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Weekly anb10195.txt #5
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 19-10-2000 PART #5/5
* Uganda. Ebola Virus in Northern Uganda - The dreaded Ebola virus that
struck over 300 people in Kikwit, in Congo RDC in 1995, has killed 31
people in northern Uganda. On 14 October, Ugandan ministry of health
officials confirmed the prevalence of the disease for the first time in the
country. Ebola, described as a rapidly progressing disease, can kill within
24 hours. Victims of the disease described as Haemorrhagic fever, bleed
through the mouth, anus, nose and ears, hence the description haemorrhagic
fever. Other symptoms include muscle pains and diarrhoea. It is spread
through body contact. A ministry statement said laboratory tests had
revealed that the dreaded Ebola virus was the cause of the epidemic that
has been raging in Gulu district since September. Three of the dead were
student nurses, who treated the first Ebola patients admitted to a Lacor
missionary hospital in Gulu town. Field officials in Gulu told the
Kampala-based New Vision newspaper that at least seven more people came
down with the disease Saturday alone, bringing the number of people
affected in the past two weeks to 51. All the affected came from
Rwot-Obillo in Aswa county, northern Gulu, Kasubi and Kabedo Opong in Gulu
municipality. The New Vision said at least five patients have recovered
from the disease, and are quarantined in hospitals due to the fears
associated with it. Reports in Kampala are rife that the disease could have
been brought into Uganda by returning Ugandan troops and their Congolese
wives who are camped in Aswa. But army spokesman, Maj. Phenehas Katirima,
said no soldier in Gulu had suffered from the disease. The ministry of
health has embarked on an emergency recruitment of health education workers
to curb the spread of the epidemic. The workers are to visit the affected
areas, teach the communities how to prevent the disease as well as look out
for any new cases. The ministry of health plans to supply drugs, protective
wear and disinfectants to hospitals and health facilities in Gulu. The
medical personnel are to follow certain precautions to protect themselves
and patients. -- Further details from the Editor: 14 October: Two experts
from the World Health Organization fly to northern Uganda to investigate
and help contain the spread of the virus. 17 October: It is reported that
NGO s are pulling aid workers out of northern Uganda. International aid
begins to arrive to combat the epidemic. The authorities in northern Uganda
have closed schools and banned ritual cleansing at funerals. Officials in
Gulu say they have run out of the sterile surgical masks they use to
protect themselves from the virus. The press agency MISNA reports that the
50 religious and lay missionaries in Gulu have decided to remain. 18
September: Doctors say they are expecting to find new cases in the next few
days as health workers reach remote villages. The number off deaths from
Ebola is now given as 39, with 63 more people infected. (PANA, Dakar, and
ANB-BIA, 18 October 2000)
* Ouganda. Epidémie d'Ebola - 16 octobre. Selon l'OMS, quelque 43
personnes sont mortes dans le nord de l'Ouganda de la fièvre hémorragique
d'Ebola. Selon Kampala, l'épidémie se limite à la région de Gulu, une
région affectée par la guérilla. L'envoi d'échantillons sanguins dans un
laboratoire spécialisé d'Afrique du Sud a confirmé qu'il s'agit bien du
virus Ebola. Cette infection virale très contagieuse et fréquemment
mortelle a fait, en 1995, plus de 200 victimes au Congo-RDC. Il n'existe
aucun traitement ou vaccin spécifiques contre cette maladie. Ces trois
derniers mois, des centaines de militaires ougandais de retour du Congo ont
transité par Gulu, incitant la presse ougandaise à évoquer une piste
congolaise. Mais un porte-parole de l'armée a affirmé qu'aucun militaire
ougandais n'avait contracté cette maladie. Le Kenya, la Tanzanie et le
Rwanda ont pris des mesures de précaution. -17 octobre. Dix nouveaux cas
ont été constatés et, malgré les propos rassurants du ministère de la
Santé, l'épidémie s'est étendue, touchant la ville de Kitgum, à une
centaine de km au nord-est de Gulu. Le gouvernement a lancé une vaste
campagne d'information et commencé un dépistage systématique de toutes les
personnes présentant quelque malaise. - Le 18 octobre, le bilan de
l'épidémie s'élevait à 41 morts; au total 94 personnes ont été atteintes
par la maladie. Une équipe internationale de spécialistes médicaux est
arrivée pour tenter de circonscrire l'épidémie. Selon un responsable local,
les secours sont compliqués par la présence dans la région des rebelles de
l'Armée de résistance du Seigneur: le personnel sanitaire doit se déplacer
dans des véhicules blindés. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 19 octobre 2000)
* Zambia. Trouble at State House - The dignity and honour of State House
in Lusaka, popularly referred to as "Plot One", has been eroded amid the
suspected dubious activities of President Frederick Chiluba's wife, Vera,
who has been involved with two Lusaka businessmen in connection with drug
trafficking. Before President Chiluba left for his two weeks official tour
of China on 4 October 2000, he ordered his wife to vacate State House for
Ndola, on suspicion that she was having a love affair with one of the drug
dealers, the key player in the scandal, Archie Mactribuoy Malie. It is
alleged that on several occasions, Malie was allowed to sneak into State
House by Vera's personal security female police officer, and was even
served with food there by State House cooks. The leakage of these secret
contacts between the First Lady and Malie were so embarrassing to Chiluba,
that he had no option but to "invite" his wife to leave State
House. (Moses Chitendwe, ANB-BIA, Zambia 18 October 2000)
* Zambia-Vatican City. Archbishop Milingo loses Vatican post - The
Vatican has confirmed that Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, former Archbishop
of Lusaka, Zambia, has been quietly removed from his position as a special
delegate on immigrant matters. Since coming to Rome, the Archbishop has
attracted thousands of people from across Europe seeking cures for cancer
and AIDS. On 18 October, friends of Archbishop Milingo circulated a letter
addressed to the Pope and other Vatican officials contesting his dismissal.
The Vatican said it has no comment. (CNN, 18 October 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Media Complaints Council - For much of the last three years,
the Media in Zimbabwe has been on the defensive against threats to their
much- cherished freedom of expression. Journalists from both the private
and the state controlled media have put up a united fight on an issue most
of them have recognised as having grave implications for the practice of
the profession -- a statutory Media Council. Last weekend in Nyanga, at a
Workshop organised by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA),
journalists forgot their differences and rallied overwhelmingly to the
formation of a self-regulatory Media Complaints Council (MCC). There was
unanimous agreement that there is an urgent need for the setting up such a
body. (Percy Makombe, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 18 October 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Emeutes du pain - L'armée a été déployée dans les faubourgs
les plus pauvres de la capitale zimbabwéenne. Elle surveille et réprime les
manifestations contre la hausse des prix de l'alimentation, qui ont
commencé le 16 octobre et se sont étendues le 17 à Harare. Un hélicoptère
militaire a aussi survolé le faubourg de Mufakose, supervisant apparemment
les interventions de la police et lâchant parfois des gaz lacrymogènes sur
les rues résidentielles. Les manifestants ont édifié des barricades. La
police a arrêté 51 personnes. Le Zimbabwe connaît sa pire crise économique
depuis son indépendance, avec une inflation atteignant un taux record de
50% et un chômage supérieur à 50%. Le prix des transports ont doublé depuis
le début de l'année et la pénurie du carburant aggrave la crise. - Le 18
octobre, pour la 3e journée consécutive, les manifestations ont continué à
Harare en dépit du déploiement de l'armée et de la police. Les émeutes se
sont étendues à quatre banlieues supplémentaires. (ANB-BIA, de sources
diverses, 18 octobre 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Concern in many sectors - 12 October: White farmers say they
fear an escalation of violence against them and their families in the wake
of a presidential pardon of ruling party militants who had illegally
occupied white- owned land. The Commercial Farmers' Union, representing
about 4,000 white farmers, say violence and intimidation by squatters on
more than 1,700 farms has disrupted farming this year. In fact, planting
for the 2000/20001 tobacco season has virtually stopped in all major
growing areas. 16 October: Riot police have fired teargas at crowds of
people protesting over a rise in the price of bread. Hundreds of
demonstrators set fire to vehicles and put up barricades in two townships
east of Harare. The protests began as commuters prepared to go to work and
were continuing six hours later. The Opposition says it will launch
impeachment proceedings against President Mugabe when Parliament reconvenes
tomorrow. 17 October: Riots in Harare have intensified as protestors take
to the streets for the second day. The Government accuses the Opposition of
being behind the riots. 18 October: Police and soldiers fight a running
battle with protesters in Harare as tempers reach boiling point. Human
rights activists accuse the authorities of using excessive force to quell
the food riots. In some areas of Harare, tear gas was dropped from army
helicopters while armoured vehicles were sent into the city's southern
suburbs. The fact is -- Zimbabwe's economy is poised on the edge of an
abyss. The country is now completely cut off from aid support after
defaulting on its loans. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 19 October 2000)
Weekly anb1019.txt - End of part 5/5
THE END
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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie
(W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature)
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Everytime somebody keep silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies
(Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for Literature) *
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