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BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA A DIRECTOR in the finance ministry, Fidelis Ngorora yesterday told chief magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi that Treasury did not approve former Public Service minister Prisca Mupfumira's request to secure a loan from the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to purchase personal motor vehicles. Ngorora said the government was supposed to go through the formal procurement process, and that the request was unlawfully done. Mupfumira is jointly charged for graft with former permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka, on two counts of criminal abuse of office. She claimed that she got approval from Cabinet to secure a loan from NSSA to purchase the motor vehicles, but Ngorora told the court that it is only the Finance Ministry that deals with such financial matters. More details to follow…
\t While no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pointed the finger at Israel, calling the killing an act of ``\"state terror.''
\t ``Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice _ with serious indications of Israeli role _ shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators,'' Zarif wrote on Twitter.
[DW] TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael used to be one of the most powerful Tigray in federal politics. Now he's at war with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and there's a warrant out for his arrest.
[UN Women] Galvanizes partners to fund organizations, respond to survivors' needs, prevent violence and collect data to build a post-pandemic \"new normal\" as the 16 days of Activism campaign kicks off
CHURCHES have started lobbying for a parliamentary seat to have issues affecting their constituency debated.The church representative organisations made the call in Bulawayo on Tuesday during a meeting between civic society organisations (CSOs) and Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE CSOs and the media were drawn from Matabeleland North, South and Bulawayo province. Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) representative, Samuel Mabvundu said the church was socially conscious and should be represented in Parliament. “Over 80% of Zimbabweans are Christians and therefore there is need for representation in that regard. You find Christianity dominating in public gatherings while it is only the traditional leaders who are given room in Parliament,” Mabvundu said. “I think we also need representation from the Christianity side. We now need to change that mentality. Instead of the church standing up, we need to be there as it happens, rather than standing up later when things have fallen apart.” Another ZCC member only identified as Manjengwa said there was need for churches to have a seat in Parliament. “My issue is on people who are represented in Parliament. You spoke of chiefs, the disabled, but there is no church representatives. Where are they? You never mentioned them? Is it that you do not want them to be represented in Parliament?” Manjengwa asked. In response, Mudenda said if the church engages into politics, who would help people to turn away from sin? “You cannot serve two masters. You either serve God or Caesar, but this is not to say you cannot be a politician. What you can do is appeal to the President that of those five ministers selected by the President, one of the reverends then becomes a minister,” Mudenda said. “When one becomes the minister, he then leaves the collar. Things will not fall apart when the church is not in Parliament. Things fall apart when the church is not praying for politicians. Every Sunday, congregants have to be reminded to stop sinning, so when you are in politics this then becomes difficult.” Mudenda said it was, however, possible for a pastor to become a politician as portrayed by the Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera. Last week, Zanu PF Harare women’s league chairperson Betty Nhambu-Kaseke said there was need for the church to be fully incorporated into the National Development Strategy One launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. lFollow Praisemore on Twitter @TPraisemore
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis raised 13 new cardinals to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy Saturday and immediately warned them not to use their titles for corrupt, personal gain, presiding over a ceremony marked from beginning to end by the coronavirus pandemic. Two new 'princes' of the church, from Brunei and the Philippines, didn't make it to Rome because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, though they were shown on giant screens watching it from home in the nearly empty St. Peter's Basilica. Throughout the socially distanced ceremony, which clocked in at an unusually quick […]
The post Pope elevates 13 new cardinals then puts them in their place appeared first on Black News Channel.
Since the risk for COVID-19 can vary among different groups of people, prioritisation for a vaccine will be tricky, and Biden will leave those decisions to health experts, the Indian-American infectious disease physician said.
Health care workers will be the first people in Texas to receive a COVID-19 vaccine once one receives emergency approval from the U.S. government, and on Monday a state panel of vaccine experts and politicians revealed which workers in the health field will receive top priority. The “first tier” recipients, according to the panel’s new guidelines, include: Hospital-based nurses, doctors, […]
Denbigh, Clarendon: Frustrated by the high Customs duties charged for red kidney beans to be planted in Jamaica, a St Catherine-based farm store owner has discontinued importing the seeds. O’Brien Johnson, managing director of St Jago Farm and...
It was late on the first Tuesday in November, and Captain Hussen Besheir, an Ethiopian federal soldier, was on duty at a guard post outside the military camp in Dansha.
It was close to midnight when he saw headlights approaching.
Ten armed members of the Tigrayan special forces got out of the vehicle and demanded to see the camp's commander.
\"'We're not here for you',\" Hussen recalled them saying. \"'We want to talk to the leaders.'\"
Hussen refused. An argument ensued and gunfire rang out.
They were the first shots in a conflict that has since engulfed northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, killing many hundreds of people and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
This week AFP visited the Dansha barracks, home to the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian military, after gaining rare access to Tigray, where a near-complete communications blackout has been in place since the fighting began.
Shell casings littered the camp's grounds, and bullet holes were punched in the walls of buildings and sides of military trucks.
A metal sign at the entrance reading, \"We need to protect the constitution from anti-development forces and lead our country to renaissance,\" was so perforated with gunfire as to be almost illegible.
'Betrayal'
Hussen and others described hours-long rifle and grenade battles against fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), including special forces and militiamen, joined by some federal soldiers of Tigrayan ethnicity who turned against their comrades.
Echoing a statement from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Hussen said soldiers \"were killed in their pyjamas\", adding, \"What happened here is even worse than that.\"
\"Betrayal alone wouldn't describe the feeling that I have. These are soldiers who have been eating and drinking with us,\" he said of those former federal troops who allegedly turned their guns against them.
The government in Addis Ababa has claimed the attack on Dansha - and a simultaneous assault on another barracks in the regional capital Mekele - as justification for its military offensive in Tigray since November 4.
It points to an interview on Tigrayan media in which a prominent TPLF supporter, said a pre-emptive strike was \"imperative\".
\"Should we be waiting for them to launch attacks first? No,\" said Sekuture Getachew, in the interview, which Abiy's office has called a \"confession\".
Confrontation between Abiy and the TPLF was a long time coming. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades until anti-government protests swept Abiy to power in 2018.
Since then the TPLF has complained of being sidelined and scapegoated for the country's woes.
The rift widened after Ethiopia postponed national elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. Tigray went ahead with its own vote, then branded Abiy an illegitimate ruler.
Ethnic forces
Tadilo Tamiru, a sergeant in the government-aligned Amhara special forces, was 50 kilometres to the south with his 170-strong unit, in a small town along the bo
The United Nations said Friday it had flown 32 tons of emergency aid to Khartoum, Sudan to quickly assist the thousands of refugees fleeing fighting and violence in Ethiopia.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR said a second shipment is expected to arrive by plane from Dubai on Monday.
More than 43,300 refugees have crossed the border to Sudan so far. The number of refugees could reach 200,000 in the next six months according to humanitarian agencies.
Visiting Khartoum to oversee operations, UNHCR boss Filipo Grandi expressed his solidarity and gratitude to Sudan for opening its borders to refugees.
According to a UNHCR spokesman in Geneva half of them are children.
Friday's flight brought 5,000 blankets, 4,500 solar lamps, 2,900 mosquito nets, 200 tarpaulins and 200 rolls of plastic.
Monday's flight is expected to carry 1,275 family tents and 10 prefabricated warehouses to accommodate 16,000 people. Two more flights are planned.
A taxi driver with a previous rape conviction, has been sentenced to life in prison for a similar offence.
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer NBA players who test positive for the coronavirus this season may have to miss nearly two weeks in some instances before being allowed to return to the court, the league told its teams Saturday. That revelation was one of many in a 63,000-word document, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, that explained some of the heath and safety protocols for the looming season. Preseason games begin Dec. 11 and regular-season contests start Dec. 22. The document still needs to be ratified by the league and the National Basketball Players Association, […]
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Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world but it has a booming mining industry that brings in millions of revenue each year. Since 2015, the West African nation has transformed into a top global producer of bauxite. According to the World Bank, Guinea’s bauxite production increased from 59.6 million tonnes in 2018...
The post Guinea topples China to become world's second-biggest producer of bauxite appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
[Dalsan Radio] The French government has pardoned the Somali government for $ 306 million following an agreement reached in Mogadishu on Thursday.
Police Friday said that they had detained four people after intercepting two vessels that were seeking to enter the island illegally from the neighbouring French island of Martinique.
