World
SAO PAULO - Antonio Sera survived 36 days in the thick jungle along the Para River in Brazil’s lower Amazonia after his plane crashed and burned January 28. Government rescuers found no trace of him and gave up after a week. He told the Folha of Sao Paulo that he survived by eating fruit that he saw that monkeys would eat. The 36-year-old walked through the thick bush to safety and was 26 kilos lighter when found by Brazil nut farmers.
By Milan Sime Martinic
The 72-year old ceremonial monarch was hospitalized in KwaZulu-Natal in the last weeks due to unstable diabetes and died unexpectedly after taking a turn for the worse, report South African media.
Despite no political power granted to him in the South African Constitution, the king wielded great influence among millions of Zulus.
By Milan Sime Martinic
Dozens of out-of-control fires have destroyed at least 1,200 hectares of area protected for its ancient trees in the Los Alerces National Park, 1,200 miles southwest of Buenos Aires.
Seven people were confirmed dead, 15 missing as fires burned homes in the region of the Valdivian forest in the pristine Andean pre-mountain range at the border with Chile, according to the Argentinian government.
by Milan Sime Martinic
YANGON, Myanmar – Kachin ethnic people in Myikyina city staged a protest against the military coup on March 10, with a purpose of attempting to restore democracy in Myanmar.
In the confrontation with security forces, in which live rounds were used, two people died, including a 20-year-old woman and four others were wounded.
Myikyina is the capital of Kachin state and is famous for the Chinese government’s dam project which was temporary suspended due to the public protests. In Kachin state, Kachin Independent Army, an ethnic insurgent group, controls some areas.
By Htay Win
Photo credit Aye Yar waddy
In a first since the country’s independence in 1960, President Mahamadou Issoufou will not use any constitutional amendments or tricks to extend his stay in power and will step down at the end of this term, handing power over to his democratically elected successor, former Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum.
According to The Economist, 13 African heads of state have exceeded their term of office in the past six years.
by Milan Sime Martinic
The Biden administration says Temporary Protection Status is necessary due to extraordinary conditions that make it unsafe to return to the South American country. The decision will affect some 320k people, said the government. TPS will allow a work permit, and a residence for at least 18 months.
By Milan Sime Martinic
DURBAN, South Africa – The ANC top leaders has agreed to give former president Jacob Zuma space to continue speaking with lawyers about his refusal to appear before the commission after their meeting on Monday.
The meeting was meant to change Zuma’s mind about appearing before the state capture of inquiry. However, the officials’ attempts failed as Zuma told them that as much he respected the constitution, he also had his rights.
While addressing the media, ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said, “The top six heard his explanation and agreed to give him space to continue consulting with his lawyers on these issues which he has actually raised on whether to appear before the commission.”
Magashule said in his presentation, Zuma detailed his reasons for defying the Constitutional Court which had ordered him to appear before the commission. Zuma also told the top six officials that he did not have a problem with the commission itself and that he would appear only if its chairperson, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, was to recuse himself.
By Zakithi Dlamini
President Rodrigo Duterte launched a campaign Friday targeting everyone he classifies as “communist rebels.”
By Sunday, 9 people were dead in raids by the military and police in what Vice President Leni Robredo, who is Duterte’s rival, called a “massacre” that needs to be cleared up.
Opponents fear the president, who is famous for saying, “Kill them,” when ordering persecutions of drug dealers, is using his declaration of persecuting rebelling communists as a way to silence vocal critics and activists who now say they fear for their lives.
By Milan Sime Martinic
SAO PAULO, Brazil – A judge in the country’s Supreme Court declared the corruption trials against former President Lula da Silva invalid and thus the conviction for which he served time in prison also invalid. Further, it means he can run in the presidential elections of 2022.
Lula, Brazil’s leftist icon, would challenge right-wing populist incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, suspected to have engineered the investigation that convicted Lula on corruption charges, which judges and prosecutors now agree was manipulated and is questionable.
The former union leader ran the country from 2003 to 2011 and still enjoys great support, especially among the poor in Brazil. During Lula da Silva’s tenure, Brazil experienced a boom, but in 2018 the conviction made his candidacy impossible. Despite polls showing he was likely to win the election, he was sent to prison and taken off the ballot, Bolsonaro then won the elections and took the presidency. The 75 year-old Lula has not indicated whether he wants to run again, but his supporters are already celebrating.
According to recent polls, if the elections were held today, he would have more votes than Bolsonaro.
By Milan Sime Martinic
Both nations have signed a letter of intent to build a “complex of facilities for experimental research on the surface and/or orbit of the moon,” announced the Russian space agency Roskosmos Tuesday, adding that the program that the program be open to “all interested states and international partners.”
By Milan Sime Martinic
Soldiers and civilians were among the victims as dynamite and explosives depots caught fire and exploded in several detonations at a military base in the city of Bata. The country’s president has said the tragedy occurred because of “negligence and inattention” that allowed farmers’ bush burnings to get out of hand.
By Milan Sime Martinic
The city is currently weighing removing Abraham Lincoln statues, part of a “racial healing and historical reckoning project” that began last summer under Democratic mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The city removed a statue of Christopher Columbus a few months ago.
Other statues being considered for removal are of presidents George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant and William McKinley.
By Sid Douglas