Algerian Police Block Pro-Democracy Demonstration

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May 15, 2021

Algerian police prevented a pro-democracy protest rally from taking place in the capital Algiers, detaining several people including journalists.

Eye witnesses say Demonstrators were preparing to take part in the weekly Hirak movement protest when they were jostled and taken into custody by police in the city centre.

Around ten other journalists and photographers were also detained, among them Khaled Drareni, correspondent for French-language TV5 Monde and press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), according to the CNLD prisoners’ rights group.

Some of those detained were released later in the day, including Drareni, according to online media.

Drareni, also the founder of the Casbah Tribune online news site, became a symbol of the struggle for press freedom in Algeria after being incarcerated for almost a year.

Marches went ahead in other Algerian cities, including Oran, and in Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou in the northern Kabylia region.

The CNLD reported numerous people taken into custody across the country, from Hirak activists to opposition figures including Mohcine Belabbas, head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD).

The interior ministry this week said that Hirak protest organisers would have to advise authorities of protests in advance, and that failing to respect these rules renders the march illegal and will lead to punishment.

DR Congo Sentences 30 People To Death Over Clashes

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Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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Thirty people have been sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a one-day trial for their role in anti-police violence marking the end of Ramadan in the capital.

The regional government said that in addition to the police officer killed several people were hurt and one police vehicle was burned in the fighting outside the Martyrs’ Stadium.

According to officials, a policeman was killed in Kinshasa on Thursday as rival Muslim groups fought over the right to mark the end of Ramadan at a major sports stadium

Elsewhere, a lawyer for civil parties, Chief Tshipamba, said 30 people were sentenced to death in a trial that had started on Friday, a day after the violence allegedly took place.

DR Congo has not carried out death penalties since a moratorium was introduced in 2003. Since then, death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment.

Iran Heavyweights Raisi And Larijani Enter Presidential Race

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Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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Two of Iran’s political heavy-hitters, ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi and moderate conservative Ali Larijani, on Saturday joined the Presidential Race coming up next month.

Iranians are due to elect a successor to moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term, on June 18.

First to join the race on Saturday was Larijani, a long-time parliament speaker and now advisor to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, submitting his name at the interior ministry early on the final day of registration.

The other contender, Judiciary chief and one-time presidential hopeful Raisi announced his candidacy in a statement, before appearing at the ministry to sign up.

Former judge Raisi was the leading rival to Rouhani in the 2017 election, and is seen as the main figure for the conservative camp this year.

Larijani on the other hand is a supporter of the 2015 nuclear deal, which offered Iran a relief from sanctions, in return to limitations on its nuclear activities.

The deal has been on life-support since former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from it in 2018, and reimposed punishing sanctions on Tehran.

Sources close to the two had for weeks given media contradictory remarks, fuelling an intense debate on whether they would run.

This is Larijani’s second run for the presidency. He ran in 2005, which saw a surprise victory by the ultraconservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who has also put his name in to run as well.

Entertainment: Nollywood Produced 416 Movies In Q1 2021 – NBS

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Emenike Agu

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May 15, 2021

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, produced 416 movies in the first quarter of 2021, a decline compared to 903 movies produced in the last quarter of 2020.

The NBS disclosed this in its report titled ‘Nollywood Movies Production Data – Q2 2017 to Q1 2021’ on Friday in Abuja.

However, compared to Q1 2020, there was a 2.21% growth as Nollywood produced 407 movies same period in 2020. The NBS did not disclose reasons for the 54% decline in production between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021.

The data provided by National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) and verified by NBS also disclosed that other cities including Benin and Bauchi contributed to movie production for the period with at least 2 movies.

What you should know about Nollywood

Nollywood’s continued international expansion has seen Nigerian online media distribution company, IROKO announce plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market by 2022.
IROKO will raise between $20 million and $30 million valuing the company at $80 million to $100 million. Founder, Jason Njoku holds an 18% stake in the company.

Former Italy PM Berlusconi Released From Milan Hospital

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Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was released Saturday from hospital after being admitted earlier in the week for complications linked to a coronavirus infection last year.

The 84-year-old, who has been in and out of hospital in recent weeks, managed to exit Milan’s San Raffaele hospital while evading a throng of photographers and TV cameras awaiting his release outside one of the central doors.

Italian newswire AGI wrote that Berlusconi was on his way to his home outside Milan after being released.

He was admitted on Tuesday, making it the fourth time this year the media tycoon was hospitalised.

Berlusconi has dominated public life in Italy for decades, but has been set back by a string of health issues in recent years, including open heart surgery in 2016.

He was admitted to a hospital in Monaco for heart problems in January, just months after spending 11 days in the hospital in September after contracting coronavirus.

Chileans Head To Polls To Pick Architects Of New Constitution

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Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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Chileans began to vote on Saturday in a mega-election in which they will pick mayors, governors, councillors and critically, the 155 men and women who will draft the country’s next constitution.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and by mid-morning, voters were arriving in a steady stream to mark their preference on four differently-coloured ballot papers.

Citizens have a full weekend to cast their votes as the authorities seek to avoid crowds gathering, exacerbating a second wave of the so-called COVID-19 pandemic.

A central demand to emerge from fierce social protests that erupted over inequality and elitism in October 2019 was Changing the constitution

More than 7.5 million people voted in last year’s plebiscite to tear up the current constitution which was drafted in 1980 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Chile’s centre-right government is hoping for at least seven million people from the 19 million-strong population to participate in this weekend’s election.

President Sebastian Pinera’s Chile Vamos coalition is hoping for the candidates it has fielded to draft the constitution to win at least a third of seats to shield Chile’s free-market model from any drastic changes which would require at least two thirds’ approval.

Meanwhile swathes of Chile remain under strict lockdown with Health Minister Enrique Paris stating that the country’s high vaccination rate meant voting was safe but urged people to head home straight afterwards.

China Makes History With Successful Mars Landing

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Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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China has become the second country in history to safely land its rover on the surface of Mars, a triumph for Beijing’s increasingly bold space ambitions.

The Tianwen-1 spacecraft was launched in July last year, and it had been orbiting Mars since February this year. The mission consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover.

So far only the United States has successfully managed to land its rovers on the planet and also deploy them for exploration. The former Soviet Union did manage to land on Mars, but the mission only a partial success as they lost contact soon after landing.

The rover, named Zhurong, will now survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections. Named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong has six scientific instruments including a high-resolution topography camera.

It will study the planet’s surface soil and atmosphere. Zhurong will also look for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice, using a ground-penetrating radar.

Zhurong has ground-penetrating radar, which is expected to reveal the geological processes that led to the formation of the red planet. Zhurong’s spectrometer includes a laser-based technology that can zap rocks to study them.

Several US, Russian and European attempts to land rovers on Mars have failed in the past, most recently in 2016 with the crash-landing of the Schiaparelli joint Russian-European spacecraft.

The latest successful arrival came in February, when US space agency NASA landed its rover Perseverance, which has since been exploring the planet.

Myanmar Army Battles Anti-Coup Rebels

By

Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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Myanmar’s army on Saturday battled local militia fighters in the northwestern town of Mindat, to try to quell a rebellion that has sprung up in opposition to the junta which seized power in February.

The fighting is reportedly some of the heaviest since the coup and highlights the growing chaos amidst daily protests, strikes and sabotage attacks after it overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The junta imposed martial law in Mindat on Thursday and then stepped up attacks on what it has described as armed terrorists adding that security forces would work day and night to bring order.

Army-controlled Myawaddy television said around 1,000unscrupulous people had attacked with small arms and homemade grenades in recent days, and that some members of the security forces were killed and others missing.

However, Doctor Sasa, minister of international cooperation in a shadow National Unity Government set up to rival the junta said Five civilians had been killed in Mindat in the past two days.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar also said in a statement that the military’s use of weapons of war against civilians, including this week in Mindat, is a show of the extent the regime would go in order to hold on to power.

The statement has also called on the military to cease violence against civilians.

JAMB Postpones 2021 UTME

By

Emenike Agu

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May 15, 2021

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has shifted the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) from June 19 to July 3.

The Board also announced the extension of registration for the examination by 2 weeks, with the exercise now to end on May 29.

This disclosure was made by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, at an ongoing press conference on Saturday in Abuja.

Oloyede said that the decision was the outcome of a 2-day stakeholders’ meeting the board had in Abuja.

The examination was earlier slated to hold between June 5 and 19.

He stated during the press conference that JAMB expects that the 2-week extension will provide more candidates an opportunity to register for the examination.

The JAMB Registrar while reading the board’s communique after the meeting also said the Mock UTME earlier scheduled for 20th May will now hold on June 3 adding that only 1,134,424 candidates (UTME+DE) have so far been registered.

What JAMB Registrar is saying

Professor Oloyede, in his statement, said, “Desirous of affording prospective candidates more time to complete their registration for the 2021 UTME/DE, which was expected to end on Saturday, May 15, 2021, stakeholders recommended a two-week extension for registration, to now end on May 29, 2021.

“The extension is contingent upon stakeholders’ firm commitment to deliver on their respective responsibilities.

“Accordingly, the 2021 Mock UTME earlier scheduled for 20th May 2021 will now hold on June 3, 2021, while the main UTME will hold from June 19 – July 3, 2021. JAMB will dispatch monitoring teams to all States of the Federation and the FCT during the extension period.”

The board directed computer-based test centres (CBT) to stop selling ePINs and also not to collect registration fee until completion of registration, warning that flouting this directive would attract appropriate sanctions.

The statement also says, “Stakeholders reiterated the prohibition of group registration for candidates, with the threat of sanction against any CBT centre that violates the instruction.

“CBT centres are directed to open all twenty (20) allowable registration points to, ease congestion at the centres.

“Candidates for Direct Entry are reminded to, while procuring their ePIN, specify their category of admission. However, where a DE candidate mistakenly purchases an ePIN for UTME, the selling point is hereby directed to rectify the error by swapping the ePIN to DE at no further cost to the candidate.

“Digital Service Providers are encouraged to expand their facilities, including the provision of redundancy links. NIMC pledged to give priority attention to UTME/DE prospective candidates.

“All prospective candidates and other Users who have not received a response from 55019 are requested to send their Tracking ID or NIN to nimc jamb2021@nimc.gov.ng.However, those who had obtained their NIN through unauthorised sources will have to go to the NIMC office to resolve their challenges.

“NIMC further pledged to deploy special monitoring teams and to sanction any NIMC agent found extorting candidates in the cause of enrolment.

“Against the background of its below-par performance, one of the operators gave firm assurance of the optimisation of its services during the extension of the registration and examination.

“Stakeholders implored the Federal Ministry of Education to discourage parents from seeking to register underage and immature candidates to pursue tertiary education ahead of their time.”

South Africa’s Magashule Drags ANC To Court

By

Zoe Maven

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May 15, 2021

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A top official in South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has taken the party to court to challenge his suspension pending charges of fraud and corruption against him.

Ace Magashule is the secretary-general of the ANC and a fierce political rival of party leader and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the move has heightening tensions within the fractured organization once led by Nelson Mandela.

Magashule’s decision to go to court is viewed as a direct challenge to Ramaphosa’s drive to rid the ANC of the corruption that has damaged its image over the past decade.

National broadcaster SABC reported Friday that Magashule’s lawyers had filed the papers at the Gauteng High Court on Thursday.

In court papers, Magashule has questioned the legality of the party rule, pushed by Ramaphosa, which forces ANC officials facing criminal charges to ‘step aside’ from their positions until their cases are finalized.

Magashule has said the rule undermines the constitutional principle of a person being innocent until proven guilty.

ANC officials have been implicated in series of corruption scandals over the last decade, most notably under the rule of former party leader and former South African president Jacob Zuma, whose own corruption trial is due to start next week.

Some ANC leaders have already resigned from their positions under the ‘step aside’ rule and others may be suspended in the coming weeks if they do not stand down.