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Italy's Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, is facing the upcoming verdict in Sicily with a bold stance regarding his actions in 2019, when he prevented around 100 migrants from disembarking a rescue vessel during his tenure as interior minister.
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
Watch our report:
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 12: Rain falls on the White Home 9 days after the presidential … [+] election November 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)…
London - Despite the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers won a World Series in Texas and the Los Angeles Lakers just won an NBA title in Florida, Brooklyn's Mike Tyson will soon fight what may be his final match in Los Angeles. Former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. vowed at an […]
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The public will immediately notice a vast change in science messaging from the White House,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, told USA Today. “The Biden administration will both convey pro-science messages and model […]
The post Biden Says He’ll Turn to Science and Experts to Defeat COVID appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
Doctors who helped stop Ebola call on Joe Biden's transition team to address COVID-19's racial and economic inequities. The evidence shows a safety net under the most vulnerable protects us all.
With these words, the president-elect, Joe Biden, set a new tone and a new mood in Washington. No longer will the bully pulpit of the White House be used to spew lies and insults or to fan division and hatred. The White House will once again call on the “better angels” of Americans and not our “darkest impulses.”
The post A White House That Once Again Calls On Our Better Angels appeared first on The Seattle Medium.
ACCRA — When it comes to food security, the challenge is not always about producing more – it’s also about quality: producing food that is wholesome and preserved safely. About 690 million people go hungry each year. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to add between 83-132 million people to this number based on socio-economic factors. Even before the pandemic, about half of Africa’s citizens were food insecure. And much of Africa’s food is of low quality or lost before it even reaches the consumer. Africa has made some great strides in food production over the last decade even though it continues to be a huge net food importer to the tune of US$47 billion in 2018. But this pandemic has halted successes chalked in fighting poverty and disease and progress towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). COVID-19 is not the only challenge. In the past year, Africa has grappled with locust swarms, droughts, flooding and conflicts which have slashed livelihoods and brought hunger to many in the region. Restrictions on movement during lockdown also impact on commodities like seeds, fertilizers and farming implements which has, in turn, led to decreased food production. Many crops were not readily accessible and farmers struggled to get their produce to markets. And then, adding to the crisis, the continent’s poor storage facilities were not up to scratch. COVID-19 showed the fault lines in our food production systems and this has compromised the livelihoods of millions of farmers. Food systems on the continent — including production, storage and processing, distribution and transportation, retailing and promotion — are dominated by traditional methods which are vulnerable to unexpected crises. The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme, one of African Union’s continental frameworks under Agenda 2063, urges African governments to increase investment for agriculture by allocating at least 10% of national budgets to achieve agricultural growth rates of at least 6% per annum. Also in the declaration on Food security and Nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic, African ministers of agriculture committed to putting in place measures that will reduce food post-harvest losses and make more food available in the markets. Now, as countries struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic, there is the need for an action plan to consolidate efforts at these policies. Past interventions for Africa have focused on food production through improvement on crop varieties and yield. But we are not living in normal times. We must do more than simply look at production. Resilient systems need efficient storage and production processes. Post-COVID-19 Africa must invest in appropriate storage technology which is lacking in most developing nations and this causes unnecessary waste and considerable loss to their economies. For example, it is estimated that 60%–70% of food grains produced in developing nations are stored in traditional structures either in threshed or unthreshed at the home. However, most traditional
Amendment Reduces Tax Levy and Invests Nearly $2.5 Million in Additional Funds for Essential Programs and Services MILWAUKEE, WI – The Board of Supervisors approved (17-1, Weishan) an amendment to the 2021 budget from Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson that makes additional investments in racial equity efforts and in improving the health of Milwaukee County residents […]
The post Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson’s Omnibus Amendment to Enhance Racial Equity Efforts and Invest in Communities Adopted by Board appeared first on Milwaukee Community Journal.
Elizabeth Scaffidi: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 November 2020: Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde is the new Special Adviser on Africa to the UN Secretary-General. A former Minister of Finance and Planning in her country, she intends to bring to her role a renewed strategic narrative of ‘Africa by Africa’ to help the UN…
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Women bear the brunt of digital abuse - threatened with rape and exploited for porn - as the coronavirus pandemic drives ever more people online, media experts said on Wednesday.
By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute hosted a virtual roundtable of Black mayors on Thursday, moderated by TV Evangelist and best-selling author Bishop T.D. Jakes, and came away with $3,000 in donation pledges. After Jakes led a broad discussion with four Southern mayors of what they hope for from President-elect Joe Biden’s […]
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Dakar -- A promising new coronavirus vaccine must be kept at Antarctic temperatures, raising concerns for delivery in Africa
He was Ghana’s longest serving leader.
Jerry John Rawlings who died after a short illness in Accra on Thursday morning, was known as an influential figure in Ghanaian politics.
He rose to prominence as a former flight lieutenant to become the first democratically elected president of the 4th Republic in the West African nation in the 90’s.
His charisma and charm is beloved across the country. But not everyone was for him even while he was alive.
During his rule, the 73-year old expected ‘’ probity, transparency and accountability’’ from public office servants.
Those who criticized him said he fell short of these expectations. The late Rawlings faced accusations including human rights abuses and misuse of state resources.
But Rawlings has been hailed for stabilizing Ghana’s politics and economy at his time and left a legacy of democracy for 20 years.
In 2001 when his National Democratic Congress party lost the general elections, he ensured a smooth transition of power to then opposition leader, John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party.
In summary As the pandemic drags on into the winter, EDD blunders and slim unemployment benefits have left jobless Californians virtually fending for themselves. As coronavirus resurges 10 months into a devastating pandemic, many jobless Californians have exhausted their options and are hanging on to what little government support remains. Once padded by an extra […]
The post Expired unemployment boost, EDD debacles sink jobless Californians appeared first on Black Voice News.
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Senior National Correspondent The Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” is on the line, and so is health insurance for millions of Americans as the U.S. Supreme Court will review the law on Tuesday, November 10. With a 6-3 conservative super-majority, thanks to outgoing President Donald Trump and […]
The post Supreme Court scheduled to hear arguments that will determine the fate of the Affordable Care Act appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.
Ethiopia on Friday appointed a new head of Tigray region, one week after parliament voted to remove the executive Addis Ababa deems rebellious.
Mulu Nega's appointment was announced by PM Abiy Ahmed via Twitter.
On the basis of the decision of the House of Federation and the Council of Ministers Regulation "Concerning the Provisional Administration of the Tigray National Regional State", Dr. Mulu Nega has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Tigray Regional State. 1/2
— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 13, 2020
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.
Avid Support Outside Court
Hundreds of supporters of Ace Magashule, the Secretary-General of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, staged protests on Friday as some even tried to force way into the magistrate's court in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, where Magashule appeared for his hearing over alleged graft revolving around the equivalent of 13.9 million euros in contracts to audit houses with asbestos roofs — awarded under former president Jacob Zuma's corruption-tainted nine-year administration between 2009-2018. His successor Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to root out corruption in South Africa, which has seen the ANC at the head of national politics since the icon Nelson Mandela came into power in 1994 after the fall of the white supremacist oppressive apartheid regime.
The court appearance follows an arrest warrant issued on Tuesday over Magashule's alleged failures to conduct oversight and report corrupt dealings.
The ANC said it would monitor developments closely.
School systems in Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and suburban Minneapolis are giving up on in-person classes, and some governors are reimposing... View Article
The post Virus surge: Schools abandon classes, states retreat appeared first on TheGrio.
Anti-Jihadist Operation in Mali
Reports on the death by troops from the French-led Barkhane force military operation of Bah Ag Moussa, described as the military commander of the Al-Qaeda-aligned Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) in the Malian desert who had been on a United Nations sanctions list and was believed responsible for numerous jihadist terrorist attacks on Malian and international ally forces in the region. Friday’s announcement marks the conclusion to an operation launched Tuesday in a series of anti-jihadist action taken in recent weeks.
Regional Context
France has thousands of troops in West Africa to help fight jihadist around the area. The ousting of Islamist extremist groups from power in Mali by way of a military operation in 2013 saw a regrouping of jihadist forces in the dessert who have since wreaked terror and havoc in the region.
Harare West legislator Joana Mamombe (MDC Alliance)’s trial for breaching the national lockdown regulations will commence on November 24 . HARRIET CHIKANDIWA Mamombe faces charges of contravening section 4(1)(a) of the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order Statutory Instrument 83/2020 as read with section 3 of Statutory Instrument 110/20 for unnecessary movement during national lockdown. It is alleged that Mamombe violated COVID-19 lockdown regulations by leading a gathering of more than 10 people in May this year. Mamombe, together with fellow MDC Alliance activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, are currently appearing in court to answer to a charge of participating in an anti-government protest against hunger during the national lockdown period. The trio is also answering to a charge of publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State as defined in section 31(a)(ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State as defined in section 31(a)(iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as well as defeating or obstructing the course of justice as defined in section 184(1)(f) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. It is alleged that Mamombe, Marova and Chimbiri, who are victims of torture and abduction, stage-managed their abduction in May this year and lied to their lawyers, relatives and friends that they had been abducted by State security agents.
Three Guinean opposition figures surrendered to the police on Thursday after being put on a wanted list for their alleged role in post-election violence, one of their lawyers said.
Officers questioned Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, Abdoulaye Bah - both members of Guinea's leading opposition party, UFDG - and Etienne Soropogui separately, lawyer Salifou Beavogui said.
Police on Wednesday also arrested UFDG vice president Ibrahima Cherif Bah as part of a sweep targeting mainly opposition politicians and activists.
At a press conference on Thursday, opposition leader Cellou Diallo called for their immediate release.
The arrests came after President Alpha Conde, 82, won a controversial third term after topping an October 18 poll with 59.5 percent of the votes.
The country slipped into violence in the aftermath of the poll, when UFDG leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, 68, proclaimed himself victorious and alleged voter fraud.
The government said at least 21 people died in subsequent clashes between Diallo supporters and security forces. The UFDG party put the death toll at 46, however.
While observers from other African countries have backed the official election results, France, the European Union, and the United States have cast doubt.
In a statement on Tuesday, a public prosecutor in the capital Conakry said police had detained or tried 137 people.
It said police were actively searching for six people accused of having made \"threats likely to disturb public security and order\".
Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, Abdoulaye Bah, and Etienne Soropogui were among those six people. Only Soropogui, who is from a minor opposition party, is not a UFDG member.
Ibrahima Cherif Bah was also on the wanted list.
Political tension in Guinea centers on Conde's third term, against which there have been rolling protests since October 2019.
The president pushed through a new constitution in March which he argued would modernize the country. But it also allowed him to bypass a two-term limit for presidents.
A former opposition leader, Conde became Guinea's first democratically-elected president in 2010 and won re-election in 2015, but critics accuse him of veering towards authoritarianism.
OVER 350 families close to Gwayi-Shangani Dam are facing imminent displacement to pave way for the construction of the largest water body in Matabelaland North province. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE The Gwayi-Shangani Dam pipeline was estimated to provide 147 mega litres a day and, therefore, ensure bulk water supply in the medium term to Bulawayo and Matabeleland North. Speaking during a tour of the project which was organised by Bulawayo Civic Society Organisation, the project’s assistant engineer Lucio Chayeruka said 350 families would be displaced. “I am aware of the 350 families that are going to be affected by the construction of the dam,” Chayeruka said. “We have done a survey and saw that 350 families need to be evacuated as they are going to be affected by the dam construction. “The matter is now with the Lands and Agriculture ministry, but as it stands, the matter is now urgent so urgent intervention is required.” Chayeruka said the Lands ministry would decide the fate of the families. “It is the sole responsibility of the ministry to decide when and where these families will be resettled. Once we start the construction process, the structures will have to be removed,” he said. Chayeruka decried lack of funding for the delay in the completion of the dam which is currently 39% complete after the contractor, China International Water and Electric Corporation, abandoned the project in January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is being constructed to link Cowdray Park and the City of Bulawayo. In 2016, the contractor suspended operations due to lack of funding. “This dam is a US$121 million project. I haven’t seen the bill of quantities, but I know that this is a US$121 million project. Of that US$121 million, so far we have used about 39% of the money,” Chayeruka said. “The issue here is actually of funding as you will see that we have all the materials in place. The only material that we might need to buy is cement and when all funding has been put in place, the dam will only take one year to be completed.” Matabeleland Collectives chairperson Jenny Williams said civil society organisations needed to know if those families were going to be compensated. “It is important for us the civil society to empower the community that is within the 60km radius of the dam and what it will mean for them when the dam is constructed. They need to be empowered to know what is coming their way,” Williams said. “The communities need to be empowered so that people cannot come and take advantage of those communities.” The project is going to help improve the water situation in Bulawayo which is currently facing serious water shortages. lFollow Praisemore on Twitter @TPraisemore
By Stacy M. Brown - “Especially for those moments when this campaign was at its lowest — the African-American community stood up again for me. They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.” — [...]
THE majority of residents in Zimbabwe’s major urban areas are drinking sewage-contaminated water due to poor management systems by local authorities, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri has revealed in her latest audit report. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA An assessment by the Auditor-General on six major cities in the country showed that urban local authorities were failing to attend to sewer blockages within 24 hours, resulting in raw sewage mixing with drinking water. This ultimately gives rise to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera, among others. Unattended sewer blockages also result in sewage back-flowing, which further weakens the pipes, according to the audit findings for the period 2013 to 2017 following a public outcry over sewer bursts. “The assessment of the urban local authorities’ management of sewerage system revealed a number of weaknesses which contributed to the increase in the number of sewer blockage complaints from consumers,” Chiri said. “If local authorities fail to attend to blockages within the stipulated eight to 24 hours, raw sewage is lost into the environment before reaching the treatment plants, thereby contaminating water bodies. “According to interviews conducted, engineers cited that they were doing more of reactive maintenance rather than planned maintenance.” Results of the assessment also showed that Harare, with the highest population of over 1,5 million people, records the highest number of sewer blockages on average each year, which places residents in the capital city at high risk of contracting waterborne diseases. The United Nations Environment report of 2013 ranked Lake Chivero, Harare’s main water source, as one of the most 10 polluted lakes in the world. Statistics from the audit show that Harare discharges about 4 000 megalitres of raw or partially-treated water into water systems. In responding to the audit, city fathers blamed residents over sewer blockages, citing dumping of kitchen utensils and other items in sewage pipes as the major contributor to infrastructure damages. Although with a higher population, the audit report said Bulawayo had a better sewer system compared to other councils. In 2013 alone, 560 people died of waterborne diseases, while close to 600 000 others contracted the diseases countrywide. In 2008, five years before the audit, Zimbabwe recorded its worst cholera outbreak, which claimed over 5 000 lives, with Harare’s Budiriro and Glen View high-density suburbs the worst hit. Harare and Bulawayo are staring another crisis due to recurrent water shortages, with Harare declaring incapacitation to buy water treatment chemicals. Last week, Harare City Council confirmed four cases of typhoid, a bacterial infection that can be transmitted through contaminated water. The local authorities do not have modern equipment and technologies for sewer system inspection and maintenance and Chiri stated that the government was losing about US$194 million annually owing to poor sanitation practices. The Auditor-General also noted that poor service
School systems in Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and suburban Minneapolis are giving up on in-person classes, and some governors are reimposing restrictions on bars and restaurants or getting more serious about masks, as the coast-to-coast resurgence of the coronavirus sends deaths, hospitalizations and new infections soaring. The crisis deepened at hospitals, with the situation so bad […]
The post Virus surge: Schools abandon classes, states retreat appeared first on DefenderNetwork.com.
[African Arguments] From plane crashes to COVID complications, over twenty of President Tshisekedi's allies died in the course of just one year.
In summary Gov. Newsom should recognize the importance of the Latino community and appoint the first Latino or Latina senator from California. By Claudia Medina, Special to CalMatters Claudia Medina is the founding member of the Latino Community Foundation’s East Bay Latina Giving Circle, claudia.medina4education@gmail.com. Come January, California’s own Kamala Harris will make history as […]
The post It’s time for the first Latino senator from California appeared first on Black Voice News.
President Donald Trump has publicly disengaged from the battle against the coronavirus at a moment when the disease is tearing across the United States at an alarming pace. Trump, fresh off his reelection loss to President-elect Joe Biden, remains angry that an announcement about progress in developing a vaccine for the disease came after Election Day. And aides say the […]
President Donald Trump has publicly disengaged from the battle against the coronavirus at a moment when the disease is tearing... View Article
The post Trump, stewing over election loss, silent as virus surges appeared first on TheGrio.
More than 130 Secret Service officers, which is about 10% of all Secret Service officers, are said to have either... View Article
The post Over 130 Secret Service officers may be infected with coronavirus appeared first on TheGrio.
