Slider

World News

Asia

Technology

Entertainment & Arts

Health

Sports

Fashion

Asia

Jacob Zuma: ANC leaders call NEC meeting for Wednesday

By: Admin on February 06, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/jacob-zuma-anc-leaders-call-nec-meeting.html
South Africa's ruling party has called a meeting of its top body for Wednesday, amid growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.
In a statement, the ANC said that the meeting was called to discuss the "management of the transition" between the Zuma and Ramaphosa administrations.
On Monday, senior politicians held an emergency meeting in Johannesburg to discuss Mr Zuma's future.
The president has resisted calls to quit over corruption allegations.
Mr Zuma, 75, was replaced as party leader in December, and his deputy and successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, would step into the presidency if he were recalled by the ANC.
An ANC spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the removal of President Zuma was not on the agenda at Monday's meeting.
The president, in power since 2009, is due to make a state of the nation address on Thursday, and some in the party want Mr Zuma to leave office ahead of that speech.
On Wednesday the ANC's National Executive Committee will meet.
If the committee agrees to recall Mr Zuma, the BBC's Andrew Harding says, it would be very hard for him to resist.
He might even face a no-confidence motion in parliament the next day, our correspondent adds.
Mr Zuma, who spent time in prison for his part in the fight against apartheid, met the ANC's top six on Sunday. They are said to have failed to convince him to stand aside.
Julius Malema, an opposition leader and former ANC member, said on Twitter that Mr Zuma had refused to go early.

Other unconfirmed reports from Sunday's meeting say that Mr Zuma asked for protection from prosecution for himself and his family.

Why does the ANC want to remove him?

Mr Zuma's presidency has been overshadowed by allegations of corruption.
In recent years his links to the wealthy India-born Gupta family, who are alleged to have influenced the government through their relationship with Mr Zuma, have caused his popularity to plummet. In South Africa, it has become known as "state capture".
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny the allegations.
Then there is also the country's struggling economy, with the unemployment rate rising to about 28%. 

What are the allegations against him?

  • 2005: Charged with corruption over multi-billion dollar 1999 arms deal - charges dropped shortly before he becomes president in 2009
  • 2016: Court orders he should be charged with 18 counts of corruption over the deal
  • 2005: Charged with raping family friend - acquitted in 2006
  • 2016: Court rules he breached his oath of office by using government money to upgrade private home in Nkandla - he has repaid the money
  • 2017: South Africa's public protector said he should appoint judge-led inquiry into allegations he profiteered from relationship with wealthy Gupta family - he denies allegations, as have the Guptas
  • 2018: Zuma approves inquiry

Crowdfunding pays hospital bills of injured India girl

By: Admin on February 06, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/crowdfunding-pays-hospital-bills-of.html
A crowdfunding site in India has raised more than 1.6 million rupees ($24,976; £17,680) for a four-year-old girl who was critically injured after a drunk man fell on her from a three-storey building.
The girl, Dhanyashri Sridhar, is still recovering in hospital.
The fund, only a week old, has received money from more than a thousand people.
It was launched by a group of young men who live in the same neighbourhood as the Sridhars in Chennai city.
"It feels good to know she is recovering," said Sathish Kumar Mohan, one of the men who helped launch the crowdfunding campaign.
Mr Mohan, a 30-year-old software engineer, told the BBC that he and his friends found out about the accident through a group on WhatsApp.
The group has about 20 participants, all of whom live in the neighbourhood of Old Washermanpet. One of the members messaged on 30 January, saying a little girl had been badly injured and her family needed help.
  • How does crowdfunding work?
  • 'Mum's WhatsApp messages are crashing my phone'
  • India's switched-at-birth babies who refused to swap back
Mr Mohan said this was not unusual because they had collected money or mobilised help in the past by spreading messages through WhatsApp groups.
Messages on WhatsApp, especially on groups, travel quickly in India where the messaging platform has more than 200 million monthly active users.
But this time, Mr Mohan said, they needed a lot more money. Dhanyashri had fractures in her spine and her legs, and she also needed surgery.
That's when some of Mr Mohan's friends suggested creating an online campaign that would crowdsource funds. "They told me, it will help you reach out to many more people," he said.
Mr Mohan first contacted the girl's father, A Sridhar, over the phone. Then he met him personally to explain that they were raising money to help Dhanyashri.
Mr Sridhar told the Zeshannews that he hopes his daughter will recover soon. He added that he wanted to thank everyone for the money they have contributed.
The campaign was launched on 31 January with photos of Dhanyashri and details of what happened.
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/crowdfunding-pays-hospital-bills-of.html

It's done "exceptionally well" considering it only launched on January 31, Arti Rajan, the communication officer for the crowdfunding platform, told Zeshan news.
She said the donations varied from $1.56 to $780. Now, the fund is just $6,000 short of its target: $31, 200. It has 24 days left to reach the goal.
He is still in touch with Dhanyashri's father, Mr Sridhar.
"I spoke to him last night and he told me she woke up and recognised her sister," Mr Mohan said. "He said she is eating again and they gave her some dosa with milk."

North Korea to send ceremonial head Kim Yong-nam to South Korea

By: Admin on February 04, 2018 / comment : 0 , , ,

http://zeshannews.blogspot.com/
North Korea is to send its highest ranking official for years to the South amid an easing of tensions during the Winter Olympics.
Kim Yong-nam, the ceremonial head of state, will lead a 22-member delegation to the South beginning on Friday, said the South's Unification Ministry.
The two Koreas' athletes will march under one flag at the opening ceremony.
The North's participation in the Games is widely seen as a diplomatic manoeuvre by Pyongyang.
North Korea currently faces growing international pressure and sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.

Arriving by ship

North Korea on Monday proposed sending an art troupe to the Games by ferry, a move that would require an exemption from bilateral sanctions.
Pyongyang proposed that its delegation use the Mangyongbong 92, a ferry that usually operates between North Korea and Russia, for transportation and as accommodation for the group, according to the South's unification ministry.
All North Korean ships have been banned from entering South Korean ports since 2010.
"We're seeking to apply an exemption... to support a successful hosting of the Olympics," South Korean ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a press conference.
On Sunday, the united Korean women's ice hockey team played its first match, but lost the friendly against Sweden 1-3.
http://zeshannews.blogspot.com/

Sunday's outing was the first and only practice match for the newly minted Korean squad.
Kim Yong-nam is the head of the parliament in the North and will be the highest-level official to visit South Korea in four years.
An unnamed official from the South's presidential Blue House told the BBC that they believe this reflected a willingness on the part of North Korea to improve inter-Korean relations, and demonstrated the North's sincerity.
Mr Kim will lead a delegation of three other officials and 18 support staff, the unification ministry said.
It did not say whether he would attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Games in Pyeongchang, a county in the mountainous east of South Korea.
http://zeshannews.blogspot.com/
If so, it would put him in the company of US Vice President Mike Pence at a point of high tension with Washington over the North's nuclear ambitions.
In another development on Sunday, the Washington Post reported that Fred Warmbier, whose son Otto Warmbier was jailed by North Korea and died days after returning to the US, would attend the opening ceremony as a guest of Mr Pence.
Mr Warmbier and his wife, Cindy, were guests of US President Donald Trump at last week's State of the Union address.
The North has conducted a series of missile tests designed to demonstrate its nuclear capability.
North Korea's participation in the Olympics, which run from 9 to 25 February, was a sudden turn towards reconciliation.
It came after the hereditary leader Kim Jong-un extended an olive branch to the South in a New Year message, saying he was open to dialogue and could send a team to the Games.
As well as the ice hockey players, North Korean athletes will compete in skiing and figure skating events. It is also sending hundreds of delegates, cheerleaders and performers.
However, there have already been some bumps in the road to reconciliation.
Earlier this week it emerged that the North had scheduled a large-scale military parade for 8 February, the day before the Winter Olympics commences.
Amid negative headlines, North Korea said no-one had the right to take issue with its plans and promptly cancelled a cultural event it was to hold jointly with the South.
Meanwhile, although Seoul and Washington have agreed to delay the annual big joint military exercises which always enrage the North, they will still go ahead at the end of the Paralympics.

International Criminal Court judges consider Afghanistan war crimes inquiry

By: Admin on February 01, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are deciding whether to authorise an official war crimes inquiry into events in Afghanistan.
They are due to begin examining written submissions from victims in Afghanistan about whom and what any potential investigation should focus on.
In 2017, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said there was a "reasonable basis to believe" war crimes had been committed.
Possible perpetrators included the Taliban, CIA and Afghan forces.
Warning: some readers may find some of the details below distressing.
The Zeshan news has learnt that one of the most high-ranking officials to be named in the submissions to the court is Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum. Claims of human rights abuses have dogged the current vice-president of Afghanistan for decades.
He is currently in Turkey in de facto exile after one particularly grim allegation.
In late 2016, Ahmad Eshchi, a political rival of Gen Dostum, said he had been beaten and sodomised on his orders.
"He told his guards, 'Rape him until he bleeds and film it'," Mr Eshchi told the zeshanews "They put a Kalashnikov [rifle] into my anus. I was screaming in pain."
Gen Dostum refused to appear in court in Afghanistan. In May 2017 he travelled to Turkey for medical treatment. Some analysts believe the Afghan government pressured him to leave. 
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/

Gen Dostum attempted to return to Afghanistan in July of last year but his plane was refused permission to land.
Because he is still in Turkey, Mr Eshchi believes the ICC needs to step in.
"It's been 14 months and Dostum still hasn't answered any questions about this," he said. "As time goes on I am losing hope that the government here will ever bring him to justice."
Gen Dostum's spokesman has previously denied that Mr Eshchi was detained or sexually assaulted by anyone connected to Dostum. 

Bereaved by the Taliban

Others in Afghanistan are hoping the ICC can help hold the insurgent groups in the country to account.
Samara, 32, was a cook at an orphanage in Kabul. She died after being caught in a Taliban suicide bombing in July 2017.
Her daughter, 17-year-old Fatima, told the zeshanews about the moment she found out: "I heard on the news that there had been a suicide attack. I called my mum's phone but a policeman answered. He said he had found it at the scene of the blast."
Fatima is one of those who have written to the ICC. She does not believe the Afghan authorities will give her family justice.
"Whenever they announce on the TV they've arrested someone and brought him to court, they release him a few days later, and the bombings continue," she says. 
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/

Despite the risks, Fatima says she is not afraid of speaking out.
"My mother fought against my other relatives and social pressure to let me join a football team, and to learn the guitar," she says. "She did so much for me. Now it's my turn to fight for her."
Fatima also wants the ICC to investigate the Afghan government for its failure to stop the attacks. It seems unlikely that that would fall under the remit of the ICC though. And bringing the Taliban to justice would not necessarily be an easy task.

Guantanamo submissions

Philippe Sands QC is the director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London.
"You have got to catch the Taliban and you need evidence," he says. "Evidence comes in the form of documents, in the form of witness statements and that gathering exercise for an institution without its own police force is incredibly problematic.
"The court has a policy of only going after upper-echelon individuals - they don't want the foot soldiers. So you've got to apprehend those people."
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/

The proposed investigation by the ICC would cover events from May 2003 onwards, when Afghanistan signed up to the court. Any alleged crimes committed in the country after that date are eligible to be investigated, even if by foreign nationals.
That means the alleged torture of some prisoners in Bagram detention centre before they were transferred to Guantanamo Bay would also be covered.
The detention centre was originally built and run by the Americans but later handed over to Afghan control.
The charity Reprieve is making submissions to the ICC on behalf of a number of current and former Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, told the zeshannews the alleged abuses detainees suffered at Bagram included "Russian roulette with guns, men held in stress positions for days… Abuses which destroyed the men both physically and mentally".
"These abuses were perpetrated at the behest of top commanders," she said. "The kinds of people the ICC are trying to target."
American officials have said that whilst they support attempts to bring the Taliban to justice, they believe an ICC investigation would be "unwarranted and unjustified". The United States is not a signatory to the ICC.
In 2002 Congress passed the American Service-Members Protection Act, which allowed the US authorities to "free" US personnel detained for trial in the ICC by "all means necessary".
That makes successful prosecutions of American officials extremely difficult. But the ICC is under pressure to show that it can take on politically sensitive cases. Up until now it has focused on incidents in Africa.

Why only Africans?

UCL's Philippe Sands told the BBC: "On the website of the ICC everyone indicted is African and black or both.
"That's a problem because Africans don't have a monopoly on international crime.
"That has caused a backlash. African countries are saying, 'Why focus on us? Look at what is going on around the world.'"
The ICC judges still need to decide whether to authorise a formal investigation, let alone level charges, but many in Afghanistan are looking to the court to provide some kind of justice after years of violence. 



India unveils 'world's largest' public healthcare scheme

By: Admin on February 01, 2018 / comment : 0 ,


India has announced an ambitious health insurance scheme, which is designed to be a safety net for millions of people who struggle to afford medical care.
It's thought to be one of the largest such schemes in the world, and is likely to be popular with rural voters.
India presently spends a little over 1% of its GDP on public healthcare, one of the lowest in the world.
The announcement came in the annual budget, aimed at boosting growth ahead of a general election next year.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also allocated billions of dollars for health, education, social security and rural infrastructure.
  • India issues 7.5% growth forecast
  • What the Indian economy in 2017 can tell us about the year ahead
He said the flagship health insurance scheme would cover more than 100 million poor families and provide 500,000 rupees ($7,825;£5,520) in medical coverage for each family annually.
"This will be the world's largest government-funded healthcare programme," Mr Jaitley told parliament in his speech.
"The government is steadily but surely progressing towards a goal of universal health coverage."
The BBC's Soutik Biswas says although it is laudable to give medical coverage to the poor in a country where quality healthcare costs are prohibitive, what is not clear is how this programme is going to be designed to protect the poor from being exploited by private hospitals.
India's private healthcare system is largely unregulated, opaque and often unscrupulous. It also overcharges patients with impunity, our correspondent adds.
"Private hospitals also have a long history of being hostile towards the poor, and not allocating enough mandated cheap beds for them," he says.
"It is not clear how the government will be able to get around this problem - and where the funds from the scheme will come from."

Winners and losers of India's budget

Devina Gupta, BBC News Delhi
This was a budget for the rural economy with distressed farmers and villagers emerging as the biggest winners. But the finance minister also outlined incentives for others that will help boost growth, create jobs and promote private investment.
The government's new National Health Protection Scheme could be a game changer for as many as 500 million people in need and unable to afford healthcare.
But consumers will be affected. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning against the threat of global protectionism just last week in Davos, he has approved increased custom duties on foreign phones and televisions.
The Indian government hopes that this will boost local manufacturing in India but tech giants like Apple and Google are bound to lose out too unless they shell out more money to open local manufacturing units.
The lowering of corporate tax on small and medium business could boost employment.
But on the whole, industry watchers in Delhi have not been very impressed. Some described the policies as 'token' without much substance.
And without any change in income tax rates and few incentives for the salaried middle class, they will not be the only ones disappointed with this year's budget.
Mr Jaitley added India's $2.5 trillion economy was "firmly on path to achieve 8% plus growth soon".
Earlier this week a government forecast said India's growth rate is set to rise over the coming year after a prolonged slowdown.
The country's slowdown has been blamed on several factors, including declining exports, falling private investment and declining farm incomes.
Also the sudden cancellation of nearly 86% of the cash in circulation in November 2016 - the effect lasted until 2017 - and glitches in the rollout of a single Goods and Services Tax (GST) had a severe impact on growth.



Eleven die in fire at a welfare home in Japan

By: Admin on February 01, 2018 / comment : 0

Eleven people have been killed after a fire at a Japanese residential facility for people in financial difficulty.
TV footage on the country's public broadcaster NHK showed the house engulfed in flames late on Wednesday night.
Of the 16 people living in the home, five were rescued by firefighters battling the blaze.
The three-storey building in the northern city of Sapporo is home to mostly elderly residents.
The home is run by an organisation providing affordable accommodation and helping people on welfare find work, NHK reported.
Authorities have launched an investigation into what caused the fire.
In 2010, seven people were killed in a fire at Sapporo nursing home for the elderly.

Kabul military academy hit by explosions and gunfire

By: Admin on January 28, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,


Heavy gunfire and explosions have been heard at a military academy in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The Marshal Fahim National Defense University came under attack early Monday morning, reports said.
It comes days after the deadliest bombing for months hit Kabul when an ambulance packed with explosives killed at least 100 people.
Islamic State and the Taliban have recently carried out attacks in the city.
Several explosions were heard, as well as small arms fire, as the attack began at about 05:00 local time (00:30 GMT), the BBC's Mahfouz Zubaide reported from Kabul.
Security forces have blocked off all roads in the area, Afghan media outlet Tolo said.
According to Tolo, the president's spokesperson has confirmed the attack, saying that none of the attackers had been able to get further than the first gate.
News agency AFP cited a police spokesman confirming rocket and gunfire but saying it was now calm.
According to Reuters, police said there had been an incident inside at a military site but said it was not clear if it was an attack by militants.
Reports say some of the gunmen have been killed in the attack.
  • Can Afghan military turn the tide in Taliban fight?
  • Four days behind the Taliban front line
  • Who are the Taliban?
The ambulance attack on Saturday, took place just one week after another attack on a Kabul hotel killed 22 people - mostly foreigners. The Taliban said it had carried out both attacks.
Afghan military institutions are frequently targeted by militants.
In October 2017, 15 military cadets were killed in an explosion outside the Marshal Fahim military academy, which is located west of the Kabul city centre.

Elite climbing team save French woman from Pakistan's 'Killer Mountain'

By: Admin on January 28, 2018 / comment : 0 ,

A French climber stranded on top of one of Pakistan's most deadly mountains is safe after a dramatic rescue operation.
The search for her Polish climbing partner, however, has been called off.
Elisabeth Revol and Tomasz Mackiewicz were climbing Nanga Parbat, nicknamed "Killer Mountain", when they got stuck at 7,400m (24,280ft) on Friday.
An elite climbing team from Poland who were on nearby K2 rushed to the rescue, scaling the mountain overnight to find Ms Revol alive.
Four members of the team, who had been attempting the first winter ascent of K2 - the second highest mountain in the world - were brought to Nanga Parbat by a Pakistani military helicopter.
They were dropped off about 1,000 metres below the lost climbers' last known location.
Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki began the climb while Jaroslaw Botor and Piotr Tomala established a camp.
Contact with Ms Revol and Mr Mackiewicz had been lost as the team climbed towards their last known location.
Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning local time, the climbing team's Facebook page announced: "Elisabeth Revol found!"
Tomasz Mackiewicz, however, had been separated from Ms Revol. Earlier reports said that he had been suffering from frostbite and snow blindness.
Ludovic Giambiasi, a friend of Ms Revol's who had been in sporadic contact with her, said the climbers would rest for an hour or two in the open air before beginning the descent with Ms Revol.
"The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible," he wrote. "Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger.
"It's a terrible and painful decision. We are in deep sadness. All our thoughts go out to Tomek's family and friends. We are crying."
All five climbers still alive are expected to be evacuated by helicopter to the town of Skardu later on Sunday.

A crowdfunding campaign to pay for the rescue attempt had raised more than $100,000 (£74,000) by the time the news of Ms Revol's safety emerged.
Masha Gordon, who set up the crowdfunding campaign, posted an update to the 4,000 supporters: "we are crying from happiness".
Mountaineers nicknamed Nanga Parbat, in northern Pakistan, "Killer Mountain" after more than 30 climbers died trying to conquer it before the first successful summit in 1953.
Last year, a Spaniard and an Argentinean were presumed dead in an avalanche after they went missing trying to scale the peak.
In 2013, gunmen killed 10 foreign climbers and their Pakistani guide at the Nanga Parbat base camp.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Created By Zeshan News | Copyright © 2018 Zeshan News