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Algeria's mediation with the military in Niger is "welcome", declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, recalling that diplomacy was always the route favoured by ECOWAS which however maintains its threat of intervention, in an interview with France 24 broadcast on Thursday.
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 LORRAINE MUROMO The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has condemned the brutal murder of four children in Chivhu by their biological mother following a dispute. On Wednesday, 29-year-old Emelda Marazani slit her four children’s throats and set the family house on fire following a dispute with her husband over infidelity. She attempted to commit suicide after callously killing her daughters aged nine, five, three and one. In a statement, ZGC chairperson for social, cultural and religious issues, Sibongile Mauye, said: “We are saddened by the sad loss of innocent children who are victims of potential marital conflict between the mother of the children and the father,” Mauye said. “We condemn criminal behaviour exhibited by the mother of the children and we are concerned that she took an option to murder innocent children for reasons still unknown. “We implore families to resolve marital disputes in amicable ways recognising that both traditional and legal means of recourse are available.” She added: “As Gender Commission, we stand for equal rights for men women and children. “We are bound by the Bill of Rights; we therefore condemn the brutal killing of innocent children by their biological mother.” Shamwari YeMwanasikana research, advocacy and communications co-ordinator Louis Tatswareyi encouraged couples to resolve disputes amicably. “We feel saddened by the loss of innocent lives as a result of failure by the couple to resolve their infidelity issues. Since the beginning of the lockdown, such cases of murder due to infidelity have been on the increase. It is sad that the killings happened as we approach the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence,” he said. “We continue urging men and women to find amicable ways to solve their issues and most importantly, leave children out of their problems. The parents should be havens of safety for their children no matter what the circumstance should be.”
CHURCHES and residents in Bulawayo yesterday expressed displeasure over a proposed Bill which seeks to enable access to reproductive healthcare services by young people from the age of 12 years. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE Church leaders and residents expressed reservations yesterday during a consultative meeting convened by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care to gather public views on the Bill . Zimbabwe Christian Alliance representative Mehlokazulu Ncube said the proposed Bill would affect innocent children. “This thing is against the Constitution of Zimbabwe and my question is why is Parliament pushing such an agenda? We elected parliamentarians to stand for us and it is their duty to deny such Bills which do not promote ubuntu and are against the Constitution,” Ncube said. “What have they done as parliamentarians to educate children and if this Bill is passed, where are they going to get money to buy these things when as a country we have a serious deficit?” A resident, Patricia Chininge, said most of the parents were not helping their children with issues of reproduction. “The society morality has broken down from parents to children and now there are so many child-headed families, but as a society and the government, we have failed to help those children and they end up being exposed to sex and other things,” she said. “Is giving children this type of education the only solution? I am totally against the Bill. Let’s rise up as the society, as the government as the people and find a solution to deal with this problem. The problem is that children are having sex at an early stage. There is no guidance, there is no education, so let’s bring better ways to deal with that.” Baptist Union of Zimbabwe member Godwin Moyo said the Bill seemed to put everything in one basket. “There are problems that are there concerning early pregnancies, child-headed families, but the solution is the one that we are saying no to,” he said. Nkulumane MP Kucaca Phulu said people had not properly understood the Bill. “The young people are having their own angle of understanding and the elderly are having their own interpretation. So, I wish to get time and have more discussions with both the youths and the elderly,” he said. Former Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa said they were sent by Parliament to gather public views. “As you can see, most of the parents and churches are saying ‘no, 12 years is still too young, they are too immature. We are really leading them into child prostitution’ and they are also challenging the age of consent,” he said. “The youths are saying, ‘let everyone have reproductive healthcare’ and so this is the discussion we were having. The parents’ morale is very low and parents have been complaining that not enough consultation was done. We should have consulted teachers, churches, parents and youths separately and I agree with them.”
Taking Up Arms
A military operation has been launched by Morocco in the buffer zone of Guerguerat near Mauritania, as announced Friday.
The North African nation also denounced \"the provocations of the Polisario\" in Western Sahara — once a colony of Spain with a still undefined status. Classified as a \"non-autonomous territory\" by the United Nations (UN).
The aim of the ongoing operation is to \"put an end to the blockade situation\" and \"restore free civil and commercial movement\" on the road leading to Mauritania — whose existence is denounced by the Sahrawi independence fighters and which Rabat considers essential for its trade with sub-Saharan Africa.
For about three weeks, local sources claim militias of some 70 armed men have been \"attacking truckers, banning traffic and racketeering.\"
All this in spite of UN settlement efforts — as the organisation-led negotiations involving Morocco, the Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania have been suspended for several months.
Polisario in response has stated its Sahrawi troops will retaliate in self-defence in light of what it perceives as Morocco being \"aggressive\" and liquidating the 1991 cease-fire.
Background
The region of Guerguerat has already been at the centre of strong tensions between the Polisario and Morocco, particularly in early 2017. Morocco controls more than two-thirds of this vast desert territory in its western part, along the Atlantic Ocean and has seen friction for decades with the pro-independence Polisario Front supported by Algeria.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said he stood in solidarity with people who fight to promote professionalism at the courts. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA Chamisa yesterday attended the bail hearing at the Harare Magistrates Court for incarcerated journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who is accused of posting tweets which the State alleges jeopardised the trial of Henrietta Rushwaya in her gold smuggling case. “I am here in solidarity with those who fight to promote professionalism and ensure justice prevails,” he said. Chin’ono, however, is arguing that his tweets do not constitute an offence as he was merely performing his duty as a journalist. He refused to name his sources from the National Prosecuting Authority, whom he claimed had told him that the State was not going to oppose Rushwaya bail, saying he was exercising his journalistic privilege. Chin’ono, who is being represented by Beatrice Mtetwa and Gift Mtisi, filed an application for a bail and awaits ruling from Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa today. This is the second time Chin’ono has been arrested this year, after being arrested in July ahead of the foiled July 31 protests and accused of plotting to remove President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
Power. Respect. Finally. When Eric Sheffield first saw Joe Biden take the lead in the vote count in Georgia, the 52-year-old Black man immediately thought about all the years he spent urging his Black friends and family to vote and all the times he saw his preferred candidate lose. “Over the years, a lot of Black people have said, ‘Well, […]
RIO GRANDE CITY — It was a strange sight in Starr County: More than 70 vehicles, decked out with Trump 2020 flags, parading 13 miles along the Texas-Mexico border from Roma to Rio Grande City. Even Roel Reyes, who flew an “All Aboard the Trump Train” flag from the back of his Harley Davidson, was surprised to have so much […]
FRANCE-BASED Zimbabwean football players Tino Kadewere and Marshall Munetsi are looking to follow in the footsteps of former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari, who made a huge impact during his stint at AJ Auxerre, where he scooped the player of the month award in two successive months. BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA The former Warriors striker, who was on the books of Jomo Cosmos and had a one-season stint with Swiss club Grasshoppers, moved to AJ Auxerre in 2002 after impressing Guy Roux. He immediately made an impact, burying opponents under an avalanche of goals which won him the player gong for the month of September and October, overshadowing the likes of Didier Drogba. Then, Drogba was playing for French Ligue 1 side Guingamp before he switched to Olympic Marseille and then to English Premiership side Chelsea where he eventually established himself as one of the world’s greatest forwards. Although Mwaruwari later moved to Portsmouth and then Manchester City, he had already left an indelible mark in the French Ligue 1 and it appears Kadewere and Munesti are on course to repeating the same feat. Kadewere was named in the Sofascore’s Ligue 1 Team of the Week after he rose from the bench on Sunday to score a brace, which saw his side overturn a first half deficit to win 2-1 against St Etienne. Sofascore, a football statistics website, gave him a performance rating of 8,5, the second highest in the team. Munetsi was in last week’s Team of the Week following a commanding performance in Stade de Reims’ 2-1 victory. Whether the pair would be able to match the bar set by Mwaruwari remains to be seen. Munetsi had been included in the Warriors squad that played against reigning African Champions Algeria in the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Algiers last night but missed out after his club Stade de Reims claimed he was injured. Zifa, however, have formally written to the club demanding the release of the player for further assessment by Warriors’ doctors. Should he be released and certified fit, he is certain to play in the second leg in Harare on November 16. There are no problems though for Kadewere who was expected to lead the Warriors attack last night. Follow Tawanda on Twitter @Tafitawa
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Three of the Trump’s appointees, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch are viewed as more likely than their colleagues to support the now lame-duck President’s long-stated desire to kill Obamacare. “Severability is designed to say, well, would Congress still want the statute to stand even with the provision gone?” […]
The post Supreme Court Scheduled to Hear Arguments That Will Determine the Fate of the Affordable Care Act appeared first on The Orlando Advocate.
Grace Moore, a seventh-grader, was one of the chosen students who was given the opportunity to have her piece \"Summer\" performed by the Philharmonic orchestra during a world-premiere event in October.
