Jail for white pastor who planned black genocide

 A white supremacist who was plotting the genocide of black South Africans and a coup in the country has been jailed for life.

Harry Knoesen, 64, was the leader of a far-right terrorist group and had led plans to overthrow the government on 28 November 2019 using AK-47 rifles, hand grenades and rocket launchers.

Knoesen even wanted to use biological weapons to wipe out black people, the Mpumalanga High Court heard.

“He sought to justify his beliefs on religious grounds, claiming that God had ordained that he should reclaim South Africa for white people,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Monica Nyuswa.

In total, Knoesen has been handed two life sentences plus 21 years behind bars for terrorism-related offences.

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Ugandan Leader Rules Out Lockdown Over Ebola

 Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has said that there is no need to impose restrictions in Ebola hotspots in the central region because the viral disease is not airborne.

Ebola is spread through contact with an infected person or infected surfaces and human waste.

The association of medical workers in the country had previously called for the affected region to be put under quarantine to stop further spread of the haemorrhagic fever.

Mr Museveni said his government had the capacity to control the epidemic due to previous experience with similar outbreaks. This is the fourth time Ebola has broken out in Uganda.

He said that health experts who had previously dealt with Ebola outbreaks had been deployed to the affected region.

It is currently taking 24 hours for samples to be tested and laboratory results to be released.

The president said the government would set up a laboratory at Mubende district headquarters, the epicentre of the outbreak, to quicken the sample processing.

Six medical workers who treated the 24-year-old man who was later identified as the first case, have tested positive for Ebola.

A total of 24 people have been confirmed to be infected by the virus in the country, five of whom have died since the outbreak was declared last week.

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Angola creates conditions for higher education distance learning implementation

 Luanda - The Secretary of State for Higher Education, Eugénio da Silva, said Wednesday in Luanda that the country's higher education institutions are creating conditions for the implementation of distance and semi-distance learning systems.

The minister made the statement to the press on the sidelines of the opening of the distance learning teacher training that brought together 57 professionals, in an initiative of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science Technology and Innovation, in partnership with the Higher Education Support Program (UNI-AO).

 

Angolan universities are not yet prepared for this new paradigm, the minister said, underscoring that these education institutions recognise  the need to adhere to this system that, when implemented, will coexist with the presencial learning  system.

 

The Secretary of State suggested the possibility of starting distance and semi-distance learning in the 2022/2023 academic year, as long as universities create conditions for its implementation with the aim to train masters and doctors in Angola.

 

Mr Silva pointed out as an advantage of the new teaching system the possibility of direct monitoring of the students, without their physical presence in classrooms.

 

"We are working so that the internet signal and its availability may effectively favour the development of this type of training initiatives, be it distance or semi-distance learning", Silva stressed.

 

The State Secretary also spoke of the importance of upgrading the teachers and provide technical support to higher education institutions to reach the desired transformation of education in Angola.

 

The course aims to train specialists from the provinces of Huambo, Benguela, Kwanza Sul, Bengo, Huila and Luanda and is being funded by the European Union.

Angola seeking parliamentary cooperation with Portugal

 Luanda – Angolan speaker of National Assembly (Parliament) Carolina Cerqueira Wednesday expressed the country’s availability to keep the cooperation with Portugal in the Parliamentary field, based on a permanent consultation.

The stance was expressed during a telephone conversation with the Portuguese counterpart, Augusto Santos Silva, said a press note from the National Assembly released Wednesday.

As for the cooperation between the Parliaments, the document defended harmony with geopolitical priorities and global challenges.

The speaker said that the challenges require the Parliaments’ commitment to peace and sustainable development for the good of the nations around the world.

 Portuguese Parliament speaker congratulates Angolan counterpart

In turn, the speaker of the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament), Augusto Santos Silva, congratulated his Angolan counterpart Carolina Cerqueira, on her election for the top job in the Law House.

Augusto Santos Silva underlined the fact of the speaker to be the first woman to hold the position, and stressed the female progress in Angola, where they hold prominent positions in the legislative, judicial and executive powers".

During the dialogue, Augusto Santos Silva invited his Angolan counterpart to pay official visit to the Portuguese Parliament, having reaffirmed his readiness to carry on the institutional cooperation.

He added that he expects the strengthening of relations between the law houses of the two countries in the parliamentary domains and in training and exchange areas.

He stressed the importance of strengthening the role of the Parliaments of the countries of the Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) aimed to preserve peace and strengthening of democracy.

Angola and Brazil strengthen cooperation in hydrocarbons

 Luanda- Angola’s National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) and the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) signed Wednesday a cooperation agreement on programmes for the regulation and supervision of the exploration, development and production activities.

According to a statement issued by the ANPG, the   agreement was signed during the Rio Oil & Gas Conference being held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), by the ANPG CEO, Paulino Jerónimo, and the ANP general manager, Rodolfo Henrique de Saboia.

 

The five-year duration agreement aims to establish technical promotion cooperation for the strengthening of the oil and gas industry, transfer of knowledge related to technical standards and good practices of the oil industry, the statement says.

 

"One of the points we want to strengthen is our regulatory framework. We want to gain this experience that the ANP has.

 

The relationship between Angola and Brazil is transcendental, and this agreement reinforces the commitment between the governments to cement the relationship in the field of hydrocarbons", the Angolan official said.

 

Rodolfo de Saboia, on his turn, highlighted the brotherhood relationship between the two peoples, underscoring that the agreement transcends the interest of both countries in the exploration of their natural resources and hydrocarbons.

 

"Brazil and Angola have a common past, a close culture with the same origin, and a very close feeling of brotherhood. The cooperation extends beyond these economic activities but it is in this that we hope to achieve an even greater proximity between the two countries, with that mutual exchange of experience and knowledge that each of the countries can offer", Saboia said.

 

The cooperation will be carried out through periodic exchange of information and experiences, conducting of studies and joint research and the  training and qualification of human resources.

 

ANPG is participating in Rio Oil & Gas being held from September 26 to 29, with a delegation headed by the agency’s CEO and other senior staff with the aim to promote the Angolan oil potential.

 

Angola and Brazil have maintained diplomatic and political relations since Angola's independence and, which enable both countries to have currently 70 cooperation projects in the scope of the two nation’s  strategic partnership.

 

Brazil was the first country to recognize the Republic of Angola after the proclamation of independence, on November 11, 1975.