Fact-checking Biti's corruption speech - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
July 23, 2021
Opposition MDC Alliance vice president and former finance minister Tendai Biti gave an online speech on corruption in Zimbabwe on July 18, 2021.
Here, we check key claims from Biti’s address:
CLAIM: Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 180 on the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index
VERDICT: TRUE
“We are now ranked, by Transparency International, number 160 out of 180. We are the 20th most corrupt country in the world. We have overtaken countries that have been traditionally associated with extraction, such as Nigeria,” Biti said.
While TI has ranked Zimbabwe 157 out of 180 on its index in the last two years – 2019 and 2020, it is true that Zimbabwe overtook Nigeria in 2007 and has consistently fared worse in the corruption perception stakes since then.
CLAIM: Zimbabwe has lost US$14 billion through the Ministry of Finance
VERDICT: INCORRECT
Biti said: “We know from the audited statements of the Auditor General that US$2,7 billion was stolen and lost directly through Treasury in 2017, US$3,5 billion was lost directly through Treasury in 2018 and the recently released audit report of 2019 shows a loss of US$7.6 billion lost through Treasury. So, in three years, over and above the budget deficit, around US$14 billion has been lost through the Ministry of Finance.”
The Auditor General, mandated to audit the financial accounts of all government ministries, departments, parastatals and local authorities, has, for several years running, voiced concern over how public finances are being managed in the country, especially by central government.
After recording fiscal surpluses between 2009 and 2011, under Biti’s stewardship of the national purse, Zimbabwe ran up budget deficits which widened from US$9,5 million in 2012 to US$2 billion in 2018. The funding gap was widest in 2017, when it was recorded at US$2,6 billion, or 8% of GDP.
The excess expenditure has seen the Ministry of Finance ballooning the unallocated reserves in the national budget. These are funds set aside to meet any unexpected expenses that might arise during the fiscal year.
In 2017, the Auditor General found that government had increased the unallocated reserves from US$31,52 million to US$3 billion.
“They (unallocated reserves) were increased to $3 019 137 531 through issuance of Treasury Bills and the URs were being disbursed to line Ministries,” the Auditor General reported.
Although the ministry provided the auditors with a schedule of how the unallocated reserve funds were distributed across ministries, government departments and commissions, the Auditor General noted differences in funds allocated and those accounted for by the various recipients.
“However, as at May 10, 2018 line Ministries had confirmed receipt of disbursements from Unallocated Reserves amounting to $637 010 651 giving a variance of $2 382 126 880.”
The Auditor General does not, however, make a finding that these funds were stolen.
Nor does the Biti-led Public Accounts Committee(PAC), which tackled the matter in 2019.
A report tabled by the PAC in parliament only goes so far as to rap the finance minister for failing “to present in the National Assembly, additional or supplementary estimates of expenditure and additional or supplementary bills.”
The PAC directed Treasury to seek Parliament’s pardon for unauthorised and excess expenditure.
For 2018, the Auditor General similarly found that the government, through the finance ministry, had overspent by US$3,2 billion. The Auditor General said the excess expenditure “was mainly related to Unallocated Reserves transferred to Ministries” by Treasury.
Unlike the 2017 accounts, the 2018 unallocated reserve distribution figures provided by Treasury and government departments largely matched.
Again, while her report flagged risks associated with excess expenditure, the Auditor General did not make a finding that the US$3.2 billion had been lost or stolen.
The latest Auditor General’s report, for 2019, also flagged excess expenditure, which also arose from unallocated reserves distributed to ministries.
Zimbabwe officially reintroduced its local currency in February 2019 and its budget for that year has been restated in Zimbabwean dollars.
The unallocated reserves for that year, ZW$7.4 billion, were stated in local currency, not United States dollars.
There is, therefore, no evidence in the Auditor General’s reports cited by Biti, of US$14 billion, equivalent to 67% of the country’s GDP, having been “stolen and lost” through the finance ministry between 2017 and 2019.
CLAIM: 79% our people are living in extreme poverty, surviving on less than US$1,25 a day.
VERDICT: EXAGGERATED
A World Bank report released in June 2021 put the number of extremely poor Zimbabweans at 7,9 million, or 49% of the population.
“In 2020, the pandemic and its impacts disrupted livelihoods, especially in urban areas, and added 1.3 million Zimbabweans to the extreme poor. Estimates suggest the number of extreme poor reached 7.9 million—almost 49 percent of the population,” the report reads.
This was an increase from 38% reported by the official Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) in its 2019 Poverty, Income Consumption and Expenditure Survey (PICES).
Zimstat conducts the PICES survey every five years and the next one was due in 2022. However, the exceptional circumstances of 2019 compelled the agency, which partners World Bank technical staff on the surveys, to conduct one that year following Zimbabwe’s devastating drought and an inflation spike triggered by the reintroduction of a local currency.
Zimstat simulations for the subsequent period showed extreme poverty levels to have risen to 52% by the end of 2019, in line with the World Bank estimates for 2020.
CLAIM: Our infant mortality rates are now 102 out of a thousand.
VERDICT: UNTRUE
UNICEF defines infant mortality as the probability of a child dying between birth and one year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
According to the latest available UNICEF data, Zimbabwe’s infant mortality rate was 38.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births, the lowest it has been since 1970.
Zimstat’s 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey puts the country’s infant mortality rate at 53 deaths per 1,000 live births.
CLAIM: There is no economy that has involuntarily dollarised, that has been able to de-dollarise.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
Although economists broadly acknowledge that the process of undoing dollarisation – the use of foreign currencies as a medium of exchange, store of value, or unit of account – is difficult, the IMF says there are a few economies that have achieved this feat.
An IMF staff team that produced a 2015 report on dollarisation in sub-Saharan Africa concedes this difficulty, but lists 11 countries which de-dollarised between 2001 and 2012.
“While many countries have attempted to de-dollarize, only a few have succeeded in these efforts. Among them, Israel, Poland, Bolivia, and Peru provide a good illustration of the comprehensive policy package needed to reduce financial dollarization,” the staff team reported.
“Out of 194 countries for which data are available, 42 were initially dollarized (of which nine in sub-Saharan Africa); out of these, 11 countries were successful and de-dollarized; and the remaining 31 countries were unsuccessful and remained dollarized.”
CLAIM: The average civil servant used to earn US$500 during the time of the GNU, he is now earning US$35-40.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
Information compiled by the International Labour Organisation from the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), the platform for government workers’ wage negotiations, shows that, at end of the government of national unity mid-2013, the lowest paid civil servant was getting a monthly wage of US$296, made up of US$159 basic pay, US$63 transport allowance and US$74 housing allowance.
The lowest paid teacher was earning a basic salary of US$230, plus US$189 housing and transport allowances, amounting to a total package of US$419. Teachers make up the bulk of the civil service.
A January 2014 pay increase saw the least paid civil servant getting a total package of US$375, while entry-level teachers were now on US$500.
According to a March 12, 2021 circular by the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), the main civil servants’ union, government wages were ranging from ZW$14,652 to ZW$28,168.
This was ahead of an April 1 wage increase, which would see the least paid earning ZW$16,752 (US$195 at the official exchange rate or US$124 on the black market), with the highest band getting ZW$33,647 (US$391 at the official rate or US$249 on the parallel market).
CLAIM: If Zimbabwe were to import ethanol from Brazil, the United States of America or Scandinavian countries, it would land FOB at US$0.50. But we are paying a premium to Billy Rautenbach of US$1.10 to US$1.20.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
A litre of ethanol was quoted at US$0.69 in Brazil and between US$0.60 and US$0.63 per litre, free on board, according to the US Grains Council’s data for July 21, 2021. Shipping ethanol to Zimbabwe from abroad would add freight and insurance costs to the final price.
In Zimbabwe, ethanol for blending with petrol is priced at US$1.10 per litre, according to energy regulator ZERA.
When the matter of ethanol pricing came up for discussion in Parliament in 2018, amid charges that local ethanol was overpriced, the then ZERA head, Gloria Magombo argued that it did not make economic sense to import the product.
FEATURED


Old firing exercise video from Maharashtra is being shared as a recent attack by the Indian Army on POK - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 24, 2019
A video is being shared on Facebook with a claim that it shows Indian Army firing on POK (Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir) on 20 October 2019, a week before Diwali. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of Indian Army firing on POK.
Fact: The video is related to the Indian Army’s firing exercise at Deolali firing range in June-2019. It is in no way connected to any attack on POK; it was just a firing exercise. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were through Google Reverse Image Search, some YouTube videos with similar visuals were found in the search results. One of those YouTube videos had the following title, ‘Indian Army Firing Exercise (BM-21) at the Deolali ranges -| 2019’. So, when searched with those keywords on Google, it was found that the same video was also posted by Times of India in June-2019. The video has the following description, ‘The Indian Army fired back to back BM-21 Grad missiles during a firing exercise in Maharashtra’s Deolali.’ So, a firing exercise video taken in June-2019 is being shared as recent firing by the Indian Army on POK.
To sum it up, an old firing exercise video from Maharashtra is being shared as a recent attack by the Indian Army on POK.
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Zimbabwe: inflation & food shortages · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Eddie Cross writing in Zimbabwean Pundit the state of the economy from the exgtravaganza of Mugabe's birthday celebrations to the spiraling inflation and food shortages.  He pridicts the “final storm” is coming and the battle to get Zimbabwe back on the tracks of democracy once again.


Community Demands More Representative TV in Quebec - New Canadian Media
Rosanna Haroutounian
January 29, 2016
A group of citizens is accusing Videotron, one of Quebec’s largest telecommunication companies, of failing to provide mandatory community television service in the province.
“Videotron is required to provide access to training, equipment and studio space for community members to create community-produced content,” says Laith Marouf, the project co-ordinator of Independent Community Television (ICTV), the group making the complaint.
Marouf says community television must also represent the linguistic, ethnic and aboriginal composition of the community.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requires every satellite or cable television provider in Canada to allocate five per cent of its revenue to Canadian content.
“They can take two of that five per cent and put it towards their own community media channel, which is what a lot of them do because they have a bit more control over it,” explains Steve Faguy, a Montreal-based media blogger.
Marouf says community television must also represent the linguistic, ethnic and aboriginal composition of the community.
In Montreal, 50 per cent of the content on community channels must be access programming, or content produced by members of the community.
After ICTV’s first complaint against Videotron, the CRTC decided in 2015 that the company had failed in its mandate and told Videotron to bring its community channel MAtv Montreal into compliance by August, 2015.
In November, ICTV filed another complaint of non-compliance, claiming Videotron fails to provide the required 50 per cent minimum access programming, not only in Montreal, but in eight of MAtv’s nine distribution zones across Quebec.
As part of its 2015 decision on MAtv Montreal, the CRTC also asked Videotron to set up a citizen advisory committee by March, 2015.
“The committee was formed because MAtv wanted to be sure that the choices that are made in their programming really respond to the needs of the multiple communities on the ground,” says Aïda Kamar, a committee member and president of Vision Diversité, an organization that supports artists and cultural events in Montreal.
Kamar says the committee reviews program proposals from the community and decides which ones are ready to be produced. According to her, since the committee was formed, MAtv has started providing training to the community.
“We have a big problem in Montreal, because when you look at TV, it doesn’t always resemble what’s on the street.”
Prior to the first complaint, “Couleurs d’ici” was the sole program on MAtv Montreal focused on immigrant communities.
Three shows about ethnic communities in Montreal have since been added to MAtv’s programming.
“We have a big problem in Montreal, because when you look at TV, it doesn’t always resemble what’s on the street,” says Kamar. She explains that adding programming focused on ethnic communities is not the solution.
“We don’t want to separate programs for immigrants and programs for non-immigrants,” she says, adding all programs on MAtv should reflect Montreal’s ethnic diversity, as well as its official languages.
Fifteen per cent of ICTV’s programming model includes programs in third languages. Currently, all programs on MAtv Montreal are in English or French.
“Not allowing ethnic communities to produce in third languages is part of the racist problems we see here in Canada, and especially in Quebec where we see the rise of new nationalism,” says Marouf.
Kamar, who directed her own Lebanese television program for 10 years, has a different view. She says that while her show was in Arabic, she also included a French segment in each episode.
“I wanted Quebecers who do not speak Arabic to understand what we were saying, to understand that while I was Lebanese, I was also a Montrealer,” says Kamar.
Programs in third languages separate Montrealers rather than bring them together through their common languages, she explains.
“This absence translates into a feeling of not belonging for immigrants especially.”
In 1982, AMEIPH, a non-profit, multiethnic organization supporting people with disabilities in Montreal, started producing a program called “Nous Sommes Encore Là” (“We Are Still Here”). In 1998, Videotron discontinued the program.
AMEIPH sent a letter of support for ICTV to the CRTC, stating that requests to restart the program on MAtv were rejected, leaving the people represented excluded from the media.
“This absence translates into a feeling of not belonging for immigrants especially, and ignorance of what represents today a very large segment of the population of Montreal and Quebec in general,” says Teresa Peñafiel, AMEIPH’s spokesperson.
She says this causes people from ethnic communities to turn to television from their countries of origin, contributing to their isolation.
ICTV’s complaint also has the support of the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
Andre Desrochers, a CACTUS board member, is leading a class-action lawsuit with other Videotron subscribers in Montreal against the corporation.
CACTUS recently filed complaints of non-compliance against 47 community cable channels across Canada. It also asked the CRTC to take away control of community television from private corporations and give it to non-profits.
ICTV’s complaint also comes in the midst of the CRTC’s public forum on the future of community television across Canada.
The public has until Apr. 15 to submit comments to the CRTC regarding this complaint.
Marouf says there will be a 10-day period for Videotron to reply to the complaint, after which ICTV will have 15 days to respond. It will then be up to the CRTC to decide whether Videotron is in compliance with the regulations.
Attempts to contact Videotron for comment in this article were unsuccessful.


Chile’s Urban Cycling Movements · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Rodrigo Gómez Arratia writes for Mi Voz [es] about urban cycling in Chile and the different movements that promote it.


How An Indigenous Dialect Radio Station In Kenya Revives A Dying Minority Language - Minority Africa
Toluwani Omotesho
April 19, 2024
But first, in Gambia, lawmakers are currently deliberating on a bill to lift the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).
FGM is a harmful traditional practice that involves the partial or total removal of the external part of the female genitals. Unfortunately, some communities and families still believe that this practice will help preserve a woman’s virginity for marriage.
According to the United Nations, more than 75% of women between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM in Gambia. It was eventually outlawed in 2015 under the regime of former president Yahya Jammeh. However, since Jammeh left office in 2016, many influential Muslim clerics have pushed for the ban to be annulled.
Although there are some opposing views from leading Islamic scholars in Egypt, Gambia’s main Islamic body, The Supreme Islamic Council, supports lifting the ban. The lawmaker sponsoring the bill argues that his stance is driven by the need to maintain religious purity and safeguard cultural norms.
Approving the bill to lift the ban on FGM would be a step backward and a clear violation of the human rights and health of women. FGM has no health benefits but only serves to harm girls and women in many ways. Hopefully, Gambia’s National Assembly will take the right step by rejecting the bill and making provisions for public awareness campaigns to properly educate the public on FGM’s health complications.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) faces probe over pregnancy, HIV tests for recruits
UK plans to pay asylum seekers to move to Rwanda
How an Indigenous dialect Radio station in Kenya revives a dying minority language
Standing out within the Mau Forest Complex, in a forested area approximately 210km west of Nairobi, Kenya, is an over 60-foot steel radio mast with an aviation light on top. Inching closer, a wooden fence intertwined with wire mesh separates the compound of Sogoot 97.1 FM from the houses around it.
A community radio station, Sogoot, which in Ogiek means “leaves,” broadcasts in Ogiek from 6 am to 11 pm daily, educating and giving direction to thousands of Ogieks within the station’s 30-kilometre radius.
“Sogoot FM is a game changer for us,” says Stephen Lele, station manager and a founding member of Sogoot FM. “Within where we reside, we haven’t heard any radio station that broadcasts in our language. Our shows focus on everything that touches on humanity, from culture, health, education, leadership and governance, conservation, social, and economic empowerment”.
Why are affluent Zimbabweans cornering shops meant for low-income families?
The mid-morning Saturday sun is still weak in Stoneridge Park Township, south of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Kiosk stores are already filled with smokers, bargain hunters and noisy street touts. Today is unlike weekdays when buses with city-center-bound commuters race past kiosk stores without dropping off passengers.
The sprawling township is home to Pamacongo, one of the cheap food markets in Harare, located in a low-income neighborhood where many residents supplement their food needs via home gardens. Because of this, food prices are relatively low, attracting many city dwellers.
Among these is 41-year-old Samy Jangwa, a resident of Borrowdale, Harare’s most glamorous neighborhood.
“My family lives in Borrowdale. For our staples, we drive 20 miles to forage in townships [and]food stores and restock our kitchens,” the software teacher at an upscale private school in Harare says.
This food migration began to gain steam four years ago as Zimbabwe’s inflation started climbing worryingly again after brief years of a lull.
It resulted in middle-class suburban supermarkets and food stores like SPAR, Bon Marche and those located in city-centres becoming incredibly expensive.
Rose left Nigeria full of optimism for all that Britain has to offer.
The first of five children, her father had been a trader until he lost his shop, which meant the family could not pay for her to continue her education.
So when a family friend from church told her of an opportunity to become a nanny for a wealthy UK couple, who would sponsor her studies, she jumped at the chance. She travelled to the UK on a six-month tourist visa. When she first met the couple, she says they seemed “nice” and gave her a room in their four-bed apartment, but she soon found the work was not as advertised.
Rose, not her real name, says she was taken to a restaurant owned by the couple, where she would cook and clean from 17:00 to 05:00. She worked six days a week, and on her only day off did more chores at home.
“I felt so exhausted… so empty. This was not what they promised me,” she says.
A recent attack on a young trans couple in Greece has left LGBTQIA+ people shaken, with some describing the incident a reminder of how “extremely polarised” the country is on equal rights.
A mob of almost 200 people cursed, spat and threw bottles at the pair in Thessaloniki on Saturday (9 March) night, resulting in the arrests of more than 20 people. Thousands took to the streets in protest of what happened the following evening, though the LGBTQIA+ community’s concerns are far from quashed.
“Greece is a very homophobic country,” says conceptual artist and filmmaker Fil Ieropoulos, who was born in Athens and raised in northern Greece. “It’s a very macho, traditionalist, fundamentalist, religious place where racist, homophobic, misogynist, transphobic behaviours have been tolerated for way too long. One should not be fooled by the pinkwashing of the whole bourgeois Mykonos thing or silly ideas about supposed connections to homosexuality through Ancient Greece.”
Zimbabwe police charge self-proclaimed prophet Ishmael and rescue 251 children
A self-proclaimed Apostolic prophet who kept 251 children on his property has been charged with exploiting minors.
Police said that Ishmael Chokurongerwa, 56, led a sect with more than 1,000 members in Harare. The children were allegedly used for cheap labour. Unregistered graves, believed to be of infants, were also found.
Chokurongerwa was arrested on Tuesday “for criminal activities which include abuse of minors”.
He appeared alongside seven congregants before a magistrate’s court on Thursday. All eight of them were charged with violating children’s rights and contravening burial and cremation laws.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police released a statement on Wednesday saying that the arrest followed a raid. Officers discovered that 251 minors were found living on a farm run by Chokurongerwa about 34km (21 miles) north-west of the capital, Harare.
Some 246 out of the 251 children staying at the property had no birth certificates.
First top-flight male soccer star to publicly identify as gay proposes to partner on home pitch
Josh Cavallo, the first top-flight male professional soccer star to publicly identify as gay, has blazed a new trail by proposing to his partner on the pitch of his club.
The Australian player made history in 2021 when he posted an emotional online video to talk about his sexuality and vowing to change the sport’s culture “to show that everyone is welcome in the game of football.”
His announcement was hailed as a watershed moment in a sport with a long and troubled history of entrenched homophobia, particularly in the men’s game. Since then, Cavallo, 24, has become one of the most recognizable faces in the sport and an outspoken advocate for greater equality for the LGBTQ community.
On Thursday, he announced that he had proposed to his fiancée at Coopers Stadium, home pitch of his Australian A-League team Adelaide United.
Alongside a picture of him down on one knee, holding out a ring, Cavallo declared in a post on X: “Starting this year with my fiancée.”
Features a roundup of fresh MA reports, announcements, events/workshop listings, and minority content curated from across the web.


Postcards from the Congo · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

With the elections, the run-off announcement, the violent clashes between two presidential candidates, it's easy to focus only the DRC's political tempests.  However, many Congo bloggers are writing about art, culture and the more mundane ways that politics affect daily life.
Fred, who blogs at Extra Extra, writes about Misère (above), a Congolese play by Thierry Nlandu inspired by the country's experiences under Mobutu and based on Waiting for Godot.
At Ibiza, a bar popular with expats and Congolese who “can afford $3 for a tonic,” he tries to take the temperature of Kinois (Congolese who call Kinshasa home) following the recent violence:
“Conversation seems an important stress release for many who spent a few days last week stuck at home, listening to explosions, gunfire and the radio, wondering how bad things would get, and wishing they’d stocked more food and drink. It’s not every day that armed conflict arrives in your neighbourhood, after all. The ones who got the biggest frights at least get to tell the best stories.”
I find the atmosphere friendly but the upbeat veneer is a bit strained by anxiety and uncertainty. Very Grahame Greene, if you know what I mean.
Meanwhile, Kim Gjerstad writes that in the Congo, where books are hard to come by, Réveillez-vous!, the French edition of the Jevohah's Witnesses’ Watchtower – plentiful and, most importantly, free – is a popular read.  Gjerstad comes to a cynical conclusion: “Be reminded, Hell exists but it’s never too late to save yourself. The road to heavens is paved with free literature. Not bad of a deal for a country with nothing to read.”
At her Flickr photostream, Helene.rd has a photograph of a local delicacy: “In Isia, some mothers come on board to sell us “palm worms,” taking out chirping caterpillars from their large bowls. Some people who were with us love them. They are full of protein! (Fr)


Hamilton City Council for January 27, 2017: 2017 HSR Budget Debate – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 27, 2017
City Council debated the 2017 HSR budget. The budget proposal was based upon the Council approved 10-year transit strategy, and the year three budget calls for Council to invest in transit after two years of incremental improvements funded primarily by fare increases.
Council voted to ask the HSR’s Director to return with budget proposals of a 3% or 1.8% budget increase.
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China: Censors face losing battle · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Xiao Qiang posts excerpts from his Asian Wall Street Journal commentary, which says that China's Internet censors face a losing battle.


Chile: Female Presidential Frontrunner · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jeannette Jalil is happy that the front-runner in Chile's upcoming presidential election is a woman.


Barbados: Ash Wesnesday  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Traditionally, people give up something for Lent, fast and pray a lot. In recent years we have tended to make Lent positive, by taking on a challenge”: Living in Barbados acknowledges the arrival of Ash Wednesday.


Pakistan: Defense Day · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on defense day in Pakistan. “On 6th day of September 1965 Pakistan army had to defend the sovereignty of the country against the aggressor India army.”


Mozambique: The right to protest · Global Voices
Paula Góes

MOZVOZ [pt] on the protests against transport fares rise last Monday in Maputo, Mozambique: “People has exercised and will continue to exercise their right to resist and the police will continue violating the citizens’ rights, freedoms and guarantees”


BalkanThemes Volume 1: Issue 4 - Human Trafficking | Balkan Diskurs
Balkan Diskurs
September 3rd, 2015
The fourth issue of BalkanThemes focuses on the challenges organizations and individuals face in dealing with human trafficking cases in the former Yugoslavia and beyond.
Since we published the first issue of BalkanThemes in September 2014, we’ve been thinking of ways to improve the reader experience and to engage more critically with the subject at hand. In this issue, we present the challenges organizations and individuals face in dealing with human trafficking cases in the former Yugoslavia and beyond. An in-depth interview by the Post-Conflict Research Center volunteers Chloé Gaillard and Clara Fantoni with the Indian organization Manav Seva Sansthan – third-prize winner of the 2014 UN Alliance of Civiliztions and BMW Group Intercultural Innovation Award – highlights the difficulties in and prospects for reducing and discouraging human trafficking practices along the Indian-Nepalese border. This issue also features a comparative article by PCRC intern Karim Sultan on the legal framework or lack thereof surrounding human trafficking in both Libya and Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Jamaica: A Proud Black History  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

It's Black History Month in the UK and Kei Miller turns on its head “those tired statements of black pride – how, for instance, we are the sons and daughters of kings and queens”, saying: “It seems so banal…it betrays such a lack of imagination. Me… I’d rather imagine other possibilities.”


Armenia: Walking Alongside Men · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Marcella again contributes a post about women's issues in Armenia at di cavoli e di re, saying that women need to find a way to be more independent of men.


AP Police has clarified that there is no second leak at the LG Polymers premises. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2020
Following the tragic incident of the deadly Styrene gas leak at LG Polymers’ chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam in the morning of 07 May 2020, which claimed the lives of eleven people in addition to making hundreds ill, a post is shared on social media claiming that a second leak of gas took place at the premises of the LG polymers plant. Few media channels covering the incident live have also reported this. But Andhra Pradesh Police through their official twitter handle clarified that the reports of gas leakage for the second time at the premises LG Polymers are false. They also mentioned in their tweet that some vapour was let out by the maintenance team while repairing the system at the chemical plant. Hence the claim that gas leaked for the second time at LG Polymers premises is FALSE.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. AP Police tweet – https://twitter.com/APPOLICE100/status/1258297197281476609
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France, Various Africa, Middle East: France goes easy on mercenary · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“The French again have demonstrated that crimes committed abroad in developing nations shouldn't necessarily be punished,” writes an outraged Fontaine, who reports that a French mercenary, who has also been implicated in several coups or coup attempts in other countries, has received only a five-year suspended sentence after having been found guilty for his involvement in an aborted coup in the Comoros in 1995.


Aruba: Dia di San Juan · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Roosters are no longer harmed when Aruba observes Dia di San Juan, notes ArubaGirl, who appreciates the fact that the festival “celebrates how two cultures merged and produced something new.”


Puerto Rico: Noticel and Puerto Rico Indie · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The online news site Noticel has started a collaboration with the alternative music blog Puerto Rico Indie [es].


Bermuda: Local Sport  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes says that when it comes to developing sport and upgrading athletic facilities, the key is to “think local”.


India’s COVID-19 death toll will significantly increase once all the applications for ex gratia compensation are processed
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 18, 2021
Almost all the states have begun accepting applications for ex gratia compensation of Rs. 50,000 for COVID-19 deaths. States have issued guidelines establishing district-level committees for redressal of grievances & grant of compensation. If the Kerala experience is any indication, the COVID-19 death toll across the country will significantly increase once the process is complete.
Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) approved the Union Government’s announcement of payment of Rs. 50,000 as ex gratia compensation to the next of kin of those who died of COVID-19. The SC added that no State should deny the ex gratia compensation to the kin of persons who died of COVID-19 on the sole ground that the death certificate does not mention COVID-19 as the cause of death. Following the apex court’s orders, States have begun issuing notifications and setting up committees with respect to the issuance of death certificates & granting ex gratia compensation.
4.64 lakh persons have reportedly died in India due to COVID-19
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 51 lakh persons as of 16 November 2021, since the outbreak in late 2019, according to the World Health Organization’s dashboard. India has reported the second-highest number of deaths in the world with over 4.64 lakh deaths due to COVID-19 as of 17 November 2021. These death numbers are contested, and questions have been raised in multiple quarters about the actual number of deaths due to the pandemic. It is in this context the announcement of ex gratia compensation assumes importance as many deaths which may not have been recorded as COVID-19 deaths earlier may come to light increasing the overall death toll.
India declared the pandemic as a Notified Disaster & is providing assistance under SDRF
In March 2020, at a time when the cases began to increase in the country and little was known about the coronavirus & the disease, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared the pandemic a ‘Notified Disaster’ for the purpose of providing assistance under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Noting this, pleas were heard in the Supreme Court seeking compensation for families of persons who lost their lives due to the coronavirus disease or complications related to it, as Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005 has a provision of minimum standards of relief to be provided to the persons affected by the disaster, including ex gratia assistance on account of loss of life.
SC asked NDMA to come up with uniform guidelines for ex gratia compensation
The Union Government initially informed the apex court that payment of ex gratia compensation to all deceased persons due to COVID-19, is beyond the fiscal affordability of the Governments, as the finances of State Governments and the Central Government are under severe strain, due to the reduction in tax revenues and increase in health expenses on account of the pandemic. However, the Supreme Court noted that some states such as Bihar were paying Rs. 4 lakhs as ex gratia assistance to the family members of the persons who have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Karnataka was paying Rs. 1 lakh, and Delhi was paying Rs. 50,000. To avoid discriminatory treatment, the court held that it would be appropriate for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to recommend uniform guidelines while providing for the minimum standards of relief in the form of ex gratia assistance on account of loss of life, as mandated under Section 12 of the DMA Act.
The procedure for issuance of the death certificate for COVID-19 related death has been simplified
Furthermore, the Court also added that there was a need for a simplified procedure for issuance of a death certificate/official document in the case of a COVID-19 related death. In other words, the death certificate is to be issued to the family members of the deceased who died due to COVID-19 stating the cause of death as “Died due to COVID-19”, including if their death must have been due to other complications resulting from COVID-19. As per the guidelines issued by Union Health Ministry & ICMR, and NDMA, the following four types of cases have been listed to be treated as COVID-19 deaths.
It should be noted that irrespective of the cause of death mentioned in the death certificate if a family member satisfies the eligibility criteria listed above, no State can deny the ex gratia payment of Rs. 50,000 provided the required documents are furnished.
The guidelines also add that States/UTs must set up a grievance redressal committee at the district level, comprising government officials, medical experts, and a subject expert for issuing the COVID-19 death certificate. In case of grievances with respect to death certificates, the committee will come up with remedial measures including the issuance of an amended certificate. The grievances should be disposed of within 30 days of submission.
States including Kerala, Telangana, and UP have issued relevant guidelines
Following the issuance of fresh guidelines for declaring COVID-19 deaths, many States including Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, have issued guidelines for the issuance of COVID-19 death certificates, setting up of COVID-19 Death Ascertaining Committee (CDAC), and application for the ex gratia compensation. All these States have constituted CDACs at district levels. The District Disaster Management Authority has been authorized by the states to disburse the ex gratia compensation. The applications for the compensation are to be submitted at the District Magistrate.
The Kerala government has launched a portal for filing online applications from 10 October onwards. In fact, the state also provides an option for persons who already have death declaration documents, to apply for the death certificate in the new format prescribed by the Union Health Ministry.
Nonetheless, there is still some uncertainty with respect to the Government’s new guidelines. The basis of verification of the appeals to ascertain if the death was due to COVID-19, is still not clear. We wrote to the Directorate of Health Services of Kerala seeking clarification and this story will be updated when a response is received.
Overall COVID-19 death toll likely to increase
As noted earlier, all the states would have to revise their COVID-19 death figures based on the number of applications filed for ex gratia compensation over the next few months. The families of victims whose death may not have been counted in the official death toll are expected to come forward and submit the application for ex gratia compensation. The actual death toll due to COVID-19 in each of the states would only be clear once this entire process is complete. All this means that the overall death toll due to COVID-19 will likely increase in every state as witnessed in the case of Kerala.
About 1 in 5 deaths in Kerala is reported following the new guidelines
Since 22 October 2021, Kerala has been reporting deaths due to COVID-19 in three different categories. The daily COVID-19 bulletin categorizes deaths into the following groups
The state has reported a total of 36,087 deaths as of 16 November 2021 since the outbreak of COVID-19. This number includes 3625 deaths declared through appeals and 3779 deaths that were reported in the offline mode before 18 June 2021. In other words, if the option for filing appeals for getting a COVID-19 certificate and recording pending deaths had not been available, the state would have reported 7,404 fewer deaths due to the pandemic which is about one-fifth of the total deaths in the state. Close to 20% of the deaths would have gone unreported if not for the new mechanism. According to the state’s COVID-19 death information system dashboard, over 24,499 appeals have been received of which 7816 have been processed and 16,683 are still in progress. If these pending numbers are any indication, the overall death toll in Kerala could increase significantly once the processing of all pending appeals is complete.
Under-reporting is the least in Kerala compared to other states
It should be noted that Kerala is the state which had the least undercounting of COVID-19 cases in the country, according to an analysis of ICMR’s serosurvey. While states such as Uttar Pradesh detected 1 case in 100, and Bihar detected 1 case in 134, Kerala detected 1 in 6 cases and Maharashtra detected 1 in 12 cases. This implies that the actual deaths and rate of infection in the country is significantly higher than what gets reported.
If the Kerala experience is any indication, the COVID-19 death toll across the country will significantly increase once the process of filing appeals and disbursement of compensation is complete.


Corporate Canada Helped Raise $30M for Refugees: McCallum - New Canadian Media
Judy Trinh
May 4, 2016
Now that Canada has settled 25,000 government sponsored Syrian refugees, the Immigration Minister says he will use the lessons learned in the process to improve the immigration system for all groups.
“We inherited a department full of problems and we want to transform it into a department that’s speedy and welcoming to newcomers,” said John McCallum in an interview with New Canadian Media.
One of the biggest lessons learned involves engaging the private sector. From the beginning the government pitched the settlement of Syrian refugees as a “national project.” The minister openly encouraged business leaders to donate money, and to date, McCallum says Canada’s companies, communities and NGOs have raised more than $30 million to help settle Syrians.
Those private sector funds played a pivotal role in solving the problem of finding affordable housing for the Syrian newcomers. Although many government refugees were housed in hotels for weeks and even months, McCallum says 93 per cent have now found permanent homes despite expensive rents in some cities.
The federal government provides a refugee family of five, less than $800/month for rent, a daunting budget to work with especially in Toronto and Vancouver where average rents for a two-bedroom apartment top $1,300/month. McCallum says the government didn’t want to increase the housing allowance, instead settlement agencies were able to access corporate grants to subsidize rents for newcomers.
But successful engagement has also resulted in frustrated expectations – it’s a double-edged sword McCallum doesn’t mind wielding.
“We have a problem that no other immigration minister has; I cannot produce these refugees quickly enough to meet all the demands of generous Canadians who want to accommodate them.”
“We have a problem that no other immigration minister has; I cannot produce these refugees quickly enough to meet all the demands of generous Canadians who want to accommodate them.”
Since the story of Alan Kurdi, the little boy washed ashore made headlines, thousands of Canadians coast to coast have formed sponsorship groups to take in refugees. But visa officers were pulled back after the government reached its settlement targets at the end of February and caps were imposed on private sponsorship such as Group of Five applications. The public outcry was immediate and McCallum has since announced that additional staff will return to Jordan and Lebanon to help interview Syrians.
Although exact numbers haven’t yet been determined, McCallum says the staff will consist of  a mix of new hires and retired visa officers. The government is committing to processing applications accepted before March 31. The government’s goal is to have 10,000 privately sponsored Syrian refugees set foot on Canadian soil by early next year.
But while Syria applications are being fast-tracked there is concern among other refugee groups that they are being forgotten. The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada website indicates that government refugee claims out of Jordan can be processed in one month, while an application from Nepal takes 17 months.  Processing an application from Eritrea is estimated to take an incredible 85 months. It’s a huge discrepancy McCallum says he’s trying to fix.
“Certainly, there are long delays for many classes of immigrants and other newcomers. It’s not necessarily because of the Syrian experience.” McCallum says over the past decade, processing times have gotten worse as staff have been cut, while red tape has grown.
“Certainly, there are long delays for many classes of immigrants and other newcomers. It’s not necessarily because of the Syrian experience.”
In the next few weeks McCallum will be announcing measures to ease the backlog. The measures involve streamlining family reunification applications for spouses, parents, grandparents and caregivers. McCallum says he’s also hopeful more money will be found to hire more immigration officers across the board.
He’s adamant that resources were not diverted from other regions to deal with Syrian refugees and he stands by Canada’s commitment.
“I don’t make any apologies for making Syrian refugees a priority. This is a global crisis, the worst the world has seen in decade. Millions are displaced because of war … it’s right that Canada step up to the plate.”
Judy is an award winning journalist with two decades of journalism experience who aims to be critical, yet compassionate in her reporting. She has reported extensively for CBC News on television and radio and has produced documentaries for CBC's flagship investigative program, The Fifth Estate. Judy has written for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen. She has also been nominated for two Canadian Screen awards for breaking news and a National Magazine Award for an Ottawa Magazine expose of a child trafficking ring. She has reported extensively on the #MeToo movement and human rights cases, and filed LIVE breaking reports from disaster zones. She is also NCM's Chief Mentor.


Saudi Arabia: The Jeddah Floodings on Video  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

People are still talking about the Jeddah floods and their aftermath, almost three weeks after torrential rain and flooding brought life to a standstill in the western Saudi Arabian city. Internet users are exchanging links to YouTube, showing the extent of the damage, via email.
Bobo6699tariq posts this video, showing cars being washed off on a road which turned into a river:
He explains:
MsAbuRayan shows another scene from the flooding here:
She writes:
Maher, at Maherex, takes this video, which shows more damage:
Maher also posts this video, which shows a large number of damaged cars:


Urban Candlelight Hike in Three Bridges Park returns on Saturday, February 23 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Urban Ecology Center
January 17, 2019
Grab your friends and family and bundle up for an exciting winter adventure at the Urban Candlelight Hike! Hiking or snowshoeing on two miles of the candlelit Hank Aaron State Trail, roaring campfires, marshmallow roasting, fat tire bike demos, tea tasting, food trucks, hot chocolate, pastries, local door prizes, and a magical winter walk await. Continue the fun before AND after the hike at Third Space Brewing.
Fun Pass is $10 in advance and includes one adult and all kids under 12 attending with the adult.
For more information and to save time by purchasing your Fun Pass in advance, visit UrbanCandlelightHike.com. Volunteers make this event possible AND get a Fun Pass, sign up to volunteer here.
This event is co-hosted by the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail and Urban Ecology Center.


Jamaica, UK: Bamboula restaurant · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinifood visits a Jamaican restaurant in London and treats us to a mouthwatering review.


The Internet Takes Down Fox News’ ‘Terrorism Expert’ for Saying Birmingham Is a No-go Area for Non-Muslims  · Global Voices
Morgan Meaker

Fox News stand at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, 2006. Taken by Rae Whitlock. Licensed under Creative Commons.
The Twitter hashtag #FoxNewsFacts continues to poke fun at the American news channel Fox News after its “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson declared Birmingham a no-go area for “non-Muslims”, live on air.
In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, Emerson told Fox News presenter Jeanine Pirro;“In Britain… there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don't go in.”
Although the religious make-up of Birmingham is diverse, Muslims are not in the majority. The BBC reports: 46.1% of Birmingham residents say they are Christian, 21.8% Muslim and 19.3% had no religion.”
Pirro and Emerson were talking about no-go areas for non-Muslims or what they refer to as “caliphate(s)” within Western countries. This is not the first time Birmingham has been held up as an example of ‘Britain’s Islamization’. A Daily Mail article used the city to illustrate “the changing face of Britain” and the British Nationalist Party’s (BNP) website calls it an unravelling “multi-cultural experiment”.
However Brits on Twitter laughed off Emerson's comments. The hashtag #FoxNewsFacts has been used over 400,000 times (according to Topsy), mostly to poke fun at the channel's anti-Muslim inaccuracy.
Jam jars across Britain are becoming radicalised. #FoxNewsFacts pic.twitter.com/0O4Cfv1DIo
— Parvez Anwar (@pavanwar) January 12, 2015
In birmingham, buildings wear the burqa #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/S7fMfYkUht — Malcolm Coles (@malcolmcoles) January 11, 2015
Islam's spread into outer space started many years ago, as can be seen by this inter galactic burka. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/mMRH6aTVXO
— Anas Abbas (@Anas_Abbas1) January 12, 2015
Birmingham's refuse collectors are all Bin Laden #FoxNewsFacts — DaveHill (@DaveHill) January 11, 2015
In Birmingham, the local death squads go by the name of Quran Quran. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/xHXFtPUHxZ
— David Jack (@DamJef) January 11, 2015
BREAKING: Patriotic Americans being forced by Muslim jihadists to wear burqas and burn their crosses. #FoxNewsFacts pic.twitter.com/q8PIAeJLhG
— Barracks O'Bama (@P0TUS) January 12, 2015
queen of england forced to convert to islam. seen here in her hijab. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/tl1GsZ8G4g — daley blind (@b4dderman) January 12, 2015
Concrete proof of the Islamification of Birmingham? #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/t8fnD6gKX8
— Rob Sinclair (@RSinclairAuthor) January 12, 2015
British children are able to purchase these little confectionary mosques at any corner shop. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/hDcMYpvT8i
— Jack Tindale (@JackTindale) January 11, 2015
Scott Lucas, professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham told the BBC that Emerson's comments might appeal to some in the US: “Some people want to hear it's us versus them, it's America versus the rest of the world, that it's white Americans versus – let's be honest – those who aren't white and those who profess a different faith.”
Fox News, which was created by Rupert Murdoch, has a reputation for its attitudes towards race. In the past, its presenters have compared an African-American lecturer at Columbia University to a coke dealer and articulated worry that those protesting over the death of Eric Garner may disrupt Christmas.
Emerson has since apologized for his comments on Fox. He also said that bearing the brunt of public outrage was “like being water boarded, I guess”.  His comments come soon after December's report on the CIA, which said the American security services used water boarding, among other torture techniques, as part of their “advanced interrogation”. However, speaking on Radio 4's, Mr Emerson said: “I don't want people to use this to claim there's no such thing as radical Islam.”
Emerson also said he would donate £500 to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
British Prime Minister, David Cameron told ITV News that Emerson is “clearly a complete idiot”. He went on to praise Birmingham as a “world class, brilliant city” which brings “people together of different faiths and different backgrounds”.  3,200 people have signed a petition calling for Emerson to apologize live on air. Maryam Snape, who started the petition, told the BBC: “The fact of the matter is the American people saw this story and they are still going to believe it is the truth until he puts it right.”
On his website, Emerson describes himself “as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, one of the world's largest storehouses of archival data and intelligence on Islamic and Middle Eastern terrorist groups.”
He then quotes Robert Blitzer, former Counterterrorism Chief at the FBI, who praises him professionally: “Steve has been on the cutting edge of [investigating terrorism] for many, many years… he has provided an extremely valuable service.”
In the same news interview on Fox, Emerson also said, “In parts of London, there are actually Muslim religious police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn't dress according to Muslim, religious Muslim attire.” He said he “absolutely” stood by comments about “vigilante Muslim groups” in the UK capital.


Armenia: Serge Sargsyan Online Q&A · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With the opposition seemingly winning the information war on the Internet during the current state of emergency in Armenia, my Armenia Election Monitor 2008 posts details on government attempts to fight back. On Thursday 15 March, president-elect Serge Sargsyan will respond to questions submitted via the Internet on his own LiveJournal blog set up especially for the purpose of the online Q&A.


Mental health summit reaches out to African-American veterans | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
UW-Milwaukee
June 8, 2018
The sixth annual VA Mental Health Summit, set for Saturday, June 23, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will focus on African-American veterans.
“Part of our mandate is to make sure that all of the veterans in our community know all of the services that are available and what the VA has to offer,” said William Johnson, minority veterans program coordinator at Milwaukee’s Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  “Any veteran is welcome,” he added, “but we are trying to reach out particularly to historically underrepresented groups.”
The center is partnering with the Military and Veterans Resource Center at UWM to present the summit, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UWM Student Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
MAVRC has been partnering with the VA on a number of projects over the past few years, said Jayne Holland, interim director. The VA’s mobile vet center visits the campus regularly, and many UWM graduates have gone on to jobs at the VA. “They’re just an outstanding community partner,” said Holland.
Guest speakers at the mental health summit include: Delphine Metcalf Foster, first woman and first African-American to serve as national commander for the Disabled American Veterans, and Reggie Jackson, head griot (docent) for America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
Breakout sessions will focus on eligibility for VA healthcare and benefits; racial trauma and inequality; chronic pain management; Afro-centered approaches to healing; disparities in African-American health care and gun violence as a public health issue.
The summit is part of efforts to reach out to specific groups of veterans to let them know what services are available to them, Johnson said. Previous summits have focused on Afghan-Iraqi war veterans, as well as veterans who are female, disabled and LGBT. Plans are to focus on Latino veterans next year, Johnson said.
This year’s program was developed with input from questionnaires sent to community and mental health organizations and focus groups, Johnson said. He estimates that there are approximately 11,500 African-American veterans in the five-county Milwaukee metropolitan area. However, because the VA does not track patients by race, it’s difficult to know whether all those who are eligible know what services are available to them.
Particularly in minority communities, there may be misinformation about available services or a mistrust of government medical facilities based on historical injustices, said Michelle Watts, veterans justice outreach coordinator at the VA. In addition, many African-American veterans have traditionally relied on family and church for mental health support, feeling there was a stigma attached to seeking counseling through organizations such as the VA.
The purpose of the summit is to let veterans know the VA can offer help not just with medical issues, but also with substance abuse, housing, post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression and other issues, she added.
“We are hoping with the summit that we can improve or increase their knowledge. We want to make sure they are aware of the benefits they’ve earned and the care they deserve,” said Watts.


Congress can’t ban TikTok ‘just in case’
Freedom of the Press Foundation
March 26, 2024
TikTok is used by around 150 million Americans, including journalists. Photo courtesy of Nordskov Media.
Like a bad penny, bills to ban TikTok keep turning up in Congress. We’ve written before about how such proposals are unconstitutional and would enable mass censorship. The newest legislation that would effectively ban the platform, passed earlier this month by the House of Representatives, is no exception.
Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Advocacy Director Seth Stern warns that banning TikTok would impose a prior restraint on journalism and set a precedent for future censorship, including bans on foreign news sites.
Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.
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Stern writes:
The reality is that even definitive proof that a platform is propagandizing or surveilling Americans wouldn’t justify censorship. The Pentagon Papers case established that “national security” isn’t a magic word that nullifies the First Amendment—and there, the alleged threat was to troops’ lives, not college kids’ political thought. Nonetheless, Justice Hugo Black explained that “the word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.”
Read the full column here.


Botswana: The Nata Blog at UN conference · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Nata blog from Nata village in Botswana is featured on two seminars at a UN conference on ICT: “Pictured above is Melody Jenkins presenting the Nata website at 9'oclock this morning to an international audience at the Global Conference on ICT and Youth for Development.”


Colombia: Protests against bad service in public transportation · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Commuters in Bogota, Colombia once again protested against the bad service of the Transmilenio public transportation system as can be seen in this video. It seems that during rush hour the system collapses due to high demand. [via]


Allegation of N1b Bitcoin investment against Ado-Ekiti Poly Rector causes confusion | EduCeleb
11th March 2021
Allegation of N1billion Investment in Bitcon Investment against Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti Rector, Dr. Hephzibah Oladebeye by the Academic Staff Union of Polythenics (ASUP) has brought confusion into the campus.
Dr Oladebeye described the allegation by some lecturers that he invested N1 billion on bitcoin online transaction as baseless and spurious.
Oladebeye said this in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, while reacting to the disruption of ongoing second semester examinations over non-payment of part-time claims by protesting Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
During the protest on Tuesday, the ASUP Chairman, Dr. Olabisi Olasehinde, accused the Rector of investing N1 billion on Bitcoin business, being money allegedly earmarked to defray the part-time claims.
But condemning the protest, the Rector said: “Article 23.1 of the civil service rule that guides ASUP stipulates that before academic staff can proceed on a protest, they must declare industrial dispute and give the management 21 days ultimatum, followed by another seven days.
“Protesting when such provision was not followed was a gross misconduct according to civil service rule. I knew they were out to disparage my person and this was no longer protest but hooliganism.
“But let me say this, administrative processes are being put in place to handle the issue. If they have not gone to the gate to advertise themselves, it could have been a different thing. No responsible management will fold its arms and allow that to go unchecked.”
Oladebeye, who described the allegation of investment of N1 billion on Bitcoin as cheap blackmail, said it was wrong for the lecturers to be inciting members of staff against the management to satisfy their political interest.
Meanwhile, the alumni of the polytechnic have appealed to ASUP to co-operate with the Rector in developing the institution, saying resorting to blackmail over an issue that could be resolved amicably would affect the school’s rating.
The National President, Alumni Association, Abiodun Oyedokun, said the Rector had done excellently well in the areas of staff welfare, like promotion, loans and payment of allowances.”
“The part-time claim is not for our lecturers alone. Some of the lecturers were from other schools. ASUP must have pity on the students who are running out of cash and food on campus. We don’t want the public to perceive this institution as unserious, which can affect our ranking.
“The Rector cannot embezzle. He is a man of impeccable pedigree. The alumni are not happy about the allegation. The institution is one to be reckoned with globally and this crisis is not good for our rating.
“We appeal to ASUP to stop creating tension and making this institution to look as if we are in a turmoil. We will try our best to mediate and restore stability, but we won’t allow the image of the institution to be soiled by those fighting personal battles.”


Pay Dispute: Zimbabwe Govt Suspends 135,000 Out Of 140,000 Public Schools Teachers Over Strike - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (A.M)
February 16, 2022
Finding a school open is now a lottery in Zimbabwe after a strike by
teachers entered a new week.
Meanwhile, with approximately 90% of teachers in public schools
suspended because of the strike, some schools were abandoned
altogether by pupils and teachers when in other parts of the country,
happy few could go on with their curriculum.
Since schools opened for the first term of the new year, many teachers
did not report for work. They said they could no longer afford the
commute from their home to the classroom.
The pay dispute between teachers and government dates back three
years when government switched from paying workers in US dollars to
Zimbabwean dollars, the value of which has been weakened by inflation.


Bangladesh: Cricket in the country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

the 3rd world view reviews cricket in Bangladesh over the last year. “Year 2006 was a very successful year for Bangladesh Cricket as they won 18 one-day internationals, eight in a row, out of 28 games.”


“La Chinafrique”: A book review · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Théophile Kouamouo [Fr] reviews in his blog the book La Chinafrique: Pékin à la conquête du continent noir by Serge Michel and Michel Beuret, about the Chinese presence in Africa. He says: “The Chinese aren't angels sent by the God of South-South cooperation and they are as racist, if not more than the Westerners living in Africa […] but they aren't demons either”.


Post from Community: MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit is Saturday, Jan. 30 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
January 26, 2021
The 9 annual MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, will take place this Saturday, January 30 from 10 a.m. – 2p.m. The MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit, a city-sanctioned event, is held to support the growth of local entrepreneurship and help innovators stimulate economic development, neighborhood reinvestment and job creation. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be held virtually this year and will include workshops to educate budding entrepreneurs about the resources available to help them become successful in their business endeavors. The event is sponsored by the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District #8, the City’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Alderwoman Coggs.
“Whether you are looking to grow or start a business, the MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit can help connect you with valuable resources as well as insight from local business owners. I hope anyone interested in entrepreneurship takes advantage of this amazing opportunity, particularly as businesses continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alderwoman Coggs said.
This year’s virtual summit will be streamed live on the City Channel (channel 25 on Spectrum Cable and channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse in the City of Milwaukee) and via streaming video on the city website at city.milwaukee.gov/Channel25. Business resource packets will be available at select Milwaukee Public Library branches beginning next week.
Workshops for the event include:
•10 a.m. – Navigating Through COVID: Examining Best Practices for Businesses Safety for their Employees. Presented by the City of Milwaukee Health Department and the Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce.
•11 a.m. – Business Resources: COVID Response & Beyond (Financial Support for your Business). Presented by Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, Kiva Greater Milwaukee and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).
•12 p.m. – Chaos + Creativity: Marketing Through Mayhem. Presented by Ebony Ssali – Brand & Creative Director, Ssali Media Group.
The MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit will also feature a panel discussion at 1 p.m. with current business owners. The panel will be moderated by Chauntel McKenzie – CEO and Principal Strategist The PowHER Network. Panelists include: Anthony Kazee – Principal, KG Developer Group; Nyesha Stone – Founder, Carvd N Stone; Tonda Thompson – Owner of Vogue Dreams, LLC, She Slangs Wood Co. and lead organizer of HaRUNBee Walk/ Run; Christine Tackes – Owner/Operator, Nylah Rose Boutique; Taj Pearsall – Franchise Owner/Operator, Buffalo Boss Wings & Things; and JohnRae Stowers – Owner & Stylist, JazzyRae Jewels & Accessories.


Hungary, U.S.: Election Coverage · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the coverage of the U.S. election in the Hungarian media.


Jordan: Kuwait Planning $5bn Health City in Jordan  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Naseem Al Tarawneh is excited that Kuwait is building a $5 billion medical city in Jordan. “This is a project I’d like to see implemented in Jordan, especially compared to the other stuff going on. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Jordan’s medical industry, went from 6.1 Million JDs in 2002 all the way up to 23 Million JDs in 2006. It is the fourth biggest industry investment wise,” he explains.


Iran:We care about sanctions Mr.Ahmadinejad · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari [Fa] talks about Iranian president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's interview with France 24 television 2 weeks ago. The blogger got surprised that Ahmadinejad considers that sanctions won't have any influence on Iranian economy.The blogger writes Iranians import everything and sanctions can really hurt country.


Africa: harnessing ICTs · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Timbuktu Chronicles points to Afriafya – a project aimed at “explore practical means of ‘harnessing ICT for community health’


UK Varsity Orders Nigerian Students To Leave School, Country. - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (A.M)
May 23, 2024
According to the BBC, Teesside University said the move was in line with the UK’s immigration regulations.
The university said it had “no choice” as failure to pay was a breach of visa sponsorship rules.
It said it had made every effort to help the affected students, including with bespoke payment plans.
Meanwhile, many students who protested outside the campus on Tuesday accused the University of being “heartless” and unfair.


Bahrain: Election Indicators  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain is gearing up for its parliamentary elections in October. Mahmood Al Yousif shares some indications of the pending elections here.


Ekiti APC: Seven Gov’ship aspirants Protest, Demand Suspension Of Primary Election - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (A.M)
January 27, 2022
Others, who withdrew, according to a statement on Thursday, are a
former governorship aspirant, Kayode Ojo; Demola Popoola; Femi
Bamisile; former House of Representatives member, Bamidele Faparusi;
National Assembly member, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and Afolabi
Oluwasola.
They alleged that the primary election committee is made up of loyalists
of governor of the state, Kayode Fayemi, claiming that the governor is
attempting to impose former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun
Oyebanji, as the Ekiti APC governorship candidate.
This is as some members of the party protested against the process of the
governorship primary election scheduled to take place today.


Egypt: A protest for Turkish TV series Nour · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Egyptian Blogger Zeinobia, wrote her reactions regarding the recent news stating that a group of high class Egyptian ladies led a protest all over Marina against the Imam of Marina’s mosque after his attack on the Turkish TV series “Nour”.


A scripted fight choreography video is falsely shared as a real video of three French paramilitary women personnel facing off molesters - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2023
A video circulating on social media is being shared with a claim that three French paramilitary women are seen beating men teasing them in an underground tunnel. The post also claims that the men are migrants. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows three French paramilitary women facing off with molesters who are migrants.
Fact: The video is a choreographed stunt featuring professional trainees at the Campus Univers Cascades, a stunt training centre in France. Hence, the claim is false.
Conducting a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video led us to a TikTok video by “thedvrko,” a user known for posting fight/action stunt videos.
The hoodie with a logo reading CUC (Campus Univers Cascades) seen in the viral video matched that of this man’s hoodie, which carried a similar logo in the TikTok video.
Further search led to an Instagram account, “karinasoreelli,” featuring a stunt rehearsal video, which, according to her, is from the CUC stunt training camp. A further search led us to CUC’s (Campus Univers Cascades) Instagram page, where they posted the original video on 02 November 2023.
A post shared by Campus Univers Cascades (@campus.univers.cascades)
According to their website, Campus `Univers Cascades is a professional stunt training centre in France. In a communication with the Spanish news website newtral.es, they emphasised that everything in this video was choreographed for an illusion of reality.
To sum up, the viral video falsely claims that the video shows a real incident involving French paramilitary women and migrant miscreants. Instead, it is a choreographed stunt performed by trainees at the Campus Univers Cascades, a stunt training centre.


Russian Lawmakers Will Debate Legislation Against Back Tattoos for Women · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Russia’s parliament will soon debate its next intervention into the lives of citizens: forcing tattoo parlors to warn women that ink in their lower backs could make it dangerous to receive epidural anesthesia during child birth. The legislation, which the Duma is scheduled to discuss today, October 10, is billed as a consumer protection regulation, but many—if not most—Russians seem to interpret it as the latest in a series of laws aimed at curbing supposedly immoral behavior. Reactions have been even more animated because several Russian news outlets misleadingly describe the initiative as an effort to ban outright lower-back tattoos for women.
In comment threads online, in forums and social media apparently dominated by men, the discussion about lower-back tattoos on women has more to do with aesthetics than health concerns. “A cute booty without all kinds of painted crap is a lot prettier,” Aleks3 writes on the Vott.ru message board, posting links to images of women’s midriffs, one tattooed, and one au naturel. “Feel the difference,” he beckons readers.
Another charming lad, who uses the Vott.ru name “Fosnet” and evidently supports the effort to rein in back tattoos on women, declares, “a tattoo on the ass is already evidence of some disability in the head. Childbirth is hardly something to add.”
Russian-language RT shared its coverage of the tattoo story on Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular online social network, where users left almost 200 comments. Again, most of the responses belong to men whose overriding concern is the degree to which a lower-back tattoo signals a woman’s sexual promiscuity. “I think that such tattoos are found on whores and sluts, who, considering their lifestyle, should be banned in principle from having children, as they’ll only give birth to the same kind of people,” writes Alexey Maslov, before adding, “Maybe I’m mistaken.”
Tatiana Seminchenko, a young woman living in Krasnodar, dared to engage Maslov on the question of “Why do you think this way?” He answered that tattoos on women belong to a “whole, global plan” by Europe, “with its incest and samesex marriage.”
Male chauvinism and homophobia are nothing new—not in Russia or anywhere else—but it’s hard to ignore how the Duma’s new effort to protect women from tattoos dovetails with the country’s current reactionary trends. As the conflict in eastern Ukraine simmers on an uneasy ceasefire, Russian lawmakers might consider returning to the prewar politics of moral outrage. Before Moscow battled the “fascists” seated in Kyiv, it spent years guarding Russians from wicked foreign foster parents and dubious sexual deviants. Legislation against “back tattoos on women,” ostensibly based on medical considerations, has the potential to please a large segment of people who already fear the West’s “whole plan.”


Kyrgyzstan: Nepotism · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

T-Moor discusses the Kyrgyz president's response to criticism over his appointment of his brother to a government post.


Libya: Qaddafi’s Fashion · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

In a “little sartorial digression” Lalla Lydia picks on Libyan president Colonel Muammer Al Qaddafi and Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed's fashion.


FUTO expells 10 students, rusticates 103 over exam malpractices | EduCeleb
Chukwudi Chukwudubem
17th July 2019
The management of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, (FUTO) has expelled 10 students and rusticated 103 others over examination malpractices.
A bulletin of the University, FUTO News, released this week indicated that the Biology Department recorded four casualties, the highest of all.
Biotechnology had two; Biochemistry, one; Maritime Management Technology, one, and Information Management Technology one.
“At its 144th meeting, the Senate considered the report on the cases of the students accused of examination misconduct, during the 2016/2017 Rain Semester examinations and found them liable for being in possession of cell phones, which contained answers relevant to the examination,” it read in part.
Also, the FUTO management rusticated 103 students, “following Senate consideration at the same meeting, of a report on examination misconduct, which found them liable of impersonation and copying from one another.”
Meanwhile, the sanctions also affected some staff (names withheld) whose appointments were either terminated, or got dismissed or suspended from duty.
The appointment of staff of FUTO International Secondary School, according to FUTO News, was also terminated, for alleged “gross misconduct, bordering on the case of abandonment of duty.”
While the university management, after considering the report and recommendations of the Junior Staff Disciplinary Advisory Committee, found a staff (name withheld), of the Biological Sciences, liable of dishonesty, it also ordered his dismissal, with effect from February 21.
FUTO management also found another staff (names withheld) “guilty of unauthorised sale of university properties and consequently suspended him from duty for three months, with effect from April 9.”


Lebanon: Bottomless Pit · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Jamal Ghosn summarizes why Lebanon is redefining his understanding of what an abyss might look like.


China: Come-and-go of Confucius · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from the Ministry of Tofu explains the political implications of the appearance and disappearance of the sculpture of Confucius in Tiananmen Square.


Bahrain: Ouch! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif writes about a bizarre medical case here.  You will have carefully examine the X-rays to believe your eyes. ***WARNING: Not for the faint of heart.


Armenia: Energy Globe Award · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Cicer et cetera, the blog of the Deputy Director of the Boston-based Armenian Tree Project, reports on the organization's award for one of its projects in Armenia at the Energy Globe Awards recently held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The blogs gives a brief overview of the project.


Kenya: air crash · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Steve Ntwiga Mugiri reports and comments on the Kenyan air crash last Monday...”The death of these citizens is a great loss to the country especially that of Dr. Godana whom I feel was one of the few politicians in the country who used his solid educational and professional as a launch pad to champion the cause of his constituency and Kenyans in general in a very articulate and public way”


Nigeria: WSIS  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories reports from WSIS in Tunis on the World Youth Congress…..”At the congress young people from different parts of the world came together to discuss the issues that affect them in the prevailing era of Information and Communications Technologies.”


El Salvador: Remembering El Mozote Massacre 30 Years Later · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Tim's El Salvador Blog will publish a series of posts on the El Mozote Massacre, which took place 30 years ago on December 11, 1981: “All but one of the civilians taking refuge in the small village of El Mozote, more than 800 men, women, children and babies, were brutally killed by the Salvadoran army.” His first post presents basic facts of this “tragedy the world must never forget.”


Developer Pitches New Public Library Branch as Part of Hamilton West Harbour Pier 8 Bid – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

March 16, 2018
Hamilton’s Chief Librarian says the Urban Capital / Core Urban Inc bidding group for Hamilton’s Pier 8 development is seeking to enter a public-private partnership to build a new library branch on Hamilton’s waterfront.
Urban Capital/Core Urban is one of five developer groups shortlisted to bid on purchasing the Pier 8 lands from the City. Urban Capital/Core Urban Inc is seeking to include a library branch as part of their bid for the project. Final bid proposals are due to the City of Hamilton this month.
Paul Takala writes, in a letter dated March 2nd released this afternoon, the Library administration is interested in discussing the idea of a Pier 8 branch.
“We appreciate Urban Core Inc. [sic] & Urban Capital’s vision and commitment to creating such public spaces” Takala writes. “I am therefore pleased to extend a non-exclusive Expression of Interest in locating a public library as part of the Pier 8 development.”
Takala writes before the Library can make a formal commitment, an ongoing independent evaluate of city-wide library needs to be completed. The report is expected in Q2 2018.
The opening of a North End waterfront library branch will require operating funding from City Council. Takala writes the Library “welcomes the opportunity to work with developers to create a public private partnership to assist with initial funding of a library building, however, we need to ensure we are able to secure sustainable sufficient operational funds for the library.”
Takala’s letter outlines the requirements for a library branch, stating “we think it is important that the public library and other public amenities located at Pier 8
not only serve the new residents of condo developments but also serve adjacent neighbourhoods in the North End and help make the Waterfront a destination for people from all across Hamilton and beyond”.
The letter was released Friday afternoon as part of the Hamilton Public Library Board agenda package. The Library Board will discuss the developers request as part of their monthly meeting on Wednesday March 21. The meeting begins at 6pm on the fifth floor of the Central Library branch and is open to the public. The Library Board streams their meetings at: http://www.hpl.ca/livestream
The Hamilton Public Library’s former North End branch at 502 James Street North was closed in June 2009.
There is a growing public campaign for the City of Hamilton to not sell the Discovery Centre building on Pier 8; with numerous people calling 0n Ward 2 City Councillor Jason Farr to stop the sale until public consultation occurs. Ideas for the Discovery Centre building include a library branch combining a civic museum and the Hamilton Public Library’s local history department.
A public meeting on the future of the Discovery Centre is scheduled for Thursday, March 29th, 7:00 pm at 294 James St N.
The City’s plans for the Pier 8 lands is presently subject to three appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board. Our story on the OMB prehearing is here: OMB Will Review Council’s Potential Conflict on Pier 8 as Both Approving Authority and Land Seller
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly repeated the error in the HPL letter. The developer group is Urban Capital and Core Urban Inc, not Urban Core Inc as earlier stated. The Public Record regrets the error.


Analysis - Missing village, street voices in Zimbabwe elections - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
July 20, 2018
By Earnest Mudzengi
IF you are you an avid reader, a discerning viewer and listener who is looking for multiple voices and diversely sourced stories about the Zimbabwe elections, you must be a frustrated person.
If you are, then we are in the same boat. The problem that we are facing is one of “homogeneously or narrowly sourced narratives” that do not place the community and citizens at the centre of the electoral process.
No complaints?
It is intriguing that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)’s Media Monitoring Committee says it is not receiving any complaints about the media’s wayward behaviour in electoral reportage.  Even more shocking is how the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (ZINEF) dismisses as mere perception successive findings by Media Monitors that players across the media divide have taken partisan slants in covering the elections.
The new normal?
We are facing or living a tragedy that has become “the new normal” in our media.  This sort of culture emanates at source.
Yes, the source of our news.
As you and I have been taught to believe, the goodness of the story is only to the extent that its source or sources are. The strength of a well-sourced story is in balanced, diversified and relevant detail that connects to everyday concerns and interests of everyday people.
“Discerning citizens are yearning for diversified and widely ranging news sources that enable us to enjoy progressive, democratic citizenship.”
No citizens’ voices
In this election season, discerning citizens are yearning for diversified and widely ranging news sources that enable us to enjoy progressive, democratic citizenship. We look forward to stories that empower us to make informed political choices, stories that empower us to engage meaningfully with the political processes.
Outside the usual voices of political leaders, the candidates and their party structures, there are hardly stories capturing the views of ordinary people, “wananchi”, the povo in the villages of Chiweshe, Chiredzi, Tsholotsho, Matobo and Chimanimani.
We hardly also meet the voices from the streets of Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Kariba.
When I do, I am not getting those stories in a meaningful quantity or quality.
Such stories, which we are desperately missing, must have a cross-section of voices. They must be conceived from community-wide sources that represent a multiplicity of electoral concerns and interests.
Same political, NGOs voices
While experts, politicians and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that present themselves as civil society are necessary for purposes of balance and verification, these need not be the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, as is the case with Zimbabwe’s obtaining news sourcing trends.
It is this narrow sourcing of news that has seen our journalism being manipulated by self-seeking elites.
Political manipulation
Instead of telling the election story as seen from the worldview of citizens in their collective sense, our media have been submerged into captured spaces that uphold the political and economic interests of a few political elites. The voices of these few now dominate the making of our news. Where we have voices of ‘political analysts’, ‘experts’ and what is often presented as civil society, they but reinforce the elite narrative.
From such warped news sourcing, we cannot help but wallow in manipulated, monopolised, almost predictable election story telling. Yet, with right sourcing scopes, we should be having engaging, captivating stories through which the media presents elections as a multi-stakeholder affair.
Marginalised voices
I am looking for a multi-stakeholder affair in which voices, interests and concerns of villagers, ordinary workers and many others are equitably projected and represented in ways that deepen the democratic process.
This sort of representation and projection is what constitutes good, well-sourced stories.
We are still waiting for more stories that are relevant to a cross-section of audiences, stories with sufficient, verified and verifiable facts. Stories that provide context, stories that are not so predictable.
I believe that if our sourcing is right, we will also have stories that capture emotions, stories that empower communities and stories that connect the election debate to deeper and broader socio-economic and cultural themes.
A majority of Zimbabweans are looking for a media that is able to escape from the clutches of the usual political forces and voices, a media that is not going to be dependent on press releases and scripts from the propaganda arms of political parties and charismatic sects.
Author: Earnest Mudzengi is executive director of the Media Centre in Harare which offers freelance Zimbabwean journalists working space, and facilities for Press conferences and workshops.
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