Remembering the last day of our CORONA VOICE SHOW - Hot dances and hot songs

 The grand finale. Corona Voice - Angola

The first edition of our show Corona Voice - Angola, came to an end. This is the first and the only Coronavirus show in Angola where the most ordinary citizens show their nonfiction story and brilliant talents.

The brilliant idea was invented and led by our internet superstar Sofonie Dala.

As prepared for delivery

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for always being here with us!

This morning we prepared for you awesome festival of dance, songs, poems and a special praise from the ''Gospel Group Asael with the song - reckless love''.

Entry praise - reckless love

We are the ministry Asael, we will present a praise in order to comfort people at home during this pandemic.

Brings light to the shadows

Climbs mountains

To find me

Tears down the walls

Destroys the lies

To find me

Oh, awesome, endless

And God's daring love

Oh, that leaves the ninety-nine

Just to find me

I can not buy it, nor deserve it

Even so, He surrendered

Oh, awesome, endless

And God's daring love

We want to wish strength and courage in this moment of the covid-19 pandemic and we must trust in God that everything will pass. Be strong!

Report of the program

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to education, public health, food systems and the world of work. 

We launched the “Corona Voice” show to provide a space for young women and men around Angola to share their views, experiences and initiatives.The heroes of the program are the most ordinary citizens - they share with the audience their songs, dance, poems and real stories of how the coronavirus pandemic affected their lives.

Since December 2020 until today, we have been running this show to disseminate information in regards to Covid-19 issues in Angola. On the program participated children, youth and adults of all ages and different social statuses.

Our campaign came to an end, collecting over 50 video with musics, dances, poems and nonfiction stories.

Citizens ’experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic have been very varied. For some, it has been an opportunity. For others, it has been challenging or traumatic. Many lost their homes, jobs and acute hunger increased.

However 98% of participants reported that they were hit heavily by the pandemic and were pushed into extreme poverty. Only 2% of respondents reported that the pandemic has been a great opportunity, many have discovered new talents, found jobs and had time to reflect on their lives.

Students were the most affected. Covid-19 school closures around the world have hit Angolan students the hardest, affecting their education, their rights and their future. There's no doubt that COVID-19 pandemic will have long-term effects on students and will impact their education, their mental health and social and emotional well-being.

                                            It's time to show our art

Covid-19 dance from Nisha and Engracia. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet our dancers!

Coronavirus hits the poorest hardest. It has further exposed inequalities within societies. Often it is those at the bottom of the economic ladder who are suffering the most.

The measures taken to contain COVID-19 is affecting households in many ways, including job loss, loss of remittances, higher prices, rationing of food and other basic goods, and disruptions to health care services and education.

Very emotional Covid-19 poem by Meury

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet our poet Meury!

Covid-19

A disease that has attacked the whole world

And made the world its hostage.

The world has reached an extreme where tomorrow is uncertain

People now walk in fear of a faceless enemy 

An enemy that we don't see;

Before, going out was routine 

Now it became an extreme need

People don't just go out for leisure or just to have fun, 

People now go out for a need

They leave their houses because they have to fulfill an activity that can not be left for tomorrow or that can not be postponed

Now everything we do is cautious, 

We use a mask to protect ourselves

Before, we didn't have all this care,

 Because we didn't have a threat. Now that we have, 

We are giving importance to friendships, 

We are giving importance to being with someone we love.

Thank you.

Our show came to an end. The end of the campaign is not the end of the movement.

Thanks largely to many of you here! We are not saying good bye, we will come back soon with new webisodes.

Here’s a glimpse of what living with the covid-19 pandemic looks like for people in Angola.

Please click the link below to watch all the series, from 1 to 55.

1. 1st edition of ''Corona Voice'' - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala: https://coronavoice-angola.blogspot.com/

THE END!

Click here: https://coronavoice-angola.blogspot.com/2021/01/congratulations-we-are-celebrating.html

The Tanzanian man who has built his own grave

 

A Tanzanian man has shocked his village by building his own grave in preparation for his death.

Patrick Kimaro, 59, says his family is slowly accepting his decision, which is viewed by the community as a bad omen.

Traditional leaders from Mr Kimaro’s ethnic group in Kilimanjaro region say a grave should not be dug in anticipation of death and it should not remain empty for long.

Mr Kimaro, who works as a policeman, told BBC Swahili that he started building his grave in January to cushion his family from high funeral expenses when he dies.

“Being a first-born child, I had a difficult time burying my parents when they died six months apart… so I decided I’ll not take my children through the same [experience],” he told BBC Swahili.

Mr Kimaro plans to set aside some money for his casket and believes his family will be able to raise money for other related expenses after his death.

He is also planning to take insurance for his grave in the event of natural calamities like flooding that may destroy it.

The preparation of the grave, including its exquisite finishing, cost him a total of $3,000 (£2,200).

Mr Kimaro’s home security guard says some neighbours have shied away from visiting since the grave was dug within the compound.

Some of his family members have however got used to the grave and even sit around it to chat.

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Russia pulls some troops back from border

 

Russia says it is pulling back some of its troops from near Ukraine after a build-up raised fears of an invasion.

The defence ministry said that large-scale drills continued but that some units were returning to their bases.

Ukraine warned to wait to see proof of the pull-out, saying “when we see the withdrawal, then we’ll believe the de-escalation”.

More than 100,000 Russian troops have massed at Ukraine’s border. Russia has always denied it is planning an attack.

The build-up has brought increasingly grave warnings, with the US saying an invasion could come at any time.

Russia has been seeking guarantees that Ukraine will not be allowed to join Nato, something the security bloc has rejected.

In another development, the Russian parliament has voted in favour of asking President Vladimir Putin to recognise the two self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine as independent.

Russia has granted citizenship to at least 720,000 people in the two regions, the scene of an insurgency that began in 2014.

If Mr Putin were to recognise the two breakaway regions it would violate peace agreements.

In its statement, Russia’s defence ministry said it was withdrawing some of the troops conducting exercises in military districts bordering Ukraine.

“A number of combat training exercises, including drills, have been conducted as planned,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Some exercises are continuing, such as a large joint Russia-Belarus drill, due to end on 20 February.

A British government source said it was waiting to see the scale of the withdrawal, saying it would have to make a difference to the ability to invade to be meaningful.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dymytro Kuleba said “we have managed together with our partners to deter Russia from any further escalation”.

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the day “will go into history as the day western war propaganda failed. They have been disgraced and destroyed without a single shot being fired.”

For weeks there have been regular reports of Russia increasing troop numbers near the border with Ukraine.

Now Moscow has announced that – drills over – some units are returning to base.

A sign of de-escalation? Possibly. But caution is required. The number of troops packing up and moving back is unclear.

Moscow, of course, has insisted all along it has no plans for a military escalation in Ukraine. The Russian authorities have dismissed claims by Western governments that a Russian invasion is imminent.

President Putin’s spokesman said the Kremlin leader had mocked such assertions.

“Sometimes [Putin] even jokes about it,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “He asks us to check whether they [in the West] have published the exact time that war will start.”

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Moscow for talks with President Putin as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at warding off a potential crisis.

Mr Scholz has faced criticism for his response to the tensions.

He has refused to commit publicly to scrapping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany in the event of Russian aggression against Ukraine, saying only that all sanctions options remain on the table.

This is in contrast to US President Joe Biden, who has said the scheme would be halted if Russia invades.

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Rooney not allowed to bring case against Vardy agent

 

Coleen Rooney has been refused permission to bring a High Court claim against Rebekah Vardy’s agent.

It’s part of an ongoing legal battle between the footballers’ wives over an online post.

Mrs Rooney was trying to bring a claim against Caroline Watt for misuse of private information.

The “Wagatha Christie” row broke out in 2019 after Mrs Rooney said fake stories were leaked to newspapers that had only been seen by Mrs Vardy’s Instagram.

Mrs Vardy denies the accusations and is suing Mrs Rooney for libel.

‘Additional claim’

During a two-day hearing last week, the court heard the content of some WhatsApp messages exchanged between Mrs Vardy and her PR and friend Caroline Watt.

Mrs Rooney’s lawyers previously claimed that Mrs Vardy had leaked information to The Sun newspaper either directly or through her agent Caroline Watt “acting on her instruction or with her knowing approval”.

Mrs Rooney asked for permission to bring an “additional claim” against Ms Watt for misuse of private information and wanted it to be heard alongside the libel case.

Her lawyer David Sherborne told the court Coleen Rooney would be left without “vindication” unless that could happen.

Mrs Vardy’s lawyers opposed the application to add the claim against Ms Watt to the libel case.

In a ruling on Monday, the judge, Mrs Justice Steyn refused permission for the additional claim against Ms Watt and refused permission for it to be heard alongside the libel trial.

However, the judge gave the go-ahead for Mrs Rooney to amend her defence case, to include an allegation that Rebekah Vardy, through Ms Watt, provided information to The Sun about an unnamed professional footballer.

She also gave permission for disclosure of WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt during the relevant period, and allowed Mrs Rooney’s application for an order that both parties make a joint request for information to Instagram.

The trial of the libel claim is due to take place in May, but may be delayed.

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