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While delivering the Thabo Mbeki lecture, Professor 'Funmi Olonisakin said the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region was evidence of the shortcomings of the African Union.
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.
[Norwegian Refugee Council] Reacting to the ongoing access challenges into Ethiopia's Tigray region, Norwegian Refugee Council's Secretary General, Jan Egeland, said:
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed deep regret over the deaths of Collins Khosa and 10 other South Africans at the hands of law enforcement as the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ | Court orders SANDF to suspend members present when Collins Khosa was beaten to death pending probe
Ramaphosa also addressed the killing of George Floyd, an African-American who died at the hands of law enforcement in the US, saying it had galvanised global outrage because the circumstances surrounding his death were all too familiar.
The ANC, SACP and trade union federation Cosatu had launched the campaign and called on South Africans to wear black as they take a stand against racism.
ALSO READ | ANC and allies to take a stand against racism and police brutality on black Friday
In dealing with the continent and South Africa's own difficult past, Ramaphosa said if the aim of the colonial conquest was theft then race was its justification.
Ramaphosa said after 26 years of democracy, wealth was still concentrated in the hands of the few, predominately white people, while the poor and unemployed were overwhelmingly black.
CHUCK RICHARDSON National Organization of Rehabilitated Offenders (TriceEdneyWire.com) – There is something magical about a fearless, intelligent, incorruptible Black woman. A woman willing to sacrifice and face any obstacle she must for [...]
The post The DNA of a Black woman appeared first on Dallas Examiner.
[Open Society Foundations] Today, a continental court in Africa delivered a landmark opinion on colonial era vagrancy laws, which criminalize activities such as loitering, public indecency, and begging. The judgement has the potential to help reshape criminal justice policy and practice in dozens of African countries and reduce prison overcrowding.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is aware of how much work still has to be done as the continent gears up to celebrate Africa Day on 25 May.
CELEBRATED local Afro-jazz songstress Selmor Mtukudzi is the only Zimbabwean musician engaged to share the stage with renowned African musicians today in celebrating Africa Day to musically raise awareness on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the continent.
Meanwhile, multi-award-winner Jah Prayzah, who is riding high on his latest 10th album Hokoyo released last week, is set to perform at the COVID-19 Hope For Africa concert courtesy of MultiChoice in partnership with One Africa Global Foundation.
The COVID-19 Hope For Africa benefit concert that will air on DStv across Africa will feature performances and appearances by top African artistes, personalities from their homes.
MultiChoice Zimbabwe spokesperson Liz Dziva said the three-hour concert was part of efforts to support the eradication of the coronavirus problem and will feature performances by top African artistes with appearances by media and other personalities from across the continent.
“As a further support mechanism in the fight against COVID-19, MultiChoice has partnered with the One Africa Global Foundation which is a development arm of One Africa Global, a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation working for vulnerable and less-privileged people to host a continent-wide broadcast of the COVID-19 Hope For Africa Concert, an event that will feature a Zimbabwean,” she said.
Just one day after putting out a dire emergency warning, Ethiopia's federal government has agreed to allow the United Nations "unimpeded" humanitarian access to parts of the northern Tigray region, according to a UN spokesperson.
The suspense is over, the much talked about ‘Kings of Joburg’ series premieres on Netflix on 4 December 2020. Here's what you need to know.
By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli government on Thursday urged its citizens to avoid travel to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, citing threats of Iranian attacks. Iran has been threatening to attack Israeli targets since its chief nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated last Friday near Tehran. It accuses Israel, which has been suspected in previous killings of Iranian nuclear scientists, of being behind the shooting. Israel has not commented on the killing. But Fakhrizadeh has long been on Israel's radar screen, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying at a 2018 news conference about […]
The post Israel urges citizens to avoid Gulf, cites Iran threat appeared first on Black News Channel.
PWD Bamenda are set to arrive in South Africa just hours before kickoff in their CAF Champions League clash against Kaizer Chiefs
As COVID-19 continues to spread in Africa, there are concerns over its impact on women and girls, with vulnerabilities feared to worsen as the pandemic overwhelms health systems.
Although overall in the African Region, women account for around 40% of COVID-19 cases, this ranges from 35% in some countries to over 55% in South Africa.
Women are disproportionately affected by lockdowns and this is resulting in a reduced access to health services,\" said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.
\"We are working with governments and partners to find ways to continue to deliver essential services safely, including the provision of personal protective equipment to health workers, many of whom are nurses and are women,\" said Dr Moeti.
WHO works to improve the health of women and girls in Africa by developing guidance on the implications of gender, gender-based violence, and access to sexual and reproductive health.
[ANGOP] Luanda -- Angola has reported the recovery of 207 patients and 68 new infections of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the authorities announced Tuesday evening in Luanda.
[East African] The Horn of Africa is facing a delicate security situation with the Al Shabaab terrorist group still targeting Kenya and wreaking havoc on Mogadishu, especially hospitality infrastructure and federal government facilities.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Monday the Tigray region's dissident leaders had fled west of the regional capital after weeks of fighting but indicated federal forces were monitoring them closely and would attack them soon.
Abiy, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, this month ordered military operations against leaders of Tigray's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in response to what he said were TPLF-organised attacks on Ethiopian federal army camps.
More than three weeks of fighting between federal soldiers and pro-TPLF forces has left thousands dead in the northern region, and prompted tens of thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Sudan.
\"I want them to hear me: yesterday evening, around midnight, we saw them from the situation room in the area between Hagere Selam and Abiy Addi,\" Abiy said in remarks to lawmakers, referring to two towns west of the Tigray capital Mekele.
\"We didn't attack them at night because as they retreated they took their wives, children and abducted soldiers... But this will not continue.\"
The fighting has been a dramatic escalation of tensions between Abiy and the leaders of the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to office in 2018.
Abiy said on Saturday the military operations were \"completed\" after federal forces claimed control of the Tigray regional capital Mekele.
The TPLF leaders, however, have repeatedly vowed to fight on as long as federal forces are on Tigrayan soil.
Their exact whereabouts remain unknown.
'Mekele is ours'
As the Ethiopian military bore down on Mekele last week, global concern mounted about a possible bloodbath in a city that, before the conflict, had a population of half a million.
A communications blackout in Tigray has made it difficult to verify claims from both sides about how the fighting is going.
On Monday, Abiy claimed soldiers did not kill any civilians as they took over Mekele and other cities in Tigray.
\"Mekele is ours, it was built with our own resources. We are not going to destroy it,\" he said. \"Not even a single person was harmed by the operation in Mekele.\"
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that hospitals in Mekele were flooded with trauma patients, though it did not specify how the injuries were sustained.
Abiy also dismissed claims from TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael that airstrikes had resulted in many civilian casualties.
As Abiy tries to shift towards helping Tigray recover, the national human rights body called Monday for telecommunications to be restored and for water, electricity, and health services to resume.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is government-affiliated but independent, also noted \"complaints of ethnic profiling\" including \"forced leave from work\" and travel restrictions.
\"EHRC is gravely concerned that while there is no government policy nor legal framework condoning ethnic profiling, security measures designed t
[ANGOP] Luanda -- Angola was elected Monday to the rotating presidency of the Conference of Ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), for the mandate of the year (2021).
NNPA Press Room Dubbed the “she-cession,” women face disproportionate housing impacts due to unemployment, housing tenure and childcare. Unemployment claims for women were up 1,368 percent year over year at the height of the COVID-19 recession. Last month, women represented 80 percent of those who dropped out of the labor force. Women are more likely […]
The post Women More Likely to Face Housing Insecurity in Pandemic-Led Recession appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, assured Africa's scientific community that just as the continent had defeated colonial and racial oppression, so too would it overcome the novel coronavirus.
Dr Nzimande was speaking at this year's virtual Africa Day event, which took place on Monday, 25 May under the theme, \"COVID-19 and Africa's future development: Opportunities and challenges.\"
According to Dr Nzimande, South Africa is also significantly ramping up its multidisciplinary scientific capacity to deal with pandemics.
The fund will support COVID-19 research cooperation in Africa, capacity-building for science engagement and communication, as well as scientific advice for governments.
The African Union's Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor welcomed South Africa's efforts to look locally to research and develop vaccines to combat the coronavirus.
Actress Letitia Wright has been receiving heat on social media after she tweeted a link to a YouTube video that contained misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations in development. On Thursday, Wright posted a 69-minute video from the YouTube channel On The Table that includes speaking points from Light London Church leader Tomi Arayomi, according to Variety. The channel is known for Arayomi questioning the legitimacy of topics like COVID-19 vaccinations, climate change and China’s involvement in the creation of the pandemic . Variety reported that Wright's tweet has since been removed. YouTube has also banned the video for violating its terms of service policy. According to Buzzfeed, the video starts with Arayomi admitting, "I don't understand vaccines medically, but I've always been a little bit of a skeptic of them." “These are the dangers of the world we’re entering into today, where if you say a thing enough times people will actually believe it’s true,” he later adds. Fans of...
[ANGOP] According to the spokesman for the event, Adriano Campos, the conference will also serve to formalise and launch the ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola.
[UN News] Disturbing reports have continued to emerge of widespread abuse of civilians in Ethiopia's Tigray region, nearly six months since conflict erupted, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
[Nation] International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has said The Hague-based court is open to receive fresh information relating to Deputy President William Ruto and radio host Joshua arap Sang cases.
[East African] Ethiopian lawmakers on Thursday designated Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as terrorist organisations.
BY PRESTIGE MUNTANGA LOCAL musician and comedian Mothusi Bashimane Ndlovu, popularly known as Madlela Skhobokhobo, has urged citizens to decolonise their minds
The post ‘Decolonise minds, reclaim African identity’ appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
As the ruling party of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region fires rockets at the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, we look at the crisis stoking fears of a devastating conflict in Africa's second most populous country.
By Victor Omondi A man was forced to sell his brand new PS5 at a throw-away price after he lied to his wife it was an air purifier. At first, the man’s trick worked and his wife was indeed convinced that the games console was an air purifier. However, when a rat died inside their […]
[Addis Standard] Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray regional state, has won 98.2% of the vote for the regional parliament, taking 152 of the total 190 seats.
On the Commemoration of This Year's Africa Day, He Spoke About Africa's Achievements So Far and the Challenges Faced:
What should African countries reflect on this year as we commemorate Africa Day?
This year, the First Continental Report on Implementation of Agenda 2063, Africa's framework for development, shows the continent Africa has made some remarkable progress towards attaining the goals defined in Agenda 2063's First Ten-Year Implementation Plan.
According to the World Bank's 2019 Doing Business Index, five of the ten most-improved countries globally, are in Africa, with six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies on the continent.
Nontheless, while African countries have been enjoying notable social and economic progress, the gains made in this realm have, in most cases, not cascaded down to alleviate everyday problems such as us improved healthcare systems and the creation of the much needed jobs from Africa's youths.
Therefore, together with countries, our COVID-19 Response Plan of Action focusses on the following seven thematic areas, through which countries can remain stable both during and post COVID-19 pandemic: Health Service Delivery; Human Resources for Health; Research & Development Innovation and Local Manufacturing; Education and Training; Skills and Employability; Food and Nutrition Security; and Financing.
