We are delighted to officially announce the launch of our new brand campaign Thought For Food® with Sofonie Dala

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new brand campaign Thought For Food® with Sofonie Dala

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

My name is Sofonie Dala, I am from Angola. In 2020 I was elected as one of 500+ TFF Ambassadors!

I am the local face of TFF® in my region when contacting internal (Regional Coordinators and Core Team) and external stakeholders.

Our main challenge is to seek all kinds of solutions to address the prevailing question: “How do we feed 10bn people on a hotter planet?”

Thought For Food® is a global non-profit organization dedicated to engaging and empowering the next generation to feed 9+ billion people by 2050.

We are youth  representing many different backgrounds—from science and engineering to design and creative storytelling, from business and entrepreneurship to farming and agronomy.

Hunger in Africa – are you willing to feed the children?

Starvation in Africa is now believed to be the most serious problem of all. Different sources say that every year hunger kills more people than diseases such as COVID-19, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined all together. Many of those people are kids who die at very young age because of lack of food. The situation is very serious and African continent is in a grave danger. Hunger became a grim reaper who takes away countless numbers of lives each and every day.

Reaching street children

Poverty seems to be the most important factor. Many African families simply do not have enough money to buy food. As a result, parents and children are starving and the state is not concerned with their situation.

Shaping the future of food and agriculture

Hunger facts

There are many different causes of hunger but most common are: poverty, environment, harmful economic systems, conflicts, and rapid population growth.

Environment is another problematic issue. People have to face erosion, desertification, deforestation, and of course droughts and water shortages. The agricultural production is sometimes extremely reduced. This reduction has a direct effect on hunger increase.

Singing and performing is an Art 

Ladies and gentlemen, meet our singer Filismina performing the song ''Sitting at the feet of Jesus''

1 Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Oh, what words I hear Him say! Happy place! so close, so precious! May it find me there each day; Sitting at the feet of Jesus, I would look upon the past; For His love of him has been so gracious, It has won my heart at last.

2 Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Where can mortal be more blest? There I lay my sins and sorrows, And, when weary, find sweet rest; Sitting at the feet of Jesus, There I love to weep and pray; While I from His fullness of him gather Grace and comfort every day.

We appeal for donations of sanitary hygiene products, food and any kind of help that you can offer.

Don't miss out on the opportunity!!

We would really appreciate it if you could share this information widely with your youth networks and contacts.

International football returns to Libya after seven-year hiatus

Libya’s national football team lost to Tunisia on Thursday but fans in the eastern city of Benghazi still had reason to cheer as international football returned to Libya after a seven-year hiatus.

International football had been banned in Libya for several years as the North African country was wracked by conflict.

Tunisia, nicknamed the Eagles of Carthage, won 5-2 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualification match played behind closed doors due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic at the Benina Martyrs Stadium, formerly known as Hugo Chavez Stadium under the regime of overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The loss means Libya cannot qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted in Cameroon in January 2022.

The Libyans opened the scoring in the 22nd minute but were quickly overtaken by the Tunisians’ fast-paced, pressing style, conceding three goals within 30 minutes of their opener.

A second goal early in the second half gave the Libyans some cause for hope, but that was dashed after Tunisia netted fourth and fifth goals towards the end of the game.

Even though the loss hurt, Libyan fans still celebrated the return of football to their home soil, with many turning up in droves to cafes to catch a glimpse of their heroes against their rivals and neighbours Tunisia.

Libyans at a cafe in Benghazi celebrate their team’s opening goal against Tunisia [Abdullah DOMA/AFP]

Libya descended into chaos after Gaddafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power.

The Libyan national football league was suspended in 2019 due to the deteriorating security situation.

Fighting only came to a halt last year and a formal ceasefire announced in October was followed by the establishment of a unity government led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The Libyan Premier League resumed play in January.

Ashraf Mazeg, a Libyan fan, said Thursday’s result was expected as the long period of suspension had meant Libyan-based players had limited recent game time.

“The loss was expected in this result due to the stoppage of the league and the players are not physically ready, but I hope the coach will choose better players – there are better players in Libya, but they were not picked,” Mazeg said.

Still, others said the defeat was a tough pill to swallow, irrespective of their players’ lack of recent match experience.

“The Tunisian team is strong, and they have strong clubs, like Espérance and Sfaxien, who compete in the African Champions League, but we did not expect the result to be like this. But this is the material the coach has, and this is what players he has,” said supporter Mahmoud al-Badri, who nevertheless expressed optimism about the team’s upcoming fixtures.

Regardless of the result, many claimed that the lifting of the ban on playing in Libya, which forced the national team to play most of its international games in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia, was a victory in itself.

“It is a positive thing, which is to allow the play at the Benina Martyrs Stadium, and God willing, the next [match] will be better,” said fan Abdalla al-Shiekhi.

Despite the defeat, many Libyans celebrated the return of international football to their country [Abdullah DOMA/AFP]

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Many dead in fire at COVID hospital in India’s Mumbai

A fire has killed at least 10 people in a shopping mall that housed a private hospital treating coronavirus patients in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, officials said.

The fire broke out late on Thursday night inside the mall’s Sunrise Hospital in Mumbai’s Bhandup area, a municipal spokesman said.

Uddhav Thackeray, chief minister of Maharashtra state where Mumbai is situated, said 68 patients had been evacuated and shifted to other hospitals.

Some missing people appear to have gone home and were being tracked, Thackeray said.

Smoke billows after a fire broke out at a COVID-19 hospital in Mumbai [Reuters]

Around 78 people were at the hospital on Thursday, according to its records.

It was not immediately clear how many of the dead were COVID-19 patients, as the bodies were being identified by relatives.

An investigation has been opened into the cause of the fire, which started on the ground floor of the building as smoke filled the hospital on an upper floor, local media reported.

The fire comes amid an upsurge in coronavirus cases in Mumbai, which reported 5,504 new infections on Thursday, its highest number since the outbreak began, according to Reuters news agency.

India’s new coronavirus infections rose 59,118 overnight, the highest daily rise since October 18, health ministry data showed on Friday.

The country’s overall caseload stood at 11.85 million, the world’s third largest after the United States and Brazil.

India reported 257 new deaths from coronavirus, taking the overall tally to 160,949, the data showed.

India to widen vaccination campaign

India plans to widen its coronavirus vaccination campaign soon to include more younger people, the health minister said on Friday.

The world’s biggest vaccine-making nation has held back large exports of the AstraZeneca shot to meet growing domestic demand. But there is no outright ban, a government source said, and vaccine supply will be staggered.

All people above the age of 45 are eligible for vaccination from April 1, the government said, and it is now working to meet a demand by many states for the inclusion of all adults, after new infections nearly quadrupled this month.

“The government is already planning to widen the umbrella of COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries in the near future to cover other sections of our population,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told a virtual summit organised by the Economic Times newspaper.

India has injected 55 million doses, the third-highest figure after the US and Brazil, although much lower as a proportion of its population of 1.35 billion, the website Our World in Data showed.

After criticism mounted over its vaccine exports, India is diverting more supplies from vaccine maker the Serum Institute of India to inoculations at home. Its other vaccine maker, Bharat Biotech, is struggling to boost output.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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ANGOLA RECEIVES 200,000 DOSES OF VACCINE

Luanda - Angola on Thursday received a batch of 200,000 doses of vaccine against Covid-19, in a donation from China.

The vaccination process in Angola began on 2 March, in Luanda, as a result of the 624,000 doses of the AstraZeneka vaccine received as part of the Covax initiative.

As well as Luanda, the process is also underway in the provinces of Cabinda, Benguela, Huambo and Huíla.

In a first phase, the vaccines are being administered to health professionals, teachers at all levels of education, the elderly over 65 years old with comorbidities, employees of the Defence and Security bodies, people with drepanocytosis and chronic renal shortage over 18 years old.

In Luanda, the vaccination is taking place at the Osvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem Institute of Police Sciences, in the Special Economic Zone (ZEE), at the Paz Flor Tourist Centre, at the Mutu-ya-Kevela Primary School and in the Cidade Alta Garden.

The health authorities plan to vaccinate 54 per cent of the population, a total of 16.8 million over the age of 16.

To this end, the country has received 624,000 doses of the vaccine, out of a total of 2.1 million, which are being administered to risk groups and front-line professionals, mainly health professionals, members of the public order, security and defence forces, the elderly and people with comorbidities.

MPLA LEADER ADVOCATES GREATER ATTENTION TO VULNERABLE WOMEN

Luanda - The President of ruling MPLA party, João Lourenço, Thursday highlighted the need to strengthen the advocacy of women's causes, mainly of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged that need more attention from public the authorities and society.

Speaking at the opening session of the 7th Congress of the Organisation of Angolan Women (OMA), João Lourenço said that MPLA's women's organisation should pay more attention to issues where women should have a voice, such as those linked to the development of local and municipal power, promotion of literacy campaigns, of actions aimed at the diversification of the economy and entrepreneurship, financial literacy, programmes for the gradual withdrawal of thousands of women from the informal economy.

According to the MPLA leader, OMA in partnership with other organizations, should contribute so that the State continues to apply public policies in favour of the gender equality and the strengthening of the woman's role in the society, taking into account that the gender equity is fundamental for the inclusion of women in the labour market, in the decision making organs, in the improvement of the management way of their family time, in the promotion of the fight against violence.

"The MPLA will continue to ensure women's participation in economic, political, social and cultural life, as well as their representation in decision-making bodies," he said.

COVID-19: ANGOLA REPORTS 78 NEW INFECTIONS, 18 RECOVERIES

Luanda - The Angolan health authorities on Thursday announced the record of 78 new cases and the recovery of 18 patients in the last 24 hours.

According to the health bulletin, of those recovered, 66 were diagnosed in Luanda province, six in Namibe, two in Benguela, one in Cuanza Sul, one in Huila, one in Huambo and one in Malanje, and their ages range from one month to 81 years.

Among the new cases, 45 are men and 33 women.

Of those recovered, 15 live in Luanda, 1 in Huambo, 1 in Bengo and 1 in Huila, aged between 19 and 69.

The general picture of the country shows 21.914 positive cases, with 532 deaths, 20.190 recoveries and 1.192 active. Of the active cases, 8 are critical, 8 serious, 39 moderate, 29 light and 1,050 asymptomatic.

There are 84 people in hospitalisation centres, 48 in institutional quarantine.

The authorities have 1,514 contacts of positive cases under medical surveillance.

 

ANGOLA OUT OF 2022 AFCON

Luanda – Angola’s national football team has been ousted from the qualifiers for the 2022 African Cup of Nations (AFCN) of Cameroon, after losing 0-1 to the Gambia in Banjul on Thursday.

The match’s sole goal was scored by Assan Ceesay in the 61 minutes, which chattered Angola’s hope to reach the continental competition for the ninth time.

With Thursday’s score, the “Palancas Negras” remain in the last position of group D with one point, standing no chance to qualify for the competition.

Winning the match of coming Monday against Gabon will be of no help at all, as that would not earn them the 10 points obtained by qualified Gambia and Gabon in the first and second positions of the group, respectively.

In five encounters, Angola got a draw with DRC in Kinshasa, before losing the second leg match at home (0-1) and losing twice to Gambia (1-3, 01), and to Gabon (2-1).  

Angola thus miss one more AFCON final, after eight appearances, namely in 1996 (South Africa), 1998 (Burkina Faso), 2006 (Egypt), 2008 (Ghana), 2010 (Angola), 2012 (Guinea/Gabon), 2013 (South Africa)  and 2019 (Egypt)

Standings:

1 – Gabon - 10 points

2 – The Gambia - 10 points

3 - RDC - 06 points 

4 - Angola - 01 points 

Africa: NDPC launches Nkabom Journey for Peace and SDGs

 

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), in collaboration with the Abibiman Foundation and the African Diaspora Chamber of Commerce (ADCC), has launched the Nkabom for Peace and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Programme.

The four-year pilot programme, to run between 2021 and 2024, is focusing on Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal and involves Africa’s Diaspora and the top 20 developed countries of the world.

The programme, which is on the theme: “Africa and its Diaspora; Our History, our Present and Our Future,” seeks to use the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (AU Agenda 2063) as development platforms and a bridge that would link the history, present and future of the descendants of Africa as a pathway to unify Africa and its Diaspora.

Before the launch of the Nkabom for Peace and SDGs Programme in Accra, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Dr Felix Addo-Yobo, Director, Development Policy Division, NDPC, and Mr Kwabena Okai Ofosuhene, Founder/Executive Chairman of Abibiman Foundation and Madam Patricia McChants, Founder/Chairman.

Dr Addo-Yobo said the Commission found two key components of the Nkabom initiative, namely awareness creation on the SDGs and mobilizing private sector investment for SDGs-related projects very useful to Ghana’s development context.

“For Ghana, the SDGs and Agenda 2063 are being implemented through the decentralized planning system with various sectors and local authorities playing lead roles.

“Ghana has also adopted a ’whole of society’ approach with the participation of the private sector, civil society organizations, traditional authorities, faith-based organizations and academia among others,” he said.

Dr Addo-Yobo said both the SDGs and Agenda 2063 were integrated into the national and sub-national planning and budgeting process and that “…there is no separate plan or budget for the SDGs. Instead implementing the sector and district plans contribute towards achieving the SDGs. Similarly, budgetary allocations to the sectors and local authorities feed into SDG-related initiatives.”

He noted that with 10 years left for achieving the SDGs, it was imperative to deepen awareness and mobilise critical public support for achieving the SDGs.

That, he said, would engender the active participation of the public in the implementation of the SDGs, as well as demand accountability from duty bearers.

“We, therefore, need to find innovative and effective ways of getting the message of the SDGs to all corners of the country and help people find ways to contribute to the global agenda. We must make sure that indeed, no one is left behind,” he said.

Dr Addo-Yobo said in recognition of the important role of private sector financing, the government advocates for enhanced public-private partnerships to deal with financing gaps in the implementation of the SDGs.

He said Ghana would next month participate in the 2021 SDG Investment Fair, which would be held virtually.

The Fair would facilitate direct informal interaction among representatives of governments of developing countries, the private sector and financial intermediaries with a view of accelerating the mobilisation of investment for the SDGs.

He said Agenda 2030 called for increased partnerships between stakeholders, including government, private sector, academia, civil society organisations and research institutions to ensure that the country made the right choices to enhance the quality of life for the people.

Dr Addo-Yobo said the Nkabom initiative was one of such initiatives, and that the Commission was optimistic that it would contribute significantly to the economic transformation of the African Continent and African diaspora.

“We, therefore, call on all to embrace and support the Nkabom initiative and together we can create a better economy and society for the present and future generations.

Mr Ofosuhene said the SDGs provided a very good medium-term development strategy for the selected countries (Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal) to build solid development foundations upon which the AU Agenda 2063 strategy would provide the long-term development agenda.

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Britney Spears asks judge to end father’s control over her finances and personal life

Britney Spears has officially asked a judge to permanently end her father’s control over her finances and personal life.

The singer, 39, has been subject to a court-ordered conservatorship since 2008 after suffering two mental breakdowns.

This means her father Jamie Spears, 68, has been in charge of all her financial and personal affairs ever since, temporarily stepping down from the latter role in September 2019 due to health reasons.

A care professional called Jodi Montgomery replaced him on a temporary basis, but the star now wants her to be made her conservator permanently.

The Los Angeles court documents also show she wants to be able to completely end the controversial arrangement entirely if necessary.

It reads: “Petitioner expressly reserves the right to petition for termination of this conservatorship under Probate Code section 1861.

“Nothing in the within petition shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of that right.”

The petition has been filed to the judge, with the next hearing due to take place next month.

Last week fans gathered outside the courthouse with ‘Free Britney’ placards.

Her supporters have consistently protested the arrangement, with the recent Framing Britney Spears documentary shining fresh light on the matter.

The court papers, filed by her lawyer Samuel D Ingham III, reveal some of the powers the conservators have over the star.

They include the power to “restrict and limit” visitors to her – aside from Mr Ingham, the ability to retain “caretakers and security guards”, and powers to prosecute civil harassment restraining orders on the star’s behalf.

If Ms Montgomery’s appointment becomes permanent, she will also be able to speak with medical professionals about Spears and access her medical records.

Mr Spears remains co-conservator of his daughter’s $60m (£43.8m) estate despite her previous pleas for him to be removed from the role.

She has previously tried and failed to remove him as conservator with claims she will not perform again until she succeeds.

Legal experts who have commented on the case say conservatorships are almost impossible to end as their subjects are often unable to prove they are of sound mind following mental health issues.

 

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“My plan is to run for re-election” in 2024 – Joe Biden

Joe Biden, the oldest person to assume the United States presidency announced today his plan to run for re-election in 2024.

Responding to a reporter’s question during his first press conference since assuming office in January, Biden laid to rest lingering questions on whether or not he would seek re-election in 2024.

Biden was 78 years and two months at his inauguration making him easily the oldest person to assume the presidency, a fact that prompted questions on whether he would be strong enough to finish a second term when he would be 86 years old.

As though to allay concerns about his fitness, Biden has taken to running in circumstances where other presidents usually walk. But three days ago, he took three tumbles while running up the stairs to board Air Force One which video went viral on social media.

Experts believe Biden would not run for re-election despite his insistence. “Four years from now, it would become pretty obvious that he has overgrown the position,” said Mark Fuller, a Wisconsin activist who is concerned about the imminent potential leadership vacuum that would be created.

Others believe Biden may plan to run and win in 2024 only to yield for Vice President Kalama Harris to assume office and strengthen her for her own re-election in 2028.

Whatever happens, with Trump lurking and having suggested a 2024 run, the stakes in American politics would not be higher.

DNT News with Correspondent reports from DC and Milwaukee

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