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The popularity of whitening creams in Cameroon has led to growing cases of skin damage
Abiy's government and the regional one run by the Tigray People's Liberation Front each consider the other illegitimate.
\t There was no immediate word from the three AU envoys, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano and former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe. AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo did not say whether they can meet with TPLF leaders, something Abiy's office has rejected.
\"``Not possible,'' senior Ethiopian official Redwan Hussein said in a message to the AP. ``\"Above all, TPLF leadership is still at large.'' He called reports that the TPLF had appointed an envoy to discuss an immediate cease-fire with the international community ``masquerading.''
\t Fighting reportedly remained well outside the Tigray capital of Mekele, a densely populated city of a half-million people who have been warned by the Ethiopian government that they will be shown ``no mercy'' if they don't distance themselves from the region's leaders.
\t Tigray has been almost entirely cut off from the outside world since Nov. 4, when Abiy announced a military offensive in response to a TPLF attack on a federal army base.
That makes it difficult to verify claims about the fighting, but humanitarians have said at least hundreds of people have been killed.
\t The fighting threatens to destabilize Ethiopia, which has been described as the linchpin of the strategic Horn of Africa.
\t With transport links cut, food and other supplies are running out in Tigray, home to 6 million people, and the United Nations has asked for immediate and unimpeded access for aid.
AP
The ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was a complete repudiation of President Trump’s effort to halt Pennsylvania’s certification process. Mr. Trump committed to leave the White House in January if the electors vote, as expected, for President-elect Joe Biden on Dec. 14.
The Ethiopian army has blocked one of the main roads leading to its border with Sudan, preventing Ethiopians fleeing the war in Tigray from reaching the neighboring country, according to refugees who arrived Thursday at the Lugdi border crossing in eastern Sudan.
\"The Ethiopian army has cut the road leading to the Sudanese border at the locality of Humera (20 km from the border) and those seeking to reach Sudan must avoid the main road and pass through the fields without being seen by soldiers,\" Tesfai Burhano, who had just arrived in Lugdi, told AFP.
On Thursday, the border post was empty and no Ethiopian soldiers were visible. An AFP reporter saw about ten refugees crossing the border while he was there.
The number of Ethiopian refugees fleeing to Sudan has dropped significantly over the past week, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). On Wednesday, the UN agency counted 718 arrivals, compared to 3,813 on November 21.
Communications are cut in Tigray, making it difficult to verify some claims.
A Sudanese security official confirmed the drop in refugee arrivals to AFP, without giving any explanation.
Aid given to 'liberated areas'
The United Nations on Thursday said Tigray region was experiencing 'critical shortages' of food, fuel, and cash.
But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said on Thursday that the federal government had begun distributing food and other relief items in areas controlled by the national army.
“This humanitarian assistance will now be further reinforced with the opening of a humanitarian access route to be managed under the auspices of the Ministry of Peace”, said a statement from Abiy's office.
According to the UNHCR, 42,651 refugees have arrived in Sudan since the start of the deadly conflict in Tigray, 70% of them via Hamdayit, in the Sudanese province of Kassala, the rest via Gadarif.
Battle for Mekelle
Reports said heavy battles raged Thursday for control of Mekelle, capital of Tigray state. Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's governing had reportedly mobilized and armed thousands of men.
The Tigray region of northern Ethiopia has been the scene of fierce fighting since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation there on November 4, accusing leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front of seeking to destabilize the federal government and of attacking two Ethiopian military bases in the region, which the Tigrayan authorities deny.
AFP
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 27 November 2020: Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of rainfall in Africa yet over two-thirds of rhe population are struggling to access safe, clean drinikng water, especially in the dry season. In the capital - Freetown, many rely on water being sold in jerry cans through a bowser service…
Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudan's last democratically elected prime minister and leader of the country's largest political party, has died of COVID-19 in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates, his party said. He was 84.
\t Al-Mahdi was taken to Abu Dhabi for treatment in early November and died on Thursday. His body was expected to arrive in Sudan for burial Friday morning, the National Ummah Party tweeted.
\t Al-Mahdi was overthrown in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup that brought longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir to power. Nearly three decades later, Al-Mahdi's party allied with a pro-democracy uprising in Sudan that led the military to overthrow al-Bashir in April 2019.
\t Sudan has since been ruled by a transitional military-civilian government. Elections could possibly be held in late 2022.
\t Al-Mahdi was one of the staunchest opponents of Sudan's recent normalization of ties with Israel, which he dismissed as ``an apartheid state'' because of its ill-treatment of the Palestinians. He also accused U.S. President Donald Trump of being racist against Muslims and Black people.
\t Sudan's government declared three days of national mourning starting Thursday. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the country's ruling sovereign council, tweeted that the Sudanese people ``lost a part of their history.''
\t The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which spearheaded last year's uprising against al-Bashir, mourned al-Mahdi as ``an inspiring leader.''
\t Al-Mahdi was born in December 1935 in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman. He was the grandson of Mohammad Ahmad al-Mahdi, a religious leader whose movement waged a successful war against Egyptian-Ottoman rule in Sudan in the second half of the nineteenth century.
\t Al-Mahdi served as prime minister in 1966-67 before a group of military officers led by Jaafar al-Nimeiri took power.
\t The veteran politician was jailed several times and forced into self-exile for years. He served as prime minister for a second time from 1986-89.
[Oil in Uganda] Unsurprisingly, yet emphatically, the launch of the Citizens Manifesto on Petroleum and Mining provided a platform for stakeholders to amplify voices of concern and frustration from resources-rich communities.
There haven't been many things for businesses to smile about since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. From big-box retailers to main street mom & pops to the hospitality industry, it's been just three seasons but the impacts have felt like a decade. Finding ways to sustain & adapt have been the primary goal of every business across the board, and sometimes that means finding a silver lining in unexpected places. According to a recent article by the LA Times, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-24/motels-coronavirus-design, Corona may be providing an opportunity to a segment…
The post Beaufort's Iconic City Loft Hotel Finds Itself in a Coronavirus 'Sweet Spot' appeared first on The Atlanta Inquirer.
On November 6, after a speech by Donald Trump in which he baselessly claimed the 2020US presidential election was fraudulent, ABC journalist Leigh Sales critici...
President Donald Trump got snippy with a reporter who was pressing him on claims about whether he'd be conceding to... View Article
The post Trump snaps on reporter: 'Don't ever talk to the president that way' appeared first on TheGrio.
Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title, has died at 60. Maradona died two weeks after being released from a Buenos Aires hospital following brain surgery.
The office of Argentina’s president has decreed three days of national mourning to honor their hero
Speaking before Maradona's death, director Asif Kapadia, Maradona's biographer and lifelong fitness coach share stories about the player
\"He's just, he's a star. You know he's got real charisma. There are people like him, real people like him, who I think are the people that should be on the big screen. You know, (Ayrton) Senna had it. Amy (Winehouse) had it. There like, they've got something. People want to be close to them. Maradona's got it in droves, you know? So yeah, absolutely that idea that he deserves to be on a bigger screen in the world, you know, and to be seen by people and to be celebrated for the amazing things that he did, but also to kind of understand - I hope - why he's done some of the stuff he's done, some of the mistakes that he's made and hopefully have a bit more empathy for him,\" Asif Kapadia said.
Despite being a football legend, Maradona also adored a few leaders around the world. One of them was the famous Cuban president Fidel Castro. In 1987 Maradona together with a few friend made a maiden trip to visit the then embattled Cuban president. Fernando Signorini was among the friends.
\"I can't believe it now, but in 1987 he included me in the people who could accompany him to go and visit Fidel Castro. And I was part of this delegation and we went and we spent six hours talking with him all night long until the morning and I can still remember that he is the one who taught him how to play with a ball until the morning,\" Signorini said.
Despite his popularity, Maradona was embroiled in numerous scandals. In 1991 he was snared in his first doping scandal when he admitted to a cocaine habit that haunted him until he retired in 1997, at 37.
Hospitalized near death in 2000 and again in ’04 for heart problems blamed on cocaine
The Moroccan judiciary confirmed the life imprisonment sentences handed to Sahrawi activists found guilty of killing eleven members of Morocco's armed forces in 2010 in Western Sahara, a lawyer said Thursday.
\"The Court of Cassation rejected Wednesday all appeals of the defense. This is the final decision\" for the 23 Sahrawis, convicted for the deadly clashes in 2010 in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, Mohamed Fadel Leili told AFP.
The had been convicted by a military court in 2013, with sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment.
But after protests from human rights organizations and relatives of the convicted, and following judicial reform, the case was moved to a civilian court, which handed down sentences ranging from two years to life in 2017.
The clashes erupted on November 8, 2010, when Moroccan forces deployed to evict a camp, south of the city of Laayoune, the largest in Western Sahara, where some 15,000 Sahrawis had settled to protest their living conditions.
The operation quickwere killed and several dozen wounded.
Some of the unarmed victims had had their throats cut or their bodies soiled, according to security forces videos that shocked public opinion.
Morocco and the Polisario Front, Western Sahara's independence movement accused each other of provoking the clashes.
The decision of the Court of Cassation comes amidst high tensions in Western Sahara, where Morocco and the Polisario Front have been engaged in intermittent clashes since November 13, after 30 years of a ceasefire ovserseen by the United Nations.
(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two years after the murder of popular Brazilian councilwoman Marielle Franco, her partner Monica Benicio has also won a council seat and vowed to fight for justice and LGBT+ rights.
The article Widow of murdered LGBT+ politician in Brazil vows to combat hate with election win appeared first on Stabroek News.
[The Point] Citizens of 15 African countries including the Gambia will have to post bonds of up to $15,000 (£11,000) to visit the U.S., according to a new temporary travel rule which comes into effect on 24 December.
WARRIORS stars Tinotenda Kadewere and Marshall Munetsi, the only Zimbabweans playing in the French Ligue 1, meet for the first time on Sunday when their two sides clash in a league match. BY FORTUNE MBELE Kadewere only joined Olympique Lyonnais from second-tier side Le Havre in January and has since established himself, while Munetsi joined Stade de Reims last year and in May, extended his stay by four years. The Warriors gunslinger is Lyon’s man of the moment, whose exploits have taken the club to position three on the league table, while Munetsi’s Stade de Reims are struggling, sitting on position 17 ahead of the Sunday clash at the Park Olympique Lyonnais. Odds favour Lyon, who have gone eight games without tasting a defeat, picking four wins and four draws in which Kadewere has scored his four goals. He was single-handedly in charge of Lyon’s last two wins, netting a brace in the 2-1 win over St Ettiene and the solitary goal against Angers SCO. Kadewere has received rave reviews from ligue1.com ahead of the Sunday tie against Reims as he closes in on Lyon’s leading scorer Memphis Depay, who is on five goals. “Memphis Depay has Tino Kadewere hot on his heels in the goalscoring stakes as Olympique Lyonnais get set to welcome Stade de Reims. It was Kadewere who proved the difference between Lyon and Angers SCO on Sunday, through the Zimbabwean’s second-half strike, his fourth goal in five games, leaving him just one behind the Dutchman, and his side just two points away from Lille and four from Paris Saint Germain (PSG),” ligue1.com said. According to ligue1.com, Depay and Moussa Dembélé have been linked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona and Lyon’s attack is poised to revolve around Kadewere in the future. Munetsi, a defensive midfielder, who last November managed to contain Brazilian star Neymar Jnr when his side beat PSG 1-0, has the task of making sure his menacing compatriot Kadewere and Depay are kept at bay. Lyon will have to contend with Reims’ Senegalese forward Boulaye Dia, who has banged in eight goals this far, one short of the league’s leading scorer, PSG and France’s star Kylian Mbappé. Munetsi, a regular at Reims, missed the 2-0 defeat to PSG in September after he received his marching orders in the previous 2-1 loss to Metz. He has played all the succeeding five matches, cautioned last week in the 1-0 defeat to Nîmes and in the 2-2 draw against Rennes, substituted in the big 4-0 demolition of Montpellier.
At least 40 miners in Zimbabwe are trapped underground after a shaft in a disused gold mine collapsed, the country's miners' federation said Thursday.
The incident occurred late Wednesday in the town of Bindura, around 70 kilometres north of the capital Harare, said Wellington Takavarasha, head of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation.
Takavarasha told AFP the miners were working inside the disused Ran Gold Mine when a shaft caved in.
Six miners have since been pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital.
\"Those who were rescued said there were about 40 people in the mine shaft at the time of the incident,\" said Takavarasha, adding that rescue efforts were ongoing.
Mining is a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe, where gold alone accounts for 60 percent of exports.
The landlocked southern African country is home to vast gold and mineral reserves, including diamonds and platinum.
The gold sector provides jobs to nearly 10 percent of the country's population, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Small-scale miners often operate illegally to avoid selling their bullion to the state-owned buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, as they are paid only 55 percent in foreign currency.
The remaining 45 percent is paid in Zimbabwean dollars, which is notorious for its weakness.
Accidents are relatively common in decommissioned mines, particularly when the ground is loosened by rain.
Local entertainment promoters and night clubs would do well to take note of the decision by the administration of Prime Minister Andrew Holness in Jamaica which is widely regarded as the entertainment capital of the Caribbean, to keep in place an existing ban on such public events during the Christmas season.
The article Jamaica turns down promoters’ lobby for Christmas ‘bashments’ appeared first on Stabroek News.
Batteries Not Included: Balenciaga To Reveal Its Fall/Winter 2021 Collection With A New Video Game
There's been an outpouring of tributes and grief from the world of football after news broke that Diego Maradona died at the age of 60.
Nigerian football players, coaches and officials give their thoughts following the death of Argentinian football icon.
\"Diego is an icon, he's a legend. He lives football and football lives him. He represents football and also football represents him. When you hear his name, it's synonymous with football, and he's one of - if not the most - colorful, the greatest player we’ve seen on the planet, \" expressed Adam Mohammed Mouktar, Chairman of the Football Association of the Federal Capital Territory.
Some say his skills were extraordinary, his every move leaves football lovers transfixed.
\"If you look across the pages of our newspapers today apart from the internet, you will see that most of the papers led with the death of Maradona. That is to show you the power of football and the power of somebody that was devoted, \" said Segun Ogunjimi, sports journalist.
The 60-year-old battled a series of health and addiction problems before his untimely passing in Buenos Aires.
He tragically passed away on the same day as Manchester United legend George Best.
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is urging operators of private labs to be reasonable in what they charge to conduct antigen testing for COVID-19.The health ministry on Monday started a month-long pilot of antigen testing for the novel coronavirus at nine public health facilities islandwide, and on Wednesday Tufton told journalists that private labs will begin offering the tests shortly.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AFP) - Cash-strapped Latin American governments face severe geographical, economic and social challenges in trying to ensure life-saving COVID-19 vaccines are made available to vulnerable populations, experts say.
Madagascar has affirmed its decision not to participate in the Covax global initiative for the access to Covid-19 vaccine once they have been approved and licensed.
The government spokesperson confirmed the island will resort to its traditions concoction that its own scientist discovered earlier this year to stem out the virus.
He further said that they were waiting to see the effectiveness of the vaccine first in the countries that will first use it.
The tonic, based on the plant Artemisia annua which has anti-malarial properties, was not proven by the World Health Organization but had put it on sale to several African countries.
Vaccines in Madagascar have never been popular among the general population. The island in 2018 was among the last four countries in the world registering polio cases from its stance on vaccines.
By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and NICK PERRY Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand said Thursday it transferred three Iranians involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot back to Tehran, as Iran released an Australian academic who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges. While Thai officials declined to call it a swap and Iran referred to the men as 'economic activists,' the arrangement freed academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert and saw the three men linked to a wider bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats return home to a hero's welcome. The bombers wore Iranian flags draped over their shoulders, their faces […]
The post Thailand approved transfer of 3 Iranians as Australian freed appeared first on Black News Channel.
Speaking shortly after the electoral commission's announcement, Kabore offered an olive branch to the opposition, which has criticized re-election as flawed.
\"I will deploy all my efforts so that through continuous consultation, through dialogue... we can work together for peace and development,\" he said at his party's headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou.
\"We are all Burkinabe, seeking to build a better Burkina Faso together,\" he said.
\"It is a victory... we do have joy in our hearts, but there is also a major responsibility - that of being the president of all Burkinabe, without exception.\"
Preliminary results on Thursday showed Kabore winning nearly 58% of the vote.
Opponents Eddie Komboigo, head of the Congress for Democracy and Progress, received 15 percent, and the other main challenger, Zephirin Diabre, from the Progress and Change Party, who lost to Kabore in 2015, garnered approximately 12 percent.
Kabore has come under fire for what critics say has been a lackluster response to a five-year-old militant insurgency that has rolled in from Mali.
Despite his record, he was the favorite in what commentators said was one of the country's most open elections in years.
By winning an overall majority in the first round he avoids a runoff vote in which he would have had to stand against a single candidate backed by a united opposition.
President Donald Trump finally confirmed Thursday that he will vacate the White House in January after weeks of plunging America into a dark period of uncertainty—where the fate of democracy sometimes seemed to be hanging by a thread—but he largely ignored the mounting challenges his successor is facing as he exits.
