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Month: August 2020

Pacific 

First Person: Tourism in Hawaii grounded during pandemic

Village Reporter
Eli Hobbs is the Chief Pilot for Jack Harter Helicopters based on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. He spoke to UN News as part of the International Labour Organization’s photography project “Dignity at Work: The American Experience”. “When Hawaii went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the middle of March, our activities were totally shut down. Obviously, tourists… Read More
Entertainment Lifestyle 

‘Big Brother Naija’: Nigeria’s unlikely public relations campaign?

Village Reporter,
Every new season of Nigeria’s reality TV show, ‘Big Brother Naija’ (BB Naija), comes loaded with controversy. Despite holding five editions since 2006, the show continues to polarise opinion within the continent. Conservatives oppose it as ‘immoral’ and showcasing values that are ‘un-African’. Protagonists celebrate it as good TV material, possessing immense entertainment value. Big Brother Naija is a popular… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Strengthening global cooperation on counter-terrorism must remain a priority during and after pandemic

Global Author
Vladimir Voronkov, Head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the global coronavirus crisis underscored the challenges involved in eliminating terrorism, as he presented the UN Security Council with the latest report on ISIL’s impact on international peace and security.  “This pandemic environment raises several strategic and practical challenges for counter-terrorism, which we discussed during the Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week organized by my Office last month,” he told Council members during video-teleconference briefing.  Since the start of this year, the threat… Read More
Development Health Advice 

One step at a time: UN women’s health agency helping shift dangerous social norms 

Global Author
“As a female traditional leader, my aim is to be a role model within my chiefdom. I want to ensure that we collectively challenge social and traditional norms and practices that negatively affect our women and girls”, said Kawaza, chieftainess of the Chewa people. Leading more than 650 villages with some 100,000 inhabitants, she is one of many traditional and… Read More
Africa Investments 

Fashionomics Africa Webinar Series: Episode 2

Elwin Mandowa,
What: Fashionomics Africa Webinar Series: Episode 2 Who: Gender, Women & Civil Society (AHGC) Department in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) When: Thursday, 3 September 2020: 10.00 -12.00 noon (GMT) Where: Online – Zoom, Sign in on Fashionomics Africa, Click HERE. Registration is free The Gender, Women and Civil Society Department of the African Development Bank Group… Read More
Development Health Advice 

WHO presses for greater investment in global COVID-19 vaccine facility

Global Author
So far, 172 countries are  engaging with the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility, which aims to deliver two billion doses by the end of next year, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists.  Urgent, broadscale commitment & investment from countries is?to achieve the goal of COVAX to bring the pandemic under control by accelerating the development & manufacture of #COVID19 vaccines, & to… Read More
OP-ED Opinions 

A Case Against Blasphemy In Nigeria By Leo Igwe

Elwin Mandowa,
Nigeria’s blasphemy laws have been of focus locally, nationally and internationally following the arrest and detention of Nigerian humanist, Mubarak Bala, the sentencing to death of a Muslim singer, and the imprisonment of a 13-year-old boy for blasphemy in Kano State in Northern Nigeria. It would appear that Muslim theocrats – within the police and the courts – have gone… Read More
Africa 

Imprisoned rights defenders in Egypt at ‘grave risk’ of COVID-19, warn UN experts

Village Reporter
The risks are all the more pronounced during the current pandemic, they said in a news release on Monday, calling on the authorities to facilitate the release of prisoners with pre-existing medical conditions or those detained without sufficient legal basis.  There are few publicly available statistics on COVID-19-related deaths in Egyptian prisons, so the experts rely on independently verified third-party… Read More
OP-ED Opinions 

Pastor RUGA’s Community Policing: Too Little, Too Late, Won’t Fly! By Bayo Oluwasanmi

Elwin Mandowa,
Laolu Akande, media aide to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Pastor RUGA) in a statement issued on behalf of Osinbajo said over N13bn has been approved by the Federal Government to kick start community policing in Nigeria. Arguably, Osinbajo is the most learned member of Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet. Osinbajo has an impressive resume. He earned his LLB degree from… Read More