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An alleged attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the capital city of the North Darfur province, el-Fasher, has killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens more.
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
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HAVANA, (Reuters) - As Latin American nations test experimental coronavirus vaccines from across the globe and economic heavyweights such as Brazil and Mexico jockey for supply deals with major drugmakers, Communist-run Cuba already has two of its own vaccines in clinical trials.
The article Cuba leads race for Latin American coronavirus vaccine appeared first on Stabroek News.
The premiere of 'Grey’s Anatomy’s' 17th season was dedicated to frontline healthcare workers and featured a surprise return.
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.
Over 500 million dollars is likely to be pledged Thursday for a device to ensure that all countries have equitable access to covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
That's according to organizers of the Paris Peace Forum at the Elysee palace Thursday.
Several world leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, Senegalese Macky Sall and Canada's Justin Trudeau are attending the two day event which ends Friday.
The leaders called for universal access to future covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Macron said \"We will not win against the virus by abandoning a part of humanity.\"
He recalled the launch of the \"ACT Accelerator\" with the WHO, the G20 and NGO’s such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the international Covax vaccine procurement and distribution system.
\"But how can we be sure that everyone is playing the game, that there will be no stowaway behavior and that enough doses will be produced for the poorest countries, who need them the most? Otherwise it would further reinforce inequalities\", the French president queried.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also agreed.\"The international community must ensure that fair and equitable access will be guaranteed to provide everyone with a vaccine,\" he said.
Senegalese President Macky Sall also spoke of a \"necessary solidarity between states\" in the face of \" a common pandemic\".
Other international leaders, such as Secretary General of the Francophonie, Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo, have also supported this willingness to make the vaccine a common good.
\"As the race for the Covid-19 vaccine continues, I join the call to make it a global public good, accessible to all, without any restrictions,\" she said.
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand place South Africans as the third-largest group of migrants to the country for the year ending September 2020.
20 people died following a shipwreck off the Libyan coast, Doctors without Borders said Thursday. The incident occurred just hours after at least 74 migrants also died in a similar incident.
\"Two days ago, our boat set off to Italy from a site near al-Khums, at about nine o'clock at night. And yesterday, at two thirty in the morning our boat broke down and many people died at sea'', Mukhtar Salem Mohammed, Ghanaian migrant said.
Traumatized survivors sat in shock on the shore while others wrapped closely under blankets as aid workers distributed food parcels.
\"When we arrived on site, we found the corpses of 31 migrants on the shore of the beach. We also found 47 survivors, all of them African nationals, including even women and children\", an Immigration official at the Ministry of Interior for the Government of National Accord, Mukhtar Salem Mohammed said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said so far this year, over 900 people have drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe. More than 11,000 others have been returned to Libya, it added, \"putting them at risk of facing human rights violations\".
Human traffickers have taken advantage of persistent violence in Libya since the overthrow of leader Muammar Gadhafi, turning the country into a key corridor for migrants fleeing war and poverty in desperate attempts to reach Europe.
While many have drowned at sea, thousands have been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard and returned to Libya. The Libya Coastguard has been backed by Italy and the EU. The migrants mostly end up in detention and often in horrific conditions.
South Africa will look to put behind the setbacks that marred their preparations for the Afcon 2021 qualifer against Sao Tome on Friday.
On Election Day, activist Cori Bush, who was once beaten and tear-gassed by police while participating in protests in Ferguson,... View Article
The post Missouri Rep-elect Cori Bush wears Breonna Taylor mask to Congress, GOP colleagues think it's her name appeared first on TheGrio.
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.
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.
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.
Joe Biden should recognize that the results of the election do not confer a mandate to veer too far from the political center.
AFRICAN lithium developer, Prospect Resources (Prospect) has secured long lead equipment items, giving it a leeway to commence the pilot plant project at its Arcadia Lithium Mine (Arcadia) to produce high-purity petalite and spodumene samples. BY MTHANDAZO NYONI In a statement yesterday, the Australia Stock Exchange-listed firm said the plant would initially produce bulk samples of 500 tonnes of petalite and 120t of spodumene concentrates for customer qualification. It will also de-risk the flotation process by operating the optimised flowsheet; supply bulk samples of high purity products to customers in the technical and chemical markets and obtain product qualification and maximise market demand for Arcadia’s products. The plant will supply samples to Uranium One Group for their product validation purposes and their continuing due diligence on Prospect and the Arcadia Lithium Mine. Prospect managing director Sam Hosack said their key focus was to operate a pilot plant to replicate the Arcadia flowsheet to produce high purity petalite and spodumene. “The pilot plant delivers a number of key objectives for customers, project finance parties and investors in de-risking the Arcadia project. It is a major milestone that we have secured the long-lead purchases,” he said. “Prospect has unique geology at Arcadia allowing for production of high purity products that attract premium pricing from both the technical and chemical market. The flotation process, together with the Arcadia project, offers an attractive solution for customers seeking long term, high quality and consistent supply,” he added. Hosack said the samples would be used for qualification processes with current customers, adding that they would approach additional customers and grow market demand for Arcadia’s high purity products. The company said the design of the pilot plant was based on flotation test work done by a firm called Anzaplan and scaled up to a pilot plant size by the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy using proven flotation technology solutions. It said front-end engineering and design (FEED) will be undertaken using information gathered from the pilot plant. This will determine the phasing, scale of growth and nominal capacity of the Arcadia project. The strategy for the phasing of development will be clarified with the capital expenditure estimates from FEED. “The main risk to achieving this schedule is the delivery of the long lead items that drive the critical path and are able to delay the commissioning. The key long lead items are the flotation cells, which have now been secured by (a) leading flotation cell supplier, mitigating that risk,” Prospect said.
ZIMBABWEANS mainly in urban areas are relying on second-hand undergarments smuggled into the country and sold at flea markets across the country as economic hardships continue to take a toll on the population. BY RICHARD MUPONDE This was revealed in an audit report by the Auditor-General Mildred Chiri which monitored the quality of goods imported in the country by the Industry and Commerce ministry between 2013 and 17. According to the report, hard-hit Zimbabweans have resorted to buying second-hand undergarments and clothes being smuggled into the country. Flea markets selling second-hand undergarments and clothes have sprouted in major towns and cities. In her report, Chiri said the Industry and Commerce ministry was not adequately monitoring the smuggling of substandard goods, leading to the proliferation of the second-hand undergarments and clothes which is having a negative bearing on the clothing industry in the country. “Audit also noted that second-hand clothes and undergarments were being smuggled into the country and sold at designated flea markets such as Mupedzanhamo in Mbare (Harare) and Chinotimba Flea Market in Victoria Falls. My visit to Mbare revealed that there were 10 warehouses which were packed to capacity with bales of second-hand clothing,” part of the report read. “In Mutare and Bulawayo, second-hand undergarments were being sold on the streets, despite the ban on the importation of second-hand undergarments through Statutory Instrument 150 of 2011.” She also said there was rampant smuggling of goods along the borderlines, entry points and through transit fraud due to lack of monitoring. “Smuggling syndicates have mushroomed at Zimbabwe’s busiest ports of entry and along the borderlines after government’s enactment of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 (repealed by SI 122 of 2017), Statutory Instrument 19 of 2016, Statutory 150 of 2011 which imposed restrictions on imports of basic commodities, second-hand clothes and banning of undergarments,” she said. Chiri, however, noted that in an effort to control the influx of cheaper products which was directly affecting local producers, the Industry and Commerce ministry introduced SI 64 (repealed by SI 122 of 2017). “According to the inspector responsible for anti-smuggling monitoring at Beitbridge Border Post, the introduction of SI 64 necessitated the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee on border management. The role of the inter-ministerial committee is to facilitate identification, prosecution of smuggling offenders and to enable intelligence and security surveillance. The committee is made up of Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe National Army, Mineral Border Control Unit, President’s Office and Zimra [Zimbabwe Revenue Authority],” she said.
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.
[New Times] France's return to total lockdown has forced Paris Saint-Germain to again delay opening its football academy in Rwanda.
THE ability of Zimbabwean families to take care of children has been compromised by a collapsing economy, compounded by COVID-19. BY GUEST COLUMNIST: GETRUDE DADIRAI GWENZI About 4,3 million people in rural communities, including children, are food insecure this year. The World Food Programme indicates that at least 60% of the population of Zimbabwe needs food aid. The Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation in Zimbabwe has estimated that over 20 000 children have turned to vending as a means of survival since the COVID-19 lockdown. According to reports, child vendors in the City of Bulawayo are mostly selling fruit and vegetables. And in the capital, Harare, they sell a variety of goods from vegetables to used clothes and shoes. The phenomenon of child vendors in Zimbabwe has been topical for some time. But the situation appears to be worsening. There are no statistics about how much income vendors make due to the informal nature of this business and a lack of centralised co-ordination of their activities. Nevertheless, it’s clear that poverty is the reason children are on the streets. But in their efforts to help their families, they are exposed to risks such as exploitation, abuse and missing school. The situation calls for critical conversation about the capacity of families to protect and care for their children and the role of the social protection policy in the country. A national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children has been in place since 2004. The policy guides the provision of care for these children. My prior experience and observations as a social researcher suggest that the plan isn’t being put to practice. Firstly, there is no clear definition of what the term “orphans and vulnerable children” means, especially in the current economic climate and increasing vulnerability of children in the country. There is a danger that children will fall through the cracks and go unnoticed without any government support. Secondly, there is a lack of good data. The actual number of children at risk is not known due to a dearth of research on child deprivation and government response in Zimbabwe. Thirdly, government interventions aren’t reaching those in need. The government’s national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children is meant to be overseen by a multi-sectoral committee to mobilise resources. Under it poor households were to receive grants varying from US$10 (one-person household) to US$25 (four-person household) per month (paid bimonthly) through a cash transfer. The funds for this come from the Child Protection Fund. The first phase of the plan was between 2005-2010 and the second phase between 2011-2015. The evaluations of these two phases showed several gaps in service provision and targeting of orphans and vulnerable children in the country. By 2017 only 23 000 beneficiaries in eight districts had received the cash transfers. However, the number of families in need way surpasses the number that received assistance. According to social policy experts, the unconditional s
For months now, soon-to-be-Former President Donald Trump has called into question the democratic process that lies at the heart of our representative democracy. He has been joined in this scurrilous attack on the nation's electoral process by fellow Republican lawmakers who seem to be more loyal to him than to the nation. In deciding the […]
The post The Republic Under Assault appeared first on The Orlando Advocate.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and Huron-Clinton Metroparks announced recently that a multi-year, pilot partnership that focuses on widening access to new programs and recreation for city and suburban families, to use the world-class parks, greenways, and public spaces managed by the two organizations, according to a press release. Through the partnership, Metroparks will create a … Continued
The post The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Huron-Clinton Metroparks Announce Partnership; Widening Access to New Programs and Recreation for City, Suburban Families appeared first on The Michigan Chronicle.
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.
ADRIAN MARIAPPA,the experienced Jamaica defender, has signed for high-flying Championship side Bristol City, which ends...
The post Reggae Boy Mariappa set to have a ball with Bristol City appeared first on Voice Online.
BY LORRAINE MUROMO The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has condemned the brutal murder of four children in Chivhu by their biological mother following a dispute. On Wednesday, 29-year-old Emelda Marazani slit her four children’s throats and set the family house on fire following a dispute with her husband over infidelity. She attempted to commit suicide after callously killing her daughters aged nine, five, three and one. In a statement, ZGC chairperson for social, cultural and religious issues, Sibongile Mauye, said: “We are saddened by the sad loss of innocent children who are victims of potential marital conflict between the mother of the children and the father,” Mauye said. “We condemn criminal behaviour exhibited by the mother of the children and we are concerned that she took an option to murder innocent children for reasons still unknown. “We implore families to resolve marital disputes in amicable ways recognising that both traditional and legal means of recourse are available.” She added: “As Gender Commission, we stand for equal rights for men women and children. “We are bound by the Bill of Rights; we therefore condemn the brutal killing of innocent children by their biological mother.” Shamwari YeMwanasikana research, advocacy and communications co-ordinator Louis Tatswareyi encouraged couples to resolve disputes amicably. “We feel saddened by the loss of innocent lives as a result of failure by the couple to resolve their infidelity issues. Since the beginning of the lockdown, such cases of murder due to infidelity have been on the increase. It is sad that the killings happened as we approach the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence,” he said. “We continue urging men and women to find amicable ways to solve their issues and most importantly, leave children out of their problems. The parents should be havens of safety for their children no matter what the circumstance should be.”
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 […]
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The United Nations has called for urgent measures to protect civilians in northeastern Mozambique, who have fallen victim to an Islamist rebellion.
The jihadists attacked villages and killed several people in the Cabo Delgado province this week.
Rupert Colville is spokesman for the UN Human rights High Commissioner. He says the situation is now desperate.
\"The situation is desperate both for those trapped in conflict-affected areas, with barely any means of surviving, and for those displaced across the province and beyond. Those who remain have been left deprived of basic necessities and are at risk of being killed, sexually assaulted, abused, kidnapped, or forcibly recruited by armed groups\", Colville said.
The killing of civilians and clashes with security forces in various parts of Cabo Delgado province, have increased in recent weeks.
The UN sees the human rights situation \"increasingly alarming\".
Dozens of people are reported to have died and hundreds forced to flee their homes, the High Commissioner's office said.
According to the United Nations, over 350,000 people have been displaced due to violence in the region in the last three years.
It also said since October 16, more than 14,000 people have fled by sea. At least one boat has capsized, which is estimated to have killed about 40 people, including children. The Office of the High Commissioner fears that thousands more people are trapped in the conflict zones, many hiding for days.
The UN is also calling on Mozambican authorities to throw light on accusations of human rights violations against their security forces in recent years, including extrajudicial executions and ill-treatment.
Traditionally, beauty pageants and polarizing topics like politics and social justice are said to mix poorly. But, due to social unrest and a swell of protests, the Miss Universe Organization has taken a stand in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst told Insider she is proud to stand with the organization in supporting the movement and the Black community. In the early stages of her career, Kryst said she didn’t think discussing issues important to her identity as a Black woman would be welcomed on the pageant stage. "I had never dreamed of a time when an organization as large as this, in pageantry, would be posting on its official channels that Black lives matter," she said. "As soon as I saw that post go up on our Instagram pages, I was like, 'Wow. How cool, not just that I'm a pageant fan and a woman in society that I get to see this, but also that I'm one of the titleholders who gets to continue pushing this message.'"
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
