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Ahead of the BRICS summit of emerging economies taking place in Russia, the South African Minister of International Relations hailed ties with China. Ronald Lamola described the relationship between the two nations as based on mutual trust. The BRICS summit will be running until October 24th.
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.
By Shelby Bremer, NBC Rep. Lauren Underwood, a freshman Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Jim Oberweis to win a second term in Illinois' 14th Congressional District, NBC News projects. 'I am honored to be reelected to represent Illinois' beautiful 14th District in Congress. This was a tough race under some very difficult circumstances, and I want […]
President Cyril Ramaphosa found the racial polarisation that characterised the protests in Senekal and Brackenfell High School \"deeply disturbing\".
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Three of the Trump’s appointees, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch are viewed as more likely than their colleagues to support the now lame-duck President’s long-stated desire to kill Obamacare. “Severability is designed to say, well, would Congress still want the statute to stand even with the provision gone?” […]
The post Supreme Court Scheduled to Hear Arguments That Will Determine the Fate of the Affordable Care Act appeared first on The Orlando Advocate.
By BRIAN MELLEY and AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A month ago, Antonio Gomez III was a healthy 46-year-old struggling like so many others to balance work and parenting during the coronavirus pandemic. This week, he's struggling to breathe after a three-week bout with the virus. Gomez said he let down his guard to see his parents and contracted one of the nearly 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California. For months, the virus has hammered the economy, disproportionately affected the poor and upended daily life — and now the state and the rest of the […]
The post Unwelcome milestone: California nears million COVID-19 cases appeared first on Black News Channel.
ORGANISERS of the annual international literature festival, LitFest Harare said this year’s edition would celebrate the resilience of artistes during the COVID-19 pandemic. BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO The festival, which will run from November 25 to 28 under the theme, Art Longa, Vita Brevis — Art is Long, Life is Short will be partially streamed online. “The onset of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns saw many arts and culture practitioners losing revenue streams, sources of livelihood or even loved ones,” Festival director Chirikure Chirikure told NewsDay Life & Style. “Through all this, most artistes showed great resilience and continued to move forward, adapting and daring to keep creating works of artistic expression. We have to salute that resilience,” he said Chirikure said the COVID-19 pandemic had a lot of ripple effects in households and societies around the globe. “In particular, gender-based violence cases reportedly increased since the COVID-19-induced lockdown and as such, the festival will focus on issues related to violence and peace transformation,” he said. “Art, and literature in particular, have to contribute to the dialogue around social challenges and their effect. The ability to stay firm under difficult conditions and to interrogate such challenges, are the stamina that keep us going.” Chirikure said the passion and purpose to create works was noble because art would live forever, and help shape the future. “The LitFest Harare festival will feature discussions, readings, recitations and performances by various local and international participants. Details of sessions and participants will be announced in due course,” he said. The LitFest Harare festival celebrates literature, arts and culture by bringing together authors, artists, academics, students and the public to share knowledge, collaborate, as well as showcase and enjoy talent. Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
CARACAS, (Reuters) - Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and the head of the South American country’s state oil company, PDVSA, arrived in Russia to “deepen strategic alliances,” Venezuela’s information ministry said yesterday.
The article Venezuela VP, PDVSA chief travel to Russia to ‘deepen ties’ appeared first on Stabroek News.
As Black people disproportionately suffer from Covid-19, there are lingering questions about the distribution process that will determine who gets the coronavirus vaccine first.
Analysis - Disputed elections in the Ivory Coast and Guinea, violence in Nigeria: many West Africans hope for foreign support, but the European Union has kept itself at a distance. Publicly, at least.
Watch BET UK on Sky 173, Virgin 184 Freesat 140
On the wall of a residential street in Charlton, south London, Louis Masai puts the finishing touches to a striking large-scale mural of an Orangutan.
Following in the footsteps of a Banksy, the British artist chooses to express himself directly on the walls, here to denounce endangered species and participate in public debate.
\"I think it’s imperative that artists are a bit more diligent about the fact that they have a position in society where we can impose new thought processes. At the moment we’re preoccupied with one factor, one story (ed: the coronavirus pandemic) but there’s so many other things going on.\" Masai says.
The British artist, known for his signature patchwork style, travels around the United Kingdom to paint colourful murals of animal species in decline or on the brink of extinction, to issue a warning about the devastating effects of climate change and biodiversity collapse.
This is an opportunity for a much wider sort of conversation to be had that people need to live more in harmony with nature and allow nature to thrive Masai explains.
\"And anybody who’s lived in London or visited London and seen the rivers (ed: the Thames) knows that there’s quite a lot of pollution happening. So it’s really important that these rivers are kept clean and maintained.\" he adds.
According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there are currently 23,250 species listed as threatened. This means: critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.
This means: critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Adding extinct and extinct in the wild species the figure is 24,153.
It’s widely predicted that as many as two-thirds of all species could be near extinction by the end of this century. But, some are now rising in population due to increasing concern about the extinction crisis.
Co-ordinated conservation efforts include the protection of natural habitats and prevention of destructive practices such as illegal hunting.
Toshao of Kwebanna Paul Pierre yesterday said that the community hasn’t recorded a single coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case during the past few days noting that this is largely due to the lockdown that was imposed on the community more than two weeks ago.
The article No new COVID-19 cases reported at Kwebanna in recent days – toshao appeared first on Stabroek News.
The year two thousand and twenty has been an ongoing saga of life-altering events. Many of the adorned, traditional celebrations, trips, and gatherings were canceled, rescheduled, or modified for the safety of humankind. As the holiday season approaches, COVID-19 restrictions have once again forced us to make drastic changes to holiday family gatherings, but there … Continued
The post The Upside of Downsizing Your Holiday Season appeared first on Chicago Defender.
Taking Up Arms
A military operation has been launched by Morocco in the buffer zone of Guerguerat near Mauritania, as announced Friday.
The North African nation also denounced \"the provocations of the Polisario\" in Western Sahara — once a colony of Spain with a still undefined status. Classified as a \"non-autonomous territory\" by the United Nations (UN).
The aim of the ongoing operation is to \"put an end to the blockade situation\" and \"restore free civil and commercial movement\" on the road leading to Mauritania — whose existence is denounced by the Sahrawi independence fighters and which Rabat considers essential for its trade with sub-Saharan Africa.
For about three weeks, local sources claim militias of some 70 armed men have been \"attacking truckers, banning traffic and racketeering.\"
All this in spite of UN settlement efforts — as the organisation-led negotiations involving Morocco, the Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania have been suspended for several months.
Polisario in response has stated its Sahrawi troops will retaliate in self-defence in light of what it perceives as Morocco being \"aggressive\" and liquidating the 1991 cease-fire.
Background
The region of Guerguerat has already been at the centre of strong tensions between the Polisario and Morocco, particularly in early 2017. Morocco controls more than two-thirds of this vast desert territory in its western part, along the Atlantic Ocean and has seen friction for decades with the pro-independence Polisario Front supported by Algeria.
Ghana’s former President Jerry John Rawlings has died in Accra Thursday morning, local media reports.
He is said to have passed on at the nation’s premier hospital, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Jerry Rawlings had been on admission at the hospital for about a week for an undisclosed ailment.
Local online news portal, Graphic Online reports that Mr. Rawlings felt sick after his mother's burial about three weeks ago.
As a former Ghanaian military leader and subsequent politician, Rawlings led a military junta from 1981 until 1992.
He then served two terms as the democratically elected President of Ghana from January 1993 to January 2001.
The late former president initially came to power as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup in 1979.
Before this, he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government in 1979, just five weeks before scheduled democratic elections were due to take place.
After initially handing power over to a civilian government, he took back control of the country on December 31, 1981 as the Chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC).
In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and became the first President of the 4th Republic.
He was re-elected in 1996 for four more years. Rawlings was 73.
BELIZE CITY, (Reuters) - Belize resoundingly voted to elect opposition leader Johnny Briceno to replace longtime Prime Minister Dean Barrow in Wednesday’s general election as the Central American nation seeks to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The article Belize elects opposition leader to succeed retiring prime minister appeared first on Stabroek News.
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.”
[Nation] More than 10 clubs in the Coast have been shut down for flouting the Ministry of Health guidelines that seek to combat the spread of Covid-19.
