Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
As many as one million people could be plunged into poverty by the pandemic. Charities have also been impacted. Here is a closer look at the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus in France
Thursday, November 26, 2020
'Vidas Negras Importam': Killing of black man on eve of Brazil's Black Consciousness Day sparks protests
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
The death of a black man after being beaten by supermarket security guards in the city of Porto Alegre on the eve of Black Consciousness Day has sparked outrage across Brazil. The protests echoes this past year's demonstrations in the US. FRANCE 24's Pierre Le Duff and Laura Damabe report from Porto Alegre.
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
The death of a black man after being beaten by supermarket security guards in the city of Porto Alegre on the eve of Black Consciousness Day has sparked outrage across Brazil. The protests echoes this past year's demonstrations in the US. FRANCE 24's Pierre Le Duff and Laura Damabe report from Porto Alegre.
Zimbabwe mine shaft collapse leaves dozens trapped
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Rescuers pump water out of a flooded main shaft in a bid to open up a passageway to the trapped miners
Jekesai NJIKIZANA AFP
Bindura (Zimbabwe) (AFP)
Around 40 informal miners have been trapped underground in northeastern Zimbabwe after a shaft in a disused gold mine collapsed, the country's miners' federation said Thursday.
The disaster occurred late Wednesday in the town of Bindura, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the capital Harare, said Wellington Takavarasha, head of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation.
AFP journalists witnessed rescuers pumping water out of a flooded main shaft hoping to open up a passageway to the miners.
"We understand there were some organised mining syndicates who were mining here," Nathan Nkomo, director of the state rescue agency known as Civil Protection Unit, told AFP at the scene.
"After blasting some of the pillars, that is when the whole mine collapsed," he said, adding that the exact "numbers are not yet established".
Takavarasha told AFP that the miners were working inside the disused Ran Gold Mine when a shaft caved in.
Six miners have since been pulled out and taken to hospital.
"Those who were rescued said there were about 40 people in the mine shaft at the time of the incident," Takavarasha said.
As rescuers worked, hundreds of people gathered on mounds close to the mining area, which is dotted with holes and crevices that miners dig to extract ore.
Some were relatives, sitting under trees as they waited for updates from the authorities.
Funeral companies pitched tents at the site.
"I am waiting for my brother's son who is trapped underground," Patience Jacob said.
"The rescue team is assisting but I think they are not that effective... I doubt they will be retrieved alive," she said.
- Driven underground -
Ran Mine was closed 10 years ago and retrenched workers remained behind to informally mine for residual gold.
Mining is a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe, where gold alone accounts for 60 percent of exports.
The gold sector provides jobs to nearly 10 percent of the country's population, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), a key source of employment in the struggling economy.
An estimated 1.5 million people have turned to artisanal mining as a safety net, the ICG said in a report published this week, adding that poverty and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic will likely drive more people towards the sector.
Last year, artisanal and small scale miners were responsible for 63 percent of the recorded gold production, according to official statistics.
Small-scale miners often operate illegally to avoid selling their bullion to the state-owned buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, as they are paid only 55 percent in foreign currency.
The remaining 45 percent is paid in Zimbabwean dollars, which is notoriously weak and volatile.
burs-sch-sn/dl
© 2020 AFP
Bindura (Zimbabwe) (AFP)
Around 40 informal miners have been trapped underground in northeastern Zimbabwe after a shaft in a disused gold mine collapsed, the country's miners' federation said Thursday.
The disaster occurred late Wednesday in the town of Bindura, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the capital Harare, said Wellington Takavarasha, head of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation.
AFP journalists witnessed rescuers pumping water out of a flooded main shaft hoping to open up a passageway to the miners.
"We understand there were some organised mining syndicates who were mining here," Nathan Nkomo, director of the state rescue agency known as Civil Protection Unit, told AFP at the scene.
"After blasting some of the pillars, that is when the whole mine collapsed," he said, adding that the exact "numbers are not yet established".
Takavarasha told AFP that the miners were working inside the disused Ran Gold Mine when a shaft caved in.
Six miners have since been pulled out and taken to hospital.
"Those who were rescued said there were about 40 people in the mine shaft at the time of the incident," Takavarasha said.
As rescuers worked, hundreds of people gathered on mounds close to the mining area, which is dotted with holes and crevices that miners dig to extract ore.
Some were relatives, sitting under trees as they waited for updates from the authorities.
Funeral companies pitched tents at the site.
"I am waiting for my brother's son who is trapped underground," Patience Jacob said.
"The rescue team is assisting but I think they are not that effective... I doubt they will be retrieved alive," she said.
- Driven underground -
Ran Mine was closed 10 years ago and retrenched workers remained behind to informally mine for residual gold.
Mining is a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe, where gold alone accounts for 60 percent of exports.
The gold sector provides jobs to nearly 10 percent of the country's population, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), a key source of employment in the struggling economy.
An estimated 1.5 million people have turned to artisanal mining as a safety net, the ICG said in a report published this week, adding that poverty and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic will likely drive more people towards the sector.
Last year, artisanal and small scale miners were responsible for 63 percent of the recorded gold production, according to official statistics.
Small-scale miners often operate illegally to avoid selling their bullion to the state-owned buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, as they are paid only 55 percent in foreign currency.
The remaining 45 percent is paid in Zimbabwean dollars, which is notoriously weak and volatile.
burs-sch-sn/dl
© 2020 AFP
Africa lacks preparedness for virus vaccine roll-out : WHO
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
The African region is so far only 33 percent ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said
SIPHIWE SIBEKO POOL/AFP
Johannesburg (AFP)
The World Health Organization on Thursday urged African countries to improve their capacity to vaccinate populations against Covid-19, warning the continent was still "far from ready" for mass immunisation.
With three coronavirus vaccines now showing efficacy rates of 70 percent or more, the UN body called on Africa to "ramp up" preparations for "the continent's largest ever immunisation drive".
The African region is so far only 33 percent ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.
That figure, based on data provided by 40 countries on a series of "readiness criteria", is well below a desired 80 percent benchmark.
"Planning and preparation will make or break this unprecedented endeavour," WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said during a virtual press briefing.
The main concerns are a lack of adequate funding plans, monitoring tools and community outreach.
"There are key logistical and financing gaps where international solidarity will be imperative," Moeti said.
The WHO estimates that rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine to just priority populations in Africa will cost around $5.7 billion (4.8 billion euros).
African countries will be partially subsidised by the COVAX global Covid-19 distribution scheme.
The World Bank has also set aside $12 billion (10.1 billion euros) to help developing countries finance their immunisation programs.
Moeti said the aim was to vaccinate three percent of Africa's population by March 2021, and 20 percent by the end of the year.
- Africa-based research -
Other health experts at the briefing said additional research was needed to develop vaccines more suitable to the continent.
They noted that a promising vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which tested at a 95 percent success rate at its latest trial, must be kept at -70 degrees celsius -- all but impossible for most hospitals in Africa.
"We really should be doing some of this vaccine research in the African region," said Helen Rees, chair of the WHO's Africa immunisation advisory group.
So far only Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and South Africa have active Covid-19 vaccine trials.
Moeti said it was important for the continent not to fall behind on global preparations for Covid-19 vaccinations even though coronavirus infections had somewhat plateaued.
She noted that Africa has been relatively spared compared to the rest of the world, with over 2.1 million cases and 50,000 deaths recorded to date.
But some countries are beginning to see localised infection surges, particularly in South Africa and the Maghreb.
"We are starting to see an uptick and that gives us a lot of concern," Moeti warned. "The curve is once again trending upwards a little bit."
sch/pma
© 2020 AFP
Johannesburg (AFP)
The World Health Organization on Thursday urged African countries to improve their capacity to vaccinate populations against Covid-19, warning the continent was still "far from ready" for mass immunisation.
With three coronavirus vaccines now showing efficacy rates of 70 percent or more, the UN body called on Africa to "ramp up" preparations for "the continent's largest ever immunisation drive".
The African region is so far only 33 percent ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.
That figure, based on data provided by 40 countries on a series of "readiness criteria", is well below a desired 80 percent benchmark.
"Planning and preparation will make or break this unprecedented endeavour," WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said during a virtual press briefing.
The main concerns are a lack of adequate funding plans, monitoring tools and community outreach.
"There are key logistical and financing gaps where international solidarity will be imperative," Moeti said.
The WHO estimates that rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine to just priority populations in Africa will cost around $5.7 billion (4.8 billion euros).
African countries will be partially subsidised by the COVAX global Covid-19 distribution scheme.
The World Bank has also set aside $12 billion (10.1 billion euros) to help developing countries finance their immunisation programs.
Moeti said the aim was to vaccinate three percent of Africa's population by March 2021, and 20 percent by the end of the year.
- Africa-based research -
Other health experts at the briefing said additional research was needed to develop vaccines more suitable to the continent.
They noted that a promising vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which tested at a 95 percent success rate at its latest trial, must be kept at -70 degrees celsius -- all but impossible for most hospitals in Africa.
"We really should be doing some of this vaccine research in the African region," said Helen Rees, chair of the WHO's Africa immunisation advisory group.
So far only Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and South Africa have active Covid-19 vaccine trials.
Moeti said it was important for the continent not to fall behind on global preparations for Covid-19 vaccinations even though coronavirus infections had somewhat plateaued.
She noted that Africa has been relatively spared compared to the rest of the world, with over 2.1 million cases and 50,000 deaths recorded to date.
But some countries are beginning to see localised infection surges, particularly in South Africa and the Maghreb.
"We are starting to see an uptick and that gives us a lot of concern," Moeti warned. "The curve is once again trending upwards a little bit."
sch/pma
© 2020 AFP
LatAm governments facing vaccine distribution challenges
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Getting vaccines to Amazon rainforest residents poses a special challenge for Brazilian healthworkers, who performed a rapid Covid test on Chief Domingos from the Arapuim tribe in July in Para state TARSO SARRAF AFP
Montevideo (AFP)
Cash-strapped Latin American governments face severe geographical, economic and social challenges in trying to ensure life-saving Covid-19 vaccines are made available to vulnerable populations, experts say.
Megacities like Sao Paulo, mountain ranges like the Andes as well as the vast Amazon basin pose just a few of the geographical problems for distributors, given the vital need to maintain the cold chain to preserve the vaccines.
Transporting vaccines "to the most distant parts of the big cities and to peripheral neighborhoods, with the need to conserve the cold chain, will be the first major challenge," Colombian epidemiologist Carlos Trillos told AFP.
Governments also face a race against time to provide training to those handling the doses throughout the cold chain, he said.
Amazon basin countries had an early taste of the geographical challenges ahead for their vaccination campaigns, after health workers struggled to provide care for three million indigenous people scattered throughout the rainforest, an area almost seven times the size of Spain.
Vaccine campaigners also worry about rampant disinformation in the continent worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 12.5 million of the 630 million Latin Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 435,000 have died, a third of the total number of deaths worldwide, according to AFP figures based on official data.
- Challenging and costly' -
The process will be "challenging and costly" said Jarbas Barbosa, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The organization expects to distribute vaccines in the region between March and May 2021 through Covax, a World Health Organization initiative to guarantee equal access for impoverished countries.
All Latin American and Caribbean countries have joined Covax, although some lack funds to purchase vaccines themselves, Barbosa said.
In any case Covax will only provide enough vaccines for 10 to 20 percent of the population, forcing many governments to sign separate bilateral agreements with laboratories and biotechnology companies.
Countries in the region are having to spend significant amounts of money on these pre-purchases just as they are experiencing historic economic contractions from the impact of the pandemic.
Lower-income countries like Bolivia, Haiti, Guyana and several Caribbean island states are betting on the Covax-eligible status to receive vaccines without contributing funds. So is El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, recently battered by Hurricanes Iota and Eta.
Covax's latest projections estimate that vaccinating just 20 percent of the region's population will cost more than $2 billion.
The vaccine will be free of charge, rolled out in a first phase for health professionals, essential workers and, in some cases, older people or those with conditions that put them at risk of developing a serious case of Covid-19.
- Complex logistics -
Storing and distributing the vaccines is emerging as the main obstacle.
Among the companies leading the vaccine race, Pfizer/BioNTech require their doses being stored at temperatures around -70 degrees Celsius -- meaning they can only be distributed in large cities, experts said.
Maintaining the cold chain "is a challenge for all countries" said Barbosa.
One positive is that "there are more than 100 vaccines in development ... the others that are closer to concluding clinical trials use the same cold chain that countries already use," he said, in ranges of - 15 to -25 Celsius and 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
Argentina, which has signed agreements that so far guarantee vaccines for 28 of its 44 million inhabitants, will deploy the army to ensure doses are distributed.
- Crisis and disinformation -
Peru, the Latin American country with the most deaths per million inhabitants (1,081), has so far secured 9.5 million vaccines and is negotiating with laboratories to cover 24.5 million of its 31 million inhabitants.
Venezuela signed a deal with Russia to receive 10 million Sputnik V vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, and Caracas said mass vaccinations would begin in April.
However, according to Virgilio Vasquez, head of local NGO Doctors United, the problem in Venezuela goes far beyond doubts over the infrastructure and equipment to support the cold chain.
"Vaccines have to reach not only large hospitals but also outpatient clinics in remote areas," he said.
Even if health centers were to receive the necessary equipment to ensure safe vaccine storage, health workers "will still have serious electrical problems, with regions where the power goes out for hours every day."
Vasquez, a specialist in epidemiological data processing, also said Venezuela's vaccination campaigners will lack fuel to power vehicles needed to distribute the vaccine because of a severe gasoline shortage.
Brazil's vaccine campaign was well set "to reach the most remote areas," said Natalia Pasternak, microbiology professor at the University of Sao Paulo.
However, the major obstacle there could come from pandemic skeptic President Jair Bolsonaro "and the eventual resistance of the population" to vaccination, she said.
burs-ll/db/ch
© 2020 AFP
Montevideo (AFP)
Cash-strapped Latin American governments face severe geographical, economic and social challenges in trying to ensure life-saving Covid-19 vaccines are made available to vulnerable populations, experts say.
Megacities like Sao Paulo, mountain ranges like the Andes as well as the vast Amazon basin pose just a few of the geographical problems for distributors, given the vital need to maintain the cold chain to preserve the vaccines.
Transporting vaccines "to the most distant parts of the big cities and to peripheral neighborhoods, with the need to conserve the cold chain, will be the first major challenge," Colombian epidemiologist Carlos Trillos told AFP.
Governments also face a race against time to provide training to those handling the doses throughout the cold chain, he said.
Amazon basin countries had an early taste of the geographical challenges ahead for their vaccination campaigns, after health workers struggled to provide care for three million indigenous people scattered throughout the rainforest, an area almost seven times the size of Spain.
Vaccine campaigners also worry about rampant disinformation in the continent worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 12.5 million of the 630 million Latin Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 435,000 have died, a third of the total number of deaths worldwide, according to AFP figures based on official data.
- Challenging and costly' -
The process will be "challenging and costly" said Jarbas Barbosa, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The organization expects to distribute vaccines in the region between March and May 2021 through Covax, a World Health Organization initiative to guarantee equal access for impoverished countries.
All Latin American and Caribbean countries have joined Covax, although some lack funds to purchase vaccines themselves, Barbosa said.
In any case Covax will only provide enough vaccines for 10 to 20 percent of the population, forcing many governments to sign separate bilateral agreements with laboratories and biotechnology companies.
Countries in the region are having to spend significant amounts of money on these pre-purchases just as they are experiencing historic economic contractions from the impact of the pandemic.
Lower-income countries like Bolivia, Haiti, Guyana and several Caribbean island states are betting on the Covax-eligible status to receive vaccines without contributing funds. So is El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, recently battered by Hurricanes Iota and Eta.
Covax's latest projections estimate that vaccinating just 20 percent of the region's population will cost more than $2 billion.
The vaccine will be free of charge, rolled out in a first phase for health professionals, essential workers and, in some cases, older people or those with conditions that put them at risk of developing a serious case of Covid-19.
- Complex logistics -
Storing and distributing the vaccines is emerging as the main obstacle.
Among the companies leading the vaccine race, Pfizer/BioNTech require their doses being stored at temperatures around -70 degrees Celsius -- meaning they can only be distributed in large cities, experts said.
Maintaining the cold chain "is a challenge for all countries" said Barbosa.
One positive is that "there are more than 100 vaccines in development ... the others that are closer to concluding clinical trials use the same cold chain that countries already use," he said, in ranges of - 15 to -25 Celsius and 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
Argentina, which has signed agreements that so far guarantee vaccines for 28 of its 44 million inhabitants, will deploy the army to ensure doses are distributed.
- Crisis and disinformation -
Peru, the Latin American country with the most deaths per million inhabitants (1,081), has so far secured 9.5 million vaccines and is negotiating with laboratories to cover 24.5 million of its 31 million inhabitants.
Venezuela signed a deal with Russia to receive 10 million Sputnik V vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, and Caracas said mass vaccinations would begin in April.
However, according to Virgilio Vasquez, head of local NGO Doctors United, the problem in Venezuela goes far beyond doubts over the infrastructure and equipment to support the cold chain.
"Vaccines have to reach not only large hospitals but also outpatient clinics in remote areas," he said.
Even if health centers were to receive the necessary equipment to ensure safe vaccine storage, health workers "will still have serious electrical problems, with regions where the power goes out for hours every day."
Vasquez, a specialist in epidemiological data processing, also said Venezuela's vaccination campaigners will lack fuel to power vehicles needed to distribute the vaccine because of a severe gasoline shortage.
Brazil's vaccine campaign was well set "to reach the most remote areas," said Natalia Pasternak, microbiology professor at the University of Sao Paulo.
However, the major obstacle there could come from pandemic skeptic President Jair Bolsonaro "and the eventual resistance of the population" to vaccination, she said.
burs-ll/db/ch
© 2020 AFP
French music producer's beating sparks new anger over police violence
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
Accusations of police violence are multiplying in France
THOMAS COEX AFP
Paris (AFP)
French authorities on Tuesday opened an investigation and ordered suspensions of police after they were filmed beating up a black music producer in central Paris in images that sparked new anger over the conduct of the security forces.
The images published by the online news site Loopsider showed the music producer, identified only as Michel, being repeatedly beaten as he tried to enter a music studio in the 17th district of Paris.
The incident comes after a string of high-profile probes into police violence against black and Arab citizens and as concern grows over new legislation that would restrict the right of the press to publish images of the faces of police.
The man was himself initially arrested for violence and failure to obey the police. But prosecutors threw out the probe and instead opened an investigation against the police officers themselves for committing violence while in a position of authority.
"I am asking the chief of (Paris) police to suspend on an interim basis the police officers concerned," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter.
The man's lawyer, Hafida El Ali, told AFP that his client had been detained for 48 hours on the basis of "lies by the police who had outrageously aggressed him".
Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz told AFP that he had asked France's National Police General Inspectorate (IGPN) to shed light on what happened as quickly as possible.
"It is a very important case in my opinion and I have been following it personally," he said.
- 'Exceptionally serious' -
Loopsider, which has exposed several episodes of police brutality in recent months, said that the images "had to be seen to understand the full extent of the problem".
Loopsider said Michel had initially been stopped for not wearing a mask and subjected to racial abuse by the police.
"People who should have been protecting me attacked me. I did nothing to deserve this. I just want these three people to be punished according to the law," Michel told reporters on Thursday as he arrived at the IGPN with his lawyer to file a complaint.
Paris' Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was "profoundly shocked" "by an intolerable act... that is exceptionally serious."
A close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, parliament speaker Richard Ferrand, also expressed alarm, writing on Twitter that illegitimate use of force by the police "eroded the indispensable link of confidence between citizens and those who protect us, and must be punished without weakness."
There has already been virulent criticism of the police this week after they used tear gas late Monday to remove migrants from a camp set up in central Paris.
Prosecutors have opened probes into the use of violence against both a journalist and a migrant in that incident.
The beating of the producer now piles new pressure on Paris police chief Didier Lallement who has faced stern questions from critics and media over the dispersal of the migrants.
- 'Would still be in prison' -
The lower house of parliament Tuesday evening gave initial approval to a security bill which would restrict the publication of photos or videos of police officers' faces, although it still faces further legislative hurdles.
Media unions say it could give police a green light to prevent journalists from doing their work and potentially documenting abuses.
"If we did not have the videos (of the beating of Michel), my client would be in prison," lawyer El Ali said.
Macron swept to power in 2017 as a centrist who rallied support from across the political spectrum. But critics and even some supporters accuse him of tilting to the right as he seeks re-election in 2022.
© 2020 AFP
Paris (AFP)
French authorities on Tuesday opened an investigation and ordered suspensions of police after they were filmed beating up a black music producer in central Paris in images that sparked new anger over the conduct of the security forces.
The images published by the online news site Loopsider showed the music producer, identified only as Michel, being repeatedly beaten as he tried to enter a music studio in the 17th district of Paris.
The incident comes after a string of high-profile probes into police violence against black and Arab citizens and as concern grows over new legislation that would restrict the right of the press to publish images of the faces of police.
The man was himself initially arrested for violence and failure to obey the police. But prosecutors threw out the probe and instead opened an investigation against the police officers themselves for committing violence while in a position of authority.
"I am asking the chief of (Paris) police to suspend on an interim basis the police officers concerned," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter.
The man's lawyer, Hafida El Ali, told AFP that his client had been detained for 48 hours on the basis of "lies by the police who had outrageously aggressed him".
Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz told AFP that he had asked France's National Police General Inspectorate (IGPN) to shed light on what happened as quickly as possible.
"It is a very important case in my opinion and I have been following it personally," he said.
- 'Exceptionally serious' -
Loopsider, which has exposed several episodes of police brutality in recent months, said that the images "had to be seen to understand the full extent of the problem".
Loopsider said Michel had initially been stopped for not wearing a mask and subjected to racial abuse by the police.
"People who should have been protecting me attacked me. I did nothing to deserve this. I just want these three people to be punished according to the law," Michel told reporters on Thursday as he arrived at the IGPN with his lawyer to file a complaint.
Paris' Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was "profoundly shocked" "by an intolerable act... that is exceptionally serious."
A close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, parliament speaker Richard Ferrand, also expressed alarm, writing on Twitter that illegitimate use of force by the police "eroded the indispensable link of confidence between citizens and those who protect us, and must be punished without weakness."
There has already been virulent criticism of the police this week after they used tear gas late Monday to remove migrants from a camp set up in central Paris.
Prosecutors have opened probes into the use of violence against both a journalist and a migrant in that incident.
The beating of the producer now piles new pressure on Paris police chief Didier Lallement who has faced stern questions from critics and media over the dispersal of the migrants.
- 'Would still be in prison' -
The lower house of parliament Tuesday evening gave initial approval to a security bill which would restrict the publication of photos or videos of police officers' faces, although it still faces further legislative hurdles.
Media unions say it could give police a green light to prevent journalists from doing their work and potentially documenting abuses.
"If we did not have the videos (of the beating of Michel), my client would be in prison," lawyer El Ali said.
Macron swept to power in 2017 as a centrist who rallied support from across the political spectrum. But critics and even some supporters accuse him of tilting to the right as he seeks re-election in 2022.
© 2020 AFP
Black Australia: Bringing Aboriginal voices to the silver screen
Issued on: 26/11/2020 -
PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24
By:Haxie MEYERS-BELKIN
10 min
Australia is still grappling with the legacy of its historic subjugation of the country’s Aboriginal minority. We speak to Greta Morton Elangué about her online film festival Black Australia, an event she hopes will give the world a chance to hear hear the stories of an often marginalised community
By:Haxie MEYERS-BELKIN
10 min
Australia is still grappling with the legacy of its historic subjugation of the country’s Aboriginal minority. We speak to Greta Morton Elangué about her online film festival Black Australia, an event she hopes will give the world a chance to hear hear the stories of an often marginalised community
Violence against women: How one woman in Zimbabwe decided to take a stand
Issued on: 25/11/2020 -
PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24
By:Stuart Norval
10 min
Beatrice Savadye grew up in a poor mining community in northern Zimbabwe. She experienced gender violence at home: her father told her brother to beat her and her sisters up if they misbehaved. But she decided to take a stand and not accept the status quo. Seven years ago, she started a women's group for Zimbabweans called Roots Africa. It pushes for stronger laws to protect women trapped with abusers from a surge in violence and from HIV infections. She joins us as part of our special coverage to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
By:Stuart Norval
10 min
Beatrice Savadye grew up in a poor mining community in northern Zimbabwe. She experienced gender violence at home: her father told her brother to beat her and her sisters up if they misbehaved. But she decided to take a stand and not accept the status quo. Seven years ago, she started a women's group for Zimbabweans called Roots Africa. It pushes for stronger laws to protect women trapped with abusers from a surge in violence and from HIV infections. She joins us as part of our special coverage to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Honour crimes: Women in Chechnya forced to suffer in silence
Issued on: 25/11/2020 -
By: Elena VOLOCHINE|Pavel SERGEEV|Gulliver CRAGG|Albina KIRILLOVA
7 min
Since 2007, the people of Chechnya, a small Muslim republic in southern Russia, have lived under the hardline rule of President Ramzan Kadyrov. He became notorious in 2017 when he launched a purge of homosexuals. He's also known for encouraging so-called honour crimes – crimes committed against women by members of their own families. Our team in Russia managed to meet one Chechen woman who fled the threat of an honour crime and told us her harrowing story.
Since 2007, the people of Chechnya, a small Muslim republic in southern Russia, have lived under the hardline rule of President Ramzan Kadyrov. He became notorious in 2017 when he launched a purge of homosexuals. He's also known for encouraging so-called honour crimes – crimes committed against women by members of their own families. Our team in Russia managed to meet one Chechen woman who fled the threat of an honour crime and told us her harrowing story.
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