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At least two bodies were discovered in the south of Tunisia where many other are still stranded in the border area near Libya and Algeria. The spokesperson for a Tunisian court confirmed the news on Tuesday (Jul. 11)
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.
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POLICE are investigating a robbery case in Esigodini, Matabeleland South province, where six robbers walked away with US$87 000 and R38 800 on Monday. BY RICHARD MPONDE “The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating an armed robbery case which occurred in Esigodini on November 9, 2020 when a gang of six suspects attacked a family with machetes and a bold cutter,” national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said in a statement. “The suspects used a bolt cutter to break burglar bars of a sitting room window and went on to tie the two complainants with an electric cable and shoelace before ransacking the house. “Complainants were robbed US$87 000 and R38 800 cash which was in a safe, four Samsung Galaxy tablet cellphones, Samsung laptop and a 32-gig flash disk.” The police urged people, including miners to be security conscious and avoid keeping such large amounts of cash in their houses. Cases of robberies are on the rise with the robbers including members of the security such as police and soldiers. This week, a Seke businessman was robbed of US$30 000 by robbers which he was keeping in the house. Meanwhile, leader of an Esigodini notorious gang of gold panners and businessman Baron Dube has been jailed to an effective 10 years for shooting a rival to death in a gold rush in the farming area of Matabeleland South province. Dube (44) of Habane Extension Township pleaded not guilty to murder when his trial started last year, but was convicted on Tuesday by Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Maxwell Takuva. He was sentenced to an effective 10 years after the court noted that he committed the offence in aggravating circumstances. In sentencing him, Takuva noted that Dube acted out of greed as the offence was committed in a gold rush. “In the first place, you had no right to be at that mine which you claimed the owner tasked you to manage. There was a gold rush at the mine and you were driven there by greed because you are a bully,” Takuva said. In his defence, Dube said he accidently shot the now deceased, Prince Antony Bvundura (22) after he fell down in an attack by his gang, leading in his rifle discharging. Dube’s sworn rival with whom he has had several fights over gold claims and also a gang leader Mkhululi Sibanda was the key witness in the matter.
MINISTER of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is calling on young leaders across the island to get into 'activist mode' against the novel coronavirus.
Bishop Harry Jackson, a Black conservative pastor who advised President Donald Trump, has died.
A NEWLY-ESTABLISHED pharmaceutical company, Pendulum, has donated US$45 000 worth of surgical equipment to Mpilo Central Hospital. BY PATRICIA SIBANDA Pendulum Pharmaceuticals was launched at Ascot in Bulawayo yesterday after making the lifesaving donation at the hospital. Mpilo Hospital acting chief executive officer Solwayo Ngwenya told the media at the handover ceremony that the donation would go a long way in helping provide critical surgical services. “This donation is quite heavy, worth US$45 000 and the quantities are quite massive, they include guedel airways, these ones are used for anaesthetic operations to help patients breathe during anaesthesia, so they are lifesaving and also there are manual resuscitators for babies and these ones are used for emergency situations,” he said. “We also have large amounts of surgical bed sheets. These will help a lot in times of COVID-19. They will be used by patients to reduce infection rates and help fight COVID-19. We also received a vaginal speculum which we use to examine women and for cervical screening.” Ngwenya added: “It is indeed a wide variety of life-saving anaesthetic emergency room equipment, surgical beds cleanliness and infection control.” He said they were facing other challenges, but they were trying by all means to manage the situation. “The situation is always manageable, we buy and the government sends us regular supplies through NatPham. We also, as a hospital, use our own monies but this is going to be a big boost because it will allow us to divert some of the monies to buy other items that will be in short supply like N95 masks, things generally used in fighting COVID-19,” Ngwenya said. He said one of the major challenges was the malfunctioning of radiotherapy machines despite the promise made by government to have them fixed. Ngwenya said the hospital was experiencing an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients.
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
JOE BIDEN WINS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — A COURIER SPECIAL REPORT by Rob Taylor Courier Staff Writer When they said “every vote counts,” nowhere was that more accurate than right here in Pennsylvania. Specifically, Allegheny County, where the African American vote was instrumental in putting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden over the top, and sending … Continued
The post Black Pittsburgh plays critical role in 2020 Presidential Election appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.
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.
Hundreds of Ethiopians gathered Thursday to donate blood for troops fighting in the northern Tigray region, as officials tried to rally support for a week-old conflict Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said was going his way.
The government also announced that police had arrested 150 people in the capital suspected of trying to carry out \"terror attacks\" on the orders of Tigray's ruling party.
Prime Minister Abiy blames the Tigray ruling party for a conflict that analysts fear could spiral into a protracted civil war.
Hundreds have died and thousands have fled the country since Abiy, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, sent troops and warplanes into Tigray last week after a months-long feud with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Abiy said the TPLF -- which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before he took office in 2018 -- had crossed a \"red line\" and attacked two federal military bases, which the party denies.
Thursday's blood drive was organised by the office of Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abebe, who claimed the population was unified against the TPLF while donating blood herself.
\"The aim of this blood donation is to express our respect for our army,\" she told journalists as a nurse drew blood from her left arm.
\"The attack done by TPLF to our army is shameful for Ethiopia. Never happened in our history. We want to condemn this.\"
Tigray has been under a communications blackout since the military operation was launched on November 4, making it difficult to verify the situation on the ground as both sides make conflicting claims.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Abiy said government forces had \"liberated\" the western zone of Tigray -- made up of six zones, plus the capital and surrounds.
Abiy also accused TPLF-aligned fighters of \"cruelty\", saying that when the army took control of the town of Sheraro they \"found bodies of executed defence force personnel whose hands and feet were tied\". There was no immediate reaction from the TPLF.
Under Abiy, Tigray's leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions and removed from top positions.
Tensions soared as Tigray defiantly held its own elections in September, insisting Abiy was an illegitimate leader after national polls were postponed due to the coronavirus.
-'Rule of law'-
The conflict has seen multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting arms and fuel depots along with heavy fighting in western Tigray.
The UN said Wednesday some 11,000 Ethiopians had sought refuge in neighbouring Sudan, and Ethiopia has acknowledged some of its troops at one point retreated into neighbouring Eritrea, highlighting the conflict's potential to draw in the wider Horn of Africa region.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, quoted by state news agency SUNA as he hosted Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, on Wednesday called for a \"stop to the fighting as soon as possible\" and a return to the negotiating table.
The African Union has also called for an immediate stop to fighting and for dialogue, as internationa
Centenarian Geraldine Gillette Earp died peacefully in her Coventry Park seniors assisted living residence Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, shortly after learning of the Biden-Harris win. Born in Des Arc, Ark., on Feb. 16, 1920, she was a California resident for the past 80 years. The eighth child and fifth girl in a family of 12 […]
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THE ability of Zimbabwean families to take care of children has been compromised by a collapsing economy, compounded by COVID-19. BY GUEST COLUMNIST: GETRUDE DADIRAI GWENZI About 4,3 million people in rural communities, including children, are food insecure this year. The World Food Programme indicates that at least 60% of the population of Zimbabwe needs food aid. The Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation in Zimbabwe has estimated that over 20 000 children have turned to vending as a means of survival since the COVID-19 lockdown. According to reports, child vendors in the City of Bulawayo are mostly selling fruit and vegetables. And in the capital, Harare, they sell a variety of goods from vegetables to used clothes and shoes. The phenomenon of child vendors in Zimbabwe has been topical for some time. But the situation appears to be worsening. There are no statistics about how much income vendors make due to the informal nature of this business and a lack of centralised co-ordination of their activities. Nevertheless, it’s clear that poverty is the reason children are on the streets. But in their efforts to help their families, they are exposed to risks such as exploitation, abuse and missing school. The situation calls for critical conversation about the capacity of families to protect and care for their children and the role of the social protection policy in the country. A national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children has been in place since 2004. The policy guides the provision of care for these children. My prior experience and observations as a social researcher suggest that the plan isn’t being put to practice. Firstly, there is no clear definition of what the term “orphans and vulnerable children” means, especially in the current economic climate and increasing vulnerability of children in the country. There is a danger that children will fall through the cracks and go unnoticed without any government support. Secondly, there is a lack of good data. The actual number of children at risk is not known due to a dearth of research on child deprivation and government response in Zimbabwe. Thirdly, government interventions aren’t reaching those in need. The government’s national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children is meant to be overseen by a multi-sectoral committee to mobilise resources. Under it poor households were to receive grants varying from US$10 (one-person household) to US$25 (four-person household) per month (paid bimonthly) through a cash transfer. The funds for this come from the Child Protection Fund. The first phase of the plan was between 2005-2010 and the second phase between 2011-2015. The evaluations of these two phases showed several gaps in service provision and targeting of orphans and vulnerable children in the country. By 2017 only 23 000 beneficiaries in eight districts had received the cash transfers. However, the number of families in need way surpasses the number that received assistance. According to social policy experts, the unconditional s
By Miami Times Staff Reporter - Returning nursing home residents won't be tested for COVID-19 - The Gov. Ron DeSantis administration, which has made a concerted effort to scale back restrictions enacted because of the [...]
BY TIM DARNELL THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/TNS ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its Thanks giving coronavirus guidelines on Monday and Tuesday, warning against travel and recommending much smaller gatherings during the annual American tradition. Thanksgiving travel is typically the nation’s busiest transportation day of the year. “Staying home is the […]
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POLICE in Gweru have since Monday arrested at least 100 pirate kombi drivers and impounded their vehicles for operating illegally. BY STEPHEN CHADENGA The arrests were made as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 which saw the countrywide banning in March of private commuter omnibuses not registered under Zupco. Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the development, saying the kombis were being handed over to the Vehicle Inspection Department. “We have since impounded over 100 private kombis for operating illegally in the city,” Goko said. “It is part of our routine exercise to ensure pirate public transport operators are brought to book.” Yesterday, pirate kombis ferrying commuters from western suburbs were dropping passengers a few kilometres outside the central business district to avoid arrest at various police roadblocks. Passengers had to walk the remaining distances to town. Recently, government reiterated that private kombis were banned from carrying passengers unless they registered with Zupco. But following the relaxation of lockdown rules, the number of private kombis operating illegally have increased in most towns and cities. lFollow Stephen on Twitter @jagganox78
ACCRA — When it comes to food security, the challenge is not always about producing more – it’s also about quality: producing food that is wholesome and preserved safely. About 690 million people go hungry each year. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to add between 83-132 million people to this number based on socio-economic factors. Even before the pandemic, about half of Africa’s citizens were food insecure. And much of Africa’s food is of low quality or lost before it even reaches the consumer. Africa has made some great strides in food production over the last decade even though it continues to be a huge net food importer to the tune of US$47 billion in 2018. But this pandemic has halted successes chalked in fighting poverty and disease and progress towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). COVID-19 is not the only challenge. In the past year, Africa has grappled with locust swarms, droughts, flooding and conflicts which have slashed livelihoods and brought hunger to many in the region. Restrictions on movement during lockdown also impact on commodities like seeds, fertilizers and farming implements which has, in turn, led to decreased food production. Many crops were not readily accessible and farmers struggled to get their produce to markets. And then, adding to the crisis, the continent’s poor storage facilities were not up to scratch. COVID-19 showed the fault lines in our food production systems and this has compromised the livelihoods of millions of farmers. Food systems on the continent — including production, storage and processing, distribution and transportation, retailing and promotion — are dominated by traditional methods which are vulnerable to unexpected crises. The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme, one of African Union’s continental frameworks under Agenda 2063, urges African governments to increase investment for agriculture by allocating at least 10% of national budgets to achieve agricultural growth rates of at least 6% per annum. Also in the declaration on Food security and Nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic, African ministers of agriculture committed to putting in place measures that will reduce food post-harvest losses and make more food available in the markets. Now, as countries struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic, there is the need for an action plan to consolidate efforts at these policies. Past interventions for Africa have focused on food production through improvement on crop varieties and yield. But we are not living in normal times. We must do more than simply look at production. Resilient systems need efficient storage and production processes. Post-COVID-19 Africa must invest in appropriate storage technology which is lacking in most developing nations and this causes unnecessary waste and considerable loss to their economies. For example, it is estimated that 60%–70% of food grains produced in developing nations are stored in traditional structures either in threshed or unthreshed at the home. However, most traditional
MONTEGO BAY, St James - The loss of flights to Jamaica from the United Kingdom (UK), stemming from the recent declaration of a new four-week coronavirus lockdown, will negatively impact the island, but Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett is confident that projected arrivals from Britain will start to rebound again by mid-December to January.His confidence is hinged on a strong bookings out of the European market.
