Zimbabwe: Watch - Video of 'Mugabe Challenger' Goes Viral On Social Media

A video of a Zimbabwean young man "dramatising" how President Robert Mugabe struggled to walk at the just-ended 72 nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York has gone viral on social media.

The video clip sent tongues wagging in the southern African country, with many of the nation's citizens suggesting that the 93-year-old leader was no longer fit for purpose.

The unidentified "drama king" had since earned himself the nickname "Mugabe challenger".

Following the nonagenarian's infamous video in which he was shown struggling to walk to the podium to give his address at UNGA, many in Zimbabwe questioned Mugabe's ability to continue as leader of the country.

Some of Mugabe's critics took to social media trading jokes about the nonagenarian's staggering.

Valentine Motsi, a Harare based social commentator said Mugabe's old age and his frailty had now become a source of entertainment for many Zimbabweans.

"You can see that there was some creativity in the video that this young man did imitating how the president struggled to get to the podium at the UN," said Motsi.

"However it is a serious concern to many Zimbabweans that we have such an old leader who does not want to hand over power to a young person," said Motsi.

Prominent Zimbabwean comedian Silvanos Mudzvova currently based in the United Kingdom said the comic video by "Mugabe Challenger" was a sign of frustration amongst many Zimbabweans.

"When you see such young people dramatising the way an old president walks, then it means that they have lost respect for their leader. It's also a form of resistance to the way they are being governed which is a feeling among many Zimbabweans," said Mudzvova.

"If that young man was to perform his 30 second skit in the streets of Zimbabwe he would be arrested because there is a lot of repression in the country, it doesn't matter that the young man did not say anything in the video but many Zimbabweans can easily relate it to Mugabe, it is a video that says a lot in a few seconds."

Mudzvova himself has had a brush with the law for his comic exploits that exposed the inadequacies of the Mugabe administration and the collapse of the country's economy.

Mugabe has failed to groom a successor in his 37 years in office. His ruling Zanu-PF party was sharply divided into two distinct factions battling to outwit each other in the race to succeed the veteran leader when he eventually leaves office.

Despite signs of failing health and old age, Mugabe, who often visited Singapore for medical attention, has vowed to cling to power saying he would continue as head of state for as long as he was still sane. His party has already endorsed him as its presidential candidate in general elections scheduled for next year.

Dutch tourists attacked in South Africa return home

A group of elderly Dutch tourists, who were robbed in South Africa on Sunday by men posing as police, have returned home to the Netherlands.

The 36 tourists were attacked while travelling to their hotel from Johannesburg airport, where they had just landed for a three-week holiday.

Their bus was stopped by a fake police car, and at least one of the robbers was in police uniform.

Police have apologised for the incident and promised to find the attackers.

The robbers tied up the bus driver and tour guide, assaulted some of the tourists and stole many of their possessions, according to Dutch media.

"Most of the passengers are 70-plus. People panicked and even got firearms aimed at them. In two cases, the trigger was pulled but the gun didn't fire," South African media quoted one tourist as saying.

One tourist was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries.

"We are safe now, but we are in shock and... the fun has gone," one of the passengers is reported to have said.

Jennifer Lopez made a major announcement on Sunday.

During a press conference with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lopez announced she's making a $1 million donation to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Jennifer Lopez Donating $1 Million to Hurricane Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico

"What's foremost in my mind and many others, is trying to figure out the best way to help," Lopez said. "Our island of Puerto Rico has been hit by the two most devastating hurricanes we've ever seen Irma and Maria. Today, Puerto Rico needs our help. I urge you to support and donate to the efforts(UnitedforPuertoRico.com) of the first lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló. Together we can help rebuild our island and the Caribbean."

Trump slaps travel restrictions on North Korea, Venezuela in sweeping new ban

Washington- President Donald Trump on Sunday slapped new travel restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding to eight the list of countries covered by his original travel bans that have been derided by critics and challenged in court.

Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia were left on the list of affected countries in a new proclamation issued by the president. Restrictions on citizens from Sudan were lifted.

The measures help fulfill a campaign promise Trump made to tighten U.S. immigration procedures and align with his “America First” foreign policy vision. Unlike the president’s original bans, which had time limits, this one is open-ended.

“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” the president said in a tweet shortly after the proclamation was released.

Former 'heaviest woman' Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty dies

An Egyptian woman once believed to be the world's heaviest has died in the United Arab Emirates.

Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty had travelled to India earlier this year for bariatric weight loss surgery.

Local media reported that she had lost more than 300kg (660lb) of her 500kg but had died from complications from other health conditions.

A hospital statement said the 37-year-old had heart disease and kidney dysfunction.

"Our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to her family," said the hospital.

Ms Abd El Aty had been in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi since May after being transferred following specialist surgery in Mumbai, India.

Angela Merkel wins 4th term as chancellor of Germany

Angela Merkel just walked into her fourth term as chancellor of Germany. Her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), picked up 32.5 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election, according to the first exit polls issued at 6 pm German local time. The Social Democrats, Merkel’s closest challenger, were a distant 20 percent. Those numbers were lower than the last polls from Stern/RTL, which projected 36 percent would pull the lever for the CDU and 22 percent for the SPD.

Georgia student Scout Schultz shot dead by Atlanta police

Scout Schultz was the president of the Pride Alliance at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Police in the US state of Georgia have shot and killed an LGBT student activist, leading to an independent investigation.

Police encountered Scout Schultz at a campus in Atlanta after a call about "a person with a knife and a gun" late on Saturday, officials say.

Footage has emerged apparently showing Schultz, 21, refusing to obey several police commands to drop a knife.

Schultz's mother said police should not have used lethal force.

In a video filmed by fellow students at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Schultz is heard saying "Shoot me!" while continuing to advance on the officers. One of them then opens fire.

Schultz - who identified as neither male nor female - did not appear to be holding a gun, investigators said, despite what had initially been reported to police.

The computer engineering student later died in hospital, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

No police officers from the Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) were injured in the incident.

The officer who opened fire has not been named.

Schultz's mother Lynne later said Scout, who was born Scott Schultz, was politically active in progressive causes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

She added that Schultz had numerous medical issues, suffered from depression and had attempted suicide two years ago.

"Why didn't they use some nonlethal force, like pepper spray or Tasers?" she was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Schultz was the president of the Pride Alliance at Georgia Tech.

"We are all deeply saddened by what has occurred," the group said in a statement.

"They have been the driving force behind Pride Alliance for the past two years," the group said, using Schultz's preferred pronoun. "They pushed us to do more events and a larger variety events."

Week of clashes in eastern Ethiopia kill 50, displace 50,000: officials

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Clashes along the border of Ethiopia’s Oromiya and Somali regions have displaced around 50,000 people, a senior regional official said on Sunday, in violence that has prompted the government to send the military in.

Spokesmen from the two regions told regional news outlets earlier this week that at least 50 people were killed. Each side blames the other.

Lema Megersa, president of Oromiya province, told local journalists on Sunday: “It is not just deaths that occurred. More than 50,000 people were displaced from their homes.”

“Those responsible should also be held to account,” he added. He did not give a death toll.

The area has been plagued by sporadic clashes for decades. A referendum held in 2004 to determine the status of disputed settlements failed to ease tensions.

Unrest in 2015 and 2016 in Oromiya - and to a lesser extent other regions - killed 669 people, according to a parliament-mandated investigation.

The clashes are likely to fuel further fears about security in Ethiopia, the region’s biggest economy and a staunch Western ally.

Each side gave contradictory explanations about the cause of the clashes. Some officials in Oromiya said it was sparked by the killing of a local district head and raids by a paramilitary force from the Somali region.

Officials from the Somali region denied those claims. Fifty ethnic Somalis were killed in the town of Aweday in Oromiya on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Somali region told local media on Friday. International media were not permitted at the briefing.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said soldiers deployed to the region to quell the violence would disarm residents and safeguard highways straddling the regions.

American tourists attacked with acid at French train station

MARSEILLE - A woman threw acid at four female American tourists at a train station in the French city of Marseille on Sunday, an attack police said they did not believe was terrorism-related.

Two of the women, in their early twenties, were treated in hospital for burns to their faces, police said. The tourists were on their way from the southern city to Paris.

The attacker, a woman in her 40s, was arrested at the scene. Investigators have for now ruled out a terrorist motive and said they believe the attacker may be mentally disturbed, a police official said.

Kuala Lumpur school fire kills students and teachers

At least 23 students and teachers have died in a fire at a religious school in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The fire at the Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The victims are thought to been trapped in their dormitory as the windows were barred with metal grilles.

"It is one of the country's worst fire disasters in the past 20 years," Khirudin Drahman, director of the fire and rescue department, told AFP.

Initial counts put the death toll at 25, but police later revised that down by two.

Police said the dead were 21 students - all boys between the age of 13 and 17 - and two staff members.

Ten people were taken to hospital, and four are thought to have serious injuries.

Relatives of the victims arrived in the morning

The blaze was reported at around 05:40 local time on Thursday morning (21:40 GMT Wednesday). According to the police it began in the sleeping quarters.

In Islamic tahfiz schools - where children study the Koran - students often live at the school.

Images and videos circulating online showed the entire upper room of the school ablaze.

"Based on our initial investigations, the position the victims were found in indicated that they tried to escape through the windows but were stopped due to the fixed grilles on the windows," fire and rescue department operations deputy director Soiman Jahid said.

He said police were still investigating what caused the fire but that it likely was caused by short circuit or a lit mosquito repellent coil.

Local media report the school could have been operating against government regulations, because its fire safety permit application was allegedly still pending.

Malaysia's urban wellbeing and housing minister said there had been 29 fire incidents at tahfiz schools in the country since 2015.

Malaysian authorities have raised concerns about safety measures at unregulated private religious schools.

Earlier this year an 11-year-old schoolboy died in hospital after reportedly being beaten by a warden at a religious school.

Picture from inside the school showed charred beds and scorched windows on the top floor

A neighbour living next door to the school told the Reuters news agency they heard screams and saw the flames.

"The children were crying for help, but I couldn't help them as the door was already on fire," he said.

One window appears not to have had metal bars, Reuters said, citing a 15-year-old student who described having seen eight children escaping through it and climbing down a water pipe.

Kuala Lumpur Police chief Amar Singh said the bodies were "totally burned".

"Unfortunately there was only one entrance, so they could not escape. All the bodies were found lumped on one another."

 

Police chief Amar Singh said the victims probably suffocated due to the smoke

Officials said fire engines were at the site within minutes, and the blaze was put out within an hour.

Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted his sympathies to those affected while a government minister said the incident should be quickly investigated "so that we will be able to prevent future disasters".

"We sympathise with the families. It is one of the worst fires involving so many lives in the capital in recent years, said Loga Bala Mohan, according to AFP.

Uganda signs oil exploration deal with Australia's Armour Energy

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda signed an oil exploration deal with Australia’s Armour Energy Limited (AJQ.AX) on Thursday, the first under a protracted competitive licensing round launched in 2015.

The production-sharing agreement covers Kanywataba block, a 344-square-kilometre (133-square-mile) area in the Albertine rift basin near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said at the signing in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Kanywataba was previously licensed to existing operators, Frances’ Total (TOTF.PA), China’s CNOOC (0883.HK), and Britain’s Tullow (TLW.L).

But the three firms, which now own all of Uganda’s crude discoveries, gave back control of the block to the government in 2012 after explorations failed to find oil.

Energy Minister Irene Muloni said low oil prices meant “protracted negotiations” with firms that participated in the licensing round.

At the launch of the round, six blocks covering 2,674 square kilometers were offered and 19 firms initially expressed interest.

Four - Armour and three Nigerian firms - emerged as winners, and Armour is the first to sign an agreement with the government.

Muloni said the cabinet had already approved deals with one of the Nigerian firms, Oranto Petroleum International, and the government expected to sign deals with the company in three weeks’ time.

Uganda discovered petroleum in the Albertine basin in 2006. Gross reserves are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels and recoverable oil estimated at between 1.4 billion-1.7 billion barrels.

The first batch of licenses awarded in the early 2000s were handed out on a first come, first served basis.

But after the discovery of commercial deposits Uganda enacted new laws to manage the sector. Under those laws exploration licenses must be granted on a competitive basis.

Crude production has been repeatedly delayed by tax spats and disagreements over development strategy. It is now expected in 2020 when an export pipeline through neighboring Tanzania is due to be completed.

“The exploration and development of oil in Uganda is a very exciting opportunity for us,” Armour’s Chief Executive Roger Cressey told the press conference.

Armour’s exploration license is valid for four years.

Shell set to draw line under a century of Iraqi oil

A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car's side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. Picture taken January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development.

Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development.

The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavorable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report.

Shell is also selling its 20 percent stake in West Qurna 1 oil field in the south of the country. The field is operated by Exxon Mobil.

Investment bank Lazard is running the sale for Shell, industry sources told Reuters. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shell said it was still committed to producing gas in Iraq, saying it would focus on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture.

Shell produced almost 20 million barrels of oil from Iraq during 2016, which accounted for about 3.5 percent of the firm’s total oil output last year, according to Shell’s annual report.

Precise terms of the contract terms are not public and Shell has not detailed its earnings from Iraqi oil.

But a source told Reuters last year Shell had found limited financial benefit in recent years from oil production in Iraq, where it is paid in crude but has limited say on strategy.

“The Oil Minister of Iraq formally endorsed a recent Shell proposal to pursue an amicable and mutually acceptable release of the Shell interest in Majnoon, with the timeline to be agreed in due course,” a Shell company spokesman said.

Shell took the decision after Iraq applied performance penalties on the Shell-operated venture “which had a significant impact on its commerciality,” he said.

Battling a sharp fall in oil prices since 2014, Iraq asked foreign firms to cut spending on oil projects in order to reduce the cash-strapped government’s contribution in shared ventures.

Foreign firms in Iraq have long urged Baghdad to revise oil production contract terms to encourage development of reserves that Iraq estimates at about 153 billion barrels, the fourth biggest in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“Maybe now they will speed things up,” one executive from another company operating in Iraq said.

Shell, via its subsidiary Anglo Saxon Oil Company, was among a consortium of European firms called Turkish Petroleum Company which acquired concessions in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire to explore for oil in today’s Iraq. Oil was found 15 years later.

Shell started developing Majnoon, which means “crazy” in Arabic, in 2010.

It holds a 45 percent stake in the field that it operates under a technical service contract that expires in 2030. Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas holds a 30 percent stake, while Iraqi government holds 25 percent.

Manji walks free as DPP drops sabotage case

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has dropped the economic sabotage case facing Dar es Salaam tycoon Yusuf Manji and three other people on the ground that there is no intention to proceed with it.

The procecution led by Senior State Attorney Mutalemwa Kisheyi told the Kisutu Court that the DPP was withdrawing the case under Section 91(1) of Criminal Case Proceedings Act.

After the submissions of the plea, Resident Magistrate Huruma Shahidi declared Mr Manji and co-accused free.

However, Manji left the court premises in a Toyota Altezza. 

Ex-ATCL chief condemned to 21 years behind bars

FORMER Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) Managing Director David Mattaka and his acting Chief Finance Officer Elisaph Ikombe were yesterday convicted of conspiracy, abuse of office and occasioning loss.

The convicts were sentenced to either pay 35m/- fine or serve 21 years behind bars, each. Mattaka who once served as Director General of PPF Pension Fund and Ikombe, who currently serves as the Bishop with Pentecostal Motomoto Church, were also linked to dirty deal of 26-vehicle purchase.

Senior Resident Magistrate Victoria Nongwa, who tried the case at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, meted out the sentence after convicting the two accused in all the six counts they were facing.

Kenyan police fire tear gas after women attacked at election meeting

KISUMU, Kenya  - Kenyan police in the western city of Kisumu fired tear gas and bullets in the air on Wednesday to disperse young men who broke into a hotel and beat women attending an election meeting, an officer said.

Kenya held presidential, legislative and local elections on Aug. 8, but three weeks later the Supreme Court nullified the presidential result, citing irregularities in the tallying process. A re-run is scheduled for Oct. 17.

Although the ruling ushered in a period of uncertainty, many hope it will restore some faith in Kenya’s tarnished institutions, reducing the long-term likelihood of political violence.

On Wednesday, a Christian women’s organization was holding a meeting related to the election re-run when the men broke into the hotel where they were meeting, said Joseph Keitany of the Administration Police in Kisumu County. The region is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

“We deployed police and they fired tear gas and bullets in the air and chased the group of young boys away,” he told Reuters. “The youth started beating women and they stole their laptops and money” before police arrived.

A Reuters witness said the men smashed windows and broke chairs. Another witness said young men attacked participants using the broken chairs.

“I was making my presentation when the youths came in,” said pastor Alice Atieno. “They started interrogating us and beating us on claims that we were buying IDs.”

Keitany said he believed the men stormed the hotel because of rumors circulating on WhatsApp that the women’s meeting was intended to plan the renting of voter identification cards, a rigging tactic alleged by the opposition ahead of last month’s election, where online hoaxes and fake stories were alleged from all sides.

Participants in the meeting denied that was the purpose and said they were meeting to see how to encourage peaceful voting.

A Reuters witness said he saw a Red Cross ambulance taking three women to hospital.

In 2007, a disputed presidential vote led to protests and ethnic violence that killed 1,200 people. Following the August election, human rights organizations reported at least 28 deaths, mostly linked to police. But the protests were quelled when the opposition decided to take its complaints to court.

Kenya’s vocal civil society organizations have been working hard to plan monitoring and advocacy around the new vote.

The east African nation is the region’s richest economy and a stable Western ally in a region roiled by conflict.

Cassini: Saturn probe turns towards its death plunge

The international Cassini spacecraft at Saturn has executed the course correction that will send it to destruction at the end of the week.

Dar plans one stop centre for car business

DAR ES SALAAM is planning to establish a one stop centre for motor vehicle business in Kigamboni to streamline the business that is currently scattered in various parts of the city.

The regional government has banned issuance of motor vehicle business licences to be conducted at a different place apart from the envisaged centre. Real estate firm, Property International Limited, has already allocated 2,100-acres of land at Kisarawe II in Kigamboni District in the city.

The Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Paul Makonda, who received the earmarked area from the company yesterday, said the envisaged mega showroom will be operational effective early next year.

“Car business is not like selling tomatoes that you can just buy or sell anywhere. We must have well established system of doing this business. All business related to vehicles will be conducted at Kigamboni,” he said.  

RC Makonda said the centre will also have other services related to car business including Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) offices, insurance and spare parts, among others.

Kenya: Balala Elected Chair of UN World Tourism Organisation Commission for Africa

Kenya's Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has been elected Chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Commission for Africa for the 2017-2019 term.

He was unveiled at the ongoing 22nd General Assembly of the UNWTO conference in the city of Chengdu, China.

Balala takes over from Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi who was re-elected to the position two years ago for the 2015-2017 term.

UNWTO is the world's most powerful tourism organisation with equivalent status as the World Trade Organization.

Senegal's ex-President Wade steps down as MP

Senegal's former President Abdoulaye Wade, who, at 91, successfully ran as an MP for an opposition collation in July's parliamentary elections, will not be taking up his seat when parliament meets for the first time this week.

When he won the seat he was described by some as the oldest parliamentarian in the world.

One local news organisation has published the text of Mr Wade's resignation letter:

In the letter he said he only ran to support his party, the Senegalese Democratic Party, and the coalition.

The governing coalition won nearly half of the votes and 125 of the 165 seats available.

Mr Wade's coalition won just 19 seats.

North Korea slapped with UN sanctions after nuclear test

The United Nations has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on North Korea after its sixth and largest nuclear test.

The measures restrict oil imports and ban textile exports - an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programmes.

The US had originally proposed harsher sanctions including a total ban on oil imports.

The vote was only passed unanimously after Pyongyang allies Russia and China agreed to the reduced measures.

The sanctions, which were passed at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, were met with anger by North Korea.

A statement on state news agency KNCA warned that if the US did eventually push through harsher sanctions, North Korea would "absolutely make sure that the US pays due price".

Lembeli appointed co-chair of Jane Goodhall Institute

Moshi. The former chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Land, Natural Resources and the Environment (2010 - 215), Mr James Lembeli, has been appointed the co-chair of the Board of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), headquartered in the United States.

During his as committee chairman, Mr Lembeli led a number of investigations on scandals which saw several ministers sacked.

According to information given by the JGI headquarters in the US, Mr Lembeli has been appointed to the position because of his recognised contribution to developing the game reserve sector in Tanzania, Africa and the world in general.

The JGI, which has branches in 140 countries across the world, said Mr Lembeli’s contribution, who is the country board chairman of the JGI, had been of great benefits.

JGI Board chairperson, Beth Stevens, said Mr Lembeli is supposed to attend his first meeting scheduled to be held in Virginia, on  October 29 and 30, this year.

The institute, whose foundation is in Tanzania, was established by a famous world researcher, Dr Jane Goodall, who arrived in Tanzania in 1960 to carry out research on chimpanzees at Gombe in Kigoma Region.

In August this year, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, gave a special award of honour Dr Goodal 60-year-research on the lives of chimps.

Dr Goodal research at the Gombe National Park that had become a big attraction to tourists. Besides the chimps, Dr Jane also researches other animals in the park.

Mr Lembeli is also a member of the Board of Trustees of African Parks Network, an international organisation headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has been serving the board for seven years

When asked for comment on his new appointment, the former MP for Kahama (CCM), said the appointment was not only a great honour to him, but also to Tanzania and to everyone valuing conservation.

Donors dish out Sh227 billion for improvement of health sector

Tanzania. Development partners have availed a $99.66 million (over Sh227.96 billion) grant to boost health sector through the 2017/18 budget.

The Health Basket Fund Sign Agreement, which involves number donors including Royal Danish Embassy, has been signed in Dar es Salaam today.

Speaking during a signing, Permanent Secretary in the Health ministry, Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya, said the money would be allocated in implementing health sector interventions at all levels, among Local Government Authorities (LGAs).

"As we sign this agreement today, I would also like to encourage more partners to join the health basket fund for easy coordination, harmonisation of priorities and reduce duplications in addressing the challenges in the health sector," he said.

For his part, Ambassador Einar Jensen of Royal Danish Embassy assured that is office will continue to support the government in addressing a number of challenges in the health sector.

Prayers for Lissu's Quick Recovery

Dar es Salaam — Bishop Josephat Gwajima of the Glory of Christ Church has led hundreds of followers to pray for quick recovery of Singida East Member of Parliament, Mr Tundu Lissu, who was fataklly shot in Dodoma last Thursday.

During the service the church choir sang special song for Mr Lissu, who is currently undergoing treatment at a Nairobi hospital.

Mr Gwajima urged Tanzanians to pray for Mr Lissu because what happened to him is a bad sign to the country.

The firebrand lawmaker was shot on Thursday afternoon outside his Area D home by unknown attackers who allegedly used a white Nissan Patrol. He is still recuperating at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi where he was evacuated for special medical attention.

Bishop Gwajima also condemned brutal killings, which have been taking place in Kibiti, Mkuranga and Rufiji.

LIFE STYLE: CHINESE IN SOUTH AFRICA

For centuries there have been Movement of people from their countries to other countries influenced with factors such as political, economic, social or environmental, it is the same case for South Africa which is a potential area with  stable mixed economy and is rich in mineral resources, fertile land for agricultural, tourist attraction, economic stabilities and it has good weather. People from different nation are attracted with South Africa including the Chinese.

According to Relish Television program there have been generations of Chinese people in South Africa who had established permanent settlement and who went in South Africa just for a Visit.

Mingjian Ni is among Chinese who shifted from Beijing China to South Africa and has established generations of families for more than a decade, Ni says they traveled to South Africa planning to stay for two or three months but three years has passed and they still live in South Africa. He described that South Africa has an amazing environment, mild climate and fresh food he said they have a happy life in South Africa and they take is as their second home.

Basing on Relish a Television documentary series there is Social interaction from each Chinese family member, this means Chinese engagement to South African society will be expanding, because there is still movement of Chinese to South Africa and Other Chinese are born and raised in South Africa, and eventually social interaction is the bridge through which Chinese in South Africa experience or even adapts life styles from other South African. John Brown Ni's Friend said Chinese people tend to be in their own world, which is very natural, he added that Chinese people in South Africa are very welcoming; they even invite other races to eat with them.

Chinese in South Africa also own businesses like shops, Adventure industry and some participate in sports which include golf, Anan Jin who is an adult female speaks on how she started to participate in golf, she said she had no Idea at first but her son take her to a golf course and she managed; probably this is among reason why John Brown said If Chinese got an opportunity to something they do it very well. They have developed a desolated mining area to a golf course which is now a home to 3,500 households and other 500 are expected to move in short time.

Just like other societies Chinese has their cuisine but they also love to try different cuisine from another society, for example Ni's helpers Lolita who are indigenous South African and has been with Ni’ family for ten years has introduced the Mingjian Ni family to African traditional food and they said the food is great, but also Ni's helpers Lolita and her friend Maclean have been eating Chinese food and they testified their satisfaction through relish Program.

From relish TV program cultural diversity connects people in so many ways mostly when they live in harmony while respecting each cultural diversity norm and custom.

Hurricane Irma wreaks major damage in Caribbean

Irma as seen from space at 11:30 GMT on Wednesday

Hurricane Irma has destroyed buildings and caused major flooding on several French island territories in the Caribbean.

The four "most solid" buildings on Saint Martin, shared by France and the Netherlands, were destroyed, French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said.

Communications between Paris and Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy are down.

The category five hurricanes, the highest possible level, has sustained wind speeds reaching 300km/h (185mph).

The most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade first hit Antigua and Barbuda, before moving on to Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy (also known as St Barts).

It is expected to mov

e on towards Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. In the US, Florida's Key West area has ordered a mandatory evacuation, with landfall expected at the weekend.

The French government said earlier it was worried about thousands of people who had refused to seek shelter on the islands.

In a statement, the interior minister said France was sending three emergency teams to the islands, two from France and one from Guadeloupe.

"The winds are going to turn in the other direction and there's a risk of further damage," Mr Collomb said.

There was no news of possible casualties, he said, adding that "more rustic structures" had "probably been completely or partially destroyed".

French Overseas Territories Minister Annick Girardin said the hurricane had caused major flooding in low-lying areas, and coastlines were being "battered extremely violently" by the sea.

Some 40,000 people live in the French part of Saint Martin, with around the same number estimated to live on the Dutch side. About 9,000 people live on Saint Barthélemy.

'We don't know'

Local reports suggest Antigua escaped major damage but the situation on Barbuda is unclear. The Antigua Observer said it had received initial reports of roofs being blown off on both islands.

"We really don't know what's happening," Antigua radio journalist Gemma Handy told the BBC.

"We're trying to be positive, but nobody's really going to relax over here. It's a very close-knit community of just 90,000 people. Most people live here on Antigua, there's about 2,000 on Barbuda, so lots of people right now are waiting very anxiously for word from their relatives over there."

Thousands of people have been evacuated from at-risk areas across the Caribbean. Residents have flocked to shops for food, water, and emergency supplies.

Airports have closed on several islands which are popular holiday destinations, and authorities have urged people to go to public shelters.

US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency for Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, mobilising federal disaster relief efforts.

In Florida's Key West, visitors will be required to leave on Wednesday morning, with residents due to follow in the evening.

"Watching Hurricane closely," Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday. "My team, which has done, and is doing, such a good job in Texas, is already in Florida. No rest for the weary!"

Parts of Texas and Louisiana are dealing with the damage done by Hurricane Harvey in late August. But it is not yet clear what impact Hurricane Irma might have on the US mainland.

A third tropical storm, Jose, has formed further out in the Atlantic behind Irma, and is expected to become a hurricane later on Wednesday, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Seeing multiple storms developing in the same area of the Atlantic in close succession is not uncommon.

Rarer though is the strength of the hurricanes, with Harvey expected to make landfall in the US as a category four.

There have never been two category four storms making landfall on the US mainland during the same season, since records began.

Christian Dior and Gucci owners drop super-skinny models

The fashion houses behind brands including Christian Dior and Gucci have said they will stop using underweight models for their catwalk shows.

Zanzibar airports for huge improvement

Tanzania  Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport has signed a consultancy work deal worth 1.9m US dollars with Dar al Handash Consultant (Egypt) Limited, a move that gives a bright future for improved services in the islands airports.

The agreement is detailed to deal with ‘consultancy services for carrying out feasibility study, detailed Engineering Design and Preparation of tender documents for Pemba Airport and conduct/carry out Zanzibar airport Master plan and land use plan for Abeid Aman Karume International Airport (AAKIA)’.

Mr Mustapha Jumbe, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport, said at the signing ceremony held at his office that the work is under the ‘Transport Sector Support Programme’ -- a component funded by African Development Bank (AfDB).

Spain and Morocco arrest six suspected of practicing beheadings

Source: Reuters News

MADRID  - Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested five Moroccans and one Spaniard suspected of belonging to an Islamist militant cell that simulated decapitations, the Spanish interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The arrests mark the first big raids since a double Islamist attack in Catalonia in August that killed 16 people, most of whom were mown down by a van in Barcelona.

The cell was at an advanced stage of activity, the ministry said. It did not say whether those arrested were men or women.

The group held secret night meetings at which they planned large-scale attacks, and carried out physical training sessions in which they simulated cutting off victims’ heads, the ministry said.

Five of the arrested were Moroccan, one with Spanish residence rights. One was Spanish of Moroccan heritage. One was arrested in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, and the rest in Morocco.

Spanish police have arrested 199 people in the country accused of connections to militant groups since raising the security alert to one notch below the highest level in 2015.

Egypt's tourism revenues rise 170 percent in first seven months of 2017: official

CAIRO - Egypt’s tourism revenues jumped by 170 percent in the first seven months of 2017, reaching $3.5 billion, a government official told Reuters.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt rose by 54 percent, reaching 4.3 million in the first seven months of the year, he said.

The government official, who preferred not to be named, said Egypt hoped the number of tourists would reach 8 million this year, compared with 4.5 million in 2016.

He expected revenues to reach $6 billion in 2017, compared with $3.4 billion the previous year, despite Russia’s flight ban. Russia banned flights to Egypt in 2015 after an aircraft crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 passengers on board.

Availabilities and accessibilities of health facilities versus population between Dar es Salaam and the whole Country (Tanzania).

Written by: Gwakisa Augustine

Dar es Salaam is unquestionably the epicenter and the hub of human activities in Tanzania. Its strategic location in business, employment and recreation has attracted residence of over 10% of Tanzanian population. Even though it is not the country’s capital currently almost all the diplomatic offices, governmental and Nongovernmental institutions are headquartered in Dar es Salaam hence creating a meandering ground for both national and international migrants.

Ideally the population size should concurrently grow along with infrastructures, this includes health facilities. Sadly this is not the reality for Dar es Salaam. The health facilities in Dar es Salaam are extremely overloaded than the general average for distribution in Tanzania based on population. Accordance to Huru Map statistics based on 2014 research, one dispensary in Dar es Salaam is burdened with 12,952 people while the country’s average distribution is one dispensary to 7,596 people. One health center in Dar es Salaam serves 112,365 people as one health center in Tanzania serve 62,662 people.

There are approximately seven hospitals in Dar es salaam, with the population in Dar, if all residents depend on these seven hospitals then one hospital will serve 593,928 people while one hospital in Tanzania serves 170,832 people, therefore demand for health services in Dar is huge than the rest of the country. Moreover one clinic serves 1,039,375 people in Dar es Salaam while one clinic serves 255,278 people in Tanzania.

There is challenge when it comes to distribution of Health workers across the country; with over 4 million people residing in this city, one medical officer in Dar es salaam attends to 42,423 people while the same officer in Tanzania attend to an average of 26,290 people, a clinical assistant in Dar es Salaam attends to 83,150 people while the same clinical assistant should attend to 36,948 people in rest of the country. One assistant medical officer in Dar es Salaam attends to 57,743 people while the same assistant should attend to 25,866 people in Tanzania, one nutrition officer who works in Dar es Salaam should attend to 1,385,833 people and the same officer should attend to 748,815 people in the whole country.

Another factor stressing the need of allocating more health centers in Dar es Salaam especially clinic and hospitals with health specialists is the ratio of traffic and crime incidents, 8 deaths occur in every 100,000 population in Dar es salaam which is exact the same figures in Tanzania. Number of road accidents is about two-fifths to the figure of Tanzania; number of deaths caused by road accidents in Dar es Salaam is about 10% of same kind of deaths in Tanzania.

The above facts press an urgent alarm to the government and health stakeholders to respond to this matter without delay. Health security is a vital element towards development of any kind. By considering the contribution of Dar es Salaam to the national income, improvement of health facilities in the city becomes crucial.

Does Tanzania Value Its Archaeological Finds?

Tanzania has recently made world headlines with two archaeological finds - the remains of a rare dinosaur and a 700-year-old "lost city". Writing in The Citizen, Saume Jumanne asks if the country is taking enough advantage of the discoveries.

Putin: Russia may order U.S. to cut further its diplomatic staff in Moscow

Russia reserves the right to further reduce the number of U.S. diplomatic staff in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, adding that Moscow would not do that for now.

Reacting to what he called Washington’s “boorish and unprecedented” actions towards Russia’s diplomatic facilities in the United States, Putin said he would order the Foreign Ministry to take the U.S. authorities to court over violation of Russia’s property rights.

Contaminated eggs found in 40 countries as EU ministers meet: DPA

Eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil have been discovered in 40 countries, including 24 of the European Union’s 28 member states, German news agency DPA reported on Tuesday, without citing its sources.

Millions of eggs have been pulled from European supermarket shelves, though some national regulators have voiced concern that many contaminated eggs have already entered the food chain, mainly through processed products such as biscuits, cakes and salads.

EU agriculture ministers meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, are due to discuss the egg scandal on Tuesday, DPA said.

DPA said a spokeswoman for the European Commission confirmed that the only EU member states so far unaffected are Lithuania, Portugal, Cyprus and Croatia.

The non-EU states in which contaminated eggs have been discovered include the United States, Russia, South Africa and Turkey, DPA reported.

Dutch and Belgian authorities traced the source of the insecticide to a supplier of cleaning products in the Netherlands. Two Dutch men who ran the cleaning company Chickfriend were arrested last month.

While a large number of contaminated eggs would need to be eaten to affect health, fipronil is considered moderately toxic and can cause organ damage in humans.

It is widely used to treat pets for ticks and fleas but its use in the food chain - for example, to clean out barns - is forbidden.