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Ethiopia has said that forces loyal to the ruling party in the Tigray region had fired into neighbouring Amhara region.
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.
Angry protests were reported Tuesday in the capital, Addis Ababa, after Hachalu Hundessa was shot dead on Monday.
A well-known Oromo activist, Jawar Mohammed, was among 35 people arrested during the latest unrest.
AP
June 30: Ethiopia arrests Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed, OMN shut down
\tThe arrest of prominent Ethiopian pro-democracy activist Jawar Mohammed has been confirmed by multiple sources from the country.
The arrest comes in the wake of mass protests against the shooting and killing on Monday night of a famed Oromo musician and activist in Addis Ababa.
VIDEO
Jawar vs. Abiy: Season II
\tThe latest incident is the second major face off between Jawar and state security agents.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan recently announced that she will transmit legislation to City Council later this month to propose a new minimum compensation standard for Uber and Lyft drivers to ensure all drivers are paid at least the Seattle minimum wage plus reasonable expenses. Preliminary analysis suggests the new wage standard would improve pay for 84 percent of drivers.
The post Durkan Proposes Fare Share Wage Ordinance To Ensure Uber And Lyft Drivers Are Paid Fairly appeared first on The Seattle Medium.
Almost all the fuel oil from the Japanese-owned ship that caused a huge oil spill, off the coast of Mauritius has been pumped out,
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth says the operation had been a race against time. This came amid fears that the MV Wakashio would break up.
The ship, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef on July 25.
Thousands of Mauritians have been working for days to reduce the damage by making improvised booms from fabric and stuffed with straw and sugar cane leaves to try to contain the oil's spread. Others have scooped up oil from the shallow waters.
Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and popular with tourists. Prime minister Jugnauth described the oil spill a national disaster.
Forces of Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar confirmed their “redeployment” out of Tripoli, after their rivals announced the total reconquest of the Libyan capital following heavy fighting.
On Thursday, the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNA) said it had regained control of the entire western city of Tripoli, another setback for rival troops of Marshal Haftar, a Libyan strongman from the east.
“We are announcing the redeployment of our forces out of Tripoli on condition that the other side respects a ceasefire,” said Haftar’s spokesman, Ahmad al-Mesmari. “In case of non-compliance, we will resume our military operations and suspend our participation in the military committee negotiations,” he said.
In a statement issued on Thursday night, he said the decision was taken after “the acceptance of the military command to participate in the military committee under the aegis of the UN”.
He referred to it as “a humanitarian initiative to stop the bloodshed of the Libyan people.”
On Wednesday, the UN announced the resumption in Geneva of negotiations —suspended for more than three months— of the 5+5 military committee, a body comprising five pro-GNA and five pro-Haftar members, aimed at achieving a cease-fire in a conflict between the two sides which erupted in April 2019.
All previous attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire have failed.
Since pro-Haftar forces launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital, the headquarters of the GNA, hundreds of people, including many civilians, have been killed and some 200,000 have fled their homes.
AFP
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has appealed directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa to reopen the economy to prevent further poverty and job losses.
In particular, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a regional political organisation that had major dominance over the old revolutionary front, has now emerged as a major political foe to Abiy's Prosperity Party.
As a result, Ethiopia's road to democracy and national elections, which were due to be held in August, is now facing two challenges: a global pandemic, and deteriorating relations between the Tigray regional state and the Prosperity Party, which is in charge of the federal government, and the remaining eight regions and two city administrations.
By holding an election without the supervision of the National Electoral Board, the Tigray People's Liberation Front is undermining Ethiopia's federal constitutional system.
Finally, unless addressed, the deteriorating relations between the federal government and the Tigray region could further unravel Ethiopia's dangerously designed federal system that in any case, is in need of major revision.
For democracy to take root in Ethiopia, the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front's defiance to the country's constitutional order must resolved.
Telling the story of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," Dee Brown's poetic history of American westward expansion as told from the perspective of American Indians, requires going back before Brown was born in 1908, in a little sawmill town called Alberta, La., that no longer exists.
Italian Foreign Minister arrived in the Libyan capital, Wednesday, where he met with Tripoli-based Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj to discuss the Libyan internal conflict and migration agreements.
According to a statement from Sarraj’s office, the two leaders both rejected “the negative foreign interference” in the oil-rich country.
Di Maio said: “I raised with Prime Minister Sarraj our concerns about military operations to liberate Sirte that could lead to renewed fighting and more civilian casualties.
“At the same time I stated how essential it is to avoid a freezing of the conflict, and that this possibility would lead to a de facto division of the country.”
The Libyan leader also presented a proposal to modify the 2017 Memorandum of Understanding on migration that was rearranged by Italy and presented to the Libyan counterparts in February.
Confirmed cases = 3,166
\t\tNumber of deaths = 55
\t\tRecoveries = 495
\t\tActive cases = 2,614
\t
\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.
Confirmed cases = 1,486 (142 new cases)
Deaths = 17 (three new)
Recoveries = 246
Active cases = 1,219
Total tests = 120,429
June 2: 131m masks needed, over 1,000 active cases
\tEthiopia’s needs 131 million face masks in the next four months, state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate report.
Total confirmed cases = 731 (new cases = 30)
Total recoveries = 181
Total deaths = 6
Active cases = 544
\tFigures valid as of close of day May 27, 2020
May 24: 193 cases in 5 days as tally hits 582
\tEthiopia has recorded back-to-back one-day spikes, record 61 new cases on Saturday and a further 81 on Sunday toppling the Saturday record.
Total confirmed cases = 582 (new cases = 88)
Total recoveries = 152 (new recoveries = 8)
Total deaths = 5
Active cases = 423
\tTrajectory of infections between May 20 – 24
\tMay 20: 389 (24 new cases)
May 21: 398 (9 new cases)
May 22: 399 (10 new cases)
May 22: 433 (34 new cases)
May 23: 494 (61 new cases)
May 24: 582 (88 new cases)
May 19: 365 cases with 60 new cases in three days
\tTotal confirmed cases = 365 (new cases between May 17 – 19 = 60)
Total recoveries = 120 (new recoveries = 8)
Active cases = 238
\tEthiopia’s case count spiked on Monday by 35 new cases (a daily record) whiles 14 new cases were recorded today.
BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER “It was a good service they gave Alice. Everything laid out so pretty,” Sister Ellison says to Sister Cullen, as they settle into their seats in Calvary Hope Christian Church. “Just don’t make no sense. We ain’t even safe in our own homes.” When a […]
The post ‘Saving Ruby King’ deals with race, family, faith and redemption appeared first on Florida Courier.
By Je’Don Holloway Talley For the Birmingham Times When most in high school wanted to become doctors and lawyers, Sherrette Spicer knew she wanted to chart a different path. Spicer wanted to become an activist. “I marched, lobbied, organized, and worked to formulate policies because activism is more than just wanting reform—it’s taking measures to […]
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reopened its airspace after been closed for nearly five months due to Coronavirus pandemic. It received its first commercial paasenger flight on saturday.
Border health officials were seen taking the temperature of each passenger after a mandatory hand washing with chlorinated water.
\"It takes a little longer, but that's the price to pay for a trip without risk of contamination,\" reacted Aristotle Kabengele, who was on his way to Paris via the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. More than 200 passengers boarded an Ethiopian Airlines plane bound for Addis Ababa.
On the runway, freshly drawn markings on the ground separated travellers by a metre before the first commercial flight from Ndjili airport in Kinshasa took off.
The DRC has so far recorded 9,638 Covid-19 cases and 239 deaths since the first cases were declared on 10 March, according to the latest official figures.
US forces have not adequately investigated a February 2 strike killing one woman at her home, and a March 10 attack that killed five men and a child in a minibus.
\"The US military has not seriously investigated two recent airstrikes in Somalia in which civilians were killed and wounded in apparent violation of the laws of war,\" said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
Between February and May, Human Rights Watch interviewed 14 people by phone, including relatives of those killed in the February and March strikes - four of whom visited the scene in its immediate aftermath - and assessed publicly available information about the airstrikes.
In its initial quarterly report on civilian casualty assessments published on April 27, 2020, AFRICOM said it examined 20 alleged airstrikes that caused civilian casualties between February 2019 and March 2020 and was still investigating 7 additional incidents, 2 of which Human Rights Watch investigated.
On the evening of February 2, at least one airstrike hit a home in Jilib, a town in the Middle Juba region, instantly killing a woman possibly between age 18 and 20 and injuring her two sisters, both children, and her grandmother.
(Trinidad Guardian) The People’s National Movement (PNM) won the popular vote in the 2020 General Election.
The article Trinidad: PNM won popular vote in Monday’s election appeared first on Stabroek News.
Anothando Mhlobo, 3, has gone missing in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay, while playing outside with other children.
July 1: ‘Several’ killed in Ethiopia unrest after singer shot dead
Ethiopia’s prime minister says “several people” have been killed in unrest that followed the killing of a popular singer this week. Some reports say over 50 people were killed. Three bombs exploded in the capital Tuesday, police said. It was not clear whether anyone was killed.
Angry protests were reported Tuesday in the capital, Addis Ababa, after Hachalu Hundessa was shot dead on Monday. He had been a prominent voice in anti-government protests that led to a change in leadership in 2018, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed taking office.
The killing was a “tragedy,” Abiy said Tuesday, vowing that the perpetrators would be brought to justice and declaring that “our enemies will not succeed.”
“Our enemies think they can easily disintegrate us; however we will use this incident to unify the country and to ensure our plans for peace and security of the country continue. The government will step up its works to realize the peace and stability and sovereignty of the country,” he added.
Internet service has been cut again in Ethiopia, where tensions continue after the government delayed this year’s national election, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The singer Hachalu is set to be buried Thursday in his hometown in the Oromia region.
A well-known Oromo activist, Jawar Mohammed, was among 35 people arrested during the latest unrest. There was no immediate sign of protests in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and roads were empty.
The arrest of prominent Ethiopian pro-democracy activist Jawar Mohammed has been confirmed by multiple sources from the country. His media outfit, Oromia Media Network, OMN, has also been shut down by authorities.
Hachalu Hundessa, was celebrated as a symbol for the Oromo people – Ethiopia’s most populous ethnic group. His songs spoke out about their political and economic marginalisation and became a rallying point for activists in their fight against Ethiopian regimes.
The musician had also been imprisoned for five years when he was 17 for taking part in protests, an analysis on the BBC Africa LIVE page added.
Jawar was reportedly arrested along with Bekele Gerba, a veteran opposition activist. The duo were arrested at the Oromo Cultural Center in Addis Ababa, where they were attending the funeral of Hachalu.
OMN reported on Tuesday morning via its Facebook page that their offices had been raided by federal security agents who ‘arrested’ employees. They also said the OMN offices in Addis Ababa was under control of the state.
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Jawar vs. A
At least 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks on villages by armed gangs.
Possible retaliation
Last week, Nigeria's armed forces launched a series of bomb raids on camps in the northwest region in its latest attempt to curtail violence in the area.
In an apparent retaliation attack, armed gang members raided five villages in the Sabon Birni district on Monday, killing 18 people.
Rival communities in the region have been embroiled in years of violent conflict over land, with armed gangs and vigilante groups carrying out reprisal killings and ransom kidnappings.
According to the ICG, northwest Nigeria risks becoming a \"land bridge\" to jihadist groups across the Sahel region and called for stronger cooperation between Nigeria and Niger to prevent trafficking of arms on the border.
A fresh streak of oil spilled on Friday from a bulk carrier stranded on a reef in pristine waters off Mauritius which is already reeling from the ecological disaster, as demands mounted for answers as to why the vessel had come so close to shore.
Large Continent and Low Numbers
Africa hit 1 million confirmed covid-19 cases last week and as some experts are eager to ascertain the real confirmed case data and comprehend the apparent relatively low caseload - with just under 800,000 recoveries and less than only 25,000 fatalities on the continent of 1.3 billion people, others are interested in the findings that indicate a presence of antibodies to the virus in some Africans - 1 in 20 people in Kenya and 2-5% of households in two cities in Mozambique, according to research. A continent-wide antibodies case study is underway as announced Thursday by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Around 7 nations - namely Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco, have already expressed interest in partaking in the study - which will encompass the entire continent. Study activities with the aforementioned nations could start as early as next week.
Experts Have Questions
Besides the interesting phenomenon of antibodies, questions surrounding infected asymptomatic individuals on the continent are pressing as many speculate about Africa's young population - at a median age of 19, being a possible resistance factor of the possible resistance to covid-19 symptomatic complications. In the midst of all this, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Africans Friday of the current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo - a situation, it describes as worrying, but is also an indirect reminder of how many African nations have efficiently handled similar pandemics in the recent past and perhaps are applying lessons learnt from those experiences to covid-19.
The Figures
As of August 14, the confirmed coronavirus death toll on the continent stood at 24,660, with deaths including the former president of the Republic of the Congo, Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango, and Somalia's former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. There are 1,084,687 confirmed infections and 780,076 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baby love is in the air, and we couldn't be happier! Rapper Gucci Mane and his wife Keyshia Ka'oir are expecting their first child together. Their lovely pregnancy announcement was […]
The post Gucci Mane And Keyshia Ka'oir Are Expecting Their First Child Together appeared first on Essence.
[Ethiopian Herald] Ethiopia -US ties will not be marred by currently unfounded rumors that are being circulated on various news outlets regarding US' role in GERD talks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.
A Salt Lake City, Utah police officer is suspended, and the use of police dogs to engage with suspects has also been suspended, following an incident earlier this year where […]
The post Salt Lake City Suspends Use Of Police Dogs Following Attack On Black Man Complying With Orders appeared first on Essence.
At least 239 people have been killed and 3,500 arrested in more than a week of unrest in Ethiopia that poses the biggest challenge yet to its Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister.
In the Oromia region, the toll includes 215 civilians along with nine police officers and five militia members, regional police commissioner Mustafa Kedir told the ruling party-affiliated Walta TV on Wednesday.
Officials earlier said 10 people were killed in the capital, Addis Ababa, eight of them civilians, amid outrage after a popular singer was shot dead last Monday.
Hachalu Hundessa had been a rallying voice in anti-government protests that led to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed taking power in 2018. Abiy swiftly introduced political reforms that also opened the way for long-held ethnic and other grievances in Africa’s second most populous country.
The military was deployed during the outrage that followed Hachalu’s death.
In remarks last week while wearing a military uniform, Abiy said dissidents he recently extended an offer of peace had “taken up arms” in revolt against the government. He hinted there could be links between this unrest and the killing of the army chief last year as well as the grenade thrown at one of his own rallies in 2018.
The 3,500 arrests have included that of a well-known Oromo activist, Jawar Mohammed, and more than 30 supporters. It is not clear what charges they might face. The Oromo make up Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group but had never held the country’s top post until they helped bring Abiy to power.
Local reports have said that in some places ethnic Oromo have attacked ethnic Amhara, and in Shashamane town some people were going home to home checking identity cards and targeting Amhara residents.
Businesses have now begun opening slowly in Oromia after the violence in which several hundred homes in Ethiopia were burned or damaged.
But Ethiopia’s internet service remains cut, making it difficult for rights monitor and others to track the scores of killings.
July 6: Weekend offline amid high security, mass arrests
Ethiopian police over the weekend were patrolling the country’s troubled Oromia region and the capital, Addis Ababa, following a week of unrest in which 166 people were killed and more than 2,000 arrested, after a popular singer was shot dead.
In Oromia, 145 civilians and 11 members of security forces were killed, Girma Gelam, deputy police commissioner in the region, told the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate. Another 10 people were killed in the capital, eight of them civilians.
The internet was cut last week to try to dampen the protests and made it difficult for rights monitors to track the scores of killings.
Update: It’s now day seven of #Ethiopia‘s national internet shutdown as the country enters a new work week offline; real-time network data show national connectivity at just 11% of ordinary levels with ordinary users remaining cut off from the world ?
? https://t.co/y5ATw7JHAh
