2022 Elections: Constitutional Court publishes candidate’s definitive lists

 Luanda - The Constitutional Court (TC) published this Saturday the definitive lists of the eight candidates admitted to the August general elections in Angola.

The lists include the candidacies of seven political parties and one coalition, namely MPLA, UNITA, CASA-CE, PRS, FNLA, APN, PHA and P-NJANGO.

According to a source at the TC, the lists are available on the Internet and posted in the windows of the institution, and can be consulted by all citizens.

The announcement follows the conclusion of the analysis of the answers presented by the candidates during the phase of correction of insufficiencies or irregularities that took place from 26 June to 5 July this year.

The TC also verified the regularity of the files and the authenticity of the documents presented, as well as the ineligibility of the candidates.

At the end of the process, the TC shall send the list of accepted candidates to the National Electoral Commission (CNE).

Another copy is sent to the mandataries and, within 48 hours after the publication of the definitive lists, the CNE will draw lots to define the position in which the ballot papers will be placed.

Latin American countries mourn José Eduardo dos Santos' death

 Luanda - Several Latin American countries are mourning the passing away of Angola's former president, José Eduardo dos Santos, on Friday in Barcelona, Spain.

According to a statement issued by the Angolan embassy in Cuba, the Caribbean country mourns the death of former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos, from 6 a.m. local time until midnight Saturday.

According to a decree published in the Granma newspaper, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party and signed by the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz Canel Bermúdez, while this period is in force the national flag will be at half-mast in public buildings and military institutions.

On Twitter, the Cuban statesman regretted the unfortunate event and expressed his condolences to the people and the Angolan Government and to the family of former President José Eduardo dos Santos.

In another message, according to a note from the Angolan embassy in Cuba, addressed to President João Lourenço, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega recalled the moments shared with former President José Eduardo dos Santos.

The Prensa Latina news agency highlights on Saturday that the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, on behalf of his government lamented the death of the former Angolan statesman and highlighted his role in the anti-colonial struggle.

The Venezuelan statesman recalled the brotherhood, friendship and solidarity that José Eduardo dos Santos dedicated to the South American nation, especially, to the historical leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chávez.

"In this terrible time, Venezuela expresses to his family and friends, to the people and to the illustrious Government of the Republic of Angola, its sincere solidarity and heartfelt condolences, before the passing to eternity of this distinguished son of Africa," the document reads.

President increases to seven days national mourning

 Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, changed from five to seven days the period of national mourning for the death of José Eduardo dos Santos.

The measure is contained in a new presidential decree, produced on Friday night, which revokes the previous one that set a five-day national mourning period.

José Eduardo dos Santos came to power in September 1979, following the death of Angola's first president, António Agostinho Neto.

He held the office of President of the Republic for 38 years, until September 2017, when he was succeeded by the current Head of State, João Lourenço.

Besides being President of the Republic, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and President of the MPLA, the party that has ruled the country since the proclamation of national independence on 11 November 1975.

His political record also includes the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and other functions in the State and in MPLA.

He led the process that culminated with the signing of the Peace Accords, on the 4th April 2002, following the death of the then UNITA founding leader, Jonas Savimbi.

Canada hit by massive mobile and internet outage

 Canada's largest mobile and internet provider has suffered a major outage, with bank ATMs and emergency service hotlines affected.

Canada’s largest mobile and internet provider has suffered a major outage, with bank ATMs and emergency service hotlines affected.

Government operations have also been hit by the Rogers Communications issue. The company says it is working rapidly to resolve the nationwide problem.

“We know how important it is for our customers to stay connected,” the company said in a statement. It is not known what caused the outage, which is the second one in 15 months.

Rogers is the mobile carrier of nearly 11 million Canadians, with a stake in everything from hockey to cable television.

Toronto’s police department tweeted that some mobile phone users were having trouble calling the emergency services, despite it remaining “fully operational”.

“If the call connects please stay on the call as long as possible,” the force wrote, adding that people who cannot connect should call back.

Police in Ottawa tweeted: “If your call fails, please try again, or call from a landline or cellphone with another provider.″

The outages have also hit passport offices, courthouses and transit payment systems.

On-call medical employees for the Scarborough Health Network, which operates hospitals in Toronto, have been asked to come into work until the issue is resolved.

In the Quebec province, a Montreal court delayed a trial hearing for disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard after jail officials were unable to connect him to a videoconference system.

In urban areas, people have flocked to cafes and places with functioning Wi-Fi.

“There’s tonnes of people here with their laptops just working away ferociously, the same as they would at home, because they’ve got no service at home,” one Starbucks customer in Toronto told Reuters.

On Friday afternoon, the vice-president of Rogers told CBC that the company was still working to identify the “root cause” of the issue.

“As of now, we don’t have an ETA of when the problem will be fixed,” said Kye Prigg.

“I wouldn’t like to say whether it’s going to be fully online today or not,” he said, also declining to say whether cyberhackers may be to blame.

This is the second major outage to affect Rogers in just over a year. Last April, customers reported intermittent disruptions while trying to access data or place voice calls.

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Marburg virus disease following two fatal cases in the Ashanti Region.

The Ghana Health Service has asked all health workers, especially Regional and Teaching Hospitals to be on the lookout for the outbreak of the Marburg virus disease following two fatal cases in the Ashanti Region.

Health workers are to “exercise a high index of suspicion for persons who may present with bleeding tendencies”, a statement issued by the GHS, signed by its Director-General, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye counseled.

The cases were said to have been recorded in the Adansi North District of Ashanti, and while preliminary investigations have yet to establish a link between the two cases, 34 contacts have been identified and are under quarantine being monitored for the maximum incubation period of 21 days.

The statement said no new cases have been reported since the two samples were taken two weeks ago.

The World Health Organization categorises the Marburg virus disease as a highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%, and is in the same family as the virus that causes the Ebola virus disease.

“Human infection with Marburg virus disease initially results from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies. Once an individual is infected with the virus, Marburg can spread through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids,” according to the WHO.

Below is the statement by the Ghana Health Service.

Source: graphiconline.com

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George Floyd’s Killer Derek Chauvin Bags Additional 21-Year Sentence For Violating Rights

Former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

Chauvin, 46, pleaded guilty to the separate federal civil rights charges in December.

He is already serving a 22-year state prison sentence for the on-duty murder of Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man.

The two sentences will run concurrently and Chauvin will now be moved to a federal prison.

But he will almost certainly spend more time behind bars following the sentencing. His sentence is due to be followed by five years of supervised release.

“George’s life matters,” Mr Floyd’s brother, Philonese, said in court on Thursday as he asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 25 years.

Chauvin, who is white, was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges in Minnesota for kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

The killing – captured on a bystander’s phone camera – sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.

The federal charges against Chauvin included two counts for depriving Mr Floyd of his rights by kneeling on his neck as he was in handcuffs, and by failing to provide medical care during the May 2020 arrest.

As part of the plea agreement, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating the rights of a then-14-year-old boy during another arrest that took place in 2017.

According to the indictment, Chauvin held the boy by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy’s neck and upper back while he was handcuffed and not resisting. Like Mr Floyd, the boy was black.

Prosecutors said that unreleased bodycam footage showed Chauvin kneeling on the boy’s back for 17 minutes while he cried out for his mother.

When Chauvin pleaded guilty, prosecutors asked that he serve his sentence concurrently with his murder sentence. He had been facing life in prison if he were to be convicted at a second criminal trial.

In court on Thursday, his lawyer requested a sentence of 20 years, saying that he showed respect for the legal process during his trial and is not at risk of repeating his offences.

Addressing the court in what is likely to be his last legal hearing for years, Chauvin said that the judge had a difficult decision, given the “politically-charged environment,” and recognised that the court strives for fairness.

Addressing Mr Floyd’s children, some of whom were present in court, Chauvin said that he wishes them “all the best in their life” and that they have “excellent guidance in becoming good adults”. He did not apologise.

“For your actions, you must be held accountable,” Judge Paul Magnuson said before handing down the sentence.

He concluded the 35-minute hearing by wishing Chauvin “the very best in his future”.

 

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World PR Day: Millions Around The World To Celebrate Public Relations On July 16

Millions of Public Relations practitioners across the globe are set to celebrate the second edition of the annual World PR Day to hold on July 16, 2022.

Launched in 2021 to forge a global agenda of enlightening the world about the nobility and misconceptions around PR, World PR Day witnessed participation from thousands of practitioners, organisations, and public observers.

Set aside as a day dedicated to truth, honesty and reputation management in a way that is beneficial to all people across the globe, July 16 also honours Ivy Lee, one of the pioneers of Public Relations practice who was born on the same date 145 years ago.

The second World PR Day will further advance conversations on the topical understanding and outlook of the practice. It will extensively spotlight the strengths, limitations, and potential of the profession, as well as the utilisation of new tools and trends, value propositions, and funding.

BHM Founder and CEO, Ayeni Adekunle, said, “We decided to begin to have tough, largely ignored conversations about PR last year, and we want to show once again how the practice has deeper connotations to how our world functions than it gets credit for.

“It is in our collective interests for the world to continue to understand the role of PR in shaping and inspiring not only businesses or governance across the globe but critical human actions that can make or mar generations to come.”

As part of a three-pronged activity, the 2022 World PR Day will feature #MyPRStory – an inclusive new media activity where every PR professional will be encouraged to share one unforgettable memory from their journey in the PR industry. The stories will help to show the world the many facets of PR practice and how they impact society.

The event will also feature the PR Bible – a crowdsourced repository of PR resources from PR pros across the world.

A Fireside Chat on Twitter Spaces featuring top PR executives across the world to drive conversations and answer questions on trust, truth, and transparency will make up the third frame of the day’s activities.

Alastair McCapra, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR); Francis Ingham, Director General of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA); Nitin Mantri, President, International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO); Rachel Roberts President, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR); Sylvester Chauke, Chief Architect – DNA Brand Architects; Steve Barrett, Editorial Director, PRWeek and Emma Wenani Chief Director, GMA Worldwide, have been confirmed to speak at the event.

PR practitioners and enthusiasts across the globe are encouraged to actively participate in the celebration by hosting formal events, global recognitions, seminars, debates, or workshops and; reading up and learning about PR through CIPR, PRSA or PRCA publications.

Stephen Waddington, a WPRD Committee Advisor and the Managing Partner, Wadds Inc., a professional advisory firm said, “We urge practitioners to drive social conversations by sharing their thoughts about the value, opportunity, relevance, and future of the PR profession on social media or publish blog posts and opinion editorials on their LinkedIn page or company websites.

“Participants can add to the conversations by sharing videos of their PR experience on YouTube or Instagram tagging @wordprday or using the hashtag – WPRD.”

In the first-ever World PR Day celebration, BHM successfully propelled conversations around the world to extol the merit of PR practice. Conversations in the edition centred around the rise of digital communications over the years, the reductive view of PR’s scope of functions, and the common failure of organisations to attribute the results of PR activities to their top line.

BHM also drives the Global Day of Influence – an annual event launched in 2020 to raise awareness about the need to stop the abuse of influence.

The events are part of the international PR firm’s general commitment to continually propagate the appreciation of PR and its impact on the world.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana

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