Dozens Of Evacuees From Sudan Arrive In Kenya

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April 25, 2023

The first batch of evacuees arrived Kenya on board a Kenya Air Force plane, and were received by Defence Secretary at the airport in Nairobi.

Addressing reporters, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Defence Aden Duale said the first successful evacuation flight that has delivered 39 evacuees of which 19 are Kenyans, 19 of Somalian nationality and one evacuee is from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

More evacuations are underway, with the foreign ministry stating that three evacuation programs were active.

As fighting continues in Sudan, a stream of European, Mideast, African and Asian military aircraft flew into Khartoum all day Sunday and Monday to extract foreign nationals who were moving past combatants at the city’s tense front lines.

Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuations on Saturday. A boat from Sudan carrying nearly 200 people from 14 countries reached the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah late Monday, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

According to reports, So far, 356 people have been evacuated to the kingdom from Sudan with 101 being Saudis and 255 foreigners from more than 20 countries.

Egypt’s military last week evacuated 177 soldiers, and on Sunday the foreign ministry said 436 citizens had left by land.

Elsewhere, over 200 Moroccans were taken to Port Sudan in convoys organised by their embassy, Rabat said Monday, adding that they would be flown home from there.

Both Algeria and Tunisia have announced rescue operations.

Jordan whose military airports have been used for some rescue flights said Saturday it had begun the evacuation of around 300 citizens with Saudi and UAE cooperation, while 52 Lebanese and 105 Libyans had also left on a Saudi naval vessel.

Migrants Challenge UK-Rwanda Deportation Plan

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Zoe Maven

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April 25, 2023

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Asylum-seekers and refugee groups have started a challenge in court against the British government’s plan to send hundreds of migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda.

Attorney to the group, Raza Husain, argued at the Court of Appeal in London that the policy which describes as “high-profile and controversial” was unlawful, adding that Rwanda was an authoritarian one-party state that imprisons, tortures and murders opponents.

A year ago, Britain and Rwanda signed a deal which would see migrants who arrive in the U.K. in small boats, flown to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and cause granted asylum would stay in Rwanda rather than return to Britain.

At the start of the four-day appeal hearing, Husain said the High Court judges had failed to scrutinize British government assurances that people sent to Rwanda would not suffer ill-treatment.

David Pannick, representing the government, said in written submissions that there were valid reasons why the U.K. government is confident the Rwandan authorities will comply with the assurances.

Britain’s government says the plan will dismantle operations of people-smuggling gangs and prevent migrants from taking risky journeys across the English Channel.

However, Human rights groups argue it’s inhumane and illegal to send people more than 6,400 kilometers to a country they don’t want to live in.

At the moment, no one has been sent to Rwanda under the deal. In December, Britain’s High Court ruled the Rwanda policy was legal, but a group of asylum-seekers from countries including Iran, Iraq and Syria was granted permission to appeal.

More than 45,000 people arrived in Britain by boat in 2022, compared with 8,500 in 2020.

S’Africa’s Ramaphosa Says ANC Wants Country To Quit ICC

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Zoe Maven

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April 25, 2023

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South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says the ruling ANC has called for the country, to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), said Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, Ramaphosa, following a visit by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, said the ruling party has decided that it is prudent for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC The African National Congress (ANC) met over the weekend.

Ramaphosa said the ANC’s decision to withdraw from the ICC was made largely because of the perceived unfair treatment of some countries by the court.

South Africa had previously sought to withdraw from the ICC in 2016 after a visit by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Pretoria had refused to arrest the latter, who was also the subject of an arrest warrant from the court.

But Pretoria’s withdrawal was thwarted by the country’s judiciary, which ruled that such a decision would be unconstitutional.

The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war crime of “deporting” Ukrainian children.

Pretoria is due to host a summit of the BRICS which is a group of countries including South Africa, Brazil, China, India, and Russia – in August. As a member of the ICC, the country is theoretically supposed to arrest the Russian president if he enters its territory.

Ramaphosa, who has met several times with Putin said South Africa refuses to condemn Moscow since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, claiming to adopt a neutral position to be able to play a role in the resolution of conflicts.

The country also hosted naval exercises with Russia and China off its coast in February, causing “concern” on the international scene.

Chelsea’s Reece James Ruled Out Of The Season

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Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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FILE PHOTO: Champions League - Group E - Chelsea v AC Milan — FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Group E - Chelsea v AC Milan - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - October 5, 2022 Chelsea's Mason Mount and Reece James after the match REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard says Reece James will miss the rest of the season and Mason Mount is unlikely to feature in the final seven games.

James has been ruled out after a scan on a hamstring problem, while Mount has a pelvic injury.

According to Lampard, Reece James will be unavailable for the rest of the season.

Lampard also announced that Mason Mount has been carrying a pelvic injury for a period that predates his appointment and has been trying typically but he will have minor surgery, then a four-week recovery.

Chelsea, who are in advanced talks with former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino to take charge will miss Reece James and Mason mount with the pair being arguably Chelsea’s best performers this season.

Lampard, brought in earlier this month to replace Graham Potter until the end of the season, has lost all four games of his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are 11th in the Premier League table and their season is effectively over after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals last week.

Argentine Pochettino could take over before the end of the campaign, but former midfielder Lampard, who is Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer, said the club has “big difficulties”.

Asked whether he expects to be in charge for the remaining games, Lampard added: “I wouldn’t expect anything in football, but we have come in to a club with big difficulties, with not a lot of time.

“[There are] a lot of factors as to the four games I have been here. The team and club have been struggling for a while. We are here to help but things won’t change in a short time.”

Largue School Mothballing Decision Reversed

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Precious Obazee

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April 25, 2023

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A small Aberdeenshire school temporarily closed by officials rather than councillors is to stay open.

The news came in a letter from Director of Education and Children’s Services Laurence Findlay, sent to parents at 3.55pm on Monday.

The school was set to be mothballed because, at the end of March, the expected school roll for next year dropped to only seven pupils.

However, an update from the Council confirmed that they now expected nine to attend in August 2023.

Families told of the Largue School decision by the council earlier this year had branded it undemocratic.

Community stand against undemocratic decision

A policy change by the local authority two years ago meant a decision to mothball a school where the roll was expected to fall below eight was delegated to the director of education.

Aberdeenshire Council said earlier this month that for the new session starting in August, Largue School was projected to have a roll of seven pupils so the decision had been made to mothball the school.

An online petition against the plans was launched, and parents including Paula McRitchie said it was the wrong decision.

Local authority said on Tuesday that the roll at Largue School has increased this month to 10 pupils and by August there is a predicted roll of nine pupils.

The director of education and children’s services made the decision that Largue School will remain open with continuous monitoring of the school roll and should the roll drop to eight or below during the 2023/24 academic year, the decision to mothball will be revisited.

Grammy winning star Harry Belafonte, is dead

By

Doreen Jemi

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April 25, 2023

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The singer and actor who became a civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte dies at 96.

Belafonte, a Grammy, Emmy and Tony winning star died of congestive heart failure at his New York home on Tuesday, with his wife by his side, according to a spokesperson.

Belafonte is known for his signature song Banana Boat (Day-O), he was largely responsible for bringing Calypso music to an international audience in the 1950s, and the first singer, in any genre, to sell a million records in a year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day-O_(The_Banana_Boat_Song)

Being one of the first black performers to gain a wide following on film, he starred in movies including Carmen Jones, Island in the Sun and Odds Against Tomorrow.

Last year, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, becoming the oldest person ever to receive the honour.

He was also a committed activist, working closely with Martin Luther King Jr during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/Harold_Belafonte.htm#:~:text=Jamaican%2DAmerican%20musician%2C%20actor%20and,to%20keep%20movement%20activities%20going.

Fittingly, Belafonte made an apt cameo appearance in Spike Lee’s Oscar winning 2018 film BlacKkKlansman, playing an elder statesman schooling young activists about America’s past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlacKkKlansman

Chelsea Set To Appoint Former Tottenham Boss

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Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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Chelsea is reportedly in talks to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s next head coach.

Upon sacking graham potter at the beginning of April, the blues hierarchy made the decision to bring in former boss and club legend Frank Lampard on a caretaker basis.

Had Lampard led Chelsea to the champions league final, the Englishman would have been in contention to remain at Stamford bridge in the long term, but the 4-0 aggregate defeat to real Madrid in the quarter-finals meant that any possibility of a permanent second stint was ruled out.

As a result, it appeared likely that either Julian Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique would eventually be handed the reins, yet both candidates were out of the race come last Friday.

At the same time, Pochettino became the clear favorite to return to the premier league having previously managed fellow London club Tottenham Hotspur.

Although it has been widely reported that Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is also under consideration, Pochettino is said to have made a positive impression on Todd Boehly and fellow club officials.

With Chelsea having just seven premier league fixtures left and with little but Europa conference league qualification to play for, an announcement may be made before the end of the season.

Pochettino has spent this season out of work having been relieved of his duties at Paris saint-Germain last year, a consequence of their last-16 exit from the champion’s league.

Nevertheless, the 51-year-old remains highly regarded in Europe, helped by his stint at spurs where the club became premier league title challengers and reached a champions league final.

In recent days, it has also been claimed that a number of Chelsea players would support the appointment, arguably a key factor when it comes to Boehly and co making their final choice.

171 Juventus Fans Banned Over Lukaku Racist Chants

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Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v Monza - San Siro, Milan, Italy - April 15, 2023 Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Police in Turin said they had fined 171 Juventus fans and banned them from their stadium following racist chants leveled at inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku.

During the April 4^TH first leg of the Italian cup semi-final between juve and inter Milan, Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants by some Juventus fans, in what his representatives called “hostile and disgusting racist abuse”.

In a brief statement, Turin police cited “racist chants” during the semi-final. They did not provide details about the fines nor say how long the stadium ban would last.

Days after the match, the Italian football federation handed Juventus a one-match stand closure for the racist chants from “the majority of fans” in that section, but it was overturned on appeal.

Lukaku was suspended for one match after picking up two yellow cards, the second for a goal celebration in front of Juventus fans after his stoppage-time penalty that secured inter a 1-1 draw.

The Belgian striker held up his finger to his mouth and told Juve supporters to “shut up”.

That suspension was revoked, however, by the FIGC after an angry backlash, allowing Lukaku to play in the second leg of the semi-final in Milan on Wednesday.

New Zealand’s Strongest Man Enters Women’s Competition In Protest

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faith Jegede

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April 25, 2023

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Amongst those protesting New Zealand’s transgender regulations, is a male weightlifter once dubbed “New-Zealand’s strongest man”.

Dale Shepherd applied last week to compete in a women’s powerlifting competition but according to him, his intention was not to defeat women in the sport but to discredit the notion that biological men don’t have a physiological advantage over their female peers — an advantage which male transsexuals appear keen to simultaneously exploit and deny.

The global powerlifting committee in New Zealand has since denied dale shepherd’s application, adopting new rules over the weekend that will preclude him from taking the stage to make his point.

While Shepherd suggests the new rules are similarly “deficient,” it appears that with his controversial application, he may have forced a shift in the right direction without having to break a sweat.

Reactions trailing the news have applauded Shepherd’s actions saying he had proven his point without breaking a sweat.

Shepard was quoted as saying “I believe in supporting biological women … who aspire to win anything in sport. They will eventually lose everything to men wanting to be women.”

Congo-Brazzaville School Empowers Autistic Children

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Precious Obazee

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April 25, 2023

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A school has been set up in Congo-Brazzaville to promote the socialization of Children with autism and raise awareness of this neuro-developmental disorder.

Located in the heart of Poto-Poto, the most cosmopolitan of Brazzaville’s neighborhoods, the Case Dominique school, run by Catholic nuns, welcomes 350 autistic children and others suffering from Down’s syndrome this year.

At the Case Dominique school, classes are held between 8:00 am (7:00 am GMT) and 11:00 am (10:00 am GMT), interspersed with a recreation period.

The students (girls and boys) are dressed in navy blue pants and khaki shirts, like those in normal schools.

When it opened in 1999, the Dominica Hut Center worked with child victims of armed conflict. Then it focused on autistic children.

According to its director Dieu Merci Nakavoua, since inception, the specialized school has had some successes while recounting the story of an autistic child who started with all the difficulties but is in France as a painter.

However, if at Case Dominique, autistic children seem to flourish, they are often stigmatized in the rest of society.

To fight against these prejudices, Case Dominique has launched an awareness campaign.

Sister Louvouandou says for the past two years, school officials have been going from time to time in the streets with leaflets, to meet people to talk to them and explain to them that autism is a phenomenon that exists and must be handled with a lot of compassion and respect.

She adds that the change of mentalities is slow in Congolese society where the situation has not evolved much and many autistic children are still refused on public transport buses.

According to health experts and specialists, in Congo-Brazzaville, there are no statistics on autism.