Login to BlackFacts.com using your favorite Social Media Login. Click the appropriate button below and you will be redirected to your Social Media Website for confirmation and then back to Blackfacts.com once successful.
Enter the email address and password you used to join BlackFacts.com. If you cannot remember your login information, click the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.
Coco Gauff, 18 ans, va disputer la première finale de Grand Chelem de sa carrière. L'Américaine est venue à bout de l'Italienne Martina Trevisan, jeudi, en demi-finale du tournoi de Roland-Garros (6-3, 6-1). Elle affrontera la n°1 mondiale, Iga Swiatek, se dressera sur sa route le 4 juin.
The post Roland-Garros : Coco Gauff élimine Martina Trevisan et rejoint Iga Swiatek en finale appeared first on Haiti24.
Abiy's government and the regional one run by the Tigray People's Liberation Front each consider the other illegitimate.
\t There was no immediate word from the three AU envoys, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano and former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe. AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo did not say whether they can meet with TPLF leaders, something Abiy's office has rejected.
\"``Not possible,'' senior Ethiopian official Redwan Hussein said in a message to the AP. ``\"Above all, TPLF leadership is still at large.'' He called reports that the TPLF had appointed an envoy to discuss an immediate cease-fire with the international community ``masquerading.''
\t Fighting reportedly remained well outside the Tigray capital of Mekele, a densely populated city of a half-million people who have been warned by the Ethiopian government that they will be shown ``no mercy'' if they don't distance themselves from the region's leaders.
\t Tigray has been almost entirely cut off from the outside world since Nov. 4, when Abiy announced a military offensive in response to a TPLF attack on a federal army base.
That makes it difficult to verify claims about the fighting, but humanitarians have said at least hundreds of people have been killed.
\t The fighting threatens to destabilize Ethiopia, which has been described as the linchpin of the strategic Horn of Africa.
\t With transport links cut, food and other supplies are running out in Tigray, home to 6 million people, and the United Nations has asked for immediate and unimpeded access for aid.
AP
THERE has always been speculation that civil servants are deeply involved in Zanu PF politics. Now citizens wonder no more! editorial comment We hear headmasters and teachers, who are supposed to be in the civil service, have now traded their chalk, for political office ahead of the ruling party district co-ordinating committee (DCC) elections later this week. The teachers and headmasters unashamedly join a magistrate and a prosecutor who have expressed their strong desire to be part of the Zanu PF bandwagon and the ruling party does not appear to see anything untoward with that. This is flagrantly unconstitutional and a wrong precedent. At law, one cannot claim to represent a rainbow public, with all the political colours, on one end and brandish colours of a political party on the other. But the moulten political system in the country has been worsened by Zanu PF allowing all this to happen and going all the way to normalise such imprudent acts. The decision by these government workers to contest for positions in the party defies the claim that Zanu PF has not captured civil servants such that they allow them to go outright political to further their interests. Now that we have a sitting magistrate, a prosecutor, a provincial education director and teachers who want to be in the party structures at the same time wanting to maintain the civil service tag, it is time for Zanu PF to come out clean and act on such. Citizens are told the party is divided on the matter with some insisting civil servants must stay out of politics or resign from public office if they maintain their burning desire to be Zanu PF political actors. It is morally wrong to have civil servants wanting to remain government workers and at the same time being leaders in the governing party. We have seen the ruling party disregarding that and the argument raised by a headmaster in Masvingo province that he will contest and only resign if he wins but remain in the public service if he loses is as low an argument as it is absurd. Refreshingly, we had the Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana recently saying no government employee should contest for political office or assume any position in a political party before resigning from the civil service. Clear and sound, but the disregard of that perfect position by the constitution can only mean Zanu PF is not a disciple of the constitution in this regard. Is it a clear case of ignorance of the power-hungry civil servants or it is absolute arrogance on their part? Are they now above the law? The law is clear and section 200 of the Constitution stipulates that no government employee is allowed to further the interests of any political party or cause or act in a partisan manner. This is a classic test for Zanu PF to act on these errant civil servants if they are not complicity in this constitutional boo-boo.
It was late on the first Tuesday in November, and Captain Hussen Besheir, an Ethiopian federal soldier, was on duty at a guard post outside the military camp in Dansha.
It was close to midnight when he saw headlights approaching.
Ten armed members of the Tigrayan special forces got out of the vehicle and demanded to see the camp's commander.
\"'We're not here for you',\" Hussen recalled them saying. \"'We want to talk to the leaders.'\"
Hussen refused. An argument ensued and gunfire rang out.
They were the first shots in a conflict that has since engulfed northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, killing many hundreds of people and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
This week AFP visited the Dansha barracks, home to the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian military, after gaining rare access to Tigray, where a near-complete communications blackout has been in place since the fighting began.
Shell casings littered the camp's grounds, and bullet holes were punched in the walls of buildings and sides of military trucks.
A metal sign at the entrance reading, \"We need to protect the constitution from anti-development forces and lead our country to renaissance,\" was so perforated with gunfire as to be almost illegible.
'Betrayal'
Hussen and others described hours-long rifle and grenade battles against fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), including special forces and militiamen, joined by some federal soldiers of Tigrayan ethnicity who turned against their comrades.
Echoing a statement from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Hussen said soldiers \"were killed in their pyjamas\", adding, \"What happened here is even worse than that.\"
\"Betrayal alone wouldn't describe the feeling that I have. These are soldiers who have been eating and drinking with us,\" he said of those former federal troops who allegedly turned their guns against them.
The government in Addis Ababa has claimed the attack on Dansha - and a simultaneous assault on another barracks in the regional capital Mekele - as justification for its military offensive in Tigray since November 4.
It points to an interview on Tigrayan media in which a prominent TPLF supporter, said a pre-emptive strike was \"imperative\".
\"Should we be waiting for them to launch attacks first? No,\" said Sekuture Getachew, in the interview, which Abiy's office has called a \"confession\".
Confrontation between Abiy and the TPLF was a long time coming. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades until anti-government protests swept Abiy to power in 2018.
Since then the TPLF has complained of being sidelined and scapegoated for the country's woes.
The rift widened after Ethiopia postponed national elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. Tigray went ahead with its own vote, then branded Abiy an illegitimate ruler.
Ethnic forces
Tadilo Tamiru, a sergeant in the government-aligned Amhara special forces, was 50 kilometres to the south with his 170-strong unit, in a small town along the bo
Big-spending, but struggling, AmaZulu FC have beaten Monday's transfer window deadline to sign two more players.
THE 2021 budget presented by the finance minister Mthuli Ncube to Parliament shows that the minister was living in a ‘fantasy world,’ according to academic, Professor Austin Chakaodza. “Some of the major challenges facing our society are issues of poverty and unemployment. Ninety percent of the people of Zimbabwe were already unemployed before the eruption of COVID-19. The majority of the people continue to lack certain basic capabilities which are encapsulated in the socio - economic rights guaranteed in the constitution,” he said. “They continue to be deprived of basic capabilities - such as the capability to be free from hunger, to live in good health, to be literate and access to a social security safety net. This budget does not fulfil a number of human rights such as the right to food, health, education and training,” Chakaodza said. A big part of Mthuli 2021 budget is a range of new tax measures to fund the ambitious $421,6 billion budget. The highlight of this plan is how the taxman plans to go after the informal sector, which is the bulk of the economy but pays little tax. From new and higher taxes to a new tax unit targeting SMEs, it is a budget that gives away very little, but takes a lot. Here is how some of Mthuli’s measures will affect you. If you are a low-income earner There is not much tax relief for you. The tax-free threshold has only been raised slightly from $5 000 per month to $10 000 per month. Tax bands will begin at $10 001 and end at $250 000 per month. This does little for the poorest workers. For perspective; in October, a Zimbabwean family of five needed $18 750 just to stay above the poverty line. If you earn more than $250 000, you pay the highest marginal tax rate of 40%. If you are expecting a bonus, the bonus tax-free threshold has gone up from $5 000 to $25 000, with effect from 1 November 2020. If you were tired of the 2% tax, sorry The 2% tax on mobile money and other electronic transfers stays. The tax has been unpopular since it came in 2018, but Mthuli says it has “generated substantial resources that have enabled Government to support various infrastructure projects”, including the COVID-19 response. So, the Minister isn’t giving much of this cash-cow away. You will no longer pay the 2% for transactions of up to $500, which is just a small increase from the current $300. For forex transactions, this tax will apply above US$5. The maximum of this tax that your business can pay has been raised from $25 000 to $800 000 on transactions with values exceeding $40 million, with effect from 1 January 2021. If you were planning to import a car Government will now control the importation of cars that are 10 years or older. Owning a car has just slid further from the reach of the majority, who cannot afford new vehicles. According to Mthuli, Zimbabwe has spent around US$1,3 billion importing buses and used cars over the past five years. Cars older than 10 years are now off the Open General Import Licence. This means that, from 2021, you will need a special import licence for older cars.
[This Day] The federal government has repeatedly assured that the current economic downturn will be transient, but experts remained cautious, especially as the threat posed by COVID-19 subsists, writes James Emejo
[263Chat] Women who are part of Heal Zimbabwe Virtual platforms have called for the amendment of the Communal Lands Act.
[Daily Trust] Abuja and Katsina -- Mr Kwajaffa Hamma, the director-general of the Nigerian Textile Employers Association of Nigeria, has said that none of the moribund textile industries has been revived since 2017.
WHEN a fire gutted her house a few years ago, 36-year-old Tendai Chamboko was badly injured.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. BY FIDELITY MHLANGA Chamboko’s predicament was compounded by the fact that Zimbabwe has no disability insurance schemes, excerpt for 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 taught me about the importance of insurance,” she told Weekly Digest. “We lost everything and I was left disabled. I lack access to information, especially in brail language, which is compatible with my condition.” Chamboko’s problem is also shared 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 health care, 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, the 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 added that she is worried that even vulnerable groups like pensioners cannot afford medical cover. “You are covered for the 30 years that you are working because your employer is paying. The day that 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 access to insurance products and services. They say this level of exclusion from a key service turns them into second class citizens. In Zimbabwe there is life assurance, pensions 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 an employee's employment to support them on retirement. The products are vital in the event of death, disability, serious illnesses and ot
Neymar's brace helped PSG to victory over Manchester United which took the French club to the brink of the Champions League last 16.
