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On Friday, the music was blaring from one of those handcarts offering CD’s for sale.
The article Doesn’t it feel like Christmas? appeared first on Stabroek News.
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
All three of the Ball brothers are expected to play in the 2020-2021 NBA season. LiAngelo Ball, the middle child,... View Article
The post LiAngelo Ball signs with Pistons; all three Ball brothers in NBA appeared first on TheGrio.
Fans of Earth, Wind & Fire need only hear a few notes of Philip Bailey’s iconic falsetto before they start to swoon, sway and sing along. Since the '70s, the […]
The post Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey Hosts Virtual Holiday Gala appeared first on Essence.
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
By STEVE PEOPLES and ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. Black leaders have encouraged the incoming president to select an African American to diversify what has so far been a largely white prospective Cabinet, while others are pushing him to appoint a woman to lead the Department of Defense for the first time. At the same time, a growing collection of progressive groups is opposing the leading female contender, Michèle Flournoy, citing concerns about her record […]
The post Biden facing growing pressure over secretary of defense pick appeared first on Black News Channel.
El Camino College officials prepare to aid disproportionately affected students: Black student population identified as group most in need As enrollment numbers among minority groups across California community colleges decrease, El Camino College has identified Black students as the college’s “annual priority” after determining that they haven’t performed as well as other groups. The Black student...
… tried to heal after nine African Americans were shot dead at church …
The United Nation. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted Wednesday to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world's most dangerous drugs, which could impact the global medical marijuana industry.
“The vote today is the result of the Commission’s intensive and detailed consideration of these very complex recommendations during the last two years”, as the Chairperson, Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan of Pakistan pointed out.
Following a critical review of cannabis by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, WHO submitted in January 2019 to the Commission eight recommendations on cannabis and cannabis-related substances. After intensive considerations, the Commission decided today (by 27 votes to 25 and with one abstention) to delete cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention. These substances remain in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention and thus remain subject to all levels of control of the 1961 Convention. The Commission decided not to follow the other recommendations made by the WHO, so that the schedules regarding the respective substances will otherwise remain unchanged.
The Vienna-based U.N. agency said in a statement that it had voted 27-25, with one abstention, to follow the World Health Organization's recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs, where it was listed with heroin and several other opioids.
The drugs that are on Schedule IV are a subset of those on Schedule I of the convention, which already requires the highest levels of international control. The agency voted to leave cannabis and cannabis resin on the list of Schedule I drugs, which also include cocaine, Fentanyl, morphine, Methadone, opium and oxycodone, the opiate painkiller sold as OxyContin.
Wednesday's vote therefore does not clear U.N. member nations to legalize marijuana under the international drug control system. Canada and Uruguay have legalized the sale and use of cannabis for recreational purposes, but many countries around the world have decriminalized marijuana possession.
The schedules weigh a drug's medical utility versus the possible harm that it might cause, and experts say that taking cannabis off the strictest schedule could lead, however, to the loosening of international controls on medical marijuana.
For nearly a decade, Alexis McGill-Johnson has been involved with Planned Parenthood. She was named acting president and CEO in... View Article
The post Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill-Johnson talks Black sexual health, plans for Biden era appeared first on TheGrio.
By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate — including a new 'Matrix' movie, 'Godzilla vs. Kong' and the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation 'In the Heights' — will stream on HBO Max at the same time they play in theaters. Among the myriad release plan changes wrought by the pandemic, no studio has so fully embraced streaming as a lifeline. But after disappointing domestic ticket sales for 'Tenet,' and with the majority of […]
The post In seismic shift, Warner Bros. to stream all 2021 films appeared first on Black News Channel.
Everyone who will receive the coronavirus vaccine will also get a record card to log shot histories and help remind of due dates for the follow-up doses.
The United States on Wednesday recorded its single-worst daily death toll since the pandemic began, and on a day when Covid-19 hospitalizations also hit an all-time high, the pace of loss showed no signs of slowing any time soon. Not since spring, during the pandemic’s […]
The post C.D.C. Head Warns of ‘Most Difficult Time’ in U.S. Public Health History appeared first on The New York Beacon.
A young boy tragically took his own life while attending virtual school in Woodbridge, California. The 11-year-old student was home... View Article
The post California boy, 11, dies by suicide during virtual class, authorities say appeared first on TheGrio.
The famous landmark announced that Charles Phillips will be serving as the Chairman of the Board for the Board of Directors.
Sometime last spring or summer is when she knew she needed help. That was when Detroiter Malikah Garner, 32, wife and mother of two young boys, had had enough of carrying the invisible weight of motherhood, family, unresolved childhood pain, cultural expectations and her career solely on her petite (but resilient) shoulders. So Garner … Continued
The post A Collective Cultural Woosah: Therapy in Black Community Brings Another Level of Healing, Resilience appeared first on The Michigan Chronicle.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is working on a program to help schoolchildren in her district.
Commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to explore every opening to “restore hope” for a two-state solution.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday said Africa was robbed of its developmental momentum through co-ordinated efforts by imperialists to destroy its rich socio-political and economic heritage and culture. BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA Mnangagwa said this while addressing delegates during the ground breaking ceremony of the Museum of African Liberation in Harare. He said the peace, tranquillity and path to development enjoyed by the continent was interrupted through the narrative of discovery, slavery, occupation and colonialism. “More than 500 years ago, Africa was robbed of development momentum through coordinated efforts to destroy its rich socio-political and economic heritage and culture,” Mnangagwa said. “Systematic falsehoods were developed to erase our memories and project us as a home of darkness; all these setbacks and disappointments never suppressed the need for freedom and total emancipation.” He added: “We rose and resolved to fight until we realised our freedom and restored our human dignity which had been quenched out of us, by successive years of colonial oppression, even so freedom and independence remain incomplete until we have total control of our rich God given natural resources. “To this day, our quest for the unhindered right to access and utilise our natural resources continue being hampered, in the case of Zimbabwe, sanctions, constrain the realisation of our full socio-economic potential.” He said former imperial powers continue to fan divisions in other countries on the continent so that they can have an opportunity to pilfer and loot resources during the chaos. “Learning from our history and past, the time has come for us to deliberately and more consciously defend interested as people of Africa,” Mnangagwa said. “Through this continental project, let us put to rest the one side Euro-centric narratives which have been perpetuated in the public space for too long.” He said Zimbabwe was honoured by the African Union to host this museum and play a coordinating role in the structure of a unique repository of our African liberation heritage. “Zimbabwe dedicated this piece of land to the preservation of the rich liberation war heritage of our great African continent,” he said. Addressing journalists on Monday, secretary for war veterans in the Zanu PF politburo, Douglas Mahiya said the former freedom fighters have committed to partner the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK) in the legacy project through providing accurate and authentic information about the country’s armed struggle. “As veterans of the Zimbabwean armed struggle, we remain consistent and persistent in our quest to help Zimbabweans and Africans at large understand the true and authentic story of the liberation countries, which include Zimbabwe,” Mahiya said. Mahiya said they noted with grave concern the knowledge gap between what other external voices have presented to our people as the true record of our armed struggle. “It has taken us forty years to finally wake up and take practical steps in documenting our liberation war story
Financial professionals often have this word of advice when the market takes a tumble and your 401(k) and other retirement accounts lose value:
Ride it out.
One is a reverse mortgage; the other involves cashing in on your life insurance through a life settlement.
The rising loan balance can eventually grow to exceed the value of the home, particularly in times of declining home values or if the borrower continues to live in the home for many years.
The cost of the FHA mortgage insurance is a one-time fee of 2% of the appraised value of the home, and then an annual fee of 0.5% of the outstanding loan balance.
During the coronavirus pandemic, struggling seniors who own a life insurance policy, or who have paid off or nearly paid off their mortgages, should review these other options before they make any moves toward depleting their retirement savings.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE TIME? Republicans are running around, acting like the child who was promised a whuppin’ for acting a fool. But as it gets later and later, they hope and pray their parents won’t remember. If you’ve ever been in that position, you already know. Parents don’t forget. And neither should we forget […]
The post Message: Aswad Walker, Associate Editor - Do You Remember the Time? appeared first on DefenderNetwork.com.
Living life as close to normal as possible is important to many, especially when it comes to youth sports, programs, and activities that have been impacted by COVID-19 cases. With school districts having to re-close their doors to minimize the impact of the coronavirus, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan (BGCSM) and Xenith … Continued
The post Xenith and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan Join Forces to Re-Envision Youth Sports appeared first on The Michigan Chronicle.
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) is disconnecting water supplies to government departments over outstanding bills running into several millions of dollars. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Recently, the local authority switched off water supplies at Tredgold Building which houses the magistrates court, Labour Court, Department of Surveyor General, Social Services, Registrar-General’s Office, Local Government ministry and Umguza district co-ordinator's office. As of October, the local authority was owed $477 million by residents, government departments, industry and commerce. In the past, residents would bear the brunt of water cuts over unpaid bills with council sparing government departments. A latest report of the finance and development committee showed that an arrangement that saw council sparing government departments the inconvenience of water cuts had since been revoked. “Councillor Rodney Jele enquired about water disconnections for non-payments. There was rumour that council had disconnected water supplies in most government institutions which include Tredgold Building,” the council report read in part. “In response, councillor Silas Chigora confirmed that council was disconnecting water supplies at government institutions with outstanding amounts. Previously, council had a set-off arrangement with the central government, but this arrangement had since been stopped. Each ministry was paying its council bills directly.” Council argues that failure by its debtors to clear their outstanding bills was affecting its ability to provide services and owner its obligations. At one time, council having been frustrated by failure of ratepayers to pay bills, opted to name and shame defaulters. The council compiled a list of 29 wards, detailing payment patterns by residents. The local authority is also planning to introduce flow-limiter devices restricting households who fail to pay rates to five kilolitres of water per day as opposed to water disconnection to avoid litigation. In February, council unveiled a credit control and debt collection policy that sought to maintain predictable cashflows and allow for improved management of debts, among others. The policy provides for procedures and mechanisms for credit control and debt collection. It does not spare even BCC staff and councillors as the policy insists on forced deductions on their salaries if they have outstanding bills. Follow Nqobani on Twitter @NqobaniNdlovu
… fueled by new buyers, including African-Americans as the fastest growing demographic …
States drafted plans Thursday for who will go to the front of the line when the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available later this month, as U.S. deaths from the outbreak eclipsed 3,100 in a single day, obliterating the record set last spring. With initial supplies of the vaccine certain to be limited, governors […]
The post States plan for vaccines as daily US virus deaths top 3,100 appeared first on DefenderNetwork.com.
www.washingtonpost.com By Jena McGregor With vaccines on the horizon, employers are asking if they can be mandated — and how well workers would comply As news of promising progress on coronavirus vaccines have filled the headlines in recent weeks, labor lawyers say employers have been pressing one question in particular: Once approved, can they […]
President-elect Joe Biden has nominated former White House economic adviser, Cecilia Rouse, to lead the Council of Economic Advisers under his administration. If she is confirmed, she will make history […]
The post Cecilia Rouse May Become First Black Woman To Lead CEA appeared first on Essence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a quarter of employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency said they were harassed or discriminated against based on their gender or race, according to a survey released Wednesday as part of the fallout from allegations of sexual harassment by a senior official at the organization. The survey by the […]
