Ethiopia: Police must stop the use of excessive force against demonstrators

April 27, 2015 Human Rights

PUBLIC STATEMENT
April 22, 2015
AI Index: AFR 25/1515/2015

Amnesty International calls on the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that police refrain from excessive use of force in policing demonstrations, after police violently dispersed mass protests in Addis Ababa yesterday. The Ethiopian authorities must respect the rights of demonstrators to EXERCISE their rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly.

Video footage and PHOTOGRAPHS posted ONLINE show police beating protestors who appear to be offering no resistance, and tear gas being used against the crowd. A journalist in Addis Ababa told Amnesty International that 48 people had been seriously injured and admitted to different hospitals, and that many others sustained minor injuries. Two photos show wounded people being treated at hospital. Hundreds of others are reported to have been arrested.

The protests started on Tuesday following circulation of a video showing the killing of around 30 people believed to be Ethiopians by the armed group ISIS in Libya. Two of the named victims have been identified as coming from Cherkos, Addis Ababa. Hundreds of relatives and friends were gathered outside their family homes before spilling on to the streets towards Meskel Square. Many protestors in the photographs and video footages posted online are shown holding pictures of the two men.

Finally! The FDA Admits That Nearly Over 70% of U.S. Chickens Contain Cancer-Causing Arsenic

April 20, 2015 North America

(MSN.COM)–I don’t know about the rest of you, but lately my poultry PURCHASES at my local market have become more and more of a ‘hit-and-miss’ situation, with more ‘misses’ if I’m being honest. As I bite into my homemade chicken nuggets or Coq au Vin (when I’m feeling fancy) I can’t help but feel that the chicken just tastes weird, stringy, just…funny. So a few days ago when I turned on the tube and saw the news headlines stating that the FDA has finally CONFIRMED that chicken meat sold in the USA contains arsenic, my head, and stomach, nearly hit the roof. This cancer-causing toxic chemical, that in high doses could kill you, is actually being added to chicken feed on purpose, giving store-bought chicken the illusion of healthy coloring and plump appearance. Shockingly, this is the case with more than 70 percent of all U.S. chickens! That is just awful!

The FDA has asked Pfizer to stop manufacturing the arsenic-containing drug, Roxarsone, that was found in the livers of nearly half of all chicken tested. According to the WALL STREET Journal, “The agency said it recently conducted a study of 100 broiler chickens that detected inorganic arsenic at higher LEVELS in the livers of chickens treated with 3-Nitro compared with untreated chickens … Pfizer said sale of 3-Nitro would be stopped by early July in ORDER to allow animal producers to transition to other treatments.” This urgent request by the FDA is surprising in itself as the agency has always maintained that the arsenic in chickens is at such low levels that it is safe for consumption, when meanwhile it has been clinically proven to be extremely toxic to human health, causing an array of neurological defects in developing fetuses and young children…Looks like the FDA finally got the memo, and not a moment too soon!

So, the NEXT time you’re out buying chicken (if you’re not totally put off by it at this point) make sure you look out for the following:

-If the chicken meat is bright pink in COLOR, like in an unnatural way, avoid it at all costs.

-Make sure that the fat content on the chicken is white to deep yellow, not gray or pasty.

-Check the DATE ON the package.

-And finally, aim for “Certified Organic” meat PRODUCTS. It’s probably safest choice for you and your family.

Source: fda.gov

The post Finally! The FDA Admits That Nearly Over 70% of U.S. Chickens Contain Cancer-Causing Arsenic appeared first on Parent Society.

This article was written by Lauren DeCuir from Parent Society and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

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ISIL claims massacre of 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

April 19, 2015 Ethiopia

(Aljazeera) — VIDEO released ONLINE shows one group of captives being shot and another group being beheaded on a beach

A new video from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) purportedly shows the group killing captured Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

The 29-minute video released ONLINE on Sunday shows two groups of dark-skinned captives. It says one group is held by an ISIL affiliate in eastern Libya and the other by an affiliate in the south.

A masked fighter delivers a long statement before the VIDEO switches between footage of the captives in the south being shot to death and the captives in the east being beheaded on a beach.

The footage released ONLINE shows one group of about 12 men being beheaded by armed men on a beach and another group of at least 16 being shot in the head in a desert area.

It was not immediately clear who the captives were.

The video bore the official logo of the ISIL media arm Al-Furqan and resembled previous VIDEOSreleased by the group.

A text on the screen identifies the men as “FOLLOWERS of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church”.

Malawi to evacuate citizens from South Africa

April 15, 2015 Africa

Foreigners have been arming themselves after COMING under attack

(BBC) — Malawi says it will repatriate its nationals from South Africa, FOLLOWING an upsurge in xenophobic violence.

At least five foreigners, including a 14-year-old boy, have been killed in attacks in South Africa’s coastal city of Durban since LAST week.

Some foreign-owned shops in the main city Johannesburg have shut amid fears that the violence could spread.

Zimbabwe has also condemned the attacks, blamed on LOCALS who accuse foreigners of taking their jobs.

Tens of thousands of foreigners, mostly from other African states and Asia, have moved to South Africa since white-minority rule ended in 1994.

The government has ordered police to STEP up efforts to protect foreigners

At least 62 people died in xenophobic attacks that swept South Africa in 2008.

Malawi is the only country which has so far decided to repatriate its citizens.

Information Minister Kondwani Nankhumwa said the first group would RETURN at the weekend.

About 420 Malawians are reportedly living in refugee CAMPS in Durban after fleeing the violence, he said.

The BBC’s Raphael Tenthani reports from Blantyre that he received a call from a Malawian in Durban who said saw he some Malawians being killed – including a CLOSE friend who was burned alive.

eClash between Garri Milita and FDRE Defence Forc

By Macha Huka

On april 14 2015 at the midnight, the Garri militia empowered and EQUIPED by Ethiopiagoverment caught and SEARCHED the so-called Agazi member of Ethiopia Defence Force at center of Moyale town. Immediately, one of caught militry companion shot and killed one Garri militia at the spot. On the following morning the angry Garri militia confronted the military and wonded many. This is the only time that Ethiopain army fired on Garri community in Moyale, beside shooting and killing Boran Oromo since overthrown of Derg regime.

http://www.ayyaantuu.net/clash-between-garri-milita-and-fdre-defence-force/

Anti-migrant attacks spread in South African port city

April 14, 2015 Africa

Foreign nationals gesture after clashes broke out between a group of LOCALS and police in Durban on April 14 ,2015 in ongoing violence against foreign nationals in Durban, South Africa (AFP PHOTO/)

Johannesburg (AFP) – Attacks against foreigners CONTINUED in the South African port city of Durban Tuesday as the Ethiopian community prepared to repatriate the bodies of three of its nationals killed over the last two weeks.

Ephraim Meskele, a leader of the Ethiopian community in Durban, said it was holding a prayer SERVICE Tuesday for the three victims, including a man killed when his shop was petrol-bombed on Friday.

About 50 people have been arrested over the violence, in which at least four people have been killed. The police have not CONFIRMED the nationalities of the victims.

The attacks on immigrant-owned shops and HOMES in Durban’s impoverished townships come three months after a similar spate of attacks on foreign-owned shops in Soweto, near Johannesburg.

Over 1,000 foreigners in Durban have fled their HOMES and are now living in makeshift CAMPS, under police guard.