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Push to pay South Africa’s sterilised HIV patients
South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality has said it will seek compensation for HIV positive women who were sterilised without their consent or were pressured to agree.
The commission on Tuesday released a report following an investigation into 15 state hospitals on forced or coerced sterilisation of 50 women.
The report has been referred to the South African Nursing Council and the department of health.
The health department has been told to report back to the commission in three months on steps it has taken to deal with the unethical practice.
During investigations, which began in 2015, the commission found that the women were subjected to “cruel, torturous and inhumane treatment” by doctors.
The survivors detailed horrific experiences of how forced sterilisation impacted their lives. Some said they lost their partners because they could no longer have more children.
Evasion: Tax tribunal orders firm to pay FIRS N1.7bn
The Tax Appeal Tribunal, Lagos Zone, has ruled as lawful an assessment in additional tax liability of N1.73bn issued to Prime Plastichem Nigeria Limited by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The tribunal ruled that the N1.73bn was the correct income tax that PPNL should pay on its profit for doing business in Nigeria under the provisions of Transfer Pricing Regulation No1 of 2012.
A statement from the FIRS on Tuesday said the tax tribunal gave this verdict in Appeal No. TAT/LZ/CIT/015/2017 instituted before it by PPNL.
The statement was signed by the FIRS Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Mr Abdullahi Ahmad.
The company was disputing the FIRS’s additional tax assessment liability.
The tax suit arose following disagreement between PPNL and the FIRS on the Transfer Pricing Documentation filed by the PPNL for 2013 and 2014.
The statement said while PPNL adopted the Comparable Uncontrolled Price for its filing, the FIRS insisted that the Transactional Net Margin Method was the correct tax assessment tool to apply in the particular case.
Responding to the arguments adduced against it by PPNL at the tax tribunal, the FIRS stated that PPNL misrepresented information to the service.
In its judgment, the five-member tax tribunal chaired by Prof A.B. Ahmed resolved all five issues raised in favour of the FIRS.
It submitted that “the appeal filed by the Appellant is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
At least 22 ‘criminals’ killed in clash with Burundi police
At least 22 “armed criminals” and two police officers were killed in clashes between Burundi security forces and an unnamed armed group at the weekend, police said late Tuesday.
Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said an armed group appeared in the hills of western Bujumbura-Rural province last week and engaged in several clashes with police.
On Sunday police “dismantled” the group “with a toll of 22 armed criminals… and two policemen killed, and six criminals arrested.”
On Monday a local official said 13 people had been killed.
Burundi’s main opposition party, the National Freedom Council, said it saw a link with the May 20 presidential elections.
The appearance of the armed group sparked a wave of arrests of 23 of its local leaders last week, the CNL said.
“We denounce this harassment orchestrated by the government ahead of the May 2020 elections,” party spokesman Therence Manirambona said on Saturday.
The fighting broke out 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital, in a rural area with few roads, communications or electricity.
CNL leader Agathon Rwasa is considered the main challenger to the ruling CNDD-FDD’s Evariste Ndayishimiye in the May election.
President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, shocked the country by announcing he would not seek re-election after a constitutional change allowed him to do so.
His controversial election to a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis.
The violent aftermath of the last presidential election in 2015 made Burundi a focus of an investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged murder, rape, torture and disappearances.
Civil unrest killed 1,200 people and drove 400,000 from their homes
(AFP)
SOURCE PUNCH NEWS
Beggars lay siege to Sanwo-Olu’s office, lament harassment
Hundreds of beggars on Tuesday laid siege to the entrance of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Governor’s Office at Alausa, Ikeja, to protest against what they described as undue harassment and arrest of their members by state officials.
The beggars, who came in over 10 buses and seven tricycles, barricaded the entrance to the Assembly and demanded that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu address them, saying they would sleep on the road if the governor did not come out.
Despite pleas by government officials who informed them that the governor was not around, they refused to back down on their request.
The men and women carried placards with different inscriptions, including, ‘Enough is enough, stop the persecution of people with disabilities,’ ‘If you don’t want to see us begging on the streets, give us skills and empowerment,’ ‘Seeing beggars all over our streets and roads is the failure of the system,’ and ‘We are tired of running without legs or eyes, give us skills and empowerment.’
The protesters also chanted Allahu Akbar intermittently, as they dared the police to harass them.
A spokesperson for the beggars and Coordinator, Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiatives, Mohammed Zanna, said when the group protested at Alausa in 2017, many of their members were arrested and taken to a place at Majidun.
He described the place as a prison, saying they were manhandled by government officials.
Zanna claimed that without making any provisions for their welfare, government dumped them at Majidun, adding that some of them died in detention.
According to him, some of the beggars had purchased tricycles to make a living when the government banned the operators in some parts of the state.
He lamented that life had become difficult for them, adding that beggars trekked from bus stops to their destinations and some physically challenged persons among them lacked means of transportation.
He noted that on February 7, 2020, his group came with 500 beggars for a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the governor to the challenges facing persons living with disabilities across Lagos State whose livelihoods and mobility had been “undermined by the shocking ban on tricycle riders.”
“We cannot enter buses because we cannot fight and struggle. We are seeking audience with the governor. Let him tell us what they want to do with us. We need skills and empowerment. We are tired of sitting at home. We are demanding to be skilled.
“We do not want to beg on the streets. We have used our own ingenuity and resources to provide alternative livelihoods for ourselves that are more dignified, safer and productive to society.
“Yet, in the blink of an eye, this government is willing to destroy all we have built for ourselves and push us back into poverty and life without basic human dignity.
“We are ready to work with government to find workable alternatives through appropriate regulation of keke, special permits for people living with disabilities to use our keke for the transportation of our members or real and immediate support for alternative livelihoods through skills training and support for us to start new businesses,” he said.
SOURCE PUNCH NEWS
A lesbian Zimbabwean’s struggle for asylum in the UK
More than 1,500 people claim asylum in the UK each year, claiming that they are persecuted for being gay.
But it’s not an easy thing to prove.
Angel fled Zimbabwe in fear of her life after police found her in bed with another woman five years ago.
It’s taken most of the time since then for her to convince the UK authorities that she is gay and will be persecuted if she returns.
In 2015, she was interviewed by an official whose job was to work out whether she was lying.
For seven hours, the interviewer picked at the threads of her life story.
She explained that she was still scared to open up to people and that she still carried the stigma of being a lesbian heavy in her heart.
The interviewer didn’t seem satisfied and tried again.
Just a handful of encounters with women, no long-term relationships, no attempts at meeting women in the UK. Why then did Angel identify as a lesbian?
She struggled to find the words. “It is because of the feelings that I feel,” she said. “I have not been given a free platform to practice my sexuality.”
SOURCE BBC NEWS
Military Wives: ‘Director didn’t want us to sound too slick’
When Gareth Malone created his Military Wives choir, the effects were to prove far more enduring and profound than the resulting flurry of fame.
The ensemble was formed in 2011 as part of BBC Two’s The Choir series, led by Malone.
The documentary followed their transformation from an anonymous group of military wives into harmonious chart-toppers performing for the Queen.
As well as showing the therapeutic value of communal singing, Malone’s efforts gave an insight into the life of the military wife – not least, the months of loneliness and the need to keep “a stiff upper lip”, despite being wracked with worry when their partners were away.
These are women who are hardly seen, let alone heard, but Malone gave them a public face – and voice.
Malone’s choir of wives from the Chivenor military base in Devon – joined later by those at Plymouth – was not, in fact, the first. That credit goes to the women of Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, who were established under their own steam. They sparked an idea in Malone which grew into the TV documentary.
There are now 75 choirs, comprising 2,300 women, dotted around the world, supported by the Military Wives charitable foundation, of which most are a part.
And now the story is hitting the big screen in a new film starring Catastrophe’s Sharon Horgan and film and theatre star Dame Kristen Scott Thomas.
Though not heavily involved in the production, directed by The Fully Monty’s Peter Cattaneo, Malone did act as story consultant.
The film is loosely inspired by the Catterick story with elements of Malone’s original choir thrown in.
Cattaneo says he wanted to “explore a way of life that has rarely been seen on the big screen, as well as make a film with music and singing at its core”.
“As I started meeting real military wives, rich themes soon showed themselves: a fragmented group of people finding unity and camaraderie through song: women who are expected to ‘keep quiet and carry on’ finding their voices,” he adds.
Horgan plays Lisa, the ballsy, somewhat jaded, mother of a rebellious teenage daughter.
When the Catastrophe actress first read the script, she cried.
“It moved me but it also makes you feel good,” she says of the movie that features 80s pop tracks from the likes of Tears For Fears, Cyndi Lauper, Yazoo and Human League.
“It’s great to watch these women come together and see a good thing happen despite the really difficult situation they’re in,” Horgan says.
“And a film that has a female cast that isn’t about love or broken hearts but something bigger felt very of the now. Women coming together to help each other is kind of what we have to do at the moment because if we’re not careful, no-one else will.”
There’s also a social message about the value of community that can be extrapolated from the women’s group activity, says Horgan.
“Everyone’s becoming introverted in the way they are living. Life’s very hard and we all have a lot to deal with but if you look a little further beyond, it can become a really positive thing.”
Horgan’s character Lisa and Scott Thomas’s Kate have very different approaches to what constitutes morale-boosting activities for the women.
Lisa is the “let’s get smashed and eat junk food” type – “not far off what I normally play”, says Horgan.
Colonel’s wife Kate’s thoughts turn more to organised and challenging pursuits. And though she herself seems so controlled, in private Kate has acquired a compulsive shopping channel habit, as a means of tranquilising the grief over her dead son.
When a choir is finally suggested, they slowly develop an uneasy partnership as the idea grows, with a glorious outcome none of the women predicted.
During the course of filming, fiction met reality for the cast and crew.
They created many of the scenes at real garrisons, including Catterick, and spent time with the wives – some of whom were used as background characters.
“It was incredibly eye-opening,” says Horgan. “We were hanging out in their houses, with these mothers and wives and seeing this completely different perspective.
“But they weren’t moaning about it. They were optimistic, just ‘get it done’ kind of people.”
As for the singing, she says the actors adopted the same “organic” approach as the real military wives.
“The director didn’t want it to sound slick – although, there was no fear of that – but for it to come together over time. There was no practising or stress, just, ‘Let’s see what happens’.”
Critics gave their verdict following the movie’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
“Think Calendar Girls with less nudity and more harmonising… Military Wives is a film that’s hard to entirely resist, like a song that you’ll hum along to even if you forget the tune straight after,” said The Guardian.
Indiewire added it made “the base feel like a purgatory without things getting too unpleasant”.
“What joy there is to be found in Military Wives comes less from self-discovery than friendship, as these women learn how much stronger they are together.”
But behind this piece of celluloid are real women. They, more than anyone, are entitled to a point of view.
For Sharon (surname withheld) from Chivenor, who was in Malone’s choir, the movie churned up challenging feelings.
“It took me back there and that knot in your stomach, watching your husband go away, even when there isn’t conflict, it’s tough. You just have to function, get on and deal with it,” she says.
But she also remembers how the choir “brought me friendship and a bond with people like me”.
“When they came to film they said ‘just enjoy the ride, don’t ask too many questions’. But I still find what went on to happen rather surreal. We had the responsibility of representing all military wives. But joining the choir has been the best thing I ever did.”
Jo from the Catterick military wives choir, known as the Wags (Wives, Affiliates, Girlfriends and Servicewomen), is “very, very proud” of the group’s legacy.
“It’s such a simple idea and yet it gives so much support in the week – to just drop everything and come and sing,” she says.
“Sometimes people slip through the net and sort of fall if there’s nobody there for them.
“But when we find a new lady, we say, ‘just come along and enjoy yourself’. They may think they can’t but then find the opposite.”
As for Horgan, she concludes that, having being given a window into the women’s lives, has “made me appreciate what I have”.
“It makes you think: there are people out there who are not given a moment’s thought or consideration, who really have it tough. I genuinely left feeling grateful for my life.”
Military Wives is released in UK cinemas on 6 March.
Plácido Domingo apologies to women who accused him of sexual harassment
Plácido Domingo has apologised for “causing hurt” to several women who have accused him of sexual harassment.
The opera star resigned as general manager of the Los Angeles Opera after several allegations were made.
A total of 20 women have now accused Domingo of harassment and inappropriate behaviour. He denies all the claims.
“I respect that these women finally felt comfortable enough to speak out,” Domingo said in a statement issued to the Los Angeles Times.
“I want them to know that I am truly sorry for the hurt that I caused them,”
He added: “I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I have grown from this experience.”
His statement was issued following an investigation into Domingo by a US union which represents opera performers.
The LA Times reported the investigation found more than two dozen people had said they were sexually harassed or witnessed inappropriate behaviour by Domingo when he held senior management positions at Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera.
The accusations, which go back as far as the 1980s, were first reported in August by the Associated Press.
It said Domingo had frequently pressured women into sexual relationships, and sometimes professionally punished those who rejected him.
In his statement, Domingo said he had “taken time over the last several months to reflect on the allegations that various colleagues of mine have made against me.
“I understand now that some women may have feared expressing themselves honestly because of a concern that their careers would be adversely affected if they did so. While that was never my intention, no-one should ever be made to feel that way.”
Domingo, who is 79, is one of opera’s biggest stars, commanding sell-out audiences around the world.
He has been married to his second wife, the soprano Marta Ornelas, since 1962.
Donald Trump in India: Seven killed in Delhi violence during visit
Seven people have been killed in Delhi in protests against India’s controversial new citizenship law, as US President Donald Trump made his first official visit to the country.
Mr Trump’s visit has been marred by the deadliest religious violence in the Indian capital in decades.
Violence has erupted again in parts of north-east Delhi, which saw deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the law on Monday night.
There are fears of further clashes.
Three journalists have been attacked and BBC reporters in the area say mobs are throwing stones and shouting slogans.
Mobs in parts of north-east Delhi are throwing stones at each other, and the situation remains tense, according to BBC correspondents.
The BBC has seen mobs with sticks and stones in their hands, aggressively chanting Jai Shri Ram or Hail Lord Ram, a cry that has become associated with Hindu lynch mobs.
“We have seen a tyre market that’s been set on fire, plumes of smoke are coming up. Journalists, including us, are being heckled and warned against filming,” our correspondent Yogita Limaye says.
A policeman and six civilians have died in Delhi’s deadliest violence since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) – which critics say is anti-Muslim – was passed last year.
Around 150 people, including 48 policemen, are reportedly injured.
“There are around 200 people, some are holding the Indian flag in their hands, others are holding saffron flags, generally associated with right-wing Hindu groups. They are chanting Jai Shri Ram [hail Lord Ram],” BBC Hindi reporter Faisal Mohammed said.
The crowd was also shouting “shoot the traitors”, our reporter added.
Correspondents say the timing of the unrest is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he hosts the US president and the violence has taken the spotlight away from Mr Trump’s visit.
Where is the violence?
It broke out in three Muslim-majority areas in north-east Delhi on Sunday and has continued since.
The violence in the area has seen protesters firmly split along religious lines, BBC reporters at the scene say.
Both sides have blamed each other for starting the clashes.
The violence has been linked to a BJP leader, Kapil Mishra, who had threatened a group of protesters staging a sit-in against the CAA over the weekend, telling them that they would be forcibly evicted once Donald Trump had left India.
The clashes spilled into Monday and police fired tear gas shells and led baton charges to disperse the stone-throwing crowds. TV footage showed flames and smoke billowing from buildings.
Eyewitnesses said they saw charred vehicles and streets full of stones in areas like Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh on Tuesday morning. Police were allowing people to enter only after checking their identity cards. Some Metro stations have also been shut.
Who are the dead and injured?
Six civilians and one policeman have been killed in the violence so far.
“One of the seriously injured is a senior police officer. He has now been moved to another hospital for specialised treatment,” an official said.
Two journalists belonging to the NDTV news channel were badly beaten while they were out reporting on Tuesday morning.
Another reporter from a local channel called JK24x7 was also injured after he was shot at.
Shahid Alvi, an auto rickshaw driver, died because of a bullet injury he suffered during the protest. His brother Rashid told BBC Hindi that Shahid was married just a month ago.
“He was shot in the stomach and died while we were taking him to the hospital,” he said.
Another victim has been identified as Rahul Solanki.
His brother, Rohit Solanki, told BBC Hindi that he died after being shot as he tried to escape from a mob.
“He had gone out to buy groceries when he was suddenly surrounded. He was shot at point blank range. We tried taking him to four hospitals but we were turned away,” he said.
What are officials doing?
Delhi’s freshly re-elected Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, called on the federal government to restore law and order.
“There are not enough police on the streets [in the affected areas]. Local police are saying they are not getting orders from above to control the situation, and they are not able to take action,” he told reporters.
The capital’s police force reports directly to Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.
Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in-charge of Delhi’s police forces, is holding a meeting with Mr Kejriwal to discuss the situation.
What is the citizenship act about?
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants amnesty to non-Muslim immigrants from three nearby Muslim-majority countries.
- Citizenship Amendment Bill: India’s new ‘anti-Muslim’ law explained
- Citizenship Amendment Act: The students versus the regime
The new law has raised fears that India’s secular status is at risk.
Critics say it discriminates against Muslims. But the government says the protests are unnecessary as it only seeks to give amnesty to persecuted minorities.
Protests so far have been largely led by Muslim women and men, but a lot of Hindus have also joined them.
SOURCE BBC NEWS
Hosni Mubarak: Former Egyptian President dies aged 91
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – ousted by the military in 2011 – has died in Cairo at the age of 91.
Mubarak spent three decades in office before a popular uprising swept Egypt.
He was found guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolution. That conviction was overturned and was freed in March 2017.
His death was confirmed by Egyptian state news on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Al-Watan website reported that he died at a military hospital.
Mubarak underwent surgery in late January and was photographed with his grandson as he recovered.
On Saturday, however, Mubarak’s son Alaa said that the former president remained in intensive care.
Who was Mubarak?
Born in 1928, Mubarak entered the air force as a teenager and went on to play a key role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
He became president less than a decade later, following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, and played a key role in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.
But despite the billions of dollars in military aid Egypt received during his time in office, unemployment, poverty and corruption continued to grow.
Discontent boiled over in January 2011, after similar protests in Tunisia led to the overthrow of the president there. Mubarak was forced to step down 18 days later.
Just over a year after Mubarak’s overthrow, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist politician, won Egypt’s first democratic presidential election.
The new president lasted less than a year in office. Amid mass protests, he was ousted in a military coup led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Gen Sisi went on to win two presidential elections. Morsi died in prison in 2019.
In 2012, Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment over the deaths of some of the 900 protesters who were killed by security forces during the uprising a year earlier.
Both he and his two sons were also convicted of corruption.
But the more serious charges against Mubarak were later overturned and he was released in 2017.
Coronavirus: Tenerife hotel with hundreds of guests locked down
A hotel in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands has been locked down after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus.
Hundreds of guests at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel were initially told to stay in their rooms as medical tests were carried out, Spanish media report.
The doctor is reportedly from the Lombardy region, where Italian authorities are battling an outbreak.
Global cases of the virus have passed 80,000, the vast majority in China.
Iran, one of the worst-affected nations outside China, on Tuesday said its deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, had tested positive for the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the world should do more to prepare for a possible pandemic – a situation where an infectious disease spreads easily between people in many countries.
The proportion of infected people who die appears to be between 1% and 2%, although the WHO cautions that the precise mortality rate is not known yet.
What’s the latest from the hotel in Tenerife?
Agence France-Presse quoted a health authority spokeswoman, Veronica Martin, as saying that guests at the four-star hotel in the south-west of the island were being monitored for “health reasons and the degree of supervision will be assessed during the day, but so far, we’re not talking about quarantine”.
One guest posted on Facebook an image of a note put under the door of their room on Tuesday saying: “We regret to inform you that for health reasons, the hotel has been closed down. Until the sanitary authorities warn, you must remain in your rooms.”
Another guest, John Turton, told the BBC he and his wife had seen the note but then heard people walking outside and heading to breakfast.
He said: “The hotel has been cordoned off but we’re trying to make the best of what’s going on. We haven’t been given any more information other than the note but we’re going to just wait, try and enjoy the holiday and see what happens.”
People were now walking around the hotel and using sun loungers, he said, but the police cordon was preventing people from leaving.
Mr Turton said he had not yet been tested.
The Italian doctor, who had been staying at the hotel with his wife, tested positive on Monday and has been placed in isolation at the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. He will undergo a second test to confirm the virus.
Previously, Spain had had two confirmed cases, both tourists – one German and one British.
What’s happening with the virus globally?
On Tuesday, a plane carrying more than 130 passengers and crew from the Iranian capital, Tehran, to Istanbul was diverted to the Turkish capital, Ankara, amid suspicion of infections on board. Turkey’s health minister said all would be quarantined for 14 days.
Iran on Tuesday announced three more deaths, raising fatalities there to 15.
Italy is badly affected, with the largest number of cases in Europe – 231. Seven people have died.
It announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the outbreak. The regions of Lombardy and Veneto have locked down several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave without special permission.
However, there are signs the virus is spreading, with new cases reported on Tuesday in Tuscany and Sicily.
China, the source of the outbreak, still has by far the largest number of infections – more than 77,000 – and deaths, 2,663. The bulk of the cases are in the city of Wuhan.
South Korea’s infections rose to 977 on Tuesday, with 10 deaths. Americans have been warned against all but essential travel to the nation.
The US plans to spend $2.5bn (£1.93bn) fighting the coronavirus, with funds for quarantine, vaccine research and aiding affected states, US media reported. There are 53 cases in the country so far.
Japanese media reported that a fourth passenger on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner had died. The country has confirmed more than 850 people are infected, most of them on the liner.
Gulf states, including the UAE and Bahrain, have imposed more flight restrictions in an effort to try to slow the spread of the virus.
And the coronavirus outbreak has continued to hit shares, with Japan’s markets slumping in the wake of big falls in London and New York.
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