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Rufaro Samanga
Oct. 25, 2019 03:50AM EST

Thousands of Zimbabweans March Against Economic Sanctions Imposed by the West

Zimbabweans hope the anti-sanctions march will result in the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the West.

Zimbabwe's economy continues on its downward spiral. After the infamous "coup-not-coup" of last year, which saw the ousting of former president Robert Mugabe after almost a four decade-long rule, current president Emmerson Mnangagwa and his cabinet are yet to inspire any confidence in Zimbabweans. A few days ago, the country embarked on an "anti-sanctions crusade" which included prayer sessions and the declaration of a public holiday. More recently, thousands of Zimbabweans are participating in a nationwide march which hopes to see the economic sanctions imposed by America and the European Union lifted. However, both America and the European Union have been clear that sanctions will only be lifted following economic and political reforms.

Zimbabwe has been facing economic sanctions since Mugabe was in power. America, the European Union, Australia and several others have maintained that because of alleged human rights violations, rigged elections and the expropriation of land from White farmers, the sanctions will remain in place. American ambassador Brian Nichols said in an interview with Zimbabwe's Trevor Ncube that, "The perception of the issues in Zimbabwe is driven by the actions of the government of Zimbabwe both in the run up to and in the wake of the elections in 2018."

READ: Zimbabwean Police Are Using Violence to Disperse Peaceful Protesters

Members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are reportedly also in attendance to show their support for the mass mobilization of Zimbabweans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF). According to VOA Zimbabwe, each member country of SADC is set to individually call for the lifting of Zimbabwe's sanctions as previously agreed upon at the 39th regional summit held in Tanzania this past August. Last night, the Zanu-PF Youth League called on Zimbabweans to occupy the American embassy as part of what they've now dubbed "Sanctions Must Fall".

Social media is alive with images and video footage of the various anti-sanctions marches taking place across Zimbabwe.





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(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Rejoice! WhatsApp Places New Restrictions on Chain Messages to Fight Fake News

To combat the spread of misinformation due to the coronavirus outbreak, users are now restricted from sharing frequently forwarded messages to more than one person.

The rise of the novel coronavirus has seen an increase in the spread of fake news across social media sites and platforms, particularly WhatsApp—a platform known as a hotbed for the forwarding of illegitimate chain messages and conspiracy theories (if you have African parents, you're probably familiar). Now the Facebook-owned app is setting in place new measures to try and curb the spread of fake news on its platform.

The app is putting new restrictions on message forwarding which will limit the number of times a frequently forwarded message can be shared. Messages that have been sent through a chain of more than five people can only subsequently be forwarded to one person. "We know many users forward helpful information, as well as funny videos, memes, and reflections or prayers they find meaningful," announced the app in a blog post on Tuesday. "In recent weeks, people have also used WhatsApp to organize public moments of support for frontline health workers."

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Sarkodie Hits Hard With His Latest Single 'Sub Zero'

The Ghanaian heavyweight rapper shows up with the fire bars over an Altra Nova-produced beat.

Sarkodie has dropped a new aggressive track in the shape of "Sub Zero."

"Sub Zero" follows the star Ghanaian rapper as he throws back criticisms that have come his way from other rappers with his own ice cold flow. The new track was produced by Ghanaian beatmaker Altra Nova and mixed by PEE On Da BeaT.

"Sub Zero" follows Sarkodie's turn-up single "Bumper," which dropped bak in February.

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Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.

8 South African Hip-Hop Battles We’d Love to Watch

After Tweezy and Gemini Major's battle, we'd like to see these ones next.

Last week, Gemini Major and Tweezy, two of South African hip-hop's super producers hopped on the trend of the Instagram Live beat battle started by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, amidst the lockdown enforced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Much to the delight of fans and industry mates alike, Tweezy and Gemini Major showcased their best productions, with many realizing and marveling at the fact that they're the two foremost producers responsible for multiple hits in the South African hip-hop industry for the past 10 years.

South Africa's hip-hop scene has a wide range of producers who have shaped the sound of the country's scene over the years since the 90s and 2000s, to the current crop. Taking that into account, we bring you eight pairs of producers we would like to see go against each other in an IG Live beat battle.


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