Nigeria’s army has stopped the work of international NGO Action Against Hunger accusing it of supplying a militant Islamist group with food and drugs.
“I fled Boko Haram and had to leave my son behind” – one woman tells the BBC of her ordeal
The army said it had warned the NGO against “aiding and abetting” Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria.
Action Against Hunger, which denies the accusations, says its “life-saving assistance” to vulnerable people has now been put “into jeopardy”.
Boko Haram’s 10-year campaign of terror has left more than 30,000 people dead.
More than two million people have also been displaced.
A network of NGOs is assisting the government in helping those who have been forced from their homes.
This is the first time the military has explicitly named an aid organisation it accuses of sabotaging the army’s counter-terrorism operations in the region, reports the BBC’s Chris Ewokor.
In a statement, Action Against Hunger said it “delivers neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian aid to millions of people in Borno state by providing basic services to the most vulnerable people, especially women and children”.
It said it had been told by soldiers without any notice to close its office in the capital of Borno state, Maiduguri.
In July, the Paris-based charity said six of its aid workers had been kidnapped in Nigeria.
The six abductees appeared on a video, with one of them calling on the Nigerian government and international community to intervene. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
No group has said it was behind the kidnapping.
In 2015, Boko Haram seized control of much of Borno state, and spread its activities to neighbouring countries.
A counter-insurgency by the army led to much of that territory being recaptured. But the militants have come to rely more on suicide bombings and kidnappings in recent years.
One of its most notorious attacks was on a school in Chibok, north-east Nigeria, when 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped. Many of them have been freed, but the whereabouts of more than 100 are still unknown.
Since 2013, Boko Haram are thought to have kidnapped more than 1,000 people. BBC News
Tunisia’s former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali has died in exile aged 83, his family says.
Tunisia’s former president was forced from office in 2011 amid mass street protests against his rule
Ben Ali led the country for 23 years and was credited with delivering stability and some economic prosperity.
But he received widespread criticism for suppressing political freedoms and for widespread corruption.
In 2011, he was forced from office following mass street protests. This triggered a wave of similar uprisings across the Arab world.
At least half a dozen countries in the region saw their president fall or conflicts break out in the wake of the former Tunisian leader’s downfall, in what became known as the Arab Spring.
Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia when he left office and was living there when he died on Thursday.
His funeral will take place on Friday in Saudi Arabia, his lawyer told Reuters news agency.
In June 2011, a court in Tunisia sentenced Ben Ali in absentia to 35 years in prison for embezzling public money.
In 2012, he was sentenced to life – also in absentia – over the killing of protesters in the revolution in 2011. A separate court also sentenced him for 20 years for inciting violence and murder.
Ben Ali’s death comes just days after Tunisia held the second free presidential election since he was ousted.
It was brought forward after the death in July of the country’s first democratically elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi, who took office in 2014. BBC News
The porn star Jessica Jaymes has been found dead in her home in California.
Jessica Jaymes
The performer, who also founded her own studio, had acted in more than 200 films. The Los Angeles coroner says she was 40 years old.
It has been reported that she was found by her ex-husband who hadn’t heard from her for a while.
She was inducted into the Adult Video News (AVN) magazine’s hall of fame in 2018, and also appeared as herself on two episodes of the US TV series Weeds in 2007.
The LA County Coroner’s Office said she was found dead on 17 September in a residence located in the 9000 block of Hayvenhurst Avenue in North Hills.
The office added: “The investigation into the cause and manner of death is ongoing and the autopsy is pending.”
Spizoo, the production company she co-founded, tweeted: “She was the most kind and generous person you could ever meet, creative and energetic, real and honest, a true star.”
Born Jessica Michael Redding, she was born in Anchorage in Alaska and grew up in Alaska and Arizona.
She was a teacher before going into the adult industry in 2002, and founded her own studio, Spizoo, a few years later.
Her website also says she had a degree in art and played classical piano too.
In 2008, Jessica Jaymes became the first contract model for Hustler Magazine’s film studio, Hustler Video.
In a tweet, the magazine called her “a bright light & a powerful force within our industry”.
The statement added: “Hearing of her passing left us all with heavy hearts, a deep sadness, and fond memories.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jessica’s family and to all those who loved her. She will be missed and forever loved.”
Porn star Romi Rain said Jessica Jaymes helped her when she was new to the industry. She wrote on Twitter: “I felt welcomed by her, motivated by her many successes and grateful for a friendly face.”
Former Playboy model Jaclyn Taylor called her “so kind and so generous”. She tweeted: “You always had a way of making people laugh, and your energy was electric.”
The Adult Performers Actors Guild wrote in a statement on social media: “Her accomplishments, beauty, and persona will not be forgotten”.
And porn studio Brazzers wrote: “Today we are deeply saddened at the news of Jessica Jaymes’ passing. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends for this devastating loss.” BBC News
A Zimbabwean doctors’ union leader who disappeared during a pay strike has been found alive, his union and police said on Friday.
Peter Magombeyi, the acting president of the Zimbabwean Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA)
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) said however it would press on with its strike action, viewed as a test of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s willingness to tolerate dissent in a country tainted by a long history of repression under his predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe.
Since Monday, doctors have held demonstrations and night vigils at the main Parirenyatwa Hospital in the capital over their leader Peter Magombeyi’s disappearance.
Magombeyi was found in Nyabira, 40 km (25 miles) west of Harare on Thursday night, police spokesman Paul Nyathi said, adding that law enforcement agents were investigating what had happened to him.
ZHDA said he was undergoing medical checks. He had called a colleague and said he was in the bush, it said. He then walked to some shops where police picked him but he could not remember much, only that he had been abducted by three unidentified men, ZHDA said.
Magombeyi could not be reached by Reuters for comment.
The union repeated its accusation that state security agents were making death threats to force doctors to return to work. The government has denied this.
The doctors, who have been on strike since Sept. 3, marched to parliament on Thursday to protest Magombeyi’s disappearance and press the government to increase their pay after a court ruled that police should not interfere with the march.
“At this time we must stick together in solidarity and press on in action. We therefore continue to say no money, no work,” the group said in a statement on Friday.
The doctors are seeking a 400% salary hike that they want indexed to the U.S. dollar. ZHDA rejected the government’s salary offers, which would see the lowest paid worker earning 1,023 Zimbabwe dollars ($72) a month.
Statistical agency Zimstat says an average family of five required 1,617 Zimbabwe dollars ($114.5) a month not to be deemed poor, but many Zimbabweans have seen their incomes eroded by soaring inflation.
Luke-ing the Beast in the Eye with Luke Batsirai Tamborinyoka
By Luke Tamborinyoka
I believe without equivocation that these sanctions must go.
Luke-ing the Beast in the Eye with Luke Batsirai Tamborinyoka
When a government sanctions its own medical doctors from demanding a living wage and responds to the legitimate demands from the medical fraternity by abducting the doctors’ leader, then those sanctions must go.
When a government proscribes and slaps sanction on the people for exercising their right to demonstrate peacefully in line with the dictates of the Constitution, then those sanctions must go.
Last month, Justice Joseph Mafusire ruled that the public media did not abide by the Constitution in the run-up to last year’s election. He ruled that that the public media were overtly biased towards Zanu PF.It is trite to mention that President Nelson Chamisa has rarely appeared on the country’s sole broadcaster.
He is under sanctions from appearing on a purportedly public broadcaster.
It is those sanctions that must go.
The MDC is a legitimate political movement that controls the majority of the local authorities in the country and is represented in Parliament. It has a leader who won last year’s Presidential election in the contest of the people while the other leader won in the courts.
Yet again, as they did in 2008, the selectorate stood in the way of the electorate’s aspirations and foisted a leader on the people.
Last month, ahead of demonstrations to which notice had been given, the police laid a siege on Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House, closed all roads and stopped anyone from entering the MDC headquarters. They slapped the MDC staff with illegal sanctions from entering their legitimate place of work for no apparent reason.
It is those sanctions that must go.
Jestina Mukoko is a renowned former broadcaster and now a human rights defender who runs the Zimbabwe Peace Project. In December 2008, she was abducted, tortured and held incommunicado for several weeks.
It was the Zanu PF government that had abducted her, in line with its unstinting behaviour to harass and abduct every dissenting voice in the country. Jestina later won her case in court when the government was ordered to compensate her.
The government had brutalized, tortured and abducted her, sanctioning her from exercising her basic rights and freedoms for several weeks.
Jestina was abducted by some unidentified armed men from her home in Norton on 3 December 2008, and her whereabouts together with two ZPP employees Broderick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo, who were also abducted later in December 2008, remained unknown until December 24, 2008, when they first appeared before the Harare Magistrates Court, after weeks of being held incommunicado and being tortured.
It is those government-imposed sanctions that must go.
In 2007, I was among a group of MDC activists that was brutally tortured and assaulted. We spent several months in prison on trumped-up charges of banditry and terrorism in a much-publicized case that later collapsed like a deck of cards in court.
The trauma has refused to go away and today, I cannot stand the sound of slamming doors. The sound is synonymous with the banging of doors that characterized the entry of Robert Mugabe’s merchants of death into a dark room in which we were brutally tortured and terrorized for several days.
I was to lose some of my close friends after they were abducted from their homes and murdered far away from their homes and families following our release from prison in June 2007.
I have a pending a lawsuit against the State for the permanent physical and psychological injuries that I will carry with me to the grave.
The culture of impunity has survived beyond Robert Mugabe. We have a government that callously sanctions and brutalizes people for holding independent views and opinions.
It is those sanctions that must go.
Today, the whereabouts of Dr Peter Magombeyi, the acting president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association remain unknown. He was abducted by State security agents in a bid to proscribe and slap illegal sanctions on the legitimate rights of our doctors from expressing their displeasure on their inadequate salaries as well as their dismal working conditions.
The sanctions against our doctors must go.
SADC recently resolved to set aside October 25 2019 as the day when the region will be making a statement against what they purport to be illegal external sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Yet there is a nexus between the sanctions imposed by other countries and the sanctions that the regime in Harare has slapped on its own citizens.
Charity begins at home . Once we deal with the internal sanctions that we have placed on each other, the external ones will simply wither away.
On 25 October 2019, I and many others, with emblazoned banners and placards, will be marching against the internally imposed sanctions that have invited the external sanctions.
We must first deal with those issues that we control. We must be genuine about the so-called reform agenda. Sadly, all we have heard is the rhetoric of reform. We have not seen the substance.
The needless fixation with external players before we deal with our own government must stop. As Nigerian playwright Chinua Achebe would say, there is a vast difference between remote and immediate causes. The immediate local causes of the external sanctions must be dealt with and the remote factors will sort themselves out.
Zimbabweans must deal with their own issues before talking about London or Washington. As Achebe would say, training our eyes on the US sanctions is akin to focusing on remote causes while losing sight of the local factors.
The government must expeditiously and genuinely deal with the reform agenda. Focusing on London and Washington before we deal with the mischief in Harare will not work. There are always remote and immediate factors and urging Washington to lift her sanctions before allowing basic freedoms to flourish in Harare is akin to arresting the blacksmith every time a man hacks his fellow to death with an axe!
On 25 October 2019, I will be marching against sanctions.
These Zanu PF-imposed sanctions must go!
Luke Batsirai Tamborinyoka is the Deputy National Spokesperson of the MDC. He is a multiple award-winning journalist and an ardent political scientist. You can interact with him on Facebook or on the twitter handle @luke_tambo.
Abducted Zimbabwean doctor, Dr. Peter Magombeyi, has been found alive in Nyabira, near Inkomo Army Barracks, about 35 kilometers north-west of Harare.
Dr Peter MagombeyiDr. Magombeyi told VOA Studio 7 that “I’m alive …”
He was allegedly abducted by state security agents last Saturday. State Security Minister Owen Ncube said he suspected that a “third force” was involved in the abduction.
New Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah said he would do business with the Bin Laden family, adding that it was “not a disgraced name”.
New Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah (left)
The Saudi took over the club after former co-owner Kevin McCabe was forced to sell his 50% share because of a high-court ruling.
McCabe, a lifelong Blades fan, has questioned Prince Abdullah’s “suitability” to run the club.
But the new owner said he was “more than qualified”.
Prince Abdullah, whose full name is Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, said he would not sell the Premier League team, was “100% committed to the club” and backed manager Chris Wilder.
“Money is a big factor but if it was about money, I would sell the club right now,” Prince Abdullah, a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, said.
“My main focus is to bring in sponsors from Saudi right now.”
The Bin Laden family, one of the most influential families in Saudi Arabia boasting a vast wealth gained in the construction industry, had previously shown interest in buying shares, he said.
“I get offended when the Bin Laden family is a bad name. Every family may have one bad person but they are a very respectable family.
“I have not done business with them in the past but I will be very happy to do business with them. The Bin Laden family is not a disgraced name or something that I should hide.
“They were going to buy Kevin McCabe shares. They did due diligence but decided not to buy. I don’t see it is as a big deal. When I see the Bin Laden family as a dirty name I get really offended.”
Osama Bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in 2011, approved the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. His son, Hamza, was reportedly killed in an airstrike in August 2019, having previously made recordings calling for attacks on the United States and other countries.
In the press conference, Prince Abdullah also said that he would support Wilder, who has taken the club from League One to the Premier League in the space of three seasons, to run the football side of the club.
Despite the ongoing court battle between the two owners, the club broke their transfer record four times in the summer after sealing their top-flight status last season.
“We are blessed to have him [Wilder],” said Prince Abdullah. “The results and the way we play speaks for itself. Chris is the face of this great club and the crowd like to sing he is one of us, I have good harmony with Chris.”
Wilder said he was “100% positive about the future” and had been in regular contact with Prince Abdullah since he joined the club in 2016, three years after the new owner.
“The ideal scenario for any manager is for them to be left to get on with job to the best of their abilities while respecting the owners,” he said.
“From my point of view, there’s only been a couple of times I’ve expressed my frustrations towards Prince Abdullah and Kevin. In the majority of times they’ve allowed me to get on with my job.
“If there were problems, from board to manager and manager to board, we could not have achieved what we have. I will always talk honestly about the running of the club, but the success we have had in three years is testament to the support I have been given by both owners.”
Wilder also said he was open to the support of Belgian technical director Jan van Winckel.
“He has been a member of board for a long time. I am a hands on manager and anything done to improve club, I am open to. But my style is I have the big decisions to make. I am sure Prince Abdullah will let me get on with my job. I’m full of confidence it will work with Jan.”
Prince Abdullah also announced that his 26-year-old son-in-law Prince Musaad would be the club’s new chairman. BBC News
Former Ngezi Platinum coach Erol Akbay has revealed why he parted ways with the club saying the executive did not fulfil contract agreement.
Dutchman Erol Akbay
Akbay, together with his assistant Tendai Chikuni, was sacked on Tuesday after failing to meet the target he was given at the start of the season.
“The club promised me lots of things in the beginning and they did nothing to make sure we can work.
“Also in the beginning of the season when I was hired, other coaches and the board did not agree with executive making my job even more difficult.
“That is the reason why it is not nice to work here so you have to stop working.
“The other reason why I parted ways with them it’s because I was not producing the results they need so if you not winning your games no one is happy,” said Akbay.
He added:
“My relationship with everyone is very good and I do not have a problem with Ngezi Platinum
Madamburo were in good form to compete for the championship during the first half of the season but they failed to win some of their matches dropping points which left them not good enough to chase for the title.
They were also not winning their games last month losing two games in a row to Triangle and Mushowani respectively before a draw with Hwange and another 2-0 defeat to Chicken Inn.
Ngezi bounced back to winning ways against Herentals at the end of the month of August and suffered a shocking defeat to TelOne last Saturday.
The Mhondoro-based side is still yet to announce their caretaker coach to take charge in the remaining games of the season. H-Metro
Bulawayo Chiefs fitness coach Thulani Sibanda says their 2-0 win over Yadah in a Premiership encounter at the National Sports Stadium was as a result of hard work.
BULAWAYO Chiefs fitness coach Thulani Sibanda
Shadreck Nyahwa’s goal in the 50th minute and an own goal by Jonathan Chitereki in the last quarter of the game saw the Chiefs clinching a crucial victory.
“It was a tough game, the fact that these guys are also fighting relegation like us but I applaud the players for keeping composure, showing good intensity and determination which gave us the three points,” said Sibanda.
Sibanda also applauded the match officials for officiating the match with fairness.
“We are still very hopeful maybe without forgetting one think that I need to also mention that the officiating that was here today (yesterday), I think we need to give credit to the match officials.
“So I think we need to thank the referees for that and if we are to have those kind of referees across the country then our game will improve,” he said.
Chiefs are also confident of surviving relegation.
“I think what we have to continue winning, you realised that first half of the season it was difficult for us to grind results.
“Also we were conceding so many goals and I think if you look at the log we have go the worst defence.
“After registration some of the guys like Isaac Badu, we have been better in terms of stability at the back,” added Sibanda.
Yadah were poor in front of goal with Ralph Matema missing a couple of glorious chances.
Yadah gaffer Genesis Mangombe did not show up for a post-match interview after the game. H-Metro
Zimbabwe international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba’s display on his English Premiership debut in a 0-0 against West Ham on Monday has caught the imagination of Aston Villa fans who voted him the Man Of The Match in an online poll ran by his club.
Aston Villa unveil Marvelous Nakamba, their 13th new signing. Photograph: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
Nakamba polled 35 percent of the vote to beat Bjorn Engels who was a distant second with 25 percent.
Tyrone Mings garnered 23 percent of the vote on third position while John McGinn got 17 percent of the 11 629 votes.
The poll has also seen Zimbabwean fans participating as witnessed by their comments on the Aston Villa handle.
Nakamba got the nod from manager Dean Smith ahead of Brazilian Douglas Luiz, who later replaced him after 80 minutes.
The 25-year-old was hailed by pundits for the shield he provided to the defense to help Villans record their second clean sheet of the season.
Smith’s men have the highest number of clean sheets (two) in the Premier League so far after restricting Everton on Match day three – defeating them 2-0.
Nakamba was rated among the best on the pitch against the Hammers by different publications and it will be difficult for Smith to keep him on the bench.
Villa travel to Arsenal this Sunday and Smith is likely to be tempted to throw the Zimbabwean in the fray given the attacking threats of Unai Emery’s men.
He showed his abilities when he managed to counter and break the threats posed by the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Mark Noble for Aston Villa.
Villa fans are also eager to see Nakamba start at the Emirates on Sunday and have taken the campaign to social media.
A Birmingham-based Twitter page, Astonforza, dedicated to Aston Villa described Nakamba’s performance against West Ham as solid, adding he should start against Arsenal.
“Rewatched some of the game back. Monster performance from Nakamba on his league debut. Amount of times he broke opposition play went under the radar. Shaky at first but grew into the game. Must start vs Arsenal. #avfc”
“Think Nakamba and Luiz would be a good option against Arsenal. I would play McGinn in front of them and give him the free role and push Jack wide left. Think he would be far more effective, than El Ghazi, cutting in. And would definitely have Treze on the right.,” @AVFCBedders
English journalist Ashley Preece who reports for Birmingham Mail, focusing on Aston Villa, reported that Villa look balanced with Nakamba in front of defenders since his style of play allows his partners to roam.
“The 25-year-old sat in front of the back four and enjoyed a lot of early touches of the football which would have no doubt calmed his nerves. He looks a really smooth operator, all left foot but ice-cool on the ball, often pivoting in the anchorman role while keeping it simple with his range of passing.
“He looks – and is – more defensively-minded than Brazilian Douglas Luiz. The summer signing has a spring in his step as well and looks mobile. He faded in the second half which is understandable given his last outing came against Crewe Alexandra in the cup a month ago. Villa look much more balanced with him in the side – gave Grealish and McGinn more of a licence to get forward, too,” wrote Preece. H-Metro
