Kenyan women claim sex abuse in British-owned tea farms

 More than 70 women working on two British-owned tea plantations in Kenya have told the BBC they were forced to have sex by their managers to retain their jobs.

Undercover filming by the BBC caught local bosses pressuring a female worker for sex. The two firms, Unilever and James Finlay and Co, say these managers have now been suspended.

Unilever sold its tea operation in Kenya while the BBC was filming. The new owner said it had launched a full, independent investigation.

One of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s, called the allegations “horrific” and said they had no place in its supply chain.

Source: BBC

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China provinces top list of regions at risk from climate change

 Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei ranked among the areas most vulnerable to rising water levels and extreme weather.

China is home to more than three-quarters of the regions most at risk from climate change, with some of the world’s most important manufacturing centres threatened by extreme weather, according to a new report.

China’s eastern Jiangsu province ranks as the world’s most climate-vulnerable region, followed by Shandong, Hebei and Henan, according to the report released on Monday by climate risk specialists XDI.

In total, China is home to 16 of the world’s 20 most at-risk regions, according to XDI.

“We’re already feeling the significant impacts of weather events around the world, and they will only increase,” XDI Chief Executive Rohan Hamden told reporters.

“Finally, we just want to make sure that every investment decision is made in a climate-resilient way.”

After China, the United States is home to the most at-risk areas, according to XDI.

Florida, which is ranked 10th globally, is the US state most under threat, followed by California and Texas.

Nine areas of India also made the top 50 at-risk regions. Other major economic centres in the top 100 include Argentina’s Buenos Aires, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, and Indonesia’s Jakarta.

In Europe, Germany’s Lower Saxony region is deemed the most vulnerable to climate change. Italy’s Veneto region, which contains the city of Venice, is ranked the fourth most at-risk region in Europe.

XDI’s analysis assessed 2,600 territories globally, modelling damage from 1990 to 2050 based on the “pessimistic” scenario of a 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Researchers said the findings highlight the massive potential economic fallout from climate change and the need for governments to ramp up efforts to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to extreme weather events.

“Folks who are looking to build a factory, establish a supply chain that involves those states and provinces are going to think twice about where they are,” said Karl Mallon, XDI’s head of science and innovation.

Investors may apply “risk pricing” to vulnerable regions or “try and find safer havens”, Mallon said.

“There is a lot to be done to work out which areas in the world are potentially adaptable and defendable, and which are probably the areas we will see abandoned in due course,” he said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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New Mosquito Brings Year-Round Malaria To Kenya

 Kenyan researchers have detected a mosquito native to South Asia that is resistant to insecticides used in Africa.

Experts from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) identified the mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, during a routine surveillance in the northern Marsabit county.

Data from hospitals there also showed an increase in malaria cases – even though it was not the normal season for the disease as local mosquitoes don’t do well in dry areas.

This invasive mosquito can thrive in both dry and rainy seasons and can breed anywhere. In other countries, its larvae have been found in water containers in urban centres.

Experts are concerned that malaria transmission will now continue all year round instead of being seasonal.

“Unfortunately, this detection in Kenya may translate to higher malaria transmission in urban and peri-urban settings in the country and could reverse gains made in the fight against malaria,” said Kemri’s director-general, Dr Samuel Kariuki.

It will also make it difficult to eradicate malaria, which is one of the top killers of children below five years.

The researchers are urging Kenyans to use available malaria control tools such as sleeping under treated mosquito bed nets, use of repellents and wearing long-sleeved clothing to prevent mosquito bites.

In Africa, the mosquito was first detected in Djibouti 10 years ago and has now been spotted in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria.

Source: BBC

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Angolan president carries out diplomatic activities in Addis Ababa

 Addis Ababa - Angolan head of State João Lourenço Sunday (19) morning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reviewed the cooperation relations with the several African countries.

On the sidelines of the 36th Summit of the African Union, João Lourenço held meetings with the presidents of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa,  Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló, with whom he analysed the mutual cooperation, as well as security and peace in Africa.

The last day of the Angolan president’s scheduled agenda in Ethiopia also features meetings with the President of the African Union Commission, the Chadian Moussa Faki, and with the former President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, who is Champion of the African Union for the Free Trade of the African Continental.

Angolan Head of State also held a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the financial organisation AFRICA 50, Alain Ebobissé, and the minister of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan. DC/VM/ADR

Angola for the first time at CIESART in Madrid

 Luanda - An Angolan delegation participated, for the first time, Saturday, at Casa de Cultura de Torrejón, in Madrid (Spain), at the XIX International Meeting of Poetic, Photographic, Painting, Scenographic Sculpture and Music for Peace (CIESART).

The Angolan delegation, which has been in Madrid since Saturday to fulfill the two-day agenda, is made up of Egna Alegre de Sousa and Maria de Fátima Moniz, members of CIESART.

The XIX CIESART International Meeting is promoted by the International Chamber of Writers and Artists of Spain.

The event, with more than 100 people, was attended by the President General of CIESART, Liliy Baylon, and the President of Madrid, Juanita Amador Bravo, and  responsible for organising this event for Peace in Torrejon, Madrid.

It also featured Deans from various faculties in Spain, Portugal, Ukraine and other European countries, as well as Deans from Peru, Chile, in addition to renowned  academics from the Brazilian Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters (ACILBRAS) and the Virtual Academy of Poets of Portuguese Language (AVPLP), Writers, Poets, Sculptors, Painters and Artists that the organisation highlighted for their social, artistic and academic work carried out in recent years.

The Angolan participants Fátima Moniz and Egna de Sousa were sworn in as Members of CIESART and representatives of the Board of Directors in Angola, where they will carry out the functions of President and Vice-president, respectively.

During the event, the president of CIESART, Liliy Baylon, praised the poets, writers and artists present for their altruism in giving their heart and soul for art and culture to happen and express the highest feeling in human beings, love, contributing in this way for the cultivation of much needed peace in today's world and the interaction between the cultural varieties that enrich the artistic world.

Delivering their speeches, the participants sought to draw attention to the war that devastates Ukraine and appealed for peace in that country and in other parts of the globe, thanking all the members who contributed with donations to the victims of conflicts.

They highlighted the figure of Nelson Mandela as one of the forerunners of peace, dictating his phrases and speeches in the way in which he exposed intelligence at the service of peace.

The Angolan participants highlighted the importance of peace for Angola, which suffered decades of conflict, offering a bust of Queen Ginga to CIESART, remembering the queen of the kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba as a symbol of colonial resistance and oppression of peoples and highlighting her female strengh.

They recommended to the ambassadors of culture to continue working through their artistic works, namely, poetry, sculptures, paintings and music in sharing knowledge and expanding culture among men who foster peace for a world without war for our children. SC

Angolan president returns to country from Ethiopia

 Luanda – Angolan head of State João Lourenço returned to the country Sunday (19), from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he participated in the 36th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU).

At the "4 de Fevereiro" International Airport, the Angolan Head of State, accompanied by the first lady, Ana Dias Lourenço, received welcome greetings from the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, and senior government officials.

In Addis Ababa, President João Lourenço's agenda included intense diplomatic activity on the sidelines of the 36th AU Summit of Heads of State and Government, which took place Saturday and Sunday.

João Lourenço granted audiences  focused, mainly, on addressing issues related to peace in Africa, as well as others on international politics and diplomacy.

The 36th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the AU had as one of the main points on the agenda the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

At the Summit, aspects related to security on the continent and the implementation of Agenda 2063 were highlighted.

This year the Summit took place under the motto "Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area". AL/ADR

Mini-summit reiterates Joint Plan for peace in eastern DRC

 Luanda - The mini-summit on peace and security in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reiterated the need to implement the Joint Plan to resolve the crisis in that region of the DRC.

The meeting was an initiative of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, who chairs the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and is also the African Union (AU)’s mediator in the crisis between Rwanda and the DRC.

The final communiqué reached ANGOP on Sunday, stresses that the Joint Plan for the resolution of the crisis in the east of the DRC is the main instrument for the easing of tensions and the normalizing the political-diplomatic relations between the DRC and the Rwanda.

According to the communiqué, the Joint Plan foresees the cessation of hostilities, in general, and, in particular, of attacks by the M23 against the Armed Forces of the FARDC and MONUSCO, "in strict compliance with the dates set in the decision emerging from the meeting of the Chiefs of Staff of EAC (East African Community)  held in Nairobi", on 9 February 2023.

The Joint Plan also establishes the cantonment and disarmament of the M23, the return of internally displaced people to their areas of origin, such as the return of Congolese refugees in Rwanda to the DRC, as part of the Luanda Roadmap.

The communiqué states that the Heads of State and Government mandated Angola, in collaboration with President Uhuru Kennyatta, a facilitator appointed by the EAC to maintain contact with the leadership of the M23, under the auspices of the President of Burundi and acting EAC, Évariste Ndayishimiye .

The document indicates that the meeting recommended the acceleration of the Demobilisation, Community Reintegration and Stabilisation Programme (P-DDRCS), underway in the DRC.

Finally, the Heads of State and Government reiterated the need to promote internal political and diplomatic dialogue to find a lasting solution to the security crisis throughout the Eastern Region of the DRC.

The mini-summit in Addis Ababa follows the 20th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State of the East African Community, held on February 4, 2023, in Bujumbura, Burundi.

As for the mini-summit held Saturday, in the Ethiopian capital, it was attended by the Presidents from Rwanda Paul Kagame,  the DRC Félix Tshisekedi, Tanzania Samia Hassan and Kenya William Ruto.

The meeting was also attended by the vice presidents of Uganda Jessica Epel,  South Sudan Hussain Akol, both representing their respective Heads of State. AL/ADR