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Google intends to train 20,000 Nigerian youth, mostly women in digital skills and provide a grant of 1.2 billion naira ($1.6 million) to help the government's create one million digital jobs in the country, its Africa executives announced on Tuesday.
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.
Hundreds of Ethiopians gathered Thursday to donate blood for troops fighting in the northern Tigray region, as officials tried to rally support for a week-old conflict Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said was going his way.
The government also announced that police had arrested 150 people in the capital suspected of trying to carry out \"terror attacks\" on the orders of Tigray's ruling party.
Prime Minister Abiy blames the Tigray ruling party for a conflict that analysts fear could spiral into a protracted civil war.
Hundreds have died and thousands have fled the country since Abiy, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, sent troops and warplanes into Tigray last week after a months-long feud with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Abiy said the TPLF -- which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before he took office in 2018 -- had crossed a \"red line\" and attacked two federal military bases, which the party denies.
Thursday's blood drive was organised by the office of Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abebe, who claimed the population was unified against the TPLF while donating blood herself.
\"The aim of this blood donation is to express our respect for our army,\" she told journalists as a nurse drew blood from her left arm.
\"The attack done by TPLF to our army is shameful for Ethiopia. Never happened in our history. We want to condemn this.\"
Tigray has been under a communications blackout since the military operation was launched on November 4, making it difficult to verify the situation on the ground as both sides make conflicting claims.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Abiy said government forces had \"liberated\" the western zone of Tigray -- made up of six zones, plus the capital and surrounds.
Abiy also accused TPLF-aligned fighters of \"cruelty\", saying that when the army took control of the town of Sheraro they \"found bodies of executed defence force personnel whose hands and feet were tied\". There was no immediate reaction from the TPLF.
Under Abiy, Tigray's leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions and removed from top positions.
Tensions soared as Tigray defiantly held its own elections in September, insisting Abiy was an illegitimate leader after national polls were postponed due to the coronavirus.
-'Rule of law'-
The conflict has seen multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting arms and fuel depots along with heavy fighting in western Tigray.
The UN said Wednesday some 11,000 Ethiopians had sought refuge in neighbouring Sudan, and Ethiopia has acknowledged some of its troops at one point retreated into neighbouring Eritrea, highlighting the conflict's potential to draw in the wider Horn of Africa region.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, quoted by state news agency SUNA as he hosted Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, on Wednesday called for a \"stop to the fighting as soon as possible\" and a return to the negotiating table.
The African Union has also called for an immediate stop to fighting and for dialogue, as internationa
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
GWERU residents yesterday urged the council to give incentives to people who pay their bills in United States dollars, saying such a move would enable the local authority to collect revenue in foreign currency. BY Stephen Chadenga The residents made the call at a consultative meeting for the 2021 budget. Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association Trust executive director David Chikore said council should charge less in US dollars to encourage ratepayers to settle their bills in hard currency. “Since council has adopted dual pricing we propose that instead of billing the US dollar component using the interbank rate, they can lower it a bit compared to the RTGS$ charge,” he said. “By introducing incentives council will be able to directly get revenue in US dollar and pay its suppliers without hassles. Without incentives people will continue opting to pay in Zimdollars.” Mayor Josiah Makombe said his council would consider the proposal. He said council was also working on ways to implement the payment of tariffs in the 2021 budget in a manner that would ease the burden on ratepayers. “That is a welcome move by residents to propose for incentives to those residents who settle their rates in US dollars and we are going to seriously consider it,” Makombe said. “We will do everything as a local authority to make sure that we implement payment methods that ease the burden on our residents.”
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Vowing “to get right to work,” President-elect Joe Biden shrugged off President Donald Trump's fierce refusal to accept the election outcome as “inconsequential,” even as Democrats elsewhere warned that the Republican president's actions were dangerous. Raising unsupported claims of voter fraud, Trump has blocked the incoming president from receiving intelligence briefings and withheld federal […]
Ramaphosa said all South Africans should demonstrate their remembrance, of all those who have departed, through five days of mourning.
BULAWAYO City Council has expressed reservations over expending resources to a project spearheaded by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to transform a refugee centre at Chambuta in Chiredzi into a rehabilitation facility for street kids. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Government first announced plans to transform the refugee centre into a facility for children in 2015, but the project failed to take-off. Auxillia, through her Angel of Hope Foundation and the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry, is now spearheading the project. Latest council minutes show that the ministry on October 22 sent an SOS to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) seeking material and financial support to ensure the project becomes a success, but councillors turned down the request. “Discussion ensued and councillor Mlandu Ncube was concerned that Bulawayo had a lot of responsibilities that it was failing to fulfil. Council was facing a lot of financial challenges. He was against the idea to pledge assistance to renovate the home,” the council minutes read in part. “Council could only assist in terms of painting the block. Alderman Siboniso Khumalo shared the same sentiments with Ncube, saying that in Bulawayo there were homes which council was failing to assist as well as other service delivery responsibilities it could not meet.” Bulawayo street kids are housed at Emthunzini Wethemba, but the facility faces viability challenges, forcing the homeless to escape back to the streets. Town clerk Christopher Dube, however, argued that council had a responsibility to pledge assistance in the spirit of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe. “It was, therefore, resolved to recommend that the council be granted authority to pledge assistance in the form of painting the block that it adopted at Chambuta Children’s Home.” In its SOS letter, the ministry said it was mandated under the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06) to care for and protect the homeless through the Department of Social Welfare. “It is in this light that all urban councils are being called upon to commit their resources towards renovations and future maintenance of Chambuta Children’s home to ensure sustainability of the project,” the ministry wrote to the BCC. “Please note that your commitment in the project will leave its mark in improving the lives of this vulnerable group from our communities taking into cognisance the fact that the children currently housed at the institution had been living and working on the streets of all urban centres countrywide.”
Ramaphosa announced several amendments to the disaster management act and level 1 lockdown during his address to the nation n Wednesday.
Alabama Montgomery: State well being officers are urging individuals to serve up a heaping facet of precaution at Thanksgiving, as the vacation comes amid a nationwide surge in COVID-19 circumstances.…
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said he stood in solidarity with people who fight to promote professionalism at the courts. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA Chamisa yesterday attended the bail hearing at the Harare Magistrates Court for incarcerated journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who is accused of posting tweets which the State alleges jeopardised the trial of Henrietta Rushwaya in her gold smuggling case. “I am here in solidarity with those who fight to promote professionalism and ensure justice prevails,” he said. Chin’ono, however, is arguing that his tweets do not constitute an offence as he was merely performing his duty as a journalist. He refused to name his sources from the National Prosecuting Authority, whom he claimed had told him that the State was not going to oppose Rushwaya bail, saying he was exercising his journalistic privilege. Chin’ono, who is being represented by Beatrice Mtetwa and Gift Mtisi, filed an application for a bail and awaits ruling from Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa today. This is the second time Chin’ono has been arrested this year, after being arrested in July ahead of the foiled July 31 protests and accused of plotting to remove President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
POLICE yesterday warned mourners and family of the late socialite and businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, who died in a horror car accident in Harare on Sunday against flouting COVID-19 regulations during the funeral wake. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO “The Zimbabwe Republic Police implores the organisers of the funeral of the late Genius Kadungure to observe COVID-19 regulations, especially with regards to wearing of face masks, social distancing and the maintenance of law and order between 13th and 14th November,” said national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi. He also ruled out a live music concert organised in honour of the socialite. “The organisers are reminded that under COVID-19 regulations, funerals are still restricted to not more than 100 people. Musical performances or concerts are prohibited. Mourners are therefore urged to observe the law for the safety of others and themselves,” he said. Ginimbi (36), died when his Rolls-Royce vehicle collided with a Honda Fit while driving back to his Domboshava home in the company of Limumba Karim, believed to be from Malawi, socialite Mitchel “Moana” Amuli and Alichia Adams from Mozambique. They all perished at the scene of the accident with Karim, Amuli and Adams burnt inside the car after Ginimbi was pulled out just before the vehicle went up in flames. The accident occurred while the quartet was coming from Moana’s 26th birthday party at Ginimbi’s Club Dreams, formerly Sankayi in Harare’s Avenues area. Close family members yesterday told NewsDay Life &Style that there was a tiff between Ginimbi’s ex-wife Zodwa Mkandla and her father-in-law Anderson over control of the funeral proceedings. “The clash was caused by the suggested all-white farewell. Zodwa knows many of Ginimbi’s friends so when they suggested to her that they wanted an all-white farewell for their friend in respect of his wishes as he used to say before his death, she agreed, but his father later turned it down,” the source said. “This is where all the problems started. The father said he was against the idea as it would appear to have endorsed what is in the public domain that those white parties were associated with some rituals that were being done by Ginimbi and friends.” “You know that old man is a no nonsense guy, he just said ‘no’ to that all-white dress cord on the burial as they were suggesting. He said he had heard a lot said about Ginimbi’s all white parties which were even hosted beyond the borders.” “The family said there will be no all-white party farewell and this has been communicated to Ginimbi’s friends. They have maintained that Ginimbi will be laid to rest according to our custom so no one will be asked to put on the all-white dress code,” the source said. Zodwa could not be reached for comment last night. Ginimbi’s burial is set for tomorrow at his million-dollar mansion in Domboshava near the capital Harare.
A MUTARE man lost his vehicle and some belongings to two machete-wielding robbers who pounced on him last Friday. BY KENNETH NYANGANI Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa yesterday confirmed the incident to NewsDay. He said on November 6 at around 4pm, the complainant, Marshal Jujuwa, was at Dangamvura bus terminus in Mutare when he was approached by two unknown persons who requested to hire his vehicle. The two said they wanted him to take them to Zimunya township claiming they wanted to consult a prophet there. At around 6pm when they were in Zimunya at a secluded place, the two produced a machete and threatened to kill Jujuwa. They tied his legs with electric cables and gagged him with insulation tape. The robbers then took his money and other belongings and drove off. The complainant untied himself before making a police report. The assailants are still on the run. Follow Kenneth on Twitter @KennethNyangan1
Ethiopia's Minister of Defence Kenea Yadeta on Wednesday denied allegations that Eritrea is assisting Ethiopia in the fight against Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF in the Tigray region.
The statement comes after the Tigray president on Tuesday accused Eritrea of attacking his region at the request of Ethiopia, saying that \"the war has now progressed to a different stage.\"
Up to 200,000 refugees could pour into Sudan while fleeing the deadly conflict, officials said Wednesday, while the first details are emerging of largely cut-off civilians under growing strain.
Communications remain almost completely severed with the Tigray region a week after Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a military offensive in response to an alleged attack by regional forces.
He insists there will be no negotiations with a regional government he considers illegal until its ruling “clique” is arrested and its well-stocked arsenal is destroyed.
Reports grew of the targeting of ethnic Tigrayans across Ethiopia, the Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau said in a Facebook post.
The administration of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, announced rallies in support of the federal government's measures there and in other cities in the Oromia and Amhara regions Thursday, along with a blood drive for the Ethiopian army.
The European Union, the African Union and others have urged Abiy for an immediate de-escalation as the conflict threatens to destabilize the strategic but vulnerable Horn of Africa region.
Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigray’s regional government, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, blame each other for starting the conflict. Each regards the other as illegal.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia's ruling coalition for years before Abiy came to office in 2018 but has since broken away while accusing the prime minister's administration of targeting and marginalizing its officials.
Experts have compared the fighting to an inter-state conflict, with each side heavily armed. The Tigray region has an estimated quarter-million fighters, along with four of the Ethiopian military's six mechanized divisions.
That's a legacy of Ethiopia's long border war with Eritrea, which made peace after Abiy came to power but remains at bitter odds with the TPLF.
A 29-YEAR-OLD Chivhu woman yesterday slit her four children’s throats before setting the family house on fire following a dispute with her husband over infidelity. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA Emelda Marazani also reportedly attempted to commit suicide by taking poison after killing her daughters aged nine, five, three and one. Police sources claimed that Marazani, who was pregnant, had a stillbirth while in hospital where she was being treated, but personnel at the hospital said the pregnancy was intact. She handed herself to the police after committing the crime, but was admitted at Chivhu General Hospital, where she was put under police guard. Chivhu Hospital medical superintendent Alice Kanyemba said Marazani was in a stable condition. “She is at an advanced stage of pregnancy, but for now, no signs of complications have shown,” she said. It is reported that Marazani and her husband Lameck Brande had a dispute at the weekend after she saw a message from his alleged girlfriend, a Form 4 pupil at local school. Following the dispute, on Monday they went to Chirumanzi to seek advice from Marazani’s relatives and returned to Chivhu. Yesterday, Brande went to work, but Marazani, who was employed as a shop assistant in Chivhu, did not go to work and instead bought an unknown pesticide. When she returned home, she locked her four children in one room, tied the two older ones together and cut their throats with a kitchen knife. She then turned on the smaller ones and killed them too. Neighbours rushed to the scene after seeing smoke coming from the house and met Marazani who told them it was just a minor fire which she had already extinguished. She then left her house in haste, according to witnesses. “I quickly sent messages to various local WhatsApp groups when I saw smoke from the house, attempting to notify the house owners that their house was on fire, only to discover few minutes later the owner was actually there,” a witness, who preferred anonymity, said. Neighbours managed to retrieve the bodies of two younger girls, but the other two who were tied together were burnt beyond recognition. The house and the property were also destroyed by the fire. Police confirmed the incident. “The suspect, Emelda Marazani (29), had a marital dispute with her husband, Lameck Brande (43) and when the husband left for work in the morning, the suspect locked the children aged nine, five, three and one in the house. She took a rope and tied the other two elder children before slitting open their throats with a knife. The suspect went on to kill the other two children with the knife before setting the house on fire,” Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said in a statement last night. He said Marazani then drank poison which she had earlier bought before going out. “Neighbours saw some smoke and asked her what was happening. She said all was in order before she handed herself over to the police.”
A 22-YEAR-OLD Lobengula West man in Bulawayo on Tuesday disarmed an ex-police sergeant using a golf club during a robbery attempt prompting members of the community to bash the suspect. BY NIZBERT MOYO The young man disarmed Ian Sibanda (54), who was accompanied by Learnmore Kwari intending to rob an old woman (name yet to be revealed) after getting wind that she had sold a house for US$20 000. Neighbours told Southern Eye that the 22-year-old young hero (name not disclosed)’s action resulted in the arrest of the suspect. Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele yesterday confirmed the arrest of Sibanda, adding that investigations were in progress. “I can confirm that on November 10, the complainant was watching television in her sitting room with her three grandchildren,” Msebele said. “The two robbers knocked at the back door of the house and were allowed in by one of the grandchildren. They had parked their dark green BMW vehicle in the neighbourhood.” She added that Sibanda and Kwari were wearing caps and face masks, which partially covered their faces and they demanded cash from the old woman while holding an unregistered pistol whose serial numbers had been removed. Msebele said the old woman fled from the room while screaming for help, and one of her grandsons came out of the bathroom and armed himself with a golf stick. The police spokesperson said the young man used the golf stick to beat Sibanda until he dropped the gun. The young man and Sibanda wrestled until neighbours, as well as police officers, arrived and apprehended the suspect. Kwari managed to escape from the scene. Police officers recovered BMW car keys which belong to Sibanda and a firearm with one live round of ammunition.
It all started in a church choir in Birmingham, Alabama for Rekeshia Bennett There, she honed her skills and fulfilled her spirit, becoming proficient at her craft at an early age. Church choirs have produced [...]
