Thousands of young Ethiopians have rallied in central Addis Ababa to join the army, part of a recruitment drive across the country to fight rebels in the northern region of Tigray.
The parade in the capital’s Meskel Square for the recruits before they left for training has been broadcast live on Ethiopian Television (ETV), the national broadcaster.
They seem to be aimed at showing support for the government’s military engagement in Tigray as well as encouraging others to enlist, he says.
Those at the venue were waving flags and chanting slogans like: “Don’t touch Ethiopia” and “Long live Ethiopia”, ETV reports.
According to Reuters, women and men in plastic sandals and baseball caps printed with phrases like “Ethiopia is calling” took part in the event, which was also attended by the defence minister and the capital’s mayor.
Community elders were seen blessing the recruits, who gave several reasons for joining up.
One 25-year-old said it was to continue the legacy of his father, an army veteran. Elsewhere it was the lure of paid work that attracted an 18-year-old.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was the former ruling party of Tigray.
It was ousted in November by the army after it fell out with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over his political reforms, though the TPLF’s capture of federal military bases in Tigray was the catalyst for the invasion.
The government withdrew and unilaterally declared a ceasefire, but the rebels say it should be a negotiated cessation of hostilities.
1586 Walter Raleigh brings the 1st tobacco to England from Virginia
1689 Battle of Killicrankie: Jacobite Scottish Highlanders under Viscount Dundee defeat royalist force under General MacKay
1789 US Congress establishes Department of Foreign Affairs now referred to as the State Department
1866 Transatlantic telegraph cable successfully in second attempt comes ashore at Heart’s Content, Newfoundland laid out by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Eastern steamship (1,686 miles long)
1921 Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto
Jul 27 in Film & TV 1940 Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Tex Avery, Bob Givens (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in “Wild Hare”
Jul 27 in Music 1982 Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s musical “Little Shop of Horrors” opens Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in NYC
Jul 27 in Sport 1999 Tony Hawk is the first skateboarder to land a “900”
Do you know this fact about today?Did You Know? 1st Christian missionary in Japan, Jesuit priest Francis Xavier reaches Japan but is not permitted to enter any port until 15 August
Would you believe this fact about today? Queen Elizabeth II opens the 30th Olympics in London, United Kingdom (with some help from 007)
Famous Weddings 1365 Isabella of England marries Enguerrand of Coucy at Windsor
1857 Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I (25) weds princess Charlotte of Belgium (17) in Brussels
1927 British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (39) weds Elizabeth Carver in Chiswick, England
The North East Development Commission has commenced free corrective surgery for 100 women with Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) in Borno.
The Chairman of the commission, Retired Maj.-Gen. Paul Tarfa, said at the launch of the surgery in Maiduguri on Tuesday, that NEDC was concerned about the growing number of women with VVF.
Also known as obstetric fistula, VVF is an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina that results in continuous and unremitting urinary incontinence.
The entity is one of the most distressing complications of gynecologic and obstetric procedures, commonly caused by obstructed labour, early marriage, poverty, and women’s limited control over the use of family resources.
However, VVF can be treated through advanced laparoscopic surgery to give women living with the condition a new lease of life.
The NEDC chairman, therefore, who was represented by a board member of the commission, Hajiya Asmau Muhammed, said the intervention was in collaboration with Borno Government and Fistula Foundation Nigeria.
Tarfa said “statistics indicate that there are about 250,000 women awaiting VVF repair surgery in Nigeria, out of which, only 3,000 are fortunate to be attended to annually.
“12,000 new cases develop every year with a large number coming from the North East due to the insecurity and increased poverty which further hinder access to healthcare.
“The plight of these unfortunate women who experienced obstetric fistula apart from being dejected is a very lonely one.
“It is therefore important that all efforts are made to bring succour to these women to enable them to pick the pieces of their lives, by offering them a new lease for meaningful existence within their respective communities.”
He added that similar intervention would be extended to other North-East states and urged beneficiaries who underwent the surgery to remain fistula-free by making sure they postponed pregnancy and sex at least by one year.
He also advised the beneficiaries to make sure they were delivered of subsequent babies in hospitals by Caesarean Section.
The Managing Director of NEDC, Alhaji Mohammed Alkali, said that the VVF survivors, after recovery, would be given financial support with skills acquisition training to resume their normal lives.
Alkali said the commission had many programmes for women because of its special concern for them.
In their respective remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Mrs. Juliana Bitrus, and the Chief Medical Director, Maiduguri Specialist Hospital, Dr. Laraba Bello, lauded NEDC for the free treatment and urged other organisations to emulate it.
Two of the beneficiaries, Hadiza Ali and Hajiya Zara, narrated how they suffered for years before the intervention came, and thanked the commission for the gesture.
They appealed to Borno State Government to assist them with accommodation, as they have been divorced by their husbands due to their condition, lost their parents to Boko Haram onslaught and have nowhere to stay.
South Africa’s Higher Education and Training Director-General, Gwebinkundla Qonde, has been placed on precautionary suspension, pending a forensic investigation into the National Skills Fund (NSF).
Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, said in a statement that the suspension of the DG is in the wake of a disclaimer audit opinion by the Auditor-General of South Africa.
During a virtual briefing in May, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) told Nzimande that the NSF has been consistently receiving qualified audit outcomes from the AG since the 2015-2019 financial years, and a disclaimer for the 2019/20 financial year.
The committee noted that NSF has a bad history of audit outcomes and the fact that the outcome was worse for 2019/20, indicates that the situation is deteriorating at the NSF.
Nzimande told the committee that there is a process of reviewing he has initiated, which includes, among other things, governance and other critical structures of the NSF.
The Minister said he has appointed a three-person committee to perform the task which is underway, and that all the contracts that are above 1 million rands will be authorised by him, as the fund is being reviewed.
Following the precautionary suspension of Qonde, Nzimande has appointed Department of Science and Innovation, Director General Phil Mjwara, to act as the Director-General of Higher Education and Training, until the conclusion of the investigations and any process that may ensue thereafter.
Mjwara is appointed with immediate effect from 23 July 2021.
The Nigerian government has launched two important manuals on safe food handling across the food supply chain in the country.
The Minister of Health, Dr. E. Osagie Ehanire, who launched the manuals in Abuja, said that the launch was part of the National Policy on Food Safety and Implementation Strategy in Nigeria.
The training manuals are:“Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System: Principles and Techniques; and Requirements for Good Hygiene and Manufacturing Practices along the food supply chain”.
He said that it is significant that food safety stakeholders in Nigeria together developed these first-of-its-kind training manuals, which will be of great value in training farmers, food processors, marketers, and vendors on the need to ensure that food sold, marketed, and consumed is wholesome and meets national and international standards.
“This launch is taking place under the auspices of the Next-Level-Agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose focus is on increasing and improving the quality of health and also non-oil exports, to support economic growth. It can therefore be among the achievements of this administration, in the health and agricultural sectors. The Ministry of Health desires to deliver on the goals of the National Policy on Food Safety and Implementation Strategy and developed the Unified Food Safety Training Manuals, in collaboration with the National Food Safety Management Committee and stakeholders in the food supply chain sector”. Dr Ehanire said.
The minister also said that in 2010, 31 hazard-causing food borne diseases were responsible for over 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths worldwide, hence the need for food safety.
“These Unified Training Manuals are designed to fill a gap in the food safety control system by providing a curriculum on the principles and techniques of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point as well as Good Hygiene and Manufacturing Practices that can be used for training food processing industry employees, farmers, traders, transporters, vendors, and retailers, on the hygienic preparation, processing, and handling of foods, to ensure that food produced in the formal and informal sectors are as safe for consumption as possible. The manuals are designed to be simple and adaptable for trainers to tailor it to the specific needs of various categories of food handlers”. He said.
Dr. Ehanire also said that the Federal Government invested in the production of the manuals and will commence its dissemination and training of trainers soon.
The Minister further stated “I believe, it will ensure that basic principles of food safety reach to the grassroots and reduce the rate of preventable food borne diseases; also Increase consumer confidence in Nigerian foods; and Increase trade advantage for Nigerian foods in international markets, with no fear of rejection.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health. Mr. Abudullahi Mashi said that the ministry being mindful of the fact that Food Safety has become a priority in public health, has been doing everything possible to ensure that wholesome food is accessible for production, consumption and trade.
“The manuals were developed because in Nigeria, and in most developing nations, there is paucity of training materials on Food Safety Management System that can ensure food handlers involved in every segment of the food chain understand the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Hygiene & Manufacturing Practices (GHP/GMP)”. Mr. Mashi said.
Giving a brief on the Unified Food Safety Training Manuals, the Chairman of the National Food Safety Management Committee, Mr. John Atanda, said that they are in line with the continuation of the ongoing implementation of the National Policy on Food Safety & Its Implementation Strategy (NPFSIS).
He said that the manuals would ensure that foods consumed in the formal and informal sector were safe.
“The development of the Unified Training Manuals focused on the need for the micro, small and medium food processes to be trained on food safety management systems. The categories of food handlers targeted for these trainings are: Farmers, Food Processors, Food Service Providers, Food Regulators and Transporters, Wholesalers, Retailers and Exporters of food & Feed produce“. Mr. Atanda said.
He said that the main objective of the manuals is to build an effective Food Safety System in a bid to improve and maintain appropriate Food Safety practices that are in line with international best practices through Human Capacity development in Food Safety system along the food supply chain.
Adding that the specific objectives of the manuals were” Promote continuing education for existing food safety handlers and other stakeholders, Improve skills of relevant stakeholders involved in farming, processing, packaging, storage, transportation and distribution of food and food products at local and international markets, Build capacity of MDAs and Organised Private Sectors (OPS) in the implementation of food safety programmes” He added.
The manuals were compiled by stakeholders; Ministries, Departments and Agencies; the Organised Private Sector (OPS), Development partners and other stakeholders towards ensuring that foods consumed in Nigeria is safe especially in the production of these manuals.
Liverpool is to host the Turner Art Prize for the first time in 15 years.
The renowned event will be held at the Tate Liverpool gallery together with an exhibition exploring connections with Britain’s rural landscapes in 2022.
In 2007, the venue became the first place outside London to present the prize, before it went to other cities including Newcastle, Hull and Margate.
Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson said the event would “shine a global spotlight” on the city.
Tate Britain, which has organised the prize since 1984, awards a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work.
The 2021 Turner Prize nominees are made up of five collectives who have helped to “inspire social change through art”.
High profile winners have previously included Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, Damien Hirst and Steve McQueen.
Since Liverpool’s first ceremony in 2007, every other a year a venue outside Tate Britain presents the prize.
Tate Liverpool director Helen Legg said the award had a “transformational impact on the way people understand contemporary art”.
She added it was “wonderful” the award would be held in the gallery.
A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri has said patient with mental health do not pose danger at workplace, such people must be taking medications for the mental health condition they have.
The mental health advocate, Dr. Kadiri, who is the Medical Director and Psychiatrist-In-Chief at Pinnacle Medical Services, stated in an interview that as long as such patients are taking medications, they do not pose any danger at work.
“There is no danger in employing someone who may have mental health challenges as long as the person is getting constant help and their condition does not pose danger to other people.”
People who suffer from hallucinations, delusions and irrational beliefs may pose risks at their place of work, noting that companies need to have an employee assistance programme to facilitate early detection and treatment of such cases.
“With employee assistance programme service, such conditions can be detected early and treatment started before things escalate,” she added.
The psychiatrist further noted that mental health training should be made mandatory for employers, such training will encourage them to be more aware of and invested in the mental wellbeing of their employees.
“Companies should train managers on what to do if they see signs of emotional distress or substance abuse.
“Use mental health calculators to estimate the prevalence and associated costs of untreated depression and alcohol and substance abuse at your workplace,” she said.
Kadiri encouraged employees to share their mental health struggles with their employers.
She also urged employers and human resources executives to pay attention to employees and take note of any display or appearance that may indicate mental health struggles.
Such signs may include an abnormal appearance, mood swings, erratic behavior, getting easily irritated or having moments of confusion.
Other signs include paranoia about fellow workers, withdrawal from social situations, especially with co-workers and abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other vices.
The London-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund approves Israel’s request to receive damages for the massive tar pollution caused to its beaches, following an oil leak in the Mediterranean Sea in February.
Evidence from an investigation by the Environmental Protection Ministry at the time indicated that the leak took place between February 1 and 2, some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Israel’s shores, and came from a Syrian-owned ship, the Emerald, which, it subsequently emerged, was not insured.
Israel was taken by surprise on February 18 when tar began washing onto its Mediterranean coastline following stormy weather, along with the corpse of a fin whale some 17 meters (55 feet) long.
During the following days, it became clear that beaches from Rosh Hanikra in the far north to Nitzanim in the south had been contaminated and that wildlife had paid a heavy price.
The sale of Mediterranean fish was temporarily suspended and beaches were closed, with the first 17 reopening only on March 7. Thousands of volunteers rallied over many days to help with the cleanup. Officials dealing with marine issues said they could not remember an incident with such a wide geographical spread. The long-term damage to ecosystems still remains to be seen.
The sale of Mediterranean fish was temporarily suspended and beaches were closed, with the first 17 reopening only on March 7. Thousands of volunteers rallied over many days to help with the cleanup. Officials dealing with marine issues said they could not remember an incident with such a wide geographical spread. The long-term damage to ecosystems still remains to be seen.
China’s Sinopec 600028.SS aims to boost its domestic natural gas output to 48 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2025, a nearly 60% rise from 2020, as it looks to cut carbon emissions, a senior company researcher said on Tuesday.
The state oil and gas major has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, relying on producing more gas versus oil in its portfolio and investing in hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
Sinopec will focus on tapping gas resources in the Sichuan basin in the southwest and Erdos in northern China, Zhu Xueqian, a gas specialist with the firm’s Petroleum Exploration and Development Research Institute, told an industry seminar.
The company aims to produce 13 bcm of shale gas from the Sichuan basin by 2025, which would make up nearly 30% of its total gas output, Zhu said.
Sinopec, also one of the country’s top importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), will increase its receiving capacity by expanding existing terminals at Tianjin, Qingdao and Beihai and building new ones in Longkou of Shandong province and Liuhe in Zhejiang, she said.
She did not give a total capacity target for Sinopec but said by 2025 China will operate more than 30 LNG terminals able to handle nearly 200 million tonnes of imported super-chilled gas.
That is more than double the current Chinese total LNG import capacity of 96 million tonnes, as reported by the state-backed Chongqing Oil and Gas Exchange.
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