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A DIARRHOEA outbreak has hit Harare Central Prison, which houses an estimated 100 inmates at a time holding cells have no running water. BY RICHARD MUPONDE Clean water has reportedly been scarce at the prison, a development that is believed to have caused the outbreak. The prison was designed to hold 1 470 inmates but now it is overcrowded and often holds up to 2 000 inmates. The diarrhoea outbreak reportedly hit the correctional facility last week. Efforts are being made to contain its spread with doctors and nurses having been placed on high alert. Insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, yesterday claimed that the diarrhoea outbreak that affected prisoners was put under wraps due to a court application by an inmate at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison who recently called for an inquest into the country’s prison conditions which he said were a death trap. “A number of inmates contracted the disease at the Harare Central Prison. The issue has been put under wraps since the court application by one of the inmates from Chikurubi who sued after an outbreak of diarrhoea. It’s true that inmates suffered from diarrhoea. Maybe what they (Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services) can dispute is the number of inmates affected, not the diarrhoea cases. “It is really a time bomb. One of these days we will wake up counting dead bodies. It is unfortunate that the authorities tend to hide facts. “You remember there was a time when inmates died of pellagra countrywide with Khami Prison being the epicentre where a number of inmates died and some had to be released and dumped onto the streets gravely ill. They shouldn’t hide such information so that they get help from well-wishers since the government budget can’t cater for all the needs of inmates and working conditions of prison officials,” the source said. ZPCS spokesperson Meya Khanyezi yesterday denied reports of the diarrhoea outbreak. “That is a lie. Who told you such? I was there at Harare Central Prison on another programme. There is nothing like that. “Do not listen to people who are telling you that. We have prison doctors and nurses who are on high alert to prevent such outbreaks and we have not received such a report.” Khanyezi said. She also said an outbreak of diarrhoea could not affect inmates alone, without affecting prison officers when they are always at the same stations with prisoners. “We work together with prisoners as part of our rehabilitation process. In that vein, how can inmates alone contract the disease leaving prison officers outside? “I think next time you should come and see for yourself, do not listen to people they tend to lie,” she said. Last week an inmate at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison Taurai Dodzo represented by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum filed a lawsuit against ZPCS following his unfortunate experience after an outbreak of diarrhoea at the prison. Dodzo said the prison was hit by a diarrhoea, hepatitis B and tuberculosis outbreaks. His application is now before the High Court and lawyers that went to tour Chikurubi last
South Africa is one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa with over 740,000 infections.
The country recorded 60 more virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20,011.
A MUTARE woman is facing murder charges after stabbing her sister’s nine-month-old baby accusing her of crying non-stop. BY KENNETH NYANGANI The accused Natasha Mugwenjere (32) yesterday appeared before Mutare magistrate Prisca Manhibi who remanded her in custody to November 23. The court was told that Mugwenjere was a mental patient. The State alleges that on November 9, Charlotte Muromba left her daughter in the custody of the accused. The mother of the now-deceased had reportedly gone to fetch water at a nearby borehole. The baby reportedly began to cry and this irritated the accused, who stabbed her twice on the chest with a knife. When Charlotte came back, she found her baby bleeding. They rushed her to Mutare Provincial Hospital where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
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
By LOUISE DIXON Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you. That's the possibility presented by 'sound beaming,' a new futuristic audio technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday it will debut a desktop device that beams sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones. The company provided The Associated Press with an exclusive demo of the desktop prototype […]
The post New device puts music in your head — no headphones required appeared first on Black News Channel.
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
LAHORE, Pakistan, (Reuters) - Pakistan axed Asad Shafiq from their test team for the upcoming New Zealand tour yesterday, also omitting veterans Mohammad Amir and Shoaib Malik from the Twenty20 squad as part of their go-young policy in the short format.
The article Pakistan drop Shafiq, Amir and Malik for NZ tour appeared first on Stabroek News.
THE burial of the late popular comedian Lazarus “Gringo” Boora at his rural home in Rukweza, Rusape, yesterday was marred by chaotic scenes as the family clashed with members of the Johanne Masowe eChishanu apostolic sect, a religion he had converted to. BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA The celebrated entertainer, who succumbed to cancer on Monday morning at a private medical facility in the capital, was laid to rest at a cemetery close to his homestead. There was a clash of beliefs over funeral rites, between Gringo’s family and his apostolic church members who removed the corpse from the coffin before burial and barred graveside eulogies. Gringo’s wife and seven children are also members of Johanne Masowe eChishanu sect. This sparked an uproar that saw many disperse in protest. For the Rukweza villagers, they were there to pay last respects to Gringo, while for the artistes and fans it was time to celebrate his illustrious career, but his churchmates were there to bury the entertainer who had been rechristened Madzibaba Gadhirosi. “Before he died, (Gringo) he told us that we should not play drums at his funeral, but not what they are doing here. They removed the corpse from the coffin and we do not like it as his family apart from it being illegal,” Gringo’s brother, Harrison, said. The remorseless church members, however, could not bow to the family’s stance, maintaining that they were following Gringo’s church doctrine. In his speech at the burial, Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation deputy minister Tinomudaishe Machakaire pledged support for the industry to avoid artistes turning into beggars whenever tragedy struck. “We have converged here for the funeral of our television star who not only entertained the citizens of this country, but all the way up to the President. I have heard the cries of the industry related to the status of their work and I promise that we will make efforts towards making their lives better,” he said. Among the mourners were musicians and creative stakeholders such as National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Nicholas Moyo, actor-cum-singer Kapfupi, First Farai and Simon Mutambi. Members of the arts fraternity lauded Gringo’s contribution to the industry. “He worked very hard during his days and it is painful that at the time of his death he had not gained meaningful benefits from his work,” said Mbudziyadhura, who worked with him on many projects. Gweshe Gweshe said: “He was a very humble man and deserved better. I just hope that this is an eye-opener that we need more funding and ways to earn better as artists.” Gringo’s acting career began when he appeared on a TV commercial for Castle Lager and later worked for the now-defunct Joy TV where he appeared on some shows. He made a name for himself with the popular drama series Gringo, where he shared the platform with one of the country’s best actresses, the late Sthembeni Makawa who played the role of Mai Gweshe Gweshe. Gringo was arguably one of the best actors of his generation as he played the role of a notorious gardener who used unscrupulous means
Econet has partnered with Alphabet, Google’s parent company to provide new high speed broadband technology which uses beams instead of fibre, Alphabet’s subsidiary, X “Moonshot Factory” said on Tuesday. BY PRIMROSE HAISA “Our ‘Project Taara’ high-speed optical wireless broadband endeavour is working with internet provider Econet and its subsidiaries to begin rolling out its tech across Sub-Saharan Africa,” X said in a statement. “This deployment follows a series of small pilots in Kenya specifically, but now Taara and Econet are ready to start adding high-speed wireless optical links to supplement and enhance Econet service reach more broadly, starting with Liquid Telecom customers in Kenya.” X added: “Taara is yet another approach to extending the reach of broadband networks to parts of the Earth that have typically not had access or high-speed connections, due primarily to infrastructure challenges.” According to X, in a substitute of digging about two weeks to lay fibre cables, the new technology will be organized to connect two points 20 km apart and it currently delivers up to 10 Gbits of internet capacity. X’s Taara is essentially a fibre optic network cable without the cable which uses a narrow, invisible beam of light to transmit data between two terminals that can span up to nearly 12.5 miles, while providing transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps. This, X said, means thousands of customers or households can be connected while still providing speeds high enough for streaming high-quality video. “Taara’s technology can essentially be used to patch gaps in traditional fibre optic networks, spanning rivers or crossing terrain that would be hard or impossible to span using either under or aboveground cable.” X has been piloting Taara in a number of deployments around the world and is moving towards commercialising the project.
[allAfrica] Cape Town -- As of November 12, the confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries have reached 1,918,932. Reported deaths in Africa have reached 46,283 and recoveries 1,620,746 .
After his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger plans to get tested and to... View Article
The post Georgia secretary of state isolates after wife’s virus test appeared first on TheGrio.
