Zimbabwe: Patson Dzamara recounts his abduction and beating

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#ThisFlag Letter on the Bond Notes (07.11.2016)

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Burundi: Footage allegedly shows Imbonerakure militiamen marching in a parade (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kXuX2J84vg

US Ambassador Stephen Schwartz letter to H.E. Mr. Adbikarim Hussein Guled on the Electoral Process in the Galmudug (20.11.2016)

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Zimbabwe: #ThisFlag we are living in a Police State (19.11.2016)

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Zimbabwe: Activists ‘abducted’ as police foil planned anti-Mugabe protests (Youtube-Clip)

“At least six Zimbabwe activists were “abducted” and some of them beaten up as a heavy police presence in Harare prevented planned protests on Friday against President Robert Mugabe’s government. Sylvanos Mudzvova, one of the protest movement leaders, told AFP that fellow activist Patson Dzamara and two others were admitted to hospital after being abducted by unidentified men who dragged them out of their cars” (CCTV Africa, 2016)

Mitt brev til Minister Sylvi Listhaug, ta deg en charter-ferie til Kandahar!

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Kjære Sylvi Listhaug…

Du lager det ikke lett for deg selv, med denne populismen, feminismen og altetende-ismene som er der ute.

At en kan kritisere FrPere er fy-fy, bare se på kommentar-feltene i de største avisene. Der alle angrep på alle andre blir verifisert og godkjent, mens de andre skal godta at slike som Nesheim, Tybring-Gjedde og Njåstad. De kan karikere andre mennesker og det kan også du Listhaug, men om vi karikere dere og beskriver deres fremtoning så er vi automatisk: eliten, sosialister, feminister, neo-liberale skjærer osv.

Vi har rett til å kritisere deg Listhaug og det bør også dine tilhengere forstå, fordi de kritisere alle som ikke tenker likt med dem og viser null-toleranse for andre dem selv. Det er sikkert fordi selv ser selv igjen i ditt speilbilde i offentligheten. Der du sprader perfekt rundt. Prater fagre ord og legger ut brutale innlegg på egen blogg og på facebook for å likes. Det er så vakkert og så engasjerende!

De nidkjære i det hele er de tanker og de komplekse situasjoner du prøver å vinne gunst blant dine egne, fru Listhaug. Der du viser til at det er bra at mindreårige asylsøkere som har levde kanskje flere år i riket, blir nå endelig tatt fra hus og hjem i mulm og mørke for å bli deportert til Afghanistan. Shang-ri-la av Østen: hvor alle reiser på Charter-ferie, spesielt til byen Kandahar og Qalad. Du burde kanskje reise dit og vise hvor trygt det er med skuddsikkervest, svær tanks og sammen med blå-hjelmede fredsbevarende styrker? Hadde ikke det vært fint, litt som når du hoppet ut i ostepopp-kostymet i Middelhavet tidligere i år. Du hadde kanskje endte på John Oliver på HBO igjen!

Jeg vet at du kunne tenkte deg en charterferie til Afghanistan, i varmen og ly mellom skudd og sult. Det hadde vært perfekt. Du hadde ikke hatt lyst til å flykte fra et land som har jevnlig vært invadert eller hatt intern borgerkrig siden 1970-tallet. Det er stabilt rike og nasjon, du kan ikke skjønne hvorfor folk flykter derifra. Du trodde de flyktet fordi de ikke fikk utdannelse eller jobbe i First-House for Rema 1000 som lobbyist. Ja, det skal ikke være lett.

Ja du Listhaug, i disse dager om ved mulighet så vil du sikkert også søke lykken med å være glad for å sende hjem mennesker som har flyktet fra Somalia, hvor Etiopiske styrker har trukket seg ut, to føderale stater har angrepet hverandre om territoriale landområder selv etter fredsforhandlinger i Abu Dhabi. Der Kenya har tatt visse landområder for sikkerhet for sine egne nasjonale grenser og hvor AMISOM okkuperer visse områder, men nasjonale hæren trenes av fredstyrker etter økonomisk tilskudd fra EU. Dette landet som har hatt intern konflikt siden Said Barre, også siden 1970-tallet må være ansett som trygt.

Vil ikke du reise på Charter-ferie til Mogadishu, slikke solen, se skudd-hullene over sengemalmen i det fallitte hotellet og tenke over om i dag er trygt å gå på markedet eller om jeg burde ta første rutefly til Nairobi. Det hadde vært så fint. Ellers så kunne du tatt lokal-transport til Kismaayo og diskutere chapati priser med Kenyanske tropper der. Eller reise i Galdumuug til Hobyo beach, midt i mellom konflikten til Galmudug og Puntland. Det må sette så spiss på ferien.

Listhaug, jeg kan ikke forstå hvordan du ville bruke små barn som har flyktet krigssoner som click-bait som måter for å få sympati for din sak. Som er at innvandrere ikke fortjener norsk sikkerhet eller bli boende i Norge. Fordi dette er bare for Nordmenn, som er som deg, Listhaug.

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Så en liten del av meg ville gjerne startet et Crowdfunding prosjekt der en bruker de innsamlede midlene på gi deg en smak uten skuddsikkervest i Kandahar eller Qalad, der du ikke vil være sikker innen elite-hotellene i Kabul eller ved demilitariserte soner rundt hovedstaden, men istedenfor oppholde deg blant kvinneskoler og annet for å kanskje forstå hvorfor de er utrygt der. Fordi jeg tror ikke som sagt at dette er områder som frister deg like mye mentalt som weekend tur som London eller Praha. Akkurat som jeg tviler på at vår kjære minister ville ha tatt heisa-tur til Bangui for å sjekke temperaturen nær ekvator. Det er til det fredelige landet Sentral Afrikanske Republic (Central African Republic –C.A.R). Der kan du hilse på Lord Resistance Army (LRA) om du er heldig!

Så du så stolt, rakrygget og for å få politisk oppslutning vil du synke så lavt å sende tilbake barn og deres familier tilbake krigssoner, slik at du kan få populistiske stemmer til kommende valg. Du må være stolt og sprek, med lite frykt og spesielt lite empati for de skjebner du ødelegger for. For de mennesker du gjør til fiender og de mennesker du spiller politisk mynt på. Du Listhaug må ha skjønt så enormt konsekvensen av dine handlinger og ønsker. At du vil stå til ansvar og i skadefryd tjene politisk-kapital på disse asylsøkerne.

Så kjære deg, ta på deg ostepopp-kostymet, spill falitt med disse medmenneskene, “rigge” Møre- og Romsdals valgkrets slik at du blir første-kandidat, men ikke forvent at mennesker som meg har respekt for dine nedlatende og nedverdige opptreden. For så lenge man har fredsbevarende styrker, så lenge det er intern-konflikt og så lenge det er mennesker på flukt fra nasjonene, burde den Norske stat tenke seg to-ganger, kanskje tre før en sender tilbake mennesker og særskilt barn som er tredje-part til all konflikt som er skapt av oss voksne mennesker.

Det siste før jeg slutter, vil jeg ønske deg fin Charter-Ferie til Kandahar og gjerne ta bilde med den jevne soldat og kanskje også en selfie med den lokale stammeleder som har større våpen enn du har positivt budskap. Peace.

Zimbabwe: Effects of drought linger in rural areas, aggravate urban vulnerability (17.11.2016)

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Harare, 17 November 2016El Niño-induced drought has led to a serious surge in food insecurity and hunger affecting 40 million people across the southern Africa region. Zimbabwe, one of the countries most affected, is in the midst of the worst drought in 25 years that is projected to affect 5.2 million people including 1.1 million urban dwellers during the first quarter of 2017.

Addressing some 150 participants at the 4 th national multi-stakeholders consultative meeting jointly convened by the Office of the President and Cabinet and the UN System in Zimbabwe today in Harare, the UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli said, “As we approach the peak hunger period of the lean season, inadequate funding to the humanitarian response plan will not only curtail the ongoing relief efforts to increase assistance to the most vulnerable in the rural settlements and scale-up assistance in urban areas but also risks reversing the gains made in the development and humanitarian areas thus far.”

Of the $352 million being sought under the Humanitarian Response Plan (April 2016-March 2017), nearly $212 million has been committed, with the current funding gap at $140 million. The committed financial and in kind relief support has allowed the UN and NGOs to reach approximately 1.7 million vulnerable people in over 42 districts with food, cash, agricultural inputs and other lifesaving relief assistance.

The committed resource includes the recently announced additional £40 million by DFID.

Announcing the additional boost which brings the total contribution by the Government of the UK to £55.6 million, Annabel Gerry Head of DFID Zimbabwe said, “The additional support from DFID will provide mobile cash payments to 360,000 vulnerable people up until end of March 2017; cover the cost of screening of 160,000 children for malnutrition; and the cost of treatment for over 12,000 children.”

The ongoing relief response has also been made possible by the generous contributions from USAID, EU-ECHO, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland and Denmark. The BRICS nations and others have also supported the relief efforts, including bilateral contributions from China, India and Brazil.

Expressing deep gratitude and appreciation for the generous support from donors, the UN Resident Coordinator said, “sectors such as water, hygiene, and sanitation; education; and protection remain severely underfunded, threatening the country’s hard-won development gains made in these areas over the years.”

The fourth national multi-stakeholder consultative meeting underlined the importance of the drought response to be consistently guided by the universal humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

Senior Principal Director, Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr. O. E. M. Hove said, “Government has made all efforts to import and set a buffer stock of maize to ensure that no citizen starves irrespective of one’s political or other affiliations.” Mr. Hove appreciated the generous support from humanitarian and development partners that are complementing Government’s efforts in response to the prevailing humanitarian challenges and called on all partners to stay the course.

Noting the need to continue and increase joint response to the pressing effects of the worst drought, stakeholders agreed to recalibrate their efforts towards resilience-building, provision of quality social services and protection programmes to ensure strong linkages and eventual transition of those affected by drought to recovery, medium and long-term sustainable development.

Reiterating on the call to planning for the future with focus on building resilience, Mr. Hove said, “to this end the Government of Zimbabwe is implementing a special programme to ensure food security targeting to produce at least two million metric tonnes of maize grain on 400,000ha of which 200,000ha will be irrigated.”

Today’s national multi-stakeholders consultative meeting follows two successful Provincial Drought Response Consultative meetings held in Bulawayo and Harare at the end of September and beginning of November, respectively. The provincial meetings allowed partners to adopt harmonized relief response approach across the Government, UN and NGOs managed assistance for improved targeting, registration, distribution, monitoring and accountability.

Media Contact: Sirak Gebrehiwot, UN Communications Specialist, E-mail: sirak.gebrehiwot@one.un.org;

Cell #: +263 772 198 036

Opinion: Leaked Memo shows that PM May and her Cabinet has a true disregard for the Brexit!

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There are some days that just have to grow upon you, as the news we’re coming on the matter, Davis Davis, the Member of Parliament who was named and appointed to be the Brexit Minister of Davis Michael Davis. As long as you have loudmouth Foreign Secretary for the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, another Brexiteer who hasn’t delivered anything that matter on the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty or anything else.

So the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Theresa May has a Cabinet that doesn’t even consider the Brexit vote and the public wish to leave the European Union. Something the backbenchers of the Conservative Party didn’t fight for anyway. Except for the ones who renegaded against the than PM David Cameron.

So the months has gone, and September there we’re even reports that Brexit Minister Davis Davis we’re living the life of lavish MP, but not acting upon the election that offered him the job in the government.

So he has been a ghost and undetermined person. As shown with the words of the leaked memo yesterday: “The divisions within the Cabinet are between the three Brexiteers on one side and Philip Hammond/Greg Clark on the other side. The Prime Minister is rapidly acquiring the reputation of drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself – which is unlikely to be sustainable. Overall, it appears best to judge who is winning the debate by assuming that the noisiest individuals have lost the intra-Government debate and are stirring up external supporters” (SkyNews, 2016).

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The PM May has to sort out her house and make sure the dishes is washed inside the kitchen before the food is served. Brexiteers hasn’t seemed to pushed hard if the dishes are just staying dirty and not worked on. And the PM May doesn’t seem interested in change the state of affairs, because she want to steer the ship herself without listening to the cabinet, that will be a good leader, but a selfish one it seem.

“Individual Departments have been busily developing their projects to implement Brexit, resulting in well over 500 projects, which are beyond the capacity and capability of Government to execute quickly. One Department estimates that it needs a 40% increase in staff to cope with its Brexit projects. In other words, every Department has developed a “bottom up” plan of what the impact of Brexit could be – and its plan to cope with the “worst case”. Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a “Government plan for Brexit” because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy” (SkyNews, 2016).

So there is no distinctive negotiation strategy for the Brexit, as the Prime Minister Theresa May already proven to be selfish and wanting to take the decisions on her own, instead of listening to the ones she has appointed for her cabinet. This proves the little value the PM has in her own as she doesn’t care for listening to Secretary for Brexit Davis or anybody else.

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Departments are struggling to come up to speed on the potential Brexit effects on industry. This is due to starting from a relatively low base of insight and also due to fragmentation – Treasury “owning” financial services, DH-BEIS both covering life sciences, DCMS for telecoms, BEIS most other industries, DIT building parallel capability focused on trade etc” (SkyNews, 2016).

Another one of the nonsense that the Departments are not focused or working together to know the effects of an actual leaves the European Union and the trading with the Member States of the EU. How the Departments are effected by Brexit that should be checked and made sure by the Ministers and through the back-channels to make sure the Industry are getting a good as possible place with their trade. Instead of finding out the real potential of the industrial production and the needed changes that might be there after the actual Brexit.

“Industry has two unpleasant realisations – first, that the Government’s priority remains its political survival, not the economy – second, that there will be no clear economic-Brexit strategy any time soon because it is being developed on a case-by-case basis as specific decisions are forced on Government” (SkyNews, 2016).

So another statement showing the disgraceful attempt of silencing internal movement of the Brexit; they didn’t show any clear economic-Brexit strategy, but the decisions are not made as there is apparently no will for the Cabinet and Conservative Party Government and the PM May. That shows the disrespect the Government that been made after the PM David Cameron showed grace and stepped down. Because he had no real plan to leave the Union he had cooperated so well with during his years in Cabinet and in Parliament.

Peace.

Reference:

Sky News – ‘Leaked memo shows Government’s lack of Brexit plans’ (15.11.2016) link: http://news.sky.com/story/leaked-memo-shows-governments-lack-of-brexit-plans-10658063/revision/1479197701

Thousands of Somali children displaced and out of school due to Galkayo fighting (15.11.2016)

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All schools in the town of Galkayo have been closed, affecting more than 20,000 children and young People.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, November 15, 2016 – More than 90,000 people, including at least 20,000 children who were in school, have been displaced by fighting between factions in the Galkayo region of Central Somalia, which began a month ago.

UNICEF Somalia is gravely concerned about thousands of Somali children who are missing school due to the weeks of fighting. All schools in the town of Galkayo have been closed, affecting more than 20,000 children and young people. Teachers have been injured, four schools in Galkayo were damaged, and five schools outside the town are closed as they are now used to house some of the displaced. Any schools still functioning are severely overcrowded.

UNICEF and partners are setting up safe temporary learning spaces for the displaced children to allow them to continue their education and are working to ensure that the teachers receive their incentive allowances.

“This is a very serious situation for the children of Galkayo and is bound to have a major impact on their education and their lives,” said Steven Lauwerier, UNICEF Somalia Representative.

“We must ensure that there are places for children to learn in a safe environment either in temporary spaces or in schools outside town. The children must be given catch up classes and their schools must be protected from further damage.”

Many of the displaced children who have fled Galkayo are particularly vulnerable, as a large number were already displaced from their original homes and were living in settlements. UNICEF and its partners are also concerned with the continuing physical and emotional stress the forced displacement and fighting may put children and their families under.

A child’s right to an education is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Somalia in October 2015.