On 11-12 September 2010, Zimbabwe auctioned diamonds from the controversial Marange mines. There was little international condemnation, especially compared to the controversy over the first sale of Marange diamonds in August. Since an export ban was imposed on diamonds from Marangein November 2009, the Kimberley Process has permitted Zimbabwe to hold two auctions, although the country has not been able to guarantee that widespread human rights violations in the mines and smuggling have stopped.

The situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating again under a new wave of political violence organised by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, and the country faces another illegitimate election and crisis unless credible, enforceable reforms can first be implemented.

Slow and inadequate progress in implementing the compromise they reached three years ago threatens to push Zimbabwe’s contending forces into premature elections and undermine political and economic recovery.

A bold approach to the sanctions issue is necessary to refocus efforts on the actions needed to break the political stalemate in Zimbabwe before elections are held that otherwise threaten to be as violent and undemocratic as the 2008 round.

Bold steps can be taken by the EU to ease sanctions while not rewarding recalcitrant behaviour by Zanu-PF leadership

The pervasive fear of violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections contradicts political leaders’ rhetorical commitments to peace, and raises concerns that the country may not be ready to go to the polls.

A return to protracted political crisis, and possibly extensive violence, is likely as Zimbabwe holds elections on 31 July. conditions for a free and fair vote do not exist.

The Sadc mediation process in Zimbabwe can be logically prescribed into three phases: the pre-2008 election phase; immediate post-2008 election; and the Global Political Agreement (GPA) phase.

Zimbabwe’s growing instability is exacerbated by dire economic decline, endemic governance failures, and tensions over ruling party succession; without major political and economic reforms, the country could slide into being a failed state.

A year after Zanu (PF)’s election victory and the formation of a new government, Zimbabwe’s politics and economy are increasingly precarious. Immediate prospects for a sustained recovery remain bleak, made worse by dire economic decline, endemic governance failures and tension over ruling-party succession.

Un año después de la victoria en las elecciones de la Unión Nacional Africana de Zimbabue- Frente Patriótico (ZANU-PF, en sus siglas en inglés) y de la formación de un nuevo gobierno, la política y la economía de Zimbabue son cada vez más precarias. Las perspectivas inmediatas de una recuperación sostenida siguen siendo malas, empeoradas por el alarmante declive económico, los fracasos endémicos en materia de gobernanza y la tensión generada por la sucesión en el partido en el poder.

Hailed as transitional by local observers, the latest polls were expected to usher in a new type of leadership in FRELIMO, with Filipe Nyussi being the first non-liberation northern leader in a southern dominated elite; they would also see opposition parties RENAMO and MDM alter their strategies and become more politically relevant; and would possibly be the last polls before the country became a mass resource-producing economy. However, the Presidential and parliamentary elections of 15 October have made the political setting, the prospects for improved governance and wealth redistribution more opaque, and the implementation of the new peace agreement harder.

Zimbabwe has not escaped its chronic crisis. Infighting over who will succeed the ailing 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe is stifling efforts to tackle insolvency, low rule of law, rampant unemployment and food insecurity. Zimbabwe needs international help to recover, but what it needs most is a leadership willing to act on much-needed reforms.

There is no end in sight to the hardships faced by the majority of Zimbabweans. Political uncertainty and economic insecurity have worsened as the country struggles to develop the necessary foundation to underwrite a broad-based and sustainable recovery.

A zeal for the Jezreel Valley overcomes fear and insecurity.

With the desire to help those in need, OM Guatemala organises a free medical clinic in a red zone (high-crime) area in Guatemala City.

OM Hong Kong celebrates the annual Mid-Autumn Festival with South Asian friend and meets other families to learn about their needs.

At the end of April, the second ZOOM national mission conference, with 300 participants from over 80 cities and towns, was held in Warsaw, Poland.

By Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie

When Archbishop Jose Gomez was elected to head the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) earlier this month, he tweeted that it was an honor - and not only for him, but for “every Latino Catholic in the country.” He’s right about that. We Latino Catholics feel it a great honor and a point of pride that a fellow Hispanic should take the lead. Not just because he is Latino, but because he’s a man with a sterling character and gentle manner, a man well known both for his sympathetic attitude toward the plight of immigrants and his traditional approach to social issues. This is a powerful and attractive combination to our growing Hispanic Catholic Church.

Gomez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico and a naturalized U.S. citizen, presides over the Los Angeles diocese, the largest and one of the most diverse dioceses in the country. Its parishes encompass more than thirty ethnicities, celebrating masses in languages from Igbo to Hungarian to Tagalog. The catholicity, that is, the universality--of the Catholic Church is a palpable thing in L.A., not simply a doctrinal concept. It’s the result of a constant and varied immigration. 

As leader of the USCCB, Archbishop Gomez will head an American Catholic Church that is about 58% non-Hispanic white and 34% Latino - a church in which most members under 30 are Hispanic. A significant number of the 2.7 million Hispanics that attend mass in Spanish are undocumented, and an even greater number probably know or love someone whose presence here is precarious. Gomez brings a history of heartfelt public support for the undocumented workers that America relies on to farm our crops, tidy our lawns, man our factories, and look after our children. He has been an especially vocal advocate of “dreamers.” “In a special way, I pray for #Dreamers, the day before #Scotus hears oral arguments on the legality of DACA,” he tweeted just after his election.

Archbishop Gomez is the author of the excellent “Immigration and the Next America.” The 2013 book neatly lays out his assessment of our current situation and his vision for a better future. He chronicles the historical background of a nation founded by Puritans searching for freedom but also (and even earlier) colonized by Spanish missionary migrants in a successful quest to evangelize the native population. He assesses a present-day America that lacks moral consensus and is crazed with consumerism, a nation confused about everything from the meaning of sexuality to the value (if any) of human life. He sees a country in which the ties of traditional American values and civic virtues that once bound us to one another are frayed, a country whose uneasy citizenry worries about what the “Next America” will look like. 

Gomez does not downplay the importance of legal norms and the very real toll that the chaos and lawlessness of illegal immigration takes, especially along our southern border. He argues, however, that fear and uncertainty may tempt us to “abandon our commitment to liberty and justice for all, in favor of an insular, racial definition of who can be a true American.” American Catholics, members of an immigrant Church in a country with a long history of anti-Catholic bias have a special responsibility in today’s debates over immigration reform. We bring to the table not only the memory of our ancestor’s experience of discrimination and the Church’s energetic response to the material and spiritual needs of successive waves of migrants, but also its rich tradition of teaching on human dignity and social justice. Catholics are especially suited to envision the face of the “Next America” in a way faithful to the Christian obligation of benevolence to strangers. 

U.S. Hispanics have a lot to be happy about in Archbishop Gomez’s election. He is a man with a tender heart for the vulnerable people in our midst who can also articulate a way forward on immigration that is attractive and optimistic - one based on the highest ideals that are our shared inheritance in this diverse country. He is also a man who bridges the liberal/conservative divide by quietly affirming the traditional mores and values that Hispanics are bent on preserving. But then, I venture to say that his election gives all American Catholics reason to be happy too. 

Veracruz, Mexico :: Visitors to Logos Hope are delighted to learn they have longer to visit the ship than originally scheduled.

Veracruz, Mexico :: The Ship Ministry receives the largest number of visitors in a single port, breaking a 30-year record.

10 challenges, 3 people, 0 phones and 1 awesome God.

Prezi frees your presentations from the sequential slide deck format. You can use it to make interactive presentations, talking head videos, and more.

On 1 December, 22 women hiked Tongariro Alpine Crossing to raise awareness and funds for women and children trafficked in France and India.

About 110 men, women and children climbed five volcanoes in Auckland in the Freedom Climb New Zealand on Saturday, 16 August.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher prevalence of epilepsy compared with general populations. In this pilot study, we prospectively identified baseline risk factors for the development of seizures in individuals with ASD and also identified characteristics sensitive to seizure onset up to 6 years after enrollment in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

An adolescent girl with a history of frequent electronic cigarette use of nicotine was hospitalized with severe necrotizing pneumonia. Blood cultures obtained before the administration of empirical broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics had positive results for the growth of Fusobacterium necrophorum. The pathogen is an uncommon but well-known cause of anaerobic pneumonia with unique features that are collectively referred to as Lemierre syndrome or postanginal sepsis. The syndrome begins as a pharyngeal infection. Untreated, the infection progresses to involve the ipsilateral internal jugular vein, resulting in septic thrombophlebitis with direct spread from the neck to the lungs causing multifocal necrotizing pneumonia. The teenager we present in this report had neither a preceding pharyngeal infection nor Doppler ultrasonographic evidence for the presence of deep neck vein thrombi, leading us to explore alternative mechanisms for her pneumonia. We propose the possibility that her behavior of frequent vaping led to sufficient pharyngeal irritation such that F necrophorum colonizing her oropharynx was inhaled directly into her lungs during electronic cigarette use. Preexisting, but not yet recognized, vaping-related lung injury may have also contributed to her risk of developing the infection. The patient was hospitalized for 10 days. At follow-up one month later, she still became short of breath with minimal exertion.

A previously healthy 9-year-old immigrant girl from Mexico was evaluated in the emergency department (ED) with one week of fatigue, fevers, rhinorrhea, and cough. She initially presented to her primary pediatrician, where a complete blood count revealed neutropenia, prompting referral to the ED. In the ED, she was found to be influenza A–positive. Because of dehydration, she received intravenous fluids and was admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service. After 2 days, influenza symptoms improved, and oral intake increased. However, she was noted to have decreased bilateral lower-extremity strength, absent Achilles reflexes, decreased lower-extremity sensation and proprioception, a positive result on the Romberg sign, and abnormal heel-to-shin testing results. These findings prompted an urgent neurology consultation. After extensive imaging, laboratory evaluation, and further consultations, a diagnosis was established.

Various states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes and/or decriminalized recreational marijuana use. These changes coincide with a decrease in perceived harmfulness of the drug and an increase in its use among youth. This change is of critical concern because of the potential harmful impact of marijuana exposure on adolescents. Marijuana use has been associated with several adverse mental health outcomes, including increased incidence of addiction and comorbid substance use, suicidality, and new-onset psychosis. Negative impacts on cognition and academic performance have also been observed. As the trend toward legalization continues, the pediatric community will be called on to navigate the subsequent challenges that arise with changing policies. Pediatricians are uniquely positioned to provide innovative care and educate youth and families on the ever-evolving issues pertaining to the impact of marijuana legalization on communities. In this article, we present and analyze the most up-to-date data on the effects of legalization on adolescent marijuana use, the effects of adolescent use on mental health and cognitive outcomes, and the current interventions being recommended for use in pediatric office settings.

A report of results: OM has been supporting church planting efforts and training local missionary teams to plant churches nearby and within the conflict area.

OM Ukraine and experts in crisis management held a seminar for pastors serving on both sides of the conflict line in Eastern Ukraine.

Nirmal Purja, mountaineer

RIGHT now, Shahbaz Majeed should be heading to Glencoe. Or flying over central Scotland. Or making his way to Harris which he has been trying to get back to since his first visit in 2018. Or maybe visiting some other part of Scotland so he can capture it in a photograph. Instead, he is at home in Dundee (where he is web development manager at the University of Dundee), “climbing the walls,” and looking forward to life after lockdown.

It’s been a nerve-wracking few years for the traditional auto industry. One Silicon Valley VC firm speculates on its future in an interview with Bloomberg.

OM Austria has worked with immigrants for 10 years in the "Building Bridges" Team. In 2016, the team will begin working with refugees in Graz.

A look at how Swiss football is on the rise, from the grassroots upwards.

THE first cap is the sweetest. For hockey player Alan Forsyth it came on October 19, 2015: Great Britain versus Argentina at Bisham Abbey. He scored on his debut, too, teed up by fellow Scot Chris Grassick after 28 minutes.

THE irony that the recent weather would have been ideal for the start of the domestic cricket season is not lost on Kyle Coetzer.

Singjay Tashina McKenzie has found herself with a lot of downtime since government- mandated lockdowns and curfews have curtailed nightlife and affected recording studios due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no shortage of anguish on television news in Jamaica — from homicides to domestic abuse and missing children.It was while watching one of those newscasts that singer Hezron was inspired to write Resilience, a song released May 1 by his Hardshield Records.

NEW YORK, USA (AP) — Queen Latifah, Rebecca Breeds, and Thomas Middleditch are set to star in three new CBS shows for the 2020-21 season as the network adds a reimagined Equalizer, a show based on The Silence of the Lambs and a comedy about organ donation.

Philadelphia-based recording artiste M-Gee is enjoying much success from his latest release, Then A So, which is a collaboration among him, Noah Powa and ZiZi6ixx.The track comes as a collaborative project between GS Entertainment Music and Sky Height.Then A So is available on all major digital distributing platforms through Johnny Wonder.After promoting the single, the song copped a number of features on several mixtapes.

OM teams in Costa Rica and El Salvador take Christmas to approximately 2,000 children during the run up to Christmas.

OM Costa Rica is excited to celebrate a growing ministry. This year the team opened a second OM location in Perez Zeledon, an office responsible for the southern end of Costa Rica and local church partnerships in this region.

Farmfoods, a Scottish family business, has served the nation for over 60 years - and has never faltered in selling the finest farm  produce the country has to offer.