Categories: News & Events

Zuma’s new fiancee forced to quit job

The woman who is set to become the seventh wife of South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma has been forced to resign from her job at She Conquers, a non-governmental organisation, local media reports.  Nonkanyiso Conco’s “affiliation” with Mr Zuma – 52 years her senior – was contrary to the organisation’s campaign to “empower young women in every phase of their lives”, and to end reliance on sugar daddies, She Conquers’ leadership said in a statement quoted by Daily Maverick news site.

Ms Conco, 24, gave birth to Mr Zuma’s child last week, in what staff at a private hospital in the coastal city of Durban described as a “VIP delivery”.

Mr Zuma, 76, currently has four wives, including one from whom he is separated, and more than 20 children. A fifth wife took her own life in 2000, and a sixth one – who was his preferred presidential successor – divorced him in 2008.

ZIMBABWE: Govt sets up election violence courts

Special courts in Zimbabwe have been set up around the country to deal with cases of political violence and intimidation ahead of elections which are due in July, the police say. These are the first polls since Robert Mugabe was forced to step down as president last November.

Mr Mugabe’s former ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa – the current president – has pledged to hold a peaceful, fair vote.

Previous elections were marred by violence as the police and military were used to intimidate the opposition and keep Mr Mugabe in power.

MADAGASCAR: Thousands protest new electoral laws

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, two days after a similar protest was broken up by the police, leaving two people dead and several seriously injured.

The protesters carried the victim’s coffin to a public square where they continued to denounce new electoral laws.

Imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist wins 2018 UN Press Freedom Prize

Mahmoud Abu Zeid, a photojournalist who has been in jail for nearly five years after being arrested for covering a demonstration in Cairo, has won the 2018 Press Freedom Prize.

According to the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Zeid was selected to receive the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize, the UN agency said.

An independent jury of media professionals selected Zeid, known as Shawkan, for the prize.

The prize would be awarded on May 2, to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO said.

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“The choice of Mahmoud Abu Zeid pays tribute to his courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression,’’ Maria Ressa, President of the jury, said.

According to UNESCO, Zeid has been in jail since Aug. 14, 2013, when he was arrested while covering a demonstration at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo.

In early 2017, the prosecutor in his case reportedly called for the death penalty.

His arrest and detention had been deemed arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and contrary to the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The 25,000-dollar prize recognises a person, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence or promotion of press freedom, especially in the face of danger.

It is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist, who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on Dec. 17, 1986.

It is funded by the Cano Foundation (Colombia) and the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland).

UNESCO would lead the 25th celebration of World Press Freedom Day next week in Accra.

The global theme for 2018 is: “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law”.

The theme covers issues such as media and the transparency of the political process, the independence and media literacy of the judicial system and contemporary challenges of ensuring press freedom online.

Zeid, who is still in detention and more than 700 other people, face many charges, which include belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, possessing firearms and murder.

He will have a hearing on April 24, (today), but no verdict is expected. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

He denies all charges, his lawyer, Karim el-Rady said.

International rights organisations, including Amnesty International and The Committee to Protect Journalists, have repeatedly denounced Shawkan’s imprisonment and urged the Egyptian authorities to drop charges against him.




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