This week I found two nice artists you can check out on youtube:
The Kenian duo Kanana and Rabbit with the hit song "Ni Mapenzi Tu":
The other one, Mansa Solo, with "Enfant de l'Indénié" is definitely my favourite. He offers us a soft, positive sound with lyrics about love, tolerance and sharing.
We all know the problem about palm oil's exploitation, which destroys palm trees- home of differents species like chimpanzees and elephants. It has already destroyd the house of many orangutans in Borneo.
Furthermore, palm oil is not very healthy. Just picture a big jar of Nutella left on the sun: the mouth-watering oil on the top is palm oil. Is it worth the extinction of beautiful species?
Greenpeace's new goal is to stop the deforestation of Cameroon rainforest, planned by an american company, Herakles Farms. The company wants to tear down the rainforest for its palm oil project, threatening species living there but also villagers.
Source: Greenpeace
So if you feel concern, you can send an email to the CEO of Herakles Farms (the email is pre-written by Greenpeace, but you can of course add your personnal touch to it): just click on this link!
If you want to avoid palm oil, take into account that it is founded in many everyday life products like baked goods, biscuits, cosmetics, body products like moisturisers and cleaning agents.
So next time you hesitate to buy a Nutella jar, think about him:
I was amazed by the lattest Christina Aguilera's news: apparently she just went to Rwanda to feed starving children but above all, make them enjoy her beautiful voice...
I recommend you to watch the video first to make your own opinion:
I think it is pretty sad to see how people can't make a selfless good deed nowadays... She could have help Rwanda withouth making all this fuss about it and make a simple video talking about the real problems of the country: because in this video, the main thing we learn is that Christina Aguilera is such a good singer and generous human being. Very important, right? The video is really made for the singer's own glory.
The other strange fact we learn is that The World Food Program's amazingplan is to feed poor countries with really odd partners: KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. So for americans, junk food seems to be the best answer to world's hunger. Don't think it is a marketing decision, no! It is only generosity ;)...
Image: Youtube.com
Before you go, don't forget Christina's simple message: "Together, we can end world hunger!"
Africa is now at the leading edge of technology
with the introduction of biometric official documents in many countries.
Mozambique, Gabon, Comoros islands and Guinea-Bissau (to name a few) are now using
biometric passports and biometric identity cards. These official documents
content personal data and also the owner’s fingerprints, which are unique and
thus impossible to copy.
Semlex created the BNS,
a large database of biometric information which can be used in many fields.
The company producing biometric
documents for those countries is Semlex Group, a company based in Brussels. Semlex Group is
specialized in biometric identification systems and the realization of passports, identity cards, visas and other
official documents (driving licenses, work permits, etc.) equipped with electronic and biometric security.
Albert Karaziwan, Semlex's CEO
Semlex works with governments and
offers them highly secured documents equipped by many security features. A biometric
passport’s authenticity can be verified by many features such as UV fibers, paper with specific characteristics, watermark, optically variable ink
(OVI), Anti scan/copy patterns, and many more.
The belgian company has now produced official
documents for many countries in Africa: DR of Congo, Gabon, Comoros, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, and attends Interpol's General Assembly every year.
Countries in Africa in which Semlex introduced biometric identification systems
Semlex Group is currently working in Mozambique, producing biometric visas, e-passports, residence permit for foreigners,
national identity cards and biometric border control, all this assuring security at a large scale of the country. The whole project in Mozambique can be seen in a movie, displaying a complete solution from the production of the identity documents in europe until the delivery in Mozambique: ---> See full movie here <---
Interview: Ralph Hajjar, commercial engineer at
Semlex Group
Ralph
Hajjar is working at the Semlex group as a commercial engineer since 2003. In
this interview, he explains the different uses of biometrics, and how it brings security to official documents. He then tells us about the company Semlex’s
current work in Africa and new projects with governments.
EF: How does the company Semlex differentiates
itself from other companies on the security documents market?
RH: We
propose complete solutions, a long-term project from the conception until the
delivery of the complete system, followed by the monitoring of the project
until the end of the contract. This includes the opening of offices on territories, the training of new employees and the constant production of
documents provided by our technicians. And more importantly, we respond to the
needs of our customers.
EF: How does the BNS System created by Semlex
work? How does it strengthen the security of identity documents?
R.H.: “BNS”
means Biometric Network System. We chose that term to describe the centralization
of biometric data in a national server in which each individual has a unique
identification number, which will follow him all his life. All official
documents –ID, passport, driver license and so on- are created on the basis of
this identification number, the fingerprint of the individual and his personal
informations. We are currently moving to a new generation of software, the “Web
AFIS” [Automated Fingerprints Identification System], which uses fingerprints
to recognize individuals.
In what ways does the system AFIS differentiates itself from the former
system, the BNS?
It is
more complete. It will allow us to adapt to each service and project in
particular. In comparison, the BNS System
is less easily adaptable to each country’s needs, we can do it but it requires
more effort than with the AFIS System.
So now we are creating a new software with new technologies, new writing
techniques easier to handle. The goal is to make the system simpler and more
efficient.
“All official documents
(…) are created on the basis of [an] identification number, fingerprints and the
civilians’ personal informations.”
Except the countries in which you already
work [Senegal, Kenya and Nigeria for example], where are your new projects located?
In Mozambique. This is more than just a
project, it is a whole program that was established in partnership with the
Government of Mozambique. This is an agreement we had with the State to supply
a complete identification system. This identification system includes the
creation of a unique identification number: each person who will be introduced
in our system will have a folder created with the number of his province, his
district, and its unique number identification. From this number, the biometric
ID card is edited and then the passport can simply be produced on the basis of the
identity card. Besides that, we also deal with the migration service in
Mozambique. We related the foreigner’s database and the identity cards database
to verify that there are no foreigner’s attempts to have an identity card illegally.
We also produce biometric residence permits for foreigners, and have created a
system of visa delivery at the airport. Semlex also set up a system of border
control for inputs and outputs at the airport. This is a system that reads Mozambican
and foreign documents and records the passage of individuals by taking their
fingerprints and photo.
Did you already use the Border Control System
in other countries?
Yes
we have, for instance we just installed it in Comoros. The first border control
installed by Semlex was in Gabon. The one we use now in Mozambique has
important features dealing with the registry of all civilians and the
registration of passages of all people. For instance when someone crosses the
border for the first time, he is registered and if when he will come back we will
find him in the database using the fingerprints recognition, even if he presents
himself with another passport. This prevents from identity theft. We also set
up a “watch list” of wanted persons –for example someone who stole a passport-
using information we have about the criminal (photo, fingerprints or
the stolen passport’s number).
“Semlex takes all the [financial] risks, even in
countries economically unstable.”
What type of funding is proposed to governments
by Semlex?
Semlex’s
business model is a bit different than others’ companies, because we do not
seek to only sell a solution to our customers and then leave then. The idea is
that since we are offering systems which are difficult to manage without
training, we propose to follow projects from beginning to end. Thus we propose
to governments 5 to 10-year projects with quality material assurance and
mostly, we propose to finance the whole project. So in this type of contract,
the State doesn’t invest money and receives a part of the revenue. Semlex takes
all the risks, even in countries economically unstable. For us the most
important is not the cost of the project, it is the result.
How is your staff composed in the different African
countries?
There are
two types of staff. First we have the State’s operators of the country in
question. Those people are paid by the State, and trained by us to use Semlex’s
equipment. Then there is the staff from Semlex team working on the spot in
different countries. For example, in Mozambique we count 25 Semlex’s employees.
In this vast country –about 3000 km-long- we have a lot of missions where we
have to ensure the maintenance of services -500 machines through the 11 Mozambican
provinces.
Do you
train local people for you projects in Africa? Do you create jobs?
Yes, and
mostly in Mozambique, which is currently our major project. In all our projects,
it is important to us to transmit an expertise, to train people.
This interview was translated by kind authorization
of the author E. Figaro, blogger for “Nouvelles d’Afrique”
Two students of Ouagadougou Gérard Niyondiko and Moctar Dembele, have recently won a price at the Global Social Venture Competition for the discovery of a new soap, called "Faso Soap" that can protect people from malaria.
This discovery is particulary insteresting cause the soap does not only repel mosquitos, but also has the ability to kill the eggs of the insect, which reproduces in stagnant waters. So people can use FASO Soap on their skin but also on their clothes. FASO Soap is made of lemongrass, shea and others ingredients kept secret.
Another advantage of this soap is his really low price. It costs only 300 CFA franc (0,59$), when most ordinary repellents are expensive and toxic. Malaria is a huge problem not only in Burkina Faso, but also in all Africa. Malaria causes millions of deaths each year and is the 1st cause of death in Africa. Hopefully this discovery will have a great impact in Africa. The two young chemists are now in competition for another contest, so if you want to support them, please follow this link and share the video! --> http://review.wizehive.com/voting/view/gist2013/0/1373925/0
