Day: October 13, 2023

ONIIPA: Oniipa Town Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Heikky Amwele said Council plans to plant trees across the town as part of the Arbor Day celebration.

Amwele on Friday told Nampa that they will be planting various trees including fruit trees.

The day is observed this month to coincide with the onset of the rainy season and is celebrated on the 2nd Friday of October each year.

He stated that tree planting is necessary for human existence and animals if they are to survive.

“The day remind us on the importance of planting trees for the benefit of both humans and animals at large,” he said, adding it also help minimise the effects of greenhouse gases on the environment.

Moreover, Amwele stated that tree planting is vital as trees provide people with shade, food and materials that are used, while some people make a living of having nurseries and selling trees.

This year, the day is being commemorated at Osona village in Okahandja, where the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta will be launching the tree planting season on Saturday.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The finals of the 2023 Ivory Coast TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup of Nations are fast approaching, and Namibia’s senior national football team coach, Collin Benjamin says it is time to start working hard.

The official draw for the 24 African nations took place in Abidjan on Thursday, with Namibia placed in Group E alongside neighbours South Africa, Mali, and Tunisia.

The tournament is scheduled for 13 January to 11 February 2023 and will be held in six venues across the Ivory Coast. Namibia will be based in the northern city of Korhogo.

In an interview with Nampa on Friday, Benjamin said the best 24 teams on the continent now know who they will be facing at the competition, therefore Namibia must prepare well.

“Our group is tough, with three of the best teams in Africa, and we’ll all be fighting for top honours. As a country we should do our part and then let the beauty of the game dictate what will happen,” he added.

To prepare well for this competition, Benjamin is using his time in Ivory Coast to go on a familiarisation tour of the city that will host Namibia. However, he also said they need funding to prepare well and to compete against the best teams.

“The football federation does not have funds, so our hope is now with the government. We don’t know how much they are going to give us, but we need funds as early as possible for us to start preparing,” he said.

Benjamin stated that with the Afcon finals slated for January, his intention is to start preparing right after Christmas, in a similar environment as the one they will compete in.

“We want to do better than we did at the past Afcon finals, and that means we should start preparing early for this competition,” he concluded.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Police at the Lokoja Division in Kogi State, Nigeria are said to have arrested the woman after her son confessed that she was aware of the act.

Local news reported on Friday that the senior brother buried his young one for allegedly stealing his N 1000 equivalent to FCFA 1200.

Reports also said it was at the behest of the mother that the senior brother buried him alive. But he was saved by a good Samaritan. Alerted, neighbors and men of goodwill stormed the place and interrogated the 17-year-old boy.

“My mother said I should punish him, it is my mother who gave the orders,” the boy cried in pain as locals whipped his bother with ropes.

The victim who was extracted from the ground looked pale and battered with a swollen face.

“You are very wicked, you are wicked. Your mother asked you to punish your junior brother like this and you did it. And you said your mother went to Church, what kind of church is that?” a man asked in anger.

Their details were not revealed but in a video that CNA has seen, the victim could be about 8 years old.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Cameroon was on Thursday night’s drawn in Group C alongside powerhouse Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea. The AFCON 2023 shall take place in Cote d’Ivoire next year January 2024.

Before the draws, Cameroon and Senegal set aside Monday, October 16, 2023, for an international friendly, but the news of their pairing in the AFCON left many thinking about a cancellation.

This theory was evoked by the President of the Senegalese Football Federation, Augustin Senghor, who said he was going to discuss with his Cameroonian counterpart, Samuel Eto’o on the matter.

“There was a probability that we would be in the same group, we knew it could happen. We had to schedule matches…I will discuss with the match organizing agency and President Samuel Eto’o to see what adjustments are possible.” he said.

On Friday, the federations agreed to maintain the match, a statement on the social media handle of SFF read.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The UNESCO Inscription of Gedeo Cultural Landscape and Bale Mountains will provide a significant contribution to strengthen the conservation of the sites and promote Ethiopia’s tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism said.

Recalled that UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently granted World Heritage status to the Gedeo Cultural Landscape and Bale Mountains National Park bringing the number of Ethiopia’s UNESCO inscribed World heritages to 11.

Gedeo Cultural Landscape has over 6,000 megalithic stelae with their attractive images for researchers, foreign and local visitors. The heritage also comprises magnificent forests, which has been protected through generations.

Similarly, the Bale Mountains National Park is endowed with several species of plants, mammals, and birds, among which many are endemic to the park. The site is also home to National Park Lakes created in various ways containing wetlands and volcanic remains with spectacular landscape making it one of the ideal tourist destinations.

Communication and Public Relation Director Alemayheu Getachew told ENA the inscription of these two heritages by UNESCO as world heritages is a great opportunity for Ethiopia to promote the tourism industry which is one of the pillars of national economy.

The newly inscribed world heritages will also help the country enhance its ongoing efforts to developing and promoting tourism destinations.

He said the inscription brings a lot of benefits to Ethiopia as it provides international recognition which is instrumental to consolidate country’s effort to sustainably conserve and protect heritages with a view to supporting the economic and social development of the country.

Following the registration, UNESCO will not only carry out protection and conservation activities but also engage in promoting the sites with its various outlets and other mechanisms to the global community.

This in turn helps all stakeholders engaged in the tourism sector and tourists across the globe to easily access information about the heritages so as to visit the country, he added.

Enhanced protection and conservation of the heritages is also vital to attracting foreign tourists which is useful to the livelihood of host community and the overall national economy of the country.

As number of tourists visiting the sites increases, the host community will also be beneficial in terms of job creation other development activities.

The inscription of the sites is also vital to help enhance environmental protection and ecological conservation, he underscored.

Hence, the Director expressed hope that the two sites will become most preferable ideal tourist destinations in Ethiopia due to the international recognition and protection.

Ethiopia leads in Africa with its UNESCO World heritage sites with 11 historical, natural and cultural heritages which reflects the remarkable history and culture of the people of the country.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency