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Dear Editor,
Prime Minister (PM) of Antigua and Barbuda, the honourable Gaston Browne, has set a standard of excellence that should be emulated by all the leaders in the Caribbean and further afield.
The article PM Browne seized the opportunity appeared first on Stabroek News.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
By JILL COLVIN, ERIC TUCKER and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Advocates and lawyers anticipate a flurry of clemency action from President Donald Trump in the coming weeks that could test the limits of presidential pardon power. Trump is said to be considering a slew of pardons and commutations before he leaves office, including potentially members of his family, former aides and even himself. While it is not unusual for presidents to sign controversial pardons on their way out the door, Trump has made clear that he has no qualms about intervening in the cases of friends and […]
The post Trump expected to flex pardon powers on way out door appeared first on Black News Channel.
While on my journey to Blue Ridge Restaurant and Cottage, I got a bit fatigued driving on the serpentine road to get there. As I approached a community square, I saw a shop on the right. With the midday sun beaming through the window of the vehicle...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell as the nation celebrated Thanksgiving last week to a still-high 712,000, the latest sign that the U.S. economy and job market remain under stress from the intensified viral outbreak. Thursday's report from the Labor Department said that initial claims for jobless aid dropped […]
Growing Food Insecurity Threatens West Africa
With these words, experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Food Crisis Prevention Network and Sahel Club sounded the alarm on Thursday. It is estimated that more than 16 million people have been facing a situation of acute food crisis in West Africa and the Sahel since October,
And the already dire situation could get even worse in West Africa as unless swift action is taken, up to 24 million people could go hungry between June and August 2021, one of the most difficult periods to obtain food just before harvest season begins in the fields.
The Problematic Presence of Islamist Terrorism
There is a lack of resources, mainly due to challenges of insecurity which have gradually grown more complicated to overcome in affected nations. In Nigeria alone, where Islamist extremists have been wreaking havoc in the north of the country, the number of people threatened by hunger could reach 13 million, i.e. half of the total West African population.
In the Sahel, four million refugees displaced as a result of jihadist terrorist attacks are also at risk of food insecurity.
In spite of the diverse efforts of various governments and their international allies, the next six months could be catastrophic for millions of people.
Bolder implementation of economic reform announcements is needed to lift confidence in South Africa's economy, writes Natale Labia.
Even as the world awaits the deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine, Africa’s chances at getting a shot remains remote in the short term according to experts.
That, coupled with the need to cushion health systems across the continent from being overwhelmed is the other reason for the deployment of a clinical trial named, ANTICOV – the largest trial targeting mild to moderate cases of the virus.
Why the need for targeted trial According to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, DNDi, ANTICOV’s main goal “is to identify treatments that prevent mild cases from progressing to severe forms of the disease - and thus prevent local health systems from being overwhelmed.”
“Treating mild cases is key in Africa because ICU capacity is not as strong as may be in other developed nations,” a a DNDi statement issued on November 24 stressed. The initiative is working with other partners on this project.
“We welcome the ANTICOV trial led by African doctors because it will help answer one of our most pressing questions: with limited intensive care facilities in Africa, can we treat people for COVID-19 earlier and stop our hospitals from being overwhelmed?” John Nkengasong, head of the African Union’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said of the trial.
Role of hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine will be one of the drugs to be studied initially, because there are no large multi- country studies yet about efficacy of the drug for mild cases. HCQ remains the standard of care for COVID in 16 African countries, so this trial will provide key evidence to inform health policies and national guidelines.
One of the key trials that is known to be undertaken in Africa is the World Health Organization, WHO’s solidarity trials but it focuses on severe cases whiles ANTICOV will look more at mild cases with the view to nip the possible transit into severity.
Thirteen countries sign up
Thirteen countries across the continent have signed up for the trial. The majority of these countries are in West Africa; Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. East African countries include, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya.
Central Africa has three countries participating – Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mozambique is the sole southern African country to sign up for the trial.
The clinical trial will be carried out at 19 sites continent wide by the ANTICOV consortium, which includes 26 prominent African and global research and development (R&D) organizations, coordinated by DNDi.
Africa’s case load as of December 2, 2020 according to Africa CDC
Number of cases = 2,196,257
Number of deaths = 52,490
Number of recoveries = 1,862,685
Number of active cases = 386,062
Most impacted country = South Africa; 790,004 cases
Least impacted country = Seychelles; 172 cases
Funding for the trial
Major funding for the ANTICOV consortium is provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through KfW and by the global health agency Unitaid a
[Unicef] New York -- Primero, an innovative online and offline application, empowers social workers to help more children
Former presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton will take the coronavirus vaccine due to more than 50% of Americans saying that they would not be taking it
As I sit here in prison, in the pit of unfathomable misery, I contemplate the need to speak and write about what is and has been going on as the “routine business” of unfettered police brutality in the poverty-stricken communities of color. These actions are not based primarily on so-called law and order but rather […]
The post Causes of Police Brutality Misdiagnosed first appeared on Post News Group.
UNITED KINGDOM-BASED Zimbabwean Afro-pop artiste Tapfuma Charles “Charlie Kay” Katedza said his music was a mirror image of his life experiences as he pays tribute to his mother in a song titled Amai for her role in shaping his musical career. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO Charlie Kay’s musical journey began at the tender age of five when his mother enrolled him at the Zimbabwe College of Music where his love for music was nurtured resulting in him becoming the musician he is today. Having attended the University of Westminster studying Music Production and Music Business, Charlie acquired skills and knowledge to help him pursue his first love, music and take it to greater heights. He is a full package, a multi-talented pianist, songwriter, producer and audio engineer. The new offering Amai, is a track of gratitude and love in which Charlie Kay gives praise and appreciation to his mother for making him the man he is today, though the track also makes one reflect since it reminds one to do the same for their mother. The song, that comes on the backdrop of another successful track Kumusha which saw him dominating local radio chats, is a well-crafted and a striking piece of art straight from the heart dedicated to all the mothers. In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style yesterday, Charlie Kay said his mother had been the pillar of strength for him in realising his dream. “Above and beyond the measure of time lays a rare and priceless jewel, a love so deep in the form of a being called mother. From the first birth cries, those arms cradled and shielded me from harm's way. They educated me, nurtured me and realised my passion for music from an early stage which she cultivated and encouraged,” he said. “The power of unconditional love, every step, curve, success and failure, my mother has been my pillar of strength. She is the sole reason I have realised my dream and continue to make magic in all sectors of life.” Meanwhile, Charlie Kay said his desire was to use music to tell the Zimbabwean story on the international scene. “I am exporting my music to the international scene via my Zimbabwean and African people. There is so much that the world doesn’t know about us and I hope to play my part in being a voice for Zimbabwe and Africa through my music,” he said. After the release of his debut single called Vimbai about three years ago, Charlie Kay mastered the art of captivating his audience by letting them indulge in and savour his music. He has done several collaborations with local artistes, including songstresses Gemma Griffiths, Tamy Moyo and Ammara Brown as well as Nutty O, EX Q and Nox Guni. In the UK he worked with urban artistes Donchez who was a Britain’s Got Talent finalist and JE who had his works published on LinkUp TV and Grime Daily. Apart from producing most of his songs, Charlie Kay has also worked with various artistes as a producer and as a qualified mixing and mastering engineer he has to date two silver plaques on two albums as a recording and mixing engineer. Charlie Kay has continued to grow as an artiste and
By Brooke Glasford
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a plethora of issues; much like an invitation to a friend who ends up bringing five others instead being the only one present as was intended.
The article How UK-based Guyanese Tahamene Cuffy-Linton transformed her COVID-19 furlough into thriving business here appeared first on Stabroek News.
José A. Álvarez | County of San Diego Communications Office Due to the increasing number of cases and hospitalizations, County health officials continue to urge San Diegans to follow the recommended guidance to prevent getting and spreading the novel coronavirus. Over the past seven days, the region has averaged more than 1,300 COVID-19 cases each […]
The post COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rapidly Rising As County Waits for Vaccine appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
IN a tragic incident that left Mutoko residents shocked, a 20-year-old A-Level student died on the spot after she was struck by a bolt of lightning while on her way from writing an examination. by JAIROS SAUNYAMA The body of Constance Machemedze, a student at Mutoko Central High School was found charred after the strike. It was taken to Mutoko District Hospital for post-mortem. Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident and urged the public to exercise caution during this rain season. “Members of the public must always take precautionary measures as stated by the Meteorological Department to avoid such disasters,” he said. It is reported that on December 2, at around 1:30pm, the A-Level student was in Chinzanga Primary School soccer ground on her way home from Mutoko Central High School where she had sat for her examinations. Upon realising that Machemedze had fallen to the ground and was motionless, a villager who witnessed the incident went to the scene and discovered that she had severe burns on her right side. A report was made at ZRP Mutoko whose officers attended the scene and rushed her to hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. In a related matter, nine-year-old girl, Fortunate Chifamba of Wedza died after she was struck by a bolt of lightning while seated in a hut in the company of her parents. On December 1, the deceased and her parents were in a kitchen hut while it was raining before a bolt of lightning struck, lifted the juvenile up before throwing her outside where she died on the spot. The hut immediately caught fire and the parents were assisted to escape by a fellow villager. They discovered the lifeless body of the juvenile. A report was made at Wedza Police Station which despatched officers to the scene. The body was taken to St Mary’s Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.
[The Conversation Africa] Takeaways
GENEVA, Switzerland - A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found that monthly wages fell or grew more slowly in the first six months of 2020, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in two-thirds of countries for which official data was available, and that the crisis is likely to inflict massive downward pressure on wages in the near future.
Since our local 'public' school system (MPS) is foregoing student testing during the pandemic, I thought I'd fill the void by posing civics question that will assist students in understanding how government works, and for whom: Why is the state teacher's union lobbying Governor Tony Evers to close private and charter schools offering in-person education, […]
The post Teachers’ unions wanting to close private schools doesn’t mean they have the safety and health of poor Black children in mind! appeared first on Milwaukee Community Journal.
Stephen Oduntan, Staff Activists from Black Lives Matter- Los Angeles and other groups chanted and banged drums outside Mayor Eric Garcetti’s home Thursday to protest the Mayor’s potential cabinet position to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The demonstration marked the 10th day in a row, the protesters have gathered outside Garcetti’s residence in Windsor Square marching […]
By Demetrius Dillard Special to the AFRO Steelers’ defense prevails once again as Ravens lose third straight The Dec. 2 faceoff between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers was historical, under the rarest circumstances, and was the highlight of a strange week in the NFL this season. To add to an already challenging year, […]
The post Tough week for Ravens: Steelers loss, COVID infections appeared first on Afro.
Hundreds of medics protest in Tunisia on Friday following the death of a young doctor in a hospital elevator in the Jendouba region of the country’s northwest.
Badreddedine Aloui, 26, plunged to his death on Thursday down an elevator shaft after the lift doors opened but with no elevator in place, witnesses said.
\"He was only 26 years old, he had his whole future ahead of him. Today, he and his family have been deprived of a bright future, why? Because we live in a system that doesn't try to improve, that does not try to make things work, to not have too many problems, and in the end we don't fix, we don't repair. In the end the accident happens, and there are deaths\", said Dr. Zakaria Bouguerra.
The elevator, in a hospital in the marginalized Jendouba region, had allegedly remained in service despite a long-reported fault.
Hundreds of medics including doctors, health workers and medical students gathered in front of the health ministry in the capital Tunis, demanding the health minister and other officials be sacked.
The hospital has been visited by two government ministers over the past months, including Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi in October.
A similar protest was also held in the eastern port city of Sfax.
Local media reported that Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has ordered a state funeral for the late surgeon to be buried in his native Kasserine, in western Tunisia on Friday.
Tunisians have also taken to social media to denounce what they say are dysfunctional public services, particularly in the health sector, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
States drafted plans Thursday for who will go to the front of the line when the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available later this month, as U.S. deaths from the outbreak eclipsed 3,100 in a single day, obliterating the record set last spring. With initial supplies of the vaccine certain to be limited, governors […]
The post States plan for vaccines as daily US virus deaths top 3,100 appeared first on DefenderNetwork.com.
… fueled by new buyers, including African-Americans as the fastest growing demographic …
A TREATMENT and support centre for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) has been launched in Bindura First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has called for a multi-sectoral response in the fight against GBV. BY PHYLLIS MBANJE Speaking during the launch of the treatment and support centre, Mnangagwa acknowledged that individual efforts would not yield much in the face of the rising social scourge. “Gender-based violence requires multi-sectoral stakeholders to respond with various services that complete the package for essential services,” the First Lady said, adding that GBV requires specialised services. Also known as a “one-stop centre” where services will be provided under one roof, the centre is located at Bindura General Hospital and was conveniently launched to coincide with the commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against GBV. United Nations Population Fund Zimbabwe country representative, Esther Muia said violence against women and girls had increased since the beginning of March with the COVID-19 crisis creating a “shadow pandemic” of GBV. “As we are officially opening this one-stop centre, we are grateful to the European Union’s Spotlight Initiative for allowing us to expand access to services for survivors at our time of greatest need as a country,” she said. GBV remains a huge problem in the country with at least one in every three women aged 15 and 49 having experienced physical violence since the age of 15 while 27% of women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. The European Union ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen said: “One-stop centres are essential assets in the fight against GBV because they ensure that survivors have access to all the necessary services in one location, provided by appropriately trained and sensitive personnel.” Olkonnen called on the government and other stakeholders to dedicate more resources to tackling this scourge. Women Affairs minister Sithembiso Nyoni said the one-stop centre model was one of the promising models for GBV response which had been implemented since 2009. The theme for this year’s commemorations of the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV is: End Gender Based Violence: Fund, Respond, Prevent and Collect.
ZANU PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa (pictured) yesterday took praise-singing to a new level, describing President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the country’s own Mbuya Nehanda, an ancient ancestral spirit from the 19th century considered holy and powerful in local lore. BY BLESSED MHLANGA Mnangagwa’s government is constructing a giant stature of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, a spirit medium also known as Mbuya Nehanda at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Julius Nyerere Way in the capital Harare. Charwe, who was among the leaders of the First Chimurenga war against colonisation in the 19th century, was hanged around March 1898. Addressing a weekly Zanu PF Press briefing, Chinamasa said while in the past former colonial masters, Britain, beheaded revolutionaries, they had turned to social media attacks in modern-day to “discredit icons like Mnangagwa” who were working for economic emancipation. He said social media attacks on Mnangagwa and his family were equal to the attacks faced by the likes of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi during the early resistance to colonialism. “Allow me to draw parallels between, on one hand the public beheading of Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kagivi, Chief Mashayamombe, Mutekedza Chiwashira and other anti-colonial resistance fighters,” Chinamasa said. “On the other hand, the imposition of illegal sanctions by the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, white Commonwealth countries, Australia, Canada and New Zealand accompanied by the orchestrated social media onslaught targeting President Mnangagwa and his family.” He added: “It is to intimidate our leader with the intention to cow the general population into submission and subjugation. “The enemy goes after the scalp of our leader first and they hope that once he has fallen and is discredited the country’s resources will be ready for the picking and neo-colonial exploitation.” Chinamasa said Mnangagwa was the glue holding the country together and that Western countries were aware of this and, therefore, want him to fall. Zanu PF is preparing to erect Mbuya Nehanda's statue at a venue Mnangagwa claimed was where she would drink water and rest. Mbuya Nehanda was allegedly beheaded by the British imperialists for leading resistance against white settler rule. Chinamasa said the humiliation suffered by Nehanda, was the same as that being visited upon Mnangagwa through relentless social media demonisation sponsored by Western countries. “Sanctions against Zimbabwe and the orchestrated social media attacks against our President and First Family are the modern-day equivalents of public beheading and lynching in colonial times,” Chinamasa said. Chinamasa called on the nation to back Mnangagwa against the white colonialists as the party prepares for the 2023 general elections. “Zanu PF exhorts the population to remain steadfast and resilient and to continue marching solidly behind our President along the path that will lead us to the attainment of Vision 2030 to become an upper-middle income economy,” he said. This was not the first tim
To Be Equal #49 December 2, 2020 Health Care, Voting Rights, And Pandemic Recovery Are At Stake In Georgia's January 5 Runoff Election Marc H. Morial President and CEO National Urban League “Support for the majority-vote plan reinforced the moderate segregationist position. It did not remove anyone's right to cast a ballot, but it was […]
The post TBE#49 - Health Care, Voting Rights, And Pandemic Recovery Are At Stake In Georgia's January 5 Runoff Election appeared first on Afro.
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Asking someone to put on a mask is a touchy subject, so one shop in Japan has enlisted a robot to make sure its customers wear them during the pandemic.'I'm sorry to bother you, but please wear a mask,' says the small humanoid machine after wheeling up to a bare-faced shopper, in a demonstration video released by its developers.
Today, the Black Economic Alliance [BEA], a nonpartisan group of Black business leaders, issued the following statement on President-elect Joe Biden’s selections for key leadership roles in his incoming administration, according to a press release. BEA Executive Director David Clunie released the following statement: “With his selection of Janet Yellen to be the first woman … Continued
The post Black Economic Alliance Speak on Early Nominations and Appointments of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition appeared first on The Michigan Chronicle.
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The top U.S. envoy on Venezuela called on the incoming Biden administration yesterday to use the leverage he believes has been gained from years of tough sanctions aimed at ousting socialist President Nicolas Maduro and urged against offering him any “giveaways.”
The article Biden must use sanctions as leverage against Venezuela’s Maduro, U.S. envoy says appeared first on Stabroek News.
