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‘Huge risk of Christmas terrorist attacks’ – EU warns

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‘Huge risk of Christmas terrorist attacks’ – EU warns

A high-ranking EU official said there is a big chance of terrorist attacks in the European Union during the upcoming holiday season.

Ylva Johansson, from the European Home Affairs Commission, said that the fighting between Israel and Hamas is making people more divided and increasing the chances of violence.

She made these comments a few days after a visitor was killed by being stabbed in Paris.

The EU is giving an extra €30m (£26m) for more security, said Ms Johansson.

She did not say if there was any particular information that caused the warning.

“We recently saw it in Paris, and we have seen it before too,” she said before a meeting of EU interior ministers.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that the EU needs to watch out for threats and propaganda, as there is a high risk of violent Islamist attackers becoming more emotionally charged and radicalized.

Several European countries have experienced an increase in hate crimes after Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli communities, resulting in about 1,200 deaths and many people being held hostage in Gaza. Israel went into Gaza and more than 15,000 people have been killed, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.

European Union ministers met after a violent attack happened near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. A 23-year-old German tourist named Collin B was killed, and his girlfriend and a British tourist were injured in the attack.

The young German couple went to Disneyland Paris and the Louvre, and took pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower before the attack.

Police said that the 26-year-old French suspect, named Armand R, who is from a non-religious Iranian family, promised to follow the Islamic State group.

The man who was caught at the place had been in jail before for making a plan to cause terror in the La Défense area of Paris.

In 2020, the French police talked to him because he was in contact with Abdoullakh Anzorov, who killed teacher Samuel Paty.

The prosecutor in charge of stopping terrorism, Jean-François Ricard, said that Armand R’s mother was worried about his actions, but there wasn’t enough proof to do anything about it at that time.

Germany is very worried about a possible attack and is being extra careful.

Two boys were stopped in different places in the country last week because the police thought they might be planning to do a militant Islamist attack on a Christmas market in Leverkusen.

A 20-year-old person from Iraq, who came to Germany last year, is being held by the police for allegedly planning to carry out a knife attack at a Christmas market in Hannover.

The leader of German intelligence in the state of Thuringia, Stephan Kramer, said that people who support Hamas could be very dangerous. He thinks they could cause problems at big events like the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024 football championships, not just at Christmas markets.

Rwandan pact addresses legal issues – Cleverly

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Rwandan pact addresses legal issues – Cleverly

The person in charge of keeping the UK safe says a new agreement with Rwanda solves the problems the UK’s highest court had with the government’s plan, which the court said was not allowed last month.

The court said that the plan to send migrants to Rwanda could cause problems with people’s rights.

James Cleverly said that Rwanda had promised to keep people safe when they come to the country.

The policy is part of the government’s plan to stop migrants from coming to England by crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that stopping the boats is one of the five most important things for his government before the next general election.

The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, announced in April 2022 by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been delayed many times because of legal problems. No asylum seekers have been sent to Rwanda yet.

The highest court in the UK said no to the policy because they were not sure if the Rwandan government would follow a law called non-refoulment.

The rule says that a country cannot send back people seeking asylum to their home country if it would be dangerous for them.

After the decision, Mr. Sunak said his government will make a new agreement with Rwanda and create new laws to show that the country is secure.

The new law is expected to be brought to Parliament this week.
Legal worries in a courtroom.

Mr Cleverly went to Kigali and signed a new important agreement with Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister Vincent Biruta on Tuesday.

He is the third person in charge of the home department to visit Rwanda, after Priti Patel and Suella Braverman.

The British government says the new agreement makes sure that people moved to Rwanda are safe and won’t be sent back to a place where they could be harmed.

The agreement creates a new group of judges from different countries who are experts in asylum cases. They will listen to and decide on individual cases.

The government says a committee will watch over Rwanda’s asylum system. This committee will have more power to enforce the rules.

The government says a committee will create a way for people who have moved and their lawyers to report problems.

At a press meeting, Mr Cleverly said that Rwanda is a safe country. He also stated that he believes the treaty satisfies the concerns of the judges in the Supreme Court.

He said that this would be shown in the country’s laws very soon.

The asylum policy has already cost the UK government at least £140 million. Cleverly said the UK has not paid Rwanda any extra money for the new treaty.

The home secretary said he doesn’t see any good reason to doubt Rwanda’s ability to handle asylum cases. He wants the program to start as soon as possible.

He said Rwanda is known for being kind and was not happy about the way people were criticizing Rwanda.

Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister said that the UK may have blocked the asylum policy because of their own political issues.

But Biruta said that there is always a way to make any system made by people better, whether it is from Rwanda or Britain.

“We worked on this treaty because of this reason. ” To ensure we can make our asylum system better and have a fair and clear asylum system in place.

Conservative members of parliament who have strong beliefs are pushing Mr Sunak to stop boats carrying migrants from coming into the country.

In 2022, over 45,700 people came to the UK by crossing the Channel, the most ever recorded.

IT WILL END IN TEARS COME 2026- KALABA WARNS UPND

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IT WILL END IN TEARS COME 2026- KALABA WARNS UPND

IT WILL END IN TEARS COME 2026- KALABA WARNS UPND

…says the Current Administration is very corrupt

Lusaka… Tuesday, December 5, 2023 (Smart Eagles)

Citizens First President Harry Kalaba has accused the ruling UPND of not being willing to embrace Democracy in the bid to project itself as the Most popular Party.

Hon Kalaba has cited the recently held ward by-elections as the case in point.

He said incidences of vote buying, distribution of mealie meal are so high during the elections and the UPND keeps on breaking the electoral code of conduct with impunity.

“This will surely end in tears in 2026. But for those who are involved in electoral violence and supporting such, there are videos being kept and your of reckoning is fast approaching,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hon Kalaba has charged that the UPND Government is very Corrupt as he questioned the awarding of compensations to Individuals alleged to be connected to the ruling party.

He said it is gratifying that the donor community has started noting grey areas in the UPND administration.

He said the ugly hand of corruption has resurfaced and manifested itself in the area of Consent Judgements that are today being used as a means of syphoning money from government, more so at a time when the country is faced with serious challenges in meeting the basic needs of the citizens.

“This government has decided to reward its cadres through consent judgements but failed to repair CTC Scan and X-ray equipment in hospitals. They have been rewarding each other with millions of Kwachas while they are giving fertilizer and inputs in medas to be shared among 4 or 5 farmers. This economist is busy rewarding his friends through Consent Judgements but people are dying because they are no drugs in the hospitals,” he said.

The Opposition Leader also raised red flags in the handling of the Mukula tree.

“One of the biggest challenges that was raised in the nation under the previous government was around the Mukula tree. The question is why has the handling of Mukula been given to ZNS under the UPND as opposed to ZAFFICO whose mandate is to deal with forestry? Why is it that the same ZNS has been given to handle multi billion dollar road projects and yet, owing to the fact that the ZNS is under the defense, this institution is never audited? How can a President who believes in transparency be making significant investments in an institution that cannot be audited, “he said.

And Hon Kalaba has tasked the UPND leadership to explain why ZCCM-IH has been compelled to sell out its 20% shareholding in one of the most profitable mining houses in the country and yet maintain its positions in loss making ones.

He also spoke strongly against the trend of awarding business opportunities to Close associates of those in power even when their pricing is higher than the market rate.

“How do you justify the procurement of drugs from Egypt at the value of USD24m without following the procurement procedure? It is clear that ZAMSA and ZAMRA had dropped the ball in that procurement and following our Joint Press Briefing on 16th November, 2023 when we made that revelation and anomaly in the procurement of drugs, we saw ACC swing into action at ZAMRA and 5 people being dismissed and 30 placed on suspension at ZAMSA.” he said.

Regarding the debt situation, Hon Kalaba has requested that the Minister of Finance issues a statement and advises the nation what the status of the Bond holders is and what the available options are for Zambia owing to the standoff with bondholders.

“We would also like to request that the Minister advises the nation on the country’s total debt position and what percentage of GDP that is. In the same spirit, we would like to know how many local contractors government has paid since the UPND took over and what proportion of that debt is represented in the nation’s total debt stock? It is our understanding that the debt owed to local contractors is being serviced based on patronage and that most contractors have actually lost money as they have been paying some known members of the UPND in order for them to facilitate release of payments from Treasury,” he said.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: ELECTORAL PROCESS

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HERE WE GO AGAIN: ELECTORAL PROCESS

By GEORGE CHOMBA

For those waiting for the 2026 general elections, which will include the Presidential, just know it will be a long wait if you don’t know that elections in Zambia are a process.

Those who have been involved in general elections before would agree that the 2026 activity in August will just be the climax of the process, otherwise the game is on.

This came alive and true as media owners and staff met Electoral Commissioners and their senior management team over breakfast in Lusaka.

Just like general elections are processes, so was the breakfast process in the four cornered room of Pamodzi Hotel.

Shortly after registering our names at the entrance hall to announce our presence, then we were met with imposing Electoral Commission of Zambia banners.

1. “SERVICES BEING OFFERED AT REGISTRATION CENTRES”
2. “LEVERAGING DEPLOYMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY TO EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY PROVIDE DECENTRALIZED PUBLIC SERVICE”

Under the two banner headlines is the new registration of voters.

According to section seven of the Electoral Process Act, the Commission is empowered to undertake continuous voter registration.

So far 20 registration centres in Zambia, two per provinces have been established, as confirmed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia board chairperson, Mwangala Zaloumis at the breakfast meeting.
Some of the services being offered at the Registration centres of voters are removal of the deceased.
Those who have since shifted dwelling towns after the 2021 general elections are free to present their cases.

Therefore, as emphasized by Ms Zaloumis, the importance of interaction with the media to avoid misinformation and disinformation in the electoral process to deliver credible and fair election results is vital.

To deliver credible election results, the Electoral Commission of Zambia has developed a 2023 to 2027 strategic plan, as unveiled by the Chief Electoral Officer, Brown Kasaro.

He says effective interaction and inclusiveness in the electoral process is cardinal for management of elections.

But just like there is no free lunch in the World, the media landscape has developed and needs resources to function properly to deliver credible information including that of elections.
Media Owners Association of Zambia president Costa Mwansa has called for transparency in the partnership between Electoral Commission of Zambia and the media.

He says while the media is expected to inform and educate the public as regardless elections, lack of transparency in financial resources towards the process is a draw back.

Mr Mwansa has called for the financial cake to be shared equally across the country for all media houses to benefit especially community stations

Mr Mwansa says the harassment of journalists by political cadres should summon enhanced efforts by the police to protect the media.

The breakfast is done and dusted. The opportunities and challenges outlined.

The 2026 general elections might be two years away but yet so near since they are a process.
At the moment, there is a continuous registration of voters in 20 centres.

Those are some of the events of the breakfast between the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the media.

President HH Urges Calm Among Trapped Miners’ Families, Assures Ongoing Govt Support

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President HH Urges Calm Among Trapped Miners’ Families, Assures Ongoing Govt Support

In the midst of a grave situation at the Senseli Open-pit mine in Chingola, President Hakainde Hichilema has extended a compassionate plea to the families of approximately 30 miners currently trapped underground. During a meeting at the Chingola Civic Centre, the President urged calm and patience among the affected families, assuring them that the government is exerting every effort to conclude the rescue operation successfully.

President Hichilema, accompanied by government officials, expressed empathy for the families’ distress and urged them not to begin mourning but to focus on prayer, hoping for the safe retrieval of their loved ones. In a gesture of immediate support, the President provided ten thousand Kwacha each to the affected families, acknowledging their endurance and resilience during this challenging period.


“Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to the family members who have patiently endured, keeping vigil at the site while awaiting any news about their loved ones. We express our deepest sympathy and understanding of their anguish.The small-scale miners engaged in these activities are our fellow Zambians, whom the UPND government is committed to empowering with mining skills and equipment. This empowerment aims to ensure safe mining practices and prevent tragic accidents.
Fellow citizens, in the face of past tragedies, we have set aside our differences and united, working and praying together as one nation under one God.
Today, we witnessed the industrious and hardworking nature of our people, showcasing their determination to earn a living. Therefore, it is our duty as a government and as a people to harness our human resources by facilitating a secure work environment through stringent safety regulations,” President Hichilema said

A representative of the affected families, Dorothy Kangwa, conveyed gratitude to the government for its support and the initiation of the rescue operation. The President’s visit and personal interaction with the families underscored the government’s commitment to standing in solidarity with those affected by the tragic incident.

In a separate address to the nation, President Hichilema expressed admiration for the dedicated rescue teams working tirelessly to save the trapped miners. His visit to the mine emphasized not only the gravity of the situation but also the government’s dedication to leading with empathy and action during times of crisis.

The unfolding events have captivated the nation, shedding light on the challenges and emotional toll faced by individuals and families directly affected by mining accidents. As the rescue teams continue their arduous task, the focus remains on the trapped miners and their families, with the collective hope and prayers of the nation echoing for a swift and successful rescue operation.

Tshisekedi Is Sowing Seeds Of Discord & Indictment On His Regime By Repeating That Katumbi Is A Foreign Candidate

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Tshisekedi Is Sowing Seeds Of Discord & Indictment On His Regime By Repeating That Katumbi Is A Foreign Candidate

Tshisekedi Is Sowing Seeds Of Discord & Indictment On His Regime By Repeating That Katumbi Is A Foreign Candidate

Political communicators believe they are disqualifying candidate Moise Katumbi Chapwe by repeating that he is a foreigner. This argument is dangerous and suicidal for those who develop or duplicate it. How?

If Moise Katumbi is a foreigner, then the CENI and the Constitutional Court have validated the candidacy of a foreigner, in violation of the Constitution and Congolese laws.

The leaders of these republican institutions are therefore guilty of betrayal of the laws of the Republic. However, the Constitutional Court found nothing that could support the accusations brought before it, according to which Moise Katumbi is not Congolese. In its independence, the Congolese High Court declared the Law and validated the candidacies for the Presidency of the Republic of 26 Congolese including Moise Katumbi Chapwe. He closed the street debates…

Therefore, the Constitutional Court respected the Congolese Constitution and the laws of the Republic. The Constitutional Court put an end to the xenophobic and racist debate propagated by a few political operators who sow the seeds of division and the weakening of social harmony.

The ruling of the Constitutional Court cannot be the subject of repeated political misunderstandings without undermining the credibility of this High Court. It is a shame that even those who are in republican institutions continue to fuel hatred, xenophobia and racism by indirectly repeating that our Constitutional Court allowed a foreigner to run for the Supreme Magistrate in our country.

Can’t the electoral campaign be played out on an ethical level that respects ALL CONGOLESE DIVERSITY, OUR INSTITUTIONS and promotes national unity? To think that the Congo is a country of only people with black skin, excluding all others, is a dangerous racist drift. It is choosing to forget that the Congo is a complexity dispersed throughout the world which, in return, works on the complexity of social relationships and internal mixtures.

The Congo is a complexity of growth and mixtures that make us, all, products of multiple encounters and crossings, biological, cultural, sociological, linguistic. And that’s so much the better for the Republic. Diversity is a strength!

Everything is just a mixture of complexity, in the Latin sense of the term: complexus, that which is woven together.

Written by Professor Emmanuel M. Banywesize

OPPOSITION CAN ONLY HOLD MASS RALLY IN 2024-ZAMBIA POLICE

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OPPOSITION CAN ONLY HOLD MASS RALLY IN 2024-ZAMBIA POLICE

OPPOSITION CAN ONLY HOLD MASS RALLY IN 2024-ZAMBIA POLICE

…Under the circumstances, the planned rally should not go ahead, instead you are advised to engage in dialogue with the Zambia Police at the earliest convenient time to set an alternative future date for the said rally, preferably early next year (2024)….

Although the Opposition announced the reschedule of the mass rally intended for this Saturday due to the Chingola (Senseli) Mine Disaster, the Zambia Police has anounced the cancellation of the Opposition rally until next year.

Responding to a Notice by the Opposition to hold a mass rally at Freedom Park in Kitwe, the Zambia Police has stated that its officers are engaged in providing security in Chingola and families in Kitwe are affected by the event in Chingola.

Officer-inCharge, Thomas Swala advised the Opposition to discuss a possible future date in early 2024.

Below is the letter from the Zambia Police.

ZAMBA POLICE SERVICE
RIVESIDE POLICE STATION
P,O BOX 202
KITWE

CONFIDENTIAL

04th December, 2023.

Mr. Jackson Silavwe – President, Golden Party Zambia,
To:
Ms Saboi Imboela – President, National Democratic Congress,.

Mr. Chanda Kasolo- Secretary General, Zambia Must Prosper

Mr. Emmanuel C. Chileshe – Secretary General, Christian Democratic Party.

Dear Sir/Madam

REF- NOTIFICATION TO HOLD A JOINT OPPOSITION POLITICAL “SAVE
ZAMBIA” MASS RALLY AT FREEDOM PARK IN KITWE.

I draw the reference from the captioned matter and wishes to acknowledge receipt of your notification about your planned mass rally at Freedom Park in Kitwe.

The date for the public meeting is Saturday O9th December, 2023 starting at 10:00 to 18:00 hours.

I now wish to state that:

•The security situation in Riverside and Kitwe in general is not conducive for such a meeting due to a tragedy at Senseli Mine in Chingola where a number of small-scale mining youths are feared dead. As an organised body, Kitwe Police Officers are also fully involved in the ongoing rescue/recovery operations on site.

  • You may also wish to know that the tragedy has affected the communities of Kitwe too, bearing in mind that some of the victims are believed to be from Kitwe townships.

In other words, Kitwe Communities are grieving too to host such a public meeting.

Under the circumstances, the planned rally should not go ahead, instead you engage in dialogue with the Zambia Police at the earliest convenient time to set an alternative date for the said rally, preferably early next year (2024).

Thomas Swala (Assist Sup)
OFFICER-IN-CHARGE

Zimbabwe denies trafficking of over 400 minors at Beitbridge Border Post

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The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday denied reports that over 400 children under eight years were intercepted on the South African side of the Beitbridge Border Post aboard 42 buses by authorities from that country.

A commissioner with the SA Border Management Authority (BMA) Dr Michael Masiapato was earlier this week quoted saying they had blocked the attempted trafficking of 443 children under the age of eight destined for the neighbouring country from Zimbabwe over the past few days.

Masiapato claimed that the children were removed from 42 buses destined for SA during a sting operation at the Musina Border Post across the Limpopo River as they were being trafficked into that country.

After taking the children out of the buses, Masiapato said the BMA engaged Zimbabwean officials and handed the children for processing back into the country.

In a press statement at the end of the weekly post cabinet media briefing, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe expressed concern at the reports emanating from the neighbouring country’s officials including his counterpart, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.

“We wish to categorically state that no such incident occurred. If at all there was a case of human trafficking of minors, the buses, the drivers and the crew would now have been arrested facing human trafficking charges as guided by the trafficking in persons’ legislation common to both jurisdictions in line with our regional and international obligations,” said Kazembe.

“To date, Beitbridge Border Post has no record whatsoever of any 42 buses denied entry into SA or 443 minors intercepted or handed over to the Zimbabwe authorities. If there is any information to the contrary, we hope to be advised through the well established communication channels established between the two countries.”

Kazembe said the Zimbabwean authorities were however aware that Zimbabwean parents resident in SA, especially on Zimbabwe Exemption Permits, (ZEP) which do not allow for the inclusion of any dependents, invite their children to that country for the festive season once schools in the country close for the holidays.

He said the authorities are also aware of the requirement that the minors travel with their guardians accompanied by supporting affidavits obtained from their consenting parents in line with agreed procedures.

“However, the SA authorities are not accepting commissioned affidavits preferring that minors and their guardians tender affidavits commissioned by local courts,” he said, adding that Zimbabwean authorities remain committed to cooperating with their SA counterparts and the region to ensure that movement through borders in the region remain safe, orderly and regularly. New Ziana

Kim Jong-un cries after telling North Korean women to have more babies

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Kim Jong-un cries after telling North Korean women to have more babies

Kim Jong-un was very sad and asked women to have more babies so that North Korea can become stronger.

The leader wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief as he made a request during an event for mothers in Pyongyang over the weekend, saying the challenge is everyone’s responsibility to take care of.

He said: ‘We need to work together with our mothers to stop the decrease in the number of babies being born and to make sure children have good care and education. ‘

The UN says that as of 2023, the average number of children born to a woman in North Korea is 1. 8 This number has been decreasing over the past few decades.

The number is still bigger than in some other countries near North Korea. These countries are also having a problem with numbers going down.

South Korea has very few babies being born. This is because there are a lot of reasons that make people not want to have children, like it being hard to find a good job, schools being very competitive, not much help with taking care of children, and workplaces focusing on men and making it hard for women to have both a career and a family.

Some people believe that even though North Korea is very poor, the way its population is changing is like the changes in wealthy countries.

Ahn Kyung-su, who runs DPRKHEALTH. ORG, a website about health in North Korea, said: ‘In North Korea, many families don’t want to have more than one child because they know it costs a lot of money to raise kids, send them to school, and help them find jobs. ‘

Ahn, who has talked to lots of North Koreans who escaped their country, said that bringing in a lot of South Korean TV shows and movies over the last 20 years has probably made women in North Korea want fewer kids. These shows often show women with higher status, and that could be why.

North Korea is giving support to families with three or more children. They will get free housing, money from the government, free food, medicine and other things for their kids.

South Korea’s official data agency says that about 25. 7 million people live in North Korea.

The Hyundai institute report said that North Korea’s population is expected to get smaller from 2034. They predict that by 2070, the population will decrease to 23. 7

Ahn, the person in charge of the website, said that Kim Jong Un is probably showing up in public with his young daughter, Ju Ae, to encourage families.

Other experts said that the daughter’s public appearances were probably meant to show that she will take over her father’s business.

Pyongyang started birth control programs in the 1970s and 1980s to reduce the number of people being born after the war.

The number of babies being born in the country went down a lot after a famine in the mid-1990s. The famine is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. This information comes from a report by the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul, released in August.

A report from the institute said that North Korea might have trouble growing its manufacturing industry if it doesn’t have enough workers, because it doesn’t have a lot of resources or modern technology.

China’s debt outlook due to slowing economy

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China has a lot of debt and it’s becoming more risky because their economy is slowing down and they have a crisis with property. This is according to a top credit ratings agency.

Moody’s said the government’s debt is risky and could cause financial problems.

The company is worried about the problems in the second biggest economy in the world.

China said it was sad about the decision, but said the economy is strong.

The country wants to spend more money to help its economy because many young people can’t find jobs, global demand for its products is lower, and the property market is getting worse.

Some of the biggest building companies in the country are in financial trouble and have stopped working, leaving customers stuck.

Cities and towns have taken out a lot of loans to build things like roads and bridges. They also depend on selling land to make money. But now they are having a hard time with money.

Moody’s thinks that helping local governments and state-owned businesses could cause big problems for China’s money, economy, and organizations.

China’s financial strength and reputation could be harmed if they agree to take on some of the debts. It would be expensive for them.

Moody’s might lower China’s credit rating, which tells investors how risky it is to invest in China’s bonds and other debts, and helps lenders decide on interest rates.

The US has borrowed a lot of money, and its credit rating has been lowered in the past few years.

Right now, Moody’s still gives China a good A1 rating for its long-term national debt. This is a strong grade, just a little lower than the US and UK.

It said that the government is expected to handle its economic problems in an organized way.

China’s finance ministry said that the country’s future looks the same and they believe they can handle the effects of the housing market slowing down.

China’s overall economy is getting better and improving in a good way, it said. Moody’s doesn’t need to be concerned about how well China’s economy will grow or if it will have enough money.

After many years of its economy growing by more than 8% every year, China is expected to grow by 5. 4% this year However, the amount of growth is expected to decrease to 3. 5% by 2028, as predicted by the International Monetary Fund.

International economic organizations have said that the decrease in China’s economy will have a bad impact on the world economy in the future. This will especially affect areas like sub-Saharan Africa, where there has been a lot of investment from China.

I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM, CHRIST IS LOVE AS VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD- Dr Chris Zumani Zimba

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I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM, CHRIST IS LOVE AS VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD- Dr Chris Zumani Zimba

Dr Chris Zumani Zimba shares…

I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM, CHRIST IS LOVE AS VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD

1. The UPND political opponents against us are malicious, bitter, oppressive, brutal and vengeful just like many ancient kings in the Bible;

2. Like King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, they want to hold everyone firmly oppressed and brutally captive so that we are forced to kiss, praise and worship only them;

3. But how can a true believer who knows the existence of the true living God worship dead idols and human beings?

4. This explains why Daniel, Shadreck, Misheck and the other gallant Jews refused to worship the idols of King Nebuchadnezzar;

5. Zambia is our only country on this earth and we are the true owners of this motherland; we shall not accept being treated and held captive coz we are “ FREE MEN WE STAND “, not sited;

6. King Nebuchadnezzar will not hold us captive nor stop us from enjoying our rights coz he is just one of us who is merely a temporal ruler over us for now;

7. Trust me, we are not broken, we are not intimidated by this malicious arrest and imprisonment; we are not and will never be afraid coz God is our standard and not fellow man;

8. Trust me, this past malicious arrest, political persecution and wicked imprisonment was an act of political evil using me in order to target President Lungu;

9. For them, I was their perfect political bridge to connect and link ECL to all their wicked and malicious political schemes against the former President;

10. The UPND wicked political agents were so aware and sure that l was 100% innocent of their malicious charges but they were also determined to try their evil best to dig my grave and later bury Lungu in it as their topmost target;

11. We thank God for his grace, mercy and power over evil; heaven stood with us through prayer and fasting and redeemed us from the lion’s den. To God be the glory through Jesus Christ;

12. Therefore, I have forgiven each one of their hired wicked agents who participated in their evil political scheme at different levels both today and tomorrow;

13. For me, forgiveness is a commandment from God and not our choice; despite the human pain and anguish l went through, l shall leave anger, bitterness and vengeance to God and heaven;

14. When Daniel came out of the lion’s den, he was free from bitterness, anger and vengeance coz he was aware that his freedom was a divine and miracle act of God and not man;

15. The same principle applies to the Bible story of Joseph in Egypt; he was liberated by God from prison and he took it that way by forgiving his oppressors and jailers;

16. This is my position today as my acquittal and freedom is an act of God, a testimony that Jesus Christ rules and reigns in the affairs of human beings on earth.

17. Our acquittal and freedom is an indication that God hates injustice, hears the cries of his people and Jesus Christ answers prayer by fire and thunder;

18. If we cannot forgive fellow humans who offend or unjustly harm us, we have no place before God both in this life and in the one to come;

19. Personally, l refuse to be like King Nebuchadnezzar who habours visible anger, bitterness and hatred like the Indian ocean that never dries;

20. Thank you everyone who supported us when we were thrown in the heated furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, May God surely bless you all in abundance

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.

Zambia as Experimental Lab Rat

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Zambia as Experimental Lab Rat

By Grieve Chelwa

Zambia’s debt talks have yet again hit a snag. This time around the hold-up is due to disagreements between official creditors, on the one hand, and private creditors on the other, with ordinary Zambians caught in the crossfire.

The basic gist of the latest hold-up is the following: For Zambia’s debt restructuring to succeed (i.e., provide sufficient fiscal room for us to grow ourselves out of the crisis), our creditors (the people we owe money) will have to take on “haircuts”. A haircut in finance is agreeing to accept less money than is owed. For example, if I owe $1 and find myself in a debt crisis and can’t pay back the full amount, my creditor and I can agree that I instead pay them back only 60cents ($0.60). That is, my creditor accepts to take on a loss of 40cents ($0.40) which translates into a 40% haircut.

Why would a creditor accept a haircut in the first place? Well because if they insist on my paying the full $1, they may end-up with nothing because my attempt to pay back the full amount may very well crash my economy to the point where all debt is unsalvageable. Therefore, haircuts, in times of debt distress, are not just important for the borrower but are also crucial for the creditor. In other words, the creditor is actually doing themselves a favour by offering the borrower a haircut.

In the particular case of Zambia, both official and private creditors have, unsurprisingly, agreed to take on haircuts. But the bone of contention is that the Zambian government has implicitly agreed to two different sets of haircuts for the two types of borrowers.

Analysis by Debt Justice, a civil society group, shows that official creditors had earlier agreed to a rather significant haircut of 45% with the Zambian government. On the other hand, the government, in a recently announced deal, seems to have promised private creditors a relatively generous haircut of 27%, which might even be as small as 3% if Zambia’s economy improves in the medium term!

This has naturally infuriated official creditors not least because it’s in violation of the so-called Comparability of Treatment Principle under the G20’s Common Framework. The comparability principle requires that private creditors take-on a haircut that’s at least as great as the one taken on by official creditors (i.e., a haircut of at least 45%).

Why did the Zambian government think it wise to promise different sets of haircuts to different sets of creditors, a situation that would clearly violate comparability of treatment?

Perhaps naïvety about how the real world works on the part of our policymakers? Or incompetency?

Or was this part of some geopolitical gamesmanship? For one thing, the official creditor that stands to lose the most from such a deal is China (holds the bulk of our official credit) while Western-allied private creditors (mostly bondholders) would stand to gain. Zambia, under the presidency of Hakainde Hichilema, seems to have pivoted its foreign policy allegiance to the Western bloc of countries (if in doubt have a look at the country’s most recent voting record in the UN General Assembly on those matters that are of geo-strategic interest to the West).

In any case, whatever the reasons, one thing that is increasingly clear is that Zambia is being used as an experimental lab rat to perfect the imperfect Common Framework.

It was easy to see from the outset that the the Common Framework, in its present form, wouldn’t deliver a speedy resolution to Zambia’s debt woes (I said as much in an appearance on Diamond TV in September of 2022). It was always going to be a drawn out process to use the Common Framework’s one-size-fits-all approach to resolve the specific case of Zambia’s debt given the varying set of creditors all with different preferences, interests and so on.

It is worth keeping in mind that a victory for the Common Framework would be a victory for the Western-dominated Global Financial Architecture — an architecture that periodically faces existential challenges because of its inherent contradictions.

But for the Common Framework to eventually work, it is necessary to pilot it on some backwater country like Zambia. It is merely a footnote that much harm is being inflicted on Zambians in the conduct of this grand experiment.

Grieve Chelwa is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Africa Institute and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. https://gchelwa.substack.com/p/a-curtailment-of-central-banks-powershtml

Sliding country back to days of trauma will not be tolerated, UPND SG Imenda tells Lungu

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Sliding country back to days of trauma will not be tolerated, UPND SG Imenda tells Lungu

Sliding country back to days of trauma will not be tolerated, Imenda tells Lungu

By Fanny Kalonda

SLIDING the country back to days of trauma will not be tolerated, UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda has warned former president Edgar Lungu.

In a statement on Saturday, Imenda urged Lungu to conduct issue based politics devoid of ill will.

“We take this opportunity to appeal to the former president of the republic of Zambia Edgar Lungu to conduct issue based politics devoid of ill will as such days when the country used to be engulfed in anarchy are long gone. Sliding the country back to days of trauma will not be tolerated. And on this we are serious. We shall not allow it,” he said. “To our UPND members, we call for continued unity and peaceful coexistence at all times even in the face of provocation from some selfish opposition political parties that thrive on anarchy.”

And Imenda said the will of the people will always prevail in the governance of the country.

He said the recently held by-elections demonstrated the political maturity and democracy at work under the current administration.

“The peaceful atmosphere that characterised the by-election in Kabuta Ward of Nchelenge district in Luapula Province, Mwambeshi Ward of Nsama district in Northern Province and Sankolonga Ward of Mwandi district in Western Province is a clear testament of the civility that the UPND new dawn government under President Hakainde Hichilema has brought on the political arena,” said Imenda. “It further demonstrates the political maturity and democracy at work under the current administration resulting in the people’s will prevailing. The United Party for National Development (UPND) wishes to reiterate that the will of the people will always prevail in the governance of the country, especially under the UPND new dawn government’s tenure. The victory recorded by the UPND in Mwambeshi and Sankolonga wards where our candidates Kabuta Elvis and Balengu Simakando were duly elected as members of the Nsama and Mwandi council respectively is a clear demonstration of the continued confidence placed by the people of the two areas and Zambians at large in the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema. For our colleagues, the PF, who emerged victorious in Kabuta Ward of Nchelenge district, we congratulate them for the victory as this demonstrates the highest level of democracy existing under the current leadership of President Hichilema.”- The Mast

Why should UPND be electing leaders for PF, asks Kang’ombe

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Why should UPND be electing leaders for PF, asks Kang’ombe

Why should UPND be electing leaders for PF, asks Kang’ombe

By Fanny Kalonda

WE will not allow democracy to die simply because UPND has underperformed, says Kamfinsa PF member of parliament Christopher Kang’ombe.

He said people are mentioning Patriotic Front saying the current ones have failed to govern the country.

Kang’ombe said people want to go back to the Patriotic Front, “that is why the UPND is panicking.”

“I am aware that there are those who think that we cannot decide to protect our destiny as a country. Democracy is what we chose in 1991. How can the UPND begin electing leaders for ourselves? We are Patriotic Front, article 60 of the republican Constitution is very clear that it is the members of that political party who should decide who should be their leader. Why should the UPND be electing leaders for the patriotic front?” he asked. “We will not allow it and I want to say it again, if the courts of law do not give us justice we will give ourselves justice.”

Kang’ombe said former president Edgar Lungu’s words are the assurances that the members of the Patriotic Front were looking for.

He said all the youths wanted to hear is the voice of assurance that Lungu was with them to fight and return the status of the Patriotic Front.

Kang’ombe stressed that if the justice system does not “give us justice, we will give ourselves justice”.

“Youths from the 116 districts were waiting for that voice of assurance. The voice that when we are called to battle your excellency, we will stand with you. The call to battle that we will not allow the Patriotic Front to die. Ici icipani (This party) your excellency some of us it’s the only political party we’ve belonged to and we have no intention of going to any other political party and because of that resolution your excellency…” Kang’ombe assured Lungu on Friday. “The word that ‘if justice cannot be provided by the courts of law we will give ourselves justice’, I want to repeat abakumafunde ku court ngatabatupele justice, if they don’t allow justice to prevail, we will give ourselves justice. I want to appeal to the members of the Patriotic Front konse ukomuli (wherever you are) ku Chipata, ku Kitwe, Chingola, Chililabombwe, Livingstone, Solwezi, wherever you are as a member of the Patriotic Front we will fight for our democracy. We will not allow democracy to die simply because the UPND has underperformed.”

But chief government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa said lawlessness will not be tolerated in Zambia.

“There is no single day that we in the opposition called for citizens that if justice cannot be given to us, we are going to give justice to ourselves. There is no single day when we as citizens called for the country to rise against a government using any other means beyond the means that are available to communicate to government and the citizens in the manner that president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, in the manner that honourable member for Kamfinsa honourable Kang’ombe called for the nation yesterday (Friday) to say if we cannot get justice through the judiciary we shall give it to ourselves. And president lungu said if we cannot get justice through the judiciary, through our justice means, through available political means, then God help us. What does he mean?” asked Mweetwa. “We want to call on the citizens of this country to be calm in the midst of heightened political calls by the opposition to make this country ungovernable. Your government is in place and lawlessness will not be tolerated in Zambia. This is a government that rules by law not by the will and whims and caprices of men.”-The Mast

NOEL NKHOMA RESPONDS TO EMMANUEL MWAMBA’s LIES TOLD TO THE NATION

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NOEL NKHOMA RESPONDS TO EMMANUEL MWAMBA’s LIES TOLD TO THE NATION

NOELNKHOMA RESPONDS TO EMMANUEL MWAMBA’s LIES TOLD TO THE NATION.

26th November, 2023.

Emmanuel Mwamba should learn to tell the truth to the nation. One wonders what he thinks about the Zambian people when he issues statements that he knows too well are not true. At least show some respect to the people you communicate to.

Below are some of his lies told to the nations

1. Emmanuel Mwamba lies that PF Government left $3billion foreign reserves.

The Truth is : This is factually incorrect. Under Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP then as Minister of Finance and National Planning under MMD administration, foreign reserves inherited by PF stood at appr. $3.5 billion. Upon leaving office, PF left $1.3 billion in foreign reserves. The narrative being peddled by Amb Mwamba includes a disbursement of $1.3 billion by the IMF as pandemic intervention under the Special Drawing Rights (SDR). This was Zambia’s share of the total of $650 billion global pandemic support fund under the IMF.

2. Emmanuel lies that PF completed the debt sustainability initiative with World Bank and IMF that prepared debt restructuring (hence appointment of Lazard who begin talks with commercial creditors including Eurobond holders and Government began debt talks with China.)

The truth is: First Amb Mwamba must address is why Lazard was appointed? Because the lenders i.e. both the Official Creditors and the Bond Holders did not trust the PF administration and questioned the integrity of the figures of the total debt quantum. Simply put, Lazard was appointed at the insistence of the IMF to bring credibility to the process. Lastly, a debt sustainability analysis is nothing but a simple exercise to demonstrate that Zambia’s debt was unsustainable. And this is surely not a record to be proud of Amb Mwamba.

4 Emmanuel Mwamba lies that: PF left 1.5million metric tonnes in maize grains strategic reserves.

The Truth is : Yes and you left the poor peasant farmers with Promissory Notes and the nkongole had to be paid by the New Dawn Administration in the first year of assuming office. Is this a record to be proud of???

5.Emmanuel Mwamba lies that : PF did all the major infrastructure last seen in 50 years in clinics, health centers , mini hospitals, district hospitals, teaching hospitals, schools colleges and Universities.
● Dams
●Airports
● Township roads
● Power stations that have ended loadshedding.

The truth is ; at what cost to the Nation? A debt crisis that has driven the majority Zambian’s to abject poverty. An infrastructure programme riddled with industrialised corruption. By the way, Synohydro abandoned the Kafue Lower Gorge project upon ZESCO’s failure to settle $1.2 billion outstanding IPC’s with only 2 generators installed out of 6. The New Dawn Administration resolved the debt through ZESCO’s internally generated resources and completed the works.

6. Emmanuel Mwamba lies that UPND is accumulating more debts than PF ever did.

The truth is ; confessional loans @ 1% interest and not PF’s Kaloba at 30% yield rate

7 Emmanuel Mwamba lies that : Zambia has been downgraded to a lower income country.

The truth is ; This was based on 2020 data and this was under PF corrupt administration

@ The Falcon

Death toll rises to 63 as Tanzania reels from flooding and landslides

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Flooding and landslides in northern Tanzania have now killed over 63 people forcing President Samia Suluhu Hassan to cut short her attendance at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

“I send my sincere condolences to the affected families and have directed all our security forces to deploy to the area and help those affected,” Hassan said in a video message.

The government in Tanzania has confirmed that 400 rescue workers have been sent to the northern Hanang district.

However, rescuers are operating under challenging conditions, such as defective telecommunications and blocked, damaged roads, the president’s spokesperson, Zuhura Yunus, said in a statement released on Monday.

“President Samia, who has been in Dubai for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28) has decided to cut her trip short and arrive in the country as soon as possible to deal with this disaster,” Ms Yunus said.

Tanzania’s Deputy Minister of Health Dr Godwin Mollel said: “We have a team of doctors and medical officers deployed. The services are much better and many of the patients are progressing well.”

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said in comments broadcast on television on Monday that the number of injured stood at 116 people. Landslides had destroyed half of one village he visited, he said.

“We are here in front of bodies of our fellows. We have lost 63 loved ones. Of the total fellows we lost, 23 are men and 40 are women,” he said during an event to bid farewell to the bodies of those who had died in Hanang district, northern Tanzania.

“My fellow Tanzanians, this is a tragedy,” he said.

The flooding is the latest example of extreme weather that has devastated East African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, with hundreds of people killed since the region’s rainy season began in October.

At the COP 28 UN climate summit in Dubai, Hassan highlighted the fact that poor countries face disproportionate risks from climate change, despite the fact that wealthy countries in the West bear responsibility for a large share of the cumulative emissions that drive climate change.

“It must be said, unfulfilled commitments erode solidarity and trust, and have detrimental and costly consequences for developing countries,” said Hassan. “My own country is losing 2 to 3 percent of its GDP due to climate change.”

New generation of politicians failing to recognise the value of dialogue – Vernon Mwaanga

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New generation of politicians failing to recognise the value of dialogue – Vernon Mwaanga

New generation of politicians failing to recognise the value of dialogue – VJ

By Thomas Ngala

WE fought very hard to get rid of colonialism, we worked very hard to ensure One Zambia One Nation remained our national motto, veteran politician Vernon Johnson Mwaanga has said.

In a statement yesterday, Mwaanga said it is disgusting that the country has passed through phases of intolerance, abusive language and even violence.

“We have maintained good neighbourliness with all the eight countries around us since our independence in October 1964. We have invested a lot in peaceful and democratic governance. We have travelled on bumpy and treacherous paths before and emerged resilient,” he said. “Peace does not come by accident. It has to be worked for by well meaning citizens who love their country. Political violence shows its ugly head when irresponsible politicians start inciting people by their failure to discipline their tongues. Some of them appear to think that they get noticed when they use foul language against their opponents. Our new generation of politicians is failing to understand and recognise the value of dialogue. Our politicians have opted to talk at each other but not to each other.”

Mwaanga said his generation recognised the value of dialogue and working with all political parties hence the setting up the Centre for Inter-Party Dialogue.

He explained that the centre was intended to offer all political parties an equal opportunity to raise matters of concern or interest, which were then to be freely discussed behind closed doors.

“In any free and diverse political environment, difference of opinion is inevitable. Respect for each others’ opinions is vital. Experience has shown over the years that civil discourse usually leads to finding common ground, which then produces compromises. All people have a right to hold opinions. Some of these opinions may be outrageous but we should respectfully disagree with them after listening to them attentively,” he said. “You don’t have to prove yourself right all the time. No human being is right all the time. There is no need to be aggressive or rude when we present our opinions. There are times when with civility we shall agree to disagree. Disagreeing with someone or certain things doesn’t have to be unpleasant or acrimonious and factually based. It is one way of respecting differences. These differences exist intraparty and interparty. They should not lead to violence.”

Mwaanga stressed the need for Zambians to invest in peace.

He warned citizens not to allow the country to get back to the dark days of pangas, machetes and other unwholesome instruments of violence.

“All political parties must commit themselves to non-violence and make sure that this commitment gets to the cadres and party hooligans. As we struggle to get the economy growing again, a peaceful political environment is absolutely necessary and desirable. There is nowhere in this world where there are no disagreements among people,” said Mwaanga. “We must also be cognisant of the fact that in all the older and nascent democracies people and institutions function within the laws which are on their statutes. They may not be good laws, but they have to be obeyed until they have been changed. Those who don’t obey the laws must bear the consequences, which are within the law. Lawlessness is not synonymous with democracy. We all have a duty to help create an environment where our children and children’s children will live in peace and harmony.”-The Mast

PRESIDENT HICHILEMA CALLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

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PRESIDENT HICHILEMA CALLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

PRESIDENT HICHILEMA CALLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

December 5, 2023

President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA says Zambia and Chinese institutions need to start implementing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership the two countries agreed to undertake during his state visit to China in September, 2023.

President Hichilema says he is confident that the partnership will be of mutual benefit to both Zambian and Chinese people.

Speaking this morning at State House when he held a meeting with Bank of China (BOC), led by its Executive Vice President, Mr. Lin Jingzhen, accompanied by Chinese Ambassador Du Xiaohui, President Hichilema said the relationship between the two countries has continued to grow with a resultant strong partnership between Zambia and China.

President Hichilema commemded China for actively playing a role in Zambia’s debt resolution process.

Meanwhile, visiting Bank of China vice president Lin Jingzhen said the institution is ready to leverage financial expertise to support Zambia’s economic growth.

Mr. Jingzhen said the bank which has a presence in 64 countries outside China will use its global presence to facilitate economic and trade ties between Zambia and China.

He further said that the bank will use its partnership with Zambia to contribute to the strengthening of China – Africa relations adding that Zambia is the first country the bank’s management has visited in Africa post the pandemic.

Mr. Jingzhen said currently, the Bank of China is the only Chinese bank operating in Zambia and has existed in the country for 26 years.

Zambia is one of China’s oldest diplomatic partners.This is particularly visible in the extensive trade relations between the two countries. Zambia is rich in primary resources, with exports to China consisting mostly of materials, key to the upkeep of China’s growing economic ambitions.

(C) THE FALCON

Airstrike in Nigeria ‘mistakenly’ kills 85 Muslim worshipers

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At least 85 people were killed by a military attack during a Muslim holiday in Kaduna state, Nigeria.

The military drone killed innocent people by accident while trying to attack terrorists and criminals. Governor Uba Sani didn’t say how many people died.

The defense ministry said the operation was a “sad and unnecessary event”.

Many people were hurt in the attack.

A state official named Samuel Aruwa said that a military officer named Maj VU Okoro explained that the Nigerian army was on a regular mission against terrorists but accidentally harmed members of the community.

Maj Gen Edward Buba, who speaks for the military, said on Tuesday that they did an airstrike because they had good information that there were “terrorists” in that place.

Governor Sani is looking into the “sad event” that happened when people from Tundun Biri gathered for a religious celebration.

The Northwest Zonal Office got information from local authorities that 85 dead bodies have been buried, and they are still looking for more. This was said by the National Emergency Management Agency in Abuja.

“It’s important to know that children, women, and old people were injured or killed. ”

One person saw what happened and told the media that there were two attacks.

“The plane dropped a bomb on the place, and it killed our people, including women and children,” he said.

“The second bomb was dropped on us while we were trying to bring back the bodies of the first blast victims. ” “Many of my family members died, and 66 are hurt and in the hospital. ”

A lady saw what happened after the bombing. She told the media that there were bodies scattered everywhere.

She said that some women died while holding their babies. Some of the babies lived, but others died with their mothers.

The Nigerian military has been blamed for hurting innocent people while fighting militia groups called bandits in the north-west of the country. The government is calling the gangs “terrorists”.

In 2021, a Nigerian fighter jet accidentally killed at least 20 fishermen while attacking a jihadist camp in north-east Nigeria.

The Nigerian forces have accidentally killed over 300 people since 2017, according to a report by SB Morgen, a research firm.

Nelly & Ashanti Reportedly Expecting First Child Together

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Nelly & Ashanti Reportedly Expecting First Child Together

New reports and speculation has fans going wild for one of the music world’s most shippable and adorable couples as of late. Moreover, according to an alleged source that spoke to Us Weekly, who published a subsequent report, Ashanti is pregnant, expecting her first child with her boo Nelly. This would be her first offspring altogether, whereas he already has his daughter Chanelle, 29, and son Cornell Hayes III, 24. Before moving on, we want to make it very clear that these are just reports, and as of writing this article, neither celebrity updated fans on the veracity of these claims. As such, all we can offer now are our sincere, cautious, and– if necessary– retractable congratulations!

Furthermore, this report comes mere hours after social media started to speculate on Ashanti and Nelly’s future together. For those unaware, the rapper’s choice to rub the R&B star’s belly at a recent show made many fans think that they subtly hinted at a child on the way. Now, with this Us Weekly report, there is even more wildfire and gossip spreading online, and fans demand an answer soon. Maybe that won’t arrive for a long time, but given the extreme reactions online, we wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to give it a rest before making things official or disproving these rumors.

Unfortunately for them, not everyone is head over heels for this couple, albeit a small but vocal section of fans. For example, despite the backlash she received for her initial dismissive comments, blogger Tasha K doubled down on her distaste for this rekindled romance. “I don’t want to see a motherf***er spin the block on you to do the same thing he did to you before,” she said of Ashanti and Nelly. However, Tasha defended herself by saying that she wants to see her win, and that this is just advice and not outright hate.

Meanwhile, the past month has been full of surprises for these two, and we’ll see where this ranks among those. Last month, the New York native threw the St. Louis MC a surprise birthday party, which was one of a few, in fact. He seemed to have a great time, and no matter what the truth behind these rumors is, we wish them the best in life. On that note, log back into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Nelly and Ashanti.

Fury at shock hike in passport fees set in 2024 Zimbabwe budget

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Fury at shock hike in passport fees set in 2024 Zimbabwe budget

A raft of new taxes and increases announced as part of Zimbabwe’s 2024 budget by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has been widely condemned.

The increase in passport fees to $200 (£160), up from $120, making it the most expensive in the region, seems to have provoked the most ire.

Amid Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, many people survive by doing cross-border trade.

So for them, a passport is a vital tool of their trade.

Passports are also in high demand as many Zimbabweans are desperate to leave the country and seek work elsewhere.

Economists estimate unemployment in Zimbabwe is as high as 85%.

Many of those not formally employed make a living by travelling, primarily to South Africa, to buy goods unavailable or too expensive in Zimbabwe, for resale.

Dubai and Turkey are favoured destinations by those with more money.

Mavis Chiangwa travels to South Africa regularly to buy spare parts for cars for sale in Harare.

Although her passport is still valid for another five years, she feels the proposed hike is too much: “The 67% increase is too high and will make it difficult for those wanting to apply for new passports or those renewing,” she told the BBC.

But the increase in passport fees was just one of several hikes proposed by Mr Ncube, who needs to increase government revenue in order to reduce the amount of money the state needs to borrow.

A 1% wealth tax will be levied on residential properties with a minimum value of $100,000. Private residential properties owned by those above 70 are exempt.

Toll fees will increase by more than 100% on the country’s two busiest highways and 100% on all other roads from 1 January.

A fuel strategic reserve levy will see motorists paying an additional three and five cents per litre of diesel and petrol respectively.

Critics of these increases argue they will hit those who use public transport hardest as transport operators will pass on the new costs.

Mr Ncube also proposes a tax of two cents per gram of sugar in soft drinks saying: “It’s necessary to discourage consumption of high-sugar content beverages.”

He promised that the money raised would be ring-fenced for cancer therapy and to buy diagnostic equipment.

Economists are highly critical of the proposed increases and new taxes.

Professor Gift Mugano has urged parliament to reject what he called the “anti-people and anti-industry” budget.

UK announces plans to ban foreign care workers from bringing their families

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A new five-point plan to reduce immigration has been announced by the UK government, which includes banning care workers from bringing over their families and increasing the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa.

Home Secretary James Cleverly has come under pressure since taking office three weeks ago to show he is taking a hardline on immigration.

Conservatives are angry about the latest thwarting of the Rwanda deportation scheme in the courts and net migration hitting 745,000 last year.

Today’s five-point plan – which is “more robust” than any previous government’s stance on migration, according to Mr Cleverly – includes measures on health and care visas, skilled worker visas, family visas, the shortage occupation list and student visas.

The measures are:

• Health and care visas: Overseas care workers will not be able to bring family dependants, to end the “abuse of the health and care visa”. Care firms that want to sponsor people for visa applications will need to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission;

• Skilled worker visa minimum salary change: The threshold for an application will rise to £38,700 – although health and care workers will still be able to earn less before applying for the route;

• Shortage occupation list: The government wants to “scrap cut-price shortage labour from overseas” by reforming the way people working in short-staffed sectors can apply to come to the UK. This will include axing the 20% discount applied to the minimum salary for people looking for a visa for shortage occupations. The types of jobs on the list will also be reviewed and reduced;

• Family visas: The minimum threshold for a family visa will also be raised to £38,700 to “ensure people only bring dependants whom they can support financially”. Currently, it stands at the 2012 rate of £18,600;

• Student visas: Following the tightening of who can bring in family members on student visas earlier this year, the government will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the graduate route “to prevent abuse and protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education”.

Mr Cleverly claimed these measures – as well as the previously announced measures on students – would mean that 300,000 people who entered the UK last year would not have been able to.

He also re-announced plans to raise the increase of the immigration health surcharge from £624 to £1,035.

He told MPs: “When our country voted to leave the European Union, we voted to take back control of our borders.

“Thanks to this Conservative government, we now have a points-based immigration system through which we control who comes to the UK.

“We prioritise the skills and talent we need to grow our economy and support our NHS – and we have a competitive visa system for globally-mobile talent.”

He added: “Immigration policy must be fair, consistent, legal, and sustainable.”

Asked by Tory MP Damian Green how many care workers are expected to be dissuaded by the removal of family dependents from their visa, Mr Cleverly said it was not estimated that fewer people would be working in the UK health and care sector – hoping domestic supply can fill any gaps.

The home secretary told MPs the plan aims to stop “approximately 120,000 dependants” coming in on health and care visas.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said the statement was an admission of “years of total failure” by the government – claiming that Rishi Sunak is “crashing around all over the place” and “reversing policies he introduced”.

She pointed out that Labour had called for the scrapping of the 20% discount to shortage occupation lists previously.

Sky News understands that Labour is not planning to object to any of the measures announced today, if they require a vote in parliament.

UKHospitality, a trade body for the hospitality sector, said the changes would have stopped 95% of the 8,500 visas granted for chefs and managers last year – which would “worsen the shortages hospitality businesses are facing”. Sky News

YouTuber who crashed a plane to get views sentenced six months

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YouTuber who crashed a plane to get views sentenced six months

A person who makes videos on YouTube has been sent to jail for six months because he crashed his plane on purpose to get more views, and then lied about it to investigators in the United States.

Trevor Jacob, who is 30 years old, put up a video of a plane crashing in December 2021, suggesting that it was not on purpose. He jumped out of the plane holding a selfie stick and used a parachute to land.

The video was watched by millions of people.

In a deal with the court, Jacob admitted that he made the video as part of a deal with a company.

The person who used to compete in the Olympics for snowboarding admitted earlier this year that they committed a serious crime by trying to hide evidence to stop a federal investigation.

Federal prosecutors in California said on Monday that Jacob most likely did this crime to get attention on social media and news and to make money.

“However, we cannot accept this kind of risky behavior,” they said.

Jacob said that he felt very down to earth by this experience and thought it was the best choice.

In November 2021, Jacob flew by himself from an airport in Santa Barbara, California. He had cameras on his plane. Jacob brought a parachute, cameras, and a selfie stick with him.

He did not want to go to where he was supposed to go. Instead, he wanted to jump out of his airplane with a parachute and film himself. The airplane would crash while he was parachuting to the ground. This information was given by the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The airplane had an accident and hit the Los Padres National Forest 35 minutes after it took off. Jacob walked to the place and found the video.

He put a video called “I had a plane accident” on YouTube on December 23rd. The video also advertised a company that sells wallets, the prosecutors said.

Some people weren’t sure about the crash. They saw that Jacob had a parachute and didn’t try to land the plane safely.

He told the National Transportation Safety Board about the crash and they said he needed to keep the wreckage safe. Jacob said he didn’t know where the site was.

He went and came back in a helicopter, then he removed the wreckage and got rid of it later, as the plea agreement says.

The video got almost three million views before it was taken down.

World could breach 1.5C warming threshold in 7 years: study

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World could breach 1.5C warming threshold in 7 years: study

The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to “act now” on coal, oil and gas pollution.

Battle lines are being drawn over the future of fossil fuels at the UN climate summit in Dubai, with big polluters trying to see off calls for an agreement to phase out the carbon-intensive energy responsible for most of human-caused greenhouse gas.

Fossil fuel CO2 pollution rose 1.1 percent last year, according to an international consortium of climate scientists in their annual Global Carbon Project assessment, with surging emissions in China and India — now the world’s first and third biggest emitters.

They estimated that there is a 50 percent chance warming will exceed the Paris deal’s goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius over multiple years by around 2030, although they noted uncertainties around warming from non-CO2 greenhouse gases.

“It is getting more and more urgent,” lead author Pierre Friedlingstein, of Exeter University’s Global Systems Institute, told reporters.

“The time between now and 1.5 degrees is shrinking massively, so to keep a chance to stay below 1.5C, or very close to 1.5C, we need to act now.”

‘Wrong direction’

The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries commit to limiting temperature rise to well below 2C above the preindustrial era and preferably 1.5C.

The more ambitious 1.5C goal has since taken on greater urgency as evidence emerges that warming beyond this could trigger dangerous and irreversible tipping points.

To keep to that limit, the UN’s IPCC climate science panel has said CO2 emissions need to be halved this decade.

That is becoming a more challenging task as emissions continue to rise, the Global Carbon Project found.

Glen Peters, a senior researcher at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research, said carbon dioxide emissions are now six percent higher than when countries signed the Paris deal.

“Things are going in the wrong direction,” he said.

That is despite a promising surge in renewable energy, a key issue at the Dubai climate talks where more than 100 countries have signed a call to triple renewable capacity this decade.

“Solar wind, electric vehicles, batteries, they’re all growing rapidly, which is great. But that is only half the story,” he said.

“The other half is reducing fossil fuel emissions. And we’re simply not doing enough.”

India overtakes EU

The research found fossil fuels accounted for 36.8 billion tonnes of a total of 40.9 billion tonnes of CO2 estimated to be emitted this year.

Several major polluters have clocked falling CO2 emissions this year — including a three percent decrease in the United States and a 7.4 percent drop across the European Union.

But China, which accounts for almost a third of global emissions, is expected to see a four percent rise in fossil fuel CO2 this year, the research found, with increases in coal, oil and gas as the country continues to rebound from its pandemic lockdowns.

Meanwhile, a rise in CO2 emissions of more than eight percent in India means the country has now overtaken the EU as the third-biggest fossil fuel emitter, scientists said.

In both India and China increasing demand for power is outstripping a significant rollout of renewables, said Peters.

Emissions from aviation rose by 28 percent this year as it rebound from pandemic-era lows.

The research was published in the journal Earth System Science Data.

The Earth has already warmed some 1.2C, unleashing ferocious heatwaves, wildfires, floods and storms.

Temperatures this year have surged to the highest in recorded history and the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has said 2023 was already around 1.4C above the pre-industrial baseline by October.

Going above 1.5C for a single year would not breach the Paris deal, however, which is measured over decades.

New Zealand: Thousands demonstrate against new government’s plans to reverse law of Indigenous people

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New Zealand: Thousands demonstrate against new government’s plans to reverse law of Indigenous people

Many people in New Zealand are angry and are protesting against the new government’s plans to change laws that helped Indigenous people.

The new Prime Minister, Chris Luxon, and his government want to change the agreement with the Indigenous people and use less of their language.

Māori leaders say the three-party coalition is against Māori people.

However, the government has stated that it is dedicated to making things better for both Māori and non-Māori.

The new leaders of the coalition government said they don’t want to separate the country by race, and they want to look at the affirmative action policies.

On Tuesday, about 300 cars blocked roads in Auckland during protests, and police arrested two people.

Protesters also marched in Wellington and many other cities.

The leaders of the Maori political party called for protests on the first day of parliament’s meeting since the election in October.

The National party won the most votes, but they needed help from two smaller right-wing parties to run the government in New Zealand.

The new government was just started last week after more than a month of deciding on rules. Some experts think that the smaller political parties have made the main party become more conservative.

“Mr Luxon said that people may think many different things about us, including me. ” “I want to show what I want to happen in this country: more togetherness, everyone being successful, and better results. ”

A lot of Māori people are upset about the idea of changing the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is an important document in New Zealand.

The treaty is a very important document for the country. It was signed by British people and Māori leaders. It explains the rights of Māori people, how resources are shared, and gives them political power.

The old government’s ideas about its principles have caused the country to struggle with the harm of colonization. Some of the new leaders said this had gone too far during the election.

The new government wants to shut down the Māori Health Authority, called Te Aka Whai Ora, which was started by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government. They also want to change the names of some departments from Māori to English.

Last week, it also said it will get rid of the country’s strict smoking ban in order to pay for lower income taxes. Health experts are very unhappy about the decision. They think it will be bad for Māori people, who smoke more than other people.

A national Maori health organization, Hapai Te Hauora, said it was very bad for the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders.

The Māori people are still not doing as well as other people in things like health, money, education, and being in jail or dying. People live seven years longer on average.

Rawiri Waititi, who helps lead the Te Pāti Māori Party in New Zealand, said the government’s new policies are like going back to the 1800s. The Te Pāti Māori Party now has six out of 123 seats in Parliament.

Mr Waititi said our protest today got our people going.

Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also said that Maori progress is going backwards by three or four decades, which is bad.

Critics are upset that the new government wants to change important environmental and safety laws that were made during Ms Ardern’s time in office.

The new government wants to allow offshore gas and oil exploration again and change the gun laws that were made stricter after the Christchurch terrorist attack in 2019.

Primary module of India Moon mission returned to Earth’s orbit

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India’s space agency Isro has brought back part of the rocket from its recent Moon mission back to Earth’s orbit successfully.

The “propulsion module” separated from the Vikram lander after taking it near the Moon. The Vikram lander then landed on the Moon on 23 August.

After doing many complicated moves, the module came back into Earth’s orbit.

The experiment is important for Isro’s future plans to send people into space.

Isro said that the module will keep watching Earth from its new position.

When Chandrayaan-3’s spacecraft, with the Pragyaan rover inside, landed on the moon’s south pole, India became the first country to do so. It also became one of the few countries to land softly on the Moon, following the US, the former Soviet Union, and China.

The lander and rover worked for two weeks collecting information and pictures. After that, they were turned off at night on the moon.

The propulsion module kept circling the Moon and looked at Earth with a special instrument called Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE). It sent information back to Isro.

The space agency says that after being in the moon’s orbit for a month, the propulsion module still had more than 100kg of fuel left. They decided to use it to do special experiments that will give more information for future moon missions.

“When the spacecraft broke away from the engine part, it was flying very close to the Moon,” explained Mila Mitra, a ex-Nasa scientist and co-founder of Stem and Space, a space education company in Delhi. The module started its complex journey on 9 October by first raising its orbit from 150km to 5,112km.

Isro said that the module went around the Moon many times before leaving its area of control on November 10th. Since November 22nd, it has been orbiting Earth.

The space agency says the module is staying very high up, at over 115,000km. This is much higher than where geostationary satellites are. They’re doing this to make sure it doesn’t crash into anything. Its cargo – SHAPE – is still working, looking at Earth and sending information for study.

In September, Isro announced that the Vikram lander had successfully completed a “hop experiment”. The agency announced that the lander was told to start its engines, it went up 16 inches and landed about 30-40cm away. This means the spacecraft could be used to bring back samples or for human missions in the future.

MsMitra says that the new experiment brings Isro closer to a return mission. “The experiment is important because it has the potential to bring back astronauts and space samples, and also for future missions to other planets. ”

Also, when the module runs out of fuel, it would have fallen onto the moon and stayed there as debris forever. Isro has also fixed this important issue by bringing it back.

Namibia upset about president’s children’s trip to Dubai for COP28

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Namibia upset about president’s children’s trip to Dubai for COP28

Some people in Namibia are angry because they found out that President Hage Geingob‘s four children went with the government’s group to the COP28 climate summit.

Six of the president’s family members were part of Namibia’s group in Dubai.

President Geingob’s office said on Monday that his children went to the city, but they did not use government money for their trip.

The office didn’t say how the rest of the family got paid.

President Geingob and Madame Geingos used their own money to pay for their children’s flights and hotel stays. The Namibian Presidency announced this on Monday.

“The people of Namibia and the media can be sure that no public money has been used for the first couple’s children. ”

The president’s office said that the accusations were meant to harm his reputation and were motivated by politics. They are meant to take attention away from the great job President Geingob and the Namibian team did at COP28.

However, some people in Namibia have said that the president’s response is not good enough. They think it doesn’t show that the President Geingob’s children and family paid for their own travel.

Some people want the president to say why his family members went to COP28 and why they were part of the government group if their trip was paid for privately.

“Do you think we are stupid. Why would they be on the delegates list if they weren’t part of it. Why is it important for them to be in Dubai with state delegates. ” a person from Namibia asked on X.

Namibian MP Inna Hengari said that we are expecting a detailed report to be given in parliament.

She was upset with the government for paying for the president’s family to travel, but saying they didn’t have enough money to pay for an MP and parliamentary official to go to COP28.

Many people are upset about African governments sending a lot of people to COP28. They think it’s a waste of money.

Some governments like Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya say that not all the delegates they send to meetings are paid for by the government. Some of them represent the media, charities, and private businesses.

Tanzania floods: President Samia Suluhu Hassan departs from COP to address floods

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Tanzania floods: President Samia Suluhu Hassan departs from COP to address floods

More people have died from flooding and landslides in northern Tanzania, totaling 63 deaths.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is leaving the climate summit in Dubai early because of the heavy rains.

Homes, buildings, and farmland have also been broken.

Heavy floods are happening in East Africa because of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The government of Tanzania sent 400 rescue workers to the northern Hanang district.

Rescuers are facing difficult conditions like broken phones and roads that are blocked or damaged, the president’s spokesperson, Zuhura Yunus, said in a statement on Monday.

Ms Yunus said that President Samia was in Dubai for a conference on climate change, but she decided to come back to the country quickly because of a disaster that happened.

The COP28 started on November 30th and will continue until December 12th.

The president told her government to pay for the funerals of the people who died in the flooding and landslides. Ms Yunus said this. She told the government to pay for hospital bills for the injured and to provide temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed.

Dr Godwin Mollel, who helps the Minister of Health in Tanzania, said: “We have a group of doctors and medical officers sent out to help. ” The care is really good and a lot of patients are getting better.

Fanuel John, a man with four children from a village called Gendabi, has been looking for his wife and kids who are missing.

He heard water flowing when he went outside and said it sounded like a ravine. He looked and saw water coming towards him.

“I told my wife and kids to go outside fast, and we climbed a big tree,” he said to the media. “As we climbed the tree, I saw that a flood was coming. ”

“I was surprised to see all the trees falling down. ” Several types of trees were fallend down. “I asked my family to pray,” he said.

After that, the family was surrounded by water that was about six feet (1. 8m) deep

“We got split up, and I never saw them again,” he said.

Another person who survived, Samuel Mtinda, heard a noise that sounded like a car passing by and looked out the window.

He said, “I saw that our house and our neighbors’ houses are covered in water and rocks. ” “I told my wife and kids to go to the school playground and run. ” We kept running until we found a safe place.

Flooding is the biggest natural danger in Tanzania and affects a lot of people every year.

Last month, there was a lot of rain that caused deaths and damage to buildings in Dar es Salaam and other places.

Floods destroyed some crops in some places, causing problems for the people who rely on them for a living.

Tanzania’s weather agency said it will keep raining this month.

Five corpses discovered in US military aircraft wreckage close to Japan

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American and Japanese teams looking for things found five dead people in the remains of a US military plane that crashed near Yakushima island last week.

The CV-22 Osprey plane crashed last week while carrying eight people. Only one had been found before.

Two out of the five bodies that were found on Monday have been brought back.

The accident made Tokyo request that the US stop flying its Osprey planes in Japan.

During the accident, the Osprey was flying from a US Marine Corps air base in Yamaguchi Prefecture to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for training.

It asked to land on Yukushima island right away before crashing into the water.

People who saw it happen said that the plane turned upside down and caught on fire before it crashed. We still don’t know why the incident happened.

On Monday, the US Air Force Special Operations Command announced that the US and Japanese teams searching for the aircraft made a big discovery. They found some parts of the plane and the main body of the wreckage with help from ships and dive teams.

Efforts to rescue the rest of the crew from the crash site are still going on, the statement said. They haven’t been found yet.

The first victim’s body was found a few hours after the crash.

The Air Force called him Staff Sgt Jake Galliher. He’s 24 years old and from Massachusetts. He was in an intelligence unit at Yokota Air Base in Japan.

Osprey was made in 2007. It works as a helicopter and a plane with a propeller.

The US military’s Ospreys have been in a few other serious crashes lately.

In August, another type of Osprey aircraft crashed during a military training in Australia. It resulted in the deaths of three US Marines and injuries to 20 other people.

Last year, a crash in the California desert involving an Osprey killed five Marines.

Japan, which is the only other country with Osprey aircraft, stopped using their fleet for a short time last week.

It also requested the United States to stop flying the 30 Osprey aircraft stationed in Japan until they could be inspected to make sure they are safe.

The Pentagon told the BBC that the aircraft’s unit is not flying right now. They are making sure it’s safe for all flights and operations.

Japan and the United States have an agreement about their military. Japan won’t be very involved in the investigation of the crash.

This made Japan very angry because the US did not follow this rule and did not stop its airplanes from flying.

Sabrina Singh, the assistant to the person in charge at the Pentagon, said that the US has already begun giving details about the accident to our partners in Japan. “We talk a lot with our leaders about airplane safety and other safety issues. “

South Africa misses the Mandela ‘spirit’ 10 years after icon’s death

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South Africa misses the Mandela ‘spirit’ 10 years after icon’s death

With murals of his smiling face still covering many buildings, South Africans on Tuesday marked 10 years since the death of Nelson Mandela with a mixture of longing for his integrity and disappointment over what has happened since.

While no official ceremonies were planned to recall South Africa’s first black president, many spared a thought for the leader who emerged from prison in 1991 to end apartheid.

Fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was to give a lecture late Tuesday for the Mandela Foundation.

Mandela, who died aged 95 after a long illness, brought pride and hope to a country torn apart by more than four decades of repressive white minority rule.

But after nearly three decades of government by his African National Congress (ANC), inequality has grown, according to the World Bank, corruption is rife and crippling power cuts hit each day.

A resident of Soweto, where Nelson Mandela used to live, walks past a mural of the late anti-apartheid hero after his death on December 5, 2013. By Carl DE SOUZA (AFP/File)
“We love what he (Mandela) has done, we love the freedom that he has given us,” said Prosper Nkosi, who lives close to Mandela’s old house in the Soweto township near Johannesburg.

Mandela ‘spirit’

“Ten years on we still haven’t changed much, I wish things could just improve,” he added.

Johannesburg resident Njabulo Mngadi said South Africa had to rediscover the “Mandela spirit” to bring more reforms.

“All the work that he’s done, we (should) continue with it where he finished off,” said Mngadi. “Things are still bad here in South Africa, things are still not right.”

A national election is expected in the first half of 2024 and polls have suggested the ANC’s vote share could fall below 50 percent for the first time.

Opposition parties are stepping up attacks on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s scandal-tainted ANC.

Despite the doubts and troubles many still hold out optimism for the future.

Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk, the white president who approved Mandela’s release from jail in 1990 and then negotiated the end of minority rule.

Nelson Mandela seen with F.W. de Klerk, the president who negotiated an end to white minority rule in South Africa. The pair were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1993. By Philip LITTLETON (AFP/File)
Dave Steward, chairman emeritus of the F.W. De Klerk Foundation, said Mandela would long be remembered for his work to bring democracy to South Africa.

“While we are experiencing many problems that would not make Nelson Mandela happy, he would be happy that we are still a constitutional democracy with functioning courts and a government that obeys the law,” Steward told AFP.

“However many years pass, Nelson Mandela’s legacy and example will remain important to the present and future of South Africa.”

The vestiges of Mandela’s struggle during 27 years in prison and his presidency from 1994 to 1999, with de Klerk as his vice president, will not disappear anytime soon.

He features on banknotes and there are Mandela murals and statues in cities around South Africa and across the world.

The Mandela Foundation has however sought to temper criticism of his legacy that has come mainly from younger South Africans.

The foundation has organised a Johannesburg exhibition called “Mandela is Dead” which seeks to help South Africans find new ideas to change the country.

The foundation’s acting president Verne Harris said the “deep nostalgia” after Mandela’s death risked becoming “destructive energy”.

“Maybe we need to let him go. And look for new role models,” said Harris.

KABUSWE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY…govt has not been very truthful about Seseli mining operation – Hon. Mundubile

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KABUSWE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY…govt has not been very truthful about Seseli mining operation – Hon. Mundubile

KABUSWE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

…govt has not been very truthful about Seseli mining operation – Hon. Mundubile

By Thomas Ngala

I am surprised that mines minister, Paul Kabuswe, seems to have been blaming the victims who died in that mine accident for not observing safety standards and measures, says Mporokoso PF member of parliament Brian Mundubile.

He told The Mast yesterday that what is happening at Seseli in Chingola district of the Copperbelt Province is because government has not been very truthful about that particular mining operation.

“When the members of parliament have gone to the Copperbelt they discover that mining operation under Seseli. They question about this particular operation, they ask who the owners were. The members of parliament could not be given an answer,” he recalled.

“Everybody seemed to have been saying ‘look, if you comment about this mining operation you will actually be fired’. Those are the people that we found at KCM. The people we found at KCM found it very difficult to give any information regarding this mine. They were saying ‘if you comment on this mine you will be fired because it belongs to the top leadership within the UPND’.”

Mundubile said the mining activities around Seseli mines were being done in a manner that did not follow the laid down rules as regard to safety and other rules within the mining department.

He charged that the secretive and blurry information surrounding Seseli mines would have resulted in very poor safety standards.

“I think it (secretive and blurry information) has made it very difficult even for the mining department to inspect the mine…the issue of Seseli mine keeps on coming up [in parliament] every week and we could not get answers from anybody,” he said. “So what we have said is that because of illegalities, the illegal mining activities by the senior UPND officials, they are actually getting away with it…however, it is very unfortunate that people perished in that mine accident and that the Minister of Mines must take full responsibility for not having supervised the mining activities fully.”

And Mundubile wondered what the manadate of the safety department was.

“The mines department has a very equipped mines and safety department which looks at the safety of the mine… A citizen can only go so far in ensuring their safety while mining. It is the responsibility of the safety department to ensure that the safety measures being employed are up to standard. Therefore, it is unfortunate when I listen to a comment from the mines minister, he seemed to have been blaming it on the people that perished in that particular accident,” he said, “He should take responsibility as government that they fail to inspect these mines and ensure that the mining was being done within the prescribed rules and standards…But if you remember, Senseli mining is a mine that we have questioned over a period of time.”

By press time rescue teams were unable to locate dozens of ‘illegal miners’ believed to be trapped after a mudslide at an open cast copper mine on Friday.

The accident occurred after heavy rains.

Rescue teams have been pumping water from the underground pits at the Seseli mine in Chingola but were yet to make contact with the miners.

(Credit: The Mast)

Munir Zulu did nothing wrong to make comparisons of peoples intelligence – police officer

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Munir Zulu did nothing wrong to make comparisons of peoples intelligence – police officer

Munir did nothing wrong to make comparisons of peoples intelligence – police officer

A DIGITAL forensic analyst says Lumezi member of parliament Munir Zulu did not breach the ethos of the State’s watchword of oneness “one Zambia one nation” when he made a comparison of intelligence levels between two ethnic groups.

Memory Namfukwe a police officer based at Force Headquarters under the forensic department said she was not cognisant of what constitutes hate speech.

In this case, Zulu is accused of expressing hatred and contempt for persons because of tribe, race or place of origin when he expressed disaffection towards the people of Bweengwa.

It is alleged that on March 28, 2023, Zulu said ;” I am a villager from Lumezi, but I can tell you that villagers from Lumezi are more intelligent than villagers fromn Bweengwa” which showed hatred against a group of persons namely the villagers from Bweengwa.

Testifying before magistrate Amy Masoja, Namfukwe said on sometime in March the criminal investigations department requested sound forensic extraction from Facebook and she was given two links.

She said according to the video she downloaded Zulu who carried a pair of shoes and was embraced by Mporokoso member of parliament Brian Mundubile prior to comparing the intellect of easterners to southerners.

During cross examination by Nkhula Botha the witness is not a linguistic expert and knows nothing about hate speech.

Asked if she comprehended the content of the video she downloaded and watched several times, the witness denied.

Namfukwe said the verbatim on the indictment which is attributed to Zulu was wrongly quoted as he did not say “I can tell you” but instead he said “I want to tell you”.

She wouldn’t know if the charge sheet describes an offence as making a comparison of people’s brains is not an offence.

And Kitwe resident Bill Kapinga said whilst relaxing at his home and browsing through Facebook he stumbled upon a video were Zulu uttered words intended to cause hatred and ridicule towards a certain ethnic group.

He said he got incensed because the lawmaker portrayed the people of Bweengwa to be shallow-brained.

“I reported the matter to the police in Ndola. The police assured me that they would carry out investigations and if there was need they could get back to me. They showed me a video and asked me to confirm whether the content is what prompted me to report the matter to the police and I responded in the affirmative,” Kapinga said.

“I was told the person in question had been detained and the matter would proceed to court and I said he was willing to testify.”

During cross examination the witness who confirmed that the verbatim on the indictment was quoted wrongly said he was affected on behalf of the people of Bweengwa.

He said he consulted Keegan Mudenda and a Mr Chimpati of how they perceived Zulu’s utterances before he drew a conclusion that Zulu dislikes the said group.

Asked if the population in Bweengwa was made up of two people for him to restrict his study to two participants, Kapinga said his study was limited due to resources.

“An expression of an opinion about who is intelligent is an offence it incites anger, the people of Bweengwa were upset with the utterances made by Honourable Zulu,” said the emotionally charged Kapinga.

Asked if he had proof to show that the people of Bweengwa were at swords’ point with Zulu over his utterances, Kapinga denied.

Trial continues on January 23, 2024.

By Mwaka Ndawa

Kalemba December 5, 2023.

Looting through compensations!

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THE MAST COMMENT

Looting through compensations!

The primary responsibility of any government is to protect citizens.
And this is from all forms of insecurity – be it food, want, physical harm, ailments and so on and so forth. It even becomes more critical for those entrusted with public finance or state power to protect the national treasury. We are told that government treasury management is a critical aspect of fiscal governance that helps countries manage their financial resources, support economic growth, and ensure transparency and accountability in public finances.

According to FreeBalance “A well-managed treasury system can provide governments with the necessary resources to fund public services and investment in infrastructure, education, and health.” Prudence is essential. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.

In our case, we were told by the new dawn administration that they inherited empty coffers. But from these empty coffers we have seen an avalanche of consent orders with hefty compensations to UNPD members only, arising from detentions during the PF regime. No one is against delivering justice. Justice is one of the most important ideals in our society. It’s what we strive for in order to create a fair and equitable world. Empathy is what separates humanity from beasts!

As Martin Luther King Jr put it, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

But are these compensations we have seen in the last two years fair, appropriate and considerate? One thing for sure we smell a rat!

This is why we take note of the recent statement by Professor Muna Ndulo and Dr O’Brien Kaaba on the consent orders being

entered into by the state and various litigants.

The duo wrote that, “We have observed with bewilderment and disbelief several consent orders entered into between the State Chambers and various individuals involving huge sums of money. Although some appear well deserving, in a number these cases, there is either no sound legal justification for the settlements or the awards and the legal costs are grossly inflated. For example, in the case of Kaizar Zulu, it is clear he was not acting on behalf of the state and there is no moral or legal justification whatsoever for the state to

compensate those he injured in his private capacity. It would appear that someone in the State Chambers is fishing for such cases for personal gain, and that is corruption. It must be stopped forthwith. We are also concerned that in some cases the lawyers representing concerned individuals and those in State Chambers have previously had personal connections, raising questions about conflict of interest and the credibility of the negotiations and the protection of public interest in these settlements. We call upon President Hichilema to critically evaluate his legal team in State Chambers and dismiss those who are behind these racketeering schemes. We are appalled that oversight institutions such as the ACC, which should be in the forefront of protecting public resources, are doing nothing serious about the problem. This should have been stopped a long time ago had ACC been proactive, strategic and serious about protecting public resources. The deals at the Ministry of Justice clearly indicate that to have a sustainable fight against corruption, it is not enough that the top national leadership

is committed to the eradication of corruption. We need institutional transformation. We need to redesign institutions like ACC to make them capable and truly professional and independent.”

Yes, this is a systematic way of looting the national treasury using the law. It is unfortunate that Hakainde has also endorsed this, all because he wants to please his party members. It is not possible that he doesn’t know what is going on regarding these strange compensations. Hakainde is fully aware and he has endorsed this process otherwise it would not have gone on this trajectory. But we warn that these judgments will definitely be revisited when government changes. And all the actors in this process will be prosecuted and convicted, including those from the Attorney General’s chambers. The way they are busy revisiting some of the judgments passed in the previous regime is the same way theirs will also be revisited and questioned. So while they rejoice in this sunshine, they should also remember that the same sun will set upon them one day. So as they reward each other, they should celebrate with the reminder that a time will come when they will have to justify those compensations. Indeed, they have learnt the art of lawfare very quickly but blindly!

PF INVESTMENT IN THE HEALTH SECTOR- Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

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PF INVESTMENT IN THE HEALTH SECTOR- Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

PF INVESTMENT IN THE HEALTH SECTOR

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

I saw images of the completion of the construction of the Nchelenge District Hospital.

Like the Mfuwe District Hospital,whose pictures were circulated recently, these facilities were part of a larger comprehensive project. It’s good to see these projects come to completion.

The program was as follows;

Construction of;
●650 Health Posts
● 65 District hospitals
● 115 Mini hospitals
● Upgrade of Lusaka Health Centers to First-Level Hospitals

In 2018, Government started the construction of 5 x 80-Bed District Hospitals in Mfuwe, Nchelenge, Mwansabombwe, Kitwe and Ndola which projects are almost complete.

This was a complete turnkey project, from concept to completion, for the design, construction and equipping of five 80 bed Hospitals and 115 Mini Hospitals.

● To decongest the University Teaching Hospital a special program was implemented with the support the Japanese Government through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to upgrade health centres in Lusaka to first-level hospitals, where basic surgeries, including familiar diseases and cesarean sections, could be performed.

The Ministry of Health strengthened and expanded the functions of the first-level hospital facilities in Matero, Chilenje, Kanyama, Chawama and Chipata townships.

In 2017, the Ministry of Health developed the Health Financing Strategy (HFS) 2017-2027 which provides a framework for improving and developing health financing in Zambia to contribute to overall health system goals and objectives.

The strategy aligned with the country’s vision of having a healthy nation by 2030, the National Health Strategic Plan 2017-2021, the seventh National Development Plan, and the National Health Policy (NHP) 2012.

GOVT DECISION TO ENGAGE EQUITY PARTNER TO OPERATE MOPANI COPPER MINE PROGRESSIVE – ANDD

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GOVT DECISION TO ENGAGE EQUITY PARTNER TO OPERATE MOPANI COPPER MINE PROGRESSIVE – ANDD

GOVT DECISION TO ENGAGE EQUITY PARTNER TO OPERATE MOPANI COPPER MINE PROGRESSIVE – ANDD

…. this is what stakeholders have been advocating for in order to increase economic activities in Zambia

Government has been praised for finding an equity partner to run Mopani Copper Mine saying this will go a long way in improving the country’s economy.

The Advocates For National Development And Democracy (ANDD) is optimistic that once Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines plc are up and running, they will be able to easy the economic pressure the country is going through.

ANDD Executive Director Samuel Banda says this is what key stakeholders have been advocating for in order to increase economic activities in the country.

“As Advocates For National Development And Democracy (ANDD) an organization advocating for a viable and inclusive mining sector, we wish to thank the government for finally selecting International Resources Holding LTD as a strategic equity partner to operate Mopani Copper Mine,” he said.

“Mining is the cornerstone of our national development hence Government’s decision to engage a strategic partner to operate Mopani Copper Mine is progressive. We are optimistic that this will enhance productivity in the mining sector, contribute to the achievement of the 3 Million metric tonnes copper production target by 2031, create the much needed employment and business opportunities for Zambians as well as largely increase our GDP.”

Mr Banda however, appealed to government to do due diligence in this strategic partnership and ensure that the terms and conditions of this partnership benefits the Zambian people.

“We are looking forward to seeing Mopani Copper Mine start operating optimally, improve good working conditions and standards, create more employment and business opportunities and implement good corporate social responsibility programmes to enhance community development,” he added.

“In the interest of promoting and growing our national domestic economic and social development, it is our take that Government should make mandatory policy direction for all mining investors to prioritize offering business opportunities to local suppliers and contractors unless in an event that local suppliers and contractors don’t have capacity.”

He emphasized that offering business opportunities to local SME’s, will encourage more Zambians to get into entrepreneurship, leading to a positive economic impact, more jobs and wealth will be created among citizens, commerce and trade activities will increase, thereby reducing poverty and unemployment levels.

SE

I WANT TO DIE, TO GO AND JOIN MY HUSBAND

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I WANT TO DIE, TO GO AND JOIN MY HUSBAND

I WANT TO DIE, TO GO AND JOIN MY HUSBAND.

If what I have observed in the recent past is anything to go by, leaving inheritance to your children without a proper upbringing is equivalent to zero work done.

And the work of bringing up children should be a shared vision between husband and wife. If the father and mother are pulling in different directions, again, the work done is zero.

Today, I witnessed a land transaction that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I escorted a Chinese friend who went to buy a very nicely developed farm. The seller of the farm was a widow and her three children; two sons and a daughter.

As they were finalising the finer details of the sale, the widow looked very sad, and at some point, broke down and cried. To my shock, her three children looked unbothered. Her two sons were even drinking Heineken while their sister was on savanna, as they concluded the sale.

I got a handkerchief and passed it over to her, to wipe her tears, that were coming out in torrents. Sobbing, the woman turned to me; “My son, God has really punished me for my mistakes. My husband tried to teach and discipline these children, but I would fight him, and spoil them. I thought spoiling them was love. He worked very hard to make us comfortable, sending them to the UK for education, buying properties, and developing this farm. He died 3 years ago, and everything he worked for has been sold. This farm is the only property left now, but these children have been fighting me, tooth and nail, to have it sold too. I want to die, to go and join my husband. I don’t want to witness how these children will suffer when this money is finished.”

She broke down again, wailing heavily. Her children were busy going round the farm laughing and talking millions with the Chinese, while sipping alcohol.

From their skin tone, fancy accents and refined BBC English, one would tell that these were proper cheese boys who grew up in aircons.

Poor woman!

I have also noted a similar problem in the villages. Selling inherited land has become the leading economic activity. Everyone is selling land to buy motor vehicles and drink the remaining money.

Maybe, you can save your children from becoming alcoholics by selling your properties yourself and drinking the money, to save them from themselves. Leave them with NOTHING so that they may be responsible and hardworking citizens.

Sell those things you have worked hard to acquire and drink everything. Even if you don’t drink it, someone else will still drink it. This will happen when you finally kick the bucket. Your sacrifices will turn out to be a curse, torturing your children and converting them to playful zombies, frequenting night clubs with cash from selling your property.

Author: Yona Musukwa

US restricts visas for Zimbabwe officials citing repression

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US restricts visas for Zimbabwe officials citing repression


US restricts visas for Zimbabwe officials citing repression

The United States on Monday expanded a visa restriction policy on Ugandan officials to include those it believes are responsible for undermining democracy and repressing marginalized groups in Uganda, while also announcing a new visa restriction policy for officials in Zimbabwe.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the visa restrictions and mentioned, among others, the marginalization of groups like the LGBT community in Uganda and civil society advocates in Zimbabwe. Blinken’s statements did not name any official.

Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, was enacted in May and carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex.

In June, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials after the passage of the law. The State Department also previously put visa restrictions on Ugandan officials following the country’s 2021 elections, which it called “flawed.”

“Today, I am announcing the expansion of the visa restriction policy to include current or former Ugandan officials or others who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda or for policies or actions aimed at repressing members of marginalized or vulnerable populations,” Blinken said on Monday.

“These groups include, but are not limited to, environmental activists, human rights defenders, journalists, LGBTQI+ persons, and civil society organizers.”

Blinken also announced a new visa restriction policy for those he said were undermining democracy in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in a disputed vote in August, which the opposition described as a “gigantic fraud” amid criticism from election observers who say the election failed to meet regional and international standards.

“Anyone who undermines the democratic process in Zimbabwe – including in the lead-up to, during, and following Zimbabwe’s August 2023 elections – may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy,” Blinken said.

Below is the full press statement:

Visa Restriction Policy for Undermining Democracy in Zimbabwe

PRESS STATEMENT

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE

DECEMBER 4, 2023

I am announcing today a new visa restriction policy for undermining democracy in Zimbabwe. Under this policy, the United States will pursue visa restrictions, pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, for individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Zimbabwe. Such acts may include manipulating or rigging the electoral process; disenfranchising voters or preventing individuals from exercising their right to vote; excluding members of the political opposition from electoral processes; restricting the ability of civil society organizations (CSOs) to operate and engage in democratic, governance, or human rights related activities; or intimidation of voters, election observers, or CSOs through threats or acts of physical violence. They may also include engaging in corrupt acts, including bribery, that undermine the electoral process; interfering with the independent operation of the judiciary during its adjudication of electoral cases; or abusing or violating human rights in Zimbabwe. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions. Anyone who undermines the democratic process in Zimbabwe—including in the lead-up to, during, and following Zimbabwe’s August 2023 elections—may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy.

The visa restriction policy will apply to specific individuals involved in these acts, and is not directed at the Zimbabwean people. The United States supports Zimbabweans’ aspirations to have free and fair elections that reflect the will of the people and strengthen democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights.

Source – Reuters

Ban on Second-Hand Clothing Threatens Livelihoods in Uganda

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Ban on Second-Hand Clothing Threatens Livelihoods in Uganda

Despite the chaotic surroundings, Hadija Nakimuli always finds her way through the bustling alleys of Owino Market in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. For almost 30 years, she has been selling second-hand clothing there.

However, a possible ban on the importation of used clothes by authorities could jeopardize the livelihoods of Hadija Nakimuli and tens of thousands of other vendors.

President Yoweri Museveni recently “declared war” on second-hand clothing primarily imported from the United States and Europe, stating the intention to “promote African clothing.”

“Where is our future if they stop second-hand clothes?” wonders 62-year-old Hadija Nakimuli, a mother of twelve, as she sifts through her colorful stock of underwear, dresses, shoes, and bags.

Owino Market, a sprawling market established in 1971, engages around 80,000 people, with 70% being women, according to Kampala authorities.

“Besides students, my clients include ministers and parliamentarians who call me to deliver clothes to their air-conditioned offices,” explains Joseph Barimugaya.

“This trade should not be disrupted. Everyone benefits, including the government, which collects taxes,” asserts the father of four.

Every day, hundreds of customers navigate the narrow paths between makeshift wooden stalls, seeking good deals.

“As a teacher, I earn less than 500,000 Ugandan shillings (about 120 euros). If I have to buy new clothes, it means spending my entire salary,” notes 27-year-old Robert Twimukye, shopping at Owino.

And he is not alone.

Although official figures are not available, according to estimates from the Ugandan Association of Resellers of Second-hand Clothes and Shoes, about 16 million people, or one in three Ugandans, buy second-hand clothes.

  • Clothes from “Deceased Persons” –

“Everyone loves second-hand clothes. Only a small number of people in Uganda can afford new clothes,” argues Allan Zavuga, director of the Think Twice chain, employing 30 people in three branches across the country.

Banning the importation of second-hand clothes “does not serve the population and the country as a whole,” he continues, citing the environmental cost of new clothing production.

East Africa imports over 12% of the world’s exported second-hand clothes, creating jobs for around 355,000 people who earn $230 million annually, according to a 2017 study by the U.S. government’s humanitarian agency, USAID.

However, the importation of second-hand clothes is often criticized by governments on the African continent, denouncing its negative impact on the local textile industry.

“These clothes come from deceased individuals in a foreign country. When a white person dies, the clothes are (…) sent to Africa,” President Yoweri Museveni asserted in August.

Ugandan Minister of Trade David Bahati maintains in an interview with AFP that this is a matter of “dignity.”

If the ban materializes – the government will review it in January – “we can replace these second-hand clothes,” he asserts, acknowledging that it will take time: “It cannot be done overnight, but we can do it gradually.”

Kampala authorities are willing to offer “incentives” to investors, defends David Bahati, “such as tax exemptions.”

  • “Abject Poverty” –

This is not the first time authorities have proposed this ban.

In 2016, President Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1986, had previously attempted to ban imported second-hand clothes as part of a regional initiative, but it faced strong opposition from the Kampala Traders Association.

It also faced diplomatic pressures.

Initially united, the East African Community regional bloc fractured after Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda hesitated due to the prospect of American retaliation.

Only Rwanda went ahead with the initiative, imposing taxes in 2016 on second-hand clothes, leading to a decrease in imports. In retaliation, the United States suspended trade benefits for Kigali.

In the alleys of Owino Market, traders fear losing their only means of livelihood in a country where 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

“Who did the government consult (before deciding) to ban second-hand clothes?” wonders a trembling-voiced Harriet Musoke Kyambadde, a trader and mother of three. If the ban is enforced, “it will plunge me into abject poverty.”

Source: Africanews

Low tuition fees- Zim students flood Zambian universities

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Students from Zimbabwe have reportedly flooded Zambian universities, stretching accommodation facilities at the neighbouring country’s institutions of higher learning.

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Zambia, Charity Charamba, confirmed the development and appealed to parents to ensure the well-being of their children enrolled at Zambian universities.

“It’s fantastic to see our students thrive here. Zambia and Zimbabwe are like family, and education is a bridge that connects us,” she said.

Charamba, however, acknowledged challenges including accommodation, permits, and navigating a new environment faced by foreign students.

“That’s why we are here. The embassy is your home away from home. We’re here to support, guide, and advocate for you,” she said.

The embassy encouraged students to take advantage of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa trade benefits, empowering them to become entrepreneurs and contribute to both Zambia and Zimbabwe’s economies.

In a recent announcement, the University of Lusaka, a magnet for Zimbabwean students, said Sadc students will pay fees similar to the locals.

“All United States dollar-denominated fees have been abolished. Sadc students, including those from Zimbabwe, will now pay the same tuition fees as local students, in Zambian kwacha or US dollar equivalent at the ruling rate,” the notice read.

The move has been hailed as a game-changer, making Zambian education even more accessible to aspiring scholars from across the region.

“This changes everything,” a computer science student at Copperbelt University. “Suddenly, Zambia isn’t just an affordable option; it’s the most accessible choice for quality education.”

Another student, Tariro said who is studying towards a law degree at the University of Zambia said: “It’s a no-brainer.

Back home, fees were crippling. Here, I can focus on my studies without constant financial worry.”

Tariro’s sentiments are shared by many.

Parents like Michael Mubairi, who sent his son to study medicine in Lusaka, echoed the sentiments.

“Zambia offers a quality education at a fraction of the cost,” he said. “It’s an investment in his future, and mine.”

Zambia is one of the countries with low tuition fees in the Sadc region.

DRC goes to the Polls on Wednesday, 20 December 2023

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DRC goes to the Polls on Wednesday, 20 December 2023
  • DRC goes to the Polls on Wednesday, 20 December 2023

The Poll has attracted 25 presidential candidates, including the outgoing president.

At the same time the country is holding legislative, provincial and municipal elections.

Here are the top three candidates;

1. Felix Tshisekedi

Félix Tshisekedi, 60, became president five years ago after a controversial election that another opponent, Martin Fayulu, claims he won. He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), which was also the party of his father, the historic opponent Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in 2017.

2. Moses Katumbi

Moïse Katumbi, 58, is a wealthy businessman, boss of the renowned Lubumbashi (south-east) football club Tout Puissant Mazembe and former governor (2007-2015) of the mining province of Katanga, the economic heart of the country, where he was born. His father was Italian, which made him a prime target for the heralds of “Congolity” , whose leader also tried to have his candidacy invalidated.

Leader of the “Together for the Republic” party, he highlights his business successes and his record in Katanga, with construction of roads, schools and development of agriculture, to assert that he will know how to manage the country.

3. Martin Fayulu

Martin Fayulu, 66 years old (67 on November 21), is the leader of the Ecidé party (Commitment to Citizenship and Development). This former executive of an oil major wants his revenge. For five years, his supporters have referred to him as “the president-elect” , since according to them the victory was stolen from him in the 2018 election.

Once again affirming his conviction that the dice will be loaded for that of next December, he for a time maintained the suspense over his candidacy, which he finally confirmed on September 30.

3. Denis Mukwege

Denis Mukwege , 68, gynecologist, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2018 for his work with raped women, is a long-time critic of power and continues to demand justice for the victims of armed violence in his country.

“The man who repairs women”, a nickname inherited from a documentary dedicated to him, has no political basis and was slow to launch. He finally announced on October 2 that he would be a candidate, denouncing “the corrupt and predatory practices” which keep the majority of Congolese in poverty. Son of a Pentecostal pastor, he is originally from South Kivu (east), where he runs a hospital.

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