Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola. Season 3. Don't Miss Out! Webisode 20

Girls back to school after lockdown. Day 20

With reopened schools, it's important that precautions are taken both inside and outside the classroom to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Teachers have a critical role to play in ensuring students understand the precautions they should take to protect themselves and others from COVID-19, and it is important they lead by example in the classroom.

Our today's guest is Meury, she will share with us her deeply school observation.

Hello! My name is Meury Manuel David Dala, I am a high school student, I am in the 11th grade, I am taking a course in administration and services.

When the coronavirus arrived, it was an unexpected global impact and because of this, schools were stopped. I was not expecting us to return to classes so early because the positive cases of Covid-19 were increasing in each passing day, but thank God we managed to returned to studies last year.

When we went back to study it was something different because my school adopted the regime of one week Yes (studying) and another week No (not studying), we were very limited, we had to wear masks constantly until now we are forced to wear them because of the pandemic.

Being at school I noticed that most of my colleagues returned to classes and others did not because they are part of the risk group as well as some teachers with health problems have not returned to school.

The negligence I observed.

The school created some safety conditions, by placing some buckets with water, but not all of them were working, there was no soap only water.

We had a school guard who was checking our temperature, but students were not obliged to check, whoever wanted could check but whoever did not want, could pass through the classroom normally.

Although they gave us guidelines to maintain social distancing among the students, still there were negligent teachers who joined together the two large groups of students in the same classroom and were not forcing us to wear masks, the teachers themselves also were not wearing masks.

In the period of writing exams, teachers gathered all students on the same day because they did not want to conduct the exam on different days. The classroom was all crowded and no one complied with the social distance rule, students sat two by two in desks and teachers did not correct this, the school fans were not working, it was extremely hot, our school uniforms warmed very much, the face masks bothered us.

Anything positive?

I also noticed that my school has held many lectures and social events to help people most affected by the pandemic.

But even so, I think the school should do better. The washbasins don't work, there's no soap or bleach, they should fix it.

The school also needs to strictly oblige students to comply with the preventive measures against the coronavirus. Checking the temperature, wearing the face mask and maintaining social distance are very important factors.

Teachers must encourage students to get into the practice of regularly washing their hands and / or applying hand sanitizers at key moments, such as entering and leaving the classroom; touching surfaces, learning materials, books, and after using a tissue to blow their nose.

Even with clean hands, encourage students to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth. Germs can transfer from those areas on to their clean hands and spread around the classroom this way.

Reinforce frequent handwashing and sanitation and look for needed supplies. Prepare and maintain handwashing stations with soap and water, and if possible, place alcohol-based hand sanitizers in each classroom, at entrances and exits, and near lunchrooms and toilets.

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.

Corona Voice - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala. Don't miss it! Day 34

 Our Corona Voice Show is ongoing. Day 34

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of our lives. Even before the onset of the crisis, the social and economic integration of young people was an ongoing challenge. Now, unless urgent action is taken, young people are likely to suffer severe and long-lasting impacts from the pandemic.

Today we invited Lindalva, she will share with us the impact of covid-19 on her life

Hello, my name is Lindalva Dala. I'm here to talk about how the coronavirus disease affected me.

In the beginning I was so afraid of acquiring this pathology because in that time I was not aware of the preventive measures against this disease.

This disease caused me several financial difficulties. Especially at the beginning when the strict restrictions were implemented in which we were unable to move or even look for food to eat.

We faced serious financial problems at the beginning of the pandemic but over time we learned to adapt, the year ended with this pathology and the disease became common as a usual disease like malaria.

Lindalva being you a healthcare technician what advice would you give to people?

Well, first of all many people don't know what the coronavirus is or the correct definition of the coronavirus.

Coronavirus is a pathology caused by an invisible virus. In order to prevent ourselves from it we must comply with some preventive measures which are to wash our hands constantly with blue soap and always use alcohol gel.

Aren't you afraid of the coronavirus?

Being honest in the beginning I was so afraid of coronavirus because I did not know the prevention measures but now I am not afraid because I follow all the prevention rules.

The advice that I would give to everyone is that, in order to stop fearing the coronavirus we must strictly comply with all preventive measures.

The impact of the pandemic on young people is systematic, deep and disproportionate. It has been particularly hard on young women, younger youth and youth in lower-income countries. Young people are concerned about the future and their place within it.

Our program presents powerful stories and statements by young people around Angola that include innovative ideas on how to respond to the crisis.

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.

ANGOLA REPORTS 72 NEW POSITIVE CASES

 Seventy-two new positive cases, 110 recoveries and two deaths, were reported in the last 24 hours, raising the nationwide tally to 17,756 infections, 11,376 recoveries and 410 deaths from Covid-19.

The 72 new cases were detected in the provinces of Luanda (51), Huambo (7), Bié (5), Uíge (4), Cuanza Sul (2) and one case each for Benguela, Luanda Sul and Lunda Norte.

The cases have occurred among people aged between 17 and 74 years old, 40 male and 32 female.

The deaths are related to two Angolans (a 55-year-old woman and a male child - 4 years old), from the provinces of Lunda Sul and Luanda.

COVID-hit Italy gripped by political crisis

 Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has more than enough on his plate as he deals with a raging coronavirus pandemic, but also faces the more immediate challenge of staying in office.

Despite a soaring COVID-19 death toll and with a deadline looming to come up with a credible plan to spend billions of euros in EU recovery funds, the government has been consumed for weeks by internal sniping from former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Renzi has threatened to withdraw his small but pivotal Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party from the center-left coalition that Conte heads, which would force its collapse.

“The situation is, in technical terms, a disaster,” the politician, who led Italy from 2014 to 2016, said in an interview with the Rete 4 channel broadcast late on Monday.

Asked about the chances of Conte keeping his job, he said: “We’ll see.”

Renzi has complained about slow progress in rolling out coronavirus vaccinations and delays in school reopenings and has lambasted Conte for seeking to concentrate power in his hands.

This includes setting spending priorities without enough consultation for the 196 billion euros ($ 240bn) Italy expects to receive as part of a post-virus EU recovery plan, which is due to be submitted to Brussels by mid-April.

Italy has recorded more than 75,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll in Europe, and the associated lockdowns and restrictions have hit the economy hard.

The leaked draft spending plan includes more than 50 priorities, with only nine billion euros ($ 11bn) for Italy’s cash-strapped health system.

“This cannot work, there’s too much money on handouts and too little on investments,” Renzi said.

The showdown with Conte is expected to come to a head in the coming days when ministers meet - possibly as early as Wednesday - to discuss the EU plans.

Government without Conte

Conte could try to placate Renzi with a cabinet reshuffle, either by persuading some ministers to step down or by resigning himself to seek a new mandate from President Sergio Mattarella with a revised list of cabinet ministers.

But this option is, of course, fraught with risks.

Once Conte resigns, Renzi could insist that the governing coalition - which includes the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and the leftist Free and Equals (LeU) - can survive only under a new prime minister .

However, there are no obvious alternative candidates. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is often mentioned as a possible savior for the country, but he has shown no appetite for a political career, at least in public.

“Personally, I think that a government without Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte would be folly,” tweeted Federico D’Inca, a minister and member of M5S, the biggest party in Parliament.

Count, a once-obscure law professor who has never himself been elected, has so far proving surprisingly adroit at navigating the choppy waters of Italian politics.

He has been in office since 2018, first at the helm of a right-leaning administration comprising the M5S and the League.

The coalition collapsed a year later, but he stayed on at the head of a left-leaning government cobbled together between the M5S, PD and smaller allies.

If Conte is removed and politicians cannot agree on a successor, Mattarella could be forced to call snap elections - two years early.

Opinion polls suggest a victory for the right-wing opposition bloc fronted by Matteo Salvini’s League and Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, two stridently anti-immigration and eurosceptic parties.

Renzi’s party meanwhile risks being wiped out - they are currently polling at approximately 3 percent.

Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of the Teneo consultancy firm, said he expects a reordering of the coalition parties but for Conte to stay in power.

“The strength of the ruling coalition in Italy is its weakness - they know they cannot afford elections,” he told the AFP news agency.

“I don’t think this crisis will yield anything particularly meaningful. It will just be another waste of time at the worst time possible for the country. ”

The EU is officially staying out of it, but with a watchful eye.

“Even before the COVID crisis, Italy - because of its debt problem, non-performing loans and its fragile politics - was a country that was more closely watched than others,” an EU source told the AFP.

“As a government drawing up a plan, it makes things very difficult if you risk a coalition collapse at every second.”

_____

Source: AFP

Dr. Dre in ICU with suspected brain aneurysm

 The hip-hop legend was reportedly rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday.

Hip hop legend Dr. Dre is reportedly in the intensive care unit after suffering a suspected brain aneurysm.

The 55-year-old music producer and rapper suffered the aneurysm on Monday and was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to TMZ. Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Winton later confirmed the news.

As of Tuesday evening, Dre was still in the hospital’s ICU, TMZ reported.

Jack Ma’s wealth tumbles by $12 billion in 2 months as China seeks to shrink the billionaire’s financial empire

 Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s wealth has fallen by $ 12 billion in just two months, from about $ 62 billion to $ 50.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Jack Ma’s net worth has dropped $ 12 billion since October, when China’s regulators began implementing new rules for the fintech industry.

The 56-year-old Ma's stake in Alibaba and his many other ventures took his wealth from him to about $ 62 billion this year in October, setting him on track to become the richest man in Asia. But he has since dropped to 25th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the 500 wealthiest people in the world.

His net worth of him currently stands at $ 50.9 billion, according to the index.

Regulators in October implemented new rules for the financial technology industry and online lenders, directly impacting the lucrative lending and credit business for Ma’s Ant Group.

The rules are aimed at preventing monopolistic behavior by the country’s large internet firms.Officials said there were ”major issues” with Ant’s planned IPO under the new rules, leading to its suspension.

Over the weekend, Chinese regulators ordered Ant Group to revamp parts of its business and “return to its payment origins,” multiple outlets reported. Regulators met with company executives, the Telegraph reported, instructing the firm to rectify its “illegal” financial services, such as its lucrative online lending business.

Ant’s consumer lending unit, wealth management services, and other profitable businesses will soon form a separate financial holding company regulated by the People’s Bank of China, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Under the new structure, the fintech would be subject to further capital restrictions that may suppress its ability to expand at the rate it has been in the past a few years, Bloomberg reported.

Furthermore, China is seeking to potentially secure a larger stake in Ma’s businesses than he himself owns, according to the Wall Street Journal. The billionaire is the controlling shareholder of Ant, while Alibaba holds a roughly 33% non-controlling share in the group.

Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor at China’s central bank, said Ant had become indifferent to China’s regulations, accusing the fintech of “turning a blind eye to compliance requirements,” the FT reported.

Although Ant has transformed its business multiple times in accordance with regulatory oversight, the central bank deputy governor said this weekend that it “must integrate its development into the overall plan of the country’s development.”

China’s order comes after Ma suggested giving up parts of Ant to the Chinese government. “You can take any of the platforms Ant has, as long as the country needs it,” the billionaire told regulators at a November 2 meeting, according to the Journal.

But his offer he failed to win acceptance, as China was unwilling to give up on a full crackdown.

Alibaba’s shares have fallen by almost 23% since regulators pulled down Alibaba affiliate Ant’s IPO plans.

_____

Source: business insider Africa