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By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's government says its security forces shot at and detained United Nations staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled Tigray region. Senior official Redwan Hussein told reporters that the U.N. staffers were to blame because they 'broke' two checkpoints to go to areas where 'they were not supposed to go.' He said the staffers have since been released. The shooting occurred amid soaring frustration among humanitarians as aid is still not freely reaching the Tigray region more than a week after the U.N. and Ethiopia's government signed a […]
The post Ethiopia's forces shoot at, detain UN staffers in Tigray appeared first on Black News Channel.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
As COVID-19 caseload surpassed 225,105 on Saturday across the African continent, 43 African countries are now under full border closure due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Africa CDC said that the northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths.
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with a population of about 107 million, reported 268 new cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase so far, taking the country's tally to 3,166, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.
South Africa, the worst-hit country on the continent, has registered a total of 65,736 cases and 1,423 deaths so far, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally.
In addition to the 43 countries under full border closure, the Africa CDC also said Saturday that night-time curfew has been activated across 35 countries in an effort to halt the spread of the infectious virus.
The funeral of Hachalu Hundessa, the slain Ethiopian singer, was held Thursday in his hometown of Ambo, in the Oromia region.
The singer, whose highly political lyrics expressed frustrations of the Oromo people, who have long considered themselves marginalised, was shot dead Monday night in Addis Ababa.
His death immediately rekindled tensions. Demonstrations resulted in the deaths of 81 people and increased political and communal tensions in the country.
Over the past two days, demonstrators have been expressing their anger in the capital and in Oromia, the stronghold of the Oromo people, the country’s largest ethnic group.
It was a federal government plan to expand the capital into Oromia that triggered the anti-government protests in 2015 that led to Abiy Ahmed’s accession to power three years later.
Since assuming office, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner has worked to promote political and economic reforms.
However, this has opened the way open for inter-communal violence, which is putting the Ethiopian system of ethnic federalism to the test.
AFP
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to spend their first Christmas in their new Montecito home, then return to Frogmore Cottage in January.
A bipartisan task force of former presidents has recommended that outgoing commander-in-chief Donald J. Trump be allowed to immediately use all of his accumulated vacation ...
[Dalsan Radio] Somalia's new foreign minister, Mohamed Abdirqzak, has for the first time responded to the ongoing war in Ethiopia.
Alexandra Olson | Associated Press From the Editor: This story was first published on Oct. 29, 2020. It was updated on Nov. 12, 2020, to correct the name of the CEO of Awaken. She is Michelle Kim, not Michelle Lee. Update also includes Labor Department comments. Three civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging […]
The post Trump's Diversity Training Order Faces Lawsuit appeared first on Black Voice News.
On Sept. 12, 1974, Haile Selassie was deposed, the constitution suspended, and Ethiopia proclaimed a Socialist state under a collective military dictatorship called the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), also known as the Derg. U.S. aid stopped, and Cuban and Soviet aid began. Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam became head of state in 1977. During this period Ethiopia fought against Eritrean secessionists as well as Somali rebels, and the government fought against its own people in a campaign called the “red terror.” Thousands of political opponents were killed. Mengistu remained leader until 1991, when his greatest supporter, the Soviet Union, dismantled itself. In May 2008, Ethiopia’s Supreme Court sentenced Mengistu to death in absentia. He had lived in Zimbabwe since 1991.
A group called the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front seized the capital in 1991, and in May a separatist guerrilla organization, the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front, took control of the province of Eritrea. The two groups agreed that Eritrea would have an internationally supervised referendum on independence. This election took place in April 1993 with almost unanimous support for Eritrean independence. Ethiopia accepted and recognized Eritrea as an independent state within a few days. Sixty-eight leaders of the former military government were put on trial in April 1996 on charges that included genocide and crimes against humanity.
Four weeks of hostilities in Ethiopia's Tigray region came to an end this week, according to the nation's head of state. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed […]
Analysis - Ethiopia wants to fill Africa's most powerful hydroelectric dam even without a deal with Sudan and Egypt. Talks on how much water will pass through the Nile dam are deadlocked. The spat threatens the region's security.
Ethiopia's upper house speaker has resigned in apparent protest at the postponement of planned elections in the Horn of Africa country over the coronavirus, a sign of growing tension between her party and the government.
Keria Ibrahim's resignation came in protest against the postponement of elections in the country over the coronavirus.
Speaker Keria Ibrahim is also a top official in Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), one of the country's major political parties that have opposed the postponement.
Last month, TPLF, which is also the governing party for the country's Tigray region, threatened to organise polls for the area in defiance of the postponement, potentially setting the region on a collision course with the federal government.
Keria's resignation underscored the deteriorating relationship between Abiy and his ruling Prosperity Party and the TPLF, said Kjetil Tronvoll, professor of peace and conflict studies at Bjorknes University in Oslo.
Ethiopia’s month-long war in its northern Tigray region has severely hampered efforts to fight one of Africa’s worst coronavirus outbreaks,... View Article
The post Ethiopia’s conflict stokes humanitarian and virus crisis: 'I think the war is worse' appeared first on TheGrio.
The Rwanda Biomedical Center, RBC; tweeted that the tests at the Kigali Amahoro National Stadium is expected to serve 5000 people in all districts of the city and at all its entry points.
Confirmed cases = 1,042
\t\tActive cases = 559
\t\tRecoveries = 480
\t\tNumber of deaths = 3
\t\tTotal number of tests = 147,904
\t
Rwanda MOH stats valid as of July 1, 2020
June 30: Cases pass 1,000 mark
\tOn the 25th of June, authorities in Rwanda introduced total lockdowns in parts of the capital Kigali citing surge in COVID-19 cases.
In a space of four days, the country has recorded over 150 cases taking the tally of confirmed cases as of yesterday (June 29) past the 1,000 mark according to the Ministry of Health tallies.
Confirmed cases = 1,001
\t\tActive cases = 556
\t\tRecoveries = 443
\t\tNumber of deaths = 2
Rwanda MOH stats valid as of June 29, 2020
VIDEO
June 1: Rwanda records first virus death, govt ‘rethinks’ easing restrictions
\t“After reassessment, transportation between provinces and the City of Kigali, as well as passenger motor services, will remain closed until further notice in the interest of public health.
On the last day of May 2020, Rwanda recorded 11 new cases on the same day the first casualty was buried in the outskirts of Kigali.
By Associated Press Maryland restaurants will receive $50 million in state aid as they continue to struggle with devastating financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. State officials released details Nov. 5 on how much aid will be given to restaurants in each jurisdiction. Funds for restaurants, artists, arts organizations, entertainment venues and other businesses […]
The post Maryland restaurants to receive $50 million in COVID-19 aid appeared first on Afro.
FOCAC is an official forum that coordinates cooperation between the People's Republic of China and African States.
Participants will include the Extended AU Bureau, which includes the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Republic of Rwanda and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Other participants will include Chairpersons of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), with the Republic of Madagascar representing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Chad for the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) and the Republic of Rwanda for the East African Community (EAC).
The Republic of Gabon will represent the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Republic of Niger will represent the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Republic of Sudan will represent the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Libya will represent the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), while the Democratic People's Republic of Algeria and the Federal Republic of Nigeria will participate as initiating members of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Ethiopia's parliament has approved allowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to stay in office beyond his mandate after elections planned for August were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote on Wednesday - 114 in favour, four against and one abstention - came two days after a leading opposition politician resigned as speaker in an apparent protest against the decision to delay the election.
Ethiopia's election board announced in March that it would be impossible to organise the vote on time because of the pandemic, in which 2,506 infections have been confirmed in the country with 35 deaths.
Some opposition leaders have called for a caretaker or transitional government to guide the country to elections, a suggestion Abiy dismissed as unworkable during a question-and-answer session on Monday with legislators.
On Wednesday night, two major opposition parties with power bases in Abiy's home Oromia region issued a joint statement rejecting Wednesday's vote as \"an illegal and illegitimate act\".
Additionally, only five ICU beds remain in Gulfport and none in Biloxi. There are also zero ICU beds available in Southaven.
POLICE in Gweru have since Monday arrested at least 100 pirate kombi drivers and impounded their vehicles for operating illegally. BY STEPHEN CHADENGA The arrests were made as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 which saw the countrywide banning in March of private commuter omnibuses not registered under Zupco. Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the development, saying the kombis were being handed over to the Vehicle Inspection Department. “We have since impounded over 100 private kombis for operating illegally in the city,” Goko said. “It is part of our routine exercise to ensure pirate public transport operators are brought to book.” Yesterday, pirate kombis ferrying commuters from western suburbs were dropping passengers a few kilometres outside the central business district to avoid arrest at various police roadblocks. Passengers had to walk the remaining distances to town. Recently, government reiterated that private kombis were banned from carrying passengers unless they registered with Zupco. But following the relaxation of lockdown rules, the number of private kombis operating illegally have increased in most towns and cities. lFollow Stephen on Twitter @jagganox78
OVER 350 families close to Gwayi-Shangani Dam are facing imminent displacement to pave way for the construction of the largest water body in Matabelaland North province. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE The Gwayi-Shangani Dam pipeline was estimated to provide 147 mega litres a day and, therefore, ensure bulk water supply in the medium term to Bulawayo and Matabeleland North. Speaking during a tour of the project which was organised by Bulawayo Civic Society Organisation, the project’s assistant engineer Lucio Chayeruka said 350 families would be displaced. “I am aware of the 350 families that are going to be affected by the construction of the dam,” Chayeruka said. “We have done a survey and saw that 350 families need to be evacuated as they are going to be affected by the dam construction. “The matter is now with the Lands and Agriculture ministry, but as it stands, the matter is now urgent so urgent intervention is required.” Chayeruka said the Lands ministry would decide the fate of the families. “It is the sole responsibility of the ministry to decide when and where these families will be resettled. Once we start the construction process, the structures will have to be removed,” he said. Chayeruka decried lack of funding for the delay in the completion of the dam which is currently 39% complete after the contractor, China International Water and Electric Corporation, abandoned the project in January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is being constructed to link Cowdray Park and the City of Bulawayo. In 2016, the contractor suspended operations due to lack of funding. “This dam is a US$121 million project. I haven’t seen the bill of quantities, but I know that this is a US$121 million project. Of that US$121 million, so far we have used about 39% of the money,” Chayeruka said. “The issue here is actually of funding as you will see that we have all the materials in place. The only material that we might need to buy is cement and when all funding has been put in place, the dam will only take one year to be completed.” Matabeleland Collectives chairperson Jenny Williams said civil society organisations needed to know if those families were going to be compensated. “It is important for us the civil society to empower the community that is within the 60km radius of the dam and what it will mean for them when the dam is constructed. They need to be empowered to know what is coming their way,” Williams said. “The communities need to be empowered so that people cannot come and take advantage of those communities.” The project is going to help improve the water situation in Bulawayo which is currently facing serious water shortages. lFollow Praisemore on Twitter @TPraisemore
Demonstrations resulted in the deaths of 81 people and increased political and communal tensions in the country.
… civil rights for women and African-Americans, as well as more support …
