Ladies Without Plastic - Green Menstruation. Environmental challenge by Sofonie Dala, Angola. Webisode 13

 Our Africa Educates her Campaign season 5 is on going 

Ladies without plastic - key to reduce our carbon footprints

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our green menstruation challenge, where we provide positive workshops and raise awareness about alternative and sustainable menstruation methods!

In developing countries, many girls drop out of school because they cannot afford sanitary pads and tampons. Disposable tampons and pads aren't sustainable, but do women want to talk about it?

Deolinda will share with us about her hygiene preferences and what she thinks about sanitary products.

Good evening girl!

Good evening dear.

How old are you?

I'm 14 years old.

What is your name?

My name is Deolinda.

Okay. Which of these pads do you use?

I use disposable pad.

Why?

Because it's softer and it takes less work to wear.

Why don't you prefer the cloth absorbent?

Because in addition to washing and drying, this is also disgusting and smells bad.

So you don't like using the washable pad because you don't want to smell blood?

Yes, it is disgusting.

Have you ever used the cloth absorbent?

Yes.

Didn't you like the experience?

I didn't like it, it's disgusting, so I prefer to use the disposable pad.

But did you know that disposable absorbent contains plastics that pollute the environment?

Yes, I knew.

And do you still use it?

Yes.

Don't you plan to stop using it someday?

I think it will be impossible.

Not at all, other alternatives are being produced, such as the silicone menstrual cups and washable pads. They are more economical and accessible.

Period poverty is a significant barrier, with girls having to drop out of school because they simply can't afford the menstruation products they need. 

What are the options?

While there are sustainable alternatives on the market, such as silicon menstrual cups, reusable pads and unbleached/organic cotton varieties of disposables, these all remain niche options without huge marketing budgets behind them. 

The same solutions that will make menstruation more sustainable for women in the developed world are what will make it bearable for women in the developing world, who are even more limited in their options.

Interesting links about Deolinda:

Anatomy of Action Challenge for Sustainable Living

Africa Educates Her Campaign 

Girls back to school campaign

The grand finale. Corona Voice - Angola

Michael Steinhardt: US billionaire hands over antiquities worth $70m

 A US billionaire has been banned for life from buying antiquities after an investigation found that items he owned had been looted and illegally smuggled.

Michael Steinhardt has surrendered treasures worth $70m (£53m) as part of a deal which means he will not face criminal charges.

The ban on the hedge-fund pioneer acquiring more antiquities was the first of its kind, prosecutors said.

Many of the antiquities appeared to be without provenance, they said.

Mr Steinhardt denies any criminal wrongdoing in the matter; the deal put an end to a grand jury investigation into his affairs.

Among the 180 items he has handed over are the Stag’s Head Rhyton, a drinking vessel dating from 400BC worth $3.5m.

The Larnax, a Cretan chest for human remains, has also been surrendered.

The 3,000-year-old item was bought from a known trafficker in 2016, prosecutors allege.

Announcing the surrendering of the antiquities, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr said Mr Steinhardt “displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artefacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe”.

The seized items had been smuggled out of 11 different countries before ending up on the international art market, the district attorney’s office found.

Mr Steinhardt’s lawyers said he was pleased the investigation had ended and that “items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries”.

They added that the investor might seek compensation from dealers who had misled him as to the provenance of the items he bought.

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Ethiopia troops will destroy enemy – Abiy

 Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the “enemy will be destroyed soon” while announcing the recapture by federal troops of areas previously held by Tigray rebel forces.

Speaking on the front line, he said the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters had sustained serious casualties when the government recaptured strategic towns in Amhara region.

But the TPLF say they strategically withdrew from the areas.

Just a few days ago, the rebel fighters said they were marching to the capital Addis Ababa and on the cusp of victory.

Mr Abiy says government troops have retaken strategic towns in Amhara and Afar region that had been held by rebel forces for more than a month.

Dressed in military fatigues, he said many TPLF fighters had surrendered as his troops continued the operation to liberate more towns.

It is believed that the use of drones and a massive recruitment of soldiers have turned the tide in favour of the government.

The year-long conflict has created a huge humanitarian crisis with thousands killed and at least eight million people in urgent need of assistance.

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NORTHERN AFRICA: SON OF GADDAFI “SAIF AI-ISLAM GADDAFI RETURNS TO PRESIDENTIAL RACE

 

Southern Libya court of Appeal “Sebha Court of Appeal “ on Thursday December 2,2021, overturned the Libyan electoral commission’s decision to deny Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former president Mohammed Gaddafi from contesting presidency.
The ruling ordered for the immediate reestablishment of the son of the former Libyan dictator to be able to run for the country’s December 24,2021 elections.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had challenged the decision of the electoral authority in Libya for disqualifying him for what Libyan authorities said were war crimes committed during the uprising against his father more than 10 years ago.
In the disqualification process, the electoral commission had quoted an articles of the electoral law which clearly stipulate that candidates “must not have been sentenced for a dishonourable crime” and must present a clean criminal record.
But lawyer for Saif ai-Islam Gaddafi “Khaled al-Zaydi” ,confirmed to that the court in Sebha had accepted his client’s appeal, and ruled in his favor.

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38 perish in huge Burundi prison fire

 A massive fire ripped through an overcrowded prison in Burundi before dawn on Tuesday, killing dozens of inmates and seriously injuring many more, the country’s vice president said.

Many inmates were still sleeping at the time of the blaze that destroyed several parts of the facility in Burundi’s political capital Gitega, witnesses said.

Vice President Prosper Bazombanza, who visited the scene of the tragedy with several senior ministers, told reporters that 38 people were killed and 69 seriously hurt.

The blaze broke out at about 4:00 am (0200 GMT). The interior ministry said on Twitter it was caused by an electrical short-circuit.

“We started shouting that we were going to be burned alive when we saw the flames rising very high, but the police refused to open the doors of our quarters, saying ‘these are the orders we have received’,” one inmate disclosed.

“I don’t know how I escaped, but there are prisoners who were burned completely,” he said.

Those with the most serious burns were taken to hospital, some ferried in police pick-up trucks, while others with milder cases were treated at the scene, witnesses said.

Teams from the Red Cross in Burundi were at the scene to tend to victims, and the flames had now been brought under control, witnesses said.

The nearly 100-year-old facility, the third largest in Burundi, housed a number of political prisoners in a high-security compound, and there was also a women’s wing.

In all, there were more than 1,500 inmates at the end of November, according to prison authority figures, far higher than its designed capacity of 400.

A large contingent of police and soldiers were surrounding the site and preventing journalists from approaching or taking pictures, the witnesses said.

A police source said the emergency services were late to the scene, with a fire truck arriving only two hours after the start of the blaze.

The same prison in Gitega, which lies in the heart of the tiny country, was struck by another fire in August, according to the interior ministry, which blamed it on an electrical short-circuit.

No casualties were reported from that incident.

Chronic overcrowding is a problem in Burundi’s prisons, where there were a total of about 12,400 inmates living in accommodation designed for 4,200, according to October figures, despite a presidential amnesty in June which saw 5,000 prisoners released.

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WEST AFRICA: COSUA APPLAUDS PRESIDENT AKUFO ADDO FOR WINNING “FORBES AFRICAN OF THE YEAR”

 

Coalition of Supporters unions of Africa has congratulated President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo for emerging as the African of Year from the Forbes Africa Magazine 2021.
The announcement by Forbes Africa Magazine follows the presidents stands on repositioning Ghana in the world marketplace as one reliant on its own resources and strengths.

The president of the republic has attracted many accolades from around the world with the latest coming from COSUA which says the achievements by President Akufo Addo is an definitive source of pride and inspiration for the peaceful country Ghana in particular and Africa in general.
Kindly see the full letter below;

 

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WEST AFRICA: TERRORISTS KILL MORE THAN 30 IN MALI

 More than thirty persons were killed on Saturday December 4,2021 terrorist attack in Malian city Bandiagara .

Victims of the incident included; Women, children, and even pregnant women.
The bus driver whose identity is yet to be revealed was first slain by the attackers before they set the fully loaded passenger bus on fire by shooting.

It would be recalled the conflicts in Mali started from January to April 2012,with the fourth Tuareg uprising of the country’s post-colonial history, an Islamist takeover of all the northern cities and an improvised military coup.
This has resulted in the killing of thousands and many others displaced.

 

               

Pictures from the scene showed everything and everyone in the bus was completely burnt into ashes.
Reports says Malian authorities are still investigating the matter in a bid to bring the perpetrators to light. Meanwhile, the whole country is in great shock, as families of the bereaved mourn their lost.
It would be recalled that security insurgence in Mali started back in 2012, claiming thousands of lives and displacing many others.

            

The city of Bandiagara was in great shock on Saturday December 4,2021, after a terrorist attack which resulted in the killing of some thirty-three persons on a public bus. Eyewitness report says The attackers set the fully loaded passenger bus on fire by continuous gun shots after assasinating the bus driver.
Clear pictures from the scene revealed a completely burnt bus with no trace. The victims included; women, children, and even pregnant women.
Furthers reports reaching DNT news says Malian authorities are still investigating the matter in a bid to bring the perpetrators to light.

It would be recalled the conflicts in Mali started from January to April 2012,with the fourth Tuareg uprising of the country’s post-colonial history, an Islamist takeover of all the northern cities and an improvised military coup.
This has resulted in the killing of thousands and many others displaced.

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Burundi prison fire kills at least 38 in Gitega

 At least 38 people have died and scores more have been injured in a fire which tore through a prison in Burundi.

Vice-President Prosper Bazombanza told reporters that the blaze hit an overcrowded facility in the capital Gitega.

At least 69 people were seriously injured in the fire, he said.

Images circulating online show a building engulfed in flames and piles of bodies, said to be of inmates in the jail.

“It is really catastrophic, I’d say almost 90% of sleeping halls are burnt,” one inmate told the BBC. The blaze started at around 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT), he said.

A journalist outside the prison told the BBC that nurses from Gitega hospital have entered the prison to help the victims, saying they are taking out the dead and wounded.

With capacity for 400 prisoners, Gitega prison held 1,539 inmates as of last month, according to the Christian Association Against Torture (ACAT-Burundi).

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