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Siya Kolisi scored a try as he made a winning debut on Friday for the Sharks who trounced the Bulls 45-12 in a warm-up match for the Rainbow Cup.
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
The United Nation. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted Wednesday to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world's most dangerous drugs, which could impact the global medical marijuana industry.
“The vote today is the result of the Commission’s intensive and detailed consideration of these very complex recommendations during the last two years”, as the Chairperson, Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan of Pakistan pointed out.
Following a critical review of cannabis by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, WHO submitted in January 2019 to the Commission eight recommendations on cannabis and cannabis-related substances. After intensive considerations, the Commission decided today (by 27 votes to 25 and with one abstention) to delete cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention. These substances remain in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention and thus remain subject to all levels of control of the 1961 Convention. The Commission decided not to follow the other recommendations made by the WHO, so that the schedules regarding the respective substances will otherwise remain unchanged.
The Vienna-based U.N. agency said in a statement that it had voted 27-25, with one abstention, to follow the World Health Organization's recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs, where it was listed with heroin and several other opioids.
The drugs that are on Schedule IV are a subset of those on Schedule I of the convention, which already requires the highest levels of international control. The agency voted to leave cannabis and cannabis resin on the list of Schedule I drugs, which also include cocaine, Fentanyl, morphine, Methadone, opium and oxycodone, the opiate painkiller sold as OxyContin.
Wednesday's vote therefore does not clear U.N. member nations to legalize marijuana under the international drug control system. Canada and Uruguay have legalized the sale and use of cannabis for recreational purposes, but many countries around the world have decriminalized marijuana possession.
The schedules weigh a drug's medical utility versus the possible harm that it might cause, and experts say that taking cannabis off the strictest schedule could lead, however, to the loosening of international controls on medical marijuana.
[SAnews.gov.za] President Cyril Ramaphosa says African countries will continue to need substantial support to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the Ball brothers are expected to play in the 2020-2021 NBA season. LiAngelo Ball, the middle child,... View Article
The post LiAngelo Ball signs with Pistons; all three Ball brothers in NBA appeared first on TheGrio.
Ethiopian forces blocked people from the country's embattled Tigray region from crossing into Sudan on Thursday at the busiest crossing point for refugees, Sudanese forces said.
Their account follows allegations by refugees in previous days of Ethiopian forces stopping people from fleeing the month-old deadly conflict in Tigray.
The Sudanese forces, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the events, said people tried to cross from Ethiopia around 6 a.m. to Hamdayet in Sudan but were stopped, and refugees waiting on the Sudan side became upset and began throwing rocks.
The Sudanese forces then cleared the area, and on Thursday evening they confirmed that the border crossing remained closed.
Tensions have been rising at the border in recent days as the flow of Ethiopians crossing has slowed to hundreds per day from several thousands.
A senior Ethiopian government official who has served as spokesman during the conflict did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
End fighting
The European Union's crisis management commissioner Thursday urged the Ethiopian government to restore communications in its northern Tigray region and called on both sides to cease hostilities.
\"I urge... the Ethiopian authorities to lift the communication blockade,\" Janez Lenarcic said at Um Raquba camp in neighboring Sudan, where he spoke with Ethiopian refugees who had fled their homeland over the last month.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last month ordered military operations against the northern Ethiopian region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in response to what he said were attacks on Ethiopian federal army camps.
Tens of thousands of refugees have since poured into eastern Sudan, with many complaining that they have not been able to re-establish contact with those left behind or lost on the scramble to leave due to a communications blackout.
\"I spoke with a number of refugees in this camp today and what is perhaps most painful to hear is that they have zero information... about their relatives and friends who stayed behind,\" Lenarcic said.
Abiy on Saturday claimed the conflict was over after federal troops took control of the Tigrayan capital, Mekele, but the TPLF threatened a full-scale counter-offensive on Wednesday.
Lenarcic also urged Ethiopia's government to provide access for humanitarian workers and goods, while calling on both sides to \"cease the hostilities\".
Ethiopia has formally granted the United Nations access to deliver aid to Tigray.
A director of investigation at Shadow World Investigations - a global organisation probing cases of grand corruption - has told the Zondo commission Estina was allegedly used to launder money prior to the Free State dairy project.
TURKEY giants Galatasaray have relaunched their bid to sign Warriors midfielder Marvelous Nakamba from Aston Villa, targeting to clinch a deal for the January transfer window. BY FORTUNE MBELE A Turkish publication claims that the giants have been encouraged in their pursuit by Nakamba’s quest for game time having been limited to two league appearances so far this season. Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor expressed interest in Nakamba before the start of the season but it’s the William D’Avilla-coached side who have so far refused to give up despite having failed with an earlier attempt to sign the midfielder. Nakamba has started for Villa in the League Cup and his Premier League appearances have been from the bench. A Turkish publication, Dirilis Postası published an article indicating Galatasary are still interested in Nakamba and are proposing a loan deal while offering an annual salary of €850 000, which is half of what he earns in England. Villa would have to pay the difference. Galatasaray’s interest on Nakamba dates back to when he was still in Belgium playing for Club Brugge. The publications says: “After successfully playing in Club Brugge for two years, a Galatasaray claim was made for Nakamba, who took the road to Aston Villa for 12 million euros last season. “It was understood that the famous manager William D'Avilla, who had brought players such as Onyekuru, Ndiaye, Etebo and Garry Rodrigues to Galatasaray, will put an end to the transfer. It was emphasised that the 26-year-old Zimbabwean player, who played in only two matches this season in the Premier League, wanted to go to a team where he could find more game time, and the deal would be made on loan,” the publication states further. A deal with Galatasaray in the English summer transfer could not be concluded as Aston Villa decided to keep Nakamba in their squad for the current season but chances are the Warriors’ defensive linkman might make a move next month. Follow Fortune on Twitter @ fmbele
Can a film or television show be considered iconic if it doesn't have a scene or line or two in it that fans discuss years after its release?
In the drought-hit south of Madagascar, people are forced to fill their bellies with white clay mixed with tamarind to cope with famine. More than a year of no rain is slowing leading locals to the brink of famine. The staple food like cactus fruit cannot be produced because of the drought.
\"If we had something to eat, if our saliva was enough, we would never have eaten that. But it's true that we didn't know that white clay was edible before. We tried to mix it and it worked\", Dame Zafendraza, a charcoal producer said.
In a nearby village of Ankilomarovahetsy, 9 people starved to death in September. Toharano is a housewife. She says she's quite certain that the death of her children was due to the famine.
\"My children didn't eat for three days and then died, because I, their mother, did not manage to feed them. I'm sure it was the famine that killed them. It's not something else, it's not the disease, but famine. I left early in the morning and came back in the evening, and I saw the body of my child with his eyes open\", she said.
Children have particularly struggled to digest the clay and tamarind mixture. According to the World Food Programme (WFP) in the country this causes ''belly swelling''.
Half of the population in the southern region of the Indian Ocean Island, is currently in need of emergency food aid, the UN agency said.
Théodore Mbainaissem is head of the Ambovombe office for the World Food Programme (WFP).
\"People could not go out because of the lockdown. The trucks, the bush taxis that have to commute, were not allowed and people stayed more or less in the villages. Add to that the food insecurity caused by climate change, which has been very severe this year\", he said.
The WFP said about 31 million euros are urgently needed to feed the hungry in southern Madagascar.
Climate Change
A few kilometres away in the town of Beraketa, global charity Action Against Hunger (ACF) has put up a centre in partnership with the WFP.
The centre caters for around 50 severely malnourished children and 100 other patients every week. The children are at risk of death, especially if malnutrition is complicated by diarrhoea, respiratory infections or malaria.
While droughts are not uncommon in the area, this dry spell has been compounded by climate impact. The WFP's Mbainaissem said \"for three years in some communities, two in others, there has been no rain.\"
Rising insecurity and livestock thefts have exacerbated poverty and complicated humanitarian relief efforts. The government has deployed the military to distribute food and first aid in the area. In October, President Andry Rajoelina, his wife and son gave out rations in villages.
The local head of the WFP Mbainaissem has warned of a disaster if emergency food assistance are not provided.
