Author: IGIHE

The new limit will not apply to tweets written in Japanese, Chinese and Korean which can convey more information in a single character.

The move follows a trial among a small group of users which started in September in response to criticism that it was not easy enough to tweet.

The change is part of Twitter’s plan to attract new users and increase growth.
Twitter brevity

During the test, only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters and only 2% more than 190, the social media site said in a blog post.

But those who did use the longer tweets, got more followers, more engagement and spent more time on the site, it added.

“During the first few days of the test, many people tweeted the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, but soon after behaviour normalised,” wrote Aliza Rosen, Twitter’s product manager.

“We saw when people needed to use more than 140 characters, they tweeted more easily and more often. But importantly, people tweeted below 140 most of the time and the brevity of Twitter remained.”

According to Twitter, 9% of tweets in English hit the character limits.

“This reflects the challenge of fitting a thought into a tweet, often resulting in lots of time spent editing and even at times abandoning tweets before sending,” Ms Rosen said.

Increasing the character limit should not affect people’s experience on the site, she added.

“We – and many of you – were concerned that timelines may fill up with 280-character tweets, and people with the new limit would always use up the whole space. But that didn’t happen,”

When the change was announced, many criticised it, pointing out changes they would rather see, such as a crackdown on hate crime and bots, and the introduction of a chronological timeline and edit function.

The site currently has 330 million active users. This compares with 800 million for Instagram and more than 2 billion users for Facebook.
{{Source:BBC}}

Under the partnership, Police will contribute in sustaining existing forests and plant agro-forests on the surface of 22,000 hectares and new forests on 5000 hectares in different parts of the country.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye said that the partnership was necessary as a way to improve forestry cover in the country.

“This is a good move to planting and sustaining existing forests. When you are travelling from different parts of the country, you realize that something is missing on our mountains; our country has many eye attraction features but it lacks enough tree cover,” he said.

The Minister of Land and Forestry, FrancineTumushime said the partnership came in time of need as the country and the World in general is implementing resilient efforts towards climate change.

“This is a partnership needed in all country’s institutions. Protecting soil from erosion and planting trees are among measures to mitigaet climate change effects,” she said.
The Government targets to have 30% of the surface of the country planted with trees by 2020.

The long week workshop started on Monday will engage subject matter experts in early childhood development (ECD) and communication, academia, media, animators, illustrators, graphic designers, singers, and people with disabilities to create age-appropriate and child-friendly content and materials in their respective fields.

Early childhood development (ECD) is an important area of focus. Evidence shows that 80% of a child’s brain develops between the ages of 0 and 3 years.

The Government of Rwanda have demonstrated the commitment to ECD through a revision of the National ECD Policy, and ECD has been prioritised in development plans like the National Strategy for Transformation. UNICEF continues to be the Government’s main partner for developing and implementing ECD programmes.

Despite this commitment, there remains a lack of age-appropriate communication content and material for young children in Rwanda. This content, such as songs, illustrations, television and radio programmes, is critical for engaging children at a young age and encouraging early learning and discovery.

“Adequate stimulation in the early years of life is essential so children can achieve their full development potential,” said Dr. Anita Asiimwe, the National Coordinator for Early Childhood Development.

An important component of the workshop, and an on-going priority of UNICEF programming, is promoting inclusiveness for children with disabilities. Children and adults with disabilities will participate in the workshop in all aspects of production, sessions will be translated into sign language, and presentations given with closed captioning.

The workshop was planned as part of the anniversary celebrations for Itetero, Rwanda’s first radio programme for and by children.

In October 2015, UNICEF partnered with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) and Imbuto Foundation to create Itetero, meaning “children’s nurturing space” in Kinyarwanda. Itetero now airs every week on Radio Rwanda, teaching children Rwandan cultural values and improving their cognitive development through stories and drama sketches.

Arthur Asiimwe, Director General of RBA, hopes that Itetero will serve as an excellent example during this week’s workshop of the child-friendly content UNICEF, RBA and MIGEPROF hope to see more of in the future.

“We are very proud of Iteteroand the positive engagement we have seen from our listeners so far,” he said.

“We are even planning to move Itetero television, which will engage even more children and their families.”

The six-day workshop will be fully interactive, with presentations and activities capitalising on the experience of partners such as Mashirika Creative and Performing Arts Group and Search for Common Ground. Workshop participants will create real examples of child-friendly communication materials as a catalyst for expanded projects and ideas.

“We commend the Government of Rwanda for their ongoing commitment to ECD, and we are proud to work with RBA as a leader in creating age-appropriate communication material for children,” said Ted Maly, UNICEF Representative.

“We are excited to see the materials and content produced as a result of this workshop,”Maly added.

We are willing to sleep less if it means getting richer, but this mentality is a result of nothing but ignorance. People who do not sleep as much as they should don’t know the importance of sufficient sleep and rest.

Sleeping for the prescribed 7 to 8 hours a night isn’t a waste of time, but a way of keeping your system running the right way. Sleep is designed to allow you rest after the stress of the day. When you don’t allow your body get that, you threaten its smooth running.

In a recent study, experts warn that skipping sleep impairs your brain function across the board. It slows your ability to process information and problem- solve, kills your creativity, and catapults your stress levels and emotional reactivity.

In a similar report from the University of Rochester, the importance of getting sufficient sleep is highlighted; it says that when you sleep, your brain goes to work, removing toxin proteins from its neurons that are by-products of neural activity when you are awake. Now, your brain can only remove them adequately only while you are asleep. So when you don’t get enough sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells wreaking havoc by impairing your ability to think.

Perhaps, the reason a lot of people don’t yet understand the weight of the problems that could be faced from sleeplessness is because sometimes, the symptoms do not immediately manifest themselves. In some instances, they show quickly enough, but other times, they take a while.

Either way, the dangers of not sleeping enough cannot be overlooked. If you’ve not been getting enough of it, you should have a rethink.
{{Source: elcrema.com}}

The attack took place on 24th October, 2017 when non-identified gunmen forcefully entered and shot the bank staff, injuring three and making off with an unspecified amount of money.

Following the attack, police launched investigations to ascertain the people behind the heist.

Speaking to IGIHE, the Southern Region Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gilbert Gumira said that seven suspects were arrested and their case files were handed to prosecution.

He said that none of suspects pleaded guilty but added that they will all face justice.

Gumira assured people on security in the region adding that BK operations have since resumed

During the attack, a bankstaff identified as Quesie Muhawenimana was shot dead while Branch Manager, Sylvain Rubayita; Assistant Branch Manager, Alphonse Muhayimana and Security Guard, Evariste Kagame were injured.