Category: Africa

South Africa: Brawls break out during Zuma’s State of the…

Brawls have broken out inside South Africa’s parliament after opposition MPs were thrown out of the chamber during President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address. Zuma was repeatedly stopped from speaking by opposition members, notably those from the radical Economic Freedom Fighters Party and its firebrand leader Julius Malema.

Somalia’s New President meets with Diplomats In mogadishu

The newly elected President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, held meetings on Thursday for the first time with representatives from the International community in Mogadishu. During the meeting, the international partners have congratulated Farmajo on his election as the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia on Wednesday in Mogadishu by the Federal Parliament.

.com | Parents, pupils claim racism at Roodepoort school

The Gauteng education department will on Friday visit a Roodepoort high school following complaints from parents that teachers allegedly called their children monkeys, devils, and assholes. “My children told me to take them out of that school, they told me that they were called monkeys and made to sit on the floor,” she claimed.

.com | Parents, pupils claim racism at Roodepoort school

The Gauteng education department will on Friday visit a Roodepoort high school following complaints from parents that teachers allegedly called their children monkeys, devils, and assholes. “My children told me to take them out of that school, they told me that they were called monkeys and made to sit on the floor,” she claimed.

South African MPs brawl with security guards in parliament

‘THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!’ Furious Donald Trump tweets that he’ll appeal San Francisco court’s ruling as judges unanimously REFUSE to reinstate his travel ban Shocking moment 18-year-old serial offender is shot dead a fraction of a second after pointing his gun at a cop Hillary Clinton was ‘replaced on Vogue cover by Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner after election loss’ as fashion bible reveals it will cover Melania Trump moving forward Alexa really IS everywhere: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos admits he has installed smart AI speakers in every room in his house Driver dies after his semi-truck is blown off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel by 40mph winds into the frigid waters below Mother-of-two is charged in child pornography case involving an ex-firefighter who dressed as clown for kid-safety program Married couple arrested after ‘targeting two of their 16-year-old daughter’s … (more)

Scuffling, heckling in South African parliament

Fistfights broke out in South Africa’s National Assembly on Thursday as opposition lawmakers protesting President Jacob Zuma were dragged out of the chamber during his annual State of the Nation address. Zuma’s address was delayed by 90 minutes as the Economic Freedom Fighters and other political parties disrupted the proceedings in Cape Town.

10 Things to Know for Thursday

In this Jan. 21, 2017, file photo, protesters stage a candlelight vigil calling for impeached President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea. The Pyeongchang Olympics have been drawn into the country’s biggest political scandal in decades.

.com | Polisario says on alert along W Sahara sand barrier

Behind a long sand wall winding through the disputed Western Sahara, leaders battling for the independence of the former Spanish colony say they are on alert. Morocco insists the territory is an integral part of its kingdom, but the Algeria-backed Polisario Front demands a referendum on self-determination.

.com | Wary Somali refugees pack for trip to US … again

When Aden Bare Farah, 23, first boarded a bus taking him away from the bleak rows of dust-coloured tents where he was born and raised a refugee, there was no looking back. This time around, he can barely summon the enthusiasm to believe he is finally leaving the ochre sands of Dadaab in arid eastern Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp, for Pennsylvania in the United States.

.com | Somalia’s presidential election heads into second round

Somalia’s groundbreaking presidential election moved into a second round on Wednesday as the number of candidates dropped from 21 to three, while a security lockdown closed the capital’s international airport and cleared major streets. Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a slight lead over former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, 88 votes to 72. With at least one of the remaining candidates having dual citizenship, Somalia could end up with a president who also holds a US passport, Farmajo.

.com | Five things you didn’t know about FREED pastor Evan Mawarire

That picture of Zimbabwe protest pastor Evan Mawarire reading his Bible as he was driven off in a police truck last week? Fellow activist Patson Dzamara said it left him “heartbroken” – and it will have touched a chord in more than a few Zimbabweans’ hearts. #ThisFlag founder Mawarire was granted bail on Wednesday afternoon by the Harare High Court .

Sudan: UN Independent Expert to follow up on recommendations by the UN human rights system

The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, will carry out his third mission to the country from 10 to 22 February 2017 to assess the efforts undertaken by the Sudanese Government to comply with its international human rights obligations. “I will follow up on the implementation by the Government of the Sudan of its human rights obligations, in light of the recommendations made to the Sudan by all human rights mechanisms, including those contained in my report of September 2016 to the Human Rights Council,” Mr. Nononsi said.

Somalia elects first new president in decades

Somalia elects first new president in decades Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is a former prime minister with dual Somali-.U.S. citizenship. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2k4IB7w Newly elected president of Somalia and former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo gestures as he makes an address on Feb. 8, 2017, in Mogadishu.

Graft, threats as Somalia faces historic presidential vote

Somali soldiers prepare to secure the capital on the eve of presidential elections, at a police academy in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft – vote-buying, fraud, intimidation – is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world and Mogadishu is in lockdown because of the threat of violence by homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.

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What is prohibited for some public officers is the engaging or forming Labour or Trade Unions and not associations in general. By Eva Arinaitwe On November 29, 2016 and recently on February 2, 2017 both in the New Vision newspaper Members of Parliament on the Local Government Public Accounts Committee asked the Government to disband the Associations of Public officers sighting violation of Public Standing Orders.

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What is prohibited for some public officers is the engaging or forming Labour or Trade Unions and not associations in general. By Eva Arinaitwe On November 29, 2016 and recently on February 2, 2017 both in the New Vision newspaper Members of Parliament on the Local Government Public Accounts Committee asked the Government to disband the Associations of Public officers sighting violation of Public Standing Orders.

Rwanda fires 200 police officers accused of corruption

Rwanda’s government has dismissed 200 police officers implicated in corruption as the East African country strives to maintain its reputation as largely free of petty graft. Marie-Immaculee Ingabire, the head of Transparency International in Rwanda, said the ranking shows the Rwandan government’s will to fight corruption.

The President’s surprise return

News of his departure was not hidden that Thursday, January, 19. He had announced it to Nigerians through a letter delivered to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, that same day. And before the end of that day, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, issued a press statement, disclosing that he was proceeding on vacation in London.

Congolese pay last respects to Tshisekedi

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo community gather around the coffin of late Congo’s opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi during a funeral wake in his honour, in Brussels. AFP Photo Tears flowed Sunday as thousands of members of the Congolese diaspora paid their emotional last respects to opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, known affectionately as “papa”, who died in Brussels last week.

The Kalala family.

Social media is abuzz over President Donald Trump’s tweet condemning the actions of a federal appeals court that rejected an appeal to restore the travel ban on refugees and visa holders. The Executive Order banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days.

Rare frog, not seen since 1962, discovered in Zimbabwe

The Artholeptis troglodytes, also known as the “cave squeaker” because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962 but there were no reported sightings of the elusive amphibian after that. An international “red list” of threatened species tagged them as critically endangered and possibly extinct.

‘Ministry of Religious Affairs” is NOT the answer: Reply to Owerri…

Malam Magaji made the call on Thursday, January 26, 2017, “in Owerri, the capital of Imo State while fielding questions from some journalists on the recent Southern Kaduna genocide being perpetuated by the terrorist group, the Fulani herdsman militia.” For Malam Magaji, if the government should address the issues arising from the Southern Kaduna incident, “it must look at them holistically.”

140 Somali refugees set to leave for US sent back to camp

About 140 Somali refugees whose resettlement in the United States this week was stopped by President Donald Trump’s executive order have been sent back to their refugee camp instead, one of the refugees said Saturday. It was not clear why they were sent back a day after a U.S. court order blocked Trump’s ban on travelers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Somalia.

UN warns risk of famine is real in South Sudan

The UN humanitarian agency has warned that the risk of famine in South Sudan is real for thousands of people in conflict-affected communities and food deficit areas. In its latest report which cited food security and livelihoods experts, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said South Sudanese are likely to face extreme levels of food insecurity in an extended lean season from February to July 2017.

Zimbabwe introduces new bond notes as cash crunch persists

Zimbabwe’s central bank has introduced a 5-dollar bond note into circulation in a move to ease the persisting cash challenges, according to a statement on the central bank’s website. The new purple notes amounting to 15 million started circulating Thursday to bring the total amount of bond notes in circulation to 88 million dollars.

Seychelles, Waymo, LibreOffice, More: Friday Buzz, February 3, 2017

The former president of the Republic of Seychelles has launched a new Web site . “The website holds the digital library archives of Mr. Michel’s Presidency with past press releases, speeches, photo galleries and videos, as well as the latest news, media articles and interviews with the Former President as he embarks on new projects and activities.”

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By Kiapi K Frederick Over the past months many commentators have lauded the UNRA/Police road safety scheme Fika Salaama for it has helped in curbing the road crashes along the Masaka road and so many lives have been saved. The two government entities woke up to action after that horrible crash that cost the country close to 20 lives in mid 2016 in a single day illustrated how prepared those charged to perform their mandates under the laws of Uganda overtime act after an incident.

.com | Creating a private prosecutions unit ‘arrogant’ – ANCWL

Most of the country can expect rain on Friday, except in the Western Cape and along the West Coast of the Western and Northern Cape. Cape Town The Constitution is being exploited by “opportunistic anti-transformation agents”, the ANC Women’s League has said in reaction to AfriForum establishing a private prosecutions unit under Gerrie Nel.

Germany says human rights situation in Libya ‘catastrophic’

The human rights situation in Libya is “catastrophic,” with migrants heading for Europe bearing the brunt of abuse, the German government said Monday. A report Sunday by German weekly Welt am Sonntag quoted an internal Foreign Ministry memo describing how migrants face torture and execution at detention camps in Libya.