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By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities 'abandoned' thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic and did not seek hospital treatment for many who were infected, violating their human rights, Amnesty International said in an investigation published Monday. One of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, Belgium has reported more than 531,000 confirmed virus cases and more than 14,400 deaths linked to the coronavirus. During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the European nation of 11.5 million people recorded a majority of its COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes. Between March […]
The post Report: Belgian nursing homes failed patients amid pandemic appeared first on Black News Channel.
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.
By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in a London court on Monday to fight a U.S. extradition request, at a high-stakes hearing that was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Assange, who has spent almost a year and a half in a British prison, sat in the dock at the Old Bailey criminal court and formally refused the U.S. demand he be extradited to face trial on espionage charges. He wore a dark suit, white shirt and maroon tie, with glasses perched atop his neatly trimmed white hair. Several dozen supporters, including fashion designer […]
The post WikiLeaks' Assange in UK court to fight US extradition bid appeared first on Black News Channel.
Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a pregnant woman in Scottsdene, Kraaifontein on Sunday.
Three male suspects between the ages of 32 and 38 were traced and arrested,\" said police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk.
Emergency Medical Services communications officer Deanna Bessick said the team responded to the shooting in Kraaifontein at about 06:40 on Sunday.
\"Four people were shot, including a pregnant female, 30-years-old,\" she said.
The three suspects will appear in Blue Downs Magistrates Court on Monday.
Associated Press More than 1,600 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in Alabama on Sunday, along with seven additional virus-related deaths. The state has recorded 16,520 new confirmed cases of the virus over the last 14 days, according to data from the Alabama Department of Public Health, accounting for about 31% of the 52,908 total []
The 49-year-old fell from the fifth floor of the building located in the Pretoria CBD on Friday.
The Trump Administration has been pointing to a segment of the industry — facilities with low federal ratings for infection control — and to some Democratic governors who required nursing homes to take recovering coronavirus patients.
Nationwide, more than 45,500 residents and staff have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to a running count by The Associated Press.
CMS head Verma said her agency has been on top of things from the beginning, issuing numerous safety guidelines for nursing homes, setting new coronavirus reporting requirements, and providing Medicare payment for testing residents.
She says states have money from the federal government that they can use to support testing of nursing home staff.
The nursing home industry says just one-time testing for every resident and staffer would cost US$440 million, and facilities struggling financially would not be able to bear the expense of regular staff testing.
Kendrick Johnson (Family Picture)
The protest and nationwide civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd have sparked a petition calling for the investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson to be reopened.
READ MORE: Parents of Kendrick Johnson, student found dead in gym mat, exhume body for third autopsy
But his parents never accepted that his death was an accident.
Kendrick Johnson (family picture) and Body found (Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory via CNN
Here’s more allegations from the petition:
“Brian Bell has also stated that he killed Kendrick Johnson multiple times over the phone.
Brandon Bell, who is both a student at Valdosta High School and the brother of Brian Bell, had got drunk at a party on July 4 of 2013 and told people that Brian Bell killed Kendrick Johnson.”
“According to Brandon Bell, Brian Bell had told Ryan that if he did not keep quiet and help him move Kendrick Johnson’s body, his father, who is Rick Bell, who is a retired F.B.I. agent would make sure that he would pay for it,” the petition states.
[New Times] The Ministry of Health on Wednesday, August 12, announced the death of a 37 year-old man, becoming the eighth person to succumb to this pandemic in the country.
Amnesty International has documented torture, unlawful detention and sexual abuse of children escaping Boko Haram in the Northeast
At least 10,000 people, including many children, have died in military detention during the conflict
UK funding a flawed 'rehabilitation' centre - full investigation needed into deaths at the site
'This must serve as an urgent warning to the UK Government currently supporting a military abusing the very people it's meant to be protecting' - Kate Allen
Nigeria must urgently address its failure to protect and provide education to an entire generation of children in the Northeast, a region devastated by years of Boko Haram atrocities and gross violations by the military, Amnesty International warned today in a chilling new report.
The 91-page report, 'We dried our tears': Addressing the toll on children of Northeast Nigeria's conflict, examines how the military's widespread unlawful detention and torture have compounded the suffering of children from Borno and Adamawa states who faced war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of Boko Haram.
Between November 2019 and April 2020, Amnesty interviewed more than 230 people affected by the conflict, including 119 who were children when they suffered serious crimes at the hands of Boko Haram, the Nigerian military, or both.
Thousands, including children, held in military detention
Children who escape Boko Haram territory face a raft of violations by the Nigerian authorities, including crimes under international law.
A 14-year-old boy whom Boko Haram abducted as a young child before he fled and was placed in detention by the Nigerian military, said: \"The conditions in Giwa are horrible.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 30-year-old man from Elsies River in Cape Town who died in police custody.
If completed, the sale would be the first American transfer of lethal drones and stealth aircraft to any Arab country.
Seventeen-year-old Haresh Singh died of brain haemorrhaging and blunt trauma to the head compounded by compression injuries to the neck, according to a post-mortem report today.
The article Haresh Singh died of brain haemorrhaging, compression of neck appeared first on Stabroek News.
Madagascar's government has announced it will dispatch troops and doctors to an eastern town after several bodies were found in the streets and where two people died from the novel coronavirus.
Madagascar's cabinet held a special meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation in Toamasina, the country's second largest city.
Since Thursday, more than 120 new cases were confirmed, and several bodies were found in the city's streets though the cause of death was not clear.
\"Doctors must carry out thorough examinations to see if these deaths are caused by another illness (...) or if they are really due to severe acute respiratory problems which is the critical form of Covid-19,\" Professor Hanta Marie Danielle Vololontiana, spokesperson for the government's virus taskforce, said in a national broadcast on Sunday.
The cabinet has also announced an investigation into the death of a doctor in Toamasina.
An elderly man who was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday for gun-related crimes has died in police custody.\tDudley Watt, 65, reportedly collapsed inside a lock-up at Central Police Station, in downtown Kingston, yesterday.\tHe was later pronounced...
The PX3 State of the World 2020 photo competition in Paris has selected a number of powerful images, including the Hong Kong protests, the US-Mexico border issue and police brutality.
[AI London] Amnesty International has graded Twitter on progress to keep women safe on platform
Confirmed cases = 5,846
\t\tActive cases = 3,311
\t\tRecoveries = 2,430
\t\tNumber of deaths = 103
\t
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 19, 2020
June 20: 4,000+ cases, quarantine period now 7 days
\tThe government has revised the quarantine period for persons entering the country from fourteen to seven days, the Ethiopia News Agency reported on Friday.
Confirmed cases = 4,070
\t\tActive cases = 2,969
\t\tRecoveries = 1,029
\t\tNumber of deaths = 72
June 18: 3,954 cases as tests pass 200K mark
\tEthiopia’s case load looks set to enter the 4,000 zone as 195 new cases took the tally to 3,954 confirmed cases, the 100th update from the Health Ministry disclosed.
Total confirmed cases = 3,954 (new cases = 195)
Total recoveries = 934
Total deaths = 65
Active cases = 2,953
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 18, 2020
June 13: Ethiopia passes 3,000 mark as deaths reach 55
\tA total of 268 new cases within 24-hours took Ethiopia’s tally past the 3,000 mark.
Confirmed cases = 3,166
\t\tNumber of deaths = 55
\t\tRecoveries = 495
\t\tActive cases = 2,614
\tJohn Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 13, 2020
\tVIDEO
June 8: 2,070 cases, PM defends ‘no lockdown’
\tEthiopia crossed the 2,000 mark on Sunday when 86 new cases took the tally to 2,020.
Confirmed cases = 2,070
Deaths = 27
Recoveries = 344
Active cases = 1,647
Total tests = 142,960
June 3: 1,486 cases, community transmissions mounting
\tEthiopia’s Health Minister is worried over the spate of community transmissions of COVID-19.
Two days after a doctor attached to the Bartica Regional Hospital told relatives of 78-year-old Samuel Wilson, a former Toshao of the Indigenous community of Batavia in Region Seven that the elderly man was suffering from a “minor problem,” the former Toshao died from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The article Former toshao of Batavia dies from COVID-19 appeared first on Stabroek News.
The directive applies to counties with 20 or more Covid-19 cases, which covers most of Texas 254 counties. Texas hit a record of more than 8,000 virus cases in a day on Wednesday, up from about 2,400 two weeks ago. Americans are about to mark the Fourth of July weekend, with some beaches coast to []
The post Coronavirus: Texas governor mandates wearing of face masks appeared first on DefenderNetwork.com.
On Friday, 22nd May 2020, Dr Blyden was charged with ten counts of seditious libel under Sections 33, 32 and 27 of the notorious Public Order Act No 46 of 1965, which successive governments of Sierra Leone have used to harass, intimidate and persecute those with whom they disagree, especially journalists.
According to Section 33 (1), “any person who (a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do, any act with a seditious intention; or (b) utters any seditious words; or (c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or (d) imports any seditious publication, unless he has no reason to believe it is seditious shall be guilty of an offence and liable for a first offence to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to a fine not exceeding one thousand leones or to both such imprisonment and fine, and for a subsequent offence shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding seven years, and every such publication shall be forfeited to the government.”
Section 32 (1) – “Any person who publishes any false statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear or alarm, to the public or to disturb the public peace shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three hundred Leones or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) Any person who publishes any false statement, rumour or report which is calculated to bring into disrepute any person who holds an office under the Constitution, in the discharge of his duties shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred Leones or to imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.”
Section 27 – “Any person who maliciously publishes any defamatory matter shall be guilty of an offence called libel and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding seven hundred Leones or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”
There has been a renewed call to revisit the police killing of Elijah McClain who died after being placed in a chokehold
Algerian authorities must immediately release journalist Merzoug Touati and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On June 12, Algerian police arrested Touati, a reporter for the news website L'Avant-Garde, while he was covering anti-government protests in the city of Béjaïa, according to journalist and press freedom advocate Mustapha Bendjama, who has followed the case and spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and a statement by the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees, a local human rights group.
On June 13, a state prosecutor charged Touati with inciting an unarmed assembly, distributing publications harmful to national unity, and putting the lives of others in danger by violating COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, according to Bendjama and news reports.
If convicted on the harming national unity charges alone, Touati could face up to 10 years in prison, according to CPJ research.
Today, a judge at the Béjaïa court denied Touati's appeal for parole, and postponed the next hearing in his case until July 1, according to Bendjama and news reports.
#EndSARSNow: NGO SAYS JUSTICE \"NEEDS TO BE SERVED\" IN NIGERIA
The anti-police brutality movement #EndSARSNow that has seen Nigerian youth take to the streets over the last two weeks, erupted Tuesday evening when armed security forces opened fire on a group of demonstrators in Lekki, Lagos city.
The exact number of resulting wounded and fatalities is still unconfirmed.
Amnesty International is currently taking steps to get official figures - according to Director in Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, who gives insight into the incident based on the human rights organisation's credible sources on the ground.
Osai Ojigho : The eyewitness accounts that we received last night and the views that we got and various other sources that were shared point to the fact that they were military officers. So it is important that they actually investigate this and find out what happened. What were they doing there? Were they there to protect the protesters? Were they there to stop something from happening? Were they given orders to shoot at unarmed people? It would be important for the authorities to give that information today. But for us where we sit, people have died, people have been injured and justice needs to be served.
In order to attain a just conclusion to these events, the human rights lawyer outlines the necessary legal avenues to take.
Osai Ojigho : So the first thing is the individual culpability of officers and commanders who have actually perpetrated these acts of violence against protesters and the populace. because it is not only protesters who have been affected. Earlier on in the protests, there were also individuals who were not part of the protesters who were hit by stray bullets. That is 1.
The second is Nigeria needs to recognise that it has an international obligation under international human rights law to ensure that the safety and security of people within its territory are protected.
President Muhammadu Buhari had previously issued a statement last week denouncing excessive force used by the police - and also acknowledged officers in the country who are upright. Many now speculate on his stance since Tuesday's shootings and many others question the silence from other Africa leaders.
Osai Ojigho : It would be good to see the political leadership in the African Union and ECOWAS actually come out to say, \"Nigeria, we are seeing what is happening. You need to preach nonviolence.\" This is not a time to be silent.
Not at all silent and still raising their voices - undeterred by the very same police brutality they seek to end in the country, are Nigerian youth and the NGO Director applauds their resilience.
Osai Ojigho : The events of the last two weeks, on the one hand, have been inspiring to see people come out to express themselves. The overwhelming support they've received all over the world has been an eye-opener and it was a positive feeling - you know, that Nigerians are coming out and they are speaking truth to power.
During the blitz, 43,000 civilians died, an average of 175 each day, a national trauma that is seared in Britain’s collective memory.
In the past 100 days, the number of reported excess deaths linked to Covid-19 – which England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, declares “the key metric” – has reached 65,700, a daily mortality rate far deadlier than the Nazi onslaught on British towns and cities between September 1940 and May 1941.
Barack Obama to Address the LGBTQ Community for Pride Live’s Stonewall Day
Inevitable is a word that can be used to describe the tragic fact that families were always going to “lose loved ones before their time”, as the prime minister put it 11 days before he belatedly ordered a national lockdown.
It is not a word that can be used to describe one in every 1,000 members of the British public being killed by the virus in a three-month period, or what was at one point the second-worst deathrate on earth.
But inevitable?
BY NHAU MANGIRAZI CHIKANGWE Clinic has been shut down, while Karoi District Hospital mortuary attendant and two guards went into self-isolation following the death of a local businessperson who tested positive to COVID-19 on Wednesday last week. Amos Gava, who fell sick on Sunday last week, was pronounced dead on arrival at a local private surgery. The two guards who assisted the mortuary attendant and the private doctor who attended to the deceased will be tested while in self-isolation, a health official said. Hurungwe district medical officer Frackson Masiye confirmed the death. “I can confirm that Hurungwe has registered a positive COVID-19 case. The private doctor who attended to him will be tested and be in isolation under World Health Organisation guidelines. Furthermore, we will be doing contact tracing of all those who had close contact with the deceased,” he said. The local clinic, deceased’s house and his business premises were all fumigated, the medical officer said. So far, 26 members of the community who confirmed contact with Gava were tested, but the swabs for the polymerase chain reaction tests are yet to be taken to Harare for testing. Nickson Kondo, the deceased’s neighbour, said they were yet to know their fate since health officials said they did not have fuel to get the swabs to Harare. “The late Gava’s relatives funded the transport for his swab to be taken to Harare for testing. Unfortunately, we do not know when our results will be out. We helped him as he was in pain and even when we approached a local surgery, the doctor had no protective clothing when he declared him dead,” Kondo said. Some residents have called for more action and campaigns in communities. “Health ministry officials should have fumigated ward 3 as this is a small community. They have not made any efforts to test members of Zion Christian Church where Gava went seeking help for vomiting (acid reflux) as it was his underlying health challenge since childhood. ”We are sitting on a health time bomb as the ministry has no resources,” Bernard Mudare a community member said.
By PABLO GORONDI Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases spiked Friday in parts of eastern Europe, with Hungary and the Czech Republic registering all-time daily highs. Signs of the pandemic's resurgence were also evident in Britain and the Netherlands. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his government was drafting a 'war plan' to defend against the second wave of the pandemic. The plan's aim was 'not for everyone to stay at home and bring the country to a halt … but to defend Hungary's functionality,' Orban said. The prime minister said measures meant […]
The post Virus spiking in eastern Europe; Hungary drafts 'war plan' appeared first on Black News Channel.
Four more people have died from COVID-19 and another death is under investigation, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported. \tThis means Jamaica has now recorded 186 deaths from the disease since it's first case on March 10. ...
With coronavirus cases climbing, Gov. Abbott says ‘no real need’ to scale back business reopenings
With the number of people hospitalized for the new coronavirus continuing to climb in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that there’s “no real need to ratchet back the opening of businesses in the state.”
The state reported Friday that the number of people hospitalized in Texas who are confirmed to have the coronavirus has increased to a new peak of 2,166.
But as the reopening of businesses continues – as of Friday, restaurants in Texas are allowed to operate at 75% capacity, and almost all businesses can operate at 50% capacity – Abbott and other state officials have kept a close eye on the situation in Texas hospitals.
The number of available beds is seen as a key gauge for the state’s ability to handle a potential surge in coronavirus cases, and Abbott has said the hospitalization rate – the proportion of infected Texans who are requiring hospitalization – is a benchmark he’s closely monitoring.
And while the number of people hospitalized with the virus has climbed, state officials and local hospital leaders have expressed confidence in their capacities.
