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Petro de Luanda beat Thursday Al Alhy of Egypt 91-90 in the fifth and last round match of the preliminary stage of the African Basketball League (BAL).
The victory allows the Angolan side to rank first, with 10 points, and take the lead of the series in the final phase of the competition, scheduled for
21- 28, 2023 in Rwanda.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
The President of the Republic of Angola João Lourenço Friday appealed to Angolans to continue to promote peace at home, on the road and in any social environment.
“Today, Friday, is the beginning of another weekend. I call on each of us to continue to be promoters of peace at home, on the road and in any social environment”, states João Lourenço on his Facebook account, ahead of the International Firefighters Day, celebrated on May 4.
“I express a word of appreciation for firefighters around the world, especially in my country, ahead of their (international) day celebrated on May 4”, he added.
“I therefore request you to pursue your work of saving lives in trouble”, concluded the Angolan Statesman.
Firefighters Day was created in 1999 after 5 firefighters died tragically during a wildfire in Australia when the direction of the wind changed suddenly and engulfed them in flames.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
Seychelles is consolidating its presence in the island nation and has announced a change in the platform’s chairpersonship locally in a half-day seminar on Thursday.
WiLAT Seychelles is part of WiLAT, an international platform that brings together over 3,200 members in 38 countries. Launched in June 2003, WiLAT promotes the logistics and transport industry to female members as well as encourages and supports their career development.
The platform also seeks to provide more women with training and international professional networking opportunities in the logistics and transport field.
The new chairperson of the Seychelles WiLAT Chapter, Estelle Alexis, was announced during the seminar. She shared with the press that it was important to consolidate the Chapter during the event.
“WiLAT Seychelles was launched in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. As the launch took place virtually, it didn’t have the impact that we wanted. Today, we recognise this and as such we want to consolidate the presence of WiLAT in Seychelles as well as in the Indian Ocean,” explained Alexis.
She added that the seminar saw the participation of women in the field “as we want them to spread the word about WiLAT, making its existence known.”
Participants got the chance to learn more about the organisation, learn about its purpose and join as a member in the future. Attendees heard presentations on the spread of WiLAT globally, how the platform is engaging and empowering women in the Indian Ocean region as well as how the platform is developing effective leadership skills for women in the sector.
Some of the key speakers were WiLAT’s global chairperson, Gayani De Alwis, the global vice chairperson of the Indian Ocean Islands at CMILT, Nazeema Seelarbokus, and the area director at Ace Speakers Toastmakers Club, Amita Dahoo.
Any women in the field of logistics and transports, be it female employees or members of the Seychelles Port Authority, Land Marine, Seaward, Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), Air Seychelles, Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC), the Seychelles Taxi Association, driving instructors, among others, can join WiLAT.
“Joining WiLAT allows members to get exposed to many opportunities to undertake capacity building, and boost one’s CV as being a WiLAT member also means being a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, which is an established organisation that exists for many years, through which a person is exposed to many people, opportunities, forums, and training,” said the chairperson.
Talking about her plans for the local Chapter, Alexis shared that after the seminar, she plans to meet with women who want to become WiLAT members so that the first meeting can be organised.
“By doing this, we will be able to discuss ideas of activities that we can carry out, what we need to focus on when it comes to women in the domain of logistics and transports,” she said.
Source: Seychelles News Agency
Seychellois professionals wishing to pursue higher education can now do so through an educational loan scheme already launched and facilitated by the government in collaboration with several local banks.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Odile Vidot, the director general for the Financial Services Development Division in the Department of Finance.
“This educational loan provides an additional option to the traditional access to tertiary education through the Ministry of Education for those who want to develop their skills based on the country’s needs,” explained Vidot.
The scheme, which has already been launched for people aged between 18 to 55 years, is a collaboration between the commercial banks, Seychelles Credit Union, Seychelles Bankers Association, the Central Bank of Seychelles, the Ministry of Finance National Planning and Trade and the Ministry of Education.
The scheme will allow people access to a loan worth a maximum of SCR800,000 ($61,000) with repayment for a maximum of 10 years, starting after the student has graduated.
“An interest subsidy of 4 percent will be provided by the government which will result in interest borne by the borrower being the credit granting institution’s interest rate, less 4 percent,” added Vidot.
The borrowers will also be required to be bonded to Seychelles based on the value of the liability for the government in relation to the subsidised rates.
The chairman of the Seychelles Bankers Association, Philip Moustache, explained that all banks were very receptive to the idea of such a scheme and shared that this scheme will be separate from any current loan a client may have with their bank.
This means that if an individual has already taken out a loan with their bank, they can still qualify for this educational loan.
Vidot explained that not all types of courses will be eligible for access to the loan. A list of eligible areas has been drawn up based on the human resource needs of the country.
Some of these areas of study include medicine, information technology, marine biology, telecommunications, statistics, and law among others.
“The list of priority areas has been drawn up to ensure the scheme caters for sectors in need of qualified personnel and to also ensure all graduates will have job openings in their respected areas,” Vidot said.
Interested persons will have to approach the institutions to commence the application process, after which they will contact the Seychelles Qualification Authority with details of the institutions and course for their verification and approval.
Vidot said there is already a great interest in this scheme and people are requesting more information.
She added that the government is encouraging people to take advantage of this facility for professional growth.
A budget of SCR 8 million ($605,000 ) has been allocated in the 2023 budget for payment of the interest rate subsidy under the scheme.
Source: Seychelles News Agency
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) recommended to the executive, legislative and judicial authorities to “strengthen freedom of expression and press freedom and to stop prosecuting journalists on the basis of Decree-Law No. 54.
It called for a halt to charges relating to state security and terrorism outside the legal framework governing freedom of journalistic work.
In its annual report on the “Reality of press freedom in Tunisia”, published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (3 May), the union called on the Presidency of the Republic to withdraw Decree-Law No. 2022-54 of September 13, 2022, on combating offences relating to information and communication systems “especially as it constitutes a danger to freedom of the press and expression”.
In the report published on Friday, it also called on the presidency of the Republic to “assume its full responsibility and intervene urgently to put an end to this orchestrated and barbaric attack on journalists and the media”, considering that the reconstruction of a new Tunisia cannot be achieved without professional media and a free and independent civil society.
According to the SNJT, there are today electronic militias that constitute a real threat to the freedom of the press, opinion and expression, adding that “a significant number of suspect pages claim to support the project of the President of the Republic”.
The SNJT also called for the strengthening of freedom of expression and the press through legislative initiatives developed within the framework of a participatory approach and to support the efforts of civil society.
For the union, it is necessary not to pass circulars during the transitional period that are likely to undermine rights and freedoms or reduce the gains mentioned in the texts of the law.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Tunisians Abroad, Nabil Ammar, leads the Tunisian delegation participating in the work of the two extraordinary sessions of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, to be held in Cairo on May 7, 2023.
The Arab foreign ministers will discuss developments in the Republic of Sudan, following the recent events in this country. They will also discuss developments in the Syrian Arab Republic, said a statement issued Friday evening by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) stressed that press freedom in Tunisia is undergoing a “dangerous turn”, and a regression at all levels.
In its report published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the union noted that legal proceedings against journalists, legislation hostile to press freedom and policies marking a state of exception are at the root of this regression.
The union sounded the alarm about what it described as “threats to freedom of expression and the press”, a major achievement of the Tunisian Revolution, according to the report.
In the same context, the SNJT mentioned in its report that the previous period was marked by a series of trials of opinion on the basis of Decree-Law No. 54 on the fight against crimes related to information and communication systems.
It pointed out that these prosecutions were largely aimed at journalists on the direct instructions of the Executive, saying that the danger lies in the return to prison sentences in relation to trials of opinion.
The union’s report also criticised the attacks committed with impunity against journalists during their coverage of demonstrations.
It also recorded the return of harassment and police practices against working journalists.
The union also denounced the “campaigns of defamation, intimidation and threats to kill” that journalists face, accusing “electronic militias” belonging to political groups close to the Head of State of being behind these campaigns.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
As part of his visit to London to represent Tunisia at the official coronation ceremonies of King Charles III on May 5-6, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Nabil Ammar had a meeting with members of the Tunisian community in the UK, notably representatives of Tunisian NGOs, researchers, sportsmen and women, professionals from the banking and financial sector, entrepreneurs, students and experts from international organisations based in London.
The valuable role of Tunisian competences was underscored during the meeting, as they contribute to conveying Tunisia’s voice and promoting its image and interests in the UK.
The FM pointed out the importance of the Tunisian expats’ contribution to the achievement of national goals, notably Tunisia’s economic progress.
“They are a source of inspiration for new generations,” he added.
Ammar said in this regard, that Tunisia’s diplomatic and consular representations abroad remain deeply committed to listening to the needs of our diaspora in times of crisis, as was the case during COVID-19, as well as in everyday life.”
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse