Angola, Japan sign reciprocal investment protection agreement

 Luanda - Governments of Angola and Japan sign Wednesday in Luanda an agreement for the reciprocal liberalisation, promotion and protection of investments.

In the presence of President João Lourenço and Japanese minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Nishimura Yasutoshi, the Angolan minister of Foreign Affairs Téte António and Japanese ambassador to Angola Suzuki Toru signed the deal.

The signing ceremony of the agreement was preceded by an audience that the Head of State granted to the Japanese minister, who is on a three-day visit to Angola.

The Japanese official said that the agreement follows the state visit that President João Lourenço made to Japan in March this year.

Nishimura Yasutoshi, who is accompanied by 26 businessmen from various fields, said that there was already remarkable cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, with emphasis on the port of Namibe and staff training.

He said he hoped that the agreement would actually stimulate Japanese investment in Angola, with a view to Angola's economic diversification.

Angola’s minister of Foreign Affairs Téte António said that it took about ten years of negotiations to sign the agreement for the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments.

He stated that the Angolan President's trip to Japan fostered a climate of trust among Japanese authorities and business circles. JFS/AL/TED/NIC

43rd Summit motto gets SADC Committee’s nod

 Luanda - The Standing Committee of Senior Officials of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Wednesday gave their consent to the motto of the 43rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the regional organisation,  scheduled for August 17, 2023 in Luanda, Angola.

Summit’s spokesperson Jorge Cardoso said the motto “Human and Financial Capital: Main factors for the sustainable industrialisation of SADC” has an underlying strategy and an action plan.

Working together with the Secretariat and the Angola’s commitment, as the chair of organization, will ensure its full implementation.

He also took stock of the implementation of the motto of the previous summit (42nd), under  Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presidency, which allowed the committee to assess the activities carried out in the region in that period.

The first session of the preparatory committee, on matters to be taken to the Council of Ministers meeting on 13-14 August, focused on the issues such as cooperation with international partners, with stress to the European Union (EU), Germany and the United States.

Jorge Cardoso also announced plans for a cooperation agreement with the US, whose meeting (SADC and US) will be held soon, under the presidency of Angola.

The event (SADC-US) will take place, in addition to the existing cooperation agreement with the EU 2021/2027.

The meeting of senior officials, which takes place behind closed doors, analyses matters related to the legal instruments of cooperation in the region, the evaluation of the implementation of the SADC restructuring process, as well as the swearing in of the new deputy executive secretary for institutional matters.

For Thursday, the programme features meeting of the SADC Finance Committee. VC/AL/CF/NIC

 

Angolan embassy discourages travel to Cape Town

 Luanda - The Embassy of Angola in South Africa advises national citizens against traveling to Cape Town, while the disturbances resulting from the taxi drivers' strike in that city last.

The diplomatic representation advises Angolans in Cape Town to stay in areas far from the epicenter of the violence, not to cross roadblocks and to use alternative forms of public transport, according to a press note sent to ANGOP.

The Embassy of Angola stresses the need for the Angolan community residing in the city to remain vigilant and observe the security measures established by the South African authorities.

It informs that it is attentive to the negotiations between the South African authorities in Cape Town and the National Taxi Council, to put an end to the violence.

Last Monday, city officials in Cape Town, South Africa, expressed concern after a taxi drivers' strike turned violent. 

The taxi drivers took to the streets last Thursday protesting against the seizure of their vehicles by authorities for violations of the road code.

FMA/AL/DOJ

Namibia wants to import energy from Angola

 Luanda - Namibia is interested in importing electricity from Angola to offset its low production, said Wednesday the leader of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Public Administration of that neighbouring country, Hon Natangue Ithete.

The recently released data show that Angola is part of the top 10 in the world ranking of the countries that have contributed most to the generation of energy from hydroelectric plants.

This is a result of the investments made in the Angola’s Laúca Hydroelectric Facility over the last eight years.

In terms of electricity production, the Namibian official said  Angola is very close to reaching 7,000 megawatts, a fact that attracts Namibia’s interest, which believes in establishing a partnership to import electricity from Angola.

Hon Natangue Ithete said that they agree to work together and also strengthen trade with neighbouring countries, taking into account that it will be less costly and will facilitate all trade.

“It is necessary to increasingly strengthen relations between the two countries”, stated the leader, stressing that the peoples of Angola and Namibia have a long history.

He also said that trade exchanges between the two countries are very close to reality, however, with the said meeting, they intend to strengthen and take advantage of the existing potential between the parties.

Hon Ithete said that Angola may intensify imports of beef from Namibia, which may reduce import costs taking into account the geographic proximity.

He invited Angolans to go to Namibia and invest there, thus creating bilateral partnerships that enhance both economies.

During the meeting between the two delegations, with the Angolan one led by the Secretary of State for Industry, Ivan do Prado, topics related to the strategic plan for local participation in Angola's industrial development program were discussed.

 

Likewise, there was an opportunity to exchange experiences regarding the identification of capacities for the implementation of the industrial development program in Angola, risk management associated with the national industrial development program, among other subjects. JAM/PPA/CF/NIC

Kenya: ICC Prosecutor Withdraws From All Kenyan Cases After Odinga’s Conflict of Interest Comment

 Harare — Karim Khan, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), who is at the center of a dispute between Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition and President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza, stepped aside from all Kenya cases at the court in The Hague, The Nation reports.

 

Khan’s office said the recusal decision was made to avoid any potential conflicts of interest “that may be perceived to arise from his former representation of ICC suspects or accused persons”.

The decision was announced a day after Odinga’s coalition criticized Khan for visiting Kenya as the government was preparing its defense about police brutality against protesters.

After Odinga’s camp said that Khan’s trip to Kenya last week might affect their legal case, the prosecutor’s office (OTP) public information section explained that the official was visiting the country in his personal capacity to receive an honorary degree.

“Please note that pursuant to Article 42.7 of the Rome Statute, Mr Karim A.A. Khan KC in his capacity as the Prosecutor of the ICC has recused himself from all Kenya cases before the ICC”, read the ICC communication.

Khan’s visit was described as “not only suspect but also a stain on the credibility of ICC” by Martha Karua, the deputy principal of Azimio.

“ICC prosecutor Karim Khan hosting in Kenya this weekend by Mt Kenya University and it’s founder a friend of his former client William Ruto at a time both the Azimio and Kenya Kwanza regime have written to ICC on the situation in the country, especially the killing spree of unarmed protesters by police is not only suspect but also a blot on the credibility of ICC,” said Karua.

On August 4, Mount Kenya University (MKU) presented Khan with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of justice and humanity. Khan is well-known in Kenya for his involvement in defending then deputy president William Ruto and former radio reporter Joshua Sang when they were accused of crimes against humanity in the wake of the contentious 2007 post-election violence. The court threw out the case in 2016.

Khan assumed the position of ICC prosecutor after the resignation of the Gambian Fatou Bensouda in February 2021.

By Jerry Chifamba

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Senegal Willing To Send Troops To Niger

 Senegal has said it would be prepared to send troops into Niger if regional bloc Ecowas decided to do so.

At the weekend, Ecowas heads of state threatened the use of force if elected President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated by next Sunday. He was overthrown in a military coup last week.
Ecowas has also imposed economic sanctions.

Niger is the fourth country in the region to have experienced a coup since 2020.
Senegal’s Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall told reporters that there had been “one coup too many” in the region, the AFP news agency quotes her as saying.
“Senegalese soldiers, for all these reasons, will go there,” she added.

Meanwhile, thousands of people have demonstrated in Niamey, Niger’s capital, to show their support for the junta.
A coalition of civil society organisations opposed to the French military presence in the country called the protest.
Correspondents say there are also many people in Niger who are opposed to the coup.

Source: BBC

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England beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties to reach World Cup quarter-finals

Dominant Nigeria fall short as England rode their luck and went down to 10 players after Lauren James sent off.

England knocked Nigeria out of the Women’s World Cup in a last-16 penalty shootout with Chloe Kelly scoring the decisive spot-kick, following a 0-0 draw over 120 nerve-jangling minutes.

Beth England, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood also converted for the European champions, who had a player sent off in normal time in the game on Monday.

England played with 10 women through extra time after forward Lauren James, their top scorer with three goals in the group stage, was sent off in the 87th minute for an ill-tempered stamp on the back of Michelle Alonzi after the two went down in a tangled heap.

Fourth-ranked England face either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarter-finals in Sydney on Saturday.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Two dead, over 700,000 left without power as storms batter eastern US

More than 1,700 US flights were cancelled and some 8,000 delayed, the FlightAware website says.

At least two people were killed, hundreds of thousands of premises were left without power and thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed after intense storms lashed much of the eastern United States.

Millions of people on Monday were under severe weather alerts, including tornado watches, as rain, strong winds and hail swept east along nearly the entire eastern seaboard, from Alabama to New York.

The National Weather Service (NWS) had predicted a “moderate risk” of hazardous storms, with gusts up to 80 miles per hour (130kmph).

“Stay weather aware and make sure you have multiple ways to receive warnings,” the NWS in Baltimore and Washington, DC said on social media earlier in the day.

The storms’ spread was massive, with tornado watches and warnings posted across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. The NWS said the area of greatest concern centred in the Washington-Baltimore region.

As much of the severe weather danger subsided into the late evening, some areas faced flood threats as it continued to rain.

Hail as large as 4.5 inches (11.5cm) in diameter was recorded in Virginia, the NWS said.

In Alabama, a 28-year-old man died after being struck by lightning in an industrial park, a local ABC station reported. And in South Carolina, a 15-year-old was killed when he was hit by a falling tree outside his grandparents’ house, according to a local CBS station.

By late Monday, more than 700,000 premises had lost power along the East Coast, according to tracking website Poweroutage.us.

More than 1,700 US flights were cancelled on Monday and some 8,000 delayed as the severe weather loomed, the FlightAware website said.

More than a quarter of the cancellations were at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which was digging out from disruptions caused by Sunday storms.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was rerouting planes around storms heading to the East Coast and warned it would likely start pausing flights in and out of the New York City area, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Charlotte and Atlanta.

In Washington, DC, federal agencies sent employees home early, at 3pm (19:00 GMT), in anticipation of the weather.

The storms came as large parts of the southern United States, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida boiled under excessive heat warnings, with temperatures up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42C) predicted through Tuesday.

Scientists say climate change has amplified the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events around the world.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Malawi Moves to Tackle Rising Cases of Suicide

 Blantyre — Police records show that for the past five years suicide cases in Malawi have jumped from 128 in 2018 to 292 last year.

Police statistics given to VOA show that the current suicide rate is at 11.6 per 100,000 people, higher than the global average of 10.5 per 100,000.

Peter Kalaya, a spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service, said the records show that more youths are committing suicide than older persons.

“And what topped the list are issues to do with disagreement in relationships such as marital problems. Even for young girls who killed themselves — most of the reasons were that of relationship issues for example, failing to accept that a relationship has ended.”

However, Kalaya said other people have killed themselves because of economic problems.

Charles Masulani, a mental health expert, said another contributing factor might be unrealistic parental expectations or negative parenting.

“There are a lot of parents that psychologically stress their children but also serious expectations; the child might be doing well at school but not performing well, the child, to run away from those problems, might also resort to commit suicide,” said Masulani.

A shortage of public mental health care is seen as a contributing factor to the problem.

Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa, has only one public mental hospital, Zomba Mental Hospital, and few privately-owed mental health facilities.

“While facilities are few, our mental health seeking behaviors are quite low because mental health in Malawi is stigmatized. So, let’s say if you are stressed up, for you to go to psychiatric hospital, you fear that people will say ‘Oh, he is mad.’ And the problem is quite huge, especially among men,” Masulani said.

Harry Kawiya, a clinical officer with the Zomba Mental Hospital in the Zomba district, said suicide cases are likely under reported.

“It is very difficult for us to have the actual prevalence rate of suicide because of our laws which take suicide as a crime. So, a lot of suicide [attempts] are happening but people are not reporting because of fear of being arrested,” said Kawiya.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare in Malawi, Pauline Kaude, told VOA that rise in suicide cases is concerning.

Kaude said the government has developed several strategies to cope with the issue. One targets men who she says have faced gender-based violence but have been too shy to voice their problems. They encourage victims to seek support from service providers.

Kalaya says police, through their Victim Support Unit, work to educate people to seek psychosocial solutions whenever they face problems rather than resorting to killing themselves.

By Lameck Masina

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