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[Citizen] The US Department of State on Friday announced a blanket travel ban on Ugandan government officials who they say were involved in gross human rights violations and undermining democracy during and after the January 14 general election.
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
In the drought-hit south of Madagascar, people are forced to fill their bellies with white clay mixed with tamarind to cope with famine. More than a year of no rain is slowing leading locals to the brink of famine. The staple food like cactus fruit cannot be produced because of the drought.
\"If we had something to eat, if our saliva was enough, we would never have eaten that. But it's true that we didn't know that white clay was edible before. We tried to mix it and it worked\", Dame Zafendraza, a charcoal producer said.
In a nearby village of Ankilomarovahetsy, 9 people starved to death in September. Toharano is a housewife. She says she's quite certain that the death of her children was due to the famine.
\"My children didn't eat for three days and then died, because I, their mother, did not manage to feed them. I'm sure it was the famine that killed them. It's not something else, it's not the disease, but famine. I left early in the morning and came back in the evening, and I saw the body of my child with his eyes open\", she said.
Children have particularly struggled to digest the clay and tamarind mixture. According to the World Food Programme (WFP) in the country this causes ''belly swelling''.
Half of the population in the southern region of the Indian Ocean Island, is currently in need of emergency food aid, the UN agency said.
Théodore Mbainaissem is head of the Ambovombe office for the World Food Programme (WFP).
\"People could not go out because of the lockdown. The trucks, the bush taxis that have to commute, were not allowed and people stayed more or less in the villages. Add to that the food insecurity caused by climate change, which has been very severe this year\", he said.
The WFP said about 31 million euros are urgently needed to feed the hungry in southern Madagascar.
Climate Change
A few kilometres away in the town of Beraketa, global charity Action Against Hunger (ACF) has put up a centre in partnership with the WFP.
The centre caters for around 50 severely malnourished children and 100 other patients every week. The children are at risk of death, especially if malnutrition is complicated by diarrhoea, respiratory infections or malaria.
While droughts are not uncommon in the area, this dry spell has been compounded by climate impact. The WFP's Mbainaissem said \"for three years in some communities, two in others, there has been no rain.\"
Rising insecurity and livestock thefts have exacerbated poverty and complicated humanitarian relief efforts. The government has deployed the military to distribute food and first aid in the area. In October, President Andry Rajoelina, his wife and son gave out rations in villages.
The local head of the WFP Mbainaissem has warned of a disaster if emergency food assistance are not provided.
By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — In a quest to root out Islamic State group hideouts over the summer, Iraqi forces on the ground cleared nearly 90 villages across a notoriously unruly northern province. But the much-touted operation still relied heavily on U.S. intelligence, coalition flights and planning assistance. While the planned U.S. troop drawdown in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500 by mid-January is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the campaign against IS remnants, there are concerns that further withdrawals could set the stage for another resurgence of the extremist group. Although Iraqi forces have […]
The post EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran? appeared first on Black News Channel.
(Jamaica Gleaner) The love story of a blind St Catherine couple living under a leaky roof tugged at the heart-strings of a Jamaican expatriate who has given them an early Christmas present.
The article Jamaican expatriate gifts new roof to blind couple appeared first on Stabroek News.
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 […]
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
As pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna push for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some in the Black community remain wary about vaccine safety. Anthony Williams, […]
The post Black Healthcare Providers Organize To Build Trustworthiness Of COVID-19 Vaccine Process appeared first on Essence.
Part 2 of ‘The Black Market’ occurs Dec. 4-6 by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer Fourteen-year-old Michael Woodson Jr. might be the only youngster in Pittsburgh who blended his love for playing sports, playing video games and wanting to make people’s homes smell good into a business venture that benefits him and his entire … Continued
The post Black-owned businesses take over Downtown Pittsburgh appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.
New data released by the Small Business Administration, shows the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were pillaged by large companies including Trump's
(Partner Content) EU citizens who intend to stay in the UK after Brexit have to take note of some very important points and deadlines.
At the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Institute of International Relations (IIR) panel discussion on Tuesday, trade, regional integration, migration foreign direct investment, the war on drugs, energy, and climate change are just some of the issues the Caribbean hopes they would be able to address with the new Biden administration.
As new hotspots are being identified, the president highlighted the importance of adhering to social distancing protocols. In addition, the government is geared to introduce tighter alcohol restrictions in areas.
Californians can rest easy. With a little over two months to go until the state’s open enrollment period for 2021 ends on Jan. 31, 2021, expect no new restrictions to your health care coverage options. It is not likely that the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, will be […]
The post Good News: As You Renew Your Health Care Coverage, Don’t Expect New Restrictions first appeared on Post News Group.
To Be Equal #49 December 2, 2020 Health Care, Voting Rights, And Pandemic Recovery Are At Stake In Georgia's January 5 Runoff Election Marc H. Morial President and CEO National Urban League “Support for the majority-vote plan reinforced the moderate segregationist position. It did not remove anyone's right to cast a ballot, but it was […]
The post TBE#49 - Health Care, Voting Rights, And Pandemic Recovery Are At Stake In Georgia's January 5 Runoff Election appeared first on Afro.
The emergence of new outbreaks in several parts of South Africa has raised fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus, which could be encouraged by the expected gatherings during the festive season.
Authorities in the African country officially most affected by Covid-19 have been struggling to control the number of outbreaks since an increase was reported in November in the neighboring Eastern and Western (Southern) Cape provinces.
Nationally, the daily number of new cases has surpassed 3,000, a 50% jump from an average of 2,000 earlier in November.
More than half of this increase came from infections in the Eastern Cape and about 25% from the Western Cape Province.
\"The small outbreaks we are seeing right now (...) are temporary. Something must be done,\" Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said last week.
The rate of coronavirus transmission in South Africa had dropped sharply after peaking in July, with fewer than three cases detected daily per 100,000 people between late August and early November.
But the lull was short-lived, and authorities are now trying to combat a possible resurgence of the epidemic.
\"We are not in the second wave but in these two provinces (...) we are in full resurgence,\" commented the government adviser in charge of the fight against the coronavirus, Salim Abdool Karim.
If these new epidemic outbreaks are not contained, it is \"only a matter of time\" for the whole country to be affected, he warned.
In the Eastern Cape's largest city, Port Elizabeth, hospitals are already struggling with the rebound of the epidemic, although local authorities say the situation is under control.
'Chronic shortages'
Still reeling from the shock of the first wave, the health services requested assistance from the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in three public facilities.
\"The hospitals are really overwhelmed with a large number of patients, some even say more than in July,\" said an MSF official for the province, Dr. Colin Pfaff.
\"The facilities are understaffed,\" he added, criticizing \"chronic shortages\" and citing contamination among medical staff.
Private facilities are also affected.
\"Our hospitals in the Eastern Cape are incredibly full at the moment,\" Richard Friedland, head of South Africa's largest private medical network, Netcare, told AFP last week.
\"We still have the capacity to treat new cases\" with the installation of additional beds, he assured nevertheless.
While the provincial government assures that hospitals are neither \"full\" nor \"overwhelmed\", the South African Physicians Association accused the Department of Health this week of not providing adequate support to \"overwhelmed\" staff.
South Africa has recorded 792,000 cases, including more than 21,600 deaths, for a population of nearly 58 million people.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has ruled out a new lockdown at this stage.
The stringent infections which came into effect at the end of March have seriously affected the economy of the most industrialized country on the continent, causing 2.2 million people to lo
The Supreme Court is mulling whether to give hundreds of people the right to redo their trials after they were convicted by non-unanimous juries.
