Corona Voice - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala. Don't miss it! Day 26

 Our covid-19 show is ongoing. Day 26

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is causing increased fear and worries on people. Fear and anxiety about the disease is overwhelming and causing strong emotions in young people.

Today we invited Isabel. She will share with us the impact of Covid-19 in her life.

Hello! my name is Isabel Manuel. I'm here to talk about how the coronavirus affected my life.

Covid-19 affected me in every way. It created complicated and difficult situations. This disease came in the time when no one nor I was expecting it.

There were times when I stopped working, I stayed at home for a long time, moments of solitude that I spent without communicating with anyone. This was very difficult.

But I prevent myself from this disease by washing my hands with water and soap, using masks and keeping a distance of one meter from people.

How has the covid-19 affected your academic and financial life?

The Coronavirus has affected my academic life traumatically. I was attending a professional course at a training center. I stopped studying, the training center until today is closed and will only reopen in January. 

My financial life has also been affected. I stayed without working for a long time. I provide services to my clients in their homes and the houses were forbidden to receive visitors. Moreover, it was difficult to attract new and old customers because of this disease and this made me run out of money. I'm very sad about this situation.

Aren't you afraid of the coronavirus?

Honestly, I'm very scared of the covid-19 because this disease is causing deaths. That's why I protect myself very much. Fear because nobody wants to be sick in this way until they lose their lives.

My brothers and sisters, as long as we are not completely sure that there is a cure, let's protect ourselves.

Women and young people are disproportionately 

Massive drops in working hours due to the COVID-19 crisis have had a devastating effect on jobs and incomes in Angola. The impact of the crisis has been far-reaching, with underemployment surging as millions of workers lost their jobs.

We have been witnessing a larger decline in working hours and employment for women than men. Also, women were more likely to move into inactivity than men. Young people have also been especially affected by working-hour and job losses.

This is the first and the only Coronavirus show in Angola where the most ordinary citizens show their brilliant talents.

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.

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.

FIND SOMEONE TO SPONSOR TODAY

Your sponsorship will help the most affected people by covid-19 to take the first step out of poverty.

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

Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola. Season 3. Don't Miss Out! Webisode 12

 As the world is fighting against the COVID-19 outbreak, more than 130 countries have closed schools nationwide, impacting nearly 80% of students globally. This is unprecedented; the world has never seen this many children out of school at the same time.

Our today's guest is Tania, she will share with us her academic experience during the time of Covid-19.

Hello! My name is Tania Pedro, I'm 14 years old, I study in the 7th grade and I'm going to talk about my academic life.

Tania, how did the coronavirus affect your studies?

I stayed at home for a long time without studying, I had nowhere to go, I was always bored at home without being able to do anything.

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

Yes, I went back to study.

Did the school distribute any biosafety material?

Yes, my school distributed disposable masks and placed biosafety in all corners of the school.

Do you follow the preventive measures against coronavirus?

Yes. I wash my hands with soap and water and disinfect them with alcohol gel.

How did your exams go at school?

I did my exams well.

Haven't you forgotten anything you learned before the pandemic?

I forgot some things, but now I can adapt.

Aren't you afraid of Covid-19?

No.

We launched this campaign to ensure that every girl is able to learn while schools are closed and return to the classroom when schools safely reopen. Everyone can play a role in supporting girls ’education - whether you’re a teacher, parent, student, journalist, policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen.

Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Tell us your story!

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 poverty among women?

FIND SOMEONE TO SPONSOR TODAY

Your sponsorship will help the most vulnerable girls and women to take the first step out of poverty.

Click here to watch free full webisodes: https://she-leads.blogspot.com/

Egyptian delegation visits Libyan capital for talks with GNA

 Senior Egyptian security officials have visited the Libyan capital Tripoli for the first time in years and held talks with officials from the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), the Libyan interior ministry said.

The visit on Sunday was the first for senior Egyptian officials to Tripoli since 2014 when the country entered a civil war between the UN-brokered GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east allied with renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Tripoli’s government is backed by Turkey while Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) are backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Libya descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and Egypt is concerned about instability in its neighbour and Turkey’s support for Tripoli’s forces.

The Egyptian delegation was headed by Ayman Badea, the deputy chief of the General Intelligence Service.

The delegation met Fathi Bashagha, the interior minister of the Tripoli-based government, as well as Emad Trabelsi, head of intelligence in western Libya.

Bashagha and Trabelsi discussed “ways to support the ceasefire agreement and discuss the outputs of the 5+5 committee” with the Egyptian delegation, the Libyan interior ministry said in a statement.

It was referring to a truce agreed on in late October between Libyan warring factions and the so-called 5+5 meetings, involving five senior officers appointed by each side.

Bashagha said on Twitter that the meeting was “fruitful and constructive” and described the relations with Cairo as “very important”.

The visit to western Libya came just more than a week after Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, met in Benghazi with Haftar and the speaker of the Benghazi-based parliament, Aguila Saleh.

Bashagha seeks to lead an interim government that would rule Libya until an election set for next December.

He visited Cairo in November, part of efforts by the two countries to “fight the threat of terrorism and organised crime”, his office said at the time.

“At the top of the agenda is bringing ties back to normal between the two [Libyan] regions and also other issues relating to consular affairs,” said Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tripoli.

“On the other hand, there is anger here with many people in the government and political parties, troops on the ground are very angry. They have been surprised by this visit and say that they cannot expect any peace from Egypt since Cairo has been supporting all the military campaigns of Haftar over the past six years.”

The Egyptian delegation’s visit also came one day after Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, along with the military’s Chief of Staff Yasar Guler and other commanders, met officials in Tripoli.

Akar threatened to target Haftar’s forces if there were any attacks against Turkish forces in Libya.

He called Haftar and his supporters the “main problem” in Libya, an apparent reference to the UAE and Egypt.

Akar’s comments seemed to be in response to Haftar, who last week said he would target Turkish troops in Libya if Ankara extends its presence in the country. He said Turkey could “leave peacefully or to be driven out by force”.

Last week, Turkey’s parliament also extended a law for 18 months that allows the deployment of troops to Libya.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Future of women’s football in Africa on show as new generation emerges in COSAFA

The development of women’s football in Africa took an important step last month as a new generation of players, coaches and administrators took to the field and the classroom to hone their skills in a series of competitions and workshops organised by COSAFA.

With football in many countries around the world postponed as a result of the pandemic, the activities – which were supported by women’s football development funding from FIFA – represented the restart of organised football activities for many female players and officials in the COSAFA region and provided an important step in the development of young players, coaches and a new generation of female football leaders in Africa.

In a boost to many young female players, the COSAFA Under-15 girls’ schools tournament provided 12 teams from across 8 local football associations within an 80km radius of Port Elizabeth with the chance to return to the field, which saw Motherwell Football Association emerge as winners of the two-day tournament after a 1-0 victory in the final against Despatch Football Association.

Taking place around the COSAFA senior and under-17 women’s championships – which were supported by FIFA Forward, female coaches and administrators from southern Africa also took part in a series of workshops and courses around the tournaments with a 5-day administration course involving around 30 participants from local associations from the Eastern Cape Province.

In addition, over 30 female grassroots coaches from 8 Regions in the Eastern Cape Province also took part in an 8-day D-License Course, ensuring that a wider legacy will be witnessed across southern Africa following the successful return of youth and senior level women’s football in the region.

Speaking of the activities, Sue Destombes, General Secretary – COSAFA said: “COSAFA’s philosophy is not just about playing the game on the pitch – it’s about developing women across all spheres. Our administration course is specifically for female administrators in sport.”

Timothy Shogwe, Chair – COSAFA Competitions Committee added: “FIFA has come up with a lot of courses that have assisted administrators, coaches and referees for the development of the game and we are grateful for that.”

The support of the tournaments and courses is part of the ongoing commitment by FIFA and COSAFA to continuing the development of women’s football competitions and furthering the professionalisation of the women’s game in member associations across southern Africa and around the world.

The black soldiers who risked their lives for South Africa and only got a bicycle in return

 In south Johannesburg, the streets are full of people on the move at Christmas time.

Some residents seize the opportunity to leave this great, sprawling city for second homes and small family plots in rural South Africa.

Others empty their pockets in preparation for a few days at home in the irrepressible townships of Soweto, Alexandra and Lenasia.

Image:Simon Mhlanga is one of a tiny number of survivors from his old regiment

The blur and whizz of holiday-related motion is something of a tradition and it has been replicated in neighbourhoods like Dobsonville for years.

Down on Tati Street, there is an old soldier who came home at Christmas, 75 years ago, and as we walked past his tidy-looking home, we could hear him singing from the front porch.

His name is Simon Mhlanga, one of a tiny number of surviving members of South Africa’s Native Military Corps, and we asked him if he would tell us a little bit about his life.

“At your service,” he said, offering me a crisp salute and a personal tale that is also a story of South Africa, both past and present.

I asked him about his age.

“I am about 106,” he said, but a number of his relatives, who were sitting nearby, shouted “111”.

Official documents say Simon is 101 but his daughter Clara says government officials in the colonial era used to guess how old black people were – and they got her father’s age wrong.

Mr Mhlanga grew up in a town called Roodepoort and life was clearly harsh. He signed up for the military in 1941 because he thought it would be better to die in the army than waste away from hunger at home.

Image:Simon Mhlanga guarded prisoners of war in Italy and Germany

“I went to the army because of my poverty… it was the only other way (to) die… so then I left my parents and went away and I didn’t even tell them I was going to the army.”

Encouraged to go to war by the country’s leaders, who were chronically short of recruits, approximately 80,000 black South Africans volunteered for the Native Military Corps. However, they were not allowed to serve as equals with white soldiers on the front line.

Instead, they worked as guards, labourers, stretcher bearers and medical aides – and many served with great distinction.

Mr Mhlanga guarded prisoners of war in Italy and Germany and returned to South Africa as a non-commissioned officer. But he didn’t get much in the way of thanks from the authorities. White soldiers were given new homes – blacks got boots or bicycles.

“I was given bicycle, yes, then I had that bicycle of mine.”

“How did you feel about it?” I asked.

“To me it was, you know, I had to accept it but really I felt cheated by the government of South Africa to give me a bicycle.”

For many of his fellow servicemen, the injustices continued into death.

Image:Even war graves were strictly segregated in South Africa

War grave cemeteries in South Africa were strictly segregated. Government rules meant blacks were not allowed to share the same plots as whites and some members of the so-called “native regiments” have never been commemorated at all.

When a retired historian called Terry Cawood stumbled on four battered-looking books in South Africa’s military archive, he found the names of more than 1,000 black servicemen from the Native Labour Corps, a precursor to the Native Military Corps, who served Britain in East Africa during the First World War.

The names of regiment members had been written haphazardly on slips of paper and many were given inaccurate names like “Black Boy” or “Clan Boy” by superior officers who were either unwilling – or unable – to record their details properly.

“The documentation was very rudimentary, not a lot of effort was put in – a lot of them are written in pencil and over the intervening years they have faded… obviously the servicemen had tribal names but that’s been lost and there was no registration of births at the time.”

Image:Black soldiers in the Native Military Corp were not allowed to serve on the frontline

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which commemorates 1.7 million soldiers who died during the First and Second World Wars, has decided to tackle the issue of unrecognised and non-commemorated military personnel by forming a special committee which will make recommendations in March.

Panel members carry a great responsibility to consider and address past wrongs. In East Africa, the colonial authorities decided not to commemorate by name the thousands – or possibly hundreds of thousands – of men and women who served the British as porters and labourers during the First World War. We do not know how many died and there are no known burial grounds.

Back on Tati Ave, Simon Mhlanga told us he does not worry too much about the army anymore.

When he left it, he took up singing and dancing and he coached marching bands and “drum majorettes” in competitions across South Africa.

It was clear that the experience has provided him with many years of joy. We left his home as we entered it – to the sound of joyous song.

 

US Congress passes $2,000 Coronavirus relief bill and sends it to senate

 House Democrats moved ahead Monday with passing new legislation to increase stimulus checks to $2,000 for most Americans, after President Trump signed the $600 version five days later.

The vote puts Republicans on the record as opposing the increase in direct payments contrary to Trump’s public call for it.

The House passed the stimulus check legislation 275-134, with 130 Republicans, two Democrats and two independents voting no, and 231 Democrats and 44 Republicans voting yes.

The bill put Republicans in an awkward bind: Go against a president who they’ve been so reluctant to cross or go against their party’s leadership and side with Democrats.

Also looming large is the two upcoming Georgia senate Runoffs that could determine which party controls the senate. Would a Republican controlled senate vote against more money for those about to cast such a crucial vote?

DNT News

COVID-19: ANGOLA WITH 17,240 INFECTIONS

 Ninety-one (91) new positive cases of Covid-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected people in Angola to 17, 240, health authorities have said.

The health officials also announced 278 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Updating covid-19 statistics, the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, also announced 6, 587 active patients, 10, 254 recoveries and 399 died, out of the total number of the cases registered in March-December 2020.

According to the official, of the total number of active, three patients are in critical condition, five serious, 70 moderate, 103 mild and 6, 406 asymptomatic.

Of the new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, he said that 44 are from the province of Lunda Sul, 19 in Lunda Norte, 16 in Luanda, four in Bié, four in Huambo, two in Cabinda, one in Moxico and one in Zaire, aged between three and 61 years old.

Of the total number of people recovered in that period, 238 are from Luanda and 40 from Namibe province. No death has been reported.

As for laboratory activity, 1,031 samples were processed by RT-PCR in the last 24 hours, resulting in 91 infected, representing a daily positivity rate of 8.8 percent.

The total of processed samples, since last March, is 303, 818, being 17, 240 positive, representing an accumulated positivity rate of 5.7 percent.

Currently, the treatment centers are monitoring 181 patients, while 4,223 contacts are under surveillance by health authorities.

UNIVERSAL CHURCH TEMPLES VANDALISED IN LUANDA

 Two temples of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) in Angola were vandalized by unidentified persons early Sunday, the religious institution's reform commission has told Angop.

The incident which targeted the properties confiscated by the Attorney General's Office (PGR), sparked outrage among the church authorities

The unidentified gunmen vandalized the Cathedral of Morro Bento neighborhood, in the urban district of Samba, Luanda municipality, and in the headquarters of the province of Malange.

Almost all equipment used for worship, including sound systems and keyboards, have been vandalized, said the reform commission spokesperson, Gime Inácio.

He said 20 to 25 heavily armed criminals have taken printers and air conditioning, in addition to breaking the glass at the front entrance of the Morro Bento temple, but no human victim has been reported.

National police have confirmed theft of four speakers, equal number of sound units, three air conditioners, equal number of amplifiers and an image projector.

The spokesman for the provincial command of Police in Luanda, chief inspector Nestor Goubel, said the incident is being investigated, and pledged to clarify the case, as soon as possible.

IURD temples in Angola now have the National Institute of Religious Affairs (INAR) as faithful depositaries, under a recent PGR decision on a dispute between Angolan and Brazilian pastors and bishops.

Strongly condemning the incident, the reform commission of IURD Angola called on the authorities to work towards the identification of the perpetrators of the crime.

Church members, workers and pastors have been told to remain calm, preserve peace and cultivate reconciliation among the faithful.

ANGOLA GETS 20 MILLION EUROS AID FROM EU

 Angola received this Monday a donation of 20 million Euros from the European Union, as part of the EU assistance to the country’s response to the social and economic crisis resulting from the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

This followed the signing of an agreement between the parties, covering 36 months, to back the economy and informal transport reconversion projects in the country.

A part of the grant will be used to improve the conditions in the sectors of higher education, vocational training, trade and agriculture.

The 20 million Euros are but the first tranche of a larger budgetary aid donation.

The deal was signed by the Angolan minister of Economy and Planning, Sérgio Santos, and the ambassador and head of the EU delegation in Angola, Jeannette Seppen.