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At Friday prayers in Senegal, many worshippers pray for those who have died in recent political protests which were sparked on by the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, a government critic popular with young people.
Nationwide protests have taken place since October 7 despite the disbanding of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.
The demonstrators have been accused of attacking police stations and personnel.
The rallies which are mostly attended by young people have become avenues to vent against corruption and unemployment.
Rights groups say at least 15 people have been killed the demonstrations began in early October.
The European Union has said that a peace agreement signed last year in Mozambique cannot be renegotiated.
In recent months, calls have grown to revisit the deal signed in August of 2019 between the government and the Renamo rebel group.
In the agreement, Renamo agreed to renounce rebellion but a splinter group has been staging attacks in central Mozambique.
“The peace agreement cannot be opened or renegotiated. (...) The message is to take advantage of this agreement, these opportunities, this process. There is a window that is still open, but it may be closed in a while. Personally I am quite optimistic,” said António Sanchez-Benedito, the European Union ambassador to Maputo.
“But at the same time, we have to recognize that there are still obstacles, that there are still challenges. I think that all Mozambicans have the conviction and above all the desire for this to be the definitive agreement,” he added.
Renamo leader Ossufo Momade lost last October's vote to incumbent president Felipe Nyusi. The ruling FRELIMO party was accused of using violence to win the election.
The EU is one of the guarantors of the deal and has committed millions of dollars to support its implementation.
Mozambique , which is preparing to become the newest gas producer is also dealing with a militant insurgency which has driven hundreds from their homes in its north.
Youths protesting a coronavirus curfew have clashed with security forces overnight in the Senegalese capital, burning tyres and erecting barricades as police fired tear gas in Dakar's Ngor district.
PARIS — Public health officials worldwide have encouraged people to wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But in France, a controversy is growing over whether that practice should apply to women giving birth [...]
Voters in Seychelles are starting to cast their ballots in the presidential and national assembly elections.
It comes at a crucial time for the nation of 115 islands off East Africa, Voters will decide if President Danny Faure will be elected for the first time after taking over from predecessor James Michel, who resigned.
His People's Party, which has been in power since 1977 also faces an unprecedented challenge
The vote will run across three days across the islands.
Faure is facing two rivals. The main one is Wavel Ramkalawan of the Linyon Democratik Seselwa (Seychelles Democratic Alliance) opposition party, the majority party in parliament after winning 19 of 34 seats in the last election.
He is an Anglican priest and has run for president six times
But the opposition parties have not managed to unite in this election.
The other candidate is Alain St Ange, who was in the opposition before joining the government tourism minister.
He is running for the One Seychelles party which he created a year ago.
The main concern for the voters is the economy, which has slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
About 700 people have lost their jobs, according to government figures. The idyllic islands famed for their white beaches are a hub for tourism, particularly with those on their honeymoon.
But the coronavirus pandemic has closed borders, hampering the key tourism industry.
Another key theme of the campaign has been corruption, a largely taboo topic in the tiny country where everyone knows everyone and business and politics are often intertwined.
The Seychelles is classed by Transparency International as being perceived as the least corrupt country in Africa and among the 30 least corrupt in the world.
However it is also a tax paradise housing numerous offshore companies.
By BlackPressUSA By Joe Biden There is injustice in America. There is discrimination. There is a legacy of racism and inequality that lives still in our institutions, our laws, and in too many people’s hearts that makes it harder for Black people to succeed. These are facts in the United States of America in 2020, and we must all do more to move our nation closer to the ideals inlaid at our founding—that all women and men are created equal. This year has also brought us too many examples of the dangers Black people can face in the course of […]
The post EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: My Plan to Lift Every Voice in Black America appeared first on Black News Channel.
Left of Black - Season 3, Episode 25
Mark Anthony Neal is joined by film director, Shola Lynch, to talk about her latest release, Free Angela & All Political Prisoners.
Left of Black with Francesca Royster - Duration: 34:08. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 475 views
Left of Black with Keith Knight - Duration: 21:32. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 77 views
Left of Black with Akiba Solomon and Kevin Alexander Gray - Duration: 26:39. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 464 views
Left of Black with Greg Tate - Duration: 41:37. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 2,250 views
Left of Black with Laurent Dubois and Deborah Thomas - Duration: 44:23. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 996 views
Interview with Teddy Pendergrass (Bonus feature from 1979 live DVD) - Duration: 26:00. satchelpooch01againB 123,209 views
Left of Black with Keith Josef Adkins and Bettina Love - Duration: 31:51. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 644 views
Shola Lynch - The Struggle to Make Free Angela ( The Reelblack Interview) - Duration: 7:09. reelblack 339 views
4/25 Arise Entertainment 360, Film Director Shola Lynch - Duration: 13:06. AriseEntertainment 360 67 views
Left of Black with Martha Biondi - Duration: 26:54. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 1,005 views
Left of Black with R. LHeureux Lewis, Mary Morten and Erica Edwards - Duration: 43:16. John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University 1,156 views
2013 Reel Sisters Film Festival with Shola Lynch - Duration: 15:48. africanvoices 86 views
Shola Lynch, Free Angela and All Political Prisoners - Duration: 58:39. C-SPAN 2,664 views
Ep. 20: MONKEY BUSINESS | Shola Lynch - Duration:
Anti-Police Brutality Protest Sees Police Brutality
National armed forces opened fire on Nigerian youth in Lagos at an anti-police brutality demonstration on Tuesday — injuring around 50 people and shooting at least 20 dead, as per unconfirmed reports
Amnesty International which has already condemned the use of excessive force by the Nigerian police to subdue protesters, stated there was ``\"credible but disturbing evidence'' of the incident.
\"While we continue to investigate the killings, Amnesty International wishes to remind the authorities that under international law, security forces may only resort to the use of lethal force when strictly unavoidable to protect against the imminent threat of death or serious injury,\" Amnesty tweeted.
#EndSARS, #EndSWAT and Police Reform.
The escalation in violence comes two weeks after the #EndSarsNow movement took to the streets across Nigeria, following the circulation of video showing a man being beaten, apparently by police officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS.
The government proclaimed the dissolution of the police unit which has been accused of human rights crimes including abuse, torture and killings but has since created the Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT) in its stead further inciting the youth to seek complete police reform.
The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter shared that her mother, Claudia Price-North, died over the weekend.
Residents of the Senegalese capital Dakar have made a passionate appeal for the wearing of masks. Last week, locals in this West African nation protested against fresh restrictions to help curb spread of the coronavirus. Some want a mandatory regulation to force people to put on a mask.
… That is because in the African-American family tradition, reunions frequently act … a disease that disproportionately affects Black Americans, has prevented many of them … but meaningful political implications, as Black Americans’ voting rights are increasingly …
Lena Waithe teams up with The North Face to lead the charge on advocating for change in the outdoor space for communities of color.
Smoke was billowing from a Lagos prison and gunshots were heard on Thursday as fresh unrest rocks Nigeria's biggest city after the shooting of protesters.
Police close to the scene told AFP that assailants had attacked the detention facility in the upscale Ikoyi neighbourhood.
A curfew is underway in Lagos after security forces shot at protesters on Tuesday. Amnesty International said at least 12 people were killed in the unrest.
The international community, including the African Union, has condemned the violence.
Nigeria's army said the shootings were \"fake news\".
Police Minister Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi told the BBC that troops were not ordered to open fire on protesters.
\"I cannot say who is involved in the shooting... definitely not the police. Soldiers have already spoken about this, they are denying their involvement,\" he said.
President Buhari has yet to comment publically while Nigeria's vice-president has promised justice for victims.
Yemi Osinbajo said his \"heart goes out\" to the victims of the shooting as well as policemen and others who have lost their lives in several days of turmoil in Africa's most populous country.
The protests started two weeks ago over brutality by the police's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The protests quickly spiralled into broader demands for change as promises of reform failed to stem the anger and violence flared.
At least 56 people have died across the country since the demonstrations began, with about 38 killed nationwide on Tuesday alone, according to Amnesty.
Guinea's opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo declared on Monday declared himself winner of Sunday's vote, defeating Alpha Conde, the incumbent president.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital Conakry a day after the hotly contested election, Diallo said he had emerged \"victorious\" despite \"anomalies which marred the ballot\".
\"I invite all my fellow citizens who love peace and justice to stay vigilant and committed to defend this democratic victory,\" the 68-year-old said, dressed in a sky-blue robe, from his party headquarters.
Outside the building, supporters erupted in joy and chanted \"Cellou, president\". Elsewhere in the city, security forces fired tear gas canisters at crowds assembling in support of Diallo.
Bakary Mansare, the vice-president of Guinea's electoral authority, told AFP that Diallo's self-proclaimed victory was \"null and void\".
\"It is not up to a candidate or a person to proclaim himself the winner outside the bodies defined by the law,\" he said.
Conde's RPG party also said in a statement Monday that it condemned \"with the utmost firmness the irresponsible and dangerous declaration\" by Diallo. It called for its activists to remain calm.
Diallo's announcement sets the stage for a showdown with the government, which insists that Sunday's vote was fair and that the official electoral authority must declare the results.
Signs of a looming electoral dispute began to appear during the vote, however, when Diallo told reporters that Conde could \"cheat\" his way to power.
'Chaos'
Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, a cadre in Diallo's UFDG party, said that results at individual polling states were public, enabling the party's own observers to conduct a count.
\"If we are the winners, we will defend our victory,\" he said. \"We won't wait.\"
Earlier on Monday, Guinea's government said in a statement that the opposition \"clearly intended to create chaos and to call into question the real results that will come out of the ballot box\".
Much of the tension in Guinea relates to President Conde's controversial bid for a third term.
He pushed through a new constitution in March which he argued would modernise the country. But it also allowed him to bypass a two-term limit for presidents, provoking mass protests.
Prime Minister Kassory Fofana said that the opposition publishing results ahead of the official results was tantamount to pouring \"oil on the fire\".
Second round
Guinea's acrimonious political campaign saw Conde and Diallo trade insults, and was marked by violent incidents in some parts of the west African country.
But it also raised the spectre of ethnic strife, with Conde accused of exploiting divisions for electoral ends - a charge he denies.
Guinea's politics are mainly drawn along ethnic lines: the president's base is mostly from the ethnic Malinke community and Diallo's from the Fulani people.
A second round of voting, if needed, is scheduled for November 24.
As coronavirus cases spike in the east India state of West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court has restricted visitors' access to shrines during an important Hindu festival this month. The court is denying visitors entry to Durga Puja pandals, the temporary shrines set up to venerate the goddess Durga during the festival that runs from Oct. 22-26. The annual Durga […]
In summary Tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanors would have their DNA stored. District attorneys disagree about whether it would help solve violent crimes. DNA evidence — a speckle of spit or a drop of blood — can exonerate a suspect or help put them behind bars. Now California voters are being asked […]
The post Prop. 20: Should California’s DNA bank expand to shoplifters, opioid offenders? appeared first on Black Voice News.
Guinea's electoral body has called opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo's self-proclaimed victory in the first round of a presidential election \"void\".
“Despite the serious anomalies that marred the smooth running of the … election and in view of the results that came out of the ballot boxes, I am victorious in this election in the first round,” Diallo told supporters on Monday, a day after the vote was held.
Diallo's supporters chanted \"Cellou, president\". But elsewhere in the city, joyous celebrations by supporters devolved into clashes with security forces.
Diallo, 68, is the main challenger to Guinea’s 82-year-old incumbent President Alpha Conde, who is seeking a controversial third term after he pushed through constitutional reforms in March.
The move sparked mass protests and subsequent crackdowns, which killed dozens of people.
But Mamadi Kaba, a spokesman of Guinea electoral commission said on Monday: \"I would therefore like to reassure the people of Guinea who voted yesterday in peace, without violence, that no provisional results have been proclaimed for the time being.
\"The Independent National Electoral Commission is the only institution empowered to proclaim provisional results.\"
Although Sunday, the day of the vote, was mostly calm, Diallo's self-proclaimed election victory has set the stage for a showdown with Conde.
The government insists the vote was fair and that the official electoral authority must declare the results.
Conde's RPG party said in a statement Monday that it condemned \"with the utmost firmness the irresponsible and dangerous declaration\" by Diallo.
It called for its activists to remain calm.
ZIMBABWE has never been the same after March 30, 2020. Ever since then, the country has been in a lockdown and normal life in a constitutional democracy has been severely pared in the name of combating the global COVID-19 pandemic. STIR THE POT: PAIDAMOYO MUZULU The pandemic has been a godsend intervention for leaders with an autocratic inclination across the world. They did not take time to impose strict lockdown measures, restriction of rights and, in some instances, imposed martial law. Zimbabwe was no exception to this league of autocrats, notwithstanding the fact that two years earlier, in November 2017, it had experienced a coup that promised the flourishing of democracy. It was a coup that was well-choreographed for both the international and domestic audiences. It was a televised revolution or better still a social media phenomenon. There was no time to think for most, they just soaked in the moment. A moment for many in the opposition had planned for nearly two decades — to see the late former President Robert Mugabe’s departure from politics. For the majority, it was a question of change, but no one knew what that change meant. They wanted Mugabe to go. Zimbabwe experienced two worst military-backed crackdowns on protests since independence in 1980. The first one was on August 1, 2018 and January 15, 2019, apart from Gukurahindi. The security forces that killed protestors in cold blood are yet to face justice despite the Kgalema Motlanthe commission recommendations that they be brought to book. The flowers of the phony-revolution had wilted within seven months of the coup, making a joke of the statement that there was a new dispensation in the country. Opposition supporters had experienced firsthand the brutal excesses of the regime, either through abductions, torture or political persecution in the courts. Political parties could not hold rallies. They could not, and still can not petition or demonstrate against the government during the lockdown period. The opposition has been denied political oxygen and metaphorically dying slowly, gasping once in a while on social media but the damage has been done. At a political level, Zanu PF has been energising its base through Pfumvudza. It is meeting its supporters under the guise of an agricultural support scheme, yet the opposition in urban areas has been denied the same opportunity, worse still, after the lockdown affected the informal sector. Informal trading has changed and most likely for good as less than a quarter of the traders who were operating before lockdown might return to business after restrictions are removed. The anger in urban communities is palpable but it is not harnessed or directed at real issues. It has lacked leadership to marshall it into one giant wave and hence the ripples that we see once in a while that are quickly snuffed out. Zanu PF behaviour is targeted at self-preservation than building democracy. Even with a two-thirds majority in Parliament it is afraid to hold, long overdue by-elections. The by-elections have the potential of
By JESSIE WARDARSKI and PETER ORSI Associated Press As remote schooling surged during the pandemic, parents across the country realized that many kids didn't have desks at home. So they got busy building, collecting and donating them, giving hundreds or thousands of students workspaces to call their own and helping them get through long days of virtual learning. For Mitch Couch in the Central California town of Lemoore, inspiration struck when his 16-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son kept taking over the kitchen table for their remote lessons. He made desks for them, and thought: Why not provide others' children with […]
The post A desk of their own to ease remote learning for kids in need appeared first on Black News Channel.
Alice Nkom broke barriers for women by becoming the first female barrister in her country of Cameroon. She is also well known among Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) activists worldwide because of her legal advocacy for gay rights.
Nkom was born in 1945 in Poutkak, Cameroon in West Africa to Martin Nkom Bayi and Alice Ngo Bikang. She was one of eleven children. Nkom pursued higher education in France at the University of Toulouse (1963-1964) and completed her studies at the Federal University of Cameroon (1968). In 1969 at the age of 24 she became Cameroon’s first female attorney. Throughout her law career Nkom has defended low income and vulnerable people, including political prisoners, street children and women. Since 1976, she has been a stakeholder in one of the most prestigious law firms in Cameroon. After seven years of marriage, Nkom went through a divorce in 1979. She has two children, Charles and Stephane, and eight grandchildren.
The year 2003 was pivotal for Nkom. As a delegate from Cameroon, she visited Portland, Oregon as a participant in the World Affairs Council’s International Visitor Program sponsored by the U.S State Department. She returned to Portland in 2011 as a distinguished alumnus of that program. Her experiences in Oregon opened her eyes to the power of participatory democracy, community organizing and youth involvement in politics. Back home she engaged young people and women in voter registration. This work continues.
In 2003 in an effort to provide support and legal defense to LGBTQ persons in Cameroon, Nkom founded the nonprofit Association for the Defence of Homosexuals (ADEFHO). No other group does this pro bono advocacy work in her country or the rest of Western Africa. In Cameroon, engaging in same-gender sexual acts can lead to fines and imprisonment. Many of the people are arrested on rumor.
By 2011, Nkom had participated in 50 trials of LGBTQ people and facilitated the release of an additional 50 clients without trials. That same year the European Union
Several hours after the expiration of an ultimatum issued by the Government of National Accord (GNA), for the Libyan National Army (LNA), to withdraw from the City of Tarhouna, 90 km South East of Tripoli, all is now set for the great assault.
After two previous failed attempts by the GNA to capture the city, the United Nations backed forces are now set for another battle, \"Driving the forces of General Khalifa Haftar out of the town of Tarhouna, South East of the capital, could end Libya's civil war, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha told Reuters on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 by phone.
For their part, the GNA forces announced that they had destroyed several military vehicles and captured 15 LNA combatants.
According to the GNA information service, 15 Russian planes carrying military equipment landed at Bani Walid airport.
On the LNA side it is reported that at least 8 Turkish military aircraft also transported military equipment to Misrata Airport.
