 39 years, market vendors, public service drivers and the like.
Angola has reported, in the last 24 hours, the recovery of 103 Covid-19 patients, 42 new infections and three deaths.
The information was released Monday evening in Luanda by the secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, during the daily Covid-19 update briefing.
According to the official, the recoveries have been recorded in southern Cunene province (38), northeastern Lunda Sul (35), Luanda (28) and central Huambo (02), with ages between six and 74 years.
The source added that the positive cases involve people with ages from 11 to 67 years, 32 males and 10 females.
The infections have been reported in the capital, Luanda, with 20 cases, northern Cabinda (12), Huambo (05), southeastern Cuando Cubango (03) and northern Uíge and Malanje with one each.
Mufinda said the dead are Angolan male nationals with ages from 42 to 74 years, from Cuando Cubango, Luanda and Uíge.
The official put Angolaiess Covid-19 figures at 16,686 infections, 390 deaths, 9,695 recoveries and 6,601 active patients.
A statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee that has represented Virginia in the United States Capitol for 111 years has been removed.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said in a statement that workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday morning.
Northam had requested the removal and a state commission decided that Lee was not a fitting symbol for the state.
Lee’s statue had stood with George Washington’s statue since 1909 as Virginia9s representatives in the Capitol. Every state gets two statuses.
The state commission has recommended replacing Lee Thes statue with a statue of Barbara Johns. She protested conditions at her all-Black high school in the town of Farmville in 1951. Her court case became part of the landmark Brown vs Board of Education decision by the US Supreme Court. The ruling had struck down racial segregation in public schools.
Confederate monuments have re-emerged as a national flashpoint since the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee on his neck for several minutes. Protesters decrying racism have targeted Confederate monuments in multiple cities, and some have been taken down.
“The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginiaances racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion,” Northam said in a statement.
The Democratic governor added: “I look forward to seeing a trailblazing young woman of color represent Virginia in the US Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns' contributions to America and be empowered to create positive change in their communities just like she did. "
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also hailed the removal, saying in a statement there “is no room for celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country”.
The presence of statues of generals and other figures of the Confederacy in Capitol locations such as Statuary Hall - the original House chamber - has been offensive to African American lawmakers for many years. Former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr, an Illinois Democrat, was known to give tours pointing out the numerous statues.
But it is up to the states to determine which of their historical figures to display. Jefferson Davis, a former US senator from Mississippi who was president of the Confederate States of America, is represented by one of two statues from that state.
Pelosi, a Democrat from California, noted in June that Davis and Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, whose statue comes from Georgia, “were charged with treason against the United States”.
The remaining parties to a landmark nuclear deal they signed with Iran in 2015 have renewed their commitment to preserving the accord in an online meeting.
The foreign ministers of Iran, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia participated in a two-hour meeting chaired by the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on Monday.
In a tweet before the meeting, Borrell said the aim is to “re-emphasise our commitment to preserve” the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal is formally known.
A joint statement following the meeting said the ministers “discussed that full and effective implementation of the JCPOA by all remains crucial and discussed the need to address ongoing implementation challenges, including on nuclear non-proliferation and sanctions lifting commitments”.
The foreign ministers recognised the deal, enshrined in Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council, as a “key element” in the global non-proliferation regime and a diplomatic achievement contributing to regional and international peace.
The world powers reaffirmed the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the only independent and impartial organisation that can technically verify the implementation of the deal’s non-proliferation components.
The foreign ministers also expressed their “deep regret” over the unilateral exit of the United States from the deal in May 2018 that was followed by the imposition of harsh economic sanctions on Iran.
“Ministers agreed to continue dialogue to ensure full JCPOA implementation by all sides,” the statement said.
“Ministers acknowledged the prospect of a return of the US to the JCPOA and underlined their readiness to positively address this in a joint effort.”
US President-elect Joe Biden has promised to bring his country back into the deal and lift sanctions but has hinted that more negotiations are needed on Iran’s missiles programme and regional influence.
The European signatories of the nuclear deal have also made similar remarks, but Iran has categorically rejected any further negotiations, saying the nuclear deal must be implemented as negotiated and signed in 2015.
Speaking after the video conference of officials, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Iran should avoid taking any tactical steps that would make it hard for Biden to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the deal.
“To make possible a rapprochement with the US under Biden, there should be no further tactical manoeuvres of the kind we’ve seen too many of in the recent past,” he told reporters. “This chance, this last window of opportunity, must not be wasted.”
The virtual meeting on Monday came days after senior diplomats from Iran and other nuclear deal signatories held talks online that were chaired by senior EU foreign affairs official, Helga Schmid.
During that meeting, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said President Hassan Rouhani’s administration is opposed to a recent bill approved by Parliament, but it is bound by law to implement it.
The legislation pushed by the hardliners in Iran’s parliament was greenlit in a matter of days earlier this month in the wake of the assassination of top Iranian nuclear and military scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in late November through what Iran believes was a sophisticated attack by Israel.
The bill calls on the Iranian government and the country’s Atomic Energy Agency to install cascades of advanced centrifuges, increase uranium enrichment, and expel IAEA inspectors if Iran fails to enjoy economic benefits promised under the nuclear deal in two months.
In an interview published on Monday, Iran’s nuclear programme’s chief Ali Akbar Salehi slammed the bill, that among other things obligates the Atomic Energy Agency to build 1,000 next-generation IR-6 centrifuges.
“Where should the money come from? If it’s local resources, then they either don’t know how much local resources we have or they don’t know how much IR-6 centrifuges cost,” he said.
Two members of an international people-smuggling gang were convicted of manslaughter on Monday, over the deaths of 39 people who were found in the back of a container truck in southeast England.
The victims, Vietnamese nationals aged between 15 and 44, were found on October 23, 2019, inside a refrigerated container that had arrived by ferry from Belgium.
There were no survivors in the tragedy.
They came from impoverished villages and are believed to have paid people-smugglers to take them on risky journeys to better lives abroad.
Delivering its verdict, a jury at Londonfuls Central Criminal Court found Eamonn Harrison, a 24-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland, guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Kelly Matthews of Britainantss Crown Prosecution Service said: “Nothing can bring back the lives lost on that day or the loss caused by the horrible, unlawful and dangerous actions of these defendants.
“But we hope these convictions bring some measure of solace to the families in the knowledge that justice has been done.”
Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Essex in southeast England, was found guilty of the same charges at the conclusion of the 10-week trial at the London court, commonly known as the Old Bailey. Two others had already pleaded guilty to being involved in the deaths.
Both will be sentenced later. The maximum sentence for people-smuggling is 14 years in prison, while manslaughter carries a maximum life sentence.
The victims - 31 men and boys and eight women - were discovered at an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, about 20 miles (32km) east of central London.
They had been sealed inside the truckges trailer, which had earlier arrived on a cargo ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, for at least 12 hours.
Most of those who died were from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces in north-central Vietnam, where poor job prospects, environmental disasters and the promise of financial reward abroad fuel migration.
The incident shocked the United Kingdom and Vietnam, shining a spotlight on the illicit global trade that sends the poor of Asia, Africa and the Middle East on perilous journeys to the West.
This year, Christmas cheer will be missing from the hearts of many Zimbabweans who will have to make do with reminiscing about previous festive seasons instead.
Their country is in the grip of an economic crisis as high inflation, low disposable income, compressed wages, and general economic hardships take their toll.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says the country’s unemployment rate stands at a towering 90 percent as people resort to informal and casual jobs for some form of income.
The government claims the real figure is much lower, taking into account the informal employment.
Zimbabwe’s crisis began last year when the country entered hyperinflation territory and stands at its peak now with inflation above 400 percent, the Zimbabwe dollar at its weakest and salaries depressed.
Disposable incomes are tighter than before, forcing Zimbabweans to forego festivities this year, and affecting the businesses who usually look forward to Christmas as the best time of the year.
Most Zimbabweans interviewed by Al Jazeera are choosing to prioritise what they do with their limited financial resources, opting to buy school uniforms, pay tuition fees and buy books for their children when schools reopen in two weeks.
Even the ones lucky enough to have extra funds are cutting back on spending.
Harrison Makombe, 76
Harrison Makombe [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
“Christmas this year is like there is no Christmas. Before, we would be anxiously wait for Christmas to arrive. Now, food is expensive and you can’t buy groceries for Christmas like we used to back in the day.“In order to have fun, one needs money. When you don’t have money, you really can’t have fun and enjoy the festive season. So things are difficult for us.
“We have older children who support us now but they are struggling with their own families. So we don’t expect much this Christmas around.”
Regina Marange, 27
Regina Marange [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
“Life is hard as it is and Christmas is going to be very hard.“The little we have now, we have budgeted for my older child (four years old) who should be in preschool next year.
“We decided to forego shopping for clothes. I could not earn money for most of the year from my reselling business because of the lockdown. The money I have now is what I managed to make after the government eased the lockdown. It’s really been a difficult year and Christmas will be worse this time around.”
Patience Nyado, 39
“This Christmas is not looking too good. I didn’t buy new clothes for my three kids and decided I could use the money to pay for school fees due in two weeks.
“I’m employed but really struggling to make ends meet because the salaries are not what they used to be. A few years ago, Christmas was good because salaries used to make sense and people would get bonuses. Now, they earn only 10 percent of what they used to earn.
“That’s why things are very difficult for me this time around. The COVID lockdown and the situation has also made things worse.”
Richard Gamha, 23
Richard Gamha [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
“This year’s festive season will be the worst for me. I am on industrial attachment and I get only $20 which I use for transport. I don’t expect much on that budget. My parents provide for me and my four other siblings. This time around they couldn’t buy new clothes for the family as is the tradition.“Christmas holidays from 2009 to 2013 were very good. These days the economy has gotten worse and we do not expect much.”
Nyasha Tafamba, 22
Nyasha Tafamba [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
“I need to pay rent and some days I don’t sell anything. Things are difficult. People normally buy lots of clothes around this time around. But this has not been the case. So when they are no customers like this.
“In previous years, one could afford to buy clothes and groceries. This time it’s different and it means I can’t have normal holidays.”
Kenyan doctors working in government hospitals have launched a nationwide strike over inadequate insurance benefits and lack of protective equipment (PPE) while treating COVID-19 patients.
The strike began on Monday after the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union said on Twitter that there had been no resolution of grievances raised over the last eight months.
“The Kenya government has neglected the Welfare, Safety & Health of health care workers,” the union said on Sunday.
“No provision of medical insurance, Workman injury benefits & Compensation & lack of adequate quality PPEs. This greatly hampers the fight against # COVID19 in a country with an acute shortage of doctors. ”
At least 14 doctors have died of the coronavirus in Kenya since the first case was confirmed in March, according to the doctors union.
The strike had been due to start on December 7 but was postponed for two weeks to allow more time for talks with the government.
The virus has been spreading to rural areas where the public health system is creaking and limited ICUs are at full capacity, leading to patients being turned away, medics told Reuters news agency this month.
Nearly three-quarters of Kenya’s ICU beds are in the two largest cities, Nairobi and Mombasa.
Kenya reported 349 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 94,500 and the number of deaths to 1,639, the health ministry said.
“It’s about the safety and welfare of the doctors,” Chibanzi Mwachonda, secretary-general of the union, told Reuters news on Monday, adding that the country’s fight against the coronavirus would be badly hampered by the walk-out, but the medics had no other choice.
In August, doctors in most public hospitals in the capital Nairobi went on strike for a week to protest salary delays and lack of PPE.
Doctors working in hospitals run by regional county governments have also been staging strikes off and on since March over similar grievances.
Harrison Makombe [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
Regina Marange [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
Richard Gamha [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
Nyasha Tafamba [Chris Muronzi/Al Jazeera]
