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BY STAFF REPORTER Three former senior officials at Mutare town council, including former town clerk Obert Muzawazi have been arrested following an investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) for selling residential stands without authority. Muzawazi, Christian Sithole, who was a former senior community officer, and Isdore Bingura, who was former legal officer at the council, were yesterday arraigned before Mutare magistrate Nyasha Kuture who remanded them to December 30. The trio, which is denying corruption allegations, was granted $10 000 bail each. The State alleges that on January 19, 2008, Muzawazi corruptly sold stand number 7539 Murambi East measuring 3 000 square metres at $2,5 million to Tinotenda Muzawazi. Bingura and Sithole witnessed the signing as representatives of Mutare City Council. No tender procedures were followed.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
Shorter Time in Office for Liberian Lawmakers?
Long queues at polling stations in Monrovia — suggesting a high turn out as Liberians voted Tuesday on a referendum by President George Weah to shorten office terms for the president and lower-house lawmakers to five years instead of six. President George Weah shared a few words, \"I asked all Liberians to be peaceful, to come to the polling centre, exercise their franchise, select their candidate and leave with peace. And at the end of the day, the results will come and those that were elected, those that you voted for, will win. But this country needs to be peaceful. We don't need to tear our country down.\"
Hundreds of thousands of Liberians are thought to reside overseas, having fled war and poverty. Upon acquiring another nationality, they lose their Liberian citizen and are thus barred from owning property at home — among other restrictions.
Dual Nationality for Liberians in the Diaspora
In a move that some hope could be an economic boost for the West African nation of 4.8 million people, voters are also choosing whether to repeal a 1973 ban on dual nationality as Patience Teegbeh, a local who came out to vote, shares her contentment with the voting process, \"It’s free and fair and transparent. I love the way it is going on and it's okay for us.\"
Opposition politicians in Liberia suspect that Weah - elected in 2018 and still in his first term, could use the office-occupation length constitutional change to cling to power. The 54-year-old president has denied the claim.
Liberia’s constitution sets a maximum of two terms — as is also the case in two other nations in West Africa whose electoral process saw the maximum term limit be side-stepped.
Regional Track Record
In Guinea, 82-year-old President Alpha Conde won a controversial third term in October after pushing through a new constitution that allowed him to bypass a two-term limit. The same month, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, 78, was elected for an equally contentious third term, after having revised the country's constitution.
[Monitor] By Rajab Mukombozi
The Gauteng Department of Health said contact tracing of Gauteng students who attended the matric rage event in KZN is currently underway.
Two members of the National Christian Resistance Movement, who were plotting the murder of black people as well overthrowing the government, have been sentenced to eight years imprisonment for planning terrorist activities.
MSNBC is apparently betting on Black to make it more competitive against rival cable news networks. But the decision to promote Rashida Jones to be its top executive is far from a gamble.
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — China and Nepal jointly announced a new official height for Mount Everest on Tuesday, ending a discrepancy between the two nations. The new height of the world's highest peak is 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 feet), which is slightly more than Nepal's previous measurement and about four meters (13 feet) higher than China's. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Nepalese counterpart, Pradeep Gyawali, simultaneously pressed buttons during a virtual conference and the new height flashed on the screen. The height of Everest, which is on the border between China and Nepal, was […]
The post China, Nepal say Everest a bit higher than past measurements appeared first on Black News Channel.
Manchester United star Paul Pogba is \"unhappy\" at Manchester United and should leave in the next transfer window, his agent Mino Raiola said in an interview with Italian media.
The French midfielder of Guinean descent was at one point the world's most expensive player.
Raiola said the World Cup-winning France midfielder, 27, needs a \"change of scene\" after struggling to establish himself under United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
\"Paul's unhappy at Manchester United, he can't express himself any more as he would like to and as we expect of him,\" Raiola told Italian newspaper Tuttosport.
He has to change teams, he needs a change of scene. His contract is up in a year-and-a-half, in the summer of 2022, but I think the best solution for all sides is a transfer in the next window.\"
Pogba returned from a spell at Juventus for a then world-record fee of $118 million in 2016.
\"The club... knows it risks losing him for nothing, as at the moment the player has no intention of extending his contract,\" Raiola said.
It is not known where he will go next but Pogba has also expressed his desire to play for Real Madrid one day, particularly if that means playing under the orders of Zinedine Zidane.
The midfielder's superb strike in Saturday's 3-1 win over West Ham was his first goal in eight Premier League appearances this season.
[The Herald] In responding to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called upon all African countries to adopt best practices, strategies, guidelines and recommendations to handle Covid-19 pandemic.
By ROBERT BURNS, MICHAEL BALSAMO, JONATHAN LEMIRE and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the longtime front-runner candidate, Michele Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official and Biden supporter who would have been the first woman to serve as defense secretary. Biden also had considered Jeh Johnson, a former Pentagon general counsel and former secretary of […]
The post AP sources: Biden picks Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense appeared first on Black News Channel.
[allAfrica] As of December 8, the confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries have reached 2,273,762. Reported deaths in Africa have reached 54,118 and recoveries 1,936,835.
COMEDIAN Ian 'Ity' Ellis is reminding young people about the importance of saving.Drawing on part of a quotation from Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group, Ellis pointed out that 'savings are not only the fuel for investments', but that the money, which is put aside when times are good, is often what individuals and their families turn to in challenging financial times.
The Ethiopian government has confirmed that soldiers shot at a United Nations team which was driving in the north of the country where the army has been fighting Tigrayan forces. A spokesman blamed the UN staff saying they were not supposed to be in the area. He accused them of driving straight through two check points before they were detained. The UN is yet to comment on Sunday's incident. The team was reportedly trying to reach a camp for Eritrean refugees. There are fears that some have been caught up in the conflict and reports that refugees have been forced onto trucks and back to Eritrea. The Ethiopian authorities have released a statement saying that humanitarian assistance must be 'led and coordinated by the Ethiopian government' - BBC
By ZEKE MILLER and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is facing new scrutiny Tuesday after failing to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, which has shown to be highly effective against COVID-19. That decision could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until Pfizer fulfills other international contracts. The revelation comes as Trump's plans to host a White House summit aimed at celebrating the expected approval of the first vaccine later this week. His administration is seeking to tamp down public skepticism over the […]
The post Feds passed up chance to lock in more Pfizer vaccine doses appeared first on Black News Channel.
… "extremely problematic for the African-American community” in a recent interview …
Multi Grammy Award-winning platinum selling artist, Lecrae, has received two 2021 Grammy Award nominations this year. The first in the category of Best Christian Contemporary Music Performance/Song for “Sunday Morning,” featuring Kirk Franklin. The song is featured on his ninth studio album, Restoration, which was released his own imprint, Reach Records on August 21, 2020. … Continued
The post Multi-Platinum award Winning Artist, LECRAE, gets Grammy nods appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.
Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program, aiming to vaccinate 80% of its adults in an operation starting this month that’s relying initially on a China's Sinopharm vaccine.
The first injections could come within days, a Health Ministry official told The Associated Press.
While Britain began its vaccination program Tuesday with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the U.S. and European Union are racing to approve a series of Western-made vaccines, other governments are looking to use vaccines from China and Russia.
Morocco is battling a resurgence in virus infections, with the number of recorded deaths from the virus surpassing 6,000. The North African kingdom is pinning its hopes on two vaccine candidates, one developed by China’s Sinopharm and the other by Britain’s Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for emergency use in a few countries and the company is still conducting late-stage clinical trials in 10 countries.
Morocco’s government seeks to vaccinate 80% of its adults, or 25 million people, as soon as the vaccines are approved by domestic regulators. Priority will go to medical staff and other front-line workers, as well as the elderly.
It will start with the Sinopharm vaccine, which was tested on 600 Moroccans as part of clinical trials this autumn. Morocco has ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine.
The initial deliveries will come from China, but Morocco also plans to produce the vaccine locally, Abdelhakim Yahyan, a senior official at the Ministry of Health, told the state-owned news agency MAP.
In the Moroccan trial of the Sinopharm vaccine, carried out in Casablanca and the capital Rabat from August through November, healthy volunteers received two separate doses of the vaccine. In the advanced trial, volunteers either received the vaccine or a placebo.
According to the health minister, early results have proven the vaccine to be “safe and effective” with no severe side effects reported.
Sinopharm’s shot relies on a tested technology, using a killed virus to deliver the vaccine, similar to how polio immunizations are made.
Leading Western competitors, like the vaccine made by Oxford and AstraZeneca, use newer, less-proven technology to target the coronavirus’ spike protein.
AP
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] A private market for COVID-19 vaccines where wealthy foreign visitors can pay for jabs would be a huge setback for developing nations. The 1% will have to wait
[New Times] President Paul Kagame has emphasised the need to accelerate digital connectivity, saying that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that it is not a luxury.
Last week, Weah said he strongly believed \"keeping someone in power for long is not the way to go\".
