Day: April 14, 2024

Beja: Five scientific inventions have won the official competition of the Regional Festival of Scientific Inventions dedicated to combating the effects of climate change. The event was organised at the seat of the municipality of Beja on the initiative of the Tunisian Association of Inventors without Borders and the Ministry of the Environment, with 20 projects taking part. President of the Association of Inventors Without Borders, Chedli Guizani said in a statement to TAP Sunday "the 2024 edition of the festival saw the participation of 20 students and student inventors aged between 10 and 30." The inventions presented at this edition stood out for their use of artificial intelligence to help cities, populations and agriculture adapt to climate change, he added. The first prize went to Raslan Jendoubi for his invention of a flood management system based on an electronic rainwater drainage system. Arij Kadhaii came second for his invention of a natural air-conditioning system, while Azer Bjeoui won third prize for his invention of a robot for automatic sterilisation of premises, and Mohammed Adem Dakhli won fourth prize for his invention of a solar-powered car. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The immigration of healthcare professionals represents a major challenge to the Tunisian healthcare system, if no major measures are taken to deal with it, according to a survey entitled 'Immigration of Healthcare Professionals: Challenges for the Tunisian Healthcare System', recently published by the Tunisian Institute of Strategic Studies (French: ITES). The survey offers an in-depth analysis of the situation and calls for concrete action to be taken so as to combat the phenomenon of immigration of healthcare professionals. According to figures provided by the Tunisian Technical Cooperation Agency (French: ATCT) included in the survey, the number of cooperators in the health sector is increasing more quickly than the overall number of guest workers. From 2016-2022, the average annual growth rate of healthcare guest workers was 8% compared to 5% in total, the same source said. Healthcare professionals (nurses, senior technicians, midwives, etc.) represent on average 72% of total recruits, includi ng specialist doctors (21% on average) and only 7% for general practitioners over from 2009 to 2022. Until April 2023, the share of 'healthcare personnel' recruits exceeded 92% of the total healthcare recruitments. In addition, cooperators in the field of healthcare represent, in Europe, 48% of the total cooperators. According to ATCT data, 52% of guest workers in the 'healthcare' field are based in Arab countries, followed by Europe. However, Europe and Canada recorded the highest growth rates in the number of recruits (22 and 21% respectively on annual average from 2009 to 2022) while the number of recruits in Arab countries and Africa is evolving with a respective annual growth rate of 4% and 5% over the same period. Until April 2023, over 65% of recruits immigrate to Europe, particularly Germany with 190 personnel. The European destination, particularly Germany, records the highest growth rate for the 'healthcare professionals' category (21% per year on average from 2009 to 2022), followed by Canada w ith a rate of 20 % per year over the same period, followed by Africa with 10% and the Arab countries with a rate of 7%. Germany has become the leading destination for the 'healthcare professionals' category since 2019 with an increase of 50% on average per year between 2019 and 2022. In 2022, 93% out of 459 recruited in Germany are healthcare workers According to the ITES survey, these figures are confirmed by a study carried out by the Institute of Healthcare Professions (IMS). They were presented during the healthcare professions fair in June 2023. The destination countries for nurses and midwives are: Germany (47%), Saudi Arabia (12%), Qatar (12%), United Arab Emirates (6%) and France (6%) respectively. Until 2019, Saudi Arabia is the most favorite destination for healthcare specialists with an average annual growth rate of 11% from 2009 to 2019. Most general practitioners were hired in Saudi Arabia from 2009-2020. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Iran has ended its operation against Israel, but is ready for further action if necessary, announced Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces. 'The operation, from our point of view, is complete. But the armed forces are ready and will act if necessary,' said Mr. Bagheri, quoted by the Iranian public channel Press TV. He added that the operation had been carried out 'successfully'. The chief of staff warned that Iran would give a "proportionate response" if Israel decided to attack "Iranian interests, officials and civilians." The Iranian operation was dubbed 'Honest Promise' in the media. On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel, calling the operation a response to "numerous crimes," including the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital. Syrian. Iranian state media said the strikes targeted Israeli military installations. The IDF says it intercepted 99% of the approximately 300 Iranian projectiles, however the Nevatim air bas e was slightly damaged. No Israelis were killed or injured. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Let's go for the electronic and tabletop composition of the professional competitions for the 2024 session. The start of these competitions was given, on the morning of this Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Ouagadougou, by the Minister of State, Minister of Civil Service, Labor and Social Protection, Bassolma Bazié. For this session, 160 competitions are concerned, 80 of which will be composed online in the single center of Ouagadougou and 80 on the table in the thirteen regional capitals. During the launch, the Minister in charge of the Civil Service indicated that the online composition was limited to 80 competitions to master the issue of connectivity. 42,189 applications were recorded following registration on the e-competition platform, including 69 visually impaired candidates for 4,534 vacancies. For Bassolma Bazié, the number of applications is high in the sense that candidates had the possibility of registering for several competitions because of the bridges. For this first day, four competitions wil l be composed online for a total of 580 candidates. The Minister of State, Bassolma Bazié encouraged the candidates in the running and invited them to be calm. For him, all measures are taken to guarantee transparency and equal opportunity to all candidates. In this regard, 5,000 people are mobilized for the administration and correction of the 2024 professional competitions in the various composition centers. In the opinion of the Director General of the General State Recruitment Agency (AGRE), Samson Traoré, the particularity of this session is the speed in the publication of the results. The 2024 professional competitions take place from April 14 to 29, 2024. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The commune of Kantchari received supplies on April 6 and 13, 2024 to relieve the populations, the AIB has learned. According to information from the AIB, five trucks loaded with food were able to return to Kantchari on April 13, 2024, on instructions from the Burkinabe government. Earlier on April 6, 2024, it was the WFP which deposited food there (rice, beans, oil, etc.) for the benefit of 600 households, according to AIB sources. This double supply provides some relief to these populations living under terrorist blockade. As a reminder, the commune of Kantchari is located 156 km from Fada N'Gourma and 18 km from the Niger border. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Former Chinese consul in France and project manager at the Canadian International Development Agency, Yang Baozhen, advocated Sunday in Beijing for work and collective conscience to Africans to fight against poverty and promote the development of their continent . The former Chinese diplomat in France, Yang Baozhen was this Sunday, April 14, 2024 in Beijing, in front of around thirty women and men from the media including officials and journalists for a thematic conference on the global importance of the fight against poverty and of its reduction in his country. According to Ms. Yang, Africans must work harder and have a collective conscience to fight against poverty and promote the development of the black continent. According to him, around 1945, China was one of the very poor countries in the world and ranked among the third world nations like Africa. The former project manager at the Canadian Development Agency explained that her country was able to put in place coherent policies to overcome poverty a nd rise to the international stage. Yang Baozhen argued that these included, among other things, reform in business sectors, China's opening up to the outside world and the one-child policy. She also underlined that the solidarity and courage of the Chinese have allowed the country to be the second economic power in the world. According to the former diplomat in France, China, which comes from far away, has experienced moments of fragility such as wars and famines in its history. 'For 100 years, China was occupied. She experienced humiliation like African countries,' she said. Ms. Yang also noted that the People's Republic of China is divided into 5 regions, 23 provinces and 4 municipalities with 2 special administrative regions, all headed by the central state. The presenter of the day pointed out that each administrative entity implements development policies for the benefit of the populations of its locality relating to specifications well defined by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She pointed ou t that in China in the 1970s, having a private company was a shame, but noted that currently the country has 52 million private companies. Yang Baozhen dwelt on the various reforms carried out in the different cities, in the areas of education, road and railway infrastructure, the transition from the planned economy to that of the market, agricultural policies, urbanization and road. 'Each company must support a village in the fight against poverty,' said the former Chinese diplomat. According to him, to escape poverty, Africa must know how to use external investments and create economic zones through businesses. Ms. Yang finally urged African leaders to use the potential of their countries and to work to change mentalities for the black continent to take off. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The 18th Rapid Intervention Battalion and the VDP carried out joint operations this weekend in the commune of Balave where they neutralized terrorists, captured a leader and recovered rolling stock. Since Friday April 12, 2024, elements of the BIR 18 and the VDP have gone on the offensive in order to search for terrorists who still believe they are safe in the tufts and shrubs around Solenzo. From Solenzo to the village of Masso to Orowe, 8 kilometers from Tansila and 22 kilometers from Balavé, all the tufts are searched and the trees shaken. At least fifteen terrorists were neutralized, weapons, ammunition, food, motorcycles and other materials recovered. A terrorist leader who sowed terror between Balavé, Orowe and the village of Gama was captured with six of his comrades in arms. The harvest was good in Balavé according to a source on site which ensures that operations are continuing. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Ouagadougou: The Burkinabè army carried out successful strikes this Sunday in Nassoumbou (Soum, North), against pick-ups filled with ammunition and fuel coming from Mali. This Sunday, April 14, 2024, Mali's air carriers saw pick-ups loaded with fuel and ammunition heading towards the Burkinabe border. They will alert their Burkinabè brothers in arms of the maneuvers of this column of terrorists. According to security sources, Burkina's air carriers will follow them to their parking under trees north of Nassoumbou. While the criminals waited before heading back, the Burkinabe fleet honed these drones and other flying devices. Very quickly, violent and precise strikes were directed at the enemy. The pick-ups and their contents were destroyed and the resupply operation thwarted, while operations continued. Source: Burkina Information Agency