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"...... We provide collection and sorting of garbage cans, we manufacture them in order to equip the population with tools allowing them to sort their waste. We collect the sorted waste and recycle it through partnerships." Abdoul Bakhy Mbacke, founder of the recycling company Ciprovis
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
More than 2,000 registered to listen to the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci engage with religious leaders in Roxbury via Zoom on a potential coronavirus vaccine and the need to get vaccinated.
The post Fauci, Walsh urge Bostonians to get vaccinated appeared first on The Bay State Banner.
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) is disconnecting water supplies to government departments over outstanding bills running into several millions of dollars. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Recently, the local authority switched off water supplies at Tredgold Building which houses the magistrates court, Labour Court, Department of Surveyor General, Social Services, Registrar-General’s Office, Local Government ministry and Umguza district co-ordinator's office. As of October, the local authority was owed $477 million by residents, government departments, industry and commerce. In the past, residents would bear the brunt of water cuts over unpaid bills with council sparing government departments. A latest report of the finance and development committee showed that an arrangement that saw council sparing government departments the inconvenience of water cuts had since been revoked. “Councillor Rodney Jele enquired about water disconnections for non-payments. There was rumour that council had disconnected water supplies in most government institutions which include Tredgold Building,” the council report read in part. “In response, councillor Silas Chigora confirmed that council was disconnecting water supplies at government institutions with outstanding amounts. Previously, council had a set-off arrangement with the central government, but this arrangement had since been stopped. Each ministry was paying its council bills directly.” Council argues that failure by its debtors to clear their outstanding bills was affecting its ability to provide services and owner its obligations. At one time, council having been frustrated by failure of ratepayers to pay bills, opted to name and shame defaulters. The council compiled a list of 29 wards, detailing payment patterns by residents. The local authority is also planning to introduce flow-limiter devices restricting households who fail to pay rates to five kilolitres of water per day as opposed to water disconnection to avoid litigation. In February, council unveiled a credit control and debt collection policy that sought to maintain predictable cashflows and allow for improved management of debts, among others. The policy provides for procedures and mechanisms for credit control and debt collection. It does not spare even BCC staff and councillors as the policy insists on forced deductions on their salaries if they have outstanding bills. Follow Nqobani on Twitter @NqobaniNdlovu
Book Review - In What Africa Stands to Lose, a book that x-rays Trump's rhetoric on Africa, Nigerian-American journalist, Ekanem Williams, offers new insight into how Africa can change the negative narrative around its development.
Historic Trial For War Crimes in Liberia
Accused of having committed barbaric acts between 1993 and 1995 during the civil war in Liberia, the doubly historic trial of the former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah began on Thursday in Switzerland where he had been in exile for twenty years.
Incarcerated since 14 November 2014, the 45-year-old Alieu Kosiah appeared before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona accompanied by his court-appointed lawyer Dimitri Gianola.
Although the proceedings are not behind closed doors, the number of seats in the courtroom is extremely limited in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Questioned by the president of the court Jean-Luc Bacher, Kosiah — who is the first individual to be tried for war crimes by a civil court, stressed that he had been in prison \"for six years and a month\" and denied all the charges brought against him,
Justice for Liberia Overdue
Both former warlord and president Charles Taylor — who also played a significant role the aforementioned conflict, was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Liberia's neighbour Sierra Leone in 2012.
However, no Liberian is yet to be convicted in Liberia or abroad for crimes committed during the West African country's civil war — which saw 250,000 people lose their lives between 1989 and 2003.
Most of the commanders of the various armed groups fled the country after the war.
Kosiah, who had been living in Switzerland since 1999 according to HRW, was arrested following criminal complaints by victims.
Child Soldiers in Civil War
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the victims, who reside in Africa, will not be heard before 2021. This is deplored by the organisation Civitas Maxima, which represents some of them.
\"This is a case where Kosiah claims that they are all lying and that he did not commit any crime. We want this contradictory debate to take place,\" Romain Wavre, a lawyer at Civitas Maxima, told AFP.
The Swiss federal prosecutor's office accuses Alieu Kosiah of having committed, between 1993 and 1995, as a member of the armed faction ULIMO (United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy), a faction of armed groups hostile to the movement of Charles Taylor (the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, NPFL), several offences constituting \"war crimes\". Namely: recruitment and use of child soldiers, forced transportation, looting, cruel treatment of civilians, attempted murder, murder (directly or by order), desecration of a corpse and rape.
War Crime \"Impunity\"
In France, the anti-terrorist prosecutor's office recently requested a trial by jury against another former Liberian rebel commander, Kunti K., accused of acts of torture.
\"Alieu Kosiah and Kunti K. were two of the commanders of the same armed group - ULIMO - and were fighting at the same time in Lofa County in northern Liberia,\" said Wavre of Civitas Maxima.
More than fifteen years after the end of the conflict, many of the personalities directly involved in the civil war still hold important positions in the spheres of
Adam Beam and Kathleen Ronayne | Associated Press California will likely order most of its businesses to close or limit capacity in the coming days, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, part of new rules triggered when fewer than 15% of beds are available in intensive care units for regional hospital networks. Newsom said four of […]
The post Governor Newsom: Most of State Nears Stay-Home Order appeared first on Black Voice News.
In Namibia, a certain politician named after the former German leader, Adolf Hitler has been elected as a local councilor for the governing Swapo party.
Adolf Hitler Uunona was eleceted with 85% of the votes in the regional vote to emerge the winner in Ompundja, a small town in the far north of the country.
Hitler confirmed that his father gave him the name after the German Nazi leader and probably wasn’t aware of his ideologies.
Hitler, 54, is among the popular politicians in the Soutwest region of the country from his firm stand as an anti-apartheid activist.
Interviewed by the great German tabloid Bild, he said that there was no problem as he grew up that Adolf was acommon name in the former German colony.
“It was a perfectly normal name for me when I was a kid. It wasn't until I grew older that I realized that this man wanted to subjugate the whole world and killed millions of Jews,” he told Bild.
Adolf doesn’t use Hitler in his social media handles, but still apply the name in official documents.
When asked why he couldn’t change the name before, he replied it was too late for that.
\"It's in all official documents, it's too late for that,\" he replied to Bild. He later found a solution: he identifies himself as Adolf Uunona in public, leaving Hitler aside. His wife also prefers to call him Adolf, way to shed some of the weight linked to such a name associated with the worst atrocities of the 20th century.
By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate — including a new 'Matrix' movie, 'Godzilla vs. Kong' and the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation 'In the Heights' — will stream on HBO Max at the same time they play in theaters. Among the myriad release plan changes wrought by the pandemic, no studio has so fully embraced streaming as a lifeline. But after disappointing domestic ticket sales for 'Tenet,' and with the majority of […]
The post In seismic shift, Warner Bros. to stream all 2021 films appeared first on Black News Channel.
Bolder implementation of economic reform announcements is needed to lift confidence in South Africa's economy, writes Natale Labia.
Family meeting confirmed: Ramaphosa will address SA on Thursday. You can catch it via our live stream, and find out what time things get underway here.
A significant number of black Americans are skeptical about the coronavirus … trial to try to change Black Americans’ minds. https://t … overcome high vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans, @HarvardChanDean says “the best messengers …
Actress Letitia Wright is being slammed on Twitter after sharing a video called “COVID-19 Vaccine, Should We Take It?” The... View Article
The post Letitia Wright slammed for sharing anti-vaccine video appeared first on TheGrio.
The NAACP Empowerment Programs are teaming up with Experian for a new program to assist Africa American homeowners at risk of losing their homes.
WHEN a fire gutted her house a few years ago, 36-year-old Tendai Chamboko was badly injured. BY FIDELITY MHLANGA She lost her sight in the inferno. However, she had no insurance cover to help her cope with the huge costs that come with injuries of this nature. Chamboko’s predicament was compounded by the fact that Zimbabwe has no disability insurance schemes, except a fund that is administered by the National Social Security Authority, which caters for injured workers. Chamboko, who has never been formally employed, soon found herself in a quagmire. “The fire accident made me aware of the importance of insurance,” she told Weekly Digest. “We lost everything and I was left disabled. I lack access to information, especially in braill language, which is compatible with my condition.” Chamboko’s problem is experienced by many people living with disabilities (PWDs), who struggle to access specialised insurance cover to take care of their needs in time of poor health. But, it does not end with PWDs. The Insurance and Pensions Commission of Zimbabwe (IPEC) says generally, medical insurance coverage is extremely low. This means the majority of people are confronted by frightening experiences once they get ill because they cannot access appropriate healthcare, which is expensive in Zimbabwe. Over 70% of working age people are jobless. Those who are still in formal jobs are not paid enough to afford medical cover. “I think the fact that our coverage ratio is only 10% means that medical cover is not working for the majority of Zimbabwe,” says Grace Muradzikwa, IPEC commissioner. “If it was working our coverage and penetration ratio would be higher than the 10%. My observation is that most of the people who are covered are actually those employed in the formal sector. If you are a non-standard worker you cannot afford medical aid so I think this is probably the time we need to look at some kind of national health insurance. I think the need is there,” she says. The IPEC chief said she was worried that vulnerable groups like pensioners could not afford medical cover. “You are covered for the 30 years that you are working because your employer is paying. The day you leave your employment you cannot afford medical aid anymore. In fact, I think that your pension benefit is less than the cost of medical contribution so from day one when you are a pensioner you cannot be covered by medical aid,” she says. It is a bigger crisis. Many PWDs have bemoaned a plethora of challenges that hinder them from accessing insurance products and services. They say exclusion from such a key service turns them into second-class citizens. In Zimbabwe there is life assurance, pension and funeral assurance. Life assurance guarantees a normal life after retirement. Funeral assurance helps people prepare for a decent burial whereas a pension is a fund into which a sum of money is accumulated during the time an employee is in employment to support them on retirement. The products are vital in the event of death, disability, serious illness and other situatio
By Victor Omondi A former White House employee who served 11 presidents has succumbed to Coronavirus. Wilson Roosevelt Jerman died at the age of 91. His granddaughter confirmed the death on Thursday. Jerman is one of the longest-serving employees of White House, who was remembered fondly by former U.S. President, George W. Bush and former […]
[Vanguard] China and all but two of the 55 African countries were enslaved by European colonialists who looted them and carried out unspeakable atrocities, including the massacre of millions. Even after independence, they were subjected to control by their former slave masters who taught them that they could develop only based on a Western model and ideology.
Chance the Rapper has shared that Jeremih will be released from the hospital on Friday after the R&B singer was... View Article
The post Chance the Rapper says Jeremih to be released from the hospital appeared first on TheGrio.
By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly president opened the world body's first special session on COVID-19 Thursday, calling it a historic and overdue moment of reckoning to forge a path to end the pandemic that not only ensures people everywhere have access to vaccines but mobilizes financial resources for 'an inclusive and resilient recovery.' Volkan Bozkir said the world is looking to the United Nations for leadership and action 'to address the greatest challenge our world is facing today.' 'This is not a time to point fingers,' he said. 'We have convened […]
The post UN and world leaders meet to forge path to end pandemic appeared first on Black News Channel.
ONE of the most unique characteristics of pigeons is that they live as a couple and mate their entire life. GUEST COLUMN:TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA They are a monogamous lot. If the female pigeon hatches one egg, it kills the chick. They always ensure they live as a couple. It is in their DNA. They don’t have the capacity to prostitute. But human beings have the intrinsic propensity to do wrong. They have the proclivity to prostitute and, therefore, there is need for some form of regulation. In the same vein, while article 14 of the world soccer governing body Fifa statutes stipulates that member associations should manage their affairs independently without undue influence from a third party, there is need for some form of control of these member associations. After all, there is nothing like absolute freedom. So, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) — the supreme sports governing body cannot be said to be out of order by acting the way it did — suspending Zifa general-secretary Joseph Mamutse to institute investigations into a number of issues understood to be holding back the development of the game in Zimbabwe. For development to take place in any society, there is need for supervision and SRC — by suspending the Zifa boss to pave way for investigations — is simply performing its mandate as stipulated by the law. Section 30 of the SRC Act allows it to act the way it did. If the Act empowers SRC to register and deregister member associations, there is no justification whatsoever to say that the supreme sports governing body cannot launch an investigation into the conduct of a member association. The SRC did not fire the Zifa chief. It simply asked him to step aside to pave way for investigations into a number of key issues. It would have been problematic if it had fired Mamutse, but the fact that he was only suspended pending investigation, the Gerald Mhlotshwa-led board cannot be said to be out of order. They genuinely believe their actions are meant to help clean up the game dogged by a host of problems for decades which have alienated it from the corporate world. SRC believes that if it folds its arms and watch the game stagnate due to questionable leadership and lack of transparency, it would be tantamount to abrogating its responsibility as a sports regulating body. It is its belief that it will get the backing of Fifa in its bid to reposition Zimbabwean football. While its actions are legitimate and take into consideration the national interest, there are fears that they could backfire as Fifa is likely to impose sanctions on Zifa which would mean the banning of all national teams and local clubs from international competitions. Last year, the SRC wrote to Fifa general-secretary, Fatma Samoura, requesting authority to invoke its powers to remove the entire Zifa leadership from office and replace it with a normalisation committee that would have run the game for a specified period. However, the world soccer governing body trashed the SRC request, saying the conditions prevailing in Zimbabwean football at the t
By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Outgoing Attorney General William Barr's decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Russia probe ensures his successor won't have an easy transition. The move, which Barr detailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, could lead to heated confirmation hearings for President-elect Joe Biden's nominee, who hasn't been announced. Senate Republicans will likely use that forum to extract a pledge from the pick to commit to an independent investigation. The pressure on the new attorney general is unlikely to ease once they take office. With […]
The post Barr's special counsel move could tie up his successor appeared first on Black News Channel.
Even as the world awaits the deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine, Africa’s chances at getting a shot remains remote in the short term according to experts.
That, coupled with the need to cushion health systems across the continent from being overwhelmed is the other reason for the deployment of a clinical trial named, ANTICOV – the largest trial targeting mild to moderate cases of the virus.
Why the need for targeted trial According to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, DNDi, ANTICOV’s main goal “is to identify treatments that prevent mild cases from progressing to severe forms of the disease - and thus prevent local health systems from being overwhelmed.”
“Treating mild cases is key in Africa because ICU capacity is not as strong as may be in other developed nations,” a a DNDi statement issued on November 24 stressed. The initiative is working with other partners on this project.
“We welcome the ANTICOV trial led by African doctors because it will help answer one of our most pressing questions: with limited intensive care facilities in Africa, can we treat people for COVID-19 earlier and stop our hospitals from being overwhelmed?” John Nkengasong, head of the African Union’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said of the trial.
Role of hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine will be one of the drugs to be studied initially, because there are no large multi- country studies yet about efficacy of the drug for mild cases. HCQ remains the standard of care for COVID in 16 African countries, so this trial will provide key evidence to inform health policies and national guidelines.
One of the key trials that is known to be undertaken in Africa is the World Health Organization, WHO’s solidarity trials but it focuses on severe cases whiles ANTICOV will look more at mild cases with the view to nip the possible transit into severity.
Thirteen countries sign up
Thirteen countries across the continent have signed up for the trial. The majority of these countries are in West Africa; Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. East African countries include, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya.
Central Africa has three countries participating – Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mozambique is the sole southern African country to sign up for the trial.
The clinical trial will be carried out at 19 sites continent wide by the ANTICOV consortium, which includes 26 prominent African and global research and development (R&D) organizations, coordinated by DNDi.
Africa’s case load as of December 2, 2020 according to Africa CDC
Number of cases = 2,196,257
Number of deaths = 52,490
Number of recoveries = 1,862,685
Number of active cases = 386,062
Most impacted country = South Africa; 790,004 cases
Least impacted country = Seychelles; 172 cases
Funding for the trial
Major funding for the ANTICOV consortium is provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through KfW and by the global health agency Unitaid a
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) is losing potential revenue from leasing out its buildings as tenants have deserted dilapidated properties. BY SILAS NKALA This was revealed in the latest council minutes in which city fathers expressed concern over the increase in the number of tenants deserting business premises in the city. Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni, during a full council meeting, said council was losing revenue because tenants were snubbing its dilapidated buildings. “The premises were lying idle and now are dilapidated,” Mguni said. He said the estates department should spruce up the properties so that they were able to lure people to occupy them. This, Mguni said, would bring revenue to council. He applauded government for availing grants to refurbish Thorngrove Hospital. “Councillor Silas Chigora made reference to Ascot Race Course which has been lying idle for a long time now. “He (Councillor Chigora) noted with concern that the property had been tendered out but had no takers. “He suggested that if the premises had no takers, other options should be considered to have the premises occupied. “He said a policy should be adopted to consider expression of interest if the tender system failed to yield results,” Mguni said. Councillor Felix Mhaka added that the Ascot Race Course had been tendered out but the premises had been surrendered back to council because of rental issues. “The rentals did not match with the state of the property (dilapidated). “He said the department should work on a timeframe and evaluate whether there had been any progress or hindrances. “Councillor Mlandu Ncube (deputy mayor) also said council had previously passed a resolution that premises which had no takers should be retendered,” the minutes read. “The assistant director of housing and community services Thabani Ncube said the COVID-19 pandemic had hindered productivity,” he said. Council did not disclose how much it was losing in potential revenue from the dilapidated properties, but a survey by Southern Eye showed that there were many properties which were unoccupied because of their sorry state. BCC in October announced a proposed supplementary budget for the remaining months of year 2020 of $2,85 billion at the same time proposing a $17,1 billion 2021 budget.
New data released by the Small Business Administration, shows the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were pillaged by large companies including Trump's
Ethiopian Families Together Again
Around 300 Ethiopian immigrants landed on Thursday at Israel's international airport by way of Ethiopian Airlines. Many of them were dressed in traditional Ethiopian robes and some women were holding infants as some waved flags or stopped to kiss the ground upon arrival as they debarked from the aircraft onto a red carpet.
Festive Hebrew songs blasting over loudspeakers in the background complemented the ambience.
Israel’s first Ethiopian-born Cabinet Minister, Pnina Tamano-Shata, travelled to Ethiopia to join them on the flight and a large delegation of Israeli officials welcomed the group upon their arrival.
Questionable Politics?
This was a move by the Israeli government to honour its pledge in 2015 to reunite hundreds of Ethiopian families of Jewish lineage split between the two countries. Community activists have since accused the government of dragging its feet in the implementation of this initiative a nd Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party interestingly repeated the pledge before national elections earlier this year.
The Prime Minister himself had some words on the event, \"My wife Sara and myself were standing there with tears in our eyes. When you see the olim (immigrants to Israel), our brothers Ethiopian Jews, disembark from the plane with baskets, like we remember, as I remember in my childhood, (they) disembark and touch the ground of Eretz Israel and the mother bows down and kisses the ground, carrying a baby girl named Yerushalayim, and another baby girl named Esther. Esther and Yerushalayim come to Jerusalem. This is the essence of the Jewish story, the essence of the Zionist story.\"
Not Jewish Enough
The Ethiopian families — although practising Jews, Israel does not recognise them as Jewish under religious law. As such, they were permitted to enter the country under a family-unification program that requires special government approval.
The Struggle for Ethiopian Aliyah, an activist group that seeks to promote family unification, estimates some 7,000 Ethiopian Jews still remain in Ethiopia — many of whom have been waiting for years to be reunited with their families.
Texas could receive coronavirus vaccine doses to give an initial dose to up to 1.4 million Texans in December, assuming U.S. health officials approve coronavirus vaccine candidates from drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has promised to send Texas as many as 1.4 million doses of forthcoming vaccines in […]
