Two feature films by graduates of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) East Africa academy are set to premiere on the Maisha Magic Plus and Maisha Magic East channels, as academy alumni apply their skills and talent to entertain audiences in the region.
The films, Full Time Husband and Somewhere in Kole, were produced as part of a collaborative project by teams of MTF students during their 12 months of training at the MTF Academy.
“We are incredibly proud of the work being produced by MTF students,” says MTF academy East Africa director Victoria Goro. “Their work is already at broadcast standard, and these powerful movies offer exciting entertainment with high production values that will have East African audiences on their edge of their seats. Best of all, these are African movies, made by young African people. They are relevant and authentic, and they are sure to resonate with Maisha Magic audiences.”
Full Time Husband tells the story of Mulongo, an unemployed man, who decides to divorce his businesswoman wife Julia, but then witnesses something that forces him to change his mind. The movie is directed by Habtamu S Mekonen and Juif Joseph, and it stars Moses Kiema and Zazira Kariuki.
Somewhere In Kole is the tale of Masanyu, a privileged 20-year-old YouTuber, who is unexpectedly called upon to preside over a ritual in his late father’s village, Kole, where he is the heir to the chiefdom. The movie is directed by Lynn Gitau and Edgar Hudson and stars Brian Furaha and Mugambi Ikiara.
The MTF academy East Africa is one of three academies across the continent that allow aspiring film and television professionals to learn from some of the best in the business in year-long immersion programmes. The course curriculum provides theory and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production, and storytelling.
The MTF academy East Africa is based in Nairobi, Kenya, the West Africa academy in Lagos, Nigeria, and the Southern Africa academy in Lusaka, Zambia. The academies draw students from 13 African countries, and offer a career-defining opportunity for young people wishing to pursue careers in the broadcast and production industries.
The MTF academies also develop the African film and TV industry by providing a pipeline of skilled professionals who already have experience on high-quality productions. The academies also boost local economies through job opportunities and supplier contracts.
“Creating high-level films for regional broadcast is a rite of passage for these talented young professionals,” says Goro. “The process of developing a script, pitching it, then filming the movie and putting it through post-production gives hands-on training and practical experience. It’s great that they can enter the industry with an achievement like this already under their belt.”
Full Time Husband premieres on 3 February at 9.30pm EAT, and Somewhere In Kole premieres on 10 February at 9.30pm EAT. Tower Post
Yoane Wissa (L) of Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates after scoring a goal during the Africa Cup of Nations quarter final match between Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on February 02, 2024.
ANKARA
The semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be played on Wednesday as the tournament's hosts Ivory Coast are among the final four.
With defending champions Senegal and record holders Egypt out of the contest, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are set to vie for the African title.
The AFCON was scheduled to take place in the summer of 2023, but the African football authority moved it to 2024 to avoid matches during the rainy season in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria will face South Africa in the first match on Wednesday.
Nigeria has won the AFCON title three times in history, and it has been over 10 years since the Super Eagles last secured it.
South Africa, also known as Bafana Bafana, were the AFCON winners in 1996, their sole title.
In the last 16, Nigeria eliminated five-time champions Cameroon 2-0 to proceed as Ademola Lookman, an Atalanta player in Italy, scored twice.
Then Nigeria beat Angola 1-0 as Lookman was on the score sheet again.
Meanwhile, South Africa stunned the 2022 FIFA World Cup's surprise package Morocco 2-0 in the last 16.
Bafana Bafana then beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties to reach the semis.
Ivory Coast vs. DR Congo
On Wednesday, hosts Ivory Coast will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo in the other semi-final tie.
Ivory Coast, who were the African champions in 1992 and 2015, hardly made knockouts in the ongoing AFCON.
The Elephants finished third in their group to advance to the last 16. They were among the four highest-ranked third-place nations in the group stage.
Ivory Coast beat reigning champions Senegal 5-4 on penalties in the Round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, Ivory Coast won against Mali 2-1 after extra time with a very late goal scored by Oumar Diakite.
In the last 16, DR Congo, who last won the AFCON in 1974, knocked record holders Egypt out of the tournament.
Egypt returned home after they lost 8-7 on penalties.
DR Congo then beat Guinea 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-final ties will reach Sunday's final at Abidjan's Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
The losing teams will play a third-place playoff on Saturday. By Can Erozden, Anadolu Agency.
Kenya is this week hosting a high-level meeting meant to adopt strategies to address the current Africa's feed and fodder crisis.
In a meeting that kicked off in Nairobi today bringing together a host of experts from the continent, the five-day Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS) Project aims at driving an ‘African narrative that helps to make better evidence-based decisions for countries.’
African Union-InterAfrican for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) Director Dr Huyam Salih said the three crises commonly referred to as “the three C’s” exposed Africa’s vulnerability, leading to eroded livelihoods, loss of incomes, and driven up prices of highly nutritive livestock sourced foods making them inaccessible to sections of the population that need them most.
According to Dr Salih, livestock feeding constitutes 60-70 percent of the total cost of livestock production.
“The recent drought in the Greater Horn of Africa region resulted in a massive loss of 9.5 million livestock, valued at over 2 billion USD,” she said in her opening remarks.
She said the loss includes invaluable livestock genetic resources developed over decades, serving as a key factor for livelihoods and incomes, especially for pastoralists and smallholders who contribute over 80 percent of meat and milk production in the region.
The impact Salih said extended to downstream stakeholders and retailing businesses, resulting in substantial losses.
The RAFFS Project was rolled out in January 2023 and has focused on understanding the situation of the effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the feed and fodder sector.
The project, which is jointly funded by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, specifically focuses on Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe due to ‘their unique contexts and challenges.’
Salih said the project has since conducted a Continental Survey that sought to engage stakeholders in the Feed and Fodder Sector.
Out of the fifty-five AU Member States, forty-four (44) participated, giving a continental outlook and opportunity to also draw out regional differences and issues.
“The insights gathered have been invaluable in shaping our understanding of the feed and fodder landscape across Africa,” Dr Salih said.
“The RAFFS Project represents a means to transform challenges into opportunities, to strengthen the feed and fodder sector, and ultimately contribute to achieving agricultural sector goals.”
By December 2022, Government authorities in Kenya said the drought had killed over 200 elephants, nearly 400 zebras and more than 500 wildebeests among other several species. - Patrick Vidija, The Standard
The RAFFS project will among other things assess the role of women in the feed and fodder sector in Africa.
“It is known that a single dollar invested in women will release revenue of three dollars in the economy because women are the mothers, the one to take care of the kids and feed the family,” she said.
To break the cycle of poverty and inequalities, AU-IBAR has been advocating for the development and implementation of policies and legal frameworks that create a wider array of opportunities for women in the feed and fodder sector- which will lead to their economic empowerment for the inclusive and sustainable development of the continent.
One of the key challenges that has been identified as a key constraint to participating in the livestock sector is the bottleneck of the poor access to appropriate and sustainable financing mechanisms that address women’s felt needs tailored to their capacities. - Patrick Vidija, The Standard
Detectives arrested Kimathi alongside three officials of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced on Tuesday.
Derrick Kimathi, a businessman who claimed to own a garage at the site of Thursday’s gas explosion, has been arrested days after his lawyer denied culpability.
Detectives arrested Kimathi alongside three officials of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced on Tuesday.
Earlier in the week, Kimathi’s lawyer claimed that the LPG truck that exploded at his garage had trespassed without his knowledge.
The agency said it had established that Kimathi owned the illegal Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) refiling plant which operated without approval from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
DCI indicated that Kimathi had a manager identified as Stephen Kilonzo oversee operations at the site.
It identified arrested NEMA officials as David Ongare (Director Environment Compliance), Joseph Makau (Head Environmental Impact Assessment) and Mirrian Kioko.
DCI said five suspects remained at large.
“These include Stephen Kilonzo (the site manager), Ann Kabiri Mirungi of NEMA, Lynette Cheruyoit (NEMA’s Senior Environmental Officer), truck driver Robert Gitau and Abraham Mwangi (driver).”
DCI asked the public to report or share any information on the whereabouts of the suspects by contacting the toll-free hotline 0800722203 or reporting in person at any police station.
The tragic Embakasi gas explosion on February 1, claimed two lives with the death toll subsequently rising to six.
The blast which caused a fireball sent shockwaves in the neighboring residential area, leaving over 280 persons injured and dozens homeless.
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura reported additional deaths on Monday saying those who died at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) succumbed to burns sustained from the blast. By Sharon Resian, Capital News
New research reveals 73% of straight Brits have never tested for HIV even though 40% of all new diagnoses are heterosexual people.
Despite this rise, straight Brits are unaware of their increased risk of infection, with over 1,000,000 believing they cannot contract the virus.
At the start of HIV Testing Week, Newfoundland Diagnostics is encouraging the nation to get tested and has introduced a new HIV test, which is easy to use at home and is available at Tesco at an affordable price.
The study conducted by Newfoundland Diagnostics explores the attitudes, behaviours and perceptions of HIV in the UK, highlighting a need for better education and awareness around the virus, with over a fifth of straight Brits (21%) stating they believe they are unlikely to contract HIV, leading them not to test for HIV.
Other reasons for heterosexual people not testing for HIV include never having unprotected sex (18%), not having access to an HIV test (4%) and not being bothered to test for HIV (3%).
This lack of education has seen a staggering 73% of heterosexual Brits having never tested for the virus, ironically echoing the infamous tombstone ads of the 80s – ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’.
The research exposes a clear hangover of the AIDS epidemic despite advances made by popular media such as Channel 4’s ‘It’s A Sin’, which led to a sharp increase in HIV-related Google searches including ‘Can women get AIDS?’ (2,150%) following the first episode’s airing.
Despite media attempts to change perceptions around HIV, it’s clear there is more educational work to be done to improve the nation’s testing habits and routines.
As the diagnosis rate amongst straight Brits rises, testing figures for HIV remain staggeringly low. Notably, only 1 in 11 (9%) of Brits have been tested multiple times for HIV.
With these alarming figures, Newfoundland Diagnostics is aiming to change attitudes towards testing, raising awareness of the education issue and providing access to tests in a bid to help the nation know their status.
Frederick Manduca, co-founder of Newfoundland Diagnostics, said: "Whilst testing does seem to be increasing in the long-term, these findings reveal there remains a substantial amount of ignorance towards testing and its importance amongst heterosexual people.
“Our aim is to use our platform to begin chipping away at the misconceptions surrounding HIV, making it clear that HIV does not discriminate based on sex, gender or sexuality, and that there is power in knowing your status.
“Let’s use this year’s HIV Testing Week to continue changing perceptions, raising awareness and fighting stigma to eradicate this virus from existence.”
The Newfoundland Diagnostics HIV Test (RRP: £17.99 for one test) – the easiest test on the market. Available now via Newfoundland Diagnostics and in Tesco stores across the nation.
Top 5 reasons straight Brits are not testing for HIV
1. Believe they are unlikely to contract HIV (22%)
2. Never had unprotected sex (18%)
3. Have not had access to HIV test (4%)
4. Believe they cannot contract HIV (3%)
5. Can’t be bothered to test for HIV (3%)
Common Qs on HIV answered by Newfoundland Diagnostics
What is HIV?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which targets the immune system and reduces the body’s ability to fight everyday infections and diseases. If left untreated, HIV can lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). While AIDS cannot be transmitted from one person to another, HIV can. Thanks to today's medicine, those with HIV can lead full, healthy lives providing they receive and maintain treatment upon early diagnosis.
What is HIV Testing Week?
National HIV Testing Week runs from Monday 5 February until Sunday 11 February and is coordinated by the Terrence Higgins Trust. The annual campaign aims to promote HIV testing, raise awareness about HIV, and reduce the stigma surrounding the virus. The week-long event encourages individuals to get tested for HIV, know their status, and take steps to protect their health.
Who should test for HIV?
Despite a focus on gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men testing for HIV, anyone who has unprotected sex, exchanges bodily fluids or shares needles should regularly test for HIV. HIV can infect anyone regardless of sexuality, race, gender, sex or age.
How do I test for HIV?
All HIV tests will check your blood for any blood-borne diseases and are available as part of a regular STI check up. You can visit a GUM clinic or sexual health practice for a test, or you can test at home with a self-test such as Newfoundland Diagnostics’ HIV test.
How do people get HIV?
HIV is found in the body fluids of someone living with HIV, including semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood and breast milk. The most common way of getting HIV in the UK is through having anal or vaginal sex without a condom. HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva.
Newfoundland Diagnostics HIV Test
The world's first integrated, finger-prick blood test to screen for HIV. The at-home self-test detects antibodies to HIV Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) and/or HIV Virus Type 2 (HIV-2) in blood.
The Newfoundland HIV Test is an easy-to-use screening test for HIV that provides a quick and accurate result in just 15 minutes with a simple finger-prick sample. This test provides >99% accuracy.
Newfoundland’s test is the easiest test on the market for patients, with a study finding that 90% of participants found the test easier to use than a multi-component test kit. This is thanks to an all-in-one test that requires low blood volume and fewer user steps resulting in fewer errors.
Other tests available online have multiple components with three individual bottles to transfer blood samples through. Not only does this make it a confusing experience for the patient, but there is a higher chance of potential contamination and misuse, affecting the final result.
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