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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has announced a $5 million reward for the capture of three M23 rebel leaders, including former electoral chief Corneille Nangaa, military commander Sultani Makenga, and political leader Bertrand Bisimwa. The trio was sentenced to death in absentia.
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
As it seeks to ensure that a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine can be properly stored here at the required temperatures, Ministry of Health (MoH) has invited bids for the construction of a cold storage bond at Kingston.
“There are a number of [COVID-19] vaccines now that will become available….
The article Ministry invites bids for construction of COVID vaccine cold storage bond appeared first on Stabroek News.
At the Martyrs' School near Tripoli, teachers and parents are using the limited means at hand to repair buildings devastated by a year-long battle for the Libyan capital.
Some of the walls have been repainted, furniture has been installed and ageing computer screens dusted off. But the roofs and other walls, pockmarked by gunfire and mortar blasts, remain grim reminders of the recent fighting.
\"We didn't want to sit and wait for help,\" said Najah al-Kabir, a teaching coordinator in a patterned jallaba gown and a hijab.
She is taking part in a refurbishment campaign launched by staff and joined by enthusiastic parents of students from the surrounding Ain Zara district.
\"We're one family,\" Kabir said, standing in the playground of the primary school, damaged by weeks of artillery fire.
\"This school was our second home.\"
When eastern Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), Ain Zara found itself on the front line.
The fighting degenerated into a long battle of attrition on the outskirts of Tripoli and lasted until June this year, when pro-GNA forces ended the stalemate by pushing Haftar's forces back eastwards.
By the time the fighting ended, the school had been reduced to \"ruins\", Kabir said.
\"It needed to be rebuilt quickly,\" she added.
'A terrible state'
The UN children's agency UNICEF warned earlier this year that \"attacks against schools and the threat of violence have led to (school) closures and left almost 200,000 children out of the classroom\".
The Martyrs' School is one of around 100 schools fully or partly destroyed during the offensive by Haftar, backed by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Pro-GNA armed groups, whose counter-offensive was spurred by Turkey, used some schools to stock arms or as observation posts.
By the end of the fighting, the Martyrs' School was \"in a terrible state\", said headteacher Saleh al-Badri.
The establishment caters for 1,500 students in an area three kilometres from the next school, making it \"important to reopen it as soon as possible,\" he said.
Mahmoud Abdelkhalek, who lives nearby and sends his three sons to the school, was keen to get involved.
\"It seemed important that everyone get involved to fix it,\" he said. \"A collective effort has brought it back to life.\"
The mayor of Denver apologized for flying to Mississippi to join his family for Thanksgiving after publicly calling for others not to travel amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
(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.
With only 18 active novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases remaining in St.
The article St. Cuthbert’s lockdown ends today appeared first on Stabroek News.
The United States recorded 110,611 new coronavirus cases on Thanksgiving Day — the 24th consecutive day that toll has reached six figures as the country continues to outpace the rest of the world amid the worsening pandemic.
By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government spokesman on Thursday announced a weeklong extension to the country's current lockdown, due to the continued spread of the coronavirus, particularly in the north of the country. Stelios Petas said the lockdown, which was due to end on Nov. 30, would be extended to the morning of Dec. 7. 'The decision is necessary as the epidemiological load continues to be high,' Petsas said. 'In particular in some areas it is a source of concern.' The announcement came amid a 24-hour strike by civil servants on a variety of demands, […]
The post Greece extends coronavirus lockdown by a week appeared first on Black News Channel.
French police officers involved in the b rutal beating of a black man over the weekend have been suspended.
Footage of the incident, showing officers repeatedly punching the music producer was posted to a news website Thursday, igniting widespread condemnation.
According to French police reports , the man identified by his first name Michel, drew the attention of the police because he was not wearing a mask in the 17th district of the French capital on Saturday.
\"Without this video, I wouldn't be here before you today and maybe, without this video, you might be putting out the same story with the headline 'A young man assaulted,' well I'm no longer so young, I'm complimenting myself, but a young man assaulted police officers, tried to take their weapons, hit them, everything I've heard\", Michel said.
French Interior Gérald Darmanin said he asked for the suspension of the officers concerned as a precautionary measure. The four police officers are now being heard in custody by the IGPN , the body investigating police officer's behaviour.
The incidents comes as President Emmanuel Macron pushes a new bill to criminalize filming police officers in a way that would put them in danger.
DESPERATE Bulawayo residents have resorted to harvesting rain water as the city’s supply dams are yet to receive significant inflows from the current intermittent downpours. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) chairperson Ambrose Sibindi said the rains had come as relief to the residents who were finding it difficult to source water due to the water crisis being experienced in the second city. “Most residents were fighting for water at boreholes and council bowsers and also other unsafe sources that they had to dig for themselves,” Sibindi said. “For the past three days, we have been receiving good rains. There are no longer queues at boreholes.” He added: “People are harvesting rain water and utilise it for different purposes. Some are even boiling it for drinking and if rains continue, this will be a huge relief to the residents.” Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairman Winos Dube weighed in: “I pray this again could mark a good turn to learning how to harvest and reserve water. Hard times sometimes bring best lessons, which I hope Bulawayo residents have learnt from.” Human rights activist Effie Ncube said it was not surprising that residents were surviving on rain water as it was the only readily available source in the city. “The city council has failed to provide clean and reliable water because of a number of factors, including that the dams are empty. It is a pity because the shortage of water has increased water-borne diseases in Bulawayo,” Ncube said.
… L. Fudge of Ohio, an African-American Democrat from Ohio.
Mr. Clyburn … owes a special debt to African-American voters, and that he wants …
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has commenced the pilot of antigen testing for the coronavirus (COVID-19) at nine public health facilities islandwide.\tThe month-long exercise, which got under way on Monday, is being conducted at the Kingston...
By Associated Press undefined FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Republicans have picked up their 11th seat overall in the U.S. House and the third seat in California, as Republican David Valadao reclaimed the seat he lost in the farm belt two years ago. The former congressman defeated Democratic Rep. TJ Cox, who ousted Valadao in the 21st Congressional District two years ago by 862 votes. Valadao endorsed President Donald Trump after withholding his backing in 2016 — a risk in a swing district the president lost by 15 points four years ago. But he also stressed his independence, criticizing the Trump […]
The post Former House Republican flips central California seat appeared first on Black News Channel.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura said COVID-19 cases in the province are stable for now but disaster may loom early next year.
Ten-year-old Samarwat Tkhal fled fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region this month -- now she sells food to survive, among tens of thousands of fellow refugees building a new life in neighbouring Sudan.
Tkhal, wearing a red T-shirt and yellow trousers, wanders the dusty streets of \"Village Eight\", a transit point just across the border into Sudan that has rapidly swelled into the size of a small town.
It is the first stop for many of the Ethiopians fleeing their homeland.
Tkhal holds up a box of chocolate cakes, as she shyly approaches potential customers.
\"My father gives me a box of 50 cakes every morning that I sell,\" she said. \"I work from morning to night.\"
Over 43,000 refugees have crossed into Sudan since fighting broke out in Tigray on November 4, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday, as he visited Sudanese camps crammed with those fleeing the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
While praising Sudan for upholding its \"traditional hospitality to people in need\", Grandi warned that the host country also \"urgently requires international assistance to support its efforts.\"
- Heavy fighting -
Hundreds have been killed in fighting between the federal government of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and dissident forces of the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
On Friday, Abiy is due to meet African Union envoys to discuss the worsening conflict, after he ordered the army to launch a final offensive against Tigrayan forces.
But while conflict rages at home, many of the refugees in Sudan are already eking out a living in their new surrounds.
Taray Burhano, 32, walks the streets selling cigarettes -- one-by-one, not by the pack.
\"I'm not making a fortune,\" said Burhano, who, like many, escaped with only what he could carry for the hard trek across the baking hot bush.
\"But at least I don't sit around and think about what happened to us.\"
Once a sleepy settlement, Village Eight is now a busy centre.
- Entrepreneurs -
Chekhi Barra, 27, sits on the ground waiting for clients.
\"Until a solution to the fighting is found, something has to be done,\" he said, adding that while aid is trickling in, people need more than what is provided.
Barra fled with his wife and son from their home in the town of Mai-Kadara, where Ethiopia's rights watchdog this week said at least 600 civilians were massacred.
Using the little cash he took with him, Barra invested in a box of 100 bars of soap, a basic necessity that he knows will generate a profit when sold individually.
\"I sell them for twice as much as I bought them,\" he said.
Despite losing their homes and businesses, the new Ethiopian arrivals to Sudan are not wasting their time.
Sylvia Tahai immediately resumed her work -- selling coffee.
\"As soon as I arrived, I went to buy coffee, cups, sugar and a coffee-maker\", the 23-year-old said, as customers crowded around her traditional Ethiopian flask brewing on a charcoal brazier.
Buhano Amha, 28, has built a stall where he sells tomat
An Iranian scientist named by Israel as the leader of the Islamic Republic's disbanded military nuclear program was killed Friday... View Article
The post Iran scientist linked to military nuclear program killed appeared first on TheGrio.
ZIMBABWE’s leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as President on November 24, 2017 to replace Robert Mugabe who was deposed through a military coup. November 24 marked exactly three years since the assumption of Mnangagwa as the President of Zimbabwe. The unfortunate events of November 2017 will forever be remembered as the time that Zimbabwe kissed “democracy” goodbye, with the military apparatchiks taking control in the running of the central government. While a majority of Zimbabweans wanted Mugabe to go, we became blind, and we wanted him to go by any means necessary, at the same time allowing the opportunistic Mnangagwa and his generals to hijack the people’s emotions and modelled the whole operation as a “peoples revolution”. To some, seeing the back of Mugabe signalled a “new dawn”, some called it “independence day”, while the architects of the coup coined it a “new dispensation,” a desperate tact to sanitise the unconstitutional removal of a sitting Head of State. A majority of coups in Africa have failed to produce democratic dispensations, ours was not an exception, examples being Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Djibouti, the Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Sudan and Chad. It was clear from the onset that Operation Restore Legacy had nothing to do with the revival of the economy, ending corruption, political reforms to move Zimbabwe into a democratic order were the rule of law is respected with citizens enjoying civil liberties. In his article, Jonathan Moyo referred to seven key demands made by the military on November 16, 2017 to Mugabe through the then Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantino Chiwenga, to justify Operation Restore Legacy. Where we so naive not to read through Chiwenga's speech to understand that the military had stepped into the internal affairs of a political party? Instead, we jubilated and in our different corners showering praises to the military which was busy violating the Constitution of the land. That is the very day that our political consciousness vanished into thin air. We were too desperate, too excited, we suspended logic and indeed it was a celebration of half time oranges before the trophy. We are in a fix and have no one to blame except ourselves as Mnangagwa and his henchmen are now in firm control of the levers of power. From the day they got into power they have been using every instrument available to close the democratic space, arrests, abductions and disappearances are now the order of the day. The new dispensation appears to be on a warpath aimed at muzzling opposition. The Constitution has literally been suspended with statutory instruments being used to maintain Zanu PF hold on power. Parliament has since been made a joke, with recalls and swearing-in of losing candidates in the 2018 elections. What a shame! The proposed amendments to the Constitution are a calculated attempt to impose a one-party State system of governance in Zimbabwe and the citizens must be alert and defend the constitution. The Judiciary is now heavily compromised, passing bi
