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Niger's military regime have said there should be a "negotiated framework" established with Paris to coordinate the withdrawal of French troops.
Nationwide protests have taken place since October 7 despite the disbanding of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.
The demonstrators have been accused of attacking police stations and personnel.
The rallies which are mostly attended by young people have become avenues to vent against corruption and unemployment.
Rights groups say at least 15 people have been killed the demonstrations began in early October.
After two years of engagement, Taraji P. Henson confirmed that she won't be walking down the aisle with former NFL player and Super Bowl champ Kelvin Hayden.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO LOCAL arts production house, Patsimeredu Edutainment Trust’s director Jasen Mphepo says theatre plays an important role in people’s lives, not only providing entertainment, but also creating a platform for engagement, debates and questions critical issues affecting the society. Patsimeredu Edutainment has been using theatre to create dialogue in different platforms of engagement on diverse societal issues. In an interview with NewsDay Life &Style yesterday, Mphepo said their key programming was centred on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) targeting mostly in and out of school youths. “The Buddies For Love, which is our organisation's flagship project, targets young people through the use of theatre. Theatre and other communication strategies such as song, dance and peer education form part of the project intervention,” he said. “Theatre plays both an informative as well as an influencer role. Artistes are emulated by the audience they perform for, hence playing a decisive role modelling good behaviour and at the same time helping people change their behaviour by offering them alternative solutions,” he said. Mphepo said their work entailed helping young people believe in themselves and make informed choices about their sexuality and sexual health, adding that they used baseline surveys to gather evidence on issues affecting young people to produce theatre plays that are then performed for the target audience. “The programme which annually targets over 36 000 students and 3 000 out of school youths empower young people with knowledge and information, leading to behavioural and attitude change with regards their sexuality and sexual health,” he said. “The programme links young people to services such as legal and health-related services. We have helped many young people who are at risk of sexual abuse and risky sexual behaviours overcome them including drug and alcohol abuse.” Currently Patsimeredu is running a radio drama titled Shelea on women empowerment that shall be airing on local radio station every Thursday. The compelling radio drama (Shelea) is part of a She Leads campaign being supported by HIVOS and the Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria. “Patsimeredu produced a soundtrack for Shelea for the radio and since its launch a week ago, has generated a buzz of engagements both on radio and social media,” he said. Mphepo said over the years they had worked with about 120 schools across the country, in cities and towns like Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Mutare.
… campaign rally late last week.
“African-American income, think of this, grew … that the unemployment rate for Black Americans is 6.1 per cent …
Guinea's electoral body has called opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo's self-proclaimed victory in the first round of a presidential election \"void\".
“Despite the serious anomalies that marred the smooth running of the … election and in view of the results that came out of the ballot boxes, I am victorious in this election in the first round,” Diallo told supporters on Monday, a day after the vote was held.
Diallo's supporters chanted \"Cellou, president\". But elsewhere in the city, joyous celebrations by supporters devolved into clashes with security forces.
Diallo, 68, is the main challenger to Guinea’s 82-year-old incumbent President Alpha Conde, who is seeking a controversial third term after he pushed through constitutional reforms in March.
The move sparked mass protests and subsequent crackdowns, which killed dozens of people.
But Mamadi Kaba, a spokesman of Guinea electoral commission said on Monday: \"I would therefore like to reassure the people of Guinea who voted yesterday in peace, without violence, that no provisional results have been proclaimed for the time being.
\"The Independent National Electoral Commission is the only institution empowered to proclaim provisional results.\"
Although Sunday, the day of the vote, was mostly calm, Diallo's self-proclaimed election victory has set the stage for a showdown with Conde.
The government insists the vote was fair and that the official electoral authority must declare the results.
Conde's RPG party said in a statement Monday that it condemned \"with the utmost firmness the irresponsible and dangerous declaration\" by Diallo.
It called for its activists to remain calm.
WESTERN BUREAU: With Jamaica expected to face a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases in the upcoming weeks, the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) says it is doing all it can to brace itself albeit with limited numbers of personnel and bed spaces for...
BY BLESSED MHLANGA/MOSES MATENGA GOVERNMENT has extended an equivalent of US$500 as funeral assistance for its underpaid civil servants who would have passed on. The offer, which was confirmed by both Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana and Labour minister Paul Mavima, was approved by Cabinet yesterday. “Starting immediately, the government will pay an equivalent of US$500 in funeral assistance for any civil servant who passes away,” Mangwana tweeted. “This is regardless of any funeral policy the member may have. The money is paid to a surviving spouse, adult children or agreed dependant.” Civil servants have been battling to secure a living wage from their employer with not much success, forcing teachers, nurses and doctors to down tools. Teachers, who are demanding at least US$520 per month, are currently earning an equivalent of US$40. Asked to clarify Mangwana’s claims, Mavima said: “If it was talking about people who have died in the line of duty, maybe due to COVID-19 being compensated through the surviving family, it is a completely different framework from the continuous improvement on the working conditions of the rest of the civil servants. “If we are talking about how many people have died due to COVID-19, we are talking of just a few people, we are talking about once-off payments, we are talking about in addition to what they normally get, which is pensions of those people.” He added: “Someone who has died in the line of duty, and we are just increasing the benefits because in this particular case there is a pandemic and people need to be compensated. We have even compensated people who have just contracted COVID-19 and I think it’s proper.” However, civil servants said though the gesture was noble, the employer should focus on paying at least a US$520 salary to the living. The Apex Council, an umbrella body for all civil servants unions, said the US$500 funeral assistance offer was an open admission by government that its workers deserved to be paid in a more stable currency. “No one can fault that, it is a good thing especially in times of bereavement, it is really welcome,” Apex Council spokesperson David Dzatsunga said. “The fact that they are doing that makes them realise we need US dollars to get a decent burial, maybe they should also know that a US dollar salary, therefore, is important to get a decent living and they should start paying in US dollars.” Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou said the move was “madness”. “That is madness at its worst. We do not want people who praise us when we are dead. We want to be recognised in our existence. We have families, we are family people, we need to find decent accommodation and not coming when you are dead to say he was our worker,” Zhou said. “We don’t want people who speechify over our bodies. We want assistance from the government right now. It is unfair labour practice that an employer has a paternalistic aspect to think that they give us donations. We want a product of collective bargaining and discussion.” Govern
By NQOBANI NDLOVU BULAWAYO’s Queens Park suburb has recorded diarrhoea cases as more suburbs register outbreaks of the disease which claimed 13 lives in Luveve in July and infected nearly 2 000 people. Water shortages, ageing water and sewer infrastructure have been blamed for the recurrent diarrhoea outbreaks in the city. Auditor-General, Midlred Chiri, in a report tabled in Parliament, recently warned that Bulawayo risked an outbreak of water-borne diseases resulting from failure to manage sewage reticulation systems. “The community health worker for Queens Park alerted the area environmental health officer over concerns that a number of people seemed to be suffering from diarrhoea in the area. The concern was investigated and confirmed,” a council health, housing and education report read in part. However, no deaths were recorded with the report, adding that people were avoiding council clinics because they do not want to undergo COVID-19 testing. “Indications were that the affected were not willing to visit health facilities for fear of being tested for COVID-19. They were assured that it was not standard procedure that everyone who came to the clinic was tested for COVID-19, therefore, they should be free to go to the clinic,” the report added. “The community health workers were advised to encourage all affected to visit the nearest clinic for treatment as diarrhoea treatment was currently free. The area environmental health officer continued to monitor the situation.” In her report, Chiri said persistent bursting of sewage pipes and failure by councils to attend to them could result in an outbreak of fatal diseases. “Due to failure by the urban local authorities 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,” Chiri said. “The raw sewage flowing on the ground will mix with potable water thereby resulting in water-borne diseases. Furthermore, delays in the repair of sewer blockage/chokes will result in backflow of sewage increasing pressure on inlet pipes and joints or weaker points will give in to pressure thereby causing further blockages.”
Dear Editor,
The Coronavirus has spread throughout the country. Every day more infected persons are being identified and more deaths are recorded.
The article Authorities should concentrate on those infected with Covid-19, do rigorous contact tracing appeared first on Stabroek News.
By Miriam Mangwaya Pupils have called on government to intensify awareness on cybercrime to help curb abuse of social media in schools. This was revealed during the on-going awareness campaigns by police to stop social media and drug abuse at schools throughout Mashonaland East province. Videos of schoolchildren engaging in sex orgies and drug abuse recently went viral on social media amid reports that pupils were taking advantage of the ongoing teachers’ strike to engage in social vices. Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza told NewsDay that the police were educating pupils on the dangers of abusing social media in a bid to promote morality in schools and to protect the minors from abuse in communities. “Pupils should use the internet for academic purposes and stop committing crimes online,” Mwanza said. “They should desist from manufacturing and posting pornographic material on social media. Not only is it criminal, but it distracts them from focusing on their studies which were disturbed during the lockdown period.” Mwanza urged school authorities to ensure pupils abstain from all forms of wayward behaviour by pupils within school premises. Chipo Musindo, a Form 6 student at Liebenberg High School, said it was important for government to ensure that pupils are fully aware of cybercrime so that they do not commit crimes online out of ignorance. “New information and communication technologies are important to enhance education, but it is important for authorities to set parameters on how students can use the gadgets,” Musindo said. “Due to peer pressure, some pupils post obscene videos, messages or pictures on social media platforms unaware of the negative consequences of their acts. Some pupils will be experimenting yet the results can be harmful to the society.” She urged school authorities to remove social media applications on gadgets used for e-learning to curb commission of crimes through the internet.
Barrett repeatedly declined to discuss voting rights, coronavirus and the 2020 election, presidential pardon power, abortion, the Affordable Care Act and other issues that could appear before the Supreme Court in the coming months.
In response to a question from Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, mirroring a contentious moment during the hearings, Barrett again declined to say whether she believes \"systemic racism\" does or does not exist.
\"I believe that racism persists in our country but, as I explained at the hearing, whether there is 'systemic racism' is a public policy question of substantial controversy, as evidenced by the disagreement among Senators on this very question during the hearing,\" Barrett wrote. \"As a sitting judge and judicial nominee, it would be inappropriate for me to offer an opinion on the matter.\"
As with her two days of sparring with senators last week. Barrett does not offer specific answers to questions, citing the possibility of ongoing litigation and that some queries raised public policy controversies or \"abstract legal issues or hypotheticals.\"
In her responses, Barrett repeated a version of an answer to questions about previous Supreme Court rulings nearly 40 times. \"It would not be appropriate for me to opine further on this question; as Justice Kagan explained, it is not appropriate for a judicial nominee to 'grade' or give a 'thumbs-up or thumbs-down' to particular cases,\" she repeatedly states.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to advance Barrett's nomination Thursday, and the full Senate vote to confirm her to the bench is expected next Monday.
Privacy and climate change
Continuing another key theme from last week, Barrett declined to say whether a 1965 Supreme Court ruling striking down a Connecticut law that made it a crime to provide contraception to married couples was settled law. The ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that personal decisions between spouses were covered by a constitutional right to privacy became a foundation of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
\"As I said at my hearing, because Griswold lies at the base of substantive due process doctrine, an area that remains the subject of ongoing litigation, I cannot opine on it,\" Barrett wrote. \"But I do not think Griswold is in danger of going anywhere.\"
On the climate crisis, Barrett drew criticism from Democrats when she would not say if she agrees with the scientific consensus that climate change is man-made. Several times in her written responses, Barrett says her views on the issue aren't relevant to her job as a judge.
\"If a case comes before me involving environmental regulation, I will carefully review the record and apply the relevant law to the facts before me,\" Barrett states in a response to Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.
Barrett also said at several points that the Supreme Court had recently described \"climate change\" as \"controversial\" and a \"sensitive political topic.\" She said it therefore would not be appropriate \"to opine further
Shaquille O'Neal is teaming up with American Express to provide help to small business owners during its free Business Class LIVE: Summit for Success.
A screenshot of the supposed plot for Space Jam: A New Legacy has been shared by Writer and director Ben Mekler on Twitter, and if it's legit, it will be just as zany and out of this world as the first movie.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO SOME musicians have continued to stage live concerts around Harare attracting huge numbers in defiance of the COVID-19 restrictions amid reports that certain politicians were leading the defiance in order to prop up their showbiz investments. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in March, gatherings of over 100 people remain banned as part of a raft of measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus and as a result, musicians are crying foul that their source of income is threatened. Some artistes have started staging illegal shows under the guise of private functions, attracting huge gatherings, thereby putting lives of many at risk. A number of artistes among them Sulumani Chimbetu, Peter Moyo, Andy Muridzo, Baba Harare, Romeo Gasa and Progress Chipfumo have been staging concerts at joints like East Point, LA Rouge, Bar Rouge, Big Apple, Margolis Plaza and Electric Quench (formerly Extra-Mile Leisure Spot). Some artistes and arts promoters have raised the red flag, saying because they are “politically connected”, venue owners are the ones continuing to host gigs at their joints risking people’s lives during the deadly pandemic. Some of the joints that have been hosting a series of gigs are reportedly owned by senior government officials where merrymakers gather weekly, notwithstanding COVID-19 lockdown regulations emphasising the importance of temperature checks, social distancing and wearing of face masks, among other things. All these COVID-19 regulations have not been observed in shows witnessed by NewsDay Life & Style. In separate interviews yesterday, analysts and stakeholders in the creative sector slammed musicians, arts promoters and venue owners for risking people’s lives. A seasoned music promoter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said politics was affecting the showbiz industry. “There is a lot of politics at play on the showbiz scene during this COVID-19 environment. We have seen some artistes who perform despite the warnings as some politically- connected venue owners are receiving “special treatment” from the authorities as their joints have continued to host these unsanctioned shows that even exceed the stipulated numbers,” he said. “Sadly using their political muscle they connive with promoters or musicians for these unsanctioned gigs putting fans’ lives at risk and nothing has been done by the relevant authorities to stop them. This is what has fuelled the staging of more and more concerts where fans are gathering.” An artiste who also preferred not to be named said artistes should be preaching the gospel of safety. “Surprisingly, there are some among us who are just careless risking people’s health by staging concerts and playing in front of large crowds amid the government’s ban in line with the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly some of the revellers are attending these shows without masks,” he said. A fellow artiste shared the same sentiments, saying: “Imagine being selfish enough to put people’s health at risk, not taking into consideration what might happen to the non-isolated, maskless
Britain researchers will conduct government-backed trials in which participants will be intentionally infected with a manufactured coronavirus to help speed the development of a possible vaccine.
