Category: Fashion and lifestyle

The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has expressed his profound sadness upon hearing the news of the passing of South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, State House said on Sunday.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid and human rights activist, died on Sunday at the age of 90.

Ramkalawan paid tribute to the commitment, hard work and courage of Archbishop Tutu in the struggle to end apartheid, the freedom of Nelson Mandela and for stepping forward to ensure peace and stability in South Africa.

“The image of the short black Archbishop with the loudest voice preaching peace and reconciliation got him the Noble Prize together with Nelson Mandela and Frederick De Clerk. His truthfulness and determination in the struggle are qualities that humanity will never forget. He was a personal inspiration in my own struggle,” said Ramkalawan.

Tutu won the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to white minority and a decade later he witnessed the end of the regime

As an Anglican priest, Ramkalawan met Archbishop Tutu together with Archbishop French Chang-Him in Belfast, Ireland, when he was serving as the Provincial Secretary of the Province of the Indian Ocean, which comprises Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles.

The head of state of the island nation in the western Indian Ocean has sent a message of condolences to the family of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on behalf of the people of Seychelles and on his personal name.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Around 100 performing artists will participate in Seychelles’ first telethon on December 18 to raise funds for the children of Seychelles and Madagascar and the artists themselves.

Gilles Lionnet, who is a member of Telethon’s organising committee, told the press on Wednesday that already SCR 400,000 has been raised out of which 80 percent will go to the artists and the remaining will towards the logistics of putting together the show.

A telethon is a long television programme organised to raise funds, especially for a charity.

Dubbed ‘Telethon Solidarite’, the event is being made a reality by Gilles Lionnet, a local singer and music manager, and Patrick Victor, the Ambassador for Culture, in collaboration with the National Arts Council (NAC), the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) and the two local broadcasters – SBC and Telesesel.

Being held under the theme ‘Annou Viv Konman Frer’ (Let us Live Like Brothers), the telethon will be aired on Telesesel, SBC 2 or SBC 3, Youtube and Radiosesel.com on Saturday December 18 from 2 pm to 6 pm local time.

Lionnet said that different invitees will be giving short talks in between pre-recorded and live musical performances on the day. All the songs that will be performed are based around the spirit of sharing, hope for all, solidarity, and Creole joie de vie. A few Christmas songs will also be performed.

The two main aims of the event are to raise funds for local artists whose trade has been greatly affected by the global pandemic and for children in Seychelles and Madagascar.

Lionnet explained that the idea to have a telethon in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, came when he saw a BBC piece about children of Madagascar.

“On the same day, I listened to an open microphone on SBC where the problems that artists were going through during COVID-19 were being discussed and that was also the day I took the decision to approach our partners to organise the event,” he said.

“We chose to do a musical performance with the aim to show solidarity towards artists and we managed to raise funds through businesses. Having established this platform, we went further to make it one that will allow us to raise funds for children. The way we are doing this, the whole community will be raising this fund for the children of Seychelles,” continued Lionnet.

The Secretary General of the Red Cross Society of Seychelles, Marie-May Esparon, told SNA that the telethon is a great initiative.

“We tend to look at people who are being directly impacted by COVID-19, but there are some musicians who haven’t performed even if there are tourists coming into the country. Some do not even know if or when they will perform next. In line with this, we are trying to provide a psycho-social support. The show is psychological support to the artists, where they are able to help each other and themselves so they have a better picture of what to do next,” said Esparon.

During the period leading up to the event and during the event, the public will be able to contribute towards the other aim of the Telethon. People looking to donate only have to send an SMS with the word ‘Telethon’ to 9689 for Airtel clients. A person can send as many SMS as they want from one number, at a cost of SCR10 each.

ABSA Bank Seychelles will double up each text sent to a total of SCR50,000 and 80 percent of the fund raised will go towards the children of Seychelles and 20 percent to those in Madagascar.

Lionnet is planning another such event next year and said that the committee start working as of January 2022 as this will provide people with more time to donate.

“We hope that the telethon remains an annual activity through which each year we can identify a community project for children that we will be able to finance through the telethon. We expect that next time, all artists will be participating on a voluntary basis. We want the next event to be a regional one. I already have artists from Africa and Reunion who are ready to participate for free. I also feel that we need to be more selective rather than looking at the number of artists,” he said.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

More than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC said Wednesday. But she said nearly all of them were only mildly ill.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the data is very limited and the agency is working on a more detailed analysis of what the new mutant form of the coronavirus might hold for the United States.

“What we generally know is the more mutations a variant has, the higher level you need your immunity to be. … We want to make sure we bolster everybody’s immunity. And that’s really what motivated the decision to expand our guidance,” Walensky said, referencing the recent approval of boosters for all adults.

She said “the disease is mild” in almost all of the cases seen so far, with reported symptoms mainly cough, congestion and fatigue. One person was hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, CDC officials said.

Some cases can become increasingly severe as days and weeks pass, and Walensky noted that the data is a very early, first glimpse of U.S. omicron infections. The earliest onset of symptoms of any of the first 40 or so cases was November 15, according to the CDC.

The omicron variant was first identified in South Africa last month and has since been reported in 57 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The first U.S. case was reported on December 1. As of Wednesday afternoon, the CDC had recorded 43 cases in 19 states. Most were young adults. About a third of those patients had traveled internationally.

More than three-quarters of those patients had been vaccinated, and a third had boosters, Walensky said. Boosters take about two weeks to reach full effect, and some of the patients had received their most recent shot within that period, CDC officials said.

Fewer than 1% of the U.S. COVID-19 cases genetically sequenced last week were the omicron variant; the delta variant accounted for more than 99%.

Scientists are trying to better understand how easily it spreads. British officials said Wednesday that they think the omicron variant could become the dominant version of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom in as soon as a month.

The CDC has yet to make any projections on how the variant could affect the course of the pandemic in the U.S. Walensky said officials are gathering data, but many factors could influence how the pandemic evolves.

“When I look to what the future holds, so much of that is definitely about the science, but it’s also about coming together as a community to do things that prevent disease in yourself and one another. And I think a lot of what our future holds depends on how we come together to do that,” she said.

The CDC is also trying to establish whether the omicron variant causes milder — or more severe — illness than other coronavirus types. The finding that nearly all of the cases so far are mild may be a reflection that this first look at U.S. omicron cases captured mainly vaccinated people, who are expected to have milder illnesses, CDC officials said.

Another key question is whether it is better at evading vaccines or the immunity people build from a bout with COVID-19.

This week, scientists in South Africa reported a small laboratory study that found antibodies created by vaccines were not as effective at preventing omicron infections as they were at stopping other versions of the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, vaccine manufacturer Pfizer said that while two doses may not be protective enough to prevent infection, lab tests showed a booster increased levels of virus-fighting antibodies by 25-fold.

Blood samples taken a month after a booster showed people harbored levels of omicron-neutralizing antibodies that were similar to amounts proven protective against earlier variants after two doses, the company said.

Source: Voice of America

With the Indian capital enveloped in a haze of toxic smog, authorities ordered six thermal plants in the city’s vicinity to shut temporarily, closed schools and colleges indefinitely and imposed work-from-home restrictions to control pollution levels that turned severe on several days this month.

A panel of the federal environment ministry has also banned construction activity until the end of the week and barred trucks, except those carrying essential commodities, from entering the city as part of the series of emergency measures.

Environmentalists pointed out that these steps would only marginally mitigate the air pollution crisis that grips New Delhi every winter.

“The emergency action is not a magic bullet that will address the pollution crisis,” said Anumita Rowchowdhury, executive director research and advocacy at New Delhi’s Center for Science and Environment. “It only ensures that it will not worsen the pollution but it will not clean the air.”

The world’s most polluted capital city has recorded levels for dangerous particles known as PM 2.5 that settle deep inside lungs many times higher than the standards set by the World Health Organization.

The haze that covers the city is a mix of fumes, including vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, construction dust, farm fires and fumes caused by the burning of waste in the open. In winter, the pollutants hang over the city due to low wind speeds.

City authorities in Delhi have told the Supreme Court they are considering a weekend lockdown, similar to what was implemented during the pandemic. If so, it would be the first of a kind “pollution” lockdown.

The toxic smog is not restricted to the capital city — skies across much of North India also turn grey at this time of the year leaving millions gasping for air.

But while Delhi has taken some steps to combat the dirty air by shutting down coal-fired power stations and switching most industry and public transport to clean fuel, the same standards have not been imposed by neighboring states, experts point out.

“Air does not respect political boundaries. The time has come to take a regional approach and scale up stringent action in the entire Indo-Gangetic plains,” said Roychowdhury. “For example, Delhi is the only city to have switched industry to natural gas, imposed clean fuel standards for vehicles and shut down coal plants. But the same needs to be done elsewhere. We really need to ramp up our energy transition.”

However, phasing out coal, which still powers 70% of India’s electricity grid, will not be easy. As North India battled its annual air pollution crisis, Indian delegates to the recent climate summit held in Scotland said developing countries were entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.

“How can anyone expect that developing countries can make promises about phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies?” Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav asked at the summit. “Developing countries have still to deal with their development agendas and poverty eradication.”

India and China were blamed for watering down a commitment to phasing out coal at the summit.

But in India, environmentalists said the country’s concerns were genuine. “The dilemma that India faces is, how quickly can it make the transition from coal?” said Chandra Bhushan, who heads the Delhi-based International Forum for Environment. “While coal does contribute to air pollution and climate change, we cannot shut down coal right away and replace it with renewables in a hurry. This is going to be a process.”

Meanwhile, the severe air pollution has led to a public health emergency with many residents in Delhi and other North Indian cities struggling with respiratory problems and doctors warning it is a serious health hazard.

The dirty air kills more than a million people every year in India according to a report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, a U.S. research group.

Source: Voice of America

Seats are once again packed at professional baseball games in South Korea. Just as in pre-pandemic times, fans can drink beer and eat fried chicken. They can clap their hands, stomp their feet, and wave inflatable noisemakers to support their team.

What they are not allowed to do, though, at least not yet, is shout or sing fight songs, a key feature of Korean baseball crowds.

“If you shout a lot, the virus will leak through your mask,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum pleaded with fans on a radio show this week, after crowds were seen as being too vocally supportive of their teams during tense playoff games.

It is a microcosm of how life is going in South Korea: basically, things are returning to normal, but they are not quite there yet.

Although South Korea never locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, it was never fully open either, especially as the country has battled a fourth wave of infections since July.

However, starting this week, the government rolled out the first step of its “living with COVID-19” plan. Bigger crowds can now gather in Seoul. Restaurants and cafes, including those that serve alcohol, are no longer subject to a nighttime curfew. Sports fans have returned to stadiums and arenas.

Barring setbacks, South Korea will phase out all social distancing rules by the end of February, two years after the country experienced one of the world’s first COVID-19 outbreaks.

South Korea’s COVID-19 approach has unquestionably been a success so far. It is one of very few countries to avoid both mass lockdowns and mass deaths.

Now, after outperforming its global peers at nearly every stage of the pandemic, South Korea hopes it can demonstrate how to live with COVID-19.

A cautious opening

For starters, few in South Korea are declaring victory. That is in contrast to countries such as the United States and Britain, where leaders announced independence from the virus and quickly eased social distancing, only to see the delta variant sweep through their populations, killing tens of thousands more in each country.

“The goal here is to set up a system where the government can relax the restrictions, but at the same time has criteria for moving back,” said Jerome Kim, director-general of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul.

There are good reasons for caution. Although over 75% of South Koreans are vaccinated, the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases has not fallen since the fourth wave began.

“We do, I think at this point, have a realization that the vaccines are doing what they’re supposed to do, which is preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death. But they don’t necessarily prevent infection,” Kim said.

Officials have repeatedly warned the opening up could be reversed. And they say some precautions, such as mandatory facemasks, may be around for the foreseeable future.

South Koreans seem receptive. According to a recent poll by Seoul National University, about 49% of South Koreans have mixed feelings about the loosened restrictions. Twenty-seven percent think it will be impossible to ever stop wearing masks, according to a survey by Gallup Korea.

Getting public support

Unlike many countries, South Korea has seen almost no domestic backlash to its pandemic approach.

Businesses largely complied with mandatory curfews. There has been no successful anti-vaccine movement. Virtually everyone wears masks, even when running alone outside on empty paths.

That public buy-in has been at the heart of South Korea’s COVID-19 success, according to public health experts. Not only has it given authorities more anti-pandemic tools, those tools are less coercive and more precise.

For instance, no vaccine mandates have been necessary; about 90% of adults have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Mass lockdowns, too, are unheard of; during the pandemic it has always been possible to go shopping or eat at a restaurant.

Perhaps the most invasive tool is South Korea’s system of contact tracing.

Using cellphone, credit card, and other personal data, authorities can quickly determine where those infected with COVID-19 have gone and who they may have contacted.

The contact tracing only became possible after South Korea’s National Assembly loosened privacy laws following a public outcry over the government’s handling of a deadly 2015 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

“I think there are a number of choices that people here have made in order to have freedom, which is really what it is,” Kim said.

Moving ahead

As South Korea makes the transition toward living with the virus, it will continue to use many of those same tools, which have become a part of daily life.

Customers at every restaurant in Seoul are required to check in either via their phones or on a sign-up sheet at the counter. Temperature checks remain at the entrance of almost every business. Soon, electronic vaccine passes will be required to enter sporting events, concerts, and other large venues.

Some health experts caution that new standards may be necessary for defining COVID-19 success, though.

While many news outlets continue to focus on the number of confirmed daily cases, it will soon be important to pay attention to more meaningful measurements, such as the number of intensive care unit beds available or the number of serious illnesses.

“Even if there are 10,000 confirmed cases, it will still be more important to know the number of serious cases or what the fatality rate is,” said Chun Eun-mi, a respiratory disease specialist at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Seoul.

Experts also warn inconsistencies may need to be addressed as authorities figure out the best path to follow.

During a previous round of social distancing, many South Korean newspapers mocked the strangely specific guidelines for Seoul fitness centers, which were prohibited from playing music with a tempo higher than 120 beats per minute. Joggers were also prevented from running faster than 6 kph on the treadmill.

More recently, Korean baseball fans are the ones questioning the rules against cheering. Why are they allowed to attend baseball games, they ask, but remain forbidden to vocally support their team?

South Korean officials insist that cheering may be allowed during future rounds of opening up.

For now, South Korea’s prime minister asked fans, “please reduce your shouts by just a little.”

Source: Voice of America

Hurricane Pamela came ashore on Mexico’s Pacific coast Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and rain.

The Category 1 storm had just regained hurricane strength before hitting 65 kilometers north of Mazatlan, a port city and tourist destination.

The storm has the potential for strong storm surge and possible flooding.

At landfall, the storm had winds of 120 kph, but that was anticipated to dissipate quickly as the storm moves inland.

The remnants of the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rains across much of Mexico, could hit Texas on Thursday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Source: Voice of America

The U.S. government is likely to run out of money to pay its bills on October 18 if the country’s debt ceiling is not raised, Treasury chief Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders on Tuesday.

She said that absent a congressional vote to lift the country’s debt ceiling, either to a specific amount or to some extended date to allow continued borrowing, Treasury officials expect the country “would be left with very limited resources that would be quickly depleted” after the next three weeks.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer later tried but failed to win unanimous support to hold a simple majority vote in the 100-member chamber to raise the debt ceiling rather than the 60-vote threshold needed for most major legislation.

But Republicans blocked the new effort to raise the borrowing limit, just as on Monday they defeated legislation that also would have averted a partial government shutdown starting on Friday.

The national government’s debt now stands at $28.4 trillion, but the U.S., virtually alone among governments throughout the world, has for decades imposed limits on its borrowing or occasionally lifted the debt ceiling until a certain date.

Congress has always raised the debt ceiling or lifted it entirely for a period of time to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debts, averting a worldwide financial crisis spawned by the biggest global economy.

But now the country is facing a new cash crunch without congressional approval for more borrowing.

Long-term government borrowing is designed to pay for measures already approved over the years by Congress, including aid supported by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the last year to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

But Senate Republicans on Monday blocked the Democratic-supported measure to raise the debt ceiling, contending that a new debt limit would allow for passage of spending Republicans oppose, as much as $3.5 trillion that President Joe Biden and many congressional Democrats support to provide the biggest expansion of U.S. social safety net programs since the 1960s.

In her letter to congressional leaders, Yellen said the government’s daily cash flow varies widely, from nearly $50 billion a day over the last year to as much as $300 billion.

“As a result, it is important to remember that estimates regarding how long our remaining extraordinary measures and cash may last can unpredictably shift forward or backward,” she said. “This uncertainty underscores the critical importance of not waiting to raise or suspend the debt limit.”

“The full faith and credit of the United States should not be put at risk,” she said.

Yellen said that past debt limit impasses have shown “that waiting until the last minute can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States for years to come. Failure to act promptly could also result in substantial disruptions to financial markets, as heightened uncertainty can exacerbate volatility and erode investor confidence.”

The legislation rejected by Senate Republicans on Monday would also have averted a partial government shutdown on Friday, October 1, the start of a new fiscal year for the national government.

Republicans say they will support stand-alone legislation to keep the government operating into December while budget negotiations continue, but not a measure combining it with an increase in the debt ceiling. That could force the narrow Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress to approve the debt ceiling increase on their own without Republican support.

“We are not willing to help Democrats raise the debt ceiling while they write a reckless taxing and spending spree of historic proportions behind closed doors,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the Senate.

Democrats say some of the nation’s debt was incurred during the administration of President Donald Trump because of large tax cuts he supported. Historically, both parties have voted to raise the limit to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debts.

Schumer said that the Republican action is “one of the most reckless and irresponsible votes I have seen take place in the Senate” and that “the Republican Party has solidified itself as the party of default.”

In addition to debate on the debt ceiling, Congress is in the midst of contentious discussions on the Democrats’ plan for the social safety net spending, with no Republicans supporting it.

There is more bipartisan support for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan to fix the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges and expand broadband internet service throughout the country. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a Thursday vote on the legislation, which the Senate has already approved.

Source: Voice of America