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By Wafaa Shurafa and Joseph Krauss The Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians struggled Oct. 14 to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military […]
The post Palestinians in Gaza struggle to follow Israeli evacuation order and face dire water shortage appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .
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.
Press Release - Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day to End Violence against Women
[savethechildren_uk] Save the Children is deeply concerned about the impact on children and their families of Cyclone Gati, the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Somalia on record. According to reports, 70,000 people, including 32,000 children, have been forced to flee after the cyclone wreaked devastation across Puntland state. Heavy rains and strong winds of 115 mph have triggered flash flooding, causing at least 40,000 people to lose their homes. In the Bari region of Puntland, heavy rainfall is still ongoing a
Mozambique's health system bearing the brunt of coronavirus,
Cyclone Eloise and extremist Islamic groups in the Cabo Delgado province.
The leader of Ethiopia's rebellious Tigrayan forces said that protests were breaking out in the regional capital which fell to federal troops days ago in their month-long war.
Water and sanitation minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the funds will go some way in helping the water boards to absorb the increase in raw water charges.
Long queues of people looking to enter South Africa through the Beitbridge border post in Limpopo, have mostly been cleared and operations are proceeding in an orderly fashion.
[Cameroon Tribune] Mobile clinics will be set up to provide integrated services to hard-to-reach communities.
(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has summoned Venezuela’s Ambassador to T&T, Carlos Amador Perez Silva, to a meeting to discuss recent developments concerning both countries - and Trinidad and Tobago’s position.
The article Trinidad PM summons Venezuela Ambassador to meeting on migrants appeared first on Stabroek News.
Telecom services have resumed in parts of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region where the government recently wrapped up a “law and order” operation against the then regional government – the Tigray People's Liberation Front, TPLF.
Operator Ethio Telecom said in a December 2, 2020 statement that service had partially resumed in six towns - Maykadra, Shiraro, Humera, Dansha, Turkan and Maytsebri adding; “In Alamata, telecom service has been fully resumed.”
The company said the service disruption was due to the crisis that saw the national army facing off with TPLF forces. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced days ago that the operation had ended after the army captured the Tigray capital, Mekelle.
“Currently, we are able to resume telecom service using alternative power solutions and after conducting necessary maintenance and rehabilitation works on damaged telecom infrastructure,” the statement added.
The extent of damage to infrastructure is not known, largely because of the disruption in communication. News reports indicated that especially aerial bombings had caused significant damage and casualties but PM Abiy told parliament that the operations were targeted.
Ethiopia has cut the internet thrice this year - two targeted outages and a national blackout in late June through much of July. The first outage in western Oromia lasted three months – January till late March 2020.
The second and more impacting shutdown was nationwide, a measure imposed on June 30, following the killing of a famed Oromo artiste, Hachaalu Hundessa, in the capital Addis Ababa. That blackout lasted over three weeks.
In early November, the whole of Tigray region was cut off. Almost immediately after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “declared war” on TPLF on November 4, an internet rights monitoring group, Net Blocks; confirmed a connectivity disruption.
It said: “Network data from the NetBlocks internet observatory confirm that internet has been cut regionally in Ethiopia from 1 a.m. Wednesday 4 November 2020 local time. Metrics corroborate widespread reports of a data and telephony blackout in the northern region of Tigray, which are ongoing as of midnight.”
The calls for restoration of connectivity came in thick and fast, by local and international human rights players but the federal government dismissed them even as hostilities triggered a humanitarian crisis along the border with Sudan.
“Cutting off communication has severely hampered the ability to monitor the situation on the ground, particularly the impact of the clashes in the local population,” UN human rights head Michelle Bachelet said in a November 6 statement.
She also called on the national authorities to “re-establish all basic services, including Internet and telephone connections.” Adding that “the right of all people to be informed and to access information is particularly vital in a crisis situation”.
On the humanitarian impact situation, the UN emergency relief agency said in a November 12 report: “Telephone lines remain cut making information flow and corrobo
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Ethiopia's security forces shot at and detained United Nations staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled Tigray region, a senior official said yesterday, and he blamed the US staffers for trying to reach areas where 'they were not supposed to go'.
By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's prime minister on Tuesday declared 'the final and crucial' military operation will launch in the coming days against the government of the country's rebellious northern Tigray region. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a social media post said a three-day deadline given to the Tigray region's leaders and special forces 'has expired today.' 'We are marching to Mekele to capture those criminal elements,' Ethiopia's minister in charge of democratization, Zadig Abraha, added in a phone interview with The Associated Press. 'This will be a very brief operation.' Mekele, he said, will […]
The post Ethiopia's PM vows 'final and crucial' offensive in Tigray appeared first on Black News Channel.
Analysis - Fighting between the Ethiopian army and Tigray forces has arrived near the region's biggest city, home to half a million residents. Addis Ababa should pause hostilities, all sides should minimise harm to civilians and the AU should step up efforts to avert further bloodshed.
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- In a statement sent to Addis Standard, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said it is \"extremely concerned about the humanitarian implications of escalating violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where over two million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance.\" This include 96,000 refugees and 100,000 internally displaced people.
[UN News] It will take a variety of different actors to confront and deal with the \"daunting challenges\" in the Sahel region, the head of UN peacekeeping told the Security Council on Monday.
ZIMBABWE is yet to make a decision on the opening of its borders for international travel, with authorities saying they would be guided by the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country.
Nigerien History-Maker on a Mission
The first person from the Niger Republic to work at NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a woman and the name of this brilliant mind, altruistic heart and award-winning scientist is Dr Fadji Maina . Maina was raised in Zinder — one of the largest cities in the Niger Republic that has had marked challenges with water scarcity that are worsening due to climate change.
Big Heart and Big Dreams
The accomplished scientist has recalled feeling blessed as when she was a little girl she was aware of many households that did not have running water like her own and would often wonder about the lines of tens of girls standing outside her family home with buckets during the dryer months of the year. It appears that the water issues exacerbated some of the gender-equality challenges within Nigerien society as it was typically the girls who would be sent by their families to fetch water from lakes or neighbours’ residences — amid other domestic duties, while priority was often given to boys to get an education.
Hence, her compassionate ten-year-old self knew she wanted to do something to eradicate the regional water issues her community faced.
This is What Success Looks Like
And she has surpassed even her own ambitions with a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from the University of Fes, a master’s degree in engineering and environmental sciences and a doctorate in hydrology — both from the University of Strasbourg. Even before joining NASA at the end of August this year, the trilingual (Hausa, French and English) professional had already received international recognition and even made it onto the prestigious Forbes’ 30 Under 30 2020 Science list for her published research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.
Today at twenty-nine years old, Maina works as an Earth scientist working as a computational hydrologist — using mathematical models and remote-sensing products to study the impact of climate change on water, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centers and holds the title as the first Nigerien to be a part of the US space agency’s team.
A position that has made her native country very proud. A feeling in a matter of sorts which appears to be mutual as one of Dr Maina’s social media handle profiles reads, “Proudly a daughter of Niger.”
Dr Fadji Maina hopes to not only make a positive impact on the world’s rising water issues but to also inspire other Nigerien women and girls — as she exemplifies being a model African citizen.
[UNHCR] Geneva -- Study reveals a severe deterioration in international efforts to protect the world's most vulnerable, with human rights violations on the rise.
[allAfrica] Africa experts have leading roles on incoming U.S. administration's transition team; South Africa's Ramaphosa among world leaders who have spoken with the President-Elect.
[UN Women] Galvanizes partners to fund organizations, respond to survivors' needs, prevent violence and collect data to build a post-pandemic \"new normal\" as the 16 days of Activism campaign kicks off
ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia and the United Nations reached an agreement on Wednesday to channel desperately needed humanitarian aid to a northern region where a month of war has killed, wounded and uprooted large numbers of people. The pact, announced by U.N. officials, will allow aid workers access to government-controlled areas of Tigray, where federal troops have been battling the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and captured the regional capital. The war is believed to have killed thousands, sent 45,000 refugees into Sudan, displaced many more within Tigray, and worsened suffering in a region where 600,000 people were already dependent on food aid even before the flare-up from Nov. 4. Aid agencies had sounded the alarm about a growing humanitarian crisis and been pressing for access, after hundreds of foreign workers were forced to evacuate. Food is thought to be running out for 96,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said at the weekend that medics in the local capital Mekelle were short of painkillers, gloves and bodybags. “The U.N. and the Federal Government of Ethiopia have signed an agreement to ensure that humanitarians will have unimpeded, sustained and secure access for humanitarian personnel and services to areas under the control of the Federal Government in the Tigray Region,” the U.N. humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said in a statement to Reuters. There was no immediate confirmation from the government.
