7 coronavirus patients killed after Egypt hospital gutted fire

A fire at a hospital in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria on Monday killed seven coronavirus patients, security and medical sources said.

Seven other people were injured in the blaze, believed to be caused by a malfunctioning air conditioner in an area designated for isolating COVID-19 patients, the sources said.

Firefighters stopped it spreading to other hospital buildings, and ambulances were dispatched to transfer patients to other medical facilities, the state-run newspaper Akhbar al-Youm reported.

The victims died of suffocation and hospital staff were among those injured, according to local media, which said an investigation had been launched.

Firefighters stopped it spreading to other hospital buildings, and ambulances were dispatched to transfer patients to other medical facilities, the state-run newspaper Akhbar al-Youm reported.

The victims died of suffocation and hospital staff were among those injured, according to local media, which said an investigation had been launched.

Egypt has so far registered 65,188 COVID-19 cases including 2,789 fatalities.

Health facilities in the North African country, like elsewhere, have been strained by the mounting number of infections, which have exceeded 1,000 a day since late May.

Source: Afriupdate

Chakwera has promised to consult nominees before incorporating them into Cabinet

The newly elected President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has promised to consult nominees before incorporating them into Cabinet.

Chikwera’s remarks follow a decision made by Modercai Msiska who refused to take up the post of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

“I am happy to report that Dr. Chilima and I have made great progress in the formulation of Cabinet.

“As per procedure, nominees for cabinet will be consulted before appointment, following which they will still be at liberty to reconsider accepting the extent or form of their involvement in the event that certain exigencies of public office demand a change thereof, with assurance of no remonstration or recrimination on my part. I will be announcing the rest of the Cabinet members very soon,” reads in part the statement.

On Monday, Chakwera released a partial Cabinet and he promised to release the remaining Ministers before his inauguration on July 6, 2020.
Chakwera and his Vice Dr. Saulos Chilima have hit the ground running with several changes in government departments.

The latest being the dissolution of boards of parastatals.

Man Beaten to Death By Unknown Persons

The Enugu state police command is currently investigating circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of a 67-year-old man, Iloabani Eugene Anayo, by unidentified persons in Amamkpunato Achi, Oji-River on Tuesday, June 30.

A statement released by the spokesperson of the state police command, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said a preliminary investigation shows that the deceased was found in Achi forest with several degrees of machete cuts on the head and neck regions.

Ndukwe said the corpse of the deceased man has been deposited in the mortuary.

He added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmad AbdurRahman MCPSS, MCJ, MNIM has directed the immediate launch of a full-scale investigation to apprehend and prosecute the fleeing culprits.

See photos of the deceased below.

Two Men from Zimbabwe Sentenced To Death For Killing A Taxi Driver

Two men in Zimababwe have been sentenced to death for killing a taxi driver.  New Zimbabwe reports that, Romeo Jambura, 29, and his cousin, Norest Tamangani, 31 were convicted after a full trial.

The two cousins unsuccessfully tried to deny the charges.

During the trial, the court heard that on 18 November 2018, the two cousins together with an accomplice identified only as Last and Tamangani’s girlfriend, Dallena Mary Makupe, hired a car which was being driven by the late Taruvinga Matiza.

They claimed that they wanted to go to Kuwadzana.  However, along the way, they directed Matiza to turn off the road.  When Matiza complied, the three men pounced on him and viciously attacked him while Makupe watched helplessly.

After killing Makupe, the three-man put his body in the car and transported it to Westgate, where they dumped the body.  After dumping the body, they then drove back to Domboshava where they stay.  Makupe was warned not to tell anyone what had transpired and threatened with death if she ever did so.

Following investigations, the police arrested Jambura, Tambangani and Makupe and charged them with murder.  However, the police were unable to locate Last and he remains at large.  Charges against Makupe were later dropped after the police noted that she had not been an active participant but was a victim of circumstance.

High Court judge, Justice Tawanda Chitapi sentenced the two cousins to death after noting that they had engaged in a spate of crimes which had been thought and planned in advance.  He also noted that the two did not show remorse for their heinous crimes.

In passing his sentence Justice Chitapi said

“The current case, the murder, having been committed in aggravating circumstances, the court has the discretion to impose any of the three sentences provided for. To be taken into account too is the societal interest in ensuring that a serious crime is adequately punished…

…the accused persons only stated that they were sorry that the deceased died after the court had asked counsel whether in view of the court’s findings that the accused were guilty, they had anything to say in regard to regretting their proven capability.

…The court also considered the manner of commission of the offense, the pre-planning, the theft of the deceased’s personal property and car, the vicious attack on the deceased and strangulation, the dumping of the deceased where he could not get help, the conduct of the accused after the crime of going to drink alcohol and being merry without ever looking back on what they had done and the want of remorse as showing a high level of moral blameworthiness.

“In the absence of the accused advancing any reason why the death sentence could not be imposed upon them, the accused would be sentenced as follows; each of the two is sentenced to death. Each of the two accused shall be returned to prison, there to be held until the execution of the sentence,”

Nkhata-Bay Director of Health and Social Services tests positive to COVID-19

Director of Health and Social Services-DHO for Nkhata Bay Dr. Mwatikonda Mbendera has tested positive to COVID-19.

Mbendera confirmed of the development in an interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS).

He said he is currently in self isolation at his home.

Dr. Mbendera also disclosed that he has mild symptoms and he is asking all his contacts to go for testing, stressing that Covid-19 is real.

Muhara fired at State House

Newly elected President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has hired the services of Zangazanga Chikhosi, replacing Lloyd Muhara.

This has been disclosed in a statement from the Office of the President and Cabinet released on Monday made available to faceofmalawi.

According to the statement, Chikhosi will be deputized by Dr. Janet Chikata Banda SC.

Muhara has gone back to the Judiciary.

Recently Muhara made headlines when he wrote Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda to proceed on leave pending retirement.

More details to follow…

Jomo Osman arrested

Police in Limbe have arrested notorious DPP youth cadet, Isaac Jomo Osman.

Limbe police spokesperson Patrick Mussa confirmed the development last evening but stressed that details regarding the arrest were not readily available.

At the peak of the DPP regime, Jomo – a councillor for Mthandizi Ward in Bangwe once publicly assaulted an innocent young man in Limbe for wearing an MCP branded shirt.

Despite the video of the incident going viral on social media, the police never really probed the matter to its conclusion.

Kamlepo Kalua congratulates Chakwera for winning fresh Presidential polls

Former Minister of Lands and Housing Development Kamlepo Kalua who is also Member of Parliament for Rumphi East has congratulated Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his Vice Dr. Saulos Chilima for winning the fresh Presidential polls.

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on Saturday declared Chakwera as winner after defeating former President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Peter Kuwani of Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD).

Chakwera and Chilima were sworn-in on Sunday and the two have started discharging their duties.

Writing on his official facebook page, Kalua hailed Chakwera and Chilima.

“I would like to congratulate the state president His Excellency Dr Lazarus Chakwera and Vice president Saulos Chilima on their Election Victory. In Unity we are all winners. May God bless Malawi,” wrote Kalua.

Kalua moved to DPP after being incorporated in the cabinet by the outgoing President.

Meanwhile it is yet to be seen if Kalua will remain to the opposition benches in Parliament.

Worst is still to come on pandemic-WHO chief warns

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the world that the “worst is yet to come” in the Covid-19 pandemic.

WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the virus would infect many more people if governments did not start to implement the right policies.

His message remained “Test, Trace, Isolate and Quarantine”, he said.

More than 10m cases have been recorded worldwide since coronavirus emerged in China late last year. The number of patients who died is now above 500,000.

Half the world’s cases have been in the US and Europe but Covid-19 is rapidly growing in the Americas.

The virus is also affecting South Asia and Africa, where it is not expected to peak until the end of July.

Dr Tedros told a virtual briefing on Monday: “We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over.

“Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up.”

He also urged more governments to follow the examples of Germany, South Korea and Japan, which kept their outbreak in check through policies that included rigorous testing and tracing.

What are the worst-affected countries?

The US has reported more than 2.5 million cases and about 126,000 deaths with Covid-19 so far – more than any other nation.

US states that emerged from lockdown in recent weeks – notably in the south – have been reporting sharp increases in new infections in recent weeks.

The spike has led officials in Texas, Florida and other states to tighten restrictions on business again.

The country with the second-highest number of recorded cases is Brazil, with a total of 1.3 million, and deaths in excess of 57,000.

On Monday a state of emergency was declared in the capital Brasilia, following a surge there.

Like most Brazilian governors and mayors, the local authorities in Brasilia eased social distancing restrictions earlier this month and allowed shops to reopen

In the UK – the country with the greatest number of deaths in Western Europe – the mayor of Leicester said pubs and restaurants might stay closed for two more weeks due to a spike in cases.

Restrictions in the rest of England are due to be eased at the weekend, with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and hotels allowed to reopen.

Source : BBC News

Iran issues arrest warrant for President Trump

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad.

It is also requesting that the International Police, Interpol assist in arresting the US President.Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump, asks Interpol to help.

Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasi Mehr said on Monday that Trump, along with more than 30 others Iran accuses of involvement in the January 3 attack that killed General Qassem Soleimani, face “murder and terrorism charges”, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Mehr claimed Trump would be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends, Fars reported.

Iran also said it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for these 36 individuals, semi-official state news agency ISNA reported, though it was unlikely that Interpol would grant the request.

CNN has contacted Interpol for comment.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in January along with five others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

The strike, condemned by Iran and its allies as an “assassination,” raised the specter of further regional destabilization.

A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, announced in early June that an Iranian citizen had been sentenced to death for allegedly working for foreign intelligence agencies. Esmaili claimed that Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi Majd disclosed the whereabouts of Soleimani to US intelligence officials.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and US allies in the months leading up to his killing.

“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the Pentagon said at the time, calling the strike “decisive defensive” action aimed at deterring future Iranian attacks.

SADC Congratulates Chakwera for Winning Fresh Presidential Polls

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has congratulated His Excellency the President Dr Lazarus Chakwera for winning the Fresh Presidential election.

A statement issued by President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation commends the people of Malawi for turning out in large numbers to exercise their civic and democratic right.

The SADC Chair has also applauded the people of Malawi for the political tolerance and maturity demonstrated throughout the

electoral process.
The statement further hails the peaceful political and security situation that has prevaled in the country and also commends the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) for the efficient and effective organization and management of the re-run of the Presidential Election in the face of the challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regional block has also urged the candidates who took part in the election and their supporters to accept the official results as announced by the Malawi Electoral Commission, and to observe the national electoral and constitutional processes should they have grievances regarding the electoral process.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri has bid farewell to staff members at the Ministry.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri has bid farewell to staff members at the Ministry.

Principal Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Charles Kalemba has confirmed the development

.

He, however, said it would be difficult to say Phiri's farewell can be considered as resignation in the absence of an official communication.

"OPC is better placed to answer that, as well as the Minister himself" he said.

But when contacted, Phiri told Nation Online to ignore the message.

Phiri, however, said in a message sent to his colleagues at the Ministry that he was leaving a happy man.

Reads the message in part: "I did my part and surely I couldn't do everything. To some, I was a bad Minister ... and to a few, a good minister . All those are just perceptions and opinions, which is ok . All I can say is, I am going a happy man filled with joy that I came and now leaving having left a mark in the Ministry.

"Today I bid farewell to all of you here . I may have made mistakes along the way. Trust me, it may have been an error of judgement and not intentional. Please accept my apology."

He further lauded staff at the ministry for their hardworking spirit.

JB visits Chakwera

Former President Dr. Joyce Banda who is also founder of the People’s Party (PP) has paid a surprise visit to President in-waiting Dr. Lazarus Chakwera at his house in Blantyre.
An eyewitness confirmed of the development in an interview with this publication.
While the aim of the visits is not known but inside sources say Banda went to Chakwera to congratulate him for coming out victorious in the fresh Presidential polls.
Unofficial results of the fresh Presidential polls conducted on June 23, 2020 by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) indicates that Chakwera of Tonse Alliance has outclassed President Peter Mutharika of DPP-UDF alliance with 58 percent against 39 percent.
According to the results, Chakwera has amassed 2,597,088 votes while Mutharika has amassed 1,742, 802 votes.
Official results will be announced by MEC any day this week.

Another MEC vehicle involved in road accident

Another Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) vehicle has been involved in road accident in Ntcheu District.
MEC Chairperson Dr. Chifundo Kachale disclosed this in a media briefing held at the electoral body’s main tally centre at College of Medicine in Blantyre.
The accident happened on Wednesday night.
According to Kachale, MEC van hit a stationary vehicle but the materials in the vehicle were not damaged.
He said the vehicle was not carrying results of the fresh Presidential polls.
Kachale said the materials arrived safely in Blantyre.

Coronavirus in Africa: 324,559 cases; 8,621 deaths; 154,386 recoveries

According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when. As of May 13, every African country had recorded an infection, the last being Lesotho.
We shall keep updating this list largely sourced from the John Hopkins University tallies, Africa CDC and from official government data.

• Confirmed cases = 324,559
• Active cases = 161,552
• Recoveries = 154,386
• Number of deaths = 8,621

Countries in alphabetical order

• Algeria – 12,076
• Angola – 189
• Benin – 850
• Botswana – 89
• Burkina Faso – 919
• Burundi – 144
• Cameroon – 12,270
• Cape Verde – 982
• Central African Republic – 3,051
• Chad – 860
• Comoros – 265
• Congo-Brazzaville – 1,087
• DR Congo – 6,027
• Djibouti – 4,617
• Egypt – 58,141
• Equatorial Guinea – 1,664
• Eritrea – 143
• Eswatini – 674
• Ethiopia – 4,848
• Gabon – 4,849
• (The) Gambia – 42
• Ghana – 14,568
• Guinea – 5,040
• Guinea-Bissau – 1,556
• Ivory Coast – 7,904
• Kenya – 4,952
• Lesotho – 17
• Liberia – 655
• Libya – 639
• Madagascar – 1,724
• Malawi – 803
• Mali – 1,978
• Mauritania – 3,292
• Mauritius – 340
• Morocco – 10,344
• Mozambique – 757
• Namibia – 72
• Niger – 1,051
• Nigeria- 21,371
• Rwanda – 798
• Sao Tome and Principe – 707
• Senegal – 6,034
• Seychelles – 11
• Sierra Leone – 1,347
• Somalia – 2,835
• South Africa – 106,108
• South Sudan – 1,930
• Sudan – 8,889
• Tanzania – 509
• Togo – 576
• Tunisia – 1,159
• Uganda – 797
• Zambia – 1,477
• Zimbabwe – 52