Triathlete injured as drone filming race falls to ground

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drone

Reports that a drone hit an athlete competing in a triathlon in Western Australia’s Mid West are being investigated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

Raija Ogden reportedly sustained minor head injuries after the drone’s operator lost control of the device. The videographer operating the drone claimed the craft had crashed because someone in the crowd had hacked his drone and made it crash on purpose.

The drone was being used to film competitors in the Geraldton Endure Batavia triathlon in western Australia. Ms Ogden was treated at the scene of the accident before being taken to hospital where stitches were required to close a head wound. Geraldton Triathlon club has apologised to Ms Ogden who was only metres away from the finishing line when she sustained her injuries.

Drone was hacked

The drone was being piloted by local photographer Warren Abrams who set it hovering about 10m above the race route to capture images of competitors completing the 10km run section of the triathlon.

Conflicting reports about the incident have emerged in local media. Some witnesses said the drone fell directly on to Ms Ogden but others said she tripped and fell after being startled by the plummeting device.

Mr Abrams told ABC news that video footage shot by the drone clearly showed it missed Ms Ogden and fell just behind her. In later reports Ms Ogden disputed this version of events saying she only sat down as she thought she was going to faint after the craft hit her.

Channel hopping is a form of hacking which can render the drone uncontrollable to the original operator. Mr Abrams said it was a deliberate act and it would be difficult to determine who was responsible as something as common as a mobile phone could be used to perform a channel hop. The videographer added that there had been a similar incident when the drone was flown earlier in the day.

He said a full check was conducted and the device was taken elsewhere for a test flight, but he said no issues were detected. CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said he was confident sophisticated drones used in commercial operations would not be able to be controlled or hacked in that way. “the simpler ones that you can go down to a store and buy, maybe that is possible given that they’re that much more basic,” he said.

“It’s very unlikely they’re going to be used in commercial operations where they’re going to be near people or property.”

The incident is now being investigated by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority whose rules dictate that unmanned aircraft must fly a minimum of 30m away from people. Operators of drones are required to be certified by the agency to fly the unmanned craft.

The Agency is now looking into the incident as news reports raised questions about whether Mr Abrams was certified to operate the drone.

Mr Abrams said his initial investigation suggested that he lost control after someone else briefly took over flying the drone. Determining who in the crowd of competitors had stolen control would be tricky, he said, because smartphones could easily be used to carry out such an attack.

Dying reflections

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mugabe

 

Mugabe’s dying reflections
“Ninety years old today and now nothing left to do,
There is simply no soul on earth left for me to screw.
I have succeeded in making Zimbabwe a place of living hell,
Most opposition I have killed; those who shout and yell.
I have ignored the people’s pleas for over thirty years,
Their pleas to have a healthy land brings me close to tears.

I hate White folk with a passion, of that all are aware,
Stealing their farms and livelihood I deemed very fair.
Grace, my typist, precious wife, a billionaire self made,
A far cry from poor Sally who was just a chamber maid.
I am told the great big wheel turns, as it did in my favour,
I am the Black man’s idol, his number one best flavour.

As I reflect upon my days, my lust for wealth and power,
The West will see me as Hitler in my closing hour.
My rhino skin cares little for their jibes and scorn,
Eating only caviar now, I have lost my taste for corn.
Thank you Britain and America for giving me this land,
With China and with Russia, they made a four piece band.

Thanks of course to South Africa too for helping rig the vote,
Please join me in my dying hour as I choose to gloat.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe whom Rhodesians love to hate,
These countries handed me Rhodesia on a silver plate.”

Written by Alf Hutchison Author of “Sounds of Distant Drums”

Zimbabwean Drums
The drums are calling old man, and they are louder by the day.
They are calling you to judgement and now’s the time to pay
for the wrongs you’ve done your country and the trust betrayed.
So hear those drums swelling, hear well and be afraid.

You came to power on waves of hope that you would make your mark,
in a land that shone in Africa like diamonds in the dark.
In simple faith the people put their trust in your care,
and were repaid by the Fifth Brigade and the CIO and fear.

twenty eight years of motorcades and lavish trips abroad
a nations heritage is lost through patronage and fraud.
The Chiefs grow fat while people starve and famine stalks our homes.
On idle farms the weeds grow rank and cover cattle bones.

the youth are taught your slogans but even as they sing
the drums of change are beating for the truth is seeping in.
The demagogue has feet of clay and lies will not sustain
the shattered land that once seemed free and will be so again.
Too late to blame the drought, the Brits, the whites, the MDC.

For all know where the finger points with cold finality.
So hear the drums, old man, and listen to them well,
They foretell of your end days and they have much to tell.
for he who sows the seeds of hate will reap the grapes of wrath,
so tremble in your bed at night, at the end of your sorry path.

spider falls from the sun visor

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A 38 year old doctor panicked when a spider dropped on her lap as she was driving her car causing an accident that led to the death of an elderly motorist.

spider

spider falls from sun visor

Dr Amy Elizabeth Walpole, was driving her red Mazda MX5 and went into panic when the spider fell from the sun visor. The GP was seen waving her arms frantically before smashing into the oncoming car of 87-year-old John Evans, Llanelli magistrates court was told.

The prosecution, Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, said: “Walpole explained that a spider had dropped from her sun-visor and landed in her lap. With her fear of spiders, she went into a panic as she tried to throw the spider out the car. With this distraction, the doctor drifted across the road causing the collision.”

John Allchurch, in mitigation, said Walpole was arachnophobic. “It was a large spider which she was terrified of and tried to flick out of the window,” he said.

John Evans, the eighty seven year old driver of the other vehicle, suffered fractures and damage to his heart in the collision. He was able to walk from his car to an ambulance but unfortunately died the next day.

Dr Walpole, of Penymynydd, near Llanelli, south Wales, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. David Powells, the presiding judge banned Walpole from driving for twelve months and ordered her to carry out 80 hours of community service.

The judge said that they were dealing with a tragic accident. However, the witness account of seeing the doctor’s arms waving around when the spider dropped was consistent with what she had said and her arachnophobia.

He went on to say there were no aggravating circumstances. The family of John Evans had asked for Walpole to be dealt with leniently as they were aware of her good reputation as a GP in the area. “This is not a case for prison, it is a case for a community order,” David Powells went on to say.

Zimbabwe Minister Defends export of baby elephants

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Zimbabwe Minister Defends export of baby elephants

The acting Environment Minister, Walter Mzembi has stated that Zimbabwe will not be deterred from exporting 62 baby elephants to China, France and the United Arab Emirates. The Minister said that Zimbabwe has in excess of 80 000 elephants but only has the capacity for 42 000.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force does not believe this figure is accurate because a proper count hasn’t been done since 1997 so no one knows exactly how many elephants there are. A count was done in Hwange National Park late last year which resulted in a figure of 22 000 elephants however, the elephants do not live there all year round. Hwange has the highest concentration in the country.

Zimbabwe Minister Defends export of baby elephants

Mr Mzembi stated that the reason for the worldwide outcry about the exportation is political and that the people who are objecting don’t want Zimbabwe to make any money. Really? I think it is fair to say the rest of the rest doesn’t give a toss about Zimbabwe and is certainly not bothered if they make money. However, there is meek objection to Government officials making vast fortunes by raping and pillaging whats left of the country.

The Zimbabwe Government recently received a letter from 31 tourist agents in America who stated that if the exportation goes ahead, they will not be bringing any tourists to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Minister Defends export of baby elephants

In a new survey released last month, it showed that the elephant population has decreased by more than 40% in the Zambezi Valley, Matusadona and Chizarira areas. The survey is a partnership between the Great Elephant Census, a Mr Paul Gardner Allen Project and the Parks and Wildlife Authority.

A full professional count needs to be done. Every year in the hot season, elephants come into Zimbabwe from Botswana and Zambia to look for water in Hwange National Park. Therefore, all the elephants in the park are not Zimbabwean elephants and do not live there all year round. However, it appears that the counts are always done in the hot season.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force pointed out that the count should be done in winter and simultaneous counts should be done in the surrounding countries of Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia. We would then get a much clearer indication of the true elephant population in the whole region.

Naturally Elephants and other wildlife do not respect western borders and go through passport control etc.

From reports, a total of 27 baby elephants would be sent to China, while 15 would be sent to the UAE and a further 20 would be taken to France, with each buyer paying a £26,000 for each animal.

Speaking to the press and all other ignorant and stupid people, Mzembi said: “Our habitat is not designed to carry too many elephants that are in its environment. We have an over-population of elephants.”

The Zimbabwe government announced in December 2014 that due to an ever expanding population of elephants, (despite no official count since 1997) it would begin a programme of exportation of elephants from Hwange National Park to try and control the numbers of elephants.

There has be no mention of what would happen to the money form the sale of all the elephants and other wildlife to foreign buyers?

Zimbabwe Minister Defends export of baby elephants

Both the government and Zimbabwean Parks and Wildlife authorities said that the step had to be made to ensure the country’s elephant population does not grow any bigger citing that the elephants where consuming and destroying the environment and food sources for other species.

The truth of the situation is that the exportation has involved young animals being violently taken away from their mothers and then exported in tough conditions to unfamiliar surroundings.

In a statement on Peta’s website they said: “These innocent and terrified babies have been traumatically stolen from their families and their natural habitat, only to be sold to the highest bidder and sentenced to a life of abuse and captivity.”

Going back to 2012, 4 baby elephants died after being shipped to China from Zimbabwe, which prompted the US and European Union to sign a petition against the exportation of baby elephants from Zimbabwe.

As with any petitions and statements, this has been ignored by the Zimbabwe Government who has argued that they are currently suffering from a conservation funding crisis and that the funds appropriated from the sale of the elephants would be used to help with conservation efforts. There is no proof the funds have gone in this direction?

Speaking on 6 January, Water and Climate Committee chairperson, Anastacia Ndlovu, , said: “The selling off of live elephants will enable the wildlife authority to raise enough funds to protect the jumbos and other wildlife.”

More Info:

Previous post on China stealing baby elephants

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ZCTF-Zimbabwe-Conservation-Task-Force/246013052094585
Website: www.zctfofficialsite.org 

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force relies soley on public donations. Your donation can help to preserve the wildlife in Zimbabwe. If you would like to assist, please contact us.

‘Girl bomber’ kills 19 people in Maiduguri market

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‘Girl bomber’ kills 19 people in Maiduguri market

'Girl bomber' kills 19 people in Maiduguri market

 

Nineteen people have been killed and several more injured by a bomb strapped to a girl who was apparently only 10 years old in north-eastern Nigeria.

The bomb exploded in a market in the city of Maiduguri.

“The explosive devices were wrapped around her body,” a police source told Reuters.

So far, the market has been targeted twice in a week by female bombers. Local correspondents indicated that all the signs of the attack point to the militant Islamist Boko Haram group.

Boko Haram have been fighting to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Nigerian north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

'Girl bomber' kills 19 people in Maiduguri market

The recent bomb attack follows heavy fighting in the Yobe state capital Damaturu on Friday night, with a large number of buildings destroyed as well as innocent civilian casualties.

An assault on the town of Baga on Wed left hundreds of people dead, following on their seizure of a key military base there on the 3rd January.

Amnesty International described the attack as possibly the “deadliest massacre” in the history of Boko Haram – with bodies apparently left strewn in the surrounding bush.

Unfortunately most victims in the recent Baga attack were children, women and elderly people unable to escape quickly enough when Boko Haram insurgents raided the town by firing rocket-propelled grenades and using high powered assault rifles.

Boko Haram has forcefully taken control of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria during 2014.

'Girl bomber' kills 19 people in Maiduguri market

The conflict has forced over 1.5 million people to flee their homes, while more than 2,000 were killed last year.

Borno State police spokesman Gideon Jubrin said that the 10 year old young girl bomber let off an improvised explosive device near the area of the Maiduguri market where chickens were sold. It is also possibly the bomb was remotely detonated.

The BBC’s Abdulahi Kaura correspondent in Lagos said that this will not be the first suicide bombing involving young girls, part of a new strategy intended to capitalise on the fact that people in the Muslim-dominated north are less suspicious of women.

This could have massive and far reaching repercussions in the entire world as muslim woman will come under significantly more scrutiny especially with the traditional burka.

In further violence reported on Saturday a vehicle in Yobe state exploded at a checkpoint near a police station, killing at least two people.

Female Suicide Bombers

Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram is accused of unleashing a new weapon of war – the female suicide bomber, fuelling concern that its insurgency has entered a more ruthless phase.

4 teenage girls carried out attacks in the biggest northern city, Kano, last week, which has led to speculation that Boko Haram had turned some of the 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 into human bombs.

Mike Omeri, a government official said the security forces had arrested three people in neighbouring Katsina state – including two girls aged 10 and 18 – with explosive belts strapped around them.

The new strategy kicked off last June with Nigeria’s first female bomber – a middle-aged woman who rode a motorcycle into a military barracks in the north-eastern city of Gombe. She killed a soldier who was searching her at the checkpoint and she detonated her device.

“To use female suicide bombers is the most dramatic strategy that an organisation can use. It becomes easier to penetrate targets because we are less suspicious about women,” Martin Ewi, a researcher with South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told the BBC.

When you have female suicide bombers, the security challenge becomes bigger – it means you need female officers at every check-point to search women”

“It also shows desperation – and tends to be the last card that an organisation plays. But we don’t know whether Boko Haram has reached that stage, or whether it has decided to play the card early,” he adds.

Boko Haram violence is over its negotiations with the Nigerian Government to get their commanders released in exchange for the freedom of the abducted schoolgirls they took back in April.

Boko Haram has now carried out 11 suicide bombings – by men and women – since launching its insurgency in 2009, which indicates they’re copying the tactics of jihadi groups in other war torn, muslim based countries.

5 Recent suicide bomber attacks

  • 8 June: A woman rides into a military barracks in Gombe on a motorbike, she detonates an explosive killing herself and a policeman
  • 27 July: A young girl with an explosive device concealed under her veil blows herself up injuring five police officers at a university campus in Kano,
  • 28 July: A young woman lines up in a kerosene queue at a filling station in Kano. She kills 3 people and wounds 16 others after detonating her bomb.
  • 28 July: Six people are injured after a young woman detonates her bomb at a shopping centre in Kano
  • 30 July: Another six people are killed when a teenager blows herself up in a crowd of students at a college campus in Kano.

The Future of Zimbabwe?

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The Future of Zimbabwe

And so another year starts, 2015 and another year that Robert Mugabe is in Power since 18th of April 1980. Interestingly, he is on the top 15th longest standing dictator. Fidel Castro leading the list at 52 years in power.

The Future of Zimbabwe

Let me first say I am no expert but I am passionate about my country, I felt little choice but to leave back in 1999. Many of my friends left at the same time and are scattered around the globe. My parents still live in Harare, my brother in SA. Below, I have a few questions and observations about Zimbabwe;

The first question is, do we want Mugabe in power for the next 20 years? I suspect he shan’t survive 20 years however, I think you get my point?

The Future of Zimbabwe

The next question is what will he do in the next, lets say 10 years? Will it be anything positive? When was the last time Mugabe did something positive, inspirational or useful?

It would appear his recent introduction of coins that are supposed to be the same value as the US Dollar is a prelude to an attempt to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar and perhaps even start it off matching it to the US Dollar as per the coins? A few think this is rubbish and will never happen but I have seen this reported on more than one site and lets face it, Mugabe is a man who does what he wants. And as time goes on he is realising more and more than the West is willing to do less and less to oppose him. And why should they?

The Future of Zimbabwe

What has Zimbabwe got to offer or barter with the rest of the world? We have no oil and China is currently raping the minerals from the land daily, while even wild animals are being sold abroad to various countries for personal profit to Government officials (apparently)

If we go back to 2000, 15 years ago Zimbabwe still had a lot going for it but it was starting to rapidly drop off. She always had strong tourism throughout the country, one of the world’s foremost tobacco suppliers to the entire world. Exporting fresh produce around the world (I worked for Selby Enterprises doing this back in 97)

harare

Harare – Capital of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has always had a strong mining background especially for gold. I worked for Fawcetts Security who collected gold from a number of mines around the country. I actually went on a few gold collection runs to Mutare. We would leave at 4am and be back just after lunch.

I understand Robert kindly sold off various mineral rights to the Chinese for 10 years a number of years ago. The real repercussions of this, i am not sure? However, what I do know is that this will not benefit Zimbabwe or it’s people or it’s economy.

victoria falls

Victoria Falls

Neither shall of the loss and private sale of her wild life (baby elephants and lions and so on) be of any benefit to a country being raped and pillaged year after year.

When I was 10 years old (1986), I knew nothing was going to change in Zimbabwe. My dad was adamant that things would turn around, the US was waiting for Mugabe to dethrone and then they would sweep in and save the day and everything would be great. However, i knew that things were already not great, things we already desperate, even that long ago but nobody was doing anything about it. i knew then, the only way forward was it if did something. If I for example and hypothetically picked up a gun and shot Robbie myself would there be any change.

Matobo Hills

Matobo Hills

And sure enough, almost thirty years later, nothing has changed, apart from the fact that things have got progressively worse and worse and then beyond worse. And still, the people of Zimbabwe sit and wait.

But what can we do I hear you ask? Well, this indeed is the question. What can we do and what are we willing to do?

I would be willing to stand for President but I am probably not the best person for the job and my family is there and I would be concerned for their safety. I am not Political by any stretch, I say things how they are and how I see them.

So what are our options really?

Other African countries seem to have a degree of success by having new Government leaders elected who have been educated in top Western Universities like Standford, Yale, Oxford or Cambridge. Is there a highly educated, black individual who would be able to elected?

Would Mugabe even allow this or would our new knight in shinning armour suddenly hit a black dog crossing the road in the middle of the night? The driver would probably survive if thats any consolation?

The biggest challenge would not be a single man called Robert Mugabe but the multitude of powerful people in the background keeping him in power. It is the people we don’t see that are making sure Mugabe stays in power for as long as he does they will remain powerful and will reap the vast financial benefits of having a President in their back pocket.

great zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe

The quest to make any kind of change is indeed a substantial one but do we make a stand or do we look on, helpless and unable to do anything and watch what is left of our beautiful country be pillaged bare?

There are a lot of clever and able people in the world, surely we can come up with creative ideas for a solution to countries being ruled by a dictator for decades?

AirAsia Indonesia flight 8501 to Singapore missing

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AirAsia Indonesia flight 8501 to Singapore missing

Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200 lost contact with air traffic control at 06:24 local time (23:24 GMT Saturday) over the Java Sea.

After flying for more than an hour, the Airbus disappeared midway into it’s two hour flight from Surabaya without a distress call. The pilot had requested a flight path change after bad weather was reported in the area. It appears that an air search operation has now been suspended for the night.

Since the disappearance, aircraft from Indonesia and Singapore had been scouring an area of sea between Kalimantan (Borneo) and Java. Despite the air search being called off, some boats are said to be continuing to search despite nightfall.

A few hours ago many of the relatives at the crisis centre in the airport still seemed calm – staring hopefully at their phones, trying to find the latest news of the missing flight as well as keeping friends and relatives up to date with any developments and trying to find comfort in the face of yet another impending disaster.

However, after more than 12 hours since the plane took off on it’s two hour flight, they are looking increasingly worried. Officials still have no idea what happened to the aircraft. The governor of East Java, Soekarwo, the mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, and the chief executive of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, have come to talk to the relatives at their airport to confirm they are frantically searching for the missing Flight QZ8501 however apart from this, there is no other information been given.

Airport officials are keeping everyone well away from the media and trying to make them comfortable.

The scenes at Changi are reminiscent of those in Kuala Lumpur immediately after MH370 went missing back in March 2014: anxious friends and relatives waiting for a glimmer of hope or simply just an answer.

AirAsia Indonesia flight 8501 to Singapore missing

The experienced captain of Flight QZ8501 had more than 20,500 flight hours, almost 7,000 of them with AirAsia.

The flight left Surabaya in eastern Java at 05:35 local time (22:35 GMT) and was due to arrive in Singapore at 08:30 (00:30 GMT).

AirAsia confirmed that the missing AirBus had requested a “deviation” from the flight path to avoid thick storm clouds.

Indonesia’s transport ministry said the pilot had asked permission to climb to 11,000m to avoid the storm however, Ministry official Djoko Murjatmodjo said the request “could not be approved at that time due to traffic, there was a flight above, and five minutes later [flight QZ8501] disappeared from radar”.

It is looking decidedly like the plan has gone down due to bad weather but we await for further news and can only hope cling to a small hope that the plane has landed.

surabaya

Latest:

The missing AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 is likely to be at the bottom of the sea, Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency has said based on the location of the flight when they lost contact with it.

The search for the Airbus A320-200, which disappeared with 162 people on board on Sunday on a flight to Singapore from Surabaya City, has ended for a second day.

The search area will be widened on Tuesday.

………………………………

This has been an extremely tough year for aviation in Asia: Malaysia’s national carrier Malaysia Airlines brutally suffered two losses with flights MH370 and MH17.

Flight MH370 disappeared without a trace while on a flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew. There is speculation that the wreckage is thought to be in southern Indian Ocean but it has has still not been located.

Meanwhile, we all remember the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines MH17 that was tragically shot down over Ukraine in July, killing all 298 on board.

Karanja, the oldest black rhino in Maasai Mara dies at 43

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Karanja, the oldest black rhino in Maasai Mara dies at 43

One of the oldest and most photographed black rhino in the world has died at Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

The 43-year-old rhino named Karanja had one of the longest horns in the world measuring 34 inches and weighing about nine kilogrammes. Karanja died on Wednesday of natural causes.

Karanja, the oldest black rhino in Maasai Mara dies at 43

The Kenyan Environment Cabinet Secretary, Judi Wakhungu reported that Karanja died at 11 am on Wednesday while its horns were removed by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) veterinary officers.

His longer horn weighed five kilograms and the shorter one was three and a half kilograms.

Paul Kirui, the chairman of Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association said Karanja was very popular with tourists as he was never bothered by vehicles close by.

Mr Kirui said, “His trademark was the long pin-sharp horn,”

Pictures of the rhino taken by Lesinko ole Kool, a tour guide at the Fig Tree Camp in Maasai Mara show it died in a stream at the game reserve.

Karanja dead in a stream at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. PHOTO | COURTESY| LESINKO OLE KOOL

Karanja, the oldest black rhino in Maasai Mara dies at 43

The rhino was under constant surveillance by KWS rangers.

“Watching him a few days ago you could see he was really on his last days,” Mr Kirui said.

The body of the 43 year old rhino was taken to the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) for preservation where the skeleton of Ahmed, a giant bull elephant is also kept.

Conservationists in the 1970’s feared the elephant would be targeted by poachers for its huge tusks and advocated for its protection.

Kenya’s President, Jomo Kenyatta assigned two full time rangers to watch Ahmed day and night until he eventually died in 1974 at the age of 55.

Karanja survived all poaching attempts and was almost lucky to actually die of old age rather than by a poachers bullet. Mr Hersi congratulated KWS rangers for watching the rhino thus saving it from poachers.

Black rhinos have been listed as endangered species and are under threat of poaching. There are 49 black rhinos in Maasai Mara.

The Northern white Rhino is down to only 5 on the entire planet and recently one died at San Diego Zoo. Read more here.

Zimbabwe economy: New bond coins in circulation for Christmas

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Bond coins, guaranteed by the Zimbabwe central bank and are pegged to the US dollar

Bond coins, guaranteed by the Zimbabwe central bank and are pegged to the US dollar

Special coins issued by Zimbabwe’s central bank have gone into circulation in the run-up to Christmas.

Zimbabwe abandoned its currency in 2009 due to hyperinflation and mainly uses the US dollar and South African rand.

But with very few coins for the US Dollar and SA rand in actual circulation, shoppers are given change in sweets or pens.

The central bank governor did promise that there were no plans to reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar and the new bond coins would be pegged to the US dollar. Take this statement as you will, question being if you trust the Zimbabwe Government?

John Mangudya said US$10m (£6.3m) worth of bond coins – in one cent, five cent, 10 cent and 25 cent denominations – had so far been distributed to banks.

Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper reports reported that the total amount in circulation would not exceed US$50m.

‘Financially traumatised’
Analysts say the shortage of US$ coins has kept prices high as retailers often round them up, which has affected Zimbabwe’s economic growth on a drastic scale.

The total amount of the new coins in circulation will not exceed US$50m.

The total amount of the new coins in circulation will not exceed US$50m.

“Through the introduction of change in small denominations we are expecting to see self price corrections,” the Governor, Mr Mangudya is quoted by The Herald as saying last Thursday.

Zimbabwe’s private Daily News paper reported the central bank governor as describing his country as a “financially traumatised society”.

Towards the end of 2008, annual inflation had reached a staggering 230 million % with the highest denomination being a $100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note.

Prices in retail shops changed by the hour, most schools and hospitals were forced to close and at least eight in 10 people found themselves out of work.

The economy has since stabilised since switching to the $US and South African rand however many Zimbabweans still struggle to make ends meet.

Hyperinflation back in 2008 meant prices often changed by the hour in Zimbabwe

Hyperinflation back in 2008 meant prices often changed by the hour in Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe has appointed John Mangudya, the head of Zimbabwe’s largest financial institution, as the governor of the central bank back in early 2014.

Mangudya, 51, who was the chief executive of CBZ Holdings, replaced Gideon Gono, who retired last November at the expiry of his second term. Gono is also a former CBZ chief executive.

CBZ has been handling the government’s consolidated revenue account since 2009, when the economy dollarized and left the under capitalised central bank unable to fully perform its roles in the economy.

Mangudya, a University of Zimbabwe-trained economist, started his five year term from May 1.

Mandudya profile:

A Methodist born 5 October 1963 in Mutambara, Chimanimani, the last in a family of 12. An affable economist, with a slight stutter. Considers himself an adherent of Keynesian demand-side economics

1986 – Joined Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as an economist

1996 – left RBZ, having risen to become Principal Economist

1996 to 1999 –Joined the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) as the regional manager in charge of Southern Africa based in Harare.

2000 – CBZ Bank General Manager, International Banking CBZ Bank managing director

2004 – CBZ Bank Executive Director – Corporate and Merchant Banking

2006 – Appointed CBZ Bank Managing Director

2012 – CBZ Holdings Group Chief Executive

2009 -11 Bankers Association of Zimbabwe President

Under his watch, CBZ Holdings has grown both assets and deposits above $1 billion

Zimbabwe Dollar to be reintroduced?

China Stealing Zimbabwe’s Baby Elephants

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Baby elephants are being abducted from Zimbabwe’s National Park, smuggled to Chinese zoos

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joepyrek/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joepyrek/

Most of the young elephants will probably die on the boat ride over to China

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force says that the baby elephants “quite likely won’t survive the trip.” And even if they do, Chinese zoos aren’t exactly known for treating animals very well.

Poachers are obviously a huge problem, however the smuggling of live animals has also reached a crisis point, in part because some countries seem to care very little about the provenance of wildlife. Money and bribes seem a better way forward or else countries simply don’t have the means or the will to enforce wildlife protection laws. A very sad example of this comes from Zimbabwe.

The Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe is supposed to be a protected area for wildlife, but the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF), a non-profit wildlife conservation group, has issued a quite disturbing report claiming that animals in the National Park are being abducted to be shipped to Chinese zoos (which have been known to put some of their animals on the menu and to let rare Siberian tigers starve to death when the money got tight)

Now eye-witness reports from tourists visiting the park are coming in about blatant live captures of the baby elephants. The youngsters are then taken to Mtshibi Capture Unit about 7 kilometres from Hwange’s Main Camp.

From reports, 34 baby elephants between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 years old, 7 lions and about 10 sable antelope have been captured in order to be shipped out but investigators were not allowed to get close enough to the capture unit to take photographs as there is very high security.

It is expected that the animals will be shipped by container trucks to Maputo in Mozambique where they will be transferred to a livestock freighter and sent on an arduous sea passage to China.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joepyrek/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joepyrek/

 

In further reports, one of the 36 elephants captured by the Zimbabwean government in early December has already died, according to a nonprofit organization monitoring the situation.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force reported the news on its Facebook page, adding that the animal’s “meat was shared out between the people” at the stockade where the elephant was being kept.

Animal rights groups have already begun to take a stand. In a letter to Zimbabwe’s environmental minister (Saviour Kasukuwere) Adam M. Roberts, CEO of the Born Free Foundation, had warned that the stolen animals were likely to experience extreme stress, an increased risk of disease and early death.

Removing these animals from the wild also severs social ties and has “serious implications for both animal welfare and conservation,” Roberts noted in the letter.

Officials with the Zimbabwean government took the 36 elephants — originally thought to be 34 (Above) from Hwange National Park in December and while they are apparently destined for Chinese Zoos, Kasukuwere told the Telegraph that they would be sent to the United Arab Emirates, and that such roundups happen “from time to time.”

Elephants are prone to obesity and infertility when kept captive and also suffer  mental anguish. Roberts cited a 2008 study of 77 captive elephants in the U.K. Though keepers were “highly skilled at detecting health issues such as injuries and disease,” 3 quarters of the elephants were overweight and half showed strange behavior like repetitive pacing around their enclosure.

Regardless of whether the elephants will end up in China or the UAE, when it comes to the wildlife trade, the reputation of both countries is, broadly speaking, much different than the U.K.’s.

Private owners in the UAE collect lions as a status symbol while Chinese demand for ivory is putting unsustainable pressure on elephants in the wild. It is believed that of four live elephant calves shipped to China from Zimbabwe in 2012, only one is believed to still be alive.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ZCTF-Zimbabwe-Conservation-Task-Force/246013052094585