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Ghanaians voted in an election seen as a close fight between President Nana Akufo-Addo and his longtime rival John Mahama, in a country long viewed a beacon of stability in a troubled region.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
President Akufo-Addo in his tenth address announced that whiles borders remained closed, some categories of academic institutions are allowed to resume, religious places can also reopen with strict conditions and the observance of health protocols.
Total confirmed cases = 8,297
Total recoveries = 2,986
Total deaths = 38
Active cases = 5,273
June 2: Minister issues guidelines for churches, mosques
\tThe Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, has expanded on a government plan for reopening of places of worship across the country.
Govt to close down religious institutions who flout anti-Covid-19 directives – GNA report
June 1: 8,070 cases, conditional lifting of most restrictions
\tGhana’s case load passed the 8,000 mark on last day of May 2020 as president Akufo-Addo addressed the nation lifting conditionally a raft of restrictions.
With effect from Friday 5th June, Ghana will begin the implementation of gradual easing of restrictions
\t\tFinal year university students to report to school on 15th June, 2020
\t\tFaith-based organisations to start communal worship, effective Friday, June 5, amid social distancing and hygiene protocols
\t\tAll schools, both private and public remain closed.
Each student, teacher and non teaching staff will be provided with reusable face mask by the Ministry of Education prior to reopening for final year students
\t\tWeddings with not more than 100 guests can be organized
\t\tPublic political activities, except for rallies, to resume with less than 100 people, amid observation of social distancing and hygiene protocols
\t\t218, 425 Covid-19 tests conducted so far
\t
\tTotal confirmed cases = 8,070 (new cases = 189)
Total recoveries = 2,947
Total deaths = 36
Active cases = 5,087
Following the successful rollout of the Free Senior High School (SHS) educational policy three years ago, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government will build more senior high schools across the country.
In a meeting with a delegation from the Kologo traditional area in the Upper East Region at the Jubliee House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said the decision forms part of government's efforts to improve access to education in Ghana.
The Free SHS policy has increased high school enrolment significantly, with over a million students enjoying free education in Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo's comment was in response to a request by the traditional leaders for an SHS in Kologo.
He promised to ensure that the community benefits from an SHS and pledged to grant their request for a district hospital under the government's project to construct 88 district hospitals across the country.
Freetown is the capital, principal port, commercial center, and largest city of Sierra Leone. The city was founded by British Naval Lieutenant John Clarkson and freed American slaves from Nova Scotia. Freetown was part of the larger colony of the Sierra Leone which was founded by the Sierra Leone Company (SLC) in 1787. The SLC, organized by British businessman and abolitionist William Wilberforce, sought to rehabilitate the black poor of London and former slaves of North America by bringing them to the settlement in Sierra Leone where they would stop the African slave trade by spreading Christianity through the continent.
The first groups of blacks, about 400 Londoners, arrived in Sierra Leone in 1787 and established Granville Town, named after British abolitionist Granville Sharp. When the settlement was destroyed by the indigenous inhabitants in 1789, British abolitionists sent a second, larger party of 1,100 former American slaves who had been resettled in Nova Scotia at the end of the American Revolution. These settlers established Freetown in 1792. In 1800, 500 Jamaican Maroons were landed by the British.
The surviving Londoners, the Nova Scotians, and Jamaican maroons, intermarried to create the Creole population of Freetown. The Creoles banded together partly because of their Christian background and western culture but also because they lacked the tradition of native law and custom which dominated the lives of the indigenous people. Creoles also had important connections with British colonial officials who administered Sierra Leone from 1808 when they assumed control over the SLC colony, to 1961 when Sierra Leone gained its independence. Those connections allowed the Creoles, always a tiny minority of the colonys populace, to become the most powerful and influential group, after the colonial administrators, in the city and colony.
From 1808 to 1874 Freetown was the headquarters for the Royal British Navys West African Squadron which captured slave ships headed for the Americas and
Sierra Leone more than doubled its coronavirus cases in the last 10 days (April 20 – 30 from 64 cases to 124).
April 21: President Bio enters in quarantine
\tSierra Leone president Julius Maada Bio is to undergo 14-day self-isolation after one of his bodyguards tested positive for COVID-19, reports from the West African country indicated as of Monday evening.
March 31: Sierra Leone confirms index case
\tSierra Leone president Julius Maada Bio has confirmed that the country has its first case of COVID-19, multiple media outlets in the West African country have confirmed.
March 27: Sierra Leone closes borders for 30 days
\tVirus-free Sierra Leone on Friday announced closure of its borders for a 30-day period barely days after President Julius Maada Bio announced a state of public health emergency.
VIDEO
March 24: President Maada Bio declares 12-month state of Public Health emergency
\tDespite being among 11 African countries that have not recorded any cases of the coronavirus, Sierra Leone president Julius Maada Bio has imposed a twelve-month state of public health emergency effe
The establishment of an Oversight Board to make rulings about content moderation on Facebook and Instagram indicates the company's determination to promote the rights of users and freedom of expression, Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei, a human rights lawyer and Programme Manager at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa has said.
The Ghanaian who has been appointed by Facebook to serve as a Board Member of the newly constituted body said the board was expected to provide an avenue for people to challenge Facebook's decisions on content moderation adding that its decisions would be transparent and binding.
The board is one of Facebook's high-profile efforts to respond to criticism over how it handles problematic content and transparency around its decision-making.
The 20 member board Ms Asare-Kyei said would review certain content decisions by Facebook and Instagram and make binding decisions based on respect for freedom of expression and human rights.
Ms Asare-Kyei joins two other Africans - Julie Owono, a digital rights advocate and Executive Director of Internet Sans Frontières from Cameroon and Maina Kiai, a human rights activist and Director of Human Rights Watch's Global Alliances and Partnerships programme from Kenya on the board.
One specific challenge with our healthcare system strengthening efforts in Kenya is that many patients preferred to receive care from herbalists and found it convenient to consult them.
This helped us overcome many of the challenges with trust and lack of convenience that patients often mention when deciding to forgo care from the healthcare system.
The inclusion of these peer providers who have successfully managed their conditions has helped serve as a bridge between the community and healthcare system to improve our relationship and ability to communicate with each other.
This integrated approach has enabled our programme to build trust with the communities we serve and directly address the challenges with misinformation as members of the community feel much greater comfort with seeking advice from providers who are based within the community.
Our examples from Kenya show that when healthcare providers integrate into communities, people will be more likely to seek out their advice and trust their opinions.
Following the introduction of cattle into the Caribbean in 1493, during Christopher Columbus’s second voyage, cattle ranching proliferated along a series of frontiers across the grasslands of North and South America. While historians have recognized that Africans and their descendants were involved in the establishment of those ranching frontiers, the emphasis has been on their labor rather than their creative participation. In his recent book, Black Ranching Frontiers: African Cattle Herders of the Atlantic World, 1500-1900, historian Andrew Sluyter explores their creative contributions. In the article below he describes one such contribution, the balde sin fondo (bottomless bucket) and its role in cattle ranching on the Pampas of Argentina.
Africans did not play a creative role in establishing cattle ranching on the Pampas during colonial times. Yet by the early 1800s the presence of enslaved and free people from Senegambia (present-day Senegal and Gambia) on ranches resulted in the introduction of an African water-lifting device: the bottomless bucket, or balde sin fondo. With victory over Spain in 1818, Argentinean independence, and the opening of new export markets for livestock products, ranching expanded across the vast Pampas grasslands, and new practices dramatically changed the colonial herding ecology. Africans played a particularly creative role in a key aspect of that transformation, the supplying of drinking water to the herds as they expanded into pastures distant from major perennial streams. That challenge was familiar to Senegambian herders who had to supply water during the long drive southward from the fringes of the Sahara to the banks of the Senegal and Gambia rivers as the rains ended and the vegetation of the Sahel turned from green to brown.
The bottomless bucket provided the solution before windmills rendered it obsolete in the early twentieth century. The bottomless bucket lifted water from wells with the labor of a single person, even a child, on a horse. Observers at the time
A Dallas police oversight board reported that it has had over 100 calls from residents complaining about police brutalizing protesters and reporting injuries as a result of police firing non-lethal but obviously harmful projectiles.
Louisville man defending himself from police attack shot and killed
Louisville police shot and killed restaurant owner David McAtee last week during a protest on behalf of George Floyd.
Minneapolis police claim they don’t fire rubber bullets, but protesters have reported being hit by projectiles and have shown news media large rocket- and bullet-shaped objects that police have fired at them.
The protest was one of many across the nation following the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day.
First, the Christian Monitor reported that Trump’s approval rating has dropped 20 points among voters over age 65, the biggest drop any other age group aside from 18-29-year-olds.
Africa breached the 200,000 mark on June 10 according to the AU’s Africa Centers for Disease Control, which at the time reported that there were 203,899 cases along with 5,530 deaths and 91,398 recoveries.
May 22: Cases pass 100,000 mark
\tConfirmed cases of coronavirus across Africa passed the 100,000 mark barely 24-hours after the deaths hit 3,000.
The five most impacted nations were as follows:
\t\tSouth Africa: 19,137 confirmed cases
\t\tEgypt: 15,003
\t\tAlgeria: 7,728
\t\tMorocco: 7,300
\t\tNigeria: 7,016
\tSouth Africa is the most impact across the continent and in the southern African region.
April 18: Cases across Africa pass 20,000 mark
\tConfirmed cases of coronavirus passed the 20,000 mark barely 24-hours after the deaths topped 1,000.
Additional files on UNECA report from AP
April 17: Africa’s coronavirus deaths pass 1,000 mark as cases approach 20,000
\tAfrica’s coronavirus deaths have surpassed the 1,000 mark according to tallies by the john Hopkins University.
The police chief called on Nigerians to join in efforts to tackle rape and other sexual violence by ensuring prompt report of cases and working with the police to apprehend the suspects.
\"I will call on every Nigerian that comes across any victim of sexual offences, rape or gender-based violence to quickly report to law enforcement agents because keeping quiet without reporting it will give room for the perpetrators to continue to commit the offences,\" he said.
\"It has come to the public knowledge now that because of the COVID-19 restrictions, we have a surge in cases of rape and gender-based violence.
These are cases that are now coming up but we want to let members of the public know that, rape and gender-based violence has been there.
\"The police and other security agencies and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been collaborating, to see to it that these cases of rape and gender-based violence are dealt with.
With no clinical trials conducted in Africa, researchers have emphasized that Africa's Covid-19 research should be tailored to the continent's realities.
While some African countries, Nigeria, Zambia, Tunisia and Egypt are involved in the global Solidarity Clinical Trials, the continent needs support to develop its medicinal research potential, improve efficacy and quality as well as and encourage best medical practices.
Following the Malagasy Institute's Covid-19 drink, WHO's calls, reinforced by US Centers for Disease Control, urged people not to try the untested remedy arguing that Africans deserve to use medicines at the same standards as people in the rest of the world.
Thus, like other medicines, Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were tested as part of Covid-19 treatment trials, so too should COVID-ORGANICS have been given the chance to allow a scientific and non-emotional rejection.
Indeed, until 12 May 2020 when the WHO agreed to clinical trials of COVID-ORGANICS, President Rajoelina had criticized the West for a condescending attitude towards traditional medicine in Africa.
May 12: Nigeria accepts COVID-Organics
\tNigeria is set to fly in Madagascar’s herbal cure donation from Guinea-Bissau, a top official at the president who is leader of the presidential task force on COVID-19 disclosed on Monday.
“Mr President has given instructions for the airlifting of Nigeria’s allocation of the Madagascar Covid-19 Syrup; also given clear instructions that it must be subjected to the standard validation process for pharmaceuticals; there will be no exceptions for this.
May 6: ECOWAS ‘rejects’ COVID-Organics, Madagascar’s untested virus cure
\tThe Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has dissociated itself from reports of a donation from Madagascar regarding a coronavirus herbal cure, COVID-Organics.
In a May 6 press release, the ECOWAS Commission said it dissociates itself from claims that it had “ordered a package of COVID Organics (CVO) medicine from a third country.”
“We wish to dissociate ECOWAS and its health institution, West Africa Health Organization, WAHO, from this claim and inform the general public that we have not ordered the said CVO medicine,” the statement read in part.
From making Shea Butter in a mobile home with his two daughters to owning one of the most successful fair trade beauty companies, Olowo-n’djo T’chala is truly the story of successful entrepreneurship. T’chala grew up in Northern Togo in a farming community where he learned the importance of sustainability as a young age. He was […]
The G5 Sahel countries have declared the coronavirus pandemic now the public enemy number 1.
Situation of Covid 19 in the G5 Sahel, 21 May 2020 at 11H UT
Countries Declared cases Cured Deceased
Burkina Faso 809 661 52
Mali 931 543 53
Mauritanie 141 06 04
Niger 920 738 58
Tchad 565 177 57
G5 Sahel 3 366 2 125 224
Table drawn up from data supplied by Internet, section: Statistics for the coronavirus (COVID-19), updated in real time, minute by minute.
The opportunity also to launch « an urgent appeal to all partners for an even greater solidarity and a strong mobilization in favor of the G5 Sahel countries, to bring them emergency aid in equipment, materials and medicines which they greatly lack » As a response to this request, the European Union has decided to organize humanitarian flights to two of the G5 member states: Burkina Faso and Niger.
The G5 countries continue to face terrorist attacks in the three-border area, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin (Niger, Nigeria and Chad).
His bitterness seems to have been understood by the other protagonists, since the G 5 Sahel ministers « welcomed the action of the Chadian Armed Forces under the direct command of their supreme leader, His Excellency, Mr. Idriss Deby Itno, and committed the countries neighbors to coordinate their actions in order to eradicate the hydra of Boko-Haram”.
In 2002, the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations formally agreed to the creation of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a so-called 'hybrid court,' to bring justice and reconciliation to the country and region.
David Crane spoke with Tom Sheehy, a long-time staff member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives, addressing the Special Court, its lessons, relevancy for today, and the state of contemporary international justice.
I also had a quarterly meeting with all of the civil society organizations of Sierra Leone to discuss their perspectives on justice, the Special Court, and various related issues.
I felt in putting together my General Strategy that the Special Court for Sierra Leone was only one star in a galaxy of stars working together to bring peace to that war-torn land.
Greatest responsibility was the standard by which the Special Court for Sierra Leone was established.
Sister Marie Stella's association has joined with others to call for help from donors abroad through a new organization \"Enfants de l'Espoir\" (Children of Hope).
Last September, Noura joined the Fraternité Hospitalière des Serviteurs de la Miséricorde (Hospital Fraternity of the Servants of Mercy) created in 2015, where Sister Marie Stella, the only nun engaged in the association, lives with five other women who work for Vivre dans l'Espérance.
After meeting several young women who were sisters or were hoping to become nuns but were rejected by religious congregations when they told them they were HIV-positive, Sister Marie Stella felt she had to welcome them to a place where they could live their commitment to religious life.
Every morning, with other people working for Vivre dans l'Espérance and sometimes young volunteers from Europe spending a few weeks or a few months to help the association, members of the fraternité attend Mass and pray together.
At Sister Marie Stella's organization, Muslim children study the Quran when Christians go to catechism class.
Slavery has been rife throughout all of ancient history. Most, if not all, ancient civilizations practiced this institution and it is described (and defended) in early writings of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. It was also practiced by early societies in central America and Africa. (See Bernard Lewiss work Race and Slavery in the Middle East 1 for a detailed chapter on the origins and practices of slavery.)
The Quran prescribes a humanitarian approach to slavery -- free men could not be enslaved, and those faithful to foreign religions could live as protected persons, dhimmis, under Muslim rule (as long as they maintained payment of taxes called Kharaj and Jizya). However, the spread of the Islamic Empire resulted in a much harsher interpretation of the law. For example, if a dhimmis was unable to pay the taxes they could be enslaved, and people from outside the borders of the Islamic Empire were considered an acceptable source of slaves.
Although the law required owners to treat slaves well and provide medical treatment, a slave had no right to be heard in court (testimony was forbidden by slaves), had no right to property, could marry only with permission of their owner, and was considered to be a chattel, that is the (moveable) property, of the slave owner. Conversion to Islam did not automatically give a slave freedom nor did it confer freedom to their children.
Whilst highly educated slaves and those in the military did win their freedom, those used for basic duties rarely achieved freedom. In addition, the recorded mortality rate was high -- this was still significant even as late as the nineteenth century and was remarked upon by western travelers in North Africa and Egypt.
Slaves were obtained through conquest, tribute from vassal states (in the first such treaty, Nubia was required to provide hundreds of male and female slaves), offspring (children of slaves were also slaves, but since many slaves were castrated this was not as common as it had been in the Roman empire), and purchase.
