Month: June 2024

Malawi’s vice president, Saulos Chilima, was among 10 people killed when a small military plane crashed in a mountainous region in the north of the country, the president said Tuesday.

President Lazarus Chakwera announced in a live address on state television that the wreckage of the plane had been located after a search of more than a day in thick forests and hilly terrain near the northern city of Mzuzu. Chakwera said there were no survivors of the crash.

Former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the plane. There were seven passengers and three military crew members onboard.

The group was traveling to Mzuzu to attend the funeral of a former government minister.

Chilima was 51. He was serving his second term as vice president.

President Dr Lazarus Chakwera said the Malawi Defence Force is in the process of bringing the remains of the deceased to the Capital, Lilongwe and that he will announce arrangements in due course.

Pope Francis called Sunday for humanitarian aid to urgently reach Palestinians in Gaza and for Israel and Hamas to immediately accept proposals for a cease-fire and release of hostages.

During his Sunday noon blessing, Francis also thanked Jordan, which this week will host an international humanitarian aid conference for Palestinians.

“I encourage the international community to act urgently, with all means, to help the war-exhausted population of Gaza,” Francis said. “Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need, and no one can prevent it.”

Francis threw his support behind a cease-fire proposal and said he hoped it would be quickly accepted by both sides, even though he acknowledged negotiations “are not easy.”

“I hope that the peace proposals for a ceasefire on all fronts and for the release of the hostages will be immediately accepted for the good of the Palestinians and the Israelis” he said.

Speaking about Ukraine while greeting a group of Ukrainian pilgrims, Francis also said “let’s not forget the martyred Ukrainian people who suffer the most and most yearn for peace.

He also briefly mentioned Myanmar, asking faithful not to forget to pray for peace in that country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Middle East this week as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the dramatic rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Blinken arrived in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.

With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal received 10 days ago, Blinken on Monday will start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict began in October. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before traveling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar.

While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other U.S. officials have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinian civilians that may complicate the cease-fire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas’ resolve to carry on fighting in the war it initiated with its Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

Somalia was elected on Thursday (Jun. 6) to serve on the UN security council as a non-permanent member for two years.

Denmark, Greece, Pakistan and Panama also got seats on the U.N. Security Council in a secret ballot in the General Assembly.

The 193-member world body elected five countries. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups that usually select their candidates but sometimes can’t agree on one. There were no such surprises this year.

This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats.

The freshly elected council members will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing those whose two-year terms end on Dec. 31 — Mozambique, Japan, Ecuador, Malta, and Switzerland.

They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France — and the five countries elected last year — Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia.

The Security Council is charged with maintaining international peace and security. But because of Russia’s veto power it has been unable to take action on Ukraine — and because of close U.S. ties to Israel it has not called for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza.

All five countries that won seats on Thursday have previously served on the Security Council – Pakistan seven times, Panama five times, Denmark four times, Greece twice and Somalia once.

Virtually every country agrees that almost eight decades after the United Nations was established the Security Council needs to expand and reflect the world in the 21st century, not the post-World War II era reflected now.

But with 193 countries with national interests, the central question — and the biggest disagreement — is exactly how. And for four decades, those disagreements have blocked any significant reform of the U.N.’s most powerful body.

Kenyan cobbler, Stephen Ochieng’s life was changed forever following an accident a few years ago.

He was standing in a crowd of people at a packed station, all trying to board a train to get home after work when he fell under the train.

The damage to his legs was so severe they both had to be amputated.

Now, a new 3D printing company, Prothea Kenya, has helped him and other amputees to change their lives for the better.

“After suffering with a wheelchair in the slums, I met someone who introduced me to a prosthesis. Even though I got the previous one, it was very hectic in that after walking for a bit I would feel a lot of pain,” says Stephen.

Then, he was introduced to Prothea.

“When I went there, I found that their prostheses are very flexible, very affordable, they are cheap, they are very good,” he says.

Cindy Cherotich also uses a prosthetic made by Prothea. The 24-year-old lost her leg in a motorcycle crash.

Still at high school at the time, the injury had a deep psychological impact, but says her prosthetic leg has helped her reclaim her independence.

Prothea is the first Kenyan company to successfully 3D printing prosthetic and was founded by Dr Nick Were so that people like Cindy and Stephen can have a better quality of life.

“Comparing between traditional way of making prosthesis and 3D printing, with 3D printing we have significant customisation based on the scanning of the patient’s limb,” he says.

“This increases comfort for the patient. The second is the time it takes. With 3D printing we can have the prosthetic made within 24hrs,” says Dr Were.

The cost benefits are also significant. Traditionally an above knee prosthesis would cost around $3,500, while a below knee one would go for around $1,600.

However, 3D printing has reduced the cost to $1,400 for the above knee prosthesis and $800 for the below knee one.

While 3D prosthesis save both money and time, Dr John Ondiege, the chief orthopedist at Kenyatta National Hospital, says they still have to learn to use it properly.

“The turnaround time is so much reduced. A patient can come and in less than two hours the patient is already being trained to walk. They are doing what we call gait training,” he says.

Over the past year, Prothea has produced more than 100 pieces for amputees all over Kenya.

The World Health Organization estimates that around five million Africans live with some sort of limb amputation.

Leaders of the United Methodist Church have expressed regret after the Ivorian branch decided to leave the union following the repeal of a long-standing ban on LGBTQ+ clergy.

The events are the latest in a series of repercussions in Africa, where United Methodists are in the majority outside the United States, due to disputes over sexuality and theology.

In May, at the church’s first legislative meeting in five years, delegates voted overwhelmingly to remove a rule barring “avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.

Unlike previous general conferences, which strengthened the ban despite debate, this change means that the Church no longer prohibits them, without necessarily requiring them to be ordained.

Each member church was free to decide for itself, and while some bishops wished to remain in the union, others preferred to disaffiliate.

On May 28, the Church of Ivory Coast, which has more than 1.2 million members, voted to secede from the United Methodists. It is one of the largest branches abroad. The United Methodist Church has approximately 5.4 million members in the United States and 4.6 million in Africa, Europe and the Philippines.

After the vote, the Council of Bishops said Wednesday that “while deploring” Ivory Coast’s decision, “we are committed to working with it to become an autonomous Methodist Church.”

“While we may not all agree, the strength of our union lies in love, respect, compassion and faith in Jesus Christ,” the Council said.

In Zimbabwe, hundreds of members of the United Methodist Church gathered last week in Harare to protest the decision to welcome LGBTQ+ members.

They sang hymns and held signs declaring that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination.

“Africa is not for sale. No to homosexuality,” read one sign. Church member James Kawaza recalled that “homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe.”

“The Church has aligned itself with the rainbow movement, which threatens our African traditions and human existence,” says a petition by Church members, asking their bishop, Eben Nhiwatiwa, to to act.

Bishop Nhiwatiwa could not be reached for comment.

Christian denominations in Zimbabwe and other African countries have strongly opposed welcoming homosexuals into the Church.

In January, Catholic bishops in Africa and Madagascar refused to follow Pope Francis’ call to allow priests to bless same-sex couples, saying such unions are “contrary to the will of God.”

Chester Samba, director of GALZ, an organization representing the LGBTQ+ community in Zimbabwe, expressed little hope of seeing a change in Zimbabwe and Africa’s conservative stance.

“I hope that platforms for dialogue will be created to improve understanding and welcome all worshipers, regardless of their sexual orientation,” said Samba, whose members have often faced harassment and stigmatization.

5 years to be ready for war. That is what Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Boris Pistorius is convinced that his country will need to fight. This comes after he called for a review of the military late last year.

He also has pointed to the danger of a possible retaliatory Russian attack on a NATO country and said repeatedly that the German military must become “war-capable”.

“We must be ready for war by 2029. We must provide a deterrent to prevent the worst from happening,” he said.

“Three issues are central to this. Personnel, material and finances. In an emergency, we need young men and women who can defend this country.”

Last year, Pistorius took on the job of overhauling the military, the Bundeswehr.

President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike NATO targets in response to NATO members such as France and Germany allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

Germany’s new defence strategy is a shift from the country’s longstanding post-World War II culture of military caution.

Beekeeping is thriving in Uganda, with the country producing between 100,000 and 200,000 metric tons of honey annually, according to the Uganda Investment Authority. The growing demand suggests significant potential for further expansion.

Sandra Ejang, a bee farmer and honey entrepreneur, began keeping bees as a hobby inspired by her grandmother’s backyard beehives. “As a child, my grandmother had beehives in her backyard, and before we started, the only experience I had with honey was eating it from a comb,” Ejang recalls.

For nearly a decade, Ejang has turned her passion into a profitable business. Her brand, Asali wa Moyo, has become a staple on store shelves. “This year, we are pulling up greatly as we become more commercial. We cater to everybody, from higher-end customers to hotels and restaurants,” she explains.

Ejang’s business isn’t limited to honey; she also produces beeswax, medicinal products, and honey-based beauty items. “The European markets have a demand for Ugandan honey. However, there are many aspects to consider for exportation, and we are focusing on increasing production,” Ejang notes.

Despite the successes, challenges remain. The Uganda Investment Authority highlights the need to boost production volumes and protect the declining bee population. Antonio Querido, the FAO Representative in Uganda, emphasizes, “As we develop, it is important to be conscious of the role bees play in agri-food systems and adopt practices that foster their development.”

Sandra Ejang’s ambition is clear: “We want to be the best on the continent, providing delightful pleasure for honey lovers to savor.”

The beekeeping sector in Uganda holds promise, and with entrepreneurs like Ejang leading the way, the future looks sweet.