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PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has been dragged to court by one of the families of the trapped miners in Esigodini, Matabeleland South which is demanding that the mine collapse be declared a disaster to allow for rescue efforts. By NQOBANI NDLOVU Six artisanal miners Nkosilathi Ndlovu (29), Christopher Dube (23), Ndumiso Dube (19), Blessed Ncube (24), Nduduzo Ntini (28) and another only identified as Mlilo have been trapped underground since November 10 when flash floods triggered the collapse of their mine shaft. Government, has however, abandoned rescue efforts saying the mission was too risky following advice given by chief government mining engineer Michael Munodawafa, dashing hopes of any rescue efforts. Munodawafa also noted that it would take over a year of continuous work before any success was achieved as the area “is characterised by friable ground, loose rock material and debris posing the danger for further collapse.” In an urgent chamber application filed at the Bulawayo High Court on Monday, Patience Ncube, mother to one of the trapped miners Nkosilathi, appealed for an order directing Mnangagwa and government agencies to implement an emergency rescue operation. “That the 5th respondent declares Matshetshe Mine collapse a disaster within the meaning of section 27 of the Civil Protection Unit Act. “That the provincial civil protection officer Matabeleland South province must within 48 hours of this order direct the 4th respondent within his area to prepare an emergency plan for the rescue/evacuation of the trapped miners or their bodies,” the application filed on behalf of the family by its lawyers Mathonsi Ncube Law Chambers, read in part. Mine owner Sakhile Ndlovu, Umzingwane Rural District Council, Provincial Co-ordinator for Matabeleland South province, Local Government ministry (Civil Protection Unit), Mines and Mining Development ministry and Mnangagwa are cited as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th respondents, respectively. “That such emergency plan, referred to in 1, be compiled and submitted to the provincial civil protection officer, Matabeleland South within 24 hours of his direction. “Implementation of the emergency plan must begin, subject to the availability of resources, within 48 hours of such submission to the provincial civil protection officer, Matabeleland South.” According to the family, the miners or their bodies have to be retrieved to enable them to find closure. “One of the mothers of my sons’ fellow co-workers has actually developed a psychological illness and is currently admitted at Ingutsheni mental hospital as a result of this accident. “It is, therefore, important for us as families to find closure in this issue and possibly be allowed to do traditional family rites,” the application read. The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development recently visited the mine on a fact-finding mission to establish what transpired and to come up with recommendations on how to deal with the situation.
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
Dr. Anthony Fauci sat with Dr. Wayne Frederick, president of Howard University, and Ambrose Lane Jr. on behalf of the... View Article
The post Fauci: Time for Black community 'to put skepticism aside' about vaccine appeared first on TheGrio.
by Sherri Kolade President-elect Joe Biden plans to have retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be secretary of defense, according to three officials in the know with the decision. If confirmed, Austin would be the firstBlack Pentagon chief, according to aWashington Post story. Austin, 67, grew to become a four-star general in the Army … Continued
The post Biden to name retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as Defense Secretary appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.
Ben Stokes' father Ged Stokes, a New Zealand rugby league international, has died after a battle with brain cancer.
Police were deployed in DR Congo's parliament on Tuesday on the second day of clashes sparked by a crisis between Tshisekedi and supporters of his predecessor Joseph Kabila.
At least three people were hurt as rival groups, including lawmakers, brawled and hurled objects before police restored order.
The violence between the two sides started after Tshisekedi said on Sunday he planned to form a new coalition in order to push through reforms.
He warned he might be forced to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections.
Meanwhile, a petition was filed on Tuesday for the resignation of the president of the National Assembly and Kabila supporter, Jeanine Mabunda, and other members.
The session was mainly attended by deputies who support President Tshisekedi, it was attended by 279 of the 500 lawmakers, said Mboso N'kodia Mpwanga, who chaired the session.
No roll call was made and Mabunda was not present.
The petitions will be considered in a plenary session on Thursday.
Kabila's supporters, the Common Front for the Congo (FCC), which holds more than 300 out of the 500 seats in the National Assembly, accused Tshisekedi of breaching the constitution.
After pro-Tshisekedi lawmakers on Monday trashed the assembly's podium, the plenary room was closed, even though legislators on both sides had called for a legislative session.
The tensions have sparked international alarm, reviving memories of the Democratic Republic of Congo's long record of volatility.
The African Union called on the country's leaders to \"work resolutely and sincerely for national harmony and to preserve peace and stability\".
To receive the latest information about DCPS and policies related to COVID-19 for the 2020-21 academic term, go to DCPSReopenStrong.com to read a family FAQ, explore learning at home schedules by grade, and review health and safety commitments.
Before the 1920s, there was no general agreement on how long humans had been in the Americas. Many historians believed that humans had been in the region for only about 4,000 years but thanks to a game-changing discovery in 1908 by Black cowboy George McJunkin, scholars were able to place mankind in North America almost...
The post The overlooked Black cowboy whose discovery changed the field of archaeology appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
Hubs in the UK are starting the rollout by vaccinating the over-80s and some health and care staff.
While the CDC said there should be enough doses for as many as 20 million people to receive vaccination by the end of December, health officials expect a much larger supply in the coming months. Still, with a justified distrust of unproven vaccines, and a perceived limited participation by African Americans in clinical the trials that lead to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, many question whether African Americans will accept vaccination.
[African Arguments] Political violence in Zimbabwe is systematic and gendered. Gendered notions of conquest aimed at keeping women out of politics and intimidating political opponents malign the comprehensive rights - including women's rights to participate in politics - in Zimbabwe's constitution. Indeed, Zimbabwe's ruling party is the prime agent of their destruction.
The SAPS CFO, who was responsible for the Secret Service Account (SSA), was convicted of corruption valued at over R200 000.
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert appeared to lose a tooth during a press conference Tuesday. The fiery representative was having... View Article
The post Rep. Gohmert appears to lose tooth during viral speech appeared first on TheGrio.
… only 42 percent of African Americans are willing to be … progressed in the body.
African American Memphian Derrick Jones isn’t … to gaining the trust of Black Americans.
“Showing the community that … study, 71 percent of Black Americans either know somebody who’s …
She becomes the first Black woman in the role.
FireEye, one of the largest cybersecurity companies in the US, said on Tuesday that foreign government hackers with “world-class capabilities” broke into its network and stole tools it uses to test the defenses of its thousands of customers, who include federal, state and local governments and major global corporations. The hackers “primarily sought information related to certain government customers”, said FireEye’s CEO, Kevin Mandia, in a statement, without naming them. He said there was no indication the hackers got customer information from the company’s consulting or incident-response businesses or threat intelligence data it collects. “I’ve concluded we are witnessing an attack by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities,” Mandia said, deeming it “different from the tens of thousands of incidents we have responded to throughout the years”. The hack of FireEye, a company with an array of business contracts across the national security space in the US and among its allies, is among the most significant breaches in recent memory. “I do think what we know of the operation is consistent with a Russian state actor,” said the former NSA hacker Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec. “Whether or not customer data was accessed, it’s still a big win for Russia.” The FireEye breach was disclosed in a blogpost authored by Mandia. The post said “red team tools” were stolen as part of a highly sophisticated operation. It is not clear exactly when the hack initially took place. Beyond the tool theft, the hackers also appeared to be interested in a subset of FireEye customers: government agencies. “We hope that by sharing the details of our investigation, the entire community will be better equipped to fight and defeat cyber-attacks,” Mandia wrote. The company itself has partnered in recent weeks with different software makers to share defensive measures. There is no evidence yet that FireEye’s hacking tools have been used or that client data was exfiltrated. But the investigation, which includes help from the FBI and Microsoft, is in its early phases. “This incident demonstrates why the security industry must work together to defend against and respond to threats posed by well-funded adversaries using novel and sophisticated attack techniques,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stolen computer espionage kit targets a myriad of different vulnerabilities in popular software products. It is not yet clear exactly which systems may be affected. But Mandia wrote that none of the red team tools exploited so-called “zero day vulnerabilities”, meaning the relevant flaws should already be public. Experts say it can be difficult to measure the impact of a hacking tool leak which focuses on known software vulnerabilities. When a private company becomes aware of a vulnerability in their software product, they often try to offer a “patch” or upgrade that nullifies the issue. Yet users do not always download these patches quickly, leaving themselves exposed for month