ANGOLA BEAT MOZAMBIQUE, QUALIFY FOR AFROBASKET2021

 Luanda – Angola national senior men's basketball team secured their presence in the Afrobasket2021, after beating  Mozambique, by 91-68 on Friday  in the first match of the  (group B) of the last qualifying round, played at Sports Palace of Yaoundé (Cameroon).

Angola reached seven points (2nd position) and even if the team lose the remaining two games, the points are no longer achievable by the Mozambicans, who occupy the fourth position (4 points) in the competition that selects the top three in each group.

Carlos Morais was the top scorer of the match with 21 points, ahead of Childe Dundão (20), while Ermelindo Novela stood out for the Mozambicans with 17 points.

In the same group, Senegal, already qualified, defeated Kenya, by 69-51, and strengthened their leading, now with eight points, while the Kenyans are third with five points.

Angola face Kenya on Saturday and play the last match against Senegal on Sunday.

Nigeria qualified with 12 points in group D, after winning the three games over South Sudan (75-70), Rwanda (64-51) and Mali (76-56).

South Sudan (9 points) and Mali (8) have also qualified, while Rwanda, fourth and last in the group with seven points, is guaranteed participation in the African Basketball Nations Championship ``Afrobasket2021" as host.

Afrobasket2021 will be held from August 24 to September 5, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Suspected hypothermia deaths in homes mount in Texas

 With the snow and ice clearing in Texas after days of unusually cold temperatures, bodies are being found of people who likely froze to death as they struggled to stay warm after electricity was cut to millions of homes.

Of the around 70 deaths attributed to the snow, ice and frigid temperatures nationwide, more than a dozen were people who perished in homes that had lost their heat, and most of those were in Texas. They include an 11-year-old boy who died in his bed in Conroe, near Houston, and two older men found dead in their homes in the small West Texas town of Buffalo Gap in Taylor County.

Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop said his office received many calls in recent days asking for checks on friends or family members who may be suffering due to the power outages.

“I can think of probably one point in one hour we probably got 10 of those calls,” said Bishop, adding that some of the county’s roads were covered in 4 foot (120 centimeter) deep snow drifts.

Hypothermia can set in if the body loses heat faster than it can produce it and if it falls below about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees.

“After hours and hours, it leads to a very dangerous condition,” said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for Fort Worth area ambulance provider MedStar, said most of the hypothermia calls they received were from people in their own homes, where temperatures had dipped to 50 degrees or lower.

MedStar reached a peak on Wednesday with 77 hypothermia calls, Zavadsky said. Some people reported numb hands and feet, while others had more severe symptoms.

“You had people who had been so cold for so long that they were shivering uncontrollably, they may have had a decreased level of consciousness, which is not uncommon when you are in hypothermia for a prolonged period of time,” he said.

Some who were transported to hospitals had reached the point they were no longer shivering, “which is a very bad sign,” Zavadsky said.

At first, the body will try to generate heat by shivering and boosting its heart rate. But if internal temperatures keep dropping, “those things start to slow down,” said Dr. Jeff Pothof, an emergency room doctor at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. The body will restrict blood circulation to extremities to maintain blood in the core and keep internal organs warm.

Left untreated, hypothermia begins to affect the brain, making it hard to think clearly or move easily.

“You might not understand exactly what’s going on,” Potfhof said. “And that’s a vicious cycle because you can’t take the action you need to.”

Some of the older people who died in Texas were found outside their homes. It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted them to go outside.

Poor circulation eventually prevents the heart, brain, and other vital organs from functioning, leading to death. About 32 people die from the cold annually in the U.S., according to the National Weather Service.

Extended nighttime lows in the single digits — as experienced by Texans this week — can be especially dangerous, Glatter said, since body temperatures naturally dip overnight.

“It can creep up on you,” he said, especially if confusion has begun to set in. “Your ability to think clearly is not as good, so it’s likely people won’t pick up on those signs and symptoms.”

Babies, children and seniors are at the highest risk for hypothermia because of poor circulation and temperature regulation. Those with heart problems, asthma, emphysema, chronic lung disease, diabetes and tobacco use are also vulnerable.

Some strategies for staying warm can be more hazardous than helpful.

Bundling up too much under blankets or layers of clothing can be dangerous if it leads to excessive sweating, which can pull heat away from the body.

And during weather-related power outages, people might use propane heaters, run generators or burn charcoal or wood indoors — all of which can lead to dangerous fires or deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.

“These are all setups for disaster,” Glatter said.

DALLAS (AP)

Audit finds nepotism, corruption, and worse at the African Union Commission

 Nepotism, unverified qualifications, recruitment, and contract anomalies: These are some of the damning findings of an independent forensic and performance audit carried out last year at the African Union Commission.

The report, which Devex has seen, also found anomalies in staff remuneration and allowances — including irregular issuance of spousal allowances and double housing allowances issued to spouses working at AUC.

The audit, which was initiated by the AU Executive Council and was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, was tasked with investigating “possible wrong-doing, misuse, and/or mismanagement of the AUC’s resources” in several areas, including the staff recruitment and contract renewal process.

In many ways, the report confirmed the extensive allegations of nepotism, corruption, financial mismanagement, power abuse, and sexual harassment which have consistently plagued the commission.

Sabelo Mbokazi, president of the AU Staff Association confirmed that the report was discussed by the AU policy organs, and said a decision was made at the AU Summit this month, demanding that immediate action should be taken against those who were implicated in the report.

“We as the Staff Association Executive Committee will not support our staff members who were involved in any form of maleficence and corrupt acts,” he said.

A breeding ground for sexual harassment and nepotism

Auditors found a large number of staff were on short-term contracts and noted that such contracts can encourage abuse of staff members “whose jobs rely on ‘goodwill’/’favour.’”

During the review period, which covered 2012-2018, 71% of the 3,328 staff members were on short-term contracts, and the contracts of 382 fixed-term staff — one to two-year contracts renewable three times — were renewed at least once beyond the stipulated terms. In addition, 212 staff members were working at the AUC despite being past the retirement age of 62.

Désiré Assogbavi, a political scientist and former resident representative to the AU for the U.N. Population Fund and Oxfam said these discrepancies create a breeding ground for abuse.

“This is where sexual harassment can come up, this is where all abuses can come,” he said. “Because if you know your contract is only three months you will be begging the person that supervises you and ready to give anything for your contract to be renewed.”

In 2018, an internal investigation found that incidents of sexual harassment were rife in the commission. The report found that harassment was mostly “perpetuated by supervisors over female employees in their charge” and that “short-term staff, youth volunteers and interns were the most vulnerable and exposed.” Senior departmental staff was identified as the main perpetrators.

At the time, Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat vowed to take immediate action to address the issues raised. However, so far it appears not much has changed.

“[O]ur view is that very little was done,” Mbokazi said.

The latest audit also found numerous recruitment anomalies that included irregular shortlisting of interview candidates, candidates interviewed and appointed without having applied for positions, uncompetitive recruitment processes, and failure to appoint the best candidate.

In addition, the report noted that more than 100 staff members within the commission were directly related to another person within the organization. Auditors were also unable to verify qualifications of some staff members.

“You find people whose qualifications could not be established by the audit. They are in the position and they could not justify if they qualify or not,” Assogbavi said. “Things like that happen in the commission.”

Leaked internal AU documents including a 2020 memo from Mbokazi and a 2018 letter from previous Deputy Chairperson Thomas Kwesi-Quartey to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo have implicated Faki, the AUC’s chairperson, in acts of cronyism.

Though the audit report does not refer to any specific examples of wrongdoing by Faki, it does state that auditors did provide questionable “examples on the recruitment of staff and on the renewal of staff contracts” where the offices of the chairperson and former deputy chairperson were directly responsible.

“As the staff association, we feel vindicated most of the issues that we raised have been also raised by the forensic audit report, that there was some abuse of authority,” Mbokazi said.

High hopes for change

Though leaders at the AU Summit ordered the chairperson of the commission “to take immediate disciplinary action,” the administrative and financial management of the commission lie within the mandate of the deputy chairperson’s office.

Speaking at a webinar, Shewit Woldemichael, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies explained that as part of her mandate, the new Deputy Chairperson Monique Nsanzabaganwa is “likely to undertake the discharge and retirement of many” staff members and “deal with the extensive allegations of nepotism, corruption, financial mismanagement, power abuse, and sexual harassment.”

Both Commision staff and analysts have high hopes that Nsanzabaganwa may be the right person to finally clean up the AUC.

“We have been informed that the incoming deputy chairperson is someone who is known for sound leadership, is someone who carries that stature, having dignity and takes leadership very seriously,” Mbokazi said. “So we are optimistic that using the mandate that is accorded to her office, she should be able to make a difference.”

He also warned that in order for Nsanzabaganwa to succeed, there should be no interference with the activities of her office.

“Our understanding is that these two offices [the chairperson and deputy] have been assigned different mandates by the constitutive act of the African Union. If each office is able to take its mandate seriously that it’s given by the constitutive act then there should be no problem,” he said.

Assogbavi added that in addition to her professional background, as a Rwandan national Nsanzabaganwa is also obligated to carry out reforms of the AU as they were largely championed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

“Her president is the one that championed the reform, that was insisting on better management, a more transparent management, a more serious management of the AU Commission,” Assogbavi said.

Possible retrenchments

As part of the reform process, the AUC is expected to become “leaner, more professional and effective as well as more accountable and transparent,” which may result in retrenchments.

Mbokazi confirmed that during last month’s summit, heads of state adopted a transition plan to implement the reforms within the commission’s staff structure and that reforms will be implemented in phases, affecting different categories of staff.

“It [the transition plan] gives an opportunity for those who qualify and want to take a package to do so,” he said.

This year — phase one — will affect the directors and heads of divisions, but all staff will be taken through a skills audit and competency assessment, carried out by an independent private firm.

Though Mbokazi said the staff association is lobbying to minimize layoffs, Assogbavi believes that the process will ultimately result in layoffs and that this will pave the way for merit-based recruitment.

“I think [layoffs are] going to happen for sure,” he said. “What we heard is that most of the current leaders will have to reapply for the new jobs, because jobs have changed titles,” he said. “That creates a hope that the new leadership will probably be serious, [and] things will be better than before.”

Source: Devex

Ghana: Tension mounting among Muslims in Ho

 There is tension mounting among members of the Zongo community in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, over who takes the leadership of the Muslim community.

Following the demise of former Volta Regional Chief Imam, Umoro Danjimah Hamzah, there was a need for a successor to be selected to lead the Muslim community, and this has been the bone of contention between two factions.

One party believes Alfas Anas, who served as the first deputy Imam to the deceased should occupy the position, while the other party is opposed to this.

Regardless of this, Alfas Anas was subsequently installed as the Regional Chief Imam, a development the other faction completely disapprove of.

Following this, there has been a power struggle over who leads prayers at the central mosque.

The Ho Municipal Action Police Commander, Alexander Adade Yeboah, indicated that in anticipation of a possible riot, the Ho Municipal Security Council advised that the mosque be closed to the public.

As a result, the Ho new Zongo community was compelled to have prayers outside the mosque.

Reacting to this, Chief Imam Alfas Anas has described this development as unfortunate.

“I have been leading prayers in this mosque since 2005. All those who are opposing to me, they follow me. So my appeal is peace and truth”, he said.

The youth are, however, agitated over the development which tends to spark mayhem in arguably the most peaceful Muslim community in Ghana.

“All the Ulama’s have agreed that Anas should be the Volta Regional Chief Imam. We were here when a chief from the old Zongo came and said he will not accept it and that his own brother should take over the position,” explained Suhailu Mohammed Kidza, a youth at the Ho New Zongo.

They are therefore imploring the national hierarchy of the Muslim community to call the feuding factions to order and resolve the pending issues amicably for peace to prevail.

Source: myjoyonline

US: Customers, staff fired back in gun store shooting; 3 dead

 A person entered a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, prompting customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter also died.

A person entered a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, prompting customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter also died.

The shooting happened around 2:50 p.m. at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in the suburb of Metairie, according to a release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the shooter initially struck two people inside, and then several other people — whether employees or store customers — opened fire on the shooter, both inside and outside of the building. Outside the building, a man could be seen afterward behind yellow police tape yelling “Where is my son?”

Guns and ammunition are sold in the front of the outlet that faces a main thoroughfare through Jefferson Parish. Customers who want to frequent the gun range generally go around to the side entrance of the building. Staff who work there often wear a sidearm.

Lopinto said two other people also were hit by gunfire and were hospitalized in stable condition. He said there were multiple shooters.

“We’re trying to put it all together,” the sheriff said during a short briefing with journalists.

None of the dead or wounded were immediately identified and details remained unclear.

Tyrone Russell and Wanetta Joseph were both in a conceal-and-carry course at the store when they heard what they both described as rapid firing. They said the gunfire sounded much louder than the usual muffled shooting that they are used to hearing inside the shooting range.

“We heard the gunshots and the screaming,” said Russell. “When the police came, they escorted us out. I could see glass everywhere … It was just like a really scary scene.”

“It got extremely loud, like a bomb almost,” said Joseph, who hid with other students under a table — not knowing if there were multiple shooters or if one was near the classroom. One instructor stayed with the students while two others left the room and headed toward the sound of gunfire.

Russell said that when he was led out, he could see a guy “laid out” in the parking lot not far from his car, which was struck by bullets. He described seeing shattered glass, bullet casings strewn about the store.

Caution tape surrounded the business to keep onlookers from getting close to the scene, where ambulances and numerous law enforcement vehicles had converged. A neighboring Taco Bell eatery had been evacuated.

Authorities remained at the scene as night fell.

Metairie is a major suburb of New Orleans, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of the city’s iconic French Quarter, in the neighboring jurisdiction of Jefferson Parish.

METAIRIE, La. (AP)

US plane scatters engine debris over Denver homes

 A Boeing jet has scattered debris over a residential area near Denver after one of its engines failed on take-off.

The Boeing 777, with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, was able to return safely and land at Denver airport. No injuries were reported.

Police in the town of Broomfield posted pictures of what appears to be the front of an engine casing in the front garden of a home.

Passengers onboard described a “large explosion” shortly after take-off.

Flight 328, a United Airlines plane bound for Honolulu, suffered a failure in its right-hand engine, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

One passenger who was on the flight told AP news agency that the pilot was giving an announcement when there was a loud explosion.

“The plane started shaking violently, and we lost altitude and we started going down,” David Delucia said.

He added that he and his wife placed their wallets in their pockets so that “in case we did go down, we could be ID’d”.

Images posted online showed smoke trailing from the engine. One video apparently shot from inside the plane shows an engine on fire and stripped of its casing.

The incident happened shortly after 13:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Broomfield police urged residents not to touch or move the debris. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will be carrying out an investigation.

One Broomfield resident told CNN he had seen the debris fall from the plane and took shelter with his children as it started coming down.

“We saw it go over, we heard the big explosion, we looked up, there was black smoke in the sky,” Kieran Cain said. “Debris started raining down, which you know, sort of looked like it was floating down and not very heavy, but actually now looking at it, it’s giant metal pieces all over the place.”

Russia reports first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu

 Health watchdog says the cases were discovered at a poultry farm in southern Russia in December.

Russia has registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named AH5N8 being passed to humans from birds and has reported the case to the World Health Organization (WHO), the head of a health consumer watchdog said.

Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months but only in poultry. Other strains – H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 – have been known to spread to humans.

Russia reported the case to the WHO “several days ago, just as we became absolutely certain of our results,” Anna Popova, the head of health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, told Rossiya 24 state TV on Saturday. There was no sign of transmission between humans so far, she added.

The highly contagious strain is lethal for birds but has never before been reported to have spread to humans.

The majority of human bird flu infections have been associated with direct contact with infected live or dead poultry, though properly cooked food is considered to be safe.

Bird flu outbreaks often prompt poultry plants to kill their birds to prevent the virus from spreading, and avoid importing countries having to impose trade restrictions.

Seven workers at a poultry plant in Russia’s south had been infected with the H5N8 strain when there was an outbreak at the plant in December, Popova said.

The workers did not suffer any serious health consequences, she added.

Popova praised “the important scientific discovery,” saying “time will tell” if the virus can further mutate.

Siberia’s Vector Institute said on Saturday it would start developing human tests and a vaccine against H5N8, RIA news agency reported.

Located in Koltsovo outside the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the institute has developed one of Russia’s several coronavirus vaccines.