Peeking at children on the day of SADC liberation during the pandemic. Africa Educates Her with Sofonie Dala

Yesteday March 23, was a public holiday. We celebrated the Southern Africa Liberation Day. The date is a special day for the region, highly regarded as one of the turning points in southern Africa’s history.

Children did not go to school yesterday. Watch this video to see how they spent the day!

Hi! I’m Josefa Rock, I’m in the 6th grade and I’m 13 years old. I didn't go to school today because we are celebrating the Southern Africa Liberation Day.

Ok Josefa, how did the covid-19 impact your studies? Covid-19 hindered our studies and made us stay at home for almost a year. We were missing our colleagues, teachers and everything. When did you return to classes? I returned to study in October.

Wasn't it difficult? It was very difficult.

How did the exams go? I haven't done any exams yet. Are you here playing with friends celebrating the holiday right now? Yea.

They even had time to dance!

ShEquity Business Accelerator (SHEBA) Program 2021 for African Female Entrepreneurs.

 Application Deadline: 16 April, 2021 

ShEquity and MBC Africa announced today the launch of the ShEquity Business Accelerator (SHEBA). Located in the Accra, Ghana, SHEBA will offer venture building and technical support to African female entrepreneurs with impactful and scalable businesses viewed as potential ShEquity investment candidates in agribusiness (agtech, production, processing, wholesale & retailing, any other agribusiness value chain aspects), healthcare, technology (fintech, clean-tech, etc.), renewable energies, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). In addition, qualifying participants will receive funding needed to structure their businesses and become ShEquity investment ready.

The accelerator is the next horizon in ShEquity’s significant investment and active role in building an investment ecosystem for African women entrepreneurs. Accordingly, SHEBA will serve as the pipeline for the ShEquity West Africa VC Fund which is being set up in Accra, Ghana.

Requirements

Be a woman leading/owning an impactful and scalable business
Committing to the 6 months program duration
Have a business that has been in operation for a minimum of 24 months and is based in the ECOWAS Region
Signing the SHEBA agreement (to be provided to these selected)

Click here to apply:https://bit.ly/2QAjvTR

Mandela Rhodes Foundation (MRF) Postgraduate Scholarships 2022 for young Africans to study in South Africa (Fully Funded)

 Application Deadline: April 20th 2021

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation offers young leaders from across the African continent a chance to become part of Nelson Mandela’s legacy of transformative impact. MRF offer a life-changing opportunity for personal growth via a prestigious postgraduate scholarship and Leadership Development Programme, for those who want to use their talents to serve Africa.

Requirements

If you are between the ages of 19 and 29, are a citizen of any African country, and have a first degree with above average academic results (70%), you are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Benefits

Tuition and registration fees as set by your university or institution
A study materials allowance as set by the MRF
Accommodation and meal allowances as set by the MRF
A medical aid allowance as set by the MRF
A personal allowance as set by the MRF
Research and conferencing grants can be made available on request
Economy-class flights for international scholars from their home countries to their institutions at the start and end of their studies

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3f8e099

World Energy Council Future Energy Leaders Programme 2021 for young professionals.

 Application Deadline:28 March 2021 

The World Energy Council supports and promotes energy leaders of the future through the Future Energy Leaders platform (FEL-100). The FEL-100 global impact community of exceptional young professionals share a commitment to:

address the urgent need to humanise energy
seek innovative solutions for more energy and climate neutrality in the context of affordability and equality
engage in national, regional, and global activities and events
deliver innovative projects in support of our global energy community

Requirements

Solid interest and proven track record in energy or energy +; the CV indicates a specific achievement and the potential to become a leader in his / her field
3-5 years junior management experience in an energy-related field considered a plus
Highly motivated and encouraged to work with the World Energy Council, and ready to commit to become a member of the exclusive FEL-100 and remain engaged for at least one up to typically three years
Advanced level of English
Not more than 32 years old at the time of application
Availability for at least 15 days contact time with the development programme (20 days in Congress years). Validation by employer would be considered a plus.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/39biCHA

Absa Fellowship Programme 2021 for Undergraduates Studies in South Africa (Fully Funded)

 Application Deadline: Unspecified

Absa are looking for brave and passionate African leaders to go beyond the standards of what is attainable, to move humanity forward in ways that have not been discovered yet, to reframe, reimagine and reshape society. But if you only want to be ’good’ at what you do, then the Absa Fellowship Programme is not for you.

Advance education
Drive transformative collaboration
Develop capable leadership
Facilitate progressive thinking

Requirements

A catalyst for change
Brave and ready to embrace possibility
Ethical and socially conscious
Studying towards an undergraduate degree in:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Creative Arts
Mathematics
Humanities (Social Sciences)
Digital/Data Design
A strong student with a matric average of 65% or more
Between the age of 18 and 25 years
Entering the first year of tertiary studies, with provisional or full acceptance from Absa’s pre-selected universities.

Academic costs

Full tuition
Accommodation
Laptop
Textbooks & Educational equipment
Monthly stipend
Meal allowance

Leadership programme

Travel (if required)
Learner modules and guides
Online lectures and assessments
Emotional wellness check-in sessions, academic tutoring and mentoring

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3vW78Sg

India reports novel COVID-19 variant, daily deaths at year’s high

 India has detected a new “double mutant variant” of the novel coronavirus, the health ministry said, adding to concern as the government struggles with the highest single-day tally of new infections and deaths this year.

Genome sequencing and analysis of samples from Maharashtra state found mutations in the virus that do not match previously catalogued “variants of concern” (VOC), the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Maharashtra is one of India’s worst-affected states but the ministry said it was not clear if the new variant was causing a surge there or in other states.

“Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish a direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some states,” the ministry said in a statement but did not elaborate.

India has already reported several cases of a variant first detected in Britain, as well as ones first found in South Africa and Brazil.

On Wednesday, India reported 47,262 new infections over the previous 24-hour period, the highest since early November, taking its overall tally to 11.7 million. Only the United States and Brazil have higher caseloads.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in India in the previous 24 hours rose to 275, the most this year, taking the total to 160,441, government data showed.

Several states announced a ban on large gatherings ahead of the Hindu festival of Holi this weekend.

The health ministry said states were “strongly advised” to restrict public observation of festivals.

“Any laxity at this point in ensuring strict adherence … to contain the spread of COVID-19, may result in losing the impetus and benefits that our country has gained so far in managing the virus,” the ministry said in a statement.

Alarmed by the surge, the federal government has announced it was expanding its nationwide inoculation campaign to include everyone above the age of 45 years and appealed to people to get vaccinated.

Total vaccinations in India, rank as the world’s third-highest, behind the US and China, but its ranking is lower on a per-capita basis, according to the Our World in Data website.

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Ethiopia PM admits ‘atrocities committed’ during Tigray conflict

 Atrocities have been committed in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northern region where fighting persists as government troops hunt down its fugitive leaders, the country’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

This is the first time Abiy appears to acknowledge that serious crimes have taken place in Tigray, which is home to six million people.

Reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in Tigray region,” Abiy told lawmakers in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday.

War is “a nasty thing”, he said, speaking the local Amharic language. “We know the destruction this war has caused.”

He said soldiers who raped women or committed other war crimes will be held responsible, even though he cited “propaganda of exaggeration” by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the once-dominant party whose leaders challenged Abiy’s legitimacy after the postponement of elections last year.

Abiy spoke as concerns continue to grow over the humanitarian situation in the embattled region where the conflict began in November last year when Abiy sent government troops into the region following an attack on federal military facilities.

The federal army is now hunting the fugitive regional leaders.

Abiy accused the embattled region’s leaders of drumming “a war narrative” while the area faced challenges such as a destructive invasion of locusts and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This was misplaced and untimely arrogance,” he said.

The Ethiopian prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to make peace with Eritrea, faces pressure to end the conflict in Tigray as well as to institute an international investigation into alleged war crimes.

The government’s critics say an ongoing federal probe is not enough because the government cannot effectively investigate itself

On Monday, the heads of nine UN agencies and other officials demanded a halt to attacks against civilians in Tigray, “including rape and other horrific forms of sexual violence”.

In a joint statement, the UN agencies, the UN special investigator on the human rights of internally displaced people, and two umbrella organisations representing NGOs also called on all parties in Tigray to explicitly condemn all sexual violence and ensure their forces “respect and protect civilian populations, particularly women and children, from all human rights abuses”.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Monday the conflict continues to drive massive displacement, with tens of thousands of people arriving into Shire, Axum and Adwa, most fleeing fighting in western Tigray in the last few weeks.

There are also reports of people uprooted by violence in the northwest and central areas, he said.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch reported that Eritrean forces shot dead hundreds of children and civilians in a November massacre in Tigray.

An Amnesty International investigation into the same events detailed how Eritrean troops “went on a rampage and systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined calls for the Eritrean troops to leave Tigray while the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, urged an investigation into the situation.

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Green Ghana Project launched to plant five million trees

 Accra, March 23, GNA – The Forestry Commission, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, on Tuesday, unveiled the Green Ghana Project to plant five million trees across the country.

Mr. Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Sector Minister, who launched the project, said it formed part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of Forest.

The Green Ghana initiative will officially commence on June 11, 2021, to encourage Ghanaians to plant more trees to preserve and protect the country’s forest cover and the environment.

Mr Jinapor stated that the tree planting exercise would see President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, planting a tree each on June 11.

He also mentioned other prominent personalities including, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Naa Abukari II, as well as other Ghanaians planting trees.

The Minister said the project formed part of a strategy and a programme to ensure an aggressive afforestation to protect the environment.

He said the initiative was a joint responsibility for which more broad-based support was needed to address the adverse degradation of the country’s forests and ecosystem.

“To achieve our goal of protecting our forests and ecosystem, we will see to the planting of five million trees, which is significant by all standard, to help raise national consciousness of the need to protect the environment and the forests,” Mr Jinapor said.

The Minister noted that the President had a vision for the Forestry Commission and the forestry sector, which required the Commission working with all stakeholders to increase the country’s forest cover.

Mr John Allotey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, lauded the Green Ghana programme and expressed the hope that the initiative would make the country green again, following the activities of illegal small-scale mining that depleted the forest cover.

GNA

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Disney shifts ‘Black Widow’ and doubles down on streaming

 NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday overhauled its upcoming film release plans, postponing some of its biggest films and shifting Marvel’s “Black Widow,” among other titles, to Disney+ the same time they arrive in theaters.

“Black Widow,” once planned to debut in May 2020, had been set to kick off the summer movie season on May 7. It will instead premiere on July 9. And it will do so simultaneously on the company’s streaming platform for a $30 early-access fee.

For theaters, which are beginning to reopen after punishing months of closure due to the pandemic, the announcement was a blow to hopes of an imminent recovery. While bigger and bigger films have turned to stream and premium-on-demand in recent months, Marvel movies are Hollywood’s most bankable box-office behemoths.

Disney will instead launch its summer with “Cruella” on its previously scheduled date, May 28. The “101 Dalmatians” spinoff with Emma Stone will also premiere in both theaters and on Disney+ for $30 — the same hybrid approach the studio took with the recent release of “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

Disney has not announced viewing data on “Raya and the Last Dragon” but on Tuesday called its performance “successful.”

“Today’s announcement reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences,” said Kareem Daniel, Disney’s distribution chief. “By leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world.”

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EU refuses to approve Frontex’s budget over human rights concerns

European Parliament voted by 22-3 to postpone signing off the border agency’s budget until concerns get addressed.

European Union lawmakers on Tuesday refused to sign off on the budget of the EU’s border and coast guard agency over concerns about allegations of rights violations, hiring failures and harassment by senior Frontex staff.

The European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee voted by 22-3, with five abstentions, to postpone its endorsement of Frontex’s 2019 budget “until additional clarifications are brought on a series of issues”.

Frontex, which supervises the outside borders of the 27-nation EU, is under pressure following a series of allegations that it was involved in the illegal pushbacks of migrants, notably in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey.

An official inquiry cleared it of links to the pushback claims but criticized reporting and monitoring failures. Some EU lawmakers are calling for the Frontex chief to resign. The European Parliament has also set up its own “scrutiny group”, which is expected to release its findings on the agency over the summer.

Frontex was supposed to have hired 40 fundamental rights officers by December to help monitor for possible abuses but has so far employed none. A number of senior positions at the agency also remain unfilled.

With Tuesday’s vote, the lawmakers “expressed strong concerns as regards the delays in the process of recruitment of the fundamental rights officer and monitors” and “the significant gender imbalance, in particular at the level of the management board”.

They also raised reports about cases of harassment and possible meetings between Frontex staff and company lobbyists, and they want the assembly’s scrutiny group more deeply involved in the investigation of pushbacks.

The decision to delay the budget endorsement is likely to be backed by the full parliament in a vote next month. Should Frontex fail to clarify the issues as requested by the third quarter of 2021, the assembly could refuse outright to endorse its 2019 budget, but such a move would be unprecedented.

SOURCE : AP

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