Corona Voice - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala. Don't miss it! Day 33

 Our Corona Voice show is ongoing. Day 33

This is a difficult time for everyone — physically mentally and emotionally. But you can use this time to ‘level up’ your voice and achieve that next singing goal that you’ve been striving for.

Our today's guest is Anita, she prepared a very beautiful covid-19 song for us.

The world is coming to an end, let's all come together

Jesus Christ is the hope for a better world

Angola is suffering from Coronavirus

Brazil is suffering from  Coronavirus

China is suffering from Coronavirus

Until when will this humanity end and everyone will come together

Angola is suffering from Coronavirus

The world has nothing

Many people suffering without food to eat

Not to mention the schools destroyed by one virus

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

'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.

Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola. Season 3. Don't Miss Out! Webisode 19

 Our girls back to school campaign is ongoing. Day 19

Post-COVID education needs to rely on more sustainable and holistic measures that go beyond just accessing education, but also address the obstacles encountered by girls and young women in accessing quality education and completing the school cycle.

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

Hello, how are you?

I'm fine thanks

Please introduce yourself!

My name is Teresa and I am 14 years old

Teresa do you study?

Yes I study in 7th class

How did the coronavirus affect your studies?

I forgot some things that I studied before the pandemic and I also did not study for a long time, this hurt my academic development.

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

Yes I went back to study.

Did your school distribute any biosafety material?

No.

What are the preventive measures against coronavirus that you have been following?

To wash your hands several times a day, use your mask, use alcohol gel and keep 1 meter away from people.

How did your exams go? Wasn't it hard?

I wrote my exams well, it was not difficult.

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

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.

U.S. Department of State Global Undergraduate Exchange Program 2021/2022 (Global UGRAD) for Study in the United States (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: February 8th 2021 

The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.

Since 2008, World Learning has provided this opportunity to over 2,500 Global UGRAD students. Participants leave the U.S. with the tools to become leaders in their professions and communities. Global UGRAD alumni go on to receive Fulbright grants, obtain prestigious international internships, and work in business and government in their home countries and regions.

Program Goals

To promote mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries.

Provide a fulfilling exchange experience to drive academic, cross-cultural, and leadership competencies for students from Global UGRAD countries.

Enhance students' academic knowledge and professional skills needed to pursue long-term academic and career goals.

Cultivate students' comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the U.S.

Facilitate opportunities for students to establish social networks with U.S. host institutions and local communities.

Empower students to engage constructively in the civic life of their local and global communities.

Click here to apply: http://bit.ly/2XkvB3L

Rice University Business Plan Graduate-level Student Startup Competition 2021 ($1.5 million in Cash and Prizes).

 Application Deadline: February 8th 2021 

The Rice Business Plan Competition is the world’s richest and largest graduate-level student startup competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which is Rice University's internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. 2020 was the 20th year for the competition! In that time, it has grown from nine teams competing for $ 10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $ 1.5 million in cash and prizes. Even in the virtual environment, the competition provided an unparalleled experience for the participants by designing a diverse program over the course of three-days, with significant time designated for feedback and interaction with the judging panel.

Prize

In total, more than $ 1.3 million in investment, cash and in-kind prizes was awarded to the teams at the 2020 Rice Business Plan Competition.

Prizes offered at the 2021 RBPC are expected to mirror this year's prizes.

Click here to apply: http://bit.ly/3hGeUJb

ANGOLA REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO BOOSTING OIL REVENUE

 The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil & Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, declared last Monday, in his first speech in his capacity as chairman of OPEC, that Angola will maintain its efforts to boost the profitability of the oil market, taking into account the current economic and financial situation.

Speaking at the 23rd meeting of OPEC and its Non-OPEC partners, taking place in Vienna, Austria, Diamantino Azevedo stressed that the expectations of global demand in the oil market is around 96 million barrels per day, but the recent production was four million below the pre-pandemic projections in the year 2020.

He stressed that Angola continues to work to help restore stability and confidence in the oil market in the long term, as well as to consumers, investors and the global economy, in order to reenergize the sector.

He said that OPEC's projections for growth in demand for crude oil in 2021, around 5.9 million barrels per day, are a welcome turnaround, given the devastation of the market last year, which has started a new important stage of production adjustments.

"We are making the transition from crisis management to supporting global recovery," said the OPEC president.

The benefits of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC), according to the official, were clear enough in the context of the 2014-2016 market crisis. it helped restore market confidence and stability, he said, and paved the way for the Charter of Cooperation in 2019, giving the country a new platform for collaboration, in addition to the important market balance process.

He acknowledged that 2020 was a difficult year for all economies, due to covid-19, for opening "deep holes in budgets and significantly delaying investment plans".

Despite the difficult situation, he went on, Angola is proud to participate directly in the decision-making process that led the Organization to broaden the scope of collaboration through the Cooperation Declaration.

Diamantino Azevedo believes that, regardless of the complex challenges of countries and companies, with unity everything is possible.

DoC is the Declaration of Cooperation signed in 2016 between members of OPEC and 10 other countries, which obliges the parties to decide together issues on the stabilization of the oil market.

COVID-19: LAST 24 HOURS WITH ZERO DEATH

 The Angolan health authorities registered in the last 24 hours, 42 new infections and 43 recovered patients, at a time that Angola recorded zero death from this pandemic.

Of those recovered, 39 are from Luanda and 4 from Cuando Cubango, aged between 4 months and 60 years, the secretary of State for Public Health updated the data last Monday.

Franco Mufinda explained that out of the 42 newly infected, 36 are from Luanda, 3 from Bié, 2 from Benguela and 1 from Cabinda.

Regarding the diseased ones, 2 are in critical condition, 8 severe, 78 moderate, an equal number with mild symptoms and 5,844 asymptomatic.

According to the secretary of State, at this time, health authorities are closely following 166 patients admitted to treatment centers in the country.

With these numbers, Angola now has 17,684 cases which breaks down to 11,266 recoveries, 408 deaths and 6,010 diseased, out of 314,196 processed samples.

The recovery rate is fixed at 63.7% and the daily positivity rate is 5.9%.

The official disclosed that in the last 24 hours, at the borders of access to the capital, Luanda, 1,088 people were tested, without any positive case.

COVID-19: UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson to set out ‘further steps’ to combat variant spread in TV address

 UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will make a TV address tonight to set out “further steps” to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The prime minister is expected to speak at 8pm, while parliament will be recalled to sit on Wednesday amid calls for a third national lockdown in England.

A Number 10 spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of COVID-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.

“The prime minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.”

"He will set those out this evening."

Earlier on Monday, Mr Johnson had warned there was “no question we will have to take tougher measures” and vowed the government would “do everything we can to keep the virus under control”.

On a visit to a vaccination center as the national rollout of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine got under way, the prime minister said there were “tough, tough” weeks ahead in the UK’s fight against COVID-19.

He spoke shortly before First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a nationwide lockdown will be introduced in Scotland from midnight tonight.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday demanded a national lockdown in England within 24 hours.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was beaten to the Conservative leadership by Mr Johnson in 2019, has also called for action “right away” in a bid to ease “off-the-scale” pressures on hospitals.

Mr Hunt, now the chair of the House of Commons health committee, wants all schools to be closed, international travel to be stopped, and all household mixing to be banned.

“In the face of exponential growth even waiting an extra day causes many avoidable deaths,” he said.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and London mayor Sadiq Khan are also among those to have called for a third lockdown in England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock did not rule out a new national lockdown for England during a Sky News interview on Monday.

He warned the new coronavirus variant was “much easier to catch”, with the effect now being seen in “lots of different parts of the country”.

On Sunday, the UK recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row - as the total number of COVID-19 deaths passed 75,000.

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Source: Skynews

After telecom firms, China oil giants may face US delisting next

 Chinese oil majors may be next in line for delisting in the US after the New York Stock Exchange said last week it would remove the Asian nation’s three biggest telecom companies.

China’s largest offshore oil producer Cnooc Ltd. could be most at risk as it’s on the Pentagon’s list of companies it says are owned or controlled by Chinese military, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Henik Fung. PetroChina Co. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, may also be under threat as the energy sector is crucial to China’s military, he said.

“More Chinese companies could get delisted in the US and the oil majors could come as the next wave,” said Steven Leung, executive director at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. At the same time, the impact of removing the telecom firms is probably minimal as they were thinly-traded in the US and they haven’t raised much funds there, he said.

Sinopec spokesperson declined to comment. Cnooc and PetroChina didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. In Hong Kong, Cnooc fell as much as 5.7 percent Monday, PetroChina dropped as much as 2.5 percent and Sinopec was down as much as 1.4 percent.

The NYSE said it would delist the telecom operators to comply with a US executive order imposing restrictions on companies identified as affiliated with the Chinese military. China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. would all be suspended from trading between January 7 and January 11, and proceedings to delist they have started, the exchange said. All three of the firms declined in early Monday trading.

In separate statements Monday, each telecom company said it “regrets” the NYSE’s actions, and said the decision might affect the prices and trading volume of the companies ’shares. All three companies said they hadn’t received any notification from the NYSE about the delisting.

Protect companies ’rights

China Unicom and China Mobile said they’re reviewing ways to protect the companies ’“ lawful rights. ” China Telecom said it’s considering “corresponding options” to “safeguard the legitimate interests of the company.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on Saturday, saying the country would take necessary action to protect the rights of Chinese companies and it hoped the two countries could work together to create a fair and predictable environment for businesses and investors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said Sunday that given their small amount of US-traded shares, the impact on the telecommunications companies would be limited and that they are well-positioned to handle any fallout from the delisting.

“The recent move by some political forces in the US to continuously and groundlessly suppress foreign companies listed on the US markets, even at the cost of undermining its own position in the global capital markets, has demonstrated that US rules and institutions can become arbitrary, reckless and unpredictable, ”the CSRC said in a statement on its website.

US President Donald Trump signed an order in November barring American investments in Chinese firms owned or controlled by the military in a bid to pressure Beijing over what it views as abusive business practices. The order prohibited US investors from buying and selling shares in a list of Chinese companies designated by the Pentagon as having military ties.

China’s Foreign Ministry later accused the US of “viciously slandering” its military-civilian integration policies and vowed to protect the country’s companies. Chinese officials have also threatened to respond to previous Trump administration actions with their own blacklist of US companies.

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Source: Bloomberg

India’s approval of own COVID vaccine criticised for lack of data

 India on Sunday granted emergency approval to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin but faced questions after taking the step without publishing efficacy data for the homegrown coronavirus vaccine.

The news, announced by the drugs controller general of India (DCGI) who did not take questions, was hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers as a success in India’s self-reliance push.

The government also approved the use of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University which will be the lead vaccine in India’s immunization program until other shots are approved.

Covaxin was jointly developed with a government institute and means India joins a small list of countries to have approved its own coronavirus shot.

Bharat has partnered with drug developer Ocugen Inc to co-develop it for the US market, and Brazil has signed non-binding letters of intent to buy the shot.

The company has said it is in discussions with more than 10 countries about Covaxin.

“While this vaccine addresses an unmet medical need during this pandemic, our goal is to provide global access to populations that need it the most,” Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella said in a statement.

"Covaxin has generated excellent safety data with robust immune responses to multiple viral proteins that persist."

Neither the company nor India’s Central Drugs Standards Control Organization would reveal its efficacy results.

A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters news agency its effectiveness could be more than 60 percent with two doses.

China also did not publish detailed efficacy data for a vaccine it authorized on Thursday but its developer has shared interim data.

“On what basis was this approval given when Bharat Biotech has NOT shown enough data proving safety & efficacy?” transparency activist Saket Gokhale asked on Twitter.

Gokhale has filed a request under India’s right-to-information law, asking the government for safety and other data for the two vaccines approved on Sunday.

‘Premature’

Covaxin has been fast-tracked like no other vaccine in India. The company said in November it was likely to be launched in the second quarter of 2021, while a government scientist had suggested it might be February or March.

Opposition politicians and former ministers on Sunday questioned the lack of transparency in approving it.

“Approval was premature and could be dangerous,” said former minister Shashi Tharoor, asking Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for an explanation.

“Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime. ”

Vardhan urged Indians to trust that “stringent protocols” had been followed to ensure the safety and efficacy of the two approved vaccines.

In the largest such trial in India, Bharat Biotech said it had recruited 23,000 volunteers out of a target of 26,000 for an ongoing Phase III trial of Covaxin which started in November.

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Source: Reuters