July 29, 2022

Syinix Launches World First Machine that can cook Africa Staple Food: Banku, FUFU etc.

ACCRA, Ghana, July 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — According to the study, 83% of African eat a variety of Swallow foods (such as Banku, fufu,etc.) as their staple food. For most of African, however, making swallow food is a difficult process, as users have to stir the food throughout, and the whole process is time-consuming as well. Therefore, a full-automatic Swallow Maker that are hands-free is the irresistible trend. On 28^th July, Syinix officially unveiled the world’s first Swallow Maker in Accra, Ghana, creating a new era of fully automated cooking swallow food in Africa.

Swallow Maker

Syinix Managing Director of West Africa Justin said at the launch event:” Welcome to witness this historic moment with Syinix. Swallow Maker is not only the first model for Syinix, but also the world’s first automatic swallow food cooking machine. Both the product concept and the functions of Swallow Maker are unique. It is fully automated, multifunctional, easy to clean and large capacity to bring easy and convenient cooking experience for African families.

Syinix is a high-end home appliance brand of Transsion Holdings, which also owns three major famous mobile phone brands in Africa: Tecno*, Infinix*, Itel*. Syinix has now spread to more than 20 countries in Africa, and it’s features of high quality and innovation , are becoming increasingly competitive and promising in the African market in recent years.
Syinix’s product team visited over 10 African countries and found that some of the swallow food process still involved using mortar and pestle, which requires two people to beat and turn the food constantly. Recently people start using pot and spoons which still requires manual mixing. After discovering these problems, Syinix’s product team eventually developed the world’s first fully automatic swallow maker after more than 2 years hard work.

Full automation:
Swallow maker as a fully automated machine, requires simple operations before delicious food is made. User will only need to pour the ingredients into the machine proportionally, and the rest of the human work is replaced by the machine. Compared to traditional production methods, swallow maker stops users from constantly stirring thus, can spend more time with their families and enjoy life.

Multi-function:
Another function of Swallow maker is that it supports the production of all-purpose swallow food to ensure the taste and eating habits in different parts of Africa.For example, banku , fufu and konkonte in Ghana; eba, pounded yam, amala and semolina in Nigeria, and ugali in Kenya. In addition, Swallow maker supports creative cooking, allowing users to try out more new creative ingredients and recipes.

Large capacity & Easy to clean:
The “Swallow Maker” is a high-capacity device that support preparing meals for a family of four or five, which meets the needs of the majority African families. It’s removable knife set and non-stick coating design makes it convenient to clean up food residue.

Others functions:
Syinix takes full consideration of user needs in the whole process of developing Swallow Maker. The metal pot body and no modified material, as well as the special power operation mechanism, ensures the safe and stable production process of the machine. Other ingenious designs, such as the appearance of the machine, is inspired by traditional African handicrafts, and can effectively prevent it from falling off easily when holding or moving it. Syinix swallow maker successfully got a number of patents and the 2022 German Red Dot Design Award. It also support 13-month warranty period by Syinix’s after-sell service partner Carlcare* that guarantees the whole use experiences.

Purchase channels:
More details, visit Syinix’s official website: https://gh.syinix.com/products/syinix-swallow-maker-worlds-first-one.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868953/Syinix_World_s_First_Swallow_Maker.jpg

July 29, 2022

Report: Facebook Approved Hate Speech Calling for Ethnic Violence in Kenya

Kenyan authorities have called on Facebook to do more to rid the platform of hate speech ahead of the August 9 general election. Rights group Global Witness said the social media company approved hate speech advertisements promoting ethnic violence.

Research has shown how social media has played a destructive role in elections worldwide, enabling parties and individuals to stoke unrest by disseminating hateful speech and misinformation.

Global Witness set out to study whether the biggest social media platform, Facebook, was able to detect hateful and inciteful messages concerning Kenya’s election — and whether Facebook was prepared to deal with the haters and those spreading fear.

In June, Global Witness submitted 10 ads in English and 10 in Swahili that contained hate speech.

The senior adviser of the organization, Jon Lloyd, said the hateful messages were approved.

Lloyd said Global Witness submitted batches of three to four advertisements. The first ads submitted were in Swahili, with the assumption that Facebook would have weaker controls in Swahili than it would in English.

All the Swahili ads were accepted without issue, Lloyd said, often within a few hours. Three English ads were initially rejected for a violation of Facebook’s grammar profanity policy, Lloyd said.

“We were invited to amend the ads and resubmit them,” he said.

Lloyd said they made adjustments to correct the grammar and profanity and the ads were accepted.

In Kenya, Facebook has about 10 million users. As the East African nation prepares to elect a new president on Aug. 9, experts warn there is a real risk of ethnic violence propagated on the platform and the spread of disinformation.

In a statement, Facebook admitted Friday to have missed some hate speech messages because of mistakes by the people and machines the platform relies on.

Facebook also said they have Swahili speakers and technology to help remove harmful content and have invested in people and technology to help ensure safe and secure elections in Kenya.

But Lloyd of Global Witness said it appears Facebook is not capable of dealing with the issues of hate speech that threaten Kenya’s political stability.

Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission, tasked with addressing and minimizing ethnic tensions, said it has seen less in-person hate speech in this year’s campaign compared to past years.

But Danvas Makori, one of the members of the government-funded commission, said the problem has not gone away.

“Hate speech has migrated from political rallies and platforms to social media platforms,” Makori said. “No longer do we see politicians engaging in hate speech in rallies today. They use their proxies, whether bloggers, to conduct and propagate hate speech mostly online.”

Kenya’s previous elections have been characterized by ethnic tensions and violence, most notably the 2007 polls when post-election violence killed more than 1,100 people.

Global Witness is calling on Facebook to take the Kenyan elections seriously and protect users from speech that could cause a repeat of that violence.

Source: Voice of America

July 29, 2022

UN Weekly Roundup: July 17-29, 2022

Anti-UN protests turn deadly in DRC

The acting head of the United Nations mission in eastern Congo said Wednesday that they would carry out a joint investigation with national police into the shooting deaths of three peacekeepers and a dozen Congolese civilians during anti-U.N. protests this week.

UN, DRC to Jointly Investigate Deadly Protests

Iraq calls for Turkish troop withdrawal at UN Security Council

Iraq’s foreign minister took his government’s demands Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council, where he sought the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraqi territory following a deadly strike on a vacation resort that Baghdad has blamed on Turkish forces. Turkey denies carrying out the July 20 strike, accusing a Kurdish terrorist group.

At UN, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Demands Withdrawal of Turkish Forces

Calls for repeal of Hong Kong’s National Security Law

A U.N. monitoring committee called Wednesday for the repeal of Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL), saying it undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people in the territory. The U.N. Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said it is deeply concerned about the overly broad interpretation of the law, which was passed by the National People’s Congress of China without consultation with the people of Hong Kong.

UN Committee Calls for Repeal of Hong Kong National Security Law

In brief

— Following the signing in Istanbul on July 22 of a package deal to get millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to world markets and remove hurdles to Russian exports of fertilizer and grain, the U.N. says the first grain ships are expected to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa in the coming days. A joint coordination center (JCC) has become operational in Istanbul and will oversee the movement of commercial vessels carrying grain through safe lanes in the Black Sea.

— The World Health Organization is urging people who may have been exposed to or at risk of monkeypox to get vaccinated against the disease as a preventive measure. Since it declared monkeypox a global health threat last week, the WHO says the disease has continued to spread around the world, with cases topping 16,000 in at least 75 countries. The monkeypox virus is spread from person to person through close bodily contact. It can cause a range of symptoms, including painful sores. Those at higher risk for the disease or complications include men who have sex with men, women who are pregnant, children and people who are immunocompromised.

— WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned this week that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. He said COVID-19 cases and deaths have been on the rise for the last five weeks. Tedros says new tools must be developed to curb the virus, while public health measures that are known to work must be maintained and strengthened, including vaccinations. The latest WHO report puts the number of confirmed global cases at nearly 566 million, including more than 6.3 million deaths.

— The International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant Thursday for a former Central African Republic government minister who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mahamat Nouradine Adam is accused of committing crimes during his tenure as Minister of Security between March 31 and August 22, 2013, including alleged “acts of savagery” at detention centers in the capital of Bangui. Prosecutors say Adam was involved in torture, persecution, enforced disappearances and cruel treatment of prisoners at these detention centers. Prosecutors say Adam had a prominent role in the Seleka group, which seized power and forced President Francois Bozize to step down from office in 2013. Adam is believed to be moving from country to country within the region.

— The U.N. Security Council on Friday voted to relax a 9-year-old arms embargo imposed on the Central African Republic but stopped short of lifting it as the Bangui government, the African Union and some other regional groups had wanted. The African members of the council – Gabon, Ghana and Kenya – along with Russia and China, abstained in the vote. CAR Foreign Minister Sylvie Baipo-Temon spoke in person at the meeting, saying the embargo is no longer justified. Under the new resolution, the government will be able to get certain weapons, but the sanctions committee must be notified ahead of their delivery. Some non-lethal forms of equipment are no longer prohibited. The embargo is intended to keep weapons out of the hands of rebels, mercenaries and armed groups in the country.

Good news

On Thursday, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. Activists called the adoption “historic” and said it has been 50 years in the making. While General Assembly resolutions are largely symbolic, this one had strong support, with 161 countries voting in favor and none against. U.N. Environment Program chief Inger Andersen said the resolution sends a message that “nobody can take nature, clean air and water, or a stable climate away from us – at least, not without a fight.” UNEP hopes this will encourage governments to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in national legislation and international treaties, as well as give a boost to the work of environmental advocates.

Quote of note

“Anywhere in the world, the act of walking outside your front door is an ordinary part of life. But for many Afghan women, it is an act that is extraordinary. It is an act of resistance.”

— U.N. Women Afghanistan Deputy Country Representative Alison Davidian to reporters on Monday about the challenges women and girls in that country are facing after nearly a year of Taliban rollbacks on their human rights.

What we are watching next week

On Monday, the 10th review conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) gets underway at U.N. headquarters through August 26. The treaty aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and further the goal of nuclear disarmament.

Source: Voice of America

July 29, 2022

Top US Diplomat Travels to Asia, Africa as Global Powers Fight for Influence

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to East Asia and Africa next week seeking to counter the influence of Russia and China in a fight for global influence.

Blinken begins his travels Tuesday on a tour that will take him to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

During his first stop in Cambodia, he will attend a Southeast Asian regional security forum where both the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers are expected to be in attendance.

When asked if Blinken would hold direct meetings with either Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said there were no plans for formal meetings at this time.

During a briefing with reporters about Blinken’s trip, Kritenbrink did not rule out the possibility of an informal conversation between Blinken and Wang on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Cambodia.

Blinken spoke to Lavrov on Friday in the first conversation between the high-level officials since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a U.S. proposal to secure the release of two Americans detained in Russia —professional basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

The State Department said in a statement Friday that Blinken will address the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, Myanmar and the war in Ukraine during the ASEAN ministers meeting.

Kritenbrink said Blinken would urge Asian nations to increase pressure on Myanmar after its government executed four activists this week.

“This is just the latest example of the regime’s brutality,” he said.

While in the Philippines, the secretary’s next stop, Kritenbrink said Blinken would reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the two countries’ mutual defense treaty, which he called “ironclad.”

Blinken then travels to Africa, part of an increased U.S. diplomatic effort in the region that follows Russia’s outreach to the continent.

USAID chief Samantha Power recently visited Kenya and Somalia, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield is planning to travel next month to Ghana and Uganda.

The visit by Blinken is part of the U.S. view that “African countries are geostrategic players and critical partners on the most pressing issues of our day,” according to a State Department release.

Each of the African countries Blinken is visiting — South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda — is a “significant player on the continent and on the globe,” according to Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee.

She told reporters Friday the secretary will deliver a speech on U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa while in South Africa.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to be a major focus during Blinken’s stops in Africa.

Russia’s Lavrov this week wrapped up a tour of four African nations to strengthen ties with the continent and seek support against Western pressure over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Most African nations have remained neutral on the Ukraine war, despite pressure from Washington to condemn Russia’s invasion.

During his visit to the continent, Lavrov praised African nations for their independence.

Climate change will be another important topic during Blinken’s tour of Africa, according to Phee, who said the secretary would press Congo on its plan to reopen its rain forest to commercial logging.

While in Rwanda, Blinken will raise the “wrongful detention” of U.S. permanent resident Paul Rusesabagina, according to the State Department. Rusesabagina’s actions saved hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide and inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda.

“We’ve been very clear with the government of Rwanda about our concerns about his case, his trial and his conviction, particularly the lack of fair trial guarantees in his case,” Phee said.

She said Blinken would also work to ease tensions between Congo and Rwanda. Congo has accused its neighbor of backing M23 rebels, a charge Kigali denies.

Source: Voice of America

July 29, 2022

Children Dying in Ethiopia’s Afar Region Amid Drought and Conflict, Residents Say

As conflict in northern Ethiopia spreads into the Afar region amid lingering drought, some residents are appealing for help, saying they have nothing to eat and that their children are dying. Reporter Henry Wilkins spoke to locals in the town of Erebti and to aid workers who say the Afar regional administration should declare drought as a crisis to get needed assistance.

Aysha Mohammed lives by the side of the road in a makeshift camp on the edge of Erebti in northern Ethiopia’s Afar region. She says members of her family have died of hunger.

Mohammed says there is not enough food and drink, and they do not have enough clothes or blankets, adding, “We expect God first and then the government to help us.”

In November of 2020, the federal government went to war against rebels of the former ruling group, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, in the northern Tigray region. The conflict weakened federal forces and contributed to the ongoing instability in the country. Mohammed is one of more than 5 million people displaced by the conflict.

The conflict disrupted humanitarian aid convoys to Tigray, which borders Afar. There have been concerns that aid destined for Tigray has been stuck in Afar.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a U.S. agency tracking food insecurity, says Tigray could be in a state of famine. Fuel restrictions also make it difficult to distribute food to remote areas.

The Ethiopian government has alleged that TPLF attacks in Afar have compromised the passage of food trucks to Tigray. In recent weeks, however, World Food Program trucks have been able to deliver to Afar and Tigray.

Mohammed has seen aid trucks along the road where she lives, traveling from neighboring Djibouti en route to Tigray.

She says Tigray is getting more help than Afar.

Mohammed says humanitarian aid goes to her enemies, which makes her feel sad, and that they haven’t been given any aid for a whole month. “We notice the aid goes to Tigray while we are hungry,” she says.

The WFP told VOA via email: “WFP delivers food assistance to 650,000 people in Afar — this is as per our mandate requested by the government … we deliver in Erebti … We do not deliver in locations or to people who the government doesn’t request our support for.”

Meanwhile, this reporter visited the graves of people who lived in the makeshift camp in Erebti. They included a child, who was less than a year old. Residents say some people died of starvation. VOA was unable to independently verify the accounts.

A local nonprofit in Afar says difficulties associated with recovery from the conflict with Tigray and the historic drought are combining to create a deadly crisis for the region.

Valerie Browning works with the Afar Pastoralist Development Association.

“From the humanitarian position, we would really implore them to declare a drought, because what we’re doing is very little for the community and very insignificant compared to the need,” said Browning. “So, we’re having to go into a community and choose those who may die in the next two to three weeks and then leave the rest to go downhill.”

The Afar regional administration did not respond to a request for comment on its decision not to declare a drought.

A report by the Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit in Afar says 1.3 million people are in need of food aid.

In a July 26 report, the state-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) called for an intervention in regions affected by the drought and blamed lack of early warning for much of the devastation. The report did not cover the Afar region, however. It only focused on the southern part of the country.

Tarikua Getachew is director of law and policy at the EHRC.

“There are already a number of displaced persons and refugees in the Somali region,” said Getachew. “So, it’s a heavy burden on the region, but also nationwide. We certainly hope that the report will mobilize further attention to it and further action.”

The drought is Ethiopia’s severest since 1981.

Source: Voice of America