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A LEGAL showdown is looming between Hwange Colliery Company and former workers after the coal mining firm cut electricity to their homes in a bid to force them out of company-owned houses. BY FRANCIS MWINDE Two weeks ago, the colliery company cut off electricity to company-owned houses occupied by former workers following their retrenchment but are refusing to vacate. Four years ago the colliery retrenched hundreds of workers both on compulsory and voluntary bases. Most of them have since gone to their respective homes. However, others are disputing the retrenchment process which they claim was fraught with irregularities resulting in them seeking legal advice on the way forward. Their lawyers, Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie and Partners, wrote a letter advising the company that their ex-employees would continue staying at their respective houses until finalisation of the matter between the two parties. Last week, the lawyers wrote a letter to Hwange Colliery threatening legal action against the company and the respective officers if the retrenched workers were not provided with electricity within forty-eight hours. “The conduct is, with respect, unlawful and constitutes proper grounds for relief at the High Court on an urgent basis. “The law frowns on persons who take the law into their own hands and we suggest that you seek legal advice on how to deal with this matter,” read part of the letter by the Bulawayo-based legal firm. Efforts to get a comment from Hwange Colliery Company were fruitless yesterday.
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.
By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Dr. Luca Cabrini was certain his hospital in the heart of Lombardy's lake district would reach its breaking point caring for 300 COVID-19 patients. So far, virus patients fill 500 beds and counting. Italy, which shocked the world and itself when hospitals in the wealthy north were overwhelmed with coronavirus cases last spring, is again facing a systemic crisis, as confirmed positives pass the symbolic threshold of 1 million. 'We are very close to not keeping up. I cannot say when we will reach the limit, but that day is not far […]
The post Italian hospitals face breaking point in fall virus surge appeared first on Black News Channel.
THE majority of residents in Zimbabwe’s major urban areas are drinking sewage-contaminated water due to poor management systems by local authorities, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri has revealed in her latest audit report. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA An assessment by the Auditor-General on six major cities in the country showed that urban local authorities were failing to attend to sewer blockages within 24 hours, resulting in raw sewage mixing with drinking water. This ultimately gives rise to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera, among others. Unattended sewer blockages also result in sewage back-flowing, which further weakens the pipes, according to the audit findings for the period 2013 to 2017 following a public outcry over sewer bursts. “The assessment of the urban local authorities’ management of sewerage system revealed a number of weaknesses which contributed to the increase in the number of sewer blockage complaints from consumers,” Chiri said. “If local authorities fail to attend to blockages within the stipulated eight to 24 hours, raw sewage is lost into the environment before reaching the treatment plants, thereby contaminating water bodies. “According to interviews conducted, engineers cited that they were doing more of reactive maintenance rather than planned maintenance.” Results of the assessment also showed that Harare, with the highest population of over 1,5 million people, records the highest number of sewer blockages on average each year, which places residents in the capital city at high risk of contracting waterborne diseases. The United Nations Environment report of 2013 ranked Lake Chivero, Harare’s main water source, as one of the most 10 polluted lakes in the world. Statistics from the audit show that Harare discharges about 4 000 megalitres of raw or partially-treated water into water systems. In responding to the audit, city fathers blamed residents over sewer blockages, citing dumping of kitchen utensils and other items in sewage pipes as the major contributor to infrastructure damages. Although with a higher population, the audit report said Bulawayo had a better sewer system compared to other councils. In 2013 alone, 560 people died of waterborne diseases, while close to 600 000 others contracted the diseases countrywide. In 2008, five years before the audit, Zimbabwe recorded its worst cholera outbreak, which claimed over 5 000 lives, with Harare’s Budiriro and Glen View high-density suburbs the worst hit. Harare and Bulawayo are staring another crisis due to recurrent water shortages, with Harare declaring incapacitation to buy water treatment chemicals. Last week, Harare City Council confirmed four cases of typhoid, a bacterial infection that can be transmitted through contaminated water. The local authorities do not have modern equipment and technologies for sewer system inspection and maintenance and Chiri stated that the government was losing about US$194 million annually owing to poor sanitation practices. The Auditor-General also noted that poor service
AFRICAN lithium developer, Prospect Resources (Prospect) has secured long lead equipment items, giving it a leeway to commence the pilot plant project at its Arcadia Lithium Mine (Arcadia) to produce high-purity petalite and spodumene samples. BY MTHANDAZO NYONI In a statement yesterday, the Australia Stock Exchange-listed firm said the plant would initially produce bulk samples of 500 tonnes of petalite and 120t of spodumene concentrates for customer qualification. It will also de-risk the flotation process by operating the optimised flowsheet; supply bulk samples of high purity products to customers in the technical and chemical markets and obtain product qualification and maximise market demand for Arcadia’s products. The plant will supply samples to Uranium One Group for their product validation purposes and their continuing due diligence on Prospect and the Arcadia Lithium Mine. Prospect managing director Sam Hosack said their key focus was to operate a pilot plant to replicate the Arcadia flowsheet to produce high purity petalite and spodumene. “The pilot plant delivers a number of key objectives for customers, project finance parties and investors in de-risking the Arcadia project. It is a major milestone that we have secured the long-lead purchases,” he said. “Prospect has unique geology at Arcadia allowing for production of high purity products that attract premium pricing from both the technical and chemical market. The flotation process, together with the Arcadia project, offers an attractive solution for customers seeking long term, high quality and consistent supply,” he added. Hosack said the samples would be used for qualification processes with current customers, adding that they would approach additional customers and grow market demand for Arcadia’s high purity products. The company said the design of the pilot plant was based on flotation test work done by a firm called Anzaplan and scaled up to a pilot plant size by the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy using proven flotation technology solutions. It said front-end engineering and design (FEED) will be undertaken using information gathered from the pilot plant. This will determine the phasing, scale of growth and nominal capacity of the Arcadia project. The strategy for the phasing of development will be clarified with the capital expenditure estimates from FEED. “The main risk to achieving this schedule is the delivery of the long lead items that drive the critical path and are able to delay the commissioning. The key long lead items are the flotation cells, which have now been secured by (a) leading flotation cell supplier, mitigating that risk,” Prospect said.
2020 Impacting Lives Ceremony In 2014, the New Journal and Guide newspaper began this annual event to recognize persons and entities that have made a significant impact on the lives of people in Hampton Roads for more than one generation. Over the years, over 60 honorees have been awarded by the Publisher, Brenda H. Andrews. The 2020 ceremony was abbreviated to comply with social distancing and safety guidelines mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading 2020 Impaction Lives 7th Anniversary - VIDEO at The New Journal and Guide.
Filming for the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” has been shut down after a member of the production team tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple media […]
