Month: July 2023

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Conservation of natural resources continues to benefit region’s inhabitants: Wakudumo

Governor of the Kavango East Region, Bonny Wakudumo, said the management and conservation of natural resources and wildlife continues to provide economic benefits to people of the region.

Wakudumo said this during his State of the Region Address held at the Kavango East Regional Council on Friday.

‘Hunting concession quotas for 2023 – 2025 to generate income for Muduva Nyangana, George Mukoya conservancy as well as the Kyaramacan Association have been awarded and hunting agreements signed,” he said.

He said during the period under review, Muduva Nyangana and George Mukoya conservancies generated over N.dollars 2 million from conservation hunting and an additional N.dollars 1.8 million from tourism activities.

The Kyaramacan Association, he added, generated over N.dollars 4 million from conservation hunting, as well as the devil’s claw harvesting concession in Bwabwata West.

The Kyaramacan Association represents residents of the Bwabwata National Park, which is shared by both the Kavango East and Zambezi region.

On human wildlife conflict, Wakudumo said the region experienced incidents involving elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamus and wild dogs.

He added that 12 people sustained injuries, while nine people lost their lives.

“An amount totaling N.dollars 180 000 was spent to assist the injured victims, while N.dollars 900 000 was spent to offset the losses suffered by grieving families,” he noted.

According to the governor, 101 livestock losses (56 cattle, 44 goats, one sheep, one donkey and one pig) were recorded, resulting in government spending N.dollars 180 700 to help offset the losses.

Elephants and hippopotamus damaged a total of 210 hectares, resulting in N.dollars 210 000 used to offset losses.

The governor said to mitigate human wildlife conflict incidents, awareness meetings were held at Mukwe, Ndiyona, Mashare and Rundu Rural constituencies.

Three boreholes, he said, were also drilled and installed at Mutjiku, Shadikongoro and Kashira villages respectively.

The borehole projects were funded by the Game Product Trust Fund to the tune of N.dollars 1.5 million.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Nambala and Shikongo in the final at World Champs

T11 paralympic sprinters Ananias Shikongo (guided by Even Tjiuiju) and T13 athlete Johannes Nambala progressed to the final of the men’s 100 metres (m) and 400m respectively, after finishing second in their respective semi-finals at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) 2023 World Para Athletics Championships currently underway in Paris, France.

The semi-finals of the T11 100m and T13 400m were held on Friday evening at the Charlety Stadium, where over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals.

First on the track was Nambala, who ran a seasonal best of 48.92 seconds to finish second behind Japanese sprinter Ryota Fukunaga, who ran an Asian record of 47.79 seconds.

Shikongo, who was the second T11 athlete to compete in the 100m semi-finals, also ran a seasonal best of 11.20 seconds but finished behind Greece’s world record holder, Athanasios Ghavelas, who set up a new championship record of 10.93 seconds.

His world record time is 10.82 seconds which he set in 2021 at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games that were held in Japan.

Another Namibian athlete that made the semi-finals of their events on Friday night was Lahja Ipinge, guided by Paulus Filippus, who ran a personal best of 12.91 seconds in the T12 100m to reach the semi-finals that will be held on Saturday morning.

Cuban sprinter and world record holder, Omara Durand, won the T12 100m heat with a seasonal best of 11.78 seconds.

Meanwhile, T11 sprinter Chris Kinda and guide Riwaldo Goagoseb failed to progress to the final of the T11 100m after finishing fourth in their race with a time of 11.46 seconds.

Only the winner of the T11 100m heats, as well as one of the fastest times from the three heats, advance to the final

After seven days of competition, Namibia has one medal. A silver that was won by Lahja Ishitile and guide Sem Shimanda in the T11 400m race.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the International Paralympic Committee.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Ishitile through to 200m semi-finals in Paris

Namibia’s T11 sprinter, Lahja Ishitile (guide by Sem Shimanda) reached the semi-finals of the women’s T11 200 metres (m) after finishing second in her 200m heat on Saturday morning at the 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships currently underway in Paris, France.

Ishitile and Shimanda ran a seasonal best time of 25.92 seconds to finish second in heat four, behind Brazilian sprinter Thalita Simplico and her guide Felipe Veloso, who won that heat with a time of 25.71 seconds.

The fastest time from the five heats held on the day was clocked by Cuiqing Liu of China and her guide Shengming Chen. They clocked 25.63 seconds to book themselves a spot in the semi-finals that will be held Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and guide Paulus Filippus did not progress to the final of the 100m after finishing last in her heat with a time of 13.22 seconds. The world record holder, defending champion Omara Durand of Cuba and guide Yuniol Kindelan won that heat with a seasonal best of 11.73 seconds.

Only the winners of the two heats and the fastest losing times advance to the final that will be held on Saturday evening.

Other Namibians also expected to compete on Saturday evening are T11 male sprinter Ananias Shikongo, who will compete in the 100m final, and T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala who will also compete in the 400m final.

Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals, and after eight days of competition, Namibia has won one medal – a silver in the T11 400m by Lahja Ishitile.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the IPC.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Vytelle Expands to Brisbane, Australia with Sixteenth Global Bovine In Vitro Fertilisation Laboratory

BRISBANE, Australia,, July 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vytelle, a precision livestock company, is progressing on their five-year plan to provide accessible, hormone-free, bovine in vitro fertilisation to producers across the globe. Announced today, Vytelle has expanded to Brisbane, Australia with its sixteenth global laboratory.

Vytelle’s integrated technology platform combines Vytelle ADVANCE, a breakthrough in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology, with Vytelle SENSE, an animal performance data capture system, and Vytelle INSIGHT, an artificial intelligence based genetic analytics engine.  The platform provides progressive cattle producers the technology to make reliable data-driven mating decisions that improve the predictability of genetic progress, replicating the right genetics faster.

The Brisbane-based, Australia laboratory brings accessibility to modern reproduction technology like never before to Australia’s eastern states’ beef herds. Vytelle’s hormone-free in vitro fertilisation process, including their proprietary media, will deliver high-quality embryos to producers allowing them to make more valuable calves, faster to maximise sustainability.

“Vytelle is the fastest growing bovine IVF company in the world,” commented Kerryann Kocher, CEO of Vytelle. She continued, “We are thrilled to open our doors in Brisbane, positioning Vytelle to serve 70% of the total beef herd in Australia from this location.”

 Vytelle has a long history in Australia through its Vytelle SENSE phenotypic data capture technology to measure and select for feed efficiency. With this investment, Vytelle is positioned to help Australian producers improve efficiencies and make faster genetic progress across the supply chain to consistently market more efficient and sustainable beef. “The large-scale adoption of IVF will be driven by the successful use of frozen embryos,” stated Andrew Donoghue, Regional Manager for Australia and New Zealand. He continued, “Unlike other technologies, the Vytelle system allows us to deliver frozen results producers can count on, providing reliable IVF to herds historically underserved with fresh programs.”

The Australian-based team is serving beef and dairy producers with on-farm ovum pick-ups immediately. Visit www.vytelle.com or contact Andrew Donoghue at [email protected] or +61 428 442 1555 to accelerate your herd’s genetic progress today.

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Andrew Donoghue
Vytelle
+61 428 442 1555
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8874359

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SA’s Jacob Zuma seeking medical treatment in Russia

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma is in Russia’s capital, Moscow, for “health reasons”, his foundation has said.

“He will be returning to [South Africa] once his doctors have completed their treatment,” a statement from the Jacob G Zuma foundation continued.

The news comes a day after Zuma, 81, lost a case at the Constitutional Court, where he had tried to overturn a ruling that he must return to prison.

The former president left for Russia last week on a commercial flight, the foundation’s spokesman Mzwanele Manyi said.

He has gone to Russia before for treatment, including in 2014 after he was allegedly poisoned.

On Thursday, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had been granted medical parole unlawfully.

He was given parole by the former head of the prison service, Arthur Fraser, who is regarded as an ally of the former president.

Zuma was released in September 2021 after serving less than eight weeks of a 15-month jail sentence.

He had been convicted of contempt, after refusing to co-operate with anti-corruption enquiry during his term in office.

The prisons department has said it is studying the constitutional court’s judgement and will comment after seeking legal advice.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the court’s ruling, saying that it confirms that Zuma “belongs in jail”.

Source: BBC

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South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma in Russia for medical treatment

South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons, his foundation says.

“He will be returning to the country once his doctors have completed their treatment,” its statement said.

The announcement comes a day after the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling that Zuma was granted medical parole unlawfully in September 2021.

He had been released from prison after serving less than eight weeks of a 15-month sentence.

Zuma, now aged 81, had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency.

He was forced to resign because of the allegations in 2018 after nine years in office – but has repeatedly maintained he is the victim of a political conspiracy.

Mzwanele Manyi, spokesperson for the Jacob G Foundation, said it was issuing the information about Zuma’s trip to Russia because of media speculation.

“Although the trip was private, it was not a secret as incorrectly suggested,” he said, adding that Zuma and his team had travelled “on a commercial flight full of passengers”.

The statement ended without saying when the former president would be returning to South Africa: “The foundation wishes its patron good health and a safe return home whenever the doctors release him.”

At the end of last week, Zuma was in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, attending a conference on carbon credits where he represented a Belarusian company.

It is not clear whether the former South African leader will return to jail following the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

The prison service had gone to court for leave to appeal against an earlier ruling that he be sent back to prison. It said it was studying the judgement and would comment after seeking legal advice.

Zuma was initially given parole for an undisclosed medical reason by the former head of the prison service, Arthur Fraser, who is regarded as an ally of the former president.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the ruling, saying that it confirms that Zuma “belongs in jail”.

It said it was drafting a letter to the former president asking him to voluntarily surrender himself for arrest “within a reasonable time frame”.

He did hand himself in two years ago after he was sentenced for contempt of court following a public stand-off.

His jailing then sparked widespread unrest – the worst scenes of violence since the end of apartheid in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president.

More than 350 people, mostly in Zuma’s stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal province, died in the protests.

It led to allegations that his allies were seeking to overthrow South Africa’s democratic government.

Zuma is also facing a separate corruption and fraud trial related to an arms deal in the late 1990s.

Source: BBC