Angola Newswire

Luanda – 2Africa consortium announced Monday (August 16) in Johannesburg (South Africa) the addition of four new branches to the 2Africa cable.

 

The branches will extend the connectivity of the 2Africa to Seychelles, Comoros Islands and Angola and a new mooring point to the South-east of Nigeria.

 

The new connections join the recently announced extension to the Canary Islands.

 

The 2Africa consortium comprises China Mobile International, Facebook (Facebook.com), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC.

 

The world’s major submarine cable project will provide a quicker and trustful Interned service for each country it lands.

 

According to the consortium, the communities that depend on the Internet for services, such education, health and business, will have the economic and social benefits resulting from this added connectivity.

 

In order to launch the new agencies, 2Africa consortium selected the Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN).

 

This will increase the number of landings of the 2Africa to 35 in 26 countries, improving the connectivity within and around Africa.

 

Since the creation of 2Africa cable in Maio 2020, the source added, there were considerable progresses in the planning and preparation for the implantation of the cable, that will come into force by the end of 2023.

 

According to the consortium, most of the research activity of the submarine route has already been completed.

 

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

 

 

UNITED NATIONS, New York – In a year that has seen a global onslaught of catastrophic heat waves, wildfires, floods and drought, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest assessment report, released last week, serves as an undeniable exclamation point. The report, by 234 authors from 66 countries citing 14,000 references, portends more frequent and severe extreme weather events that trace back to human behaviour.

No one escapes the harrowing, heartbreaking consequences of climate change, and the number of people needing humanitarian assistance will double by 2030 because of it. (Per OCHA, 235 million require aid this year.) This isn’t a competition on who suffers most when nature responds violently to the abuses perpetrated by mankind. But vulnerable and marginalized groups like women – who make up the majority of the global poor and whose livelihoods are largely dependent on natural resources among other risk factors – are exposed to particular calamities. According to UNDP, women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die in a disaster.

Below, five more ways climate change afflicts women and girls. Climate change can:

1. …lead to more gender-based violence.

Women and girls, who bear primary responsibility for collecting water and firewood for fuel, have to walk further in their search for scarce resources. When populations are displaced due to climate change (think drought in Somalia and Angola), women and girls face increased risk of gender-based violence at refugee or internally displaced persons camps. Again, in looking for resources to run households, they walk unfamiliar territory, increasing their vulnerability.

UNFPA found sex trafficking spiked after cyclones and typhoons in the Asia-Pacific region and intimate partner violence rose during drought in East Africa, tropical storms in Latin America and similar extreme weather events in the Arab States region.

And according to UNDP, rates of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and female genital mutilation grew during extended periods of drought in Uganda. Violence against women increased in Pakistan after floods and in Bangladesh after cyclones. Developed countries are not immune.

2. …contribute to a rise in child marriages.

Weather extremes destroy livelihoods and exacerbate poverty. This can incentivize families to marry off young daughters so there’s one less mouth to feed, in exchange for a bride price or because they believe they are improving a girl’s chances at a future. Whatever the motivation, upticks in early marriage have been seen in such countries affected by climate disaster as Malawi, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Mozambique, among others.

**3. …lead to stillbirth… **

Research indicates that “a 1 degree Celsius increase during the week preceding delivery was associated with 6 per cent increase in risk during the warm season (May–September) that translates to about four additional stillbirths per 10,000 births.” Greater investigation is warranted, but evidence points to a connection between extreme heat and negative birth outcomes.

4. …and worsen other maternal and neonatal outcomes

For example, vector-borne illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever have been linked to miscarriage, premature birth and anaemia. Rising temperatures are lengthening the seasons when mosquitoes, which spread these illnesses, are active, and wet environments encourage their breeding. Climate change can also increase the spread of vector-borne diseases like Zika virus, which in pregnant women can cause severe birth defects like microcephaly (small head due to a brain abnormality).

5. …disrupt sexual and reproductive health and limit access to contraception

As COVID-19 has shown, emergencies divert health-care resources toward fighting the latest threat and away from services deemed less essential. Emergencies due to climate change will become more frequent, meaning sexual and reproductive health and rights services may be among the first to be curtailed.

But even if sexual and reproductive health and rights services continue, displaced women and girls often lose access to them, which can result in more unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. They can also lose access in other ways, as when Cyclone Idai struck Malawi in 2019. “Many parts of Mangochi district were submerged in water,” said Treazer Masauli, senior health surveillance assistant at Mangochi district hospital. “We had to use a helicopter to reach areas that were not accessible by road to provide sexual and reproductive health services, such as condoms, as a family planning method and for prevention of HIV and STIs, as well as peer education and HIV-related services.”

More than 20,000 women of reproductive age in Mozambique risked unwanted pregnancy when they went without access to contraception in the wake of Cyclone Eloise in January. And after Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras in 2020, an estimated 180,000 women of reproductive age could not access family planning.

Failed crops due to climate change can also affect sexual and reproductive health. A study found that after shocks like food insecurity, Tanzanian women who worked in agriculture turned to transactional sex to survive, which contributed to higher rates of HIV/AIDS infection.

The world must recognize that sexual and reproductive health and rights are a climate issue, and that women need to be part of climate policymaking. When they are, the planet is better off in such areas as lower carbon footprints and greater protected lands. And when the planet is better off, everyone is better off.

 

Source: United Nations Population Fund

GENEVA – United Nations agencies say they intend to stay in Afghanistan to provide aid to millions of Afghans facing the impending fall of the country to Taliban insurgents.

United Nations agencies are pledging to remain in Afghanistan as urban areas, especially the capital, Kabul, are overflowing with people who have fled Taliban offensives in rural parts of the country.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says the U.N. has been in Afghanistan uninterrupted for the last 70 years and it is still there. He says the U.N. is concerned about the safety of its international and national staff and is closely monitoring events to ensure they are protected.

“Of course, it is a very volatile, fluid, rapidly changing situation,” he said. “But we are staying where we are. We have all intentions to stay and deliver for the Afghan people. The deal that we have in Afghanistan is with the Afghan people, with the civilians. And we are there to stay and help them.”

The United Nations has 720 staff assigned to Afghanistan. About 300 U.N. staff members are on the ground in the country. The rest are working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. OCHA coordinates much of the humanitarian assistance that has been provided by 156 U.N. and nongovernmental agencies to 8 million Afghans this year.

Laerke says there has been a surge of displacement since May. This coincides with the accelerated withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan. Before the exodus began, he says 21,000 displaced people were recorded in Kabul.

Now, he says thousands more people are rushing into the capital. He says most have no place to sleep and the delivery of aid is becoming more difficult. He says missions are being conducted to assess the needs.

“As humanitarians, we will engage with anyone including the Taliban if it pertains to accessing people in need and if that… is based fully and firmly on the core humanitarian principles of complete neutrality, impartiality, and independence of delivery,” he said.

The U.N. refugee agency, one of the agencies working in Afghanistan, has assessed the needs of nearly 400,000 people who have become newly uprooted this year. The agency is providing food, shelter, hygiene, and other aid.

The World Food Program reports it is increasing food assistance programs to reach 9 million acutely hungry people through December.

The World Health Organization reports violence induced trauma is a major public health concern. Consequently, it says it is supporting trauma care in 130 facilities. It says it also is supporting blood banks and training health workers on mass-casualty management.

Source: Voice of America

Fred regained its tropical storm status Sunday and is expected to move across the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the Gulf Coast before Tuesday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane center posted tropical storm warnings or watches for the Florida Panhandle and parts of the Alabama coast. And Florda’s Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the Panhandle.

Tropical Storm Fred was 380 kilometers (235 miles) south of Panama City, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, moving north-northwest at 17 kph (10 mph), the hurricane center said.

Grace, however, lost its tropical storm status, and tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Island were canceled. Haiti, which was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Saturday, is under a tropical storm watch, the hurricane center said.

Grace was 560 kilometers (345 miles) east-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, moving west at 25 kph (15 mph).

Whatever their status, forecasters said, Fred and Grace threaten to bring heavy rain and flooding.

Fred is expected to bring 10-20 centimeters (4-8 inches) of rain to the Florida Panhandle. And Grace could bring 7.5-15 centimeters (3-6 inches of rain) to the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through Tuesday.

Source: Voice of America

The Australian state of New South Wales announced a snap lockdown Saturday due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the seven-day, statewide lockdown to begin Saturday evening. Schools will close for at least a week.

“This is literally a war,” Gladys Berejiklian, the state’s premier, said. “The delta strain is diabolical.”

Saturday was the state’s worst day of the pandemic, with 466 new cases and four deaths.

Berejiklian said New South Wales is facing a “dire” situation.

Earlier Saturday, Dr. Danielle McMullen, the Australian Medical Association’s New South Wales president, said in a statement, “We need to treat this virus like it’s everywhere, all the time. … Doctors from across NSW are exhausted and concerned for their community. Our already fragile rural and regional health system will be unable to cope with increases in cases.”

United States

An advisory panel for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously Friday in favor of recommending a third coronavirus vaccine dose to 2.7 million people with weakened immune systems.

The decision comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for extremely immunocompromised individuals, who represent less than 3% of the overall population.

The FDA’s acting commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock, said in a statement late Thursday, “The FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease.”

“Other individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected,” Woodcock said, “and do not need an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine at this time.”

The CDC recommended that vulnerable Americans, including cancer patients, HIV patients and others with immunodeficiencies, get the booster shot after multiple studies showed that it could better protect their immune systems from the virus.

According to the CDC, 40% to 44% of people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 after being vaccinated are immunocompromised.

The governor of Oregon said Friday she is deploying as many as 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals in the state to help health care workers with the demands placed on them by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Kate Brown said the first group of 500 Guard members will be sent out Friday, August 20. Eventually the troops will be sent to 20 hospitals around the state that are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta strain, Brown said.

The Oregon Health Authority said the delta variant of the coronavirus currently comprises 96% of all samples tested.

Oregon reported Friday that there are 733 people in the state’s hospitals with the virus, with 185 in intensive care.

“When our hospitals are full with COVID-19 patients, there may not be room for someone needing care after a car crash, a heart attack, or other emergency situation,” Brown said. “The harsh, and frustrating reality is that the delta variant has changed everything.”

France

Protesters marched in cities throughout France for the fifth consecutive Saturday in opposition to a COVID-19 health pass that is needed to enter restaurants and travel on long-distance trains.

The health pass took effect last week as new infections soared because of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus. In the past week, France has reported more than 146,000 new cases and 358 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Britain

The United Kingdom reported more than 32,500 new daily infections Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins, and 100 deaths.

In the past week, the U.K. reported nearly 199,000 new cases and 634 deaths, Johns Hopkins data showed.

France and the U.K. have similar populations, about 67 million.

Russia

Russia reported Saturday a daily record of 795 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins.

Health officials blamed the increase on the more contagious delta variant.

Officials also reported 21,661 new coronavirus cases Saturday, down from the nation’s record on Christmas Eve of last year, Johns Hopkins said.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said daily hospitalizations in the city had fallen by half since late June. Moscow reported 2,529 new infections on Friday.

Source: Voice of America