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Sylvia Bongo, wife of ousted Gabonese president Ali Bongo, has been jailed as she faces charges of money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records.
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.
THE majority of residents in Zimbabwe’s major urban areas are drinking sewage-contaminated water due to poor management systems by local authorities, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri has revealed in her latest audit report. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA An assessment by the Auditor-General on six major cities in the country showed that urban local authorities were failing to attend to sewer blockages within 24 hours, resulting in raw sewage mixing with drinking water. This ultimately gives rise to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera, among others. Unattended sewer blockages also result in sewage back-flowing, which further weakens the pipes, according to the audit findings for the period 2013 to 2017 following a public outcry over sewer bursts. “The assessment of the urban local authorities’ management of sewerage system revealed a number of weaknesses which contributed to the increase in the number of sewer blockage complaints from consumers,” Chiri said. “If local authorities fail to attend to blockages within the stipulated eight to 24 hours, raw sewage is lost into the environment before reaching the treatment plants, thereby contaminating water bodies. “According to interviews conducted, engineers cited that they were doing more of reactive maintenance rather than planned maintenance.” Results of the assessment also showed that Harare, with the highest population of over 1,5 million people, records the highest number of sewer blockages on average each year, which places residents in the capital city at high risk of contracting waterborne diseases. The United Nations Environment report of 2013 ranked Lake Chivero, Harare’s main water source, as one of the most 10 polluted lakes in the world. Statistics from the audit show that Harare discharges about 4 000 megalitres of raw or partially-treated water into water systems. In responding to the audit, city fathers blamed residents over sewer blockages, citing dumping of kitchen utensils and other items in sewage pipes as the major contributor to infrastructure damages. Although with a higher population, the audit report said Bulawayo had a better sewer system compared to other councils. In 2013 alone, 560 people died of waterborne diseases, while close to 600 000 others contracted the diseases countrywide. In 2008, five years before the audit, Zimbabwe recorded its worst cholera outbreak, which claimed over 5 000 lives, with Harare’s Budiriro and Glen View high-density suburbs the worst hit. Harare and Bulawayo are staring another crisis due to recurrent water shortages, with Harare declaring incapacitation to buy water treatment chemicals. Last week, Harare City Council confirmed four cases of typhoid, a bacterial infection that can be transmitted through contaminated water. The local authorities do not have modern equipment and technologies for sewer system inspection and maintenance and Chiri stated that the government was losing about US$194 million annually owing to poor sanitation practices. The Auditor-General also noted that poor service
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healing. Yet the improvement will be put at risk by the sharp resurgence in confirmed viral infections to an […]
The United States in the grips of yet another spike in coronavirus cases, but a member of President-elect Joe Biden's incoming coronavirus advisory board says a four-to-six-week shutdown would get things untracked.
BY LORRAINE MUROMO The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has condemned the brutal murder of four children in Chivhu by their biological mother following a dispute. On Wednesday, 29-year-old Emelda Marazani slit her four children’s throats and set the family house on fire following a dispute with her husband over infidelity. She attempted to commit suicide after callously killing her daughters aged nine, five, three and one. In a statement, ZGC chairperson for social, cultural and religious issues, Sibongile Mauye, said: “We are saddened by the sad loss of innocent children who are victims of potential marital conflict between the mother of the children and the father,” Mauye said. “We condemn criminal behaviour exhibited by the mother of the children and we are concerned that she took an option to murder innocent children for reasons still unknown. “We implore families to resolve marital disputes in amicable ways recognising that both traditional and legal means of recourse are available.” She added: “As Gender Commission, we stand for equal rights for men women and children. “We are bound by the Bill of Rights; we therefore condemn the brutal killing of innocent children by their biological mother.” Shamwari YeMwanasikana research, advocacy and communications co-ordinator Louis Tatswareyi encouraged couples to resolve disputes amicably. “We feel saddened by the loss of innocent lives as a result of failure by the couple to resolve their infidelity issues. Since the beginning of the lockdown, such cases of murder due to infidelity have been on the increase. It is sad that the killings happened as we approach the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence,” he said. “We continue urging men and women to find amicable ways to solve their issues and most importantly, leave children out of their problems. The parents should be havens of safety for their children no matter what the circumstance should be.”
For just the second time in more than seven decades, a Democrat will carry Arizona in a presidential election, a monumental shift for a state that was once a Republican stronghold. CNN projected on Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden will carry Arizona, defeating President Donald Trump and providing Democrats in Arizona and the universe of allied grassroots organizations in the […]
By Laurel Rosenhall, CALMatters California’s status has shifted dramatically with the election of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second time in American history, a Californian will serve as […]
The post Home State Advantage: What a Vice President Kamala Harris means for California appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is facing viability challenges, including acute transport problems to carry out its mandate. BY REX MPHISA ZETDC acting managing director Lovemore Chinaka said the problems were affecting the daily running of the country's power utility currently heavily reliant on hired vehicles at most of its stations. In a interview yesterday, Chinaka said some projects had been put on hold because of shortage of materials, but was optimistic his organisation would be on the rebound because it was mobilising resources. Chinaka could, however, not say off-hand the amount ZETDC needed to meet its power supply obligations. “We have serious challenges in transport that have affected our operations. We also need raw materials to carry out our work. I cannot say off-hand how much we need. We are mobilising resources required to meet demand,” he said. “Electrification of sections of Beitbridge is among our three major projects on plans. We have the transformers, but are still here in Harare. We should be moving to the ground, but we still need material for that project,” he said. The power utility has been struggling to supply the country with power, forcing people to destroy forests for firewood. ZETDC has in the recent past increased its tariffs attracting public outcry, but it maintains its charges were the lowest in the region. In September this year, Chinaka said the existing rate was approximately US0,02 per kilowatt hour instead of US0,10 cents per kWh at which the power utility can break even. Mobility in the exchange rates resulted in recurrent increases in imported electricity prices threatening Zesa’s viability. ZETDC blamed vandalism for its failure to power 100 000 households in the past five years. In 2017, ZETDC recorded 736 cases of theft and vandalism which in 2018 climbed to 766 and jumped to 1 178 last year. This year in July 498 cases had already been recorded.
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 […]
The post Justice Dept.: 'Poor judgment' used in Epstein plea deal appeared first on Black News Channel.
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (AFP) - Most Republican lawmakers have yet to acknowledge Joe Biden as America's next leader, a departure from political norms that suggests President Donald Trump retains an iron grip on his congressional flock.
The Black Hair Experience, a pop-up opening in Atlanta on November 20, will include a number of spaces to capture on camera, from a swing made with braids and twists, thousands of bottles of hair products dangling from the ceiling, a life-sized collage that displays the versatility of Black hair and more.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 12: Rain falls on the White Home 9 days after the presidential … [+] election November 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)…
Analysis - Disputed elections in the Ivory Coast and Guinea, violence in Nigeria: many West Africans hope for foreign support, but the European Union has kept itself at a distance. Publicly, at least.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The public will immediately notice a vast change in science messaging from the White House,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, told USA Today. “The Biden administration will both convey pro-science messages and model […]
The post Biden Says He’ll Turn to Science and Experts to Defeat COVID appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
AP reports that Texas is the first state to reach over one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Texas has now surpassed California, the most populous state, and reportedly has the 10th most cases in the world.
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.
