President of Republic watches Carnival parade

 Luanda – Angolan head of state João Lourenço Monday attended the central parade of the Luanda Carnival.

João Lourenço, who was flanked by the First Lady, Ana Dias Lourenço, and members of the Executive, watched for more than three hours the performance of class A carnival groups.

Members of the Executive, entities linked to the diplomatic corps accredited in the country, national culture and the general population attended the Carnival parade, which also took place in all provinces of the country.

The third and last day of the competitive parades in Luanda had the participation of 13 groups and the honoree of the year, União Café de Angola.

The event returns two years after its suspension, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ukraine war: Biden to frame conflict as battle for democracy

 US President Joe Biden is expected to lay out his view of the war in Ukraine as a battle for democracy during a speech later on Monday. He will make his address in the Polish capital, Warsaw, as part of his three-day visit to the country. It will come hours after Russia’s president accused the West of being responsible for the war.

On Monday, Mr Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine to reaffirm America’s support for Kyiv. The competing speeches by both leaders come days before the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In Warsaw, the US president is expected to stress the vital role the United States has played in galvanising western backing for Ukraine against Russian aggression.

But he will also be looking to shore up support for his policy at home, where some politicians are expressing doubts about the scale of US involvement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his annual state of the nation speech – accusing the West of hypocrisy and of withdrawing from “fundamental agreements”.

“I want to repeat: it is them who are culpable for the war, and we are using force to stop it,” he said to great applause.

Mr Putin also reiterated his unfounded claim that Moscow had been facing a Nazi threat from Ukraine, which he used as justification to launch his “special military operation”.

Ahead of his address, US President Joe Biden will meet Poland’s leader, Andrzej Duda, and other central European allies to discuss bilateral cooperation and to strengthen Nato against aggression.

That’s after the president met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kyiv on Monday – telling a press conference that the US will back Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.

“We have every confidence you’re going to continue to prevail,” he said.

The pair also visited a memorial to soldiers who have died in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces captured parts of the eastern Donbas region.

After the visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of security assistance for Ukraine valued at $450m (£373m), as well as an extra $10m in emergency assistance to maintain Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

A new wave of sanctions against individuals and companies “that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” will also be announced later this week.

The US is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies and has already given billions of dollars in military assistance.

Mr Biden recently announced that the US would send 31 battle tanks and longer-range missiles but has stopped short so far of sending F-16 fighter jets, despite repeated calls for them from Ukraine.

However, Mr Zelensky on Monday said that he had discussed with Joe Biden the possibility of the US sending other weapons.

Source: BBC

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Angola at fifth global summit on patient safety 2023

 Luanda - Angola participates in the 5th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety to take place on 23 – 24 February, 2023 in Montreux, Switzerland.

In a press release sent to ANGOP on Monday, the Permanent Mission of Angola to the United Nations, in Geneva, adds that the event will provide an excellent opportunity to revive and reinforce the joint commitment to the global safety of patients.

The Summit 2023 will follow overarching slogan «Less harm better care – from resolution to implementation».

The event, which did not take place in February 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will also serve to revive the strong momentum created by previous summits, as well as how to bring ministers and experts from around the world together to identify concrete solutions for enhancing patient safety.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), so-called "adverse events" caused by lack of patient safety are among the ten most frequent causes of death and disability worldwide.

The WHO also considers that a significant proportion of adverse events caused by poor patient safety are preventable.

The WHO adds, on the other hand, that considerable progress has been made, worldwide, to promote patient safety, namely with the success of previous ministerial summits or the adoption of the "Global action plan on patient safety, in 2021.

Indeed, despite widespread awareness and widely known measures to enhance patient safety, implementation is often inadequate or even non-existent, so it is recognized that the time has come to start closing this implementation gap.

Carnival 2023: Minister calls for feasibility of cultural activities

 Luanda - Angolan minister of Culture and Tourism Filipe Zau appealed Monday in Luanda for making the cultural activities feasible through tourism, as there is an inseparable relationship.

Filipe Zau launched the appeal at the end of the 44th edition of the Carnival of Luanda, stating that both sectors are crucial, not only good hotels, but the need to create recreational activities to attract interested parties.

As for the issue of financing of the groups, Filipe Zau said that they should not only resort to state participation, calling for the participation of private companies in exchange for publicity.

"It is possible that companies can sponsor the various groups and thus find advantages with the reduction of their taxation", he underlined.

Spain officials quit over trains that were made too wide for tunnels

 Two top Spanish transport officials have resigned over a botched order for new commuter trains that cost nearly €260m ($275m; £230m). The trains could not fit into non-standard tunnels in the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria.

The head of Spain’s rail operator Renfe, Isaías Táboas, and the secretary of state for transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera, have now left their roles.  The design fault was made public earlier this month.

The Spanish government says the mistake was spotted early enough to avoid financial loss. However the region of Cantabria has demanded compensation.

Renfe ordered the trains in 2020 but the following year manufacturer CAF realised that the dimensions it had been given for the trains were inaccurate and stopped construction.

The rail network in northern Spain was built in the 19th Century and has tunnels under the mountainous landscape that do not match standard modern tunnel dimensions.

The mistake means the trains will be delivered in 2026, two years late.

Renfe and infrastructure operator Adif have launched a joint investigation to find out how the error could have happened. Earlier this month, Spain’s transport ministry fired a Renfe manager and Adif’s head of track technology over the blunder.

Source: BBC

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DPS International Ghana To Launch Their First Student Satellite In Germany

 Ghana-based DPS International School will launch its first Student Satellite in Germany later this year. DPS International has collaborated with Navars Edutech’s global StudentSat contest for 500 students to participate in the program. This partnership enables DPS International to become Ghana’s first school to participate in the student satellite launch in Germany later this year.

Navars Edutech is a leading Astronomy & Space education company with a primary focus to drive awareness and education through engagement and innovation by offering real-life experience through live content, software tools, hardware kits, and experiences among K12 students.

In addition to StudentSat, Chairman of DPS International, Mukesh Thakwani also plans to setup a state of art Astronomy & Space Lab this year, which will help students to go through structured progressive learning across astronomy, space and aerospace with interactive models and STEM Space DIY kits. With this strategic collaboration, DPS International is accelerating the Space ecosystem among students through design, development & research in the plethora of satellite, launch vehicles, software programming, image and data analytics.

“Navars is excited to partner with DPS International to bring the StudentSat competition to Ghana. Learning these advanced technologies will empower students to apply their knowledge and skills at an early age and inspire them to become the next generation Astronomers and Space Engineers.” Says Dinesh Prasad, Co-founder & Director, Navars Edutech.”

“We are committed to bring next generation technology and education to our students of Ghana. This will transform Ghana’s STEM Space education program and establish new opportunities for the students from the school level to align their future studies and career aspirations,” says Mukesh Thakwani, Chairman, DPS International.

“Our partnership with Navars will bring Space awareness, education & activities much closer to students, a true democratisation of space,” says Dr. Seema V. Nair, Principal, DPS International. We are excited to introduce experiential education through our Space lab and participation of our students in Global Space competitions.

About Navars Edutech:

Navars Edutech is an Astronomy & Space Education Startup started in Oct 2019, offering comprehensive space education in schools. Navars Edutech comprises a dynamic mix of intellectual professionals, managerial team, subject-matter experts, and Astronomy and Space researchers.

About DPS International, Ghana:

DPSI Ghana commenced in the year 2010 by Mr.Mukesh Thakwani, aiming for quality education and learning for excellence, providing holistic, modern and comprehensive education beginning from Creche class – A level integrating technology driven classroom. With ‘Service before Self’ as the motto, DPSI Tema caters to the needs of the children of Ghana and its neighbouring countries like Europe etc.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

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Three Dead, 600 Injured After New Quake Hits Turkey

 Three people have died after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday, weeks after a deadly quake devastated the region.

More than 680 people have been injured in Turkey and Syria.

Turkey’s disaster and emergency agency Afad said the tremor occurred at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT), followed by dozens of aftershocks.
A 7.8-magnitude quake struck the same area on 6 February, killing more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

Those killed by Monday’s tremor were found in Antakya, Defne, and Samandagi, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, urging people not to enter potentially dangerous buildings.
Mr Soylu said 213 people had been injured in Turkey.

Witnesses told the Reuters news agency there had been further damage to buildings in Antakya, while the mayor of Hatay, in southern Turkey, said people were trapped under rubble.
“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” Muna al-Omar, a local resident, told Reuters, crying as she held her seven-year-old son. She was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the latest earthquake hit, she said.

Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since the 6 February earthquake, but the BBC’s team in the region said the latest tremor felt much stronger than previous ones.

Source: BBC

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