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Nigerian students on Monday protested the strike deadlock that has shut the country's public universities for seven months, causing frustration for an estimated 2.5 million students.
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.
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed property firm Mashonaland Holdings says it has deferred the reconfiguration of the iconic Charter House building in Harare into a hotel to the first quarter of 2021. BY FIDELITY MHLANGA In a statement accompanying the company’s financial results for the year ended September 30, 2020 board chairperson, Grace Bema said the Charter House plan was part of several projects whose implementation had been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The multi-storey Charter House, which towers above a sea of mostly empty high-end properties in central Harare, is one of the oldest real estate gems in Harare. But it has not been spared by an exodus of businesses from the central business district due to congestion and an influx of informal businesses. Many other buildings within this zone have also been earmarked for reconfiguration into other uses, such as residential properties. “The Charter House reconfiguration to a boutique hotel was equally delayed by the pandemic with on-site works now targeted to begin in Q1 2021 (first quarter of 2021),” Bema said. “However, the Bluff Hill cluster housing project is set to commence following the conclusion of the tender process. Construction of a model house for this project is scheduled for completion in Q1 2021. All the bricks required to complete the development have been procured and delivered on site,” she said. “Overall the COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to the property market, notably the tourism sector which has been left on its knees due to the global travel restrictions as the world grappled to contain the spread of COVID-19. However, the effect on other property market sub-sectors was not as dire as initially anticipated as reflected by the resilient occupancy and collection levels. However, the scaled down business operations due to the pandemic meant that most could not absorb upward rent reviews in a hyperinflation environment, especially when their businesses had been closed for an extended period due to the national lockdown,” she said. Bema said a key challenge for property developers was that construction costs remained high, while property market values were falling, rendering new developments inviable. “At the same time, building maintenance costs have risen sharply as contractors are indexing costs to the United States dollar based on the parallel market. The limited number of projects has also resulted in higher contractor charges in the absence of economies of scale. Resultantly, property owners have deferred non-critical building maintenance works which will likely have an impact on future values,” she said. Inflation adjusted revenue for the period increased by 30% from $133 million to $173 million, mainly attributed to rent reviews implemented during the year. The growth in occupancy levels from 77% to 79,2% also contributed towards revenue growth. Operating expenses to revenue ratio marginally improved from 50,3% to 50,1% as management exploited cost saving opportunities to protect profits. Operating profit to rev
An Ethiopian spokesman on Tuesday said that the country's forces fired on a UN team, claiming they ignored instructions and drove through government checkpoints in the northern region of Tigray.
The shooting came as the UN and aid agencies are continuing to seek access to northern Ethiopia, more than a week after fighting there was declared over on November 28.
\"Some of the UN staff were actually detained and some were shot at,\" said Redwan Hussein. \"They broke two checkpoints to drive to areas where they were not supposed to go, and that they were told not to go. When they were about to break the third one, they were shot at and detained.\"
Speaking at a press conference in the capital Addis Ababa, Redwan insisted the UN staffers were to blame for Sunday's incident close to the town of Shire, claiming they had \"indulged themselves in a kind of adventurous expedition\".
\"This country isn't no man's land. It has a government,\" he said.
\"If anybody is told not to go, then they have to abide by it. You cannot ignore a government warning and then try to run roughshod (over) everybody,\" he added.
Thousands have been killed in fighting that began November 4 between government forces and those loyal to the leadership of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Close to 50,000 have fled to Sudan while around 600,000 living in Tigray depended on food handouts even before the fighting began.
Last week the UN said it had signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government guaranteeing \"unconditional access for humanitarian assistance\".
However, Redwan contradicted this on Tuesday.
\"The agreement we entered is in the belief that the UN would collaborate with us and we the government would call the shots, so we coordinate, we lead, but we need assistance and a partner,\" he said.
\"For some partners to drive alone, to move alone, isn't allowed. There is no such thing as unfettered access in every corner of Ethiopia.\"
South Africa’s gross domestic product saw an expected surge in growth between July and September this year. The country’s annual figures rose by 66.1 percent after the Covid-19 restrictions were uplifted.
The economy had in the prior three months recorded a contraction of 51 percent during the nationwide lockwide.
The Africa’s most industrious economy was in a major recession even before the pandemic hit and later on proceeded to a further contraction.
Compared with the same period a year earlier, GDP shrank by 6% in the third quarter after a revised 17.5% contraction in Q2.
This major growth was mainly recorded from manufacturing, trade, and mining.
However, the recovery remains vulnerable, with power shortages and slow structural reforms likely to weigh on sentiment.
Unemployment also remains low at 30 percent yet it needs 5 percent economic growth to guarantee jobs. But the current projected growth rate is expected to be -8 percent.
by Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Students, teachers, parents, and administrators face ever-rising challenges as the coronavirus pandemic continues to force changes in how young people receive their education. The challenges are particularly pronounced in the African American community, where access to the internet, working parents, and a haphazard learning model have … Continued
The post The challenges Black Americans face with distant and virtual learning during COVID-19 appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.
