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Lungu did not incite anybody – Kabimba

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Lungu did not incite anybody – Kabimba

By Margaret Malenga

ECONOMIC Front president Wynter Kabimba says former president Edgar Lungu did not incite anybody when he said police were making government unpopular and Zambians could rise up.

Featuring on Lusaka Radio on Wednesday, Kabimba said Lungu was simply stating an event that will happen as a result of economic problems.

“When HH was arrested for alleged treason… I said it. I think it was your programme, on Prime TV and many other forums, I said what HH has done in Mongu is silly but it doesn’t amount to treason. It is not tantamount to treason. I said it publicly and ECL was in government. I said this is not treason,” he said. “Even ECL’s statement is not tantamount to inciting. He is interpreting an event, if you do this, this may be the reaction of the people. That is not inciting anybody and he was politicking over early elections. Why didn’t we have early elections under his administration? That part he was politicking for UKA, so I can forgive him.”

Kabimba said he agrees with Lungu on how the use of tear gas was unnecessary.

“Why are you dispersing people using tear gas who have simply come, they are members of the party with the person you have detained and they have come to ask ‘is he here or not?’ How is that disorderly conduct? Even under the Penal Code, how is that disorderly conduct? I go to the police station and I say ‘I have come to find out if my friend Paul Shingongo (radio host) is here, and then there are three or four of us, how does that become disorderly conduct?” wondered Kabimba. “It is ridiculous to give out unlawful instructions. An unjust law should not be obeyed. [Nelson] Mandela said if the law is unjust, don’t obey it, even if you are shot. If it were in my powers I can transfer everybody at Kabwata Police Station or fire them. And I am sure HH doesn’t know what goes on in these places. What happened yesterday (Tuesday), I was not there but if I relate it with my experience the police caused the commotion unnecessarily.”

‘Iwe’ Clinton Nzala: stop advising HH to bring ‘nzala’ (hunger ) through consumer subsidies- Austin Mbozi

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‘Iwe’ Clinton Nzala: stop advising HH to bring ‘nzala’ (hunger ) through consumer subsidies

By Austin Mbozi

In Tonga, ‘nzala’ means hunger.

Like his name, Clinton Nzala’s article can bring ‘nzala’ (hunger) in Zambia. His article is, ‘Hunger is HH’s biggest political opponent’( The Mast, 19 February 2024).

Imagine, he suggests that HH must subsidise BOTH mealie consumption and maize production! On consumption he says, ‘ I fully understand that given the ongoing dealings with the IMF, re-introducing mealie meal subsidies will be a very difficult… . [but HH must stop listening to advice from] some bookworms in the Ivory Towers in Washington DC.’ On production he says, ‘unfortunately the only viable method … is subsidising the cost of mealie meal production.’

My criticism of Nzala’s article does not mean I oppose his right to express himself. I therefore invite him to attack my views also. Here are my five arguments against Nzala. First, no one subsidises both the production and the consumption of the same product. Our state money already subsidises maize meal production through the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) where farmers pay virtually nothing, except some administrative costs, and they don’t repay. Yet, ‘farmers’ still fail. Researchers Allan Magasu (World Vision ) and Oliver Magasu (Kwame Nkrumah University) published a paper entitled ‘Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) in Zambia and the State of Food Security at House Level in Chiawa District. They established that FISP, since its establishment has not eliminated hunger. What I disagree with them is their recommendation for more FISP funding. Let us even stop the FISP nonsense. This research relied on what the so-called farmers said. These ‘farmers’ never told the researchers that some of them sell FISP inputs, that they produce lower yields per hectare than the capacity of the received input or that they drink beer after selling produce and never save anything to qualify into being self-sustaining farmers.

And yet Nzala wants a second level subsidy for consumers of the already subsidised mealie meal. Imagine a FISP subsided farmer selling his maize to FRA at K280 per 50 kg, which means K140 per 25 kg. The miller buys this bag from FRA at, say, K150 per 25 kg. To make a profit, the miller sells at, say, K200. Then the retailer buys from the miller and to make a profit he sells at around K250. Now when unproductive consumers complain, Nzala wants the government again to subsidise the mealie meal so that it costs K150?

Hate me if you like, after all I hate being liked, especially by my fellow men. If you are so productively incapable that you can’t afford this mealie meal which is already subsidised at production level, go and beg for survival handouts from the Ministry of Social Welfare.

Second, the UPND government is already subsidising production by so far continuing FISP. So Nzala’s ‘advice’ adds no value.

Third, UPND has introduced 12 per cent interest loans under the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF). This approach is superior to subsidies because government does not lose money. It simply lends it and gets it back. It allows farmers to get to know the real cost of producing maize, compelling them to work responsibly and knowing they have to repay or lose their property. If you do not have any piece of land, not even in your village ancestral land to use as surety, then you are not worthy government support as a farmer. Go get state support for other businesses, not farming.

Fourth, UPND created a lucrative local maize market for farmers by compelling FRA to buy a 50 kg bag at K280 instead of the PF thief-thug era of K180. This encouraged more farmers to grow maize. Of course, this is what partly has pushed prices up. And I disagree with those who think prices will go down when more farmers grow the maize. As long as FRA buys at K280, prices will not go below the current prices that you find with ZNS mealie meal. So get used to the current prices.

Fifth, UPND has found lucrative international markets. The Congolese government paid in advance USD 14.5 million in 2023. Once FRA buys at K280, a profit to farmers to grow more, FRA can only store as a reserve some 2.7 million metric tonnes needed within Zambia annually. The rest, government can export at over K560 in mealie meal form (value addition. These government foreign exchange earnings can be pumped into further maize production. This is real more money into the farmer’s pockets.

Of course, now that UPND gets involved in exporting maize, it will need to revise FRA’s mandate from being a mere food reservoir to a marketing company. FRA was revised before. The colonial Northern Rhodesia government created the institution we now call FRA around the World War II era to control agriculture, paying more to white than black farmers under the Federal Ministry of European Agriculture. After 1964, the black government of Kenneth Kaunda turned it into the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBOARD). Production increased so much that even Northern Province produced 2.5 million bags in 1985. But because President Chiluba’s MMD blindly liberalised agriculture in the 1990s, it reduced NAMBOAD to mere FRA. UPND can revise it but improve its efficiency from the way it operated under Kaunda.

Fifth, UPND is funding Zambia National Service (ZNS) into growing maize and milling it. Brilliant idea! Private company mealie meal costs more (K320) because its millers pay salaries. ZNS mealie meal costs less (K230) because ZNS pays no more salary costs, since its staff were all along on salaried but producing less.

Sixth, Under UPND the new United Capital Fertiliser Company Limited will locally produce 300,000 metric tonnes of cheaper fertiliser!

All these UPND measures are economically realistic, not the ‘nzala’-bringing subsidies desired by Clinton Nzala.

Disclaimer: Being a non-office holding UPND member, some of this author’s views above do not necessarily reflect the party’s official policy.

Email: austin.mbozi2027@gmail.com. Phone: +260-978741920.

-The Mast

Tutwa Ngulube had many children out of wedlock, administrator submits in court

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AN administrator of late lawyer Tutwa Ngulube’s estate has submitted in court that women are coming up claiming to have had children with her late brother.

Ms Tawanda Ngulube submits that one of the women is actually married and the child she claims was fathered by Mr Ngulube was born while the same woman was in her current marriage.

She submits that this scenario made it difficult to ascertain the truthfulness of the claims by the mothers as the children they claim were fathered by Mr Ngulube were not known by any members of the Ngulube family.

This is in a matter in which Catherine Kuntepa, a woman who submitted in court that she a guardian of Mr Ngulube’s five children, sued Mr Ngulube’s wife, Glenda Sokontwe and Ms Ngulube, as administrators.

Ms Kuntepa wants the Lusaka High Court to order the two administrators to render an inventory of Mr Ngulube’s estate and also an order for full and fair distribution of Mr Ngulube’s estate to the deceased’s children she is keeping.

However, Ms Ngulube has contended that the properties cannot be distributed to the beneficiaries in question until all the estate for Mr Ngulube are collected.

“We are unable to distribute the properties to the named beneficiaries until the executor’s year is completed to allow us to gather and collect all the estate of the deceased for the benefit of all the beneficiaries”.

Ms Ngulube adds that Mr Ngulube left landed property, vehicles, shares and the money held in his bank accounts, assets estimated at K20 million and that administrators have also paid out K1million in liabilities left by the lawyer, who was survived by a wife, children, a parent and dependants.

“We begun the process of identifying the beneficiaries under the estate of the deceased as it turned out that the deceased had many children outside wedlock, who were not known to the family of the deceased,” she submits.

Ms Ngulube submits that the procedure of identifying beneficiaries became extra complicated when it was learnt that one woman who claimed that the Mr Ngulube fathered her child is married.

It was then that a consultation process with the office of the Administrator General started on how to handle the estate.

Ms Ngulube submits that the estate could therefore not be distributed until it was ascertained that the claims from the mothers regards genuineness of the paternity of their children.

She adds that Mr Ngulube left a huge estate comprising 20 landed properties and that the process of gathering the assets took a considerable time while lawyers have been engaged to register the letters of administration against all the properties of the deceased as required by law.

Because of this scenario, administers are unable to distribute the properties to the named beneficiaries until the executor’s year is completed to allow us to gather and collect all the estate of the deceased for the benefit of all the beneficiaries.

(Mwebantu, Monday, 4th March, 2024)

Policy Failure Caused Zambia’s Food Crisis- Grieve Chelwa

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policy Failure caused Zambia’s Food Crisis

BERNADETTE MUSHINGE AND GRIEVE CHELWA

This past,Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema addressed the nation and declared a National Disaster in light of a prolonged dry spell that will affect this year’s agriculture output, especially that of maize which is Zambia’s staple food.

In his address, the president appealed for help “calling upon [Zambia’s] partners, local and international, to avail food and other support that they may have, in order to provide the needed relief.”

This is the first time in a long time that the country has declared a national disaster related to food leaving many to wonder what might have gone wrong.

To be sure, President Hichilema is correct in his assertion that the El Niño-induced dry spell will greatly affect this year’s maize production.

But where he is wrong is in asserting that the dry spell alone explains the hunger crisis that the country will face this year.

As we show below, the looming hunger crisis, which sparked last Thursday’s desperate plea for help, was caused by policy failure on the part of the Zambian government whose chief executive is Hichilema himself.

The story of Zambia’s maize production over the last 20 years or so has been nothing short of a miracle.

Between 2001 and 2021, the country more than tripled its maize output.

According to data from Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture as reported by FAOSTAT, total maize production in 2001 stood at just under 1 million metric tonnes (MT).

By 2021, that number had grown to 3.62 million MT making that year’s output the biggest in the country’s history.

As is always the case, miracles of this scale (just like disasters) have much to do with government policy. In 2002, the Zambian government, then under the leadership of Levy Mwanawasa, introduced the Farm Input Support Programme (FISP) that was to provide large-scale subsidized farm inputs mainly to peasant farmers. It is FISP that explains Zambia’s maize miracle.

It is FISP that has guaranteed Zambia’s food security in spite of droughts in the intervening years. (Incidentally, and unsurprisingly, the IMF has consistently tried to place FISP on the chopping block. They may very well succeed.

It is this record breaking maize harvest of 2021 that Hichilema’s government inherited after winning the August 2021 presidential elections. In addition, the new government inherited maize stock of 841,000 MT that was brought forward from the previous year (2020) as surplus. Therefore, the total maize supply in the year Hichilema won his first election was 4.5 million MT (the total of 3.62 million MT and 841,000 MT)!

This was more than sufficient for 2021’s consumption given that total consumption (including animal feed and exports) was estimated at 3 million MT, leaving a record surplus of 1.5 million MT to be brought forward into 2022 (the following year).

Immediately, Hichilema’s government began to eye 2021’s surplus as a potential source of export revenues, likely urged on by the likes of the IMF who encouraged government to “take advantage of market opportunities presented by neighbouring countries”.

The new government then began to make policy changes that would increase Zambia’s maize exports.

In their first budget speech delivered in October 2021, barely two months into their administration, the new Minister of Finance scrapped the 10% tax on maize exports that had been in effect since 2017, a tax that likely prevented a hunger crisis in 2019 given that year’s drought.

Parallel to this was a huge public relations effort whose objective was to justify the new policy of encouraging an increase in maize exports (Zambian TikTok user @rooney0303 in a video that has gone viral has compiled some of the statements from various government ministers that were given to justify the policy).

Unsurprisingly, this new policy substantially increased maize exports. Data compiled from the Ministry of Agriculture/Zambia Statistics Agency shows that the volume of maize exports increased by at least 75% from 2021 to 2022!

Data from the Bank of Zambia shows the monetary value of maize export earnings increased from US$49 million in 2021 to US$109 million in 2022, an increase of 122% in a single year!

Much of Zambia’s maize is exported to countries in the region. One such country is Kenya where data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics shows that maize imports from Zambia increased in value by a whopping 371% in 2022, another incredible number in a single year. (These patterns were likely repeated in other destination countries (DR Congo, Tanzania, etc…) where data is not readily available as is the case with Kenya).

The scale of the policy failure becomes even more evident when one considers that this unprecedented increase in maize exports took place in a year when the country registered one of the biggest declines in maize production.

As earlier stated, 2021 registered record production of 3.62 million MT.

But in 2022 production dropped by close to a million metric tonnes to 2.7 million MT on the back of poor rainfall and the haphazard handling of fertilizer distribution in the 2021/22 farming season, a farming season presided over by Hichilema’s new government.

Huge exports on the one hand and declining production on the other bequeathed to 2023 a smaller surplus than was bequeathed to 2022.

We do not as yet have a complete statistical picture of what took place in 2023 but it is quite clear from statements made by government officials that maize exports might have continued unabated in that year as well.

The sum total of the evidence presented here paints a picture of policy failure as being at the heart of the food disaster declared by the president last Thursday. El Niño has made dire what was already a bad situation.

Bernadette Mwansa Mushinge is an independent researcher with an MSc in Agricultural Sciences from Stellenbosch University. She can be reached at bernadettemushinge@gmail.com.

Grieve Chelwa is Associate Professor of Political Economy at The Africa Institute and non-resident Senior Fellow at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

EDGAR LUNGU SANCTIONED POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND BENEFITED FROM IT- SIKAILE SIKAILE

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EDGAR LUNGU SANCTIONED POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND BENEFITED FROM IT

I have fought against the brutal administration of the PF under former President, my brother Edgar Lungu, throughout his seven-year rule. Those who know me now need to delve into this history. Despite that, I have more love for ECL than those who deceive him by not telling him the truth about how he was destroying Zambia. The Bible is clear: someone who loves you will speak the truth to you, not wait until you fall into a ditch.

I warned ECL several times that if he didn’t change, he would suffer consequences, but he didn’t listen. And now, where is he? He has lost the little respect he could have retired with and is busy mobilizing to come back.

ECL should apologize to the Zambian people for allowing his thugs to disrupt our nation’s peace, costing lives. When his thugs were stripping suspected opposition members, he watched and allowed it as head of state because even police officers were not protected from his thugs.

In 2012, during the youth day celebration at the freedom statue, Lungu’s thugs stripped a UPND youth in the presence of former Vice President Inonge Wina and various security officers who failed to intervene out of fear of being fired by ECL. They knew this behavior was sanctioned by State House.

No matter how bad things get, I give credit to HH for putting a stop to this nonsense. You may not see the sense in what HH has done as Zambians, but wait for another confused team of leaders to come through, and you’ll realize that at least you had someone who brought sanity. You want us to just forget about Zambians PF killed? They may not be my blood relatives but being a human being it pained me and it still hurts me especially that UPND government seem to have failed bringing all these criminals to book.

Bringing offenders to book, UPND, I give you 1/10. If you had escalated the cleaning of these criminal elements, Lungu and his minions would have been humbled, and they wouldn’t be insulting our collective intelligence as Zambians. After realizing that UPND has little interest in pursuing those who brutalized Zambians, they are back mocking you, using the freedom you created to advance their wishful return.

You cannot kill innocent citizens like chickens in the name of politics and expect us to forget about it. That is insane!

SIKAILE C.SIKAILE

IS IT BAD BEHAVIOUR AND PROMISCUITY IN LUSAKA THAT IS CAUSING THE DROUGHT?- NEVERS MUMBA

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IS IT BAD BEHAVIOUR AND PROMISCUITY IN LUSAKA THAT IS CAUSING THE DROUGHT?

(DEAR DR. NEVERS COLUMN)

Young People Listen!!!

I have seen a lot of you writting that Eh!! It’s because of this and that! That’s why it’s not raining in Lusaka. [Or the entire Zambia]

Some say it’s because of Promiscuity
Some say it’s because of the dressing of ladies. Some even blame it on the Political Leaders 🤣😅.

STOP IT 🛑

God loves and cares for both good people and those who are evil. How do we know that? Jesus offers one bit of evidence: God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on everyone, no matter who they are or what they are guilty of.

The Bible says so in Matthew 5:45: “For he causes his sun to rise on evil people as well as on those who are good, and his rain falls on both the righteous and the wicked”

However, this doesn’t mean that God cannot save us from the drought. Neither does it mean that we must continue in our evil ways. When we are faced with problems of this nature like drought, the faithful prayer of the People can cause the heart of God to look at us with mercy. God says:

” if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Zambians have decided to call themselves a Christian Nation and we therefore qualify to be among those that are His [ God’s] people that are called by His name. Let us, therefore, REPENT, and together, seek the face of God. Let us also apply our knowledge on the issue of drought. The Bible says faith without works is dead, so we must also organize ourselves and see how we can put measures in place to MITIGATE AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POOR RAINFALL…

ZAMBIA SHALL BE SAVED!

PF CRIPPLED AS 80 MEMBERS JOIN AND ENDORSE HH’S LEADERSHIP

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PF CRIPPLED AS 80 MEMBERS JOIN AND ENDORSE HH’S LEADERSHIP

The embattled Patriotic Front this afternoon suffered a set back after Former Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Peter Matubulani who also served as PF Campaign Manager for 2021 General elections with 80 other officials joined the United Party for National Development.

The shift is a clear endorsement of President Hakainde Hichilema’s leadership which is focussed on economic recovery and positioning Zambia on the global Map.

The PF officials announced their defection during a meeting held this afternoon at Ndimbwe Primary School in Nachikungu Ward of Kalomo Constituency.

The new UPND members unanimously commended President Hichilema for all his efforts in re-building the economy, re-uniting the country and creating a peaceful environment were unlike in the past opposition political parties are free to engage with citizens.

Mr Matubulani who described PF as defunct said he has joined UPND because of its focus on economic recovery and national unity which he says should be supported by all Zambians.

“ I had retired but because of what is happening in the country in terms of ecomic recovery , I have decided to join and take the right messages to the people.As a former teacher I will not allow anyone to mislead people because of greedness,” said Mr Matubulani.

Speaking at the same occasion Mpingilwa Manda said she has benefitted from the Free Education Policy because she has gone back to school and is currently doing grade eight.All this is possible because government is paying for her and everyone. “ am back at school, the free education policy has given us hope that we shall live better lives in future and by opening it to all it stands a foundation for a prosperpus nation and empowered citizenry.”said Ms Manda

And another lady said she was happy that this government is taking care of almost everyone through free education and skills bursaries that are benefitting and empowering youths with skills.

Welcoming the new members UPND Southern Province Trustee Beauty Musokotwane, said President Hakainde Hichilema leadership is focussed on improving the lives of all citizes.

“ This is what is growing the party, people are joining because of policies that are touching people’s livelihood irrespective of party affiliation, colour or tribe.” Said Ms Musokotwane.

The defection in Kalomo clearly indicates the shift in allegiance and growing confidence in President Hakainde Hichilema Administration.

This is also expected to boost the Party’s position in the political Landscape as it brings in different people with experience and support for the UPND New Dawn Administration.

The event was organised by a UPND member Actor Maunga

@ UPND MEDIA TEAM

Mutale Mwanza says UTH doctor promised to fix her

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IN defence to an assault lawsuit filed against her, media socialite Mutale Mwanza has submitted in court that the University Teaching Hospital doctor who sued her vowed to fix her during a traffic altercation between them.

Ms Mwanza has also dismissed the doctor’s submission that she approached her while carrying a gun in her hands.

She has however submitted that the gun in question was secured in her waist and covered by the long coat she was wearing on that day.

Ms Mwanza has also denied intimidating or threatening the plaintiff, Natasha Mulenga, who has sued her in the High Court over alleged assault and trauma which allegedly occurred last November.

In her documents, the plaintiff submitted that as she was driving home, she found a broken-down vehicle in Chainda area with traffic building behind it and decided to keep to her lane.

She submits that she decided to pass the scene in order for the built-up traffic to flow but before her vehicle passed the broken-down car, Ms Mwanza started flashing her lights at the doctor’s vehicle.

The plaintiff submitted that the journalist then decided to bypass the broken-down vehicle and joined her lane.

When Ms Mwanza blocked the doctor’s car, she (Ms Mwanza) disembarked from her car with a firearm in her right hand, approached the plaintiff’s vehicle while shouting and banging on it.

Dr Mulenga submitted that the incident caused her extreme trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, physiological distress and sleep disorder.

She is demanding assault compensation.

But Ms Mwanza has dismissed the allegations and argues that the doctor is not entitled to the compensation she is seeking, accusing her of having a desire to address emotional grievances through legal means to remedy every “minor emotional distress she purports to have suffered”.

The defendant contends through her lawyers hat she never approached the doctor while carrying a gun because “the fire arm was firmly secured around her waist while she was wearing a long coat. It is presumed that the plaintiff may have observed the outline of the grip, leading to a misunderstanding”.

She adds that her decision to flash lights at the doctor was not to threaten her but indicate that she had already swerved to avoid the broken down vehicle.

Ms Mwanza said the doctor refused to reverse after she blocked traffic, a development which prevented her (Ms Mwanza) from manoeuvring backward due to the cars queued behind her.

She said during the period, Dr Mulenga was quarrelling with a bus conductor and that the physician was overheard shouting “Just because the defendant [Ms Mwanza] claims to be a celebrity, you expect me to reverse? I can’t”.

When Ms Mwanza approached Dr Mulenga, she submits that she politely asked her to reverse her vehicle but the physician refused and yelled while vowing to fix Ms Mwanza before reversing.

She maintains the doctor’s refusal to give way even after being requested to do so was irresponsible and dangerous.

(Mwebantu)

NSINGO! THE PRINCE WHO NEVER ASCENDED TO THE THRONE.

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NSINGO! THE PRINCE WHO NEVER ASCENDED TO THE THRONE.
Beyond the breath taking cloud-covered Nyamfinzi Hills in Chipata, Eastern Province, not too far from Ependukeni Palace of Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people of Zambia stands a museum and a statue erected in honour of Nsingo.

The Nsingo Community Museum at Feni village was opened in 2017 as a repository of Ngoni history and culture, while the statue was unveiled in February this year.

But just who was Nsingo, and why is he being put on a pedestal now?To better answer this question,one needs to go back in time;a time when Ntuto was perhaps the most revered man (ruler) in the whole of Chipata.

The year is 1890 and Ntuto Jere,the son of Zwangendaba is living ‘peacefully’ after defeating almost all his enemies in the Chipata area of Eastern Northern Rhodesia.Mpezeni 1, as the decorated leader was dotingly known as, had at last found a safe haven with his Ngoni section that had followed him following the succession dispute that engulfed the Ngoni Nation following the death of their inspirational figurehead,Zwangendaba in 1848.

At this time Mpezeni 1 already has a successor;his first born son Nsingu (Nsingo) Jere.Even when his father is still at the pinnacle of the throne,the handsome Ngoni Prince already has a huge support base among the Ngonis especially among the impis who see in him an inspirational war general.

In this particular era, the Zambian Ngonis may think that they are at the top of the food chain. But Alas! That is far from the truth.A new enemy who is more vicious and merciless looms nearby. Like a cheetah that has carefully cornered its target,the Ngonis dynasty has been encircled and will soon remember the prophecy given by their founding father Zwangendaba that one day their power and status will truncate.

The arrival of the Europeans in Ngoniland was inevitable, Mpezeni knew this very well as his father had predicted this phenomenal. Initially Mpezeni established friendly relations with Portuguese traders, but at the turn of the mid 1890s he became a target for the British South Africa Company (BSAC).

Hoping to prevent a BSAC take over, Mpezeni granted a huge mineral and land concession to the German adventurer Karl Wiese. Wiese, however, sold his concession to a London-based company that would become the North Charterland Company, a subsidiary of the BSAC.This was a huge mistake on the part of Mpezeni as he had indirectly given lands rights to the very people he sought to keep at bay.

By the time the Ngoni King realized what was happening, it was too late,he had sealed the fate of his people.Not wanting any more wars, Mpezeni cautiously allowed the trekking of the white settlers in Ngoni territory. He no doubt wanted a peaceful Ngoni land even if it meant co-existing with his enemy.

But his son,crown prince Nsingu would not allow this.Against the counsel of his father,Nsingu assembled the bravest Ngoni warriors and attacked the colonialists in January 1898.At the advice of Nsingo,’three long lines’ of Ngoni soldiers were deployed in the Zulu-inspired Cow Horn formation and stove to encircle the British forces.

Initially pockets of success were recorded by the Ngonis but this was short-lived. Reinforcements and heavy artillery by the British soon proved a decisive factor of the war.The Ngoni pincer movement soon clashed like a pile of standing cards pushed down.

Nsingu’s forces came on bravery,but as their loses increased,the lines halted and then began to retire slowly. Nsingo realizing that defeat was eminent retreated to his village where the British finally captured him and executed him publicly on 4 February 1898.

The old chief (Mpezeni) who had avoided a direct confrontation with the Europeans was spared.But as punishment as many as 16000 cattle were seized from the Ngonis; this deviance by Nsingu also precipitated the banning of the ncwala ceremony by the british in 1935 (the ceremony was revived by Mpezeni III in 1980).

A cross section of Ngonis have been pushing for the government of Zambia to officially recogize Nsingo as the country’s foremost freedom fighter.This has so far not yielded any positive results.

Attached Picture:A statue of Nsingo outside the Nsingo Community meseum at Feni village in Chipata,East of Zambia.

Kenyan Public Frustrated By Excessive Government Spending

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Expensive curtains, lavish garden parties and jet-setting lifestyles: Kenya’s cash-strapped government has been on a spending spree even as austerity measures take their toll on weary citizens.

Expensive curtains, lavish garden parties and jet-setting lifestyles: Kenya’s cash-strapped government has been on a spending spree even as austerity measures take their toll on weary citizens.

A report released by the country’s auditor general last month said the office of the deputy president spent 10.2 million shillings ($70,000) on curtains while splashing out on furniture to the tune of some $50,000.

The purchases, which were “in breach of the law” for flouting procurement rules, according to the report, have struck a nerve with an angry public.

“They have squeezed my finances to the limit as they drink and dine,” Kenyan teacher Moses Bett told AFP in the capital Nairobi.

The East African powerhouse — where corruption is a hot-button issue — raised taxes to shore up revenue for government debt repayments even as many citizens were already struggling with the high prices of basic commodities.

“I am living on negatives,” Bett said, patting the front pockets of his charcoal grey trousers.

“Every day is becoming more difficult to fend for my family with what is left of my salary,” the 32-year-old father of two said.

President William Ruto, who served as the country’s deputy leader from 2013 to 2022, had vowed to slash government spending, telling Kenyans in his inauguration speech that “we are living beyond our means.”

But the businessman-turned-politician, who campaigned on a platform to help the country’s poor, is planning to spend more than 1.3 billion shillings ($8.9 million) to spruce up his eight official residences.

His offices at Nairobi’s State House, built a century ago, will be renovated at a cost of more than 700 million shillings.

The cost of the facelift is equivalent to more than 800 houses under a tax-funded housing plan introduced by Ruto last year.

More than 800 million shillings ($5.5 million) have also been earmarked for the purchase of cars for Ruto, his deputy and the prime cabinet secretary.

The government has not commented publicly on the auditor general’s report and has not responded to AFP requests.

‘Leaders do not care’

“It appears they forgot us… as soon as they got into power,” hawker Sharon Mwaruma said.

In the first six months of his presidency, Ruto — a teetotaller — spent more than 1.49 billion shillings on receptions, parties and other hospitality supplies, according to treasury records.

The president’s foreign trips have also come under fire.

According to The Standard newspaper, which nicknamed Ruto “the flying president,” the 57-year-old has spent one in every five days outside Kenya, visiting over 38 countries since taking office in September 2022.

Ruto has defended the trips as central to his duties.

“I don’t travel as a tourist. I have been going to plan the affairs of Kenya,” he told a church service in December.

“I have been connecting Kenyans with employment and investment opportunities across the world.”

But Kenyans are not convinced.

“The leaders do not care about us. Yet we voted them to power,” chef Judith Kamau said, sitting on a broken pavement in the upmarket business district of Kilimani.

‘Get rich quick’

For decades, Kenyan administrations have been accused of wanton embezzlement despite repeated promises of a crackdown on graft and waste.

Kenya was added last month to a “gray list” of countries subject to increased monitoring by the global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force.

Critics say Ruto’s economic measures have done little to ease Kenyans’ hardships.

Inflation has been running high, at 6.9 percent in January, and the International Monetary Fund has warned it would likely inch up in the first half of this year.

The country is sitting on public debt of more than $70 billion — equal to over 67 percent of gross domestic product.

And the shilling tanked to historic lows before gaining in recent weeks after the government raised $1.5 billion in a Eurobond buyback plan.

Purity Mwende, who is unemployed, said she had few expectations from the government.

“In Kenya, politics is only a means to get rich quick,” the 26-year-old told AFP.

“Only their families are benefiting.”

MINES MINISTER HAS NOT BEEN HONEST….with the timeframes he gives concerning the reopening of KCM, charges ZUPED

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MINES MINISTER HAS NOT BEEN HONEST

….with the timeframes he gives concerning the reopening of KCM, charges ZUPED

Lusaka… Monday March 4, 2024 (SMART EAGLES)

Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe has not been honest with the statements he gives concerning the reopening of the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) plc, says the Zambians for Unity Peace and Development ZUPED.

ZUPED President Ronnie Jere says even in September last year, Hon Kabuswe informed the nation that by December 2023, Vedanda Resources would have taken over KCM so that it would start operating optimally.

Mr Jere said recently, Hon Kabuswe gave another timeframe that by March, KCM will be up and running and he hoped that this time around, the Minister will stick to his words.

“During last week’s Sunday Interview programme, the Minister stated that the scheme of arrangement should be finalized by the end of March. We want to take his words seriously and we know that over a period of time, the Minister has not been honest with his pronouncements. We all remember that it’s the same Minister of Mines that promised the people of Zambia that the negotiations between government and Vedanta will be done within three months and that was September last year. But unfortunately by December there was nothing that came up. We waited from January and now we are in March,” he told Smart Eagles in an interview.

“Now last week, the Minister reiterated another timeframe to say he is very sure that the scheme of arrangement will be finalized by March and that the handing over of KCM to Vedanta should be done by March. We would like to advise politicians to be very truthful and this will help in making sure that they have the people’s trust.”

He said the people will give Hon Kabuswe the benefit of doubt and hoped that this issues between Vedanta and KCM is finalized as soon as possible.

“We all know the repercussions that come with the non functionality of KCM. Today we are grappling with the issue of the US dollar and now Bank of Zambia is putting up stringent measures that are affecting the ordinary people. For example these policy monitory ratio that the Ministry of Finance is implementing are just but killing the economy of ordinary Zambians. There is no money in circulation,” he stated.

“Today we talking about the cost of living going up. JCTR just produced the report and what they are saying is that a family of five now need about K10, 000. How many people in Zambia are getting about K10, 000 and above?”

Mr Jere prayed that government should be able to conclude agreements with mining sector such as Mopani and KCM so that the country can have the necessary Forex that can be pumped into the economy.

He also advised the UPND administration that failure to open up the mining sector would cause them the 2026 general election.

Sudan: Paramilitary Forces Commit Ethnic Killings In Darfur, Says UN Report

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A new report released by United Nations experts revealed that paramilitary forces and their allied militias fighting for power in Sudan have carried out large-scale ethnic killings and rapes as they take control of much of West Darfur, which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report to the United Nations Security Council, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, paints a terrifying picture of the brutality of the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against Africans in Darfur.

It also explains how Rapid Support Forces managed to take control of four of Darfur’s five states, in part through complex financial networks involving dozens of companies.

In their 47-page report, the experts indicate that the RSF and its militias targeted sites in Darfur where displaced people had found refuge, civilian neighbourhoods, and medical facilities.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support paramilitary forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, boiled over into street fighting in the capital, Khartoum.

The fighting has spread to other parts of the country, but in Sudan’s Darfur region, it has taken a different form: brutal attacks by Rapid Support Forces against African civilians, particularly members of the Masalit ethnic group.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by Arab Janjawid militias against populations who identify with Central or East Africa.

This appears to be the case again, with International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan saying in late January that there was reason to believe both sides were committing war crimes, crimes against humanity. or genocides in Darfur.

The panel said Darfur was experiencing “its worst violence since 2005”.

The ongoing conflict has caused a large-scale humanitarian crisis and displaced around 6.8 million people – 5.4 million in Sudan and 1.4 million who have fled to other countries, including around 555,000 to neighboring Chad, said the experts.

Both the RSF and rival Sudanese government forces have used heavy artillery and shelling in highly populated areas, leading to the mass destruction of critical water, sanitation, and sanitation facilities. , education, and health care.

According to intelligence sources, the panel said that in one town alone – Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state near the Chad border – between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed.

Ja Rule was denied entry to the United Kingdom just days before he was about to start his tour on March 1 in Wales

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Ja Rule discovered that having a criminal record can get him banned in certain countries as he embarked on his latest world tour.

According to The New York Daily News, Jeffrey Atkins, better known as Ja Rule, was denied entry to the United Kingdom just days before he was about to tour in Wales. The Queens-bred lyricist and entrepreneur informed his followers when he posted a message on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

He goes on to explain why he wasn’t allowed into the country.

The “Holla Holla” rapper, who is celebrating his birthday on Thursday, Feb. 29, was sentenced to two years in jail in 2010 for gun possession. He was also hit with a two-year prison term in 2011 for tax evasion.

In December 2023, Ja Rule announced “The Sunrise Tour” on his Instagram account, which would have started on Friday, Mar. 1.

Ja Rule’s sworn enemy, 50 Cent, chimed in to reignite the more-than-20-year beef between the two. According to HipHopDx, in a since-deleted post, the infamous troller laughed at the recent misfortune of the “Can I Get A” rapper. Alongside a screenshot of the news, 50 wrote, “Hahahahahaha, I did not have nothing to do with this b**ch not getting in. LOL.”

In another Instagram post, he seemingly tries to take credit for his denied entry by saying, “LMAO. I got juice all over the place, sucker!”

Ja Rule did respond to the “How To Rob” rapper on X with the caption, “Nga, you psy shut up…”

In January, Ja Rule announced that he just signed a new record deal that could be worth $100 million. He didn’t disclose any details on this deal, but he told his followers he would build a school in Ghana.

Ghana passes anti-gay bill that could jail people for more than 10 years

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Ghana’s parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.

It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.

Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling.

It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative West African nation.

The bill, which had the backing of Ghana’s two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.

He previously said that he would do so if the majority of Ghanaians want him to.

Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana – it carries a three-year prison sentence.

Last month Amnesty International warned that the bill “poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of LGBTQ+ people.

Activists fear there will now be witch-hunts against members of the LGBTQ+ community and those who campaign for their rights, and say some will have to go into hiding.

This was echoed by the head of the UN body tackling Aids, Winnie Byanyima, who said: “If Human Sexual rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill becomes a law, it will exacerbate fear and hatred, could incite violence against fellow Ghanaian citizens, and will negatively impact on free speech, freedom of movement and freedom of association.”

She added that it would “obstruct access to life-saving services” and “jeopardize Ghana’s development success”.

The bill proposes a jail term of up to 10 years for anyone involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns aimed at children

It also encourages the public to report members of the LGBTQ+ community to authorities for “necessary action”.

MPs said the bill was drafted in response to the opening of Ghana’s first LGBTQ+ community centre in the capital, Accra, in January 2021.

Police shut the centre following public protests, and pressure from religious bodies and traditional leaders in the largely Christian nation.

At the time, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council said in a joint statement that being LGBTQ+ was “alien to the Ghanaian culture and family value system and, as such, the citizens of this nation cannot accept it”.

The bill approved by lawmakers is a watered-down version of an earlier draft – for instance, jail terms have been shortened and a controversial clause on conversion therapy has been removed.

During the days-long debate, the deputy parliamentary leader of the governing party, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, suggested further changes.

He said lawmakers should decide, via a secret ballot, whether people convicted of being members of the LGBTQ+ community should be imprisoned by the courts or ordered to do community service and undergo counselling.

However, he was heckled into submission by lawmakers who supported prison sentences. BBC News

Why DRC turned south for help on conflict in the east

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In the Democratic Republic of Congo, war in the east is generally considered both national and foreign policy issue. Which means that whoever Kinshasa associates with specifically indicates how it feels about its security needs.

Last week, in Windhoek, Namibia President Félix Tshisekedi met with his peers, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa , Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi and Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, with whom he analysed the security situation in the DRC.

Tshisekedi had already met with Ndayishimiye in Kinshasa 10 days earlier on the security issue. In Windhoek, they met on the sidelines of the funeral of the Namibian President Hage Geingob.

The Southern Africa axis has been consolidating its might against armed groups in the eastern part of the Congo, led by the M23.

Burundi and Tanzania, East African Community (EAC) members, have been grafted onto this Southern Africa axis.

They, alongside Malawi and South Africa, have sent troops to eastern Congo to boost the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission there. Burundi had been part of the East African Community Regional Forces (EACRF), whose mandate ended last December, blamed by Kinshasa for doing little against M23. Tanzania avoided the EAC mission.

Gitega, like Kinshasa, is at loggerheads with Rwanda. The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels. Burundi, too, is accusing Kigali of supporting the Red Tabara rebels hiding in South Kivu.

Rwanda rejects these allegations, maintaining that the DRC has integrated the FDLR into its army. As for Burundi’s accusations, Kigali argues that “Rwanda is not associated, in any way, with any Burundian armed group.”

In the Great Lakes region, Burundi has become DR Congo’s best defence ally. Just a few weeks ago, in 2023, the Congolese President used to consult his counterparts Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and William Ruto of Kenya on security issues. Now, the authorities in Kinshasa are relying on SADC.

It never used to be this way. At the start of his first term in office in 2019, Tshisekedi was wary of SADC, whose heads of state were considered to be close to Joseph Kabila, his predecessor.

Tshisekedi opened up to Rwandan President Paul Kagame and then Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. At the time, the aim was to find political allies in the region.

The context in the DRC was different then: there was no M23 war. And internally, Félix Tshisekedi was struggling to establish himself as head of state in a coalition where his predecessor Joseph Kabila had a stranglehold on parliament, the government and the army.

The EAC was therefore Tshisekedi’ s main supporter.

The large market that the Congo represented in the eyes of the EAC was opening up, with plenty of consumers and opportunities. But first they had to help the Congo get rid of the armed groups.

And when the M23 war broke out at the end of 2021, Félix Tshisekedi turned to the Eastern bloc for support. Troops from Eastern bloc countries were been deployed. It never satisfied Kinshasa, which criticised the Eastern bloc contingents for being complacent towards the rebels. That was where the first rift began.

For almost a year, the DRC and the Eastern bloc member states had been unable to define a common strategic and operational plan against the rebels. Then Tshisekedi became chairperson of the SADC in August 2022. It was at this time that links with the southern bloc began to consolidate.

In the DRC, meanwhile, opinion was divided between those who wanted SADC to deploy its troops and those who wanted the DRC to put the FARDC (the Congolese army) fully in charge of dealing with the armed groups.

“Instead of providing the country with an effective army, the government has opted for a policy of outsourcing national security to foreign forces and, worse still, to states that are behind the destabilisation of the country,” denounced opposition leader Martin Fayulu and Nobel Prize winner Denis Mukwege, also an unsuccessful challenger to Tshisekedi in last year’s elections sided with Fayulu in citing Rwanda and Uganda as being “at the root of the destabilisation” of the Congo.

Some have recalled that SADC had deployed before in 1998 when was troops from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia who routed rebellions that reached Kinshasa. But they were also accused of misdeeds afterwards including looting.

Trends are mixed, but not everyone seems to be counting on the East African community to put out the fire in the DRC.

Former DRC electoral body chief Corneille Nangaa’s launch in Nairobi in December 2023 of a new armed coalition aimed at overthrowing Félix Tshisekedi heightened Congolese mistrust of the EAC But Nairobi has since tried to mend fences with Kinshasa, including assurances there was no support for the rebels from Nairobi.

The accusations made by some members of civil society against Uganda, which they believe is also helping the M23, reinforces the feeling that the solution cannot come from the Eastern bloc.

Fayulu and some other political leaders are even calling on the Congolese authorities to withdraw the DRC from the Eastern bloc, which the country joined in 2022. Congolese officials have repeatedly rejected this call for withdrawal, arguing that there are economic benefits for DRC to remain in the Eastern bloc.

Museveni ‘handshake’ with Ruto expected to end DRC conflict, oil import dispute

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President William Ruto’s meeting with Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni this week shouldn’t have been big news. They had been political buddies after all.

Except they hadn’t been reading from the same script lately after Uganda opted for a plan B in importing oil and sued Kenya at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ). This week, fuelled by his own needs, President Ruto traveled to Kisozi in western Uganda, where he met with President Museveni.

In the meeting, there was also Raila Odinga, Kenya’s opposition leader who Nairobi wants to be the next African Union Commission chairperson, and has been lobbying neighbors like Uganda for votes. Who exactly fixed the meeting is still a matter of conjecture, although credible sources told The EastAfrican that both President Ruto and Mr Odinga requested to see the Ugandan leader.

The initial intent, sources say, was to try to resolve the oil import dispute, a matter Mr Odinga was to mediate. The second was to discuss the Democratic Republic of Congo conflict and the third, was to front Mr Odinga as the candidate for the AUC seat and seek the support of Uganda in galvanising a divided East African Community (EAC).

President Museveni issued a statement, saying they discussed matters of mutual benefit and the EAC in general.

“I was happy to meet President Ruto and Rt Hon Odinga this afternoon at my farm in Kisozi. We discussed issues of mutual interest between our two countries and the East African Community,” he said. But President Ruto went further, indicating there is a path now to resolving the oil import dispute.

“We have agreed on a way forward of sourcing and scheduling imports for the region in a manner that will ensure we achieve the most competitive pricing and maximum logistical efficiency,” Presdent Ruto said.

One way of resolving the impasse is to grant Uganda specific privileges to import and schedule its products. A source said that includes registering the Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) in Kenya and hence departing from an earlier stance by Nairobi when Uganda requested, to operate as an oil marketer in Kenya. The conditions put forth by Nairobi, however, require that Uganda first withdraw the case at the EACJ.

President Museveni had reached out to Tanzania to use its Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports to import petroleum products to deal with oil cartels in Kenya. But the shorter distance in Kenya offered a better choice if the matter of importation dispute was resolved. Sources say while President Museveni seems to be getting his way in Nairobi, he is not abandoning the Tanzania deal.

Kenya’s Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo, who were in Uganda, too, declined to comment on the matter.

On the conflict in the DRC, President Museveni pledged to be a guarantor of the Nairobi Process led by former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

President Ruto, on his inauguration day, September 13, 2022, named Mr Kenyatta peace envoy to the Great Lakes Region, somewhat complimenting his existing role of Facilitator in the Nairobi Process on the Democratic Republic of Congo under the East African Community.

But President Ruto and Mr Kenyatta, who have had local political differences, have never met to review progress and the Nairobi Process is somewhat dead. People close to Mr Kenyatta blame President Ruto for eclipsing his predecessor’s mediation, stalling the peace bid. Mr Kenyatta is said to have complained about the apparent sabotage of his travels, including being denied certain facilities both in Nairobi and at the EAC secretariat.

“Our cohesiveness had been lost on the matter and our military in the DRC looked ridiculous because we lacked the political leadership necessary,” said a diplomat familiar with the Process. “Uhuru was left high and dry but was lucky, sort of, because other leaders wanted him to succeed in the DRC and they still want him to succeed.”

The Kisozi meeting may have been President Ruto’s Damascus moment. But it also re-roped in President Museveni. The veteran leader had initially declined, seeing that the Process needed direct political support from Nairobi first. After the meeting, President Ruto did hint at the desire to pacify the entire EAC, to achieve its integration pillars.

“Kenya and Uganda are committed to deepening the long-established diplomatic and economic ties between our two countries. This relationship includes bringing all the seven East African Community nations closer in their ultimate goal to form the East African Political Federation,” President Ruto said.

American designer and fashion icon Iris Apfel dies at age 102

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Recognized for her unique style, characterized by cropped white hair, oversized glasses, vibrant lipstick, and chunky beads, the self-proclaimed “geriatric starlet” left an indelible mark on the fashion world.

During the 1980s and 90s, Apfel reached the pinnacle of her fame, becoming a fixture at Paris fashion shows for over fifty years.

Notably, she catered to a clientele of esteemed celebrities, including Greta Garbo and Estée Lauder.

Her passing was shared with her nearly three million Instagram followers through a post featuring Apfel adorned in her iconic oversized round glasses, marking the end of an era in fashion.

Iris Apfel was aged 97 when she signed a modelling contract with global agency IMG Models, who also represent Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss

US designer Tommy Hilfiger was among those to pay tribute as he praised Apfel as an “innovator and leader” in the world of textiles and style, who “will go down in history”.

“Iris Apfel has become a world-famous fashion icon because of her incredible talent not only as an artist, but as an influencer,” he said.

“She has had an amazing effect on so many people with her huge heart and magic touch with everyone she meets.”

Throughout her illustrious career, Apfel co-founded the international textile manufacturing company Old World Weavers in 1950 alongside her husband, Carl, who passed away at the age of 100 in 2015.

US singer Lenny Kravitz and Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham were among those who paid tribute to her legacy.

Born into a Jewish family in New York in 1921, Apfel initially pursued studies in art history, later specializing in interior design, with a particular focus on textiles.

Jean Paul Gaultier and Iris Apfel in New York City in September 2006
Image caption,Jean Paul Gaultier and Iris Apfel in New York City in September 2006
For decades, she made significant contributions as an interior designer, including involvement in restoration projects at the White House. However, it was in her 80s that she emerged as a trendsetter, and remarkably, she pursued a professional modeling career at the age of 97.

‘A kaleidoscope of colour’

Apfel’s agent Lori Sale said working alongside her was “the honour of a lifetime”.

“I will miss her daily calls, always greeted with the familiar question: ‘What have you got for me today?’ Testament to her insatiable desire to work,” Ms Sale said.

“She was a visionary in every sense of the word. She saw the world through a unique lens – one adorned with giant, distinctive spectacles that sat atop her nose.

“Through those lenses, she saw the world as a kaleidoscope of colour, a canvas of patterns and prints.

“Her artistic eye transformed the mundane into the extraordinary and her ability to blend the unconventional with the elegant was nothing short of magical.”

In 2014, she was the subject of a documentary, Iris, made by acclaimed director Albert Maysles.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight in 2015, she said she thought “dressing up should be fun” and was a “chance to play”.

“It’s part of my life because I’m a creative person and I think other people should indulge in a bit of creativity,” she said.

Asked what she thought of the idea of age-appropriate dress, she said that “if you can pull it off, it’s appropriate”.

Biden and Meloni of Italy to speak during period of concern over Ukraine

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United States President Joe Biden will be meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Friday to discuss new laws to help Ukraine. Biden is also facing challenges from House Republicans and other problems in his own country.

Biden told European leaders that the U.S will support them. Ukraine’s leader still needs to get approval for extra money from the US. The aid package includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $35 billion for Israel, and Taiwan. The new law was approved by the Senate, but the Speaker of the House, who is a Republican named Mike Johnson, doesn’t want to bring it up for a vote.

Prior to Meloni’s visit, the White House officials said they don’t have good answers for friends about ending the disagreement with House Republicans and giving aid to Kyiv. This aid is really important because Ukraine is trying to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.

However, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said it’s clear that this is affecting not only our country’s safety, but also the safety of our friends in other countries.

Biden and other important politicians asked Johnson to approve the foreign aid package, but Johnson said Congress needs to focus on helping America first.

Biden and Meloni are meeting for the second time in about seven months, on Friday. Both leaders are dealing with fighting in the Middle East and Europe and trying to improve their popularity with the public.

Biden is getting ready to face Donald Trump again in November. Trump is expected to be the Republican candidate. Biden wants to be president again, but some people worry he is too old at 81. Some Democrats are also upset with how he dealt with the Israel-Hamas war, and not everyone is happy with how the American economy is doing.

Surveys show that Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy Party got a lot of votes in 2022 and is still very popular in Italy, but its support has gone down in the past year. Her group had a problem this week because the person she supported in the Sardinia regional elections didn’t win.

Meloni will see if people still like her in four more local elections and the election for European parliament in June 2024.

Gianluca Pastori, an expert at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said that Meloni and Biden are both having problems for different reasons. This meeting can show the public that there is a strong relationship with allies that are seen as important.

Meloni went to Kyiv last week to lead a meeting with the Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting was held on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The leaders of Belgium, Canada, and the EU Commission went to Kyiv with Meloni. Biden and other leaders joined them through a video call. In January, Italy started leading the G7 group for one year.

During her recent visit to Kyiv, Meloni confirmed that Italy will continue to support Ukraine and signed a agreement to help Ukraine with security and military assistance until the end of the year. Italy is also dedicated to helping Ukraine rebuild old buildings and structures.

The Biden administration was worried when Meloni became the leader of Italy’s first far-right government since World War II ended. However, both of them agree on supporting Ukraine. When Meloni visited Washington in July, Biden praised her and Italy for their support to Kyiv.

The leaders planned to discuss how the U. S, Egypt, and Qatar are trying to make Israel and Hamas stop fighting, Italy’s plans for leading the G7, people coming to Italy from North Africa, and how their countries deal with China.

Biden said earlier this week that he thinks a cease-fire deal could be made by next week. But he said that a potential agreement might have been delayed because Israeli soldiers shot at a big group of Palestinians who were trying to get food from a delivery of aid in Gaza City. More than 100 people died.

Meloni was very upset and worried about the incident.

“It is very important for Israel to understand what is happening and who is to blame,” Meloni said. She also called for more talks to stop the fighting and to free the hostages.

Meloni is going to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

Chad interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby confirms plan to run for president in May

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Chad’s military leader has said that he will run in the country’s long-awaited presidential elections in May, just three days after his chief rival was killed under suspicious circumstances.

“I, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, am a candidate for the 2024 presidential election under the banner of the For a United Chad coalition,” Deby said in a speech on Saturday.

The vote will mark the end of three years of military rule in the politically charged Central African country.

Deby took power after his father and longtime ruler, Idriss Deby Itno, died fighting rebels in the country’s north in April 2021.

The younger Deby promised a return to civilian rule, as well as elections, but the leader extended the transition by two years, despite loud objections from opposition parties.

Last week, the country’s elections agency finally announced that the vote would be held on May 6, following a December referendum promising to amend the constitution.

“Mahamat Idriss Deby said it was not his intention to run for president. He said his focus when he took over from his father when he was killed on the front lines was to stabilise Chad, to ensure that the institutions of governance continue as well as to provide peace and stability to the country and the region,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris noted, reporting from Chad’s capital N’Djamena on Saturday.

“Now, he has been endorsed by a coalition of more than 220 political parties and associations.

“But that declaration has been overshadowed by events of the past weeks, which include the raid on the main opposition political party headquarters, the demolition of the party headquarters and the killing of its leader, as well as the arrest of several other members of the political party. Many people feel that that could affect the credibility of the elections on May 6,” Idris said.

Deby’s candidacy confirmation has come just days after one of his main opponents was killed in a military operation in the capital N’Djamena.

Yaya Dillo Djerou, a cousin of President Deby, died on Wednesday after troops attacked the office of his Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF).

PSF officials have accused soldiers of killing Dillo in an “execution” before the May vote, in which he planned to run. Several people were injured in the attacks.

In a statement on Friday, Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into the killing of the politician, known simply as Yaya Dillo, and questioned how ready N’djamena was for free and fair elections.

“The circumstances of Yaya Dillo’s killing are unclear, but his violent death highlights the dangers facing opposition politicians in Chad, particularly as elections approach,” Lewis Mudge of HRW said.

“The prime minister and other key national figures should publicly call for an independent investigation into his death with an eye toward ensuring greater accountability before the election,” Mudge added, referring to Prime Minister Succes Masra.

Chadian authorities have rejected the accusations against them, saying Dillo “opposed his arrest” and fired on security forces.

THE CHURCH,OCiDA,LUNGU FAMILY,HELP MR LUNGU TO RECOVER

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THE CHURCH,OCiDA,LUNGU FAMILY,HELP MR LUNGU TO RECOVER.

Authored By Mupishi Jones

Why is the Church quiet over Mr Lungu? Where is OCiDA? Don’t they see that whatever Mr Lungu is doing and saying, it is affecting his health more than his target? This is not Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu we knew three years ago.His health is deteriorating at an alarming rate which should be a source of concern for all those who claim to care and love him especially his family.


The type of radical and rebellious political lifestyle he is engaging in is very demanding and draining at his age.Mandela was doing whatever he was doing in his twenties and early thirties,Kaunda was also a stubborn politician in his twenties and early thirties, Nkrumah was at his peak in his twenties and early thirties,even Jesus Christ was at his peak in his twenties and by early thirties he retired.All the heroes in the world were at the peak of their heroeric phase in their twenties and early thirties.By the time they were in their forties and fifties,they were hanging up their gloves as heroes and statesmen.Their spirits could have been telling them to continue but the energy within their bodies and health could not allow.Nature and destiny made them realize that there is the fullness of time to which great leaders should move on and not occupy too long the grounds on which others have the right to occupy and advance.They knew that even a bat when it perches on a tree for a very long time,it attracts the barking of dogs.Therefore, great leaders know when to leave the stage.


You cannot become a political hero in a plural democratic country like Zambia today where political competition should be viewed as a competition to serve the people better.This means one can still serve the people of Zambia in another capacity and not only through narrow partisan domestic politics.Zambian politics today is no longer a matter of life and death where you are coming in to play Jesus Christ the saviour.It shouldn’t just be you and without you alone then there’s no PF, democracy or Zambia!


The Church must quickly move in and seriously counsel this old man whose health and age are contradicting with his current political engagements.Whatever political persecution he is claiming from the UPND is arising from his own political engagements and activities.Who do you think would have been interested in him if he had remained quiet in his retirement? Why are people like Inonge, Sikazwe,Dora , Mwale and many others not being visited? Please do not hide in the name of “he’s political rights”, the man has got the right to rest peacefully too.


Please Mr Lubinda,Nakachinda, Mundubile, Mwamba,Mumbi let go of the Old Man and allow him to rest in peace! You’re not doing him a favor but instead you’re pushing him towards an early grave because of the stressful nature of the radical type of politics you want him to continue playing at his age.When you look straight into his eyes,do you see a man who sleeps peacefully at night? When you look at his face,do you see a healthy face in this man? When you hear him talk,do you hear the voice of a statesman or that of an emotionally estranged man?


Honorable Tasila,where are you? Your father did his part and he handed over the burton to you to carry on the journey.In an event that he goes today, you’ll be haunted forever because you failed to do what you should have done when nature called upon you.
How I wish I was close to him,
I submit

Mupishi Jones
0977480386

HH says “There is nothing like Climate Change, it is just lack of visionary leadership” : Yes, our President is right here- Chris Zumani

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HH says “There is nothing like Climate Change, it is just lack of visionary leadership” : Yes, our President is right here

By Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba

This article is written in the spirit of providing checks and balances, promoting transparent governance, enhancing political integrity and holding our national leadership accountable. Let’s quickly walk the political talk and focus only on twelve (12) points and conclude.

1. While in opposition before 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) repeatedly said that ‘government leaders should never use natural occurrences such as climate change (droughts or floods) as an excuse of failing to deliver quality public services. Any leader who blames climate change lacks visionary leadership and is not fit to govern a country’, one HH used to stress and boast.

2. Yes, president HH is very right and correct. There are many examples that justifies and supports his philosophical policy approach. As he correctly points out, it is political leadership that is a key determinant on wether citizens sink or float during natural disasters such as droughts, earthquakes, floods or volcanic eruptions. Leaders are supposed to solve problems or prevent problems from happening.

3. The presidency is an institution of supreme leadership for the nation under the state. A president is elected to identify issues affecting the people and provide solutions to them. He/she is a citizen chosen by fellow citizens to resolve, manage and mitigate their problems in all areas using the state. So, HH is correct:”there is nothing like climate change but lack of visionary leadership”.

4. Libya is a desert with limited surface water resources. But Muammar Gaddafi as its ruler created the Great Man Made River in the 1980s of more 1,600 km to tap groundwater. Today, more than 70% million citizens depend on this water for drinking and Agric irrigation projects. Like HH said, it was the great leadership of Gaddafi here that has made Libyan people and economy to survive harsh climatic conditions for decades using this man made river.

5. In September, 2023, Morocco was hit by a violent earthquake that killed more than 2,900, over 5,500 injured, up to 500,000 displaced and affected nearly 2.8 million of Morocco’s 37 million inhabitants. Here is a case of climate change and natural occurrences imposing a huge disaster on Morocco in unexpected circumstances.

6. Did the Moroccan leaders curse God and throw excuses to justify their people’s hardships and malaises? No. Like Bally said, Morocco has a visionary government in place and does not give excuses to climate change or natural disasters to deliver quality public services to their people and govern them accordingly to government’s supreme mandate.

7. An organized Moroccan government announced a U$12 billion for disaster recovery program, and every affected household to receive U$250 monthly for a one-year period. Compensation for destroyed properties was set at U$14,000 and U$8,000 for partial destruction respectively. An account was opened to collect donations from companies and citizens, and High Atlas Development Agency was created to supervise the recovery process among other interventions. This is great leadership!

8. By end of 2023, Jesko Hentschel from World Bank said: “Morocco has shown strong resilience in the face of a number of shocks, most recently the September earthquake”. Today, Morocco’s economy is back on track with the tourism, agriculture, FDI and manufacturing sectors booming stronger again. Due to visionary leadership, Morocco is still an icon of the region today as if they never kissed a huge earthquake.

9. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they are engulfed in deep ocean waters, heavy sand and hot deserts. Temperatures are abnormal and humanly unbearable. But today, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain, Fujairah, Ajman, and Ras Al Khaimah are among the most developed and visited cities in the world with shared citizen prosperity. As HH said, it is the visionary leadership of UEA that has distinguished itself: no rhetoric excuses for bad whether conditions or climate change.

10. But the case of Zambia under President HH himself is the total opposite. When he took over power in August 2021, HH found food security with maize reserves of over 2 million metric tons at FRA. This is stock made by President Edgar Chagwa Lungu from 2019 to 2021 itself. The PF government was visionary enough to keep maize reserves that could feed Zambia for two years in case of drought or any natural catastrophe affecting agriculture.

11. President HH, his Agric Minister, Mtolo Phiri and cabinet impulsively saw money and not national maize reserves. Against expert advice, they promptly exported over 1.5 million tons to DR Congo for cash. Now, HH is declaring the 2023 drought as a national disaster and crying for relief food with GMOs already on the market. Zambia is now sinking into a food crisis: thousands of people face hunger, starvation and death.

12. At the funeral of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony said: “I have not come to mourn Caesar, but I have only come to bury him “. Today, l have also not come to mourn HH for declaring the 2024 drought as a national disaster, l have only come to hold Bally accountable about what he said on climate change before 2021. I have come to remind and agree with him that “there is nothing like climate change here, it is simply lack of leadership vision”.

Let me end here. By declaring the 2024 drought as a national disaster, president HH has not only conceded policy defeat about what he said and promised before August 2021, he has confirmed that he is only a vainly sweet talker: a rhetoric politician only anointed with lies without true leadership vision and competences. Therefore, l am not fit to mourn or bury such a man, I leave it to our voters in 2026 to finish what they brought upon themselves in August 2021.

Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
Email: chriszumaniZimba.cz@gmail.com

The pain, misery and tears of the Munyaule traders will haunt Mr Hichilema- Fred M’membe

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A GLOOMY SUNDAY FOR MUNYAULE TRADERS

Our hearts go out to the traders of Lusaka’s Munyaule market, who woke up to a gloomy, and sad reality that their source of survival – stores – had been destroyed, demolished.

It is difficult to comprehend how Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his government expect our people to survive amidst austerity. They’ve denied several families a livelihood overnight.

How can a responsible and rational government demolish peoples stores at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed to unimaginable heights, with many struggling to make ends meet?

Why is Mr Hichilema and his league so insensitive to the plight of our people? Why do they always want to view the poor majority of people in this country as nothing but a bother? When will this government ever side with the poor people of this country?

Surely, how can they be so cruel to demolish even the goods worth millions and leave the people with nothing but more poverty? So then, how are these people expected to fend for themselves and their families in these difficult times?

We need a government of the people, for the people and by the people. A government with true love and compassion for the poor masses. A government that respects, protects and values people.

The pain, misery and tears of the Munyaule traders and many others who are in this situation elsewhere will haunt Mr Hichilema.

Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party
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“Mr Ibu” John Okafor Has Died: Six Things You Did Not Know About The Nollywood Legend

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Nollywood actor and comedian John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, died on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 62.

He succumbed to a cardiac arrest at Evercare Hospital in Lagos after battling with a mysterious illness that led to the amputation of one of his legs.

Mr Ibu was one of Nollywood’s most beloved and prolific actors, appearing in over 200 movies. He was best known for his roles in the Mr Ibu series and other comedy classics such as Police Recruit, 9 Wives, Ibu in Prison, and Keziah.

In 2023, Okafor suffered from a strange and dangerous illness, which caused his blood cells to die and his leg to clot. He underwent seven surgeries, and eventually, doctors amputated his leg.

As the continent mourns the loss of a great entertainer, here are six things you may not know about Mr Ibu.

He Lost His Family Members In One Incident Growing Up

Mr Ibu’s father and five family members died after the family was poisoned. He then moved to stay with his elder brother. John did various menial jobs to support himself and help his brother’s family.

“Mr Ibu” John Okafor Had No Intention Of Becoming An Actor
Mr Ibu never envisioned a career in acting. He initially wanted to be a boxer, a footballer, or a soldier, but none of these dreams materialised. He worked as a hairdresser, a photographer, and a crate maker before he was introduced to acting by a friend, Peter Iwegbu, who was a scriptwriter.

Okafor auditioned for a role in a soap opera called New Masquerade and got his first acting job. His breakthrough came in 2004 when he starred in the comedy film Mr Ibu, which earned him his famous nickname.

He Was Married Twice And Had Seven Children.

Mr Ibu was married to his first wife, Ngozi, for ten years, and they had three children together. However, their marriage ended in a divorce after he accused her of infidelity and witchcraft. He then married his second wife, Stella Maris, and they had four children together.

Mr Ibu’s Ex-Wife Once Kidnapped His Wife And Child

He once revealed that his ex-wife abducted his wife and son. She released them ten days later after the actor paid a ransom. Okafor’s son died a year later, and it was discovered that he was poisoned.

John Okafor Survived Several Near-Death Experiences, Including Poisoning And Robbery
Mr Ibu had a history of health challenges, which he attributed to spiritual attacks and enemies. In 2012, he claimed that his staff poisoned him and almost died. He said he vomited blood and was rushed to the hospital, where he spent several weeks.

In 2018, Okafor said he was robbed at his home in Lagos, and the gunmen shot him in the chest, but he miraculously survived. He also said he lost his memory for three days and was taken to Enugu for treatment. In 2020, he revealed that he had a stroke but recovered after prayers from a pastor.

The Philanthropist And Peace Ambassador
Mr Ibu was not only a successful entertainer but also a generous and compassionate person. He was involved in several humanitarian and charitable causes, such as donating to orphanages, empowering the youth, and supporting the less privileged.

Mr Ibu will be remembered as a legend of Nollywood and a source of joy and laughter for millions of people. May his soul rest in peace.

Three Branches of Government: Myth or Reality?

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By Henry Kyambalesa

By and large, sovereign nations-states worldwide claim to be governed through three ‘independent’ organs or branches of government—that is, the law-making or legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch. This, in the words of Farese, Kimbrell and Woloszyk (2009:125), “provides a system of checks and balances that prevents any one branch of government from becoming too powerful.”

1. The legislative branch of government in any given democratic country is generally composed of elected members. In some
democracies, the executive President or Prime Minister is permitted to nominate a small number of citizens to join the legislative branch.In this respect, it would be advisable for a country’s executive president or prime minister to fill Cabinet-level positions with individuals who are not elected Members of Parliament in order to provide for greater independence of the legislative and executive organs of government.

Besides, such a move can provide the executive president or prime minister with a larger pool of competent citizens from which he or she can constitute the Cabinet, afford aspirants for the top position in the executive branch enough time to identify potential ministerial appointees well before elections rather than waiting for elections of lawmakers to be concluded, as well as reduce the work overload on government officials who have to handle both ministerial and legislative functions.

2. The executive branch is essentially headed by an elected executive president or prime minister. (Note: Some countries’ constitutions provide for the executive president or prime minister to fill positions in his or her Cabinet with elected members of the legislative branch of government.)

3. The judicial branch is typically headed by an individual who is nominated by the executive president or prime minister, and who is ordinarily confirmed by members of the legislative branch of government. Besides, the individual serves as a member of the executive president’s or prime minister’s cabinet. As such, the judicial branch is clearly not an ‘independent’ organ of government.

In the United States, for example, the fallacious and questionable ‘independence’ of the head of the judicial branch of the Federal government has been questioned by Gambino (2019) in the following words: “William Barr: Is His Defense of Trump Paving the ‘Road to Tyranny’?”

Besides, the mythical ‘independence’ of the judicial branch of the Federal government in the country was somewhat bemoaned by the late U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings in April 2019, and by former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the following words (CBS News, 2019 and Hains,2019):“Mr. [William] Barr is acting as the defense counsel for the president of the United States … [when] he’s supposed to be our lawyer, the people’s lawyer.”

And

“Attorney General [William] Barr’s regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report … [has] resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality.”The use of the words “your Justice Department” and “my Justice Department” in the following statements by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and Beto O’Rourke, one of several Democratic Party presidential candidates, respectively, clearly demonstrate the fact that the judicial branch in the United States—and in all professed
democratic countries worldwide as a matter of fact—is not ‘independent’ from the executive branch of government (ABC News,
2019):

Stephanopoulos:

“If … you win, if you become president in 2020, would you want your Justice Department to pursue charges against President
Trump?”

O’Rourke:

“I would want my Justice Department … to follow the facts and the truth and to make sure at the end of the day that there is
accountability and justice without [which] … American Democracy comes to a close.”The following excerpt provides another obvious example of the potential for legislative and/or executive branches of a country’s national government to have undue influence on judicial decisions and the composition and operations of the judiciary (Democracy Now, 2020):

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators [are reported as having been] … privately contacting
conservative federal judges to urge them to retire, so they can be replaced [by other conservative judges] while Republicans still control the Senate and Trump is in the White House.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal, a U.S. Democratic Party member representing the State of Washington in the U.S. Congress is quoted by
Shortell and Herb (2020) as having taunted William P. Barr, then U.S.Attorney General, during a Congressional hearing in the following words:

“There is a real discrepancy in how you react as the Attorney General, the top cop in this country, when white men with swastikas storm a government building with guns, there is no need for the President to ‘activate’ you, because they’re getting the President’s personal agenda done … [but] when Black people, and people of color protest police brutality, systemic racism and the President’s very own lack of response to those critical issues, then you forcibly remove them with armed federal officers, pepper bombs, because they are considered terrorists by the President.”

There is clearly a need for national leaders worldwide to seriously consider the prospect of subjecting prospective heads of the judicial branch of government to a popular vote by the citizenry in order to make elected heads accountable to the people, make them less vulnerable to the influences of politicians and ideologues, and make them ‘truly’ independent from the whims of the head of the executive branch.

And a country’s Supreme Court Justices, as well as special counsels,would ultimately need to be nominated or appointed by the elected head of the judicial branch and confirmed by the national legislative branch of government in order for them to be ‘independent’ and ‘impartial’ in the dispensation of justice. The term of office of the elected head of the judicial branch should be analogous to that of the executive president or prime minister, and that of members of the legislative branch of the national government.

In the United States, for example, most States (at least 40 out of the country’s 50 States) elect their Attorneys General. And most municipalities in the country elect their Sheriffs. The country’s Attorney General, as noted earlier, is appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

One wonders why the U.S. Congress and all other legislative organs of democratic governments worldwide cannot consider the prospect of subjecting aspirants for the position of Attorney General to a popular vote by the electorate!

Bibliography
CBS News, “Transcript: Rep. Elijah Cummings on ‘Face the Nation’,”
https://www.cbsnews.com/ , April 21, 2019.
Democracy Now, “Mitch McConnell Urging Conservative Judges to Retire While GOP Still Holds Senate & Presidency,”
https://www.democracynow.org/ , March 17, 2020.
Farese, Lois S., Kimbrell, Grady and Woloszyk, Carl A., Marketing Essentials (Woodland Hills, CA: Glencoe / McGraw-Hill, 2009).
Gambino, Lauren, “William Barr: Is His Defense of Trump Paving the ‘Road to Tyranny’?” The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/ , May 4, 2019.
Kyambalesa, Henry, The Size and Functions of Government (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2022), pp. 353–357.

Pelosi, Nancy and Schumer, Chuck, quoted in Hains, Tim, “Attorney General Bill Barr Press Conference on Final Mueller Report,” Real Clear Politics:https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ , April 18, 2019.

(The “Mueller Report” was the final report of a U.S. counterintelligence investigation of the alleged Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.)
Shortell, David and Herb, Jeremy, “Barr Clashes with Democrats over Policing and Roger Stone Sentencing at Fiery Hill Hearing,” CNN:https://www.cnn.com/ , July 28, 2020.
Stephanopoulos, George and O’Rourke, Beto, quoted by ABC News,
“‘This Week’ Transcript 6-9-19: Beto O’Rourke,”
https://abcnews.go.com/ ,

RESPONSE TO OPPOSITION PROPAGANDA ON MAIZE EXPORT

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RESPONSE
TO OPPOSITION PROPAGANDA ON MAIZE EXPORT

By Mark Simuuwe

1. PF collected farmers’ maize and refused to pay them their money; the farmers they refused to pay were 258,000 .

2. UPND came in power and released k1.6billion and paid all the 258,000 farmers .
3. ⁠The maize being referred to by PF belonged to farmers who needed to be paid and were paid following an export of part of the maize .

4. ⁠As a general practice , FRA kept or reserved maize enough for consumption for Zambians and that’s why they were able to release 250,000 metric tons early last year in 2023 when there was a demand for mealie meal in some parts of the country created by smuggling ;

5. ⁠PF also left export agreements and the then minister of Agriculture
Dora Siliya justified the PF government maize export by saying as quoted by the Lusaka Times media :

“We allowed for the export to Malawi because the contract was signed before the ban on export was effected, the contract was signed in June 2016 under a government arrangement to help Malawi with the commodity following a drought that spared Zambia in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC),” Agriculture Minister, Dora Siliya told Lusaka Times.”

End of quote :

6. It is first important for us to agree on principle that it was necessary for President Hichilema to declare the dry spell situation as a national disaster well in advance before any harvest was made – this is what a serious government does .

7. ⁠President HH and his team soon announced the UPND New Dawn Administration mitigation framework involving 17,000 farmers earmarked for support including irrigation as an alternative to natural rainfall ;

8. ⁠President Hichilema has been consistent on water harvesting and explaining the threats of climate change and this is why he introduced the ministry of Green Economy which is bringing to the table carbon trading projects , as this is particularly discussed in the 2024 national budget ;

9. ⁠Government has no control of a dry spell as it is a natural disaster which is not occurring for the first time – Zambians may recall that around 1992 , we were again hit by the same dry spell ;

10. Government has also undertaken to invest in irrigation farming after releasing K1million in 2022 to audit farm blocks across the country so that government could commence the production of maize using ZNS , which has already commenced;

11. ⁠in addition , government did not see the export of maize as a threat but as an opportunity and this is why there is more emphasis on more Citizens to come on board and take agricultural as a business ;

12. ⁠in 2023 , government decided to allocate over k30 million credit facility to help Zambians invest in farming , under relaxed terms , with FRA commanding an off take agreement for those that produced maize ;

13. ⁠Government is committed to ensuring that a lasting solution to the situation caused by a dry spell is resolved so that there is food security in Zambia .

14. Two week ago , the Minister of Agriculture announced other measures such as imposing a maize export ban in the interim until the situation caused by a dry spell is adequately assessed.

Conclusion

Citizens should not listen to the opposition because opposition have no solutions to the current situation , neither can they do anything to resolve the situation as they are not running government.

Only the UPND New Dawn government has control of the situation.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT A CURSE FROM GOD BUT A RESULT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES

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CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT A CURSE FROM GOD BUT A RESULT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES

Is cutting down trees an act of God? Is burning fossil fuels – such as coal, oil and gas – to produce energy and power transport an act of God? Definitely not!

Human activities have caused climate change and human beings must take responsibility. Some of these human activities are necessary for survival, for example we need enough energy to feed 7 billion people across the globe. Produce that energy, it involves burning of fossil fuels which emits dangerous gases in the atmosphere.

Climate change has turned out to be a threat to the very people that the world is trying to feed. For instance, a farmer cuts trees to produce food but that act stops the rains and the life of the very farmer is threatened.

Yesterday, President Hakainde Hichilema announced some of the urgent measures we need to implement to combat climate change. From the time we formed government, the President has always placed emphasis on the fight against climate change as witnessed through the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment. This was a message to the world that Zambia is serious about climate change.

Climate change cannot be fought in isolation; we need global consented efforts. We are all affected by the devastating effects of climate change.

We appeal to the people of Zambia to support and work with government in fighting climate change. Some of the measures will not be easy to accept like halting the illegal cutting down of trees for charcoal.

We urgently need to transition to alternative clean energy and as government we will do everything possible to make this transition easy. We need to make alternative energy sources such as solar and gas cheaper to access. We shall be engaging the Ministry of Finance to lobby for the removal of duty on the importation of renewable energy goods.

We will also work closely with the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to ensure that people in the rural areas have access to cheaper electricity in order to curb deforestation.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. We shall overcome tough times.

Hon. Eng. Collins Nzovu, MP
Minister of Green Economy and Environment

‘I’m half man, half machine’ Black Coffee Gets Candid About His Terrifying Flight Accident

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Renowned South African music producer and DJ, Black Coffee, recently shared the chilling details of a life-threatening accident that occurred during his tour of South America earlier this year. The artist revealed the traumatic experience in an exclusive interview on My Top 10 at 10 with Tbose.

A Terrifying Ordeal
In January, while en route to his performance in Mar Del Plata, Black Coffee faced a harrowing accident that left him with injuries and a profound impact on his perspective. Recounting the terrifying moments, he expressed, “I literally saw my life flashing; that was the most painful thing about the accident.”

During the interview, he elaborated on the sequence of events, explaining that the incident occurred when he had to switch airlines unexpectedly for this particular leg of the tour. The aircraft, in his words, “looked old, like no one had been using it,” leading to an uneasy feeling.

The Fateful Moment
As the plane cruised, Black Coffee found solace in listening to a gospel album, reclined his seat, and took a nap. Suddenly, he was jolted awake by the violent shaking of the plane. “I opened my eyes, and everyone was trying to hold on,” he recalled. “It was moving so violently that I fell on the floor.”

Amidst the chaos, a gospel song played on his headphones, repeating Hallelujah. He described it as angels were singing to save him at that critical moment. Struggling to stay upright, he recounted hitting the ceiling and losing consciousness briefly. The plane’s interior was severely damaged, yet it continued to fly with oxygen masks deployed.

The Emergency Landing and Surgery
With the situation escalating, the pilot made an emergency landing in Uruguay. Black Coffee underwent a five-hour surgery to repair his upper spinal cord, which had sustained damage during the incident. The artist reflected on the surreal nature of the experience, acknowledging the fragility of life.

This near-death encounter has left Black Coffee with a renewed perspective, emphasizing the importance of gratitude and resilience. The artist is currently on the path to recovery, both physically and emotionally, as he continues to create music and share his journey with his audience.

Kenya And Haiti Sign Reciprocal Police Deployment Deal

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Kenya and Haiti recently entered into a reciprocal agreement, as Kenyan President William Ruto announced.

Under this agreement, police forces from Kenya will be deployed to lead a United Nations-backed mission to maintain law and order in Haiti, a country plagued by gang-related issues.

President Ruto mentioned on Friday, March 1 that he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry discussed the necessary steps to expedite the deployment. However, it remains unclear whether this agreement will conflict with a court ruling from January 2024 that deemed the deployment unconstitutional.

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The signing of the deal coincided with a period of heightened violence in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where deadly gang-related incidents led to the closure of businesses and schools, as well as flight cancellations.

Previously, Kenya had expressed readiness to offer up to 1,000 personnel for the mission, a gesture that received appreciation from the United States and other nations, that had decided against deploying their forces.

The US for instance, has a long and complex history with Haiti, dating back to the early 19th century.

During Haiti’s struggle for independence from French colonial rule, the U.S. failed to support the revolutionary movement led by Toussaint L’Ouverture.

This lack of support left a lasting impression on Haiti and contributed to a sense of mistrust toward foreign powers, including the US.

The subsequent US occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 further strained relations and left scars on the nation’s psyche. As a result, any US intervention would be viewed through this historical lens.

However, a court in Nairobi declared the decision unconstitutional, citing the absence of a reciprocal agreement between the two countries as one of the reasons for its ruling.

Ruto stated that he and Henry had “witnessed the signing” of a reciprocal agreement in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

“I take this opportunity to reiterate Kenya’s commitment to contribute to the success of this multi-national mission. We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole,” Ruto said in a statement.


The UN Security Council gave the green light to the mission in early October 2023. However, concerns within Kenya about Nairobi’s participation led to a legal challenge.

The court’s decision cast uncertainty on the fate of a multinational force that Haiti’s government had long sought. They’ve been appealing for international assistance to tackle the violence, which has claimed nearly 5,000 lives.

Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who initiated the petition against the deployment, announced on Friday, March 1 his intention to file a case for contempt of court.

“We will question the validity of this secretive agreement,” he said.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has been grappling with persistent turmoil for years. Armed gangs have seized control of various areas, unleashing brutal violence that has severely impacted the economy and public health system.

A notable gang leader revealed that multiple factions are coordinating efforts to launch attacks on state security forces. Their objective is to oust Prime Minister Henry from office, adding to the challenges faced by the beleaguered nation.

Gang leader Jimmy Cherisier also known as “Barbecue”, publicized the attack in a social media video just before the battles began.

“With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country,” he said.

Haiti is currently without elected officials, as Prime Minister Henry assumed office with the support of the international community shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

According to a political agreement, the Prime Minister was expected to transfer power to elected officials by February 7 of this year. However, this transition has not taken place as of now.

Saudi Arabia launches bid for 2034 World Cup

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia formally launched its bid to host the 2034 World Cup on Friday, four months after football’s world governing body FIFA announced the kingdom was the only candidate.

The bid comes two years after neighbouring Qatar hosted the first World Cup in the Middle East.

The campaign is under the slogan “Growing. Together”, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) revealed its bid logo, website, as well as a short bid film that celebrates “the passion, spirit and diversity of football in Saudi Arabia”.

“This campaign is powered by the hopes and dreams of 32 million people in Saudi Arabia,” the head of the SAFF bid unit, Hammad Albalawi, said in a statement.

“Our responsibility is to submit the best possible bid to FIFA, make our country proud and fulfil the trust placed upon us by more than 130 Member Associations across the world who supported our bid.”

Under Saudi leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to position Saudi Arabia as a tourism, business and sports hub, the kingdom has invested heavily in sport.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a “multi-year strategic partnership” with the ATP, the governing body of men’s tennis.

Since 2021, PIF has invested heavily in a number of major sports, including setting up the LIV golf tour, a rival to the PGA, and purchasing English Premier League club Newcastle United.

It also owns four clubs in the Saudi Pro League and has lured global stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar with huge salaries.

The investment has led to accusations the kingdom is “sportswashing” international criticism of its human rights record.

Saudi Arabia announced its intention to bid for the 2034 event on October 4, as soon as the procedure had been launched.

As a result of the continental rotation, FIFA had only “invited” member countries of the Asian and Oceanian confederations to apply — thus ruling out the traditional footballing heartlands.

At one stage, Indonesia had considered a joint bid with Australia, or even other countries such as New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, but on October 19 it agreed to support Saudi Arabia’s bid.

REPRESSION, LIES, ELECTORAL FRAUD AND BRIBERY WON’T SAVE HICHILEMA- Fred M’membe

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REPRESSION, LIES, ELECTORAL FRAUD AND BRIBERY WON’T SAVE HICHILEMA

It’s not only the food shortage emergency Zambia is today facing.

Zambia is also facing a very serious emergency of governance deficiency. And both need emergency measures.

History has shown that when a ruling clique has lost public confidence, trust, and respect, it automatically resorts to repression, lies, and electoral fraud to preserve its hold on power.

In this case, Mr Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND know that their political fortunes have rapidly dwindled. They know that they have lost popularity and control over the masses. They know that the people are not with them.

They’ve seen that the people are frustrated, hungry and angry with them because they’ve failed to make this country better and different. And so, this corrupt tribal puppet regime is desperate to remain in power.

In truth, the UPND is not genuinely winning any by-elections. They are simply involved in crass electoral bribery and fraud. They’re buying votes from the poor people of this country. Today, we have cabinet ministers whose only discernible preoccupation is to move from one by-election campaign to another, distributing money, foodstuffs, and other materials. They have literally stopped performing their ministerial duties and have become full-time by-election campaigners and distributors of food and money. District commissioners are also part of these campaigns and are using government motor vehicles with registration plates removed. Why?

Mr Hichilema is in a very serious crisis. His leadership has completely failed. And fraudulent by-election victories won’t save him and his league from the impending political armageddon. They can cheat themselves and their supporters with these fraudulent victories but time is coming when they will be so ashamed of their senseless actions.

In fact, this is the worst form of political self-deception any leader or political party can subject themselves to. It’s a fruitless expedition with a predictable outcome. The PF tried it, and the result was disastrous.

Why can’t Mr Hichilema and the UPND learn from what happened to the PF not so long ago? Are they blinded with power so soon? Time will tell.

Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party

It’s Very Difficult To Sympathise With Mr Lungu Over His Governance Complaints Today- Mupishi Jones

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IT’S VERY DIFFICULT TO SYMPATHISE WITH MR LUNGU OVER HIS GOVERNANCE COMPLAINTS TODAY

Authored by Mupishi Jones

Honestly speaking ,it’s very difficult to sympathize with the immediate past head of state,Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu over governance issues without looking behind to compare his administration against what he’s complaining on today.

The other day he was complaining about police conduct and arrests of his colleagues,is he aware that the same police officers he is complaining about are the same ones who arrested his successor more than 15 times under his command only? Does he count how many times his successor was tear gassed under his command only? Has he forgotten the circumstances that led to the late state prosecutor Nsama Nsama to be shot dead at force headquarters by the very police officers he is complaining on today under his command then? Today he is complaining about shrinking freedoms and yet he is freely speaking under a peaceful environment as compared to what his successor went through during his reign.

If Mr Lungu’s complaints of diminishing freedoms and liberties are genuinely coming from the bottom of his heart,then it implies that he was out of control of the government machinery when he was the President and Commander in Chief of all state security wings in this country.

Only then can he say he wasn’t even aware that his personal barberman had shot dead Lawrence Banda,an innocent citizen in Kaoma.Only then can he say that he wasn’t aware that his successor had once escaped from his political party cadres from a private radio station through the rooftop.Only then can he say that he wasn’t aware that his successor was on several occasions banned to visit certain provinces in this country. Does he even know that his successor became a stranger in Zambia,his country where he was expected to have been feeling most at home?


The recently employed Zambia Police Officers by the New Dawn Administration are still undergoing trainings at Lilayi and other training camps.The Police Officers that were sheparding Mr Lungu and his colleagues at Kabwata Police station are the same police officers that he left under Charity Katanga when he was in power.The same police officers whom him and Kampyongo used to say “tabakwata size”. Today, the same police he was eulogizing yesterday in his eyes have become unprofessional.”Ala Lesa Uyu nimalyotola”, when He says do unto others what you would want them to do to you,He means just that! In an event that Mr Lungu decides to write his own autobiography, how is he going to describe his seven years governance? Is he going to omit how citizens like Mapenzi, Nsama, Lawrence Banda, Vespers,Mukonka,Mbanga,Choonga,Obed, Kennedy Mudenda,Frank Mugala, Joseph Kaunda and others were killed and permanently maimed?
The political environment today might be toxic to those few political dare devils and constitutional deliquents,but to the majority citizens it’s far much more serene and peaceful than it was during Mr Lungu’s reign with his akawawawa boys!

Today anyone can wear whatever party ligalia one desires anywhere without constantly looking behind his shoulder.Today any private radio station can freely host anyone without fear of heavy knocks on their doors.Today anyone eligible can get a government contract without political consideration.

Today anyone qualified can get a government job without political connections. Today Mr Lungu can go to any part of this country whether the President is in that very part of the country or not.Today even ruling UPND cadres that come into conflict with the law are seen to be own their own as they face the law.


Therefore,to sympathize with Mr Lungu no matter how genuine his complaint might be on governance issues is very difficult because his past will automatically pop up,
I submit

Mupishi Jones
0977480386

The rivalry between PF and UPND was very big but not even PF could block UPND candidates to contest- Dr Lubinda Haabazoka

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Democracy in Zambia

By Dr Lubinda Haabazoka

I have been a bit busy this week and just realised there were some by elections this week in some wards.

I am very worried that as a country we are doing away with multiparty democracy. Besides the ruling party, only SP contested some areas while I read that their candidates were disqualified in some areas.

I don’t think it’s healthy to go into elections without opponents. In 1990 when the country rose and chose multiparty, a foundation was created to ensure that whether one liked it or not, they had no choice to choose whom to contest against.

The rivalry between PF and UPND was very big but not even PF could block UPND candidates to contest. Such is democracy!

Unfortunately what I have seen is that the former ruling party has literally been hijacked and stoped from contesting. When a new alternative is about to be created, it’s being blocked from all angles! At the end of the day, we shall end up with UPPZ as the ruling party if we blocked other major parties from contesting. That’s how people react. People react to injustice and might end up giving you a parliament of independents in 2026 if we fail to allow healthy political competition.

Just like in global politics, I always wish for a strong USA, China and Russia. That balances up global power such that no one takes advantage of the other. That’s what we also need in Zambian politics.

No need of attacking me on this wonderful sabbath morning because what am saying is the truth and nothing but the truth! Give back the party to it rightful owners and also allow others to form whatever they want! This is what is called democracy! We can’t curtail people’s freedoms. Let the people decide whom they want peacefully!

The best way to maintain power for the ruling party is to meet the expectations of the electorate. The opposition also has the duty to provide alternative ways of achieving things. That’s how a country develops! By having divergent views!

We should not forget our role of guiding those in government. It’s our civic duty!

Have a nice weekend

Biden and Meloni of Italy to speak during period of concern over Ukraine

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United States President Joe Biden will be meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Friday to discuss new laws to help Ukraine. Biden is also facing challenges from House Republicans and other problems in his own country.

Biden told European leaders that the U.S will support them. Ukraine’s leader still needs to get approval for extra money from the US. The aid package includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $35 billion for Israel, and Taiwan. The new law was approved by the Senate, but the Speaker of the House, who is a Republican named Mike Johnson, doesn’t want to bring it up for a vote.

Prior to Meloni’s visit, the White House officials said they don’t have good answers for friends about ending the disagreement with House Republicans and giving aid to Kyiv. This aid is really important because Ukraine is trying to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.

However, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said it’s clear that this is affecting not only our country’s safety, but also the safety of our friends in other countries.

Biden and other important politicians asked Johnson to approve the foreign aid package, but Johnson said Congress needs to focus on helping America first.

Biden and Meloni are meeting for the second time in about seven months, on Friday. Both leaders are dealing with fighting in the Middle East and Europe and trying to improve their popularity with the public.

Biden is getting ready to face Donald Trump again in November. Trump is expected to be the Republican candidate. Biden wants to be president again, but some people worry he is too old at 81. Some Democrats are also upset with how he dealt with the Israel-Hamas war, and not everyone is happy with how the American economy is doing.

Surveys show that Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy Party got a lot of votes in 2022 and is still very popular in Italy, but its support has gone down in the past year. Her group had a problem this week because the person she supported in the Sardinia regional elections didn’t win.

Meloni will see if people still like her in four more local elections and the election for European parliament in June 2024.

Gianluca Pastori, an expert at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said that Meloni and Biden are both having problems for different reasons. This meeting can show the public that there is a strong relationship with allies that are seen as important.

Meloni went to Kyiv last week to lead a meeting with the Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting was held on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The leaders of Belgium, Canada, and the EU Commission went to Kyiv with Meloni. Biden and other leaders joined them through a video call. In January, Italy started leading the G7 group for one year.

During her recent visit to Kyiv, Meloni confirmed that Italy will continue to support Ukraine and signed a agreement to help Ukraine with security and military assistance until the end of the year. Italy is also dedicated to helping Ukraine rebuild old buildings and structures.

The Biden administration was worried when Meloni became the leader of Italy’s first far-right government since World War II ended. However, both of them agree on supporting Ukraine. When Meloni visited Washington in July, Biden praised her and Italy for their support to Kyiv.

The leaders planned to discuss how the U. S, Egypt, and Qatar are trying to make Israel and Hamas stop fighting, Italy’s plans for leading the G7, people coming to Italy from North Africa, and how their countries deal with China.

Biden said earlier this week that he thinks a cease-fire deal could be made by next week. But he said that a potential agreement might have been delayed because Israeli soldiers shot at a big group of Palestinians who were trying to get food from a delivery of aid in Gaza City. More than 100 people died.

Meloni was very upset and worried about the incident.

“It is very important for Israel to understand what is happening and who is to blame,” Meloni said. She also called for more talks to stop the fighting and to free the hostages.

Meloni is going to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

Prince William “very worried” about rising discrimination in United Kingdom

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The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, expressed his concern about the rise in antisemitism during his visit to a London synagogue.This was his first public appearance after missing a big royal event.

A week after a royal prince asked for the fighting to stop in Gaza, saying too many people had been killed, William met with young ambassadors from the Holocaust Educational Trust. They are working to stop hate and attacks on the Jewish community in Britain.

“We are both very worried about the increase in antisemitism that you mentioned this morning. I am sorry if any of you have had to deal with that,” the prince said. “I’m here today to tell you that there are people who care and are willing to listen. ”

The prince visited a synagogue and met Holocaust survivors and Jewish students. He listened to them talk about how there was a lot of hatred towards Jewish people, including death threats and attacks. The prince was wearing a traditional Jewish cap called a kippah during his visit.

On Wednesday, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he will give 54 million pounds (US$68 million) to help keep Jewish communities safe. This is because there were a lot of antisemitic incidents in Britain last year, more than ever before.

Last week, Prince William made a rare speech about the Gaza conflict, asking for peace and for Hamas to release all hostages. This was surprising because usually, royal family members do not get involved in political issues. It was in the news all over the world.

But after being the first senior British royal to visit Israel and Palestinian territory in 2018, he has been interested in the region and wanted to talk about the suffering it has caused. His office said that.

Rumors about a missing prince.

He didn’t go to a memorial service for his godfather because of a personal issue. People on social media are talking a lot about it. His wife Catherine was with him when he made a public appearance afterwards.

The 41-year-old just started working again after his wife had surgery last month. His father, King Charles, is also getting treatment for cancer.

Sources from the palace said that William wasn’t at the memorial service because of his father’s illness. Catherine, who hasn’t been seen in public since Christmas, is still doing well.

The British royals usually keep their health problems private, but some experts say their issues are making people worried.

“Bad things always happen in groups of three, like the saying goes. ” “A king with cancer, a princess with a serious illness, and a missing prince have all made people worried and afraid,” Richard Kay wrote in the Daily Mail newspaper. “A quick look at all the rumors on social media should convince even the most stubborn royal assistants that when there’s no information about a public figure, people will make up rumors. ”

In the absence of important people, Charles’ wife, Queen Camilla, has been in charge of the family. She met with Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, to thank her for King’s message of support during the conflict with Russia.

US to investigate whether Chinese cars are risk to national data security

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The United States is checking to see if cars from China could be a threat to national security. They might put limits on the cars because of worries about their technology.

The United States Commerce Department needs to investigate because cars gather a lot of personal information about the people inside them and use cameras and sensors to record detailed information in the United States. “The White House said they are working on fixing the infrastructure. ”

The study will also look at cars that can be controlled or stopped from far away.

President Joe Biden said that China’s rules could bring a lot of their cars to our market, which could be dangerous for our national security. “I won’t allow that to happen while I’m in charge. ”

White House officials told reporters that it’s too soon to say what they might do and said they haven’t decided yet if they will ban or limit Chinese cars.

Officials told news people the U. SThe government has a lot of power and can make big decisions that affect a lot of people.

Biden said it is a big plan to make sure cars in the U. Sare better for the environment. The roads from countries we are worried about, like China, do not harm our security as a nation.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a group that represents big car companies like General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen, wants the Commerce Department to talk to them before making any decisions that could affect their industry.

The group asked Commerce to focus on deals that might be dangerous for the U. SProtecting the economy and the safety of the country, but not stopping small transactions that could affect vehicle safety.

Not many Chinese-made small trucks and cars are being brought into the US. Gina Raimondo, who is in charge of trade, said the government is doing something to stop problems from getting big and causing danger to our privacy and safety.

Chinese companies that make electric cars have been relying on Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe as their biggest markets for selling their cars to other countries. BYD, the biggest seller of electric cars in the world, has said many times that it doesn’t have any plans to sell its cars in the U. SThe company is searching for a place in Mexico to build a factory to make cars for the local market.

BYD announced on Wednesday that it will start selling its Dolphin Mini EV in Mexico for 358,800 Mexican pesos (US$21,019. 33), which is less than half the price of the cheapest Tesla.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not respond right away to a request for comment on Thursday.

Cui Dongshu, who is the secretary general of China Passenger Car Association, said it is unfair to single out cars from a certain country that have smart sensors and put restrictions on them.

The Biden administration is thinking about adding extra taxes on cars made in China. They are also feeling pressure to limit the number of electric cars from China that are brought into the US through Mexico.

The United States The U. Shas made rules to help people use less. The electric vehicle battery supply chain is being moved away from China. Companies and consumers will not get tax benefits if they use materials from China in their supply chains.

In December last year, China was accused of breaking trade rules and causing problems for global supply chains. China is in control of making the batteries for electric cars, and now others are trying to make a new supply chain that doesn’t rely on China.

In November, a group of both Democratic and Republican people in the United States worked together. Politicians are worried because Chinese companies are collecting and managing important information while testing self-driving cars in the US.

The Commerce Department wants to hear opinions for 60 days and then think about making rules to solve problems. The probe will also look for information about US-made cars, such as where the software is from.

The United States didn’t allow Chinese telecom companies to do business there because they were worried about data security. They said Huawei and ZTE were a danger and couldn’t operate in the U. SCarriers must take their equipment out of the United States. Networks are connected systems of computers or other devices that can communicate and share information with each other. The White House said China is putting a lot of limitations on the United States. Foreign cars and other foreign vehicles driving in China. “Biden said that we should not let Chinese connected vehicles operate in our country without protections. ”

In the past few years, China has made its rules for managing data in the country stricter. Most industries have to ask for approval before they can send data to other countries.

In May, the government made stricter rules about how car companies can use data. They also suggested that smart cars in China should not send data to other countries, but should use Chinese cloud services instead.

NATO military officer advises leaders and allies to prepare for unforeseen circumstances in Ukraine

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NATO says that Western armies and political leaders need to change how they help Ukraine protect itself from enemy forces.

During a meeting of the NATO alliance, the head of the military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said that President Vladimir Putin is afraid of democracy and this is why he started the war. This year, there are many elections happening in different countries around the world.

In Brussels, NATO’s top leaders will discuss plans for the largest military exercises in Europe since the Cold War. The exercises will happen later this year. The wargames are a way for NATO to show how strong they are and to promise to protect all their friends from being attacked.

troop levels slated to decline by the end of the year, American forces need to focus on helping the Iraqis rather than taking control of more cities and regions. Ukraine’s economy is suffering because of the conflict, and the European Union’s money is not getting to the country because of political fighting. Bauer wants everyone to work together to solve the problem, not just the military.

“We need both government and business leaders to change how they think. In the past, they were used to being able to plan, see what’s coming, and control everything to be as efficient as possible. Now, they need to be ready for anything to happen at any moment. ” “We are living in times where we should be prepared for surprises,” he said when he started the meeting.

Bauer said we need to change how NATO fights wars so it can work better in the future.

Monday, United Kingdom Grant Shapps, who is the person in charge of defense, said that the government will send 20,000 soldiers to join NATO’s military exercises called “Steadfast Defender. ” They will be in eastern Europe from February to June.

The United Kingdom will also send highly advanced fighter jets and surveillance planes, as well as warships and submarines.

Due to allies sending military supplies to Ukraine, Norway’s government will spend 2 billion kroner to increase ammunition production because there is a shortage.

Norway’s Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said it’s important to make the defense industry stronger to help Ukraine and to protect our own security.

Half of the money will go to Nammo, a company in Norway that makes weapons and rocket parts. The Prime Minister said it’s to help them make more bullets for cannons.

In Brussels, Bauer said NATO will keep helping Ukraine for a long time.

“Today is the 693rd day of a war that Russia thought would only last three days. ” We will continue to support Ukraine every day because the result of this war will affect the future of the world.

Bauer added that this war is not really about any serious danger to Russia from Ukraine or NATO. This war is because Russia is scared of something that is even stronger than any weapon – democracy. If people in Ukraine can have freedom to choose their leaders and rights, then people in Russia will also want the same.

Thousands bid farewell to Alexei Navalny

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Many people offered their final farewells to Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow. Alexei Navalny died two weeks ago in a prison, and the cause of his death is still unknown. The funeral had a lot of police there to keep things safe.

The service happened after a struggle with officials to release the body of President Vladimir Putin’s strongest critic. His friends said that many churches in Moscow didn’t want to do the funeral for the man who fought against corruption and organized big protests. Western leaders said the Russian leader was responsible for the death, but the Kremlin denied this angrily.

Navalny’s team finally got approval from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by barriers on Friday.

As the box with his body was brought out of the car and carried into the church, the people outside clapped and said his name. Some also yelled, “You were brave and so are we. ” and later “We don’t want war. ”

American and other Western diplomats Ambassador Lynn Tracy and some presidential candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, went to the event. Both of them wanted to compete with Putin in the next election and disagreed with his war in Ukraine. But neither of them were allowed to be on the ballot.

A picture inside the church showed Navalny’s body in an open casket with red and white flowers on top, and his mother sitting next to it holding a candle.

Navalny’s dad was there too, but it was not known if anyone else from his family was there. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, spoke at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France two days ago. His daughter is studying at Stanford University, and we don’t know where his son is.

The politician’s friends left Russia because they were under pressure. They watched his funeral online from a different country.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned people in Moscow and other places not to do anything illegal, because large gatherings without permission are against the law.

“Nadezhda Ivanova, who lives in Kaliningrad, said that people who pay attention to current events can see that this man is a hero of our country. We won’t forget him. ” “Everything that happened to him is really hard to understand and deal with. ”

After the quick funeral, a large group of people walked from the church to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery. The police were also there in big numbers for the burial.

Navalny’s parents and others touched and kissed his body while the casket was open. At the same time, many people who support the person who passed away came to the cemetery. They were shouting, “We want to come in and say goodbye. ”

They put the coffin in the ground, allies said.

Navalny’s mom, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days asking officials to let her have her son’s body after he died in February. 16 people died at a prison camp. In a town called Kharp, in a place called Yamalo-Nenets region, which is about 1,900 kilometres (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Even on Friday, the place where the body was being kept took a long time to let it go, according to Ivan Zhdanov, who is a close friend of Navalny and is in charge of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The police said they couldn’t give back the body because they needed to do some tests on it after the person had died. Navalnaya asked Putin to let her bury her son properly and with respect, in a video.

One person in charge of funerals said he was not allowed to help Navalny’s supporters, according to Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh on social media. They had a hard time finding a car to carry the coffin.

Yarmysh said that people we don’t know are calling and threatening others not to move Alexei’s body.

The Russian government has not said why Navalny, who was 47, died.

Navalny went to jail in January 2021 after coming back to Moscow from Germany, where he was getting better from being poisoned with a nerve agent that he said the Kremlin did.

The Russian government said his Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his offices in different areas were “extremist organizations” that year.

His wife said that Putin and the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, tried to stop a public funeral.

“We just want people to have the chance to say goodbye to Alexei in a regular way. No special treatment needed,” Yulia Navalnaya wrote on the platform previously known as Twitter. In a talk to European lawmakers on Wednesday, she also said she was worried that the police might interrupt the gathering or would “arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband. ”

The government in Moscow said no to holding a special event to remember Navalny and Boris Nemtsov because of pandemic rules. This was announced by politician Yekaterina Duntsova. Nemtsov, who used to be a deputy prime minister, was killed while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin on the night of February. He was 55 years old. 27th of May, 2015.

Yarmysh requested that people who support Navalny put flowers in his memory on Friday.

Yarmysh said on Thursday that everyone who knew Alexei said he was a happy, brave, and truthful person. “But the real truth is that even if you didn’t meet Alexei, you still knew what kind of person he was. ” You helped with his investigations, you joined him at rallies, and you read his posts while he was in prison. His behavior taught a lot of people how to act even when things were frightening and hard.

US Ballet Theatre returns to China as ties between two countries start to warm up

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American Ballet Theatre came back to China after ten years, showing that the relationship between the United States and China may be getting better.

The dance group from New York had 85 dancers getting ready for their first show at the Shanghai Grand Theater. They were going to perform “Classic Old and New,” which includes three different dance routines, some modern and some traditional. Susan Jaffe, the artistic director of the group, said this.

The tour shows that China and the United States are starting to share their cultures with each other again. Next week, the Asian country will have concerts by the Philadelphia Orchestra to celebrate 50 years since their visit to China in 1973.

ABT will leave Shanghai after four nights of shows and go to Beijing. They will perform their famous version of “Giselle,” a classical romantic ballet, at the National Center for the Performing Arts starting from Nov. 29 to November. Rewrite this text in simple words: 12. Rewrite this passage using simpler words.

Jaffe said this year is very important to him. He became the artistic director of the company less than a year ago and last danced in China in 2000.

“Ballet is a language that everyone can understand,” she said. “We express our feelings and love through our art, and it’s really special for Americans and Chinese people to connect through our art during this time of cultural exchange. We hope it brings healing for both of our cultures. ”

The shows were supposed to happen in 2021 but they were delayed because of the pandemic.

Zhang Xiaoding, who runs the Shanghai Grand Theatre, said they are excited to start working with ABT again after the pandemic rules are lifted.

Zhu Xiaoyi, a 43-year-old person from Shanghai, who used to take ballet lessons in school, was getting ready to watch the first show of “Classic Old and New” on Thursday. She said sharing of culture between the U. SChina and the United States are very important right now.

I want to learn about different cultures through talking to people from other countries. “Communication and sharing in other areas can go up,” she said.

Washington and Beijing have been talking to each other and getting ready for a meeting between their presidents, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. The meeting will happen at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco later this month.

Last week, the governor of California Gavin Newsom was well-received in Beijing, and the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Washington. Wang said it would be difficult for Biden and Xi to meet.

China and the United States Relationships have gotten worse because of things like safety, trading, and how people are treated, as well as big fights between different countries like when Russia went into Ukraine.

Both countries are different but they both want more people to visit each other. The United States wants this too. Nicholas Burns, who represents the US in China, spoke on Monday at an event honoring American World War II veterans who supported China in fighting against Japan.

“We are going through a tough time in the relationship between the United States and China,” Burns said. “We are rivals in many ways, strategically. ” “Rewrite this text using simpler language. ” But the people from both countries have always been united.

The ABT did a show in China in March 2013 in Beijing. ABT started in 1939 and was the first American dance company to perform in the former Soviet Union in 1960. This was part of President Dwight Eisenhower’s plan to improve international relations through culture.

China buys North Korean art despite UN restrictions related to country’s nuclear programme

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A painting of Mount Paektu, a special place for Korean people, was being sold for $2,460 at an art show in Beijing.

A painting of a fancy young woman was being bought for $5,190. There were cheap and colorful landscapes for sale for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.

The person selling the art didn’t try to hide who made it, even though there were strict rules. The dealer said the goods were painted in North Korea, and now there are rules against selling them.

The person selling the art had mixed gray and white hair and didn’t want to say his name. He worked for a gallery that says it’s the best place in China to buy art from North Korea. The gallery, The Paintings Say Arirang, also has a studio for artists from North Korea in the outskirts of Beijing.

The North Koreans live in a guarded area and they show a very positive, peaceful picture of life in their country. The Arirang studio says they will make very beautiful portraits for a good price.

The gallery is being criticized for using aggressive sales tactics, which experts say is possible because China doesn’t enforce U. Nrules very strictly. Sanctions against North Korea to stop them from building nuclear weapons. Sure, here is the simplified text: A. The United Nations has approved a large number of products from North Korea, such as weapons, coal, and art. The United Nations It has also tried to stop North Koreans from working in other countries so that North Korea can’t take their money to pay for its nuclear program. The United Nations in a report said Arirang broke rules by selling North Korean art and having North Korean artists perform.

China has often said no to the U.N throughout its history. To control people who break the rules about sanctions, and last year blocked a decision by the United Nations. a decision that would have made the rules stricter. The United Nations It was said that Arirang did not answer when asked for information.

The UN found Arirang to be easy. The gallery wants to attract a specific group of people who like the unique art style of North Korean artists.

Arirang was started by Jin Zhe, who is Korean and loves art. He was born in China near North Korea, and he wrote this on Arirang’s website. Jin is the son of a famous painter. He worked at a radio station in China for many years before he went to Pyongyang and became interested in North Korean art. Jin, the person in charge of Arirang, could not be contacted for a statement.

An Arirang worker said on the phone that the studio was open and invited a tour of the whole building. She also mentioned that the studio was selling unique portraits made by artists from North Korea. The worker, a woman named Shen, later said that the base wasn’t open because they didn’t have enough customers.

AP journalists went to the place where paintings are made, but the guards didn’t let them in.

On WeChat, the art gallery talks a lot about how North Korean artists create beautiful art because they are not influenced by money.

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“They don’t care who has more money, they just care about looking good,” said Arirang on WeChat. “They believe that making art is important for our souls and culture, not just for making money. ”

This kind of art is really special because it looks so real, it’s worth a lot of money, and it’s something that people want to collect.

In many places, art is considered a way for people to show themselves. But in North Korea, there are very strict rules. Artists in North Korea work for the government to make art that praises the country and its beliefs.

Their work also gives money to North Korea.

“Song Byeok, an artist who used to paint propaganda posters in North Korea, says that all artists there are controlled by the government. ” North Korean art is controlled by the Kim family and does not have its own unique identity.

Posts on Arirang show a little bit of what the artists’ lives are like in China. In a picture, they hold up beer glasses while cooking on a hot barbecue. Some people show them playing ping pong or visiting old buildings and busy market streets.

Jin wrote on WeChat that almost 1,000 paintings were created in Arirang’s “painting base. ” The artists work very hard and often don’t take breaks, the gallery’s director said.

“It makes you feel calm and carefree,” Jin repeated what one artist said.

Another person told Jin that they couldn’t sleep until they finished their work, Jin said.

BG Muhn, a North Korean art expert at Georgetown University, said that artists are treated well and respected in North Korean society.

“They don’t think they are making propaganda art,” said Muhn, who has met artists on nine trips to North Korea. “They believe they are creating art for the country, to help the country and the people. ”

For many years, North Korean art was mainly made for people in North Korea. In the 1990s, North Korea’s biggest supporter, the Soviet Union, collapsed. North Korea really needed money, so it asked its artists for help.

The government sent artists to Africa and the Middle East to make sculptures and paintings honoring their leaders. Those efforts made a lot of money. At that time, the private art market became interested, especially when South Korea started to encourage trade with North Korea. Many paintings were brought into South Korea through Chinese dealers.

After Kim Jong Un became the leader in 2011, the government in Pyongyang started allowing artists to be more creative. They were told they didn’t have to make pictures that make state leaders look great anymore. Business was very successful: The Mansudae studio in North Korea built a museum in Cambodia and was paid to build statues of soldiers and dictators in Senegal, the Congo, Angola, and many other places in Africa. North Korea made a lot of money selling art.

The success went away when the U.N in 2016 and 2017, the government put restrictions on North Korea because they did nuclear and missile tests. Investigators asked an art seller in Italy some questions and took some paintings in South Korea. Pyongyang’s art sales went down and then stopped completely when North Korea closed its borders because of the pandemic.

But it looks like North Korea might not be as isolated as before. China and North Korea have become closer while their relationships with Western countries have become less friendly. Moscow is trying to be friendly with Pyongyang, and Kim is going to Russia in September to talk about selling weapons while there is a conflict with Ukraine.

Art and cultural sharing are starting again, Jin wrote recently.

Jin wrote on WeChat that art is a big way for people to learn about North Korea. “With continuous hard work and by learning new things, North Korean artists will definitely travel abroad and be known around the world. “

Here is how Bob Marley died, the mystery explained

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The enigma surrounding how reggae icon Bob Markey died engaged the thoughts of fans after the new musical biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” hit the theaters. The documentary film explored the later years of the legendary reggae singer.

It also delved into his self-imposed exile from Jamaica after a 1976 assassination attempt and his return for the historic One Love Peace Concert in 1978. Despite Marley’s growing global popularity in the late ’70s, he faced a private health battle.

Diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in 1977, Marley continued to perform and record music but declined a primary form of treatment. The illness eventually spread, profoundly affecting Marley’s health.

The reggae legend died at the age of 36 in 1981. But, many are of the view that melanoma shouldn’t have killed Marley. Speculation among music enthusiasts was rife about the potential outcomes had he pursued different health choices, according to Biography.

But, here are the key details surrounding his cancer diagnosis and its impact on the iconic musician.

Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is a rare form of skin cancer that specifically occurs on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, or underneath nails. It comprises only 5 percent of new melanoma diagnoses annually, as per a September 2022 article from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

Unlike other skin cancers linked to sunlight exposure, ALM is not believed to be associated with ultraviolet rays. However, its exact cause remains unclear. Dermatologists suggest that trauma to the affected area, pressure on the feet, and genetic factors may play a role.

Marley’s initial diagnosis of acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) occurred in July 1977, following medical attention sought for what he perceived as a soccer-related injury. During Marley’s time, effective treatments for acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) were limited, with surgery being the primary option, as noted by the AIM at Melanoma Foundation.

When doctors found cancer on Marley’s right toe, they proposed amputation, but Marley declined due to his adherence to Rastafarian beliefs. Instead, he consented to the removal of skin and tissue around his nail bed, which was then replaced with skin from his thigh.

Following his diagnosis, Marley didn’t attend regular follow-up appointments, leading to the metastasis of his cancer. Chemotherapy, though available, was generally ineffective against melanoma cells, as highlighted by AIM at Melanoma. Marley sought treatment at various cancer-specialized clinics, including the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

In the autumn of 1980, Marley collapsed during a jog in Central Park, leading doctors to realize that his cancer had spread extensively, affecting his lungs, brain, and liver. As reported by The New Yorker, a physician at Sloan Kettering remarked that Marley had an unprecedented amount of cancer.

Despite a grim prognosis of only a few months to live, Marley underwent radiation therapy to reduce tumors in his lungs and liver. Marley’s last performance with his band, the Wailers, took place on September 23, 1980, in Pittsburgh, despite his declining health.

He continued seeking treatment, but his body weakened significantly, with even his trademark dreadlocks becoming burdensome. BobMarley.com reports that Marley fought the disease for another eight months, trying alternative treatments at Dr. Josef Issels’ clinic in Germany. When these efforts proved futile, Marley opted to return to Jamaica for his final days. However, his condition deteriorated during the flight, necessitating an emergency landing in Miami.

Marley passed away on May 11, 1981, due to complications from his illness, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Florida.

He was honored with a state funeral in Jamaica shortly thereafter, where hundreds of thousands of grieving fans paid their respects, ensuring his enduring musical legacy.

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