Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Reporter
Ex-Labour Minister and suspected land baron Petronella Kagonye has been arrested on land scams as the fight against graft intensifies.
President Mnangagwa declared zero tolerance to corruption saying the arrests of both the “big and small fish” without fear or favour should become the new normal until sanity has been restored.
Special Anti-Corruption Unit head Mr Tabani Mpofu confirmed the arrest and said further details would be released later. Herald
One man was stabbed to death and several others injured in what police described as a night of “abhorrent” violence in south London.
The Metropolitan Police enacted additional stop and search powers after the man was killed and nine others injured during the spate of knife attacks around Croydon.
Scotland Yard said that there was no information to suggest that the incidents were linked.
Officers were called to five reports of stabbings in the area between 6.56pm and 9.12pm on Friday.
One of two men reported to have been injured at a property in Wisbeach Road, Croydon - near the Selhurst Park home of Premier League football club Crystal Palace - died at the scene.
Passers-by tried to save his life using a towel thrown to them by residents of nearby flats to try and stop the loss of blood.
Samuel Henningham, 69, a builder who lives in the block of flats near where the murder victim was stabbed, said: "I came to the window and saw a guy run inside. I was inside my place and my daughter said 'something is going on downstairs,' so another guy rushed out to try and assist him.
"He was lying on the floor and he was bleeding. I think he'd been stabbed somewhere in the groin area.
"My daughter threw a towel down to the other guy so he could wrap it. He was still bleeding until the police arrived. It took them about 20 minutes."
The violence began shortly before 7pm, when police were called to Chapman Road, Croydon, to reports of a stabbing. Officers found one male victim, whose condition was later assessed as not life-threatening in hospital.
Fifteen minutes later officers were called after four men in their 20s attended a south London hospital suffering from stab and slash injuries, with one believed to be in a life-threatening condition.
Just after 8pm police attended the Wisbeach Road address, where paramedics were unable to save the fatally injured man, and at 8.51pm were again called to a south London hospital, after two males attended with stab injuries.
Around 30 minutes later officers were called to Dingwall Road, Croydon, to reports of a stabbing. One man was arrested on suspicion of GBH. The victim, whose condition was not life threatening, was also arrested.
A total of nine men were wounded, one killed, and two people arrested.
A section 60 order granting police additional stop and search powers was put in place across Croydon until 8am on Saturday.
Detective Superintendent Nicky Arrowsmith said: "Sadly, tonight we have seen a number of needless and completely abhorrent violent altercations, including one that has tragically resulted in a loss of life.”
She added: "Our officers continue to work around the clock to identify and pursue offenders, bring perpetrators to justice, support victims, take weapons off the street, engage and reassure the public, and keep our communities safe in London.
"But we are not complacent and cannot do this alone. We work closely with our communities as they are key to understanding and knowing what is occurring locally.”
Officers from the South Area Command Unit were on patrol throughout the night, backed by the Violent Crime Taskforce and Territorial Support Group to deter and prevent any further violence.
Police asked anyone with information that could help officers investigating these incidents to make contact.
"We need to hear from anyone who has information about crime, those who carry a weapon, or those who exploit others for gain or revenge, while putting young people's lives at risk - we need this information to help keep London safe,” said Det. Supt. Arrowsmith.
Steve Reed, the MP for Croydon North, described the multiple stabbings there as “absolutely horrific news that will devastate our community.” By Patrick Sawer, Yahoo News
China has threatened to retaliate after British regulators stripped China's state TV channel of its UK broadcasting licence amid mounting tensions between London and Beijing.
British regulator Ofcom yesterday revoked the licence of CGTN, the international channel of China's state broadcaster CCTV, after finding its state-backed ownership structure broke UK law.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the UK of 'political oppression' and 'double standards', and demanded Britain 'correct its mistakes' on Friday.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry, told reporters that Ofcom had acted on 'political grounds based on ideological bias'.
Mr Wang condemned Ofcom for 'politicising technical issues, seriously harming the survival of Chinese media and severely interfering with normal exchanges between the two countries'.
He also accused the 'British side' of ignoring freedom of the press, holding 'double standards' and launching 'political oppression'.
'We urge the UK to immediately stop political manipulation and correct its mistakes. China reserves the right to make the necessary response to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese media,' Mr Wang said at a daily briefing.
In its decision issued on Thursday, Ofcom said it revoked the UK licence for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English-language satellite news channel, because of a lack of editorial control and links to China's Communist Party.
CGTN had been available on free and pay TV in the UK. Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from human rights group Safeguard Defenders that called for an investigation into its ownership.
Ofcom is also continuing to investigate several additional complaints that the station violated rules on fairness and accuracy.
Those complaints include the broadcasting of alleged forced confessions by a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong and a British corporate investigator and longtime government critic, Gui Minhai, whose whereabouts are now unknown.
In a tweet, Gui's daughter Angela Gui said, 'Finally, five years after first airing a forced confession by my father #GuiMinhai in the UK, Ofcom has revoked CGTN's licence to broadcast. Thank you @SafeguardDefend and everyone else who's filed complaints.'
Finally, five years after first airing a forced confession by my father #GuiMinhai in the UK, Ofcom has revoked CGTN’s license to broadcast. Thank you @SafeguardDefend and everyone else who’s filed complaints. https://t.co/mI8qmTFjiB
— Angela Gui (@angelagui_) February 4, 2021
Ofcom's decision adds to friction between Britain and China, already strained by the UK's efforts to address allegations of human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in Xinjiang and widen residency rights for Hong Kongers.
Mr Wang gave no details on how China would retaliate. However, the BBC, which is only available in some hotels, businesses and residential compounds for foreigners in China, could become a target.
The Foreign Ministry initially responded to word of the loss of CGTN's licence with renewed criticism of the BBC.
The ministry called a January 29 BBC report on COVID-19 in China 'typical fake news' and demanding a public apology.
It said 'China reserves the right to take further measures.' The BBC said it stood by its reporting and rejected the 'unfounded accusations.'
In his defence of CGTN, Mr Wang said the British knew all along about its ties to China's ruling party.
Mr Wang said CGTN always adhered to regulations and upheld the principles of 'objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness and accuracy in news reporting'.
'China is a socialist country led by the Communist Party. The British side has been well aware of the nature of the Chinese media,' Mr Wang said.
'The British side knew this clearly from the first day CGTN broadcasted in the UK 18 years ago. That the UK now makes an issue of Chinese media's nature and obstructing CGTN in its broadcasting is purely political manipulation,' he said.
CGTN has been at the forefront of the party's bid to seize the narrative from Western news media about human rights in China and its aggressive military and diplomatic moves amid a hardening of attitudes toward China in countries from South Korea to Canada. Source: Daily Mail
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