Monday, October 3, 2022

Ayinde Summey

DRC attack leaves 12 rangers dead in park famed for gorillas

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By: Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: 12 rangers from the Virunga National Park in the DRC, famed for its gorillas, have been killed in an attack by suspected Hutu rebels. SOURCE: Francesco Ungaro, Pexels

A deadly armed attack on a village in the Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo has left 18 people dead.

According to park officials, among those killed in the raid by about 60 suspected members of Hutu militia Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) were 12 park rangers who were protecting a convoy of civilians.

Virunga is the oldest national park in Africa and is home to about half of the world’s gorillas drawing many visitors. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The park authorities said the attack near Rumangabo Village has resulted in substantial loss of life. Park staff and rangers were killed as they tried to defend villagers. However, a statement added, the information about the attackers was still not clear.

“At this time, all available information indicates that this was an attack on the local civilian population.”

While rangers and other workers were not the primary target many lost their lives helping villagers. About 200 rangers have been killed in past attacks.

The armed Hutu rebel group was formed in 2000 with the aim of countering Tutsi influence in the region. They are considered to be one of the last factions still involved in remnant battles arising from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that resulted in the deaths of almost a million Rwandans. 

South Africans face extended coronavirus restrictions

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By Skylar Thoma and Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma speaks at a press briefing Thursday, announcing that some lockdown regulations “will remain in place for a long time”. SOURCE: Screen grab from Twitter @PresidencyZA

South Africa is facing an extended period of coronavirus restrictions – even if the country’s lockdown is partially lifted on April 30.

This was the message of Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Thursday as she announced details of a two-week extension of the country’s lockdown which has been in place since March 26.

In a publicly broadcast briefing of the national command council (NCC) on COVID-19, Dlamini-Zuma said that when regulations are eventually lifted, this would have to be done gradually. “When we do stop the lockdown, we cannot do it abruptly – that today it’s complete lockdown and tomorrow it’s open completely”, she explained. “We have to phase it in, so that there is an orderly move towards normality.”

Many of the regulations that have been in place since the start of the lockdown are being extended, the NCC announced. These include the existing ban on cigarettes and current restrictions around funerals, which limit the number of attendees to 50 people.

But some amendments have been introduced. Dlamini-Zuma said the government is expanding the ban on liquor products by banning the transport of alcoholic beverages. Earlier this week the Gauteng Liquor Forum threatened legal action against the government if it did not ease restrictions on alcohol sales. The government asked the organisation to wait until Friday for an official response. The Forum has not yet responded to the announcement of the extension of the liquor ban. 

The government is also beginning to open up the mining industry, allowing many mines to operate at 50 percent capacity. Dlamini-Zuma added that “all the mines that supply Eskom must be fully operational”.

“Some [regulations] will remain in place for a very long time”, Dlamini-Zuma said, although she did not specify which these would be.

As of Thursday South Africa had 2605 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Worldwide there are now over 2 million cases with over 140,000 deaths. 

Other countries are contemplating how and when to relax their measures to combat the virus. Japan announced Thursday that the government is extending lockdown measures to the entire country, intensifying its State of Emergency which was introduced less than two weeks ago in some of the country’s prefectures. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to limit contact among the public by 80%,” reported Kyoto News. 

In the United Kingdom, foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that stay home orders will be in place for at least another three weeks to avoid damage to the economy and public health.

Raab told reporters that according to research done by Sage, a company advising the UK government,  the infection rate in the country is below one per person, meaning each infected person is passing on the virus to one or less than one person. The government wants the rate to reduce further and is concerned that lifting the restrictions might cause another peak.

“We have been very clear that we will take the right decisions at the right moments based on the evidence. And they may well involve a transition out of the current measures. And, of course, they could be calibrated in different ways.” The Guardian reported Raab saying.

Five conditions will have to be met before restrictions can be lifted.

Among these are whether the NHS is able to handle the infection load; whether the death rate is consistently falling (to indicate whether the peak has passed throughout the country), and that there are sufficient testing spaces and PPE to account for future demand.

The Guardian quoted Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific advisor saying that to disrupt transmission and avoid a second wave, it would likely be necessary for people to prepare to work from home for a long period of time. Medicines and vaccines that are also essential have not yet been identified and, there is currently no way to tell when that will arrive, he said.

South Africa tightens travel restrictions – but the Easter bunny gets a pass

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By Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: Vehicles at a roadblock in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The Minister of Transport has warned that strict enforcement of lockdown rules will be applied over the Easter weekend. Source: Twitter @SouthernStaying

While South African children may be stuck at home this Easter, there is one bit of good news: the Easter Bunny has been given permission to travel across the country to deliver his load of chocolate eggs.

An official letter signed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism Mamaloko Kubaye-Ngubane has authorized the bunny to travel to all parts of the country to perform an essential service to children “which includes but not exclusive to chocolate egg deliveries”.

Among other places where the bunny will roam freely on Sunday is New Zealand, where he has been declared an Essential Worker, and the island of Sark, where an emergency work permit has been issued for the purposes of “essential island travel, inter-burrow visits and home delivery of standard seasonal confectionery”.

For other citizens, however, there will be no special passes for Easter travel. Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has warned of severe consequences for anyone found breaking the lockdown rules. Many people have been caught flouting the orders across the country. “This conduct demonstrates a worrying trend which must be roundly condemned by both government and civil society. Those who undermine efforts to arrest the spread of this pandemic must face the full might of the law and equally face condemnation by society, as their behavior places the lives of millions at risk.” He said in a press release issued by the department.

In a tweet, the minister said law enforcement would be intensified. 

“… Authorities will not hesitate to ensure that the full might of the law is brought to bear on those who continue to break it.” 

Unlawful road use has worsened since the implementation of the order which been happening across the country. Briefly reports that as of Wednesday, 30,000 vehicles had been stopped countrywide, 196 of them stopped as their drivers were trying to cross provincial lines.

“E-hailing providers that failed to adhere to passenger limits for a vehicle licensed to carry four passengers increased from 42 on Monday and peaked at 509 on Wednesday,” said Mbalula.

Funerals during a pandemic

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By Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: The burial of a coronavirus victim in Saudi Arabia. Source: @MedinahDate

As the global coronavirus pandemic has affected many parts of our lives, death rituals across cultures have not been spared.  

Countries like the United States have banned funeral gatherings to prevent virus transmission, while other countries such as the UK potentially looking to do the same. In South Africa funerals are still allowed but the number of mourners has been restricted and only certain categories of people related to the deceased may attend.  

Across the world there is concern about the numbers of mourners gathering to attend services. Social distancing measures are making the events stressful for families.

The BBC reports that this has prompted former Welsh lawmaker Lorraine Barrett to suggest a ban on funeral services in Wales. There the enforcement of social distancing has required that mourners keep at least 2 meters from one another. She believes that this is difficult to achieve at a funeral. 

Former Welsh Assembly Member Lorraine Barrett

Barrett told the broadcaster that while the limits imposed by various crematoriums and funeral parlours have been put in place to facilitate gatherings, the social distancing measures mean that people are not able to get the comfort they need as they grieve.

Current guidelines allow only immediate family member to be in attendance but Barrett questioned how this could be determined and who would be allowed to attend.

“I’ve dealt with families with 10 siblings, 25 grandchildren, and I’ve heard of families now who are having to decide which members of their family can go and it’s really, really distressing,” Barrett told the BBC.

In Iraq and other countries in the Arab world, burial procedures have been drastically altered.  

In normal circumstances, the bodies of the deceased would be washed and prepared by community members. This goes against World Health Organization guidelines which advise against physical contact.  

It has also been difficult to find places to conduct burials because of anxiety about contamination of corpses and possible virus transmission. The family members of people who have died of other causes are resisting burials of COVID-19 victims in the same site as their loved ones. This has resulted in delays on arranging the burials. 

“It look eight days to get the body of my father from the morgue” Abdul-Hadi Majid, an Iraqi soldier who were among a group that were forced to wait. 

Lockdown affects weddings in KZN and Western Cape

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By Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: Police escort a bride to a waiting police van after they arrested her for breaking the coronavirus regulations at her wedding in Richards Bay at the weekend. The image has been widely shared on social media. Source: Twitter.

What was supposed to be a joyous wedding celebrated under the year-round South African sun turned into a catastrophe with the arrest of the entire wedding party of 53 people in Richards Bay at the weekend. 

The couple were arrested after they were reported anonymously to the police for breaking the mandatory government regulations governing social distancing during the nationwide shutdown due to COVID-19.  

This is the second time a wedding party has been broken up by police in the KwaZulu Natal province since the start of the lockdown. The couple was in the middle of declaring their vows when several heavily armed police officers arrived.  

The police are under instruction to arrest those violating the government’s orders to stay at home.  

At the previous incident, at a considerably larger event, the police arrived after the vows ceremony and just as the party was about to eat. In this instance, the police asked the crowd to disperse and arrested only the bride and groom, who were fined R1000. 

Other prospective brides and grooms have been making sure they don’t similarly face the long arm of the law.  

In Cape Town, one couple went through with their big day anyway – but with a difference. They exchanged vows with cardboard cutout figures to serve as “guests” while their dog acted as the ring-bearer.  

Dan Mace surprised his fiancee Gabi Esterhuizen with a home vows ceremony on the day they should have been married – attended by a number of cardboard ‘guests’. Source: Dan Mace YouTube

The groom, Dan Mace, had contracted coronavirus on a trip to the US and had been quarantined before the wedding.

He and fiancee Gabi Esterhuizen had hoped to find a way to have a ceremony despite the government’s orders but realised they would have to postpone. So Mace decided to surprise Esterhuizen with an alternative ceremony in their garden, sharing their big moment on YouTube.  

Mace told the Cape Times he was not against the restrictions.  

“I think that our president as well as the supporting organisations have taken bold but well needed steps to ensure that we beat this virus, but that can only happen if we work together and follow the rules,”  he said.

The couple still plans to have a formal wedding with their original guests in December and they will take the extra time to finetune their long-delayed ceremony for the summer. 

200 Homeless People Escape Mandatory Shelter in Pretoria

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By Ayinde Summey

Caption: Homeless people at the Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria. Photo: Department of Social Development.

Authorities in Pretoria this week found themselves with a headache after their efforts to provide accommodation for homeless people in a local stadium has been rejected by some.

Tshwane Law Enforcement officers relocated more than 2 000 homeless people to the Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria. There they were given shelter with food. However the conditions became an issue for some people. Crowding also became a problem and no one was allowed to leave.

Yesterday, several news outlets reported that about 200 people had escaped from the shelter, taking advantage of distracted and severely outnumbered police officers.

The escapees said there was insufficient and poor quality food being supplied.

The authorities reportedly had not anticipated that so many people would need to be accommodated.

Instead of trying to fit all the homeless people into the Caledonian Stadium, it will be used as an initial screening centre before people are allocated accommodation. New locations for homeless people are now being set up.

Yesterday Social Development Minister Bogopane Zulu visited the stadium to see for herself what conditions people are being kept in and to monitor lockdown regulations.

Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

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This painting of a black woman in an upscale restaurant in Durban’s Florida Rd shows the stark contrast between how this area looks today compared to 25 years ago when the area was predominantly white. The painting shows an elegant black African woman in a beautiful light, something also not necessarily desired historically in white South African society. (Ayinde Summey)

Photo of the Day, 5 February 2020

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The Flame of Democracy at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg commemorates the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the Republic. While being located outside the Constitutional Court which was formerly a colonial prison, it is to show that the nation will not return to totalitarianism and institutionalized oppression. (Ayinde Summey)

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