A happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science
"COVID 19 has revealed the role of women researchers at different fights of this pandemic ..." Listen to the message from Dr Rita Bissoonauth.
@RBissoonauth on the day.
Monday, 15 February 2021
Programme Management Officer: Advancing Women’s Engagement
Strengthening Opportunities to Mobilise for Equality (AWESOME)
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Temporarily Remote
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Invitation to attend Global Wellbeing and Leadership Summit I Reimagining Society
Dear Wellbeing and Peace Ambassador,
Greetings from the Reimagining Society!
This email is regarding an invitation to 'unite our synergies' with your esteemed presence for our Virtual Summit Program: Global Wellbeing and Leadership Summit (Virtual).
Reimagining Society is an International Not for Profit Organization that endeavors to create more inclusive, fair, and sustainable communities by holistically embedding the concept of "Wellbeing." It heralds a move from a self-centric to philanthropic citizenry by designing solutions to the world's most pressing issues through a comprehensive "Wellbeing" program. We believe that Innovation and Dynamism's synergy, partnership, and human development fosters a unique change.
We are pleased to inform you that the Reimagining Society has come up with an unparalleled opportunity, i.e., our Virtual Summit Program. Virtual Summit Program offers us (Reimagining Society) to provide you and others with an opportunity to interact, share and discuss ideas for a better world in Reimagining Society's Global Wellbeing and Leadership Campaign. With a remarkable buffet of exciting events and competitions, the Virtual Summit Program is all set to make a splash in the waters of wellbeing and development, with international participants from all walks of life!
The Virtual Summit of the Reimagining Society calls upon extraordinary, young at heart, diligent and enthusiastic Peace and Wellbeing enthusiasts. The annual Virtual Summit Program convenes the brightest talent from 100+ countries and an array of sectors, working to accelerate social impact. Delegates from 100+ countries are counciled by influential political, business, and humanitarian leaders such as Dr. Samdhu Chetri, Mr. Joseph Cataan, and many more.
ou can find all relevant details regarding the Virtual Summit Programme here: Global Wellbeing and Leadership Summit (Virtual)
Benefits:
The best performing delegate will receive a fully-funded slot in the Global Wellbeing and Peace Summit 2021 in Dubai
Amazing prizes (including cash prize) of USD 500
Exclusive opportunity to network with diplomats, policymakers, and global leaders
Team activities to foster the spirit of cross-cultural collaboration
Awards & Certifications
Meet with like-minded young changemakers
Workshops on policy making and research, innovation and design, digital marketing, monitoring and evaluation of social projects
Golden opportunity to share your social project or initiatives at a global stage and win amazing prizes
Mentorship opportunity
Intercultural celebration
This could be one in a lifetime opportunity which could help you connect with many young leaders who would be torchbearers of the Future.
Please find attached event details and other information related to the event.
Limited seats available, Apply Today!
Warm regards,
HARSIT SAIKIA
HR AND COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVEL’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents - Sub-Saharan Africa Program 2021/2022 for young women scientists.
Application Deadline: March 29th 2021 https://bit.ly/
Created in 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards recognize and support eminent women in science throughout the world. Each year, five Laureates are recognized for their contributions to the advancement of science, in Life Sciences or Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science in alternating years.
AWARD(S) OF THE PRIZE
15 endowments for doctoral students and 5 for post-doctoral students,
Training in Leadership, Management, Negotiation and Communication
AMOUNT PER ENDOWMENT
€10.000 for doctoral students,
€15.000 for post-doctoral students
MAIN ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Be a PhD student or have obtained a PhD in the following scientific fields: Life and Environmental sciences, Physical sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer and information sciences
Be from one of the 48 countries in the sub-Saharan African region, and work in a research laboratory or institution in one of the countries of the region, or be enrolled in a University in one of the 49 countries of the region (including South Africa).
OR
Be from one of the 49 countries in the sub-Saharan African region (including South Africa) and work in a research laboratory or institution in one of the 48 countries of the region, or be enrolled in a University in one of the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Scientific excellence of the research project
Quality of the application
Ability to communicate and promote science
Parliament of Kenya Pupilage Programme 2021 for young Kenyan graduates
Application Deadline: February 28th 2021
The Parliamentary Service Commission now seeks to engage twelve (12) highly motivated Kenyans to undertake their Pupilage Programme with the Parliament of Kenya for a period of six (6) months commencing May, 2021.
The successful pupils shall be selected from applicants who-
(a) possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree (Upper Second Class Honors) from a recognized University;
(b) are admitted to the Kenya School of Law and be sitting for the Kenya School of Law exams in April 2021;
(c) demonstrate good verbal and written communication skills in both English and Kiswahili, as evidenced by a score of at least a “B” plain grade in both subjects;
(d) demonstrate a proactive attitude and willingness to learn and to be part of a team handling challenging tasks within specific timelines; and
(e) are computer literate.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY: http://bit.ly/2ZcCWDa
UK hits target of 1 vaccine shot to 15 million
The U.K. announced Sunday that it had reached its goal of giving at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot to the most vulnerable people in the country, increasing pressure on ministers to clarify when they will ease a lockdown imposed in early January.
More than 15 million people, or 22% of the U.K. population, have received their first shot. The figure includes most people in the government’s top four priority groups, including everyone over 75, frontline healthcare workers and nursing home staff and residents. Over 537,000 of them have also received their second dose.
“15,000,000! Amazing team,″ Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, said in a tweet that featured a red heart and three syringes. “We will not rest till we offer the vaccine to the whole of phase1 the 1-9 categories of the most vulnerable & all over 50s by end April and then all adults.″
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to unveil his roadmap for easing restrictions on Feb. 22 amid signs that infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths have fallen sharply since England’s third national lockdown began on Jan. 4.
“This country has achieved an extraordinary feat — administering a total of 15 million jabs into the arms of some of the most vulnerable people in the country,″ Johnson said in a tweet.
Johnson said in England, everyone in the four top priority groups had been offered the vaccine. He plans to release further details on the vaccination effort on Monday.
Jockeying has already begun between those who want the measures lifted as soon as possible and those who fear moving too fast will lead to a resurgence of the virus.
Britain got a head start on its vaccination effort in December, when it became the first country to authorize widespread use of a COVID-19 shot. It ranks behind only Israel, 73%, the Seychelles, 53%, and the United Arab Emirates, 51% in the percentage of people who have received one dose, according to Oxford University. The U.S. is fifth at 15%.
At the same time, coronavirus lockdown rules that have closed schools, restaurants and nonessential shops in the U.K. are starting to pay off. The number of new infections, hospital admissions and deaths recorded over the past seven days have all dropped by more than 20% from the previous week.
When Johnson announced the lockdown, he said the government would review the measures in mid-February based on their success in controlling the pandemic and progress in the vaccination effort. Johnson’s first priority is to reopen schools, and he has promised to give schools two weeks notice to give teachers time to prepare.
Britain has reported over 117,000 virus-related deaths, the highest pandemic toll in Europe.
Mark Harper, a lawmaker from the ruling Conservative Party, has warned the government against “moving the goalposts” for deciding when to ease the lockdown.
Johnson should start by reopening schools, then gradually lift other restrictions as more people are vaccinated, said Harper, who leads a group of about 70 lawmakers who have lobbied the government to consider the negative economic and social impacts of the restrictions along with the health benefits.
“Once you have protected people from serious illness and from death, I don’t think these draconian restrictions of not being able to meet your family, not see your friends, not see your children, not see your parents, not visit people in care homes, I don’t think they are justifiable anymore,″ Harper told Times Radio.
After meeting the target for reaching the most vulnerable, U.K. authorities will progressively expand the vaccination drive to the next five priority groups until everyone over 50 and vulnerable younger people with health conditions that put them at higher risk from the virus have been offered the vaccine.
Public health officials say the top nine priority groups account for 99% of the deaths caused by COVID-19 so far.
While the vaccines currently authorized for use in the U.K. require two doses to ensure full protection against COVID-19, British authorities say one dose provides a significant level of protection.
Because of this, they have made it their priority to give the first dose to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. To do this, Britain is planning to give second doses after three months, instead of one month as recommended by the manufacturers.
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust health think tank, said the number of COVID-19 infections in Britain is still too high to think about lifting the restrictions.
“We’ve made enormous progress … but the transmission is incredibly high still and we’ve got to get it lower,” he said.
There are other dangers on the horizon. U.K. government scientific advisers say the COVID-19 variant now predominant in the country may be up to 70% more deadly than previous variants, underscoring concerns about how mutations may change the characteristics of the disease.
The findings from the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, published Friday on the government’s website, builds on preliminary research released Jan. 21. The group, known as NERVTAG, includes experts from universities and public agencies across the U.K.
The new report is based on analysis of a dozen studies that found the so-called Kent variant, named after the county where it was first identified, is likely 30% to 70% more deadly than other variants. The studies compared hospitalization and death rates among people infected with the variant and those infected with other variants.
The results of the analysis are worrisome, said Dr. David Strain, a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and the clinical lead for COVID at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
“The higher transmissibility means that people who were previously at low risk of catching COVID (particularly younger fitter females) are now catching it and ending up in hospital,″ Strain said. “This is highlighted by the latest figures for hospitalization that now suggest almost 50:50 male to female ratio compared to this being predominantly in men during the first wave.″
Pro-Navalny ‘flashlight’ protests light up Russian cities
Supporters of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny came out to residential courtyards and shined their cellphone flashlights Sunday in a display of unity, despite efforts by Russian authorities to extinguish the illuminated protests.
Navalny’s team sent photos of small groups with lit-up cellphones in cities from Siberia to the Moscow region. It was unclear how many people participated overall.
No arrests were immediately reported. However, police detained nine people at a daytime demonstration in the city of Kazan calling for the release of political prisoners, according to OVD-Info, a human rights group that monitors political arrests.
The group said security guards at Moscow State University recorded the names of people leaving a dormitory to take part in a flashlight rally there.
When Navalny’s first team urged people to come out to the cellphone protests, many responded with jokes and skepticism. After two weekends of nationwide demonstrations, the new protest format looked to some like a retreat.
Yet Russian officials spent days trying to blacken the protests. Officials accused Navalny’s allies of acting on NATO’s instructions. Kremlin-backed TV channels warned that flashlight rallies were part of major uprisings around the world. State news agencies cited unnamed sources as saying a terrorist group was plotting attacks during unapproved mass protests.
The suppression attempts represent a change of tactics for Russian authorities, who used ignore Navalny.
Kremlin-controlled TV channels used to not report about protests called by Navalny. Russian President Vladimir Putin has never mentioned his most prominent critic by name. State news agencies referred to the anti-corruption investigator as “a blogger” in the rare stories when they did mentioning him.
“Navalny went from a person whose name is not allowed to be mentioned to the main subject of discussion” on state TV, said Maria Pevchikh, head of investigations at Navalny’s Foundations for Fighting Corruption.
Pevchikh credited Navalny’s latest expose for the sudden surge in attention. His foundation’s two-hour video alleging that a lavish palace on Black Sea was built for Putin through corruption has been watched over 111 million times on YouTube since Jan. 19.
The video went up two days after Navalny was arrested upon returning to Russia from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. The Russian government denies involvement and claims it has no evidence that Navalny was poisoned.
While the high-profile arrest and the subsequent expose were a double blow to authorities, political analyst and former Kremlin speech writer Abbas Gallyamov says that keeping Navalny and his protests off the airwaves to deprive him of additional publicity no longer makes sense.
“The fact that this strategy has changed suggests that the pro-government television audience is somehow receiving information about Navalny’s activities through other channels, recognizes him, is interested in his work, and in this sense, keeping the silence doesn’t make any sense,” Gallyamov said.
The weekend protests in scores of Russian cities last month over Navalny’s detention represented the largest outpouring of popular discontent in years and appeared to have rattled the Kremlin. Police reportedly arrested about 10,000 people, and many demonstrators were beaten, while state media sought to downplay the scale of the protests.
TV channels aired footage of empty squares in cities where protests were announced and claimed that few people showed up. Some reports portrayed police as polite and restrained, claiming officers had helped people with disabilities cross busy streets, handed out face masks and offered demonstrators hot tea.
Once the protests died down and Navalny ally Leonid Volkov announced a pause until the spring, Kremlin-backed media reported that grassroots flash mobs titled “Putin is our president” started sweeping the country. State news channel Rossiya 24 broadcast videos from different cities of people dancing to patriotic songs and waving Russian flags, describing them as a genuine expression of support for Putin.
Several independent online outlets reported that instructions to record videos in support of Putin came from the Kremlin and the governing United Russia party and that people in some of the recordings were invited under false pretenses.
The Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin had nothing to do with the pro-Putin videos.
After Navalny’s team posted its video involving the palace allegedly built for Putin, state channel Rossiya aired its own expose of Navalny. Anchor Dmitry Kiselev claimed in Germany, Navalny lived “in the luxury he so much despises.”
The reporter filmed inside a house Navalny rented but failed to capture any high-end items in the two-story building, which featured several bedrooms and a small swimming pool.
She pointed to “two sofas, a TV, fresh fruit on the table” in the living room and “a kitchen with a coffee machine,” and described a bedroom as “luxurious” even though it looked a a business hotel room.
In recent days, official media coverage focused on the flashlights-in-courtyards protest, accusing Navalny ally Volkov of acting on instructions from his Western handlers.
The political talk show “60 Minutes” devoted nearly a half-hour to the topic, calling the flashlight rally an idea from a handbook on revolutions. It aired footage of protesters shining flashlights during the 2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine, mass rallies in Belarus last summer and other uprisings.
On Thursday, state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti, citing anonymous sources, claimed that a terrorist group from Syria was training insurgents for possible terrorist attacks in Russian cities at “mass rallies.”
“The Kremlin is awfully scared of the flashlight action,” because such a peaceful, light-hearted event would allow the opposition to build a rapport with new supporters who are not ready to be more visible, Volkov said in a YouTube video.
He suggested the heavy-handed response to the announcement actually helped dispel skepticism about the courtyard demonstrations.
“I saw many posts on social media (saying) ‘When Navalny’s headquarters announced the flashlight rally, I thought what nonsense… But when I saw the Kremlin’s reaction, I realized they were right to come up with it.’”
Heavy snowfall grips Istanbul, Turkish Thrace, shuts waterways
Along-rumored and feared cold front coupled with heavy snowfall arrived in Istanbul late Saturday after moving in from the country’s northwestern Thrace region on the way.
By midnight, much of the city was covered in white as the Asian districts of the 15-million megapolis were last to receive heavy snowfall.
The Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s (IBB) Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) had previously warned Istanbulites that the snowfall could last for five days with a severe drop in temperatures. Despite the ongoing weekend and nighttime curfews throughout the nation, traffic levels remain high due to decreased public transport ridership over COVID-19.
A blanket of snow-covered much of Istanbul on Sunday morning, which weather forecasts say will increase in density throughout the day. Except for brief respites, the snowfall is expected to linger until Thursday.
Parts of Istanbul on higher ground were more exposed to the snowfall, and municipality crews worked tirelessly to clear snow-covered roads and streets, pouring salt on icy roads.
The snow arrived during a 56-hour lockdown that started late Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak. Only tourists who are exempt from the curfew were able to enjoy snowfall, as well as children who had snowball fights in front of their houses. Owners of shops exempt from the curfew, like bakeries and grocery stores, struggled to keep the entrance to their premises clear of snow. In Çatalca, a remote district on the city’s west, the snow had already reached a depth of 20 centimeters (just less than 8 inches).
The snowfall Istanbul is experiencing is expected to be as harsh as the winters of 1987, 2002 and 2004, though precipitation has been low for the city compared to past years so far. In 1987, Istanbul had one of the worst winters, where snow reached depths of 1 meter in some locations, with people stranded in their homes for days.
The Bosporus, the busiest waterway in the country that divides Istanbul in two, was closed to maritime traffic on Sunday as visibility dropped below half a nautical mile. Istanbul City Lines, which operates passenger ships between the city’s Asian and European sides, announced that they had suspended all services due to the bad weather, except a line between Kabataş port and the Princes’ Islands.
Though temperatures are expected to rise midweek, forecasts do not predict a sudden surge in temperatures.
Elsewhere, the weather across Turkey was mostly cloudy, with rainfall forecast for cities on the Aegean coast, the Black Sea region and areas near the Mediterranean province of Antalya. The Marmara region in which Istanbul is located and other regions also experienced snowfall and rain at times. Authorities warned against avalanches in the eastern Black Sea region and eastern Turkey. The snow is expected to reach depths of up to 30 centimeters on higher ground in Marmara and western parts of the Black Sea regions. Strong winds are also predicted for Marmara, forecasting speeds of 80 kilometers per hour (49.7 miles per hour).
The northwestern provinces of Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ were hit by snowfall earlier in the day. Moving south, the storm and snowfall led to the suspension of marine and passenger traffic in the Dardanelles, the waterway that connects the Aegean Sea to the Marmara and the Black Sea. In Çanakkale, where the Dardanelles are located, the provincial governorate ordered that schools scheduled to reopen for in-person education Monday be shut. The governorate also ordered that all those pregnant or with disabilities working in public institutions and agencies take administrative leave.
Media outlets reported that Greece shut down a border crossing with Turkey due to heavy snowfall. A long line of trucks formed at Edirne’s Hamzabeyli, an alternate crossing. Authorities announced that the Ipsala border crossing, closed on Saturday, would remain closed to trucks for the time being. Roads to and from Hamzabeyli, meanwhile, remain exposed to heavy snowfall, while snowplows work to keep them clear.
DR Congo: Several killed in attacks on Lubumbashi military camps
Four members of security forces and one civilian killed in separatist militia attacks in the country’s second-largest city.
Four members of security forces and one civilian were killed as separatist rebels attacked two military camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s main mining centre of Lubumbashi, the city’s mayor said.
Lubumbashi Mayor Ghislain Robert Lubaba Buluma told the AFP news agency on Sunday that six of the rebels died in the attacks.
Jeff Mbiya Kadima, a member of a civil society platform that works with the government, told AFP the rebels had targeted the camps of Kimbembe and Kibati on Sunday morning.
Fortune Mbaya, a civil society leader, said the attackers had identified themselves as members of the separatist Bakata-Katanga militia.
Residents reported the sounds of gunfire in several districts following the assaults.
Al Jazeera’s Alain Uayakani, reporting from the capital Kinshasa, said it could take government forces several days to fully clear the rebels from the area.
“The army said they have succeeded in pushing back the militia from the town. The militia are mixed amongst the population and the operation to fully clear them from the city and surrounding areas may take days,” Uayakani said.
Lubumbashi is the country’s second-largest city and the capital of the southeastern Katanga region.
Former President Joseph Kabila, who comes from the region, returned there in December after a tussle for power between his supporters and his successor Felix Tshisekedi.
Incursions by the Bataka-Katanga, fighting for the region to secede from DRC, occur frequently in Lubumbashi. Two policemen and a soldier were killed in the last attack on September 26.
SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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