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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)
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
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BULAWAYO City Council has expressed reservations over expending resources to a project spearheaded by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to transform a refugee centre at Chambuta in Chiredzi into a rehabilitation facility for street kids. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Government first announced plans to transform the refugee centre into a facility for children in 2015, but the project failed to take-off. Auxillia, through her Angel of Hope Foundation and the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry, is now spearheading the project. Latest council minutes show that the ministry on October 22 sent an SOS to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) seeking material and financial support to ensure the project becomes a success, but councillors turned down the request. “Discussion ensued and councillor Mlandu Ncube was concerned that Bulawayo had a lot of responsibilities that it was failing to fulfil. Council was facing a lot of financial challenges. He was against the idea to pledge assistance to renovate the home,” the council minutes read in part. “Council could only assist in terms of painting the block. Alderman Siboniso Khumalo shared the same sentiments with Ncube, saying that in Bulawayo there were homes which council was failing to assist as well as other service delivery responsibilities it could not meet.” Bulawayo street kids are housed at Emthunzini Wethemba, but the facility faces viability challenges, forcing the homeless to escape back to the streets. Town clerk Christopher Dube, however, argued that council had a responsibility to pledge assistance in the spirit of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe. “It was, therefore, resolved to recommend that the council be granted authority to pledge assistance in the form of painting the block that it adopted at Chambuta Children’s Home.” In its SOS letter, the ministry said it was mandated under the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06) to care for and protect the homeless through the Department of Social Welfare. “It is in this light that all urban councils are being called upon to commit their resources towards renovations and future maintenance of Chambuta Children’s home to ensure sustainability of the project,” the ministry wrote to the BCC. “Please note that your commitment in the project will leave its mark in improving the lives of this vulnerable group from our communities taking into cognisance the fact that the children currently housed at the institution had been living and working on the streets of all urban centres countrywide.”
Los Angeles County reported 2,152 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional deaths on Wednesday,
The post LA County’s surge continues: 2,152 new coronavirus infections appeared first on L.A. Focus Newspaper.
By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong began resigning Thursday to protest the expulsion of four other lawmakers, heightening a conflict with Beijing over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's future. Pro-democracy activists say China's ruling Communist Party, which has tightened control in Hong Kong in response to demands for more democracy, is destroying the civil liberties and rights that were promised the territory when Britain returned it to China in 1997. The 15 remaining lawmakers in the pro-democracy bloc said Wednesday they will resign en masse after China's central government passed a resolution this […]
The post Hong Kong pro-democracy legislators hand in resignations appeared first on Black News Channel.
Production on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” had to shut down recently after one of its crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. According to a JasmineBRAND exclusive, this particular crew member was around the majority of the RHOA cast. A source alleges, “Everything is shut down right now. They’re pausing everything until everyone can be tested and quarantined.” […]
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases, said Thursday that coronavirus vaccines won't put an end to the virus, but they will help end the pandemic soon.
THE Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it is now seeking to drum up funding to assist countries in the Americas with central warehouses and cold storage units for COVID-19 vaccines.PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said yesterday that no country within or outside the region is ready to deal with the storage conditions for these vaccines, as there are no other vaccines with the same characteristics as those for COVID-19.
FORMER GHANAIAN President Jerry Rawlings has died aged 73. Though he was a socialist, he...
The post Jerry Rawlings: Ghana's former president has died appeared first on Voice Online.
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
Researchers at Oxford University in Great Britain noted that first-time diagnosis of anxiety, depression, and insomnia increased two-fold in patients after they’ve recovered from COVID. Further, they discovered that COVID survivors also found significantly higher risks of dementia.
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.”
Announced yesterday (Nov.11), Air Jordan 11 Adapt sees Nike's groundbreaking self-lacing technology first introduced in the Nike MAG will now take arguably one of Jordan Brand's most popular Air Jordan silhouettes to another level.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Getting the flu vaccine is especially important this year. If you get the flu, you may need to be hospitalized, in this time of COVID-19, in an already overwhelmed healthcare system. Get your flu shot. Avoid getting the flu. Stay out of the hospital due to the flu,” said Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., […]
The post In light of pandemic, flu vaccinations more important than ever for people at highest risk appeared first on Milwaukee Community Journal.
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.
NEW YORK — During the COVID-19 pandemic, public life in much of the world has largely ground to a halt. For the two billion people living in conflict-affected countries, however, there has been no lull in violence and upheaval. Some of the world’s conflicts have even escalated or been reignited during the crisis, dealing devastating new blows to infrastructure and health-care systems that were only beginning to be rebuilt. Globally, we continue to invest far more in the tools of war than in the foundations of peace. guest column:Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka As the world awaited the outcome of the US presidential election, no one doubted the stakes. But, even if Joe Biden emerged victorious, Americans must reckon with the fact that nearly 70 million of their fellow citizens voted for a candidate who lacks any capacity for ethical reasoning. Of course, some are working for peace. On March 23, at the outset of the pandemic, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres called for a global ceasefire, in order to enable countries to focus on the COVID-19 crisis and allow humanitarian organisations to reach vulnerable populations. More than 100 women’s organisations from Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen quickly joined the appeal with a joint statement advocating a broad COVID-19 truce, which could form the basis for a lasting peace. It should come as no surprise that women were among the first to support the call for a ceasefire. Last week, governments and civil society came together to mark 20 years since UN Security Council Resolution 1325 first recognised women’s pivotal roles on the frontlines of peace-building efforts. It is women — including young women — who do much of the painstaking, long-term work that underpin high-profile formal agreements, which are still often reached in talks that exclude them. For example, in Syria, women have negotiated ceasefires to allow the passage of humanitarian aid, worked in field hospitals and schools, distributed food and medicine, and documented human-rights violations. In South Sudan, women have mediated and resolved tribal disputes to prevent conflicts from escalating to violence. Women also spearhead the critical work of campaigning for peace, including through education programs, which teach young people that conflict is never inevitable. Feminist organisations have long called for nuclear disarmament, arms control, and the reallocation of funds from the military to social investments. These appeals are essential. But they have gone unanswered. So has the UN’s call for a COVID-19 ceasefire: according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, in the two months following Guterres’s appeal, armed conflict in 19 countries displaced at least 661 000 people. Unless we listen to women, and shift our investments from war toward peace, the devastation will continue. Enjoy unlimited access to the ideas and opinions of the world’s leading thinkers, including weekly long reads, book reviews, and interviews; The Year Ahead annual print magazine; The Green Recovery special-edition print maga
Harare West legislator Joana Mamombe (MDC Alliance)’s trial for breaching the national lockdown regulations will commence on November 24 . HARRIET CHIKANDIWA Mamombe faces charges of contravening section 4(1)(a) of the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order Statutory Instrument 83/2020 as read with section 3 of Statutory Instrument 110/20 for unnecessary movement during national lockdown. It is alleged that Mamombe violated COVID-19 lockdown regulations by leading a gathering of more than 10 people in May this year. Mamombe, together with fellow MDC Alliance activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, are currently appearing in court to answer to a charge of participating in an anti-government protest against hunger during the national lockdown period. The trio is also answering to a charge of publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State as defined in section 31(a)(ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State as defined in section 31(a)(iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as well as defeating or obstructing the course of justice as defined in section 184(1)(f) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. It is alleged that Mamombe, Marova and Chimbiri, who are victims of torture and abduction, stage-managed their abduction in May this year and lied to their lawyers, relatives and friends that they had been abducted by State security agents.
Over 500 million dollars is likely to be pledged Thursday for a device to ensure that all countries have equitable access to covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
That's according to organizers of the Paris Peace Forum at the Elysee palace Thursday.
Several world leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, Senegalese Macky Sall and Canada's Justin Trudeau are attending the two day event which ends Friday.
The leaders called for universal access to future covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Macron said \"We will not win against the virus by abandoning a part of humanity.\"
He recalled the launch of the \"ACT Accelerator\" with the WHO, the G20 and NGO’s such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the international Covax vaccine procurement and distribution system.
\"But how can we be sure that everyone is playing the game, that there will be no stowaway behavior and that enough doses will be produced for the poorest countries, who need them the most? Otherwise it would further reinforce inequalities\", the French president queried.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also agreed.\"The international community must ensure that fair and equitable access will be guaranteed to provide everyone with a vaccine,\" he said.
Senegalese President Macky Sall also spoke of a \"necessary solidarity between states\" in the face of \" a common pandemic\".
Other international leaders, such as Secretary General of the Francophonie, Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo, have also supported this willingness to make the vaccine a common good.
\"As the race for the Covid-19 vaccine continues, I join the call to make it a global public good, accessible to all, without any restrictions,\" she said.
By The Associated Press undefined Is it safe yet to fly during the pandemic? Public health experts say staying home is best to keep yourself and others safe from infection. But if you're thinking about flying for the holidays, you should know what to expect. Flights are getting more crowded and more airlines plan to stop blocking seats to accommodate the growing number of people taking to the skies again. Starting Dec. 1, Southwest will join United and American in allowing every seat on planes to be sold. JetBlue will scale back the number of blocked seats, and — along […]
The post Is it safe yet to fly during the pandemic? appeared first on Black News Channel.
TEACHERS have rejected the government’s 40% salary hike offer, describing it as a mockery, vowing not to return to work until their employer pays them meaningful salaries. BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA/LORRAINE MUROMO Government on Tuesday proposed a 40% salary hike for all its workers and a 10% risk allowance to teachers as a way of enticing them to end the job boycott that started in September when schools reopened for examination classes, throwing schools into chaos. According to Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa during a post-Cabinet Press briefing, the 40% salary hike will be awarded to all grades below director level. The offer came after teachers rejected a 20% salary hike last week announced through the National Joint Negotiating Council. But teachers yesterday scoffed at the government offer that will leave them earning $18 237, which they said was grossly inadequate. “Incapacitated teachers have rejected the 40% salary increase offered by Cabinet on Tuesday, the increase is procedurally defective and grossly insufficient in quantum,” Progressive Teacher of Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said. “Salaries and conditions of service are subject to bargaining between the employer and workers and not a product of employer machinations. Government attempts to render unions useless must be rejected in toto.” He said the PTUZ was ready for meaningful dialogue with the government. Government has been resisting increasing salaries for reachers, with Labour minister Paul Mavima, saying such a move would trigger inflation. Schools opened on Monday for the final phase with pupils being turned away because teachers did not report for duty. The teachers are demanding US$520 per month. “We remain worried at government’s reluctance to pay its workers in forex at a time the economy has dollarised,” Zhou said, adding the 40% salary hike would not improve the standard of living for the struggling teachers. “The government is also silent on prioritisation of health and safety of teachers and pupils, more so given cases of COVID-19 in schools. In light of the foregoing, the best foot forward for incapacitated teachers remain the incapacitation modus operandi until we are capacitated.” Zhou urged parents to keep their kids in the safety of their homes. He reiterated that the educators would not be intimidated by the steps taken by government to record names of absent teachers in order to dock their incomes. “We urge school heads to resist submission of names of incapacitated teachers to any office. We urge all teachers to rise and be counted in our incapacitation struggle. The darkest hour is just before dawn,” he said. “We implore government to engage leaders of teacher unions in order to find a holistic solution to the current impasse in schools.” He added: “We reiterate that no amount of threats and brutality can force teachers back to their workplaces. Dialogue and capacitation are the only means available, and the sooner they are employed the better for the education system in Zimbabwe.” Zimbabwe Rural Teacher
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Chief Medical Writer Temperature and COVID-19 symptom checks like the ones used at schools and doctor's offices have again proved inadequate for spotting coronavirus infections and preventing outbreaks. A study of Marine recruits found that despite these measures and strict quarantines before they started training, the recruits spread the virus to others even though hardly any of them had symptoms. None of the infections were caught through symptom screening. The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, has implications for colleges, prisons, meatpacking plants and other places that rely on this sort of […]
The post Fever, symptom screening misses many coronavirus cases appeared first on Black News Channel.
Smalls alleges Amazon subjected a group of African American and Hispanic workers to inferior working conditions compared to its mostly white managers.
Police in Dema, Mashonaland East province, have launched a manhunt for four armed robbers who pounced on a businessman before stealing a cashbox with US$30 000, among other valuables. BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA The businessman, Hazvinei Mutasa (43) also lost his pistol to the armed robbers who besieged his homestead. Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident and urged people not to keep large sums of money at home. “The public is warned against keeping large sums of cash at home,” Mwanza said. “This is a security risk which results in the money being easily stolen through robberies. We also take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who might have information on the whereabouts of the suspects to report at any nearest police station.” On November 10 at around 8pm, Mutasa was in company of his two workersoutside his home when armed men approached them and ordered them to lie on the ground. One of the suspects allegedly fired shots in the air and disarmed Mutasa of his FN Browning pistol. It is reported that three of the suspects remained outside, while others dragged Mutasa inside demanding money. The suspects disabled the alarm at the premises and threatened to kill the businessman’s child if he refused to surrender the money. He reportedly surrendered the cashbox which was in his bedroom containing US$30 000. The suspects also dismantled a CCTV server. They also got away with a Samsung S10 cellphone, Itel P33 cellphone and two small Itel cellphones before speeding off in a vehicle belonging to one of Mutasa’s workers. The vehicle was recovered in Vera village, Seke. The matter was reported at Dema Police Station and no arrests have been made. Follow Jairos onTwitter @jairossaunyama
GWERU residents yesterday urged the council to give incentives to people who pay their bills in United States dollars, saying such a move would enable the local authority to collect revenue in foreign currency. BY Stephen Chadenga The residents made the call at a consultative meeting for the 2021 budget. Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association Trust executive director David Chikore said council should charge less in US dollars to encourage ratepayers to settle their bills in hard currency. “Since council has adopted dual pricing we propose that instead of billing the US dollar component using the interbank rate, they can lower it a bit compared to the RTGS$ charge,” he said. “By introducing incentives council will be able to directly get revenue in US dollar and pay its suppliers without hassles. Without incentives people will continue opting to pay in Zimdollars.” Mayor Josiah Makombe said his council would consider the proposal. He said council was also working on ways to implement the payment of tariffs in the 2021 budget in a manner that would ease the burden on ratepayers. “That is a welcome move by residents to propose for incentives to those residents who settle their rates in US dollars and we are going to seriously consider it,” Makombe said. “We will do everything as a local authority to make sure that we implement payment methods that ease the burden on our residents.”
Blacks, Latinx and Asian Americans turned out in record numbers to put Biden and Harris over the top. BY SUNITA SOHRABJI AND PILAR MARRERO TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE In a country that is polarized and hurt by COVID-19 and a divisive leadership, a massive turnout of voters resulted in a close election where Democrat Joe […]
The post THE POWER OF PEOPLE OF COLOR appeared first on Florida Courier.
Virginia reported more than 1,500 new coronavirus cases again Thursday, continuing a recent surge in cases after months of relative steadiness.
By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden's top allies on Capitol Hill adopted a combative posture on COVID-19 relief on Thursday, pressing their case for a $2 trillion bill that's a nonstarter for Republicans and faulting the GOP for dragging its feet on acknowledging Biden's victory. The message from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — both of whom witnessed disappointing outcomes in House and Senate races last week — was that Republicans should concede Biden won and immediately return to negotiations on COVID relief, with the Democrats' $2.4 trillion […]
The post Post-election rancor clouds chances for COVID relief bill appeared first on Black News Channel.
HAVANA, (Reuters) - As Latin American nations test experimental coronavirus vaccines from across the globe and economic heavyweights such as Brazil and Mexico jockey for supply deals with major drugmakers, Communist-run Cuba already has two of its own vaccines in clinical trials.
The article Cuba leads race for Latin American coronavirus vaccine appeared first on Stabroek News.
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican's report into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has raised uncomfortable questions the Holy See will have to confront going forward, chief among them what it's going to do about current and future clergy who abuse their power to sexually abuse adults. Priests, lay experts and canon lawyers alike say the Vatican needs to revisit how the church protects its seminarians, nuns and even rank-and-file parishioners from problem bishops and cardinals, who for centuries have wielded power and authority with few — if any — checks or accountability. McCarrick was only investigated and […]
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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
By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department report has found former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta exercised 'poor judgment' in handling an investigation into wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, is a culmination of an investigation by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility over Acosta's handling of a secret plea deal with Epstein, who had been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. The report also concludes that none of the prosecutors committed misconduct in their interactions with […]
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