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Congo's civil service ministry estimates there are 14,000 government workers aged 90 years and over, and about 256 centenarians
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 Associated Press Undefined PARIS (AP) — In silence and mourning, France marked five years since 130 people were killed by Islamic State extremists who targeted the Bataclan concert hall, Paris cafes and the national stadium in a series of coordinated attacks. It was France's deadliest peacetime attack, deeply shaking the nation. It led to intensified French military action against extremists abroad and a security crackdown at home. Five years later, Prime Minister Jean Castex was leading silent ceremonies Friday at the multiple sites targeted by coordinated attackers around the French capital on Nov. 13, 2015: the Stade de France […]
The post France marks 5 years since deadly attacks on Bataclan, cafes appeared first on Black News Channel.
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
The Holness administration is sticking to its decision to permit mining in the ecologically sensitive Puerto Bueno Mountains, also called the Dry Harbour Mountains in St Ann, the tourism-dependent parish on Jamaica's northern coast. Prime...
By Demetrius Dillard Special to the AFRO The Baltimore Ravens didn’t let the adversities they faced over the past week distract them from handling business on the road against the Indianapolis Colts top-five defense. Last week, the Ravens had a player test positive for coronavirus, forcing them to play without one of their premier cornerbacks. […]
The post Ravens show resilience in comeback win appeared first on Afro.
TAMPA BAY - The University of South Florida has expanded a program that guarantees admission to any of its three campuses to students who attend local high schools that serve historically underrepresented families. Through the Guaranteed Admissions Pathway Program, or GAPP, students at 17 Title 1 high schools within USF's geographical footprint can secure their […]
BULAWAYO City Council has expressed reservations over expending resources to a project spearheaded by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to transform a refugee centre at Chambuta in Chiredzi into a rehabilitation facility for street kids. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Government first announced plans to transform the refugee centre into a facility for children in 2015, but the project failed to take-off. Auxillia, through her Angel of Hope Foundation and the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry, is now spearheading the project. Latest council minutes show that the ministry on October 22 sent an SOS to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) seeking material and financial support to ensure the project becomes a success, but councillors turned down the request. “Discussion ensued and councillor Mlandu Ncube was concerned that Bulawayo had a lot of responsibilities that it was failing to fulfil. Council was facing a lot of financial challenges. He was against the idea to pledge assistance to renovate the home,” the council minutes read in part. “Council could only assist in terms of painting the block. Alderman Siboniso Khumalo shared the same sentiments with Ncube, saying that in Bulawayo there were homes which council was failing to assist as well as other service delivery responsibilities it could not meet.” Bulawayo street kids are housed at Emthunzini Wethemba, but the facility faces viability challenges, forcing the homeless to escape back to the streets. Town clerk Christopher Dube, however, argued that council had a responsibility to pledge assistance in the spirit of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe. “It was, therefore, resolved to recommend that the council be granted authority to pledge assistance in the form of painting the block that it adopted at Chambuta Children’s Home.” In its SOS letter, the ministry said it was mandated under the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06) to care for and protect the homeless through the Department of Social Welfare. “It is in this light that all urban councils are being called upon to commit their resources towards renovations and future maintenance of Chambuta Children’s home to ensure sustainability of the project,” the ministry wrote to the BCC. “Please note that your commitment in the project will leave its mark in improving the lives of this vulnerable group from our communities taking into cognisance the fact that the children currently housed at the institution had been living and working on the streets of all urban centres countrywide.”
