Day: January 14, 2023

A single winning ticket for a Mega Millions lottery jackpot of at least $1.35 billion, the second largest jackpot in U.S. history, was sold in Maine, lottery organizers said Saturday.

“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” Ohio Lottery director Pat McDonald, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. “It’s the fourth billion-dollar jackpot in Mega Millions history.”

The winning ticket, which cost $2 and matched all six numbers, was bought at Hometown Gas & Grill convenience store in Lebanon, Maine. The ticket holder, yet to be identified, has the choice of a lump-sum payment of $723.5 million or an annual payout over 30 years.

Most winners go for the lump sum, which comes with a hefty tax bill, according to the Mega Millions website.

The winning numbers for the jackpot were 30, 43, 45, 46 and 61, plus the power ball 14.

“This is a small rural town in southern Maine,” Fred Cotreau, the owner of Hometown Gas & Grill told Reuters. “We do not know yet who the winner is, but we are anxiously awaiting to see if it’s one of our friends.”

The jackpot had been rolling since it was last won Oct. 14, when a $502 million prize was shared by winning tickets in California and Florida. It is the second largest in the 20-year history of the game, topped only by the $1.537 billion won in South Carolina in October 2018.

In addition to the jackpot-winning ticket, 14 tickets matched all five numbers to win the game’s second-tier prize of $1 million. Four were sold in New York, two in California and one each in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold, where the money supports lottery beneficiaries, such as education or public employee pensions, and retailer commissions.

Cotreau stands to receive a substantial bonus for the ticket.

“I don’t know yet, but I’m gonna call my lottery agent first thing Monday morning to find out.”

Source: Voice of America

A new report finds nearly a billion people in the world’s poorer countries are treated for often life-threatening conditions in health care facilities that lack a reliable electricity supply. A joint report by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Renewable Energy Agency, “Energizing Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Health-Care Facilities,” has just been issued.

Health officials say electricity access in health care facilities can make the difference between life and death.

Heather Adair-Rohani is Acting Unit Head, Air Quality, Energy and Health at the World Health Organization. She says it is critical that health care facilities have a reliable, always functioning electricity supply available.

“Imagine going to a health care facility with no lights, with no opportunity to have a baby warmer functioning,” said Adair-Rohani. “To have medical devices functioning and powered all the time. It’s absolutely fundamental that we have this electricity. This is an often-overlooked infrastructure aspect of health care facilities that are desperately needed to continue to provide care to those most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.”

The report finds more than one in 10 health facilities in South Asia and sub-Saharan African countries lack any electricity access. It adds power is unreliable for half of all facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

It notes electricity is needed to power the most basic devices such as lights and refrigeration as well as devices that measure vital signs like heartbeat and blood pressure. It says increasing the electrification of health-care facilities is essential to save lives.

Adair-Rohani adds it is important to maintain these systems once they are installed to ensure their reliability and functionality.

“Reliable decentralized renewable electricity in health care facilities can really ensure the resilience of climate change for health care facilities so that they can provide care in the most dire circumstances and provides emergency preparedness so that yes, indeed, when there is a hurricane or floods or what have you, they still are able to have some form of power to provide emergency care as needed,” said Adair-Rohani.

Authors of the report say healthcare systems and facilities increasingly are affected by the accelerating impacts of climate change. They say decentralized sustainable renewable energy solutions are available. For example, they note solar photovoltaic systems are cost-effective and clean and can be rapidly deployed on site.

The authors say building climate-resilient health care systems can meet the challenges of a changing climate while ensuring the delivery of quality health care services.

Source: Voice of America

Benguela – The president of Toyota in Angola Nuno Borges Friday in Benguela announced plans for the Japanese company to invest in renewable energies and water treatment in the country.

The official was speaking at the end of a few-hour visit by the Executive President of the Toyota Company, Ishiro Kashitani, to the province of Benguela.

According to Nuno Borges, there are already some proposals that did not moved on, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Regarding the visit of the Japanese delegation to the city of Lobito, he said that the Toyota CEO was impressed with the potential of the province, expressing strong interest in the future Refinery, due to its size.

He assured that the process will be analyzed by the Executive President, internally, before making any decision.

As for the fisheries, Nuno Borges said that no decision has been taken yet, adding that both the fishing and packaging have a basic set-up for consumption in the internal market and neighboring countries, due to the limited scale of production.

He said, however, that “Japan is the biggest consumer of tuna in the world and maybe in the future there will be interest”.

Asked about the possibility of Angola having a car assembly plant, Nuno Borges assured that it was premature to address the matter as the market is still equally limited, but he did not rule out the possibility of investing in this area in the future.

During his few hours visit to Benguela, the CEO of Toyota, Ishiro Kashitani, visited the Lobito Refinery and the two largest fisheries in the southern region, located in the municipality of Baía-Farta.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The ruling MPLA party reiterated, Saturday its unconditional support for the political measures guided by the Head of Executive Power, aimed to grant historical and social dignity to Former-Soldiers and Veterans of the Motherland.

The statement from the party’s Political Bureau of the Central Committee, which reached ANGOP, the MPLA recognises the importance of the role played by these veterans in the struggle for national freedom and other armed conflicts, with emphasis on National Independence.

The National Assembly established the 15th of January as the Former-Soldiers and Veteran of the Fatherland’s Day.

The move is meant to honour of the date on which the three national freedom movements, MPLA, FNLA and UNITA, in 1975, sat down at the same table, in Portugal, to discuss the future of Angola, namely the scope of independence.

In its manifesto, it appealed to society to keep alive and updated the historical legacy of the honorees, reflected in the maxim of President António Agostinho Neto, that “the most important thing is to solve the People’s Issues”.

The Angola ruling party defended the social dignity and self-esteem elevation of former combatants and veterans of the country and their respective families, the improvement of living conditions, physical and psychological treatment, education and training and the creation of means of support economic or income.

The Political Bureau urges Angolans to express a sense of pride for the historic mission of all National Heroes, whose action on behalf of the Fatherland resulted in the transformation of Angola into a Democratic State of Law, founded on the strength of its people, with aspirations to be a Nation increasingly open and inclusive.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Abu Dhabi – Angola and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are getting ready to boost bilateral cooperation in the agricultural and migration sectors by signing new agreements.

The new legal instruments are due to be signed in the next few days, according to Angola’s ambassador to the UAE, Albino Malungo, who was speaking to the press Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

The ambassador, who was peaking on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), did not give details of the essence of the two documents.

The diplomat stressed the excellent relations between the two countries, whose bilateral trade involves goods and raw materials such as ornamental rocks, diamonds and oil.

Angola and the UAE already cooperate in the oil and gas, mining, trade and investment, energy, defence, transport, agriculture, fishing, banking, telecommunications and finance and tax sectors.

As for the country’s participation in the meeting of the IRENA Council, Albino Malungo said that Angola has been an active member of the organisation.

“Angola is a member country of this intergovernmental organisation that advocates energy transition. Angola is an active member”, he expressed.

The also permanent representative of Angola to IRENA, said that Angola has been doing its part in the energy transition framework and highlighted the action of the Ministry of Energy and Waters in that process.

The IRENA meeting, which is being held as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, is discussing issues such as the world energy transition.

The IRENA Council is made up of 21 member countries elected for a two-year mandate and answers to the Assembly in which the Ministers of each Member State participate.

Angola joined IRENA on the 26th of January 2009.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Cabinda – The Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces Egídio de Sousa Santos Saturday in Cabinda reiterated the permanent operational and combat preparedness of the troops, amid the world’s risks and threats.

The high ranking officer of the Angolan Armed Forces was addressing a closing ceremony of combat preparation and other manoeuvres of the troops in Military Region Command in Cabinda.

The Chief of Staff described the activity as part of the military’s permanent training system.

He said training was necessary due to risks and threats arising from the current situation in the world, more and more vulnerable, complex and ambiguous.

The Chief of Staff said the manoeuvres aim to prepare the troops to improve combat techniques and tactics, since “life is dynamic and combat techniques are variable”.

To him, the country must equip itself with men and women, who are highly prepared, efficient, daring, with a patriotic spirit, determined and courageous, who will not back down before the enemy.

The Chief of Staff considered the improvement of this process at all levels in FAA a priority, adding that preparedness and training is necessary for each member to ensure their area of responsibility.

In view of the new challenges, due to 2022 fifth general elections, he said FAA, as the moral reserve of the State and the Nation, are called up to preserve territorial integrity and the normal functioning of democratically elected institutions.

The ceremony, which was attended by the governor of Cabinda Mara Quiosa, also gathered FAA generals, admirals, senior officers and other personnel, as well as guests.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The president of the Republic João Lourenço defended the need to increase domestic production of goods and services and, thus, reduce imports.

The recommendation was made at the inauguration ceremony of the members of the Economic and Social Council (CES) on Saturday in Luanda, during which the president called for the need to rely on the private sector to attain this goal.

“It is the private sector that has to produce, although the State cannot exempt itself from its responsibilities”, said the President who guided the members of the Economic and Social Council to help the Executive to find better solutions to the fulfillment of this goal .

The CES is an autonomous body for reflection on matters of macroeconomic, corporate and social speciality, which is available to the President of the Republic, for the purpose of consulting matters of interest to the Executive.

João Lourenço also defended the need for a “prefect marriage” between the Executive and the private sector, so that each one fulfills its part.

“Only in this way, will we manage to increase the domestic production of goods and services and increase the level of the country’s exports, in a more diversified way”, he added.

According to the Holder of Executive Power, the country cannot limit itself to exporting raw materials, such as oil and diamonds, but rather diversify the quality of exported products.

He recalled that the Executive approved some programmes, with emphasis on the increase in grain production, the promotion of livestock and the transformation of meat for consumption, which will reduce imports of this good.

In this regard, he recommended greater investment in the construction of more slaughterhouses in the country, to ensure that the meat arrives at consumers’ tables in perfect conditions for consumption.

The Head of State also asked the members of the CES to also help the Executive to think of the best solutions to put the wood industry at the service of the country, not only with a view to better protecting forests, but also to create more jobs.

“The furniture industry must be developed. Currently, apart from the production of school desks, little else is done, ”he commented.

In the social chapter, President João Lourenço spoke of the need for better solutions to expand education, teaching, health, sport and culture to all corners of the country, with the construction of more infrastructure.

The CES has 54 members, including recognised specialists in the areas of economic and social sciences, businessmen and managers with renowned national and international experience.

The existence of this body allows the Holder of Executive Power to receive contributions from the scientific, academic, business community, cooperatives and associations that deal with the socio-economic development of the country.

Source: Angola Press News Agency