Author: Web Desk

Tunis: The Tunisian and Omani ministries of social affairs and social development signed, on Thursday, a memorandum of understanding in the field of social promotion. The memorandum of understanding seeks to foster the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, provide care for families, children and the elderly, encourage projects for productive families and as well as promote their economic and social empowerment, reads a statement of the Social Affairs Ministry. The memorandum also aims to increase social action, promote the culture of volunteering, consolidate the role of the civil society and establish coordination in conferences organized at the Arab, regional and global levels as well as encourage exchange in the fields of training and scientific research. During the signing ceremony, Social Affairs Minister Malek Ezzahi spoke of the long-standing cooperation relations between Tunisia and Oman, reiterating that this memorandum will establish a legislative framework to promote common action in the social field. Omani Social Development Minister Leila Najjar welcomed the rich Tunisian experience in the social promotion sector, adding that this memorandum will help cement ties between the two countries. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The number of Tunisian irregular migrants arriving in Italy has dropped in 2024 (until May 15), according to figures published on Thursday by the National Migration Observatory (ONM), citing data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior. During this period, the number of Tunisian irregular migrants arriving in Italy amounted to 2,575 people, representing 14% of the total number of irregular arrivals of different nationalities in Italy. This is a decrease compared to the same period of 2023, when the number was 3,291 people, representing 7% of the total number of irregular arrivals in Italy of various nationalities. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The day of customs and traditions was celebrated this Wednesday, May 15, 2024 in Nouna, on the Massou site in sector 1 and on the plateau of the Public Reading and Cultural Animation Center (CELPAC) of the town of Nouna, in the presence of customary religious and traditional authorities. On the Massou site, the population went out this Wednesday, May 15, 2024 in Nouna, to attend customary rites, prayers, songs and witnessed the release of masks to magnify the ceremony, with the presence of dozos. The spokesperson for customary notabilities, Séraphin Simboro, thanked the highest authorities of the country for the establishment of this day which honors our traditional values. 'Today's rituals are first and foremost for peace to return to Faso,' he underlined. Séraphin Simboro also urged populations to live together, which characterizes Noumandou. The presence of Bishop Joseph Sama was greatly appreciated by the customs. The ceremony of the Center for Public Reading and Cultural Animation (CELPAC) was mark ed by blessings followed by celebrations marked by local dance steps. The Chief of the canton of Nounet, Mamadou Traoré and that of Bourasso, Jean Baptiste Traoré, gave blessings and expressed wishes for harmony and peace for the entire nation. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Rural World Association (AMR), exchanged, from May 3 to 13, 2024 in Titao, with the populations, in order to identify their needs and formulate projects whose implementation will contribute to strengthening the resilience of populations severely impacted by the dual humanitarian and security crisis. As part of the implementation of the Sahel Community Recovery and Stabilization Project (PCRSS), the facilitators of the Rural World Association (AMR) in charge of the commune of Titao, organized from May 3 to 13, 2024, general assemblies with representatives of the populations of the commune of Titao. The objective of these discussion sessions is to identify the priority concerns of the populations in order to formulate projects that take their expectations into account. These community consultations allowed representatives of village councils, civil society organizations, young people and women, traditional leaders, businesses and professionals and people living with disabilities to express their needs. After the needs identification phase, participants in the general meetings were asked to prioritize their concerns. These needs of the grassroots communities were then the subject of a compilation which was presented during a workshop bringing together representatives of the populations and the municipal authorities. For the head of the AMR team, Sayouba Ouédraogo, this strategy dear to the PCRSS has the advantage of only making investments that correspond to the real needs of the beneficiaries. The actions selected, translated into sub-projects, will be included in the annual investment plan and the annual work plan and budget of the communes benefiting from the PCRSS. The stay of the project leaders allowed the project team to travel through all seven sectors of the town of Titao and to interact with the host populations and nationals of the displaced villages of the commune. The essential needs concern, among other things, the creation of health, educational and hydraulic infrastructures, the training of young people and women in trades and the provision of producers with seeds, inputs and agricultural machines. 'This is the first time we have seen people come and identify all our problems. If they manage to achieve what we have suggested, we will experience real changes,' said Minata Ganamé, a housewife in sector 4. As for the 2nd vice -president of the special Titao delegation, Oumarou Dialla, there is reason to thank the project. 'We salute the PCRSS for this beneficial initiative for the development of the commune of Titao which has suffered so much from insecurity,' he indicated. Alongside these community consultations, the AMR team organized a community health day and awareness sessions on maternal and child health and the promotion of the values ??of tolerance and peace. 'We are very satisfied with the support of the populations for the activities,' underlined the head of the AMR team. The PCRSS is a project financed by the World Bank and the Burkinabè State, with a view to contributing to the recovery of populations affected by the security crisis in the Liptako-Gourma area. It covers the Sahel, Center-North and North regions. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing, the capital of China. This is the Russian head of state's first foreign visit since his re-election and taking office. Mr. Putin is in China as part of a state visit. According to diplomatic protocol, the state visit status is the highest in the hierarchy of foreign visits. According to Yuri Ushakov, adviser to the president on international affairs, China was not chosen by chance for the head of state's first foreign trip, because it was a response to a gesture of similar friendship from Chinese leader Xi Jinping last year. The visit to China will take place in two stages. The Russian president will visit Beijing and Harbin. In Beijing, he will meet his counterpart Xi Jinping. Leaders will conduct small and large committee negotiations and informal one-on-one discussions. The bilateral talks are expected to focus on the development and expansion of trade and economic cooperation. During this meeting, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will also discuss the most pressing political and regional issues. However, according to Mr. Ushakov, the most important part of the Beijing meeting will take place in an informal setting, behind closed doors. The leaders of the two countries will have a discussion in the 'one plus four' format on the situation in Ukraine. The second stop of the state visit to China is a visit to the city of Harbin, the administrative center of Heilongjiang province. Putin will attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Russian-Chinese Exhibition and the 4th Russian-Chinese Forum on Interregional Cooperation, and meet with students and teachers of Harbin Polytechnic University. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The health district of Houndé organized this Friday, May 10, 2024, two advocacy meetings, one of which was in favor of the mass treatment campaign for schistosomiasis and the other for the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis coupled with screening for malnutrition in children. Chaired by the Secretary General of the Tuy province, Bassidiki Ouattara, these meetings each brought together customary and religious leaders, directors of provincial services, representatives of women and young people, media, officials of the Defense Forces and safety (MSDS), etc. According to Bassidiki Ouattara, the objective is to share the right information in order to be relays for raising awareness among populations in favor of these different campaigns. The first plea was made in favor of the mass treatment campaign for schistosomiasis in the health district of Houndé. In his presentation, the head of the Center for Health Information and Epidemiological Surveillance (CISSE), Windpouré Ouédraogo, indicated that this ca mpaign will take place from May 14 to 19, 2024 across the entire provincial territory. The target audience, estimated at 104,480 people, according to him, is made up of children aged 5 to 14. As for the second plea, it concerned the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis. The head of prevention through vaccinations of the Houndé health district, Bamory Dao indicated that the first passage which began on May 10 will end on May 13, 2024. He specified that this vaccination concerns children from 0 to 59 months who are estimated at 84,672 in Houndé. Mr. Dao also suggested that vaccination against poliomyelitis is coupled with screening for malnutrition in children. Officials of the Houndé health district assured that the implementation of each of these campaigns will take place on the sites of public health facilities, from door to door and in public places such as schools, places of worship, markets. , train stations, gold panning sites, etc. The chief physician of the health district (MCD) of Houndé, Dr. A bdoul-Aziz Traoré, said that schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia, is an endemic disease in our tropics, the common sign that populations experience is hematuria, which is the presence blood in the urine. The MCD has also made it clear that poliomyelitis is a major cause of disability within communities which can lead to deaths. Dr Traoré urged Tuy opinion leaders to generate public support for these campaigns. He also called on the populations on the one hand to mobilize for the success of the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis and on the other hand to massively adhere to mass treatment against schistosomiasis. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The High Commissioner of the Kourittenga province, Aissata Angélina Traoré, accompanied by the various bodies of the said province, visited on Wednesday May 15, 2024, Her Majesty Naaba Yemdé, Kourit-Yir Soaba. The bodies of the Kourittenga province visited Her Majesty Naaba Yemdé, Kourit-Yir Soaba, on Wednesday May 15, 2024, accompanied by the High Commissioner of the Kourittenga province, Aissata Angélina Traoré. 'We have come to wish a happy celebration of the day of customs and traditions to His Majesty Naaba Yemdé, Kourit-Yir Soaba given that the Burkinabè State has established this day of May 15 as the national day of customs and traditions,' indicated the High Commissioner of Kourittenga. She demonstrated the attachment to this day which will contribute to promoting our ancestral values ??and making us what we are. His Majesty Naaba Yemdé, Kourit-Yir Soaba welcomed the presence of the head of the province and all the bodies constituted in his palace. He also expressed his gratitude for their signif icant presence. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Issouf Ouédraogo, Governor of the Northern Region, on Monday, May 13, 2024, officially installed Chief Police Commissioner Oumar Soulama as Regional Director of the Northern National Police (DRPN), we observed. The solemn handover ceremony took place at the DRPN-North compound in Ouahigouya and was marked by the presence of the region's bodies, the hierarchy of the national police, parents, friends and administered by the town of Ouahigouya. After one year, four months and twenty days spent at the head of the Northern police, Sébastien Sawadogo, Divisional Police Commissioner, passed the torch to Principal Police Commissioner Oumar Soulama. The Governor of the Northern region, before proceeding with the installation ceremony, invited the new DRPN to collaborate fully with all members and collaborators of the police network in view of the specific security context facing the Northern region. North. The first manager of the Region as well as the staff representative of the DRPN North took advantage of this m oment of farewell, congratulating Commissioner Sawadogo for having worked effectively in ensuring permanent protection of the populations and their property over the area. of the regional territory, by participating with other defense and security forces and volunteers for the defense of the homeland (VDP) in the fight against terrorism, etc. After receiving the attributes which make him the new boss of the police of the four provinces of the region (Loroum, Yatenga, Zondoma, Passoré) the DRPN Oumar Soulama promised to immediately get to work. 'The major challenge remains the resounding victory against the terrorist hydra. This de facto requires the substantial equipment of our troops on the ground, the strengthening of our operational capacities, professional cohesion and above all the revival of the patriotic fiber in the image of our oath' he clarified. Commissioner Soulama also stressed in his speech that the emergence of new pernicious forms of violent extremism and radicalization require the reorient ation of the fight on the basis of new paradigms and the formulation of new strategies and tactics and therefore invited his collaborators to task. Source: Burkina Information Agency

At the call of the 'Young people in solidarity with Soum' movement, hundreds of residents of Djibo took part in a meeting on May 15, 2024 demanding the extension of the Transition. The young people reaffirmed their determination to block the way for all those who would try to slow down or undermine the progress of the Transition in progress, which must last as long as necessary. Despite the still difficult situation in Djibo, young people welcome the actions of captain Ibrahim Traoré. For the young people in solidarity with Soum, it is not time for elections. They ask that the Transition be extended until further notice in order to allow the continued reconquest of the national territory. Furthermore, young people encountered some difficulties, particularly linked to lack of electricity, firewood and the need to install a BIR. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Patriotic Support Fund recorded, from January to the end of March 2024, cumulative amounts of 31 billion FCFA, intended for the care and equipment of Volunteers for the defense of the homeland, the AIB learned Thursday in Ouagadougou, from a government source. 'Regarding the mobilization of resources, as of March 31, 2024, the amount of collections from all sources amounts to thirty-one billion two million six hundred and seventy-nine thousand nine hundred and eighteen (31,002,679,918) CFA francs' , declares Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, government spokesperson, in his report from the council of ministers this Thursday. The government, which hopes to mobilize 100 billion FCFA by the end of the year, thus achieves 31% of its wishes in the first quarter. 'The results achieved are to be attributed not only to the populations who mobilized, but also to the various implementation actors whose dynamism and commitment made it possible to overcome certain difficulties encountered' rejoiced the government i n the minutes of the council of ministers. In 2023, 99 billion FCFA were recorded for the benefit of this fund, for expenditure executed at 89.95%. Source: Burkina Information Agency