World News
Unrest Erupts Across Tanzania Over Disputed Election Results
Tanzania has been rocked by violent demonstrations following the disputed general election, with hundreds of protesters clashing with police in the country’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, on Friday.
The unrest broke out amid growing anger over the electoral commission’s continued release of results from Wednesday’s vote, which opposition groups claim was marred by irregularities. In response, authorities have deployed the army nationwide and imposed an internet shutdown to curb communication and mobilization.
State media has continued announcing tallies from the mainland, where the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party—at the helm since independence in 1961—seeks to maintain its long-standing grip on power.
Several key opposition contenders were disqualified from the race, leaving President Samia Suluhu Hassan to face a field of 16 largely underfunded rivals from smaller parties.
In Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous island region, CCM also retained the presidency. The Zanzibar Electoral Commission declared incumbent Dr. Hussein Mwinyi the winner with 78.8 percent of the vote, amid a strong military presence.
Opposition leaders have rejected the results, accusing the electoral bodies of “massive fraud” and announcing plans for further political action.
By Friday, the demonstrations had entered their third day, with confrontations between crowds and heavily armed police units continuing in Dar es Salaam. The protests first flared up on Wednesday, driven mainly by young people angered by reports of opposition harassment and restricted political participation. During the chaos, several vehicles, a police post, and a fuel station were torched.
The disturbances have since spread to other parts of the country, forcing the government to postpone the reopening of universities and colleges initially set for Monday.
Army Commander General Jacob John Mkunda condemned the violence, assuring the public that the military was working closely with police to restore peace and stability.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, confirmed that the UN had received credible accounts of at least ten fatalities in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga, and Morogoro, after security forces reportedly used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds. She urged Tanzanian authorities to exercise restraint and prioritize dialogue to prevent further escalation.
The current turmoil follows a tense campaign season that saw reports of arbitrary arrests, detentions of opposition figures, and disappearances of government critics among them a former Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba.
World News
DIABETES CURE… OR THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR INSULIN DEPENDENCE?
Scientists in China and the United States have successfully used stem cells to create insulin-producing cells that restored the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar in some patients with Type 1 diabetes.
The experimental procedures, conducted by researchers in China and separately by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the U.S., represent a significant leap beyond traditional disease management.
For over a century, diabetes has required patients to endure daily insulin injections and constant glucose monitoring.
These new cell-based therapies aim to rebuild the biological function that is lost in the disease.
According to details shared online by science commentator SciTech Girl, which have garnered significant attention from the medical community, the approach involves creating new islet cells from stem cells and transplanting them into patients.
In several individuals with Type 1 diabetes, whose pancreases no longer produce insulin, these transplanted cells have begun producing insulin again—eliminating the need for injected insulin.
“No pump. No syringe. Just living cells doing their job,” the report stated, summarising the dramatic outcome for some trial participants.
Medical experts caution that while the results are groundbreaking, they do not yet constitute a widespread, proven cure.
The trials remain small in scale, and the long-term durability and safety of the transplanted cells are still unknown.
World News
Russia Enforces Nationwide WhatsApp Ban
Russian authorities have moved to block Meta-owned WhatsApp across the country, citing the company’s failure to meet domestic legal requirements.
Officials say Meta did not establish a local office, declined to cooperate with data-sharing demands, and failed to remove content deemed unlawful.
The government has also linked the messaging platform to cases of fraud and alleged extremist activities.
Following the shutdown, many users in Russia are migrating to alternative platforms such as Telegram, VK Messenger, Yandex Messenger, and the government-supported MAX application.
World News
Ex-President Edgar Lungu’s Son Stripped of Assets Deemed Proceeds of Crime
Dalisto Lungu, the son of Zambia’s late former president Edgar Lungu, has been stripped of assets worth more than US$1.26 million after a ruling by the Economic and Financial Crimes Court.
The court found that the properties were obtained through illicit means and ordered their forfeiture to the state. The seized assets include 79 motor vehicles, over 20 pieces of land located in various parts of Zambia, as well as a fuel service station.
In its judgment, the EFCC stated that Lungu failed to provide credible evidence of a lawful income or business operations that could reasonably explain his accumulation of such wealth.
Lungu disputed the allegations, insisting that the properties were legally acquired. However, the court ruled that his explanation was insufficient to counter the state’s case, paving the way for the assets to be confiscated.
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