*Evening News Round-up: Wednesday 19 February 2025* *Headlines* *Govt Says It Is “Testing Equipment” As Military Tanks Are Spotted Along Borrowdale Road* *National Youth Day To Prioritise Youth Welfare, Empowerment* *Shut Up & Just Do The Work! Uebert Angel Tells ZANU PF Faction Pushing For Extension Of Mnangagwa’s Term* *South Africa's White Farmers Would Be Among Victims If Trump Ends Growth Bill* *Netherlands To Return Stolen Benin Bronzes To Nigeria* *Attacks By Sudan's RSF Leave Many Dead As Force Prepares Political Charter* *Russian Forces Advance On Ukraine's Critical Minerals As Trump Talks Of A Deal* *More On Polio Vaccinations Planned In Gaza* *US Woman Sues After Carrying Wrong Baby In IVF Error* *Israeli Army’s Jenin Raid Enters 2nd Month; Mass Displacement In West Bank* *'A Decade Of Mismanagement': Man Utd Reveal Revenue Drop* Join our *Ad-free* News Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VacXkvFJJhzd2UoZYF1F *Stories in Detail:* *Govt Says It Is “Testing Equipment” As Military Tanks Are Spotted Along Borrowdale Road* THE military tanks spotted along Harare’s Borrowdale Road are part of a routine exercise and not a cause for alarm, government has said. This statement followed widespread speculation and public anxiety after several videos circulated online showing about 21 military tanks along Borrowdale Road, an unusual sight in Zimbabwe. The last time military tanks appeared was during the violent protests following the 2018 disputed elections and before that, it was during the 2017 coup that removed the late former President Robert Mugabe from power. Responding to concerns raised on X, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Nick Mangwana, said, “There is a scheduled exercise to test equipment which is taking place today. Nothing to be concerned about.” The incident comes amid rising political tensions and factionalism in the ruling party, ZANU PF. One faction supports President Emmerson Mnangagwa remaining in office beyond his current term, while the other insists on adhering to constitutional term limits. *NewZW* *National Youth Day To Prioritise Youth Welfare, Empowerment* THIS year’s National Youth Day, scheduled for Friday, will focus on initiatives aimed at enhancing the welfare and livelihoods of young people across the country. Youth Minister Tino Machakaire said the government is committed to empowering youth, urging them to take a proactive role in the nation’s economic transformation. “As we celebrate the 21st February Movement, we encourage the youth of Zimbabwe to unite and concentrate on the economy rather than getting distracted by petty issues,” he stated. “On this day, there will be opportunities for young people to exchange innovative and entrepreneurial ideas to enhance their skills and knowledge, enabling them to contribute to our great nation,” he said. Machakaire added the government would address the pressing issue of drug and substance abuse, which is threatening the future of many youths. “We are committed to launching projects that engage young people so that they have meaningful activities to occupy their time and steer clear of drug and substance abuse. “The law enforcement agencies will fulfil their responsibilities in addressing drug abuse; however, we must also empower our youth by providing them with opportunities for livelihood. “We plan to ensure that the youth can participate in various government projects, including construction and road refurbishment, to give them tangible work opportunities, regardless of the project's scale.” The minister added that reducing the high unemployment rate among young people is a primary objective for the government. “Our youth are the future leaders of this nation, and it is essential to empower them through quality education and entrepreneurial skills to shape their futures and improve their livelihoods. “We aim to promote youth-led projects by facilitating technology transfer and creating connections between technology suppliers, financial institutions, and young innovators. “This approach will ensure the suitability and effectiveness of our skills training systems and develop a youth empowerment model that addresses the issues of high unemployment among trained youths,” Machakaire said. The youth arm of the ruling party lobbied for the former president's birthday to be declared a national holiday for what the organization says was the leader's role in empowering the country's youth. The day was formally recognized as a national holiday on November 27, 2017, three days after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as leader of Zimbabwe. *Shut Up & Just Do The Work! Uebert Angel Tells ZANU PF Faction Pushing For Extension Of Mnangagwa’s Term* PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ally Uebert Angel has criticised a faction within the ruling Zanu PF party that is pushing for the extension of the president’s term limit beyond the constitutionally stipulated two terms. Zanu PF is currently divided, with one faction advocating for Mnangagwa to remain in office beyond the expiration of his current term, while the other insists on respecting the constitutional limits. These internal divisions have spilled into the public domain, fracturing the ruling party. Several government ministers, including Jenfan Muswere, Daniel Garwe, and Tinoda Machakaire, are among those backing the move to disregard the constitution by allowing Mnangagwa to remain in power until 2030. In a recent sermon, Angel who is the Ambassador at Large to Europe and the Americas, condemned the calls by these cabinet ministers, describing them as retrogressive and damaging to Mnangagwa’s reputation. “We should be talking about targets for this road. Target next week. Target next week for this one. Target next week for that hospital. Target next week for this one. “If the president has already said he is not interested in [extending his term], focus on when we are putting a road here. Some of these politicians are the ones that give good people bad names because they party at night, but we, the public, get the hangover.” “You don’t have a place to stay. People are arguing over stupid things. Is it 2030? Is it 2033? Is it 2024? Shut up. Let’s just do the work. I normally don’t comment on this. “Why do you speak for the man who has already said, ‘I’m not going there. I’m not interested in that’? Just do your thing,” said Angel. Angel made headlines in 2023 following the release of Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia documentary which exposed him as a key player in the money laundering and gold smuggling syndicate. In the exposè he offered to assist undercover journalists pretending to be Chinese gangsters with money to launder. “I look at the political dialogue in this country, where people are fighting. They are fighting. Who said he’s going to 2030? Who said he’s going to 2018? Who said he’s going until 2033? From both sides, something is wrong,” he added. While Muswere, Garwe, and Machakaire have been vocal in their push for the term extension, their performances in their respective ministerial roles have come under scrutiny for delivering lacklustre results. Their calls also contradict Mnangagwa’s public declaration that he will not run for the presidency in the next elections, scheduled for 2028. However, Mnangagwa’s refusal has been questioned, as he has not publicly rebuked the faction aligned with him. *NewZW* *South Africa's White Farmers Would Be Among Victims If Trump Ends Growth Bill* Donald Trump's axing of aid to South Africa, in response to land reform policies he says will harm its white minority, has raised fears a trade deal may be next, though any such move would hurt the same farmers the U.S. president says he wants to help. Under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, South Africa gets tariff-free quotas on agricultural exports including wine, citrus, soybeans, sugar cane and beef. The Act makes up about a quarter of its $15 billion annual trade with the United States. That compares with under $440 million in U.S. aid, in 2023. "It is not clear whether the exporters are Black or white; we don't record such data," said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, but only a tenth of farm output is from Black farmers. "The majority of white farmers (are) likely have a significant exposure into the U.S. market," he said. Sihlobo said produce shipped to the United States makes up 4% of agricultural exports, equal to about $450 million a year, compared with 19% for the European Union and 38% to the rest of Africa. But some producers, like those for citrus fruit and wine, are more exposed - the former made $134 million in 2022, 7% of the country's total, while the U.S. is its fourth largest wine market, Sihlobo said. "It's not industry-ending ... but it's very unfortunate," said Justin Chadwick, Citrus Growers Association president, estimating U.S.-bound exports at 120,000 tonnes. "We (would have) ... to find another home for that fruit ... and our other markets are pretty full." The Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) is up for review in September. Some Republicans want to punish South Africa for land reform, its genocide case against Israel and other actions such as naval exercises with Russia and China. The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment. "We urge you to revoke South Africa's preference benefits, under the Act, four congressmen wrote to Trump on Feb. 11, CNBC news reported. "There's a real likelihood that South Africa is not going to be included in a renewed AGOA," Chatham House senior research fellow Chris Vandome, said. "It's position is really fragile". Trump singled out a law that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month enabling land expropriation - in rare cases without compensation - after decades of voluntary purchases barely dented inequalities between a white minority who own 75% of freehold land and majority Blacks with 4%. Some farmers say the law violates property rights. Groups defending Afrikaners, descendents of Dutch settlers who make up the largest white ethnic group and own much of privately held land, have lobbied Republican politicians for years. "It was unwise. They're shooting themselves in the foot," Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "If AGOA is cut, it's a cutting of white farmers." But Ernst Roets, then-lobbyist for Afrikaner group Afriforum, who travelled to the States in 2018 and brought the land issue to Fox News and some Republican officials - the year Trump first took an interest in it - said he had "no regrets." "We're hoping for pressure on the South African government to reconsider its destructive policy ideas," Roets, now part of a different lobby group, said. Not all agribusiness will lose if the Act gets chopped. Poultry farmers struggling to "compete with dumping" of subsidised U.S. chicken imports under the Act would benefit, said Marthinus Stander, a board member of the South African Poultry Association. *Reuters* *Netherlands To Return Stolen Benin Bronzes To Nigeria* The Netherlands says it will return more than 100 Benin Bronzes that British troops looted from Nigeria in the late 19th Century and which ended up in a Dutch museum. Thousands of these culturally significant sculptures and carvings were stolen during the violent destruction of Benin City, in modern-day Nigeria's Edo state, in 1897. The treasures were sold, some to private collectors and others to museums like the Wereldmuseum in The Netherlands, which has displayed these artefacts for decades. The return of the 119 artefacts is the "largest repatriation of Benin antiquities", said Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM). Despite the name, not all the statues are made of bronze. They include figurines, tusks, sculptures of Benin's rulers, and an ivory mask. They were made during between the 15th and 19th Centuries. A transfer of agreement is due to be signed on Wednesday. Mr Holloway added that he hoped this would set a good example for other countries. In 2022, Germany was the first to return over 20 Benin bronzes in a bid to deal with its "dark colonial history". "With this return, we are contributing to the redress of a historical injustice that is still felt today," said Dutch Minister of Culture, Education, and Science Eppo Bruins, reports the AFP news agency. *BBC* *Attacks By Sudan's RSF Leave Many Dead As Force Prepares Political Charter* Attacks by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces have killed more than 200 people over the past three days, activists said on Tuesday, as the paramilitary group delayed signing a political charter that could pave the way for a breakaway government. After nearly two years of war between the RSF and Sudan's army, the RSF controls most of the west of Sudan and parts of the capital, Khartoum, but has been losing ground in central Sudan to the army. White Nile state, where activists said three days of RSF attacks had left more than 200 dead, has emerged as a key battleground as the army regains territory. The attacks occurred in villages around the town of al-Gitaina, said Emergency Lawyers, a group that has monitored the impact of the conflict on civilians. One eyewitness told Reuters by phone: "The RSF attacked on Sunday morning... with all sorts of weapons firing randomly, and so dozens of people were killed instantly and more were injured." "Those who tried to flee across the Nile were shot at, drowning them," Emergency Lawyers said, in what it called "an intentional act of genocide". The RSF could not immediately be reached for comment. The war in Sudan has created what the U.N. has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis, and both the RSF and army have been accused of extensive human rights violations. The United States has determined that the RSF has committed genocide in areas under its control. The attacks came as the RSF assembled allied politicians and armed group leaders in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to sign a charter that would provide for a "Government of Peace and Unity" to govern the territories the force controls. The charter could mark a turning point in the war, cementing a split along battle lines even as the fight for control over some areas rages on. However, politician Fadlallah Burma Nasir, head of the Umma Party which is split over whether to participate, said that the signing of the charter was postponed until later in the week to allow for a fuller representation from rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu's SPLM-N. The SPLM-N is a large secular military faction that controls wide swathes of the famine-stricken South Kordofan and had not previously taken a firm position in the conflict between the army and the RSF. An alliance with the RSF - on the basis of self-described marginalised groups fighting against the powerful centre represented by the army - could boost the paramilitary's territory and numbers. "We want to build a new state, that is different from the old Sudan, which was based on separation, discrimination, hatred, corruption, and so on," said al-Hilu. Government spokesman Khalid Aleisir told Reuters: "Abdelaziz al-Hilu's group showed poor judgment when they joined (the RSF's) agenda, but we know there is external power being exerted," alluding to army accusations that the United Arab Emirates supports the RSF, which the UAE denies. "In all the areas these gangs are present, the population refuses completely for the militia to speak for them or to impose a 'New Sudan'," he added. *Reuters* *Russian Forces Advance On Ukraine's Critical Minerals As Trump Talks Of A Deal* Russia, like U.S. President Donald Trump, covets Ukraine's natural resources - and on the ground its forces are closing in on a giant lithium deposit. Trump said this month he wants Kyiv to hand over large quantities of its critical minerals in return for U.S. military support, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy to declare: "Let's do a deal." Yet as Washington and Moscow prepare for negotiations aimed at ending the three-year-old war, the reality is that it's Vladimir Putin who's taking increasing control of Ukraine's riches. Russian forces, which have already seized a fifth of Ukraine including reserves of rare earths, are now little more than 4 miles from the Shevchenko lithium deposit and advancing on it from three different angles, according to open-source data from Ukrainian military blog Deep State. Lithium is a coveted global resource because of its use in a host of industries and technologies from mobile phones to electric cars. Ukraine has reserves of about 500,000 tons, and Russia double that, according to U.S. government estimates. Shevchenko is located in Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has claimed as its own territory, an annexation that Kyiv and Western powers say is illegal. It is one of the biggest lithium deposits in Ukraine and sits at a depth that would allow commercial mining. "Given the current battlefield tempo, it's likely that the Russians will reach this area in the coming weeks," said Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy in Poland, who has just returned from a research trip to Ukraine. He said the seizure of Ukraine's mineral wealth, while not the main war aim, was among Russia's strategic goals. "Ukrainian commanders I spoke to said that when they were looking in which direction and on which axis the Russians were attacking it was clear that their objective was also the capture of natural resources," he added. Vladimir Ezhikov, a senior Russian-appointed official in Donetsk, has said that the mining division of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom has shown an interest in the Shevchenko deposit, but that Russia's ministry of natural resources would hand out a mining licence when the time came. "It's hard to predict when this will happen, as for now the deposit is in the 'grey zone' and there's no possibility of developing it due to military action," he told the local state news agency in January. "This deposit will definitely find its licencee. There will definitely be investment and lithium mining, and we would certainly like to see processing done here too." Russian troops have been gaining ground in the east for months, throwing huge resources into an unrelenting offensive. Zelenskiy, speaking to Reuters in an interview this month, unfurled a once-classified map on a table in his office showing numerous mineral deposits, including a broad strip of land in the east marked as containing rare earths. Around half of it looked to be on Russia's side of the current frontlines. The Ukrainian leader, who turned down a first draft of a minerals deal with Trump saying it did not include sufficient security guarantees, has said he wants to discuss the fate of resources on Russian-controlled territory with Trump. He said Russia knew in detail where Ukraine's critical resources were from Soviet-era geological surveys that had been taken back to Moscow when Kyiv gained independence in 1991. There are few reliable independent estimates of what proportion of Ukraine's natural resources Moscow currently commands. What is undisputed is that Ukraine is gradually losing control of its mineral wealth. The Kremlin's public reaction has so far been muted to Trump's attempt to lock Ukraine into a deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine's resources and provide $500 billion for U.S. aid that has already been given. With a Putin-Trump summit on the horizon, and U.S.-Russia talks on resetting ties and considering how to end the war underway, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said only that the American president's proposal shows he wants Ukraine to pay for any future U.S. help rather than continue to get it for free. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, has spoken more bluntly, accusing Zelenskiy of offering Washington resources which he no longer controls given shifting frontlines. She also drew parallels between Trump's desire for Ukraine's mineral wealth and how the occupying Nazis stripped the country during World War Two. "During the Second World War, the territory of the former Soviet Ukraine was seized, and the Nazis set about plundering the republic's national economy," she told a news briefing this month. "They stole cattle from the territory of Ukraine and carted black earth away. Now all this is happening non-violently, because the Kyiv regime is giving it all away." Russian war bloggers and nationalists have made it clear they dislike what they cast as Trump's resource grab. *Reuters* *More On Polio Vaccinations Planned In Gaza* No additional polio cases have been reported in Gaza since a 10-month-old baby was paralysed in August last year, but the new environmental samples collected from Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis have confirmed poliovirus transmission, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The strain detected is genetically linked to the poliovirus found in Gaza in July last year, so a new vaccination campaign is scheduled from February 22-26, UNICEF said. It also said the upcoming vaccination drive aims to reach all children under 10, including those previously missed, to close immunity gaps and end the outbreak – which could also spread to Israel and other places if left unchecked. Polio vaccines are safe and there is no maximum number of times a child should be vaccinated, according to UNICEF. An additional vaccination round is planned to be implemented in April. *Aljazeera* *US Woman Sues After Carrying Wrong Baby In IVF Error* A US woman who unknowingly carried and delivered a baby boy who was not biologically hers is launching legal proceedings against an IVF clinic over the mix-up, after being forced to give up custody. Krystena Murray, from the state of Georgia, became pregnant after IVF treatment at the Coastal Fertility clinic in May 2023. But it became clear that the embryo she had been carrying in fact belonged to another couple - after Ms Murray gave birth to a boy who was of a different ethnicity to both her and the sperm donor she had chosen. Despite the error, Ms Murray wanted to keep the child, and raised the baby for several months until the biological parents were granted custody. In a statement released through her lawyer, Ms Murray said: "To carry a baby, fall in love with him, deliver him, and build the uniquely special bond between mother and baby, all to have him taken away. I'll never fully recover from this." Ms Murray, a white woman, gave birth to a black baby in December 2023. She never posted photos of the child online or allowed her friends and family to see him. She eventually purchased an at-home DNA kit, and the test results she received in late January 2024 confirmed they were not biologically related, according to the complaint filed against the clinic. She informed the clinic about the mix-up the following month. It alerted the biological parents, who sued for custody when the baby was three months old. Ms Murray voluntarily gave up custody after being told by her legal team she stood no chance of winning in family court. The baby now lives with his biological parents in another state under a different name. The complaint says to this day Ms Murray does not know whether the clinic, Coastal Fertility Specialists, mistakenly transferred her embryo to a different couple, or what might have happened to it afterwards. In a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, Coastal Fertility acknowledged the mistake and apologised for the distress that was caused. "This was an isolated event with no further patients affected," the statement said. "The same day this error was discovered we immediately conducted an in-depth review and put additional safeguards in place to further protect patients and to ensure that such an incident does not happen again." There have been several lawsuits in recent years brought against US fertility clinics over IVF mix-ups. IVF is a procedure during which a woman's eggs are fertilised by a man's sperm in a laboratory before the embryos are implanted into a woman's uterus. *BBC* *Israeli Army’s Jenin Raid Enters 2nd Month; Mass Displacement In West Bank* The Israeli army has continued with its large-scale military raid in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp, forcing thousands to flee their homes. Wednesday marks 30 days since Israeli forces began their assault on Jenin which then spread to other parts of the northern West Bank, including Tulkarem and its Nur Shams refugee camp. At least 26 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin since January 21. The army has also deployed hundreds of soldiers and bulldozers that demolished houses and tore up vital infrastructure in the overcrowded camp, forcing almost all of its residents out. “We don’t know what’s going on in the camp but there is continuous demolition and roads being dug up,” said Mohammed al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp services committee. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Jenin Mayor Mohammed Jarrar said the Israeli army “adopted a pattern of random destruction” in the camp and its surroundings in order to make the camp “uninhabitable”. The mass displacement of Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank in recent weeks marks the largest displacement operation in decades. The camps, built for descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 Nakba around the creation of Israel, have long been major centres for resistance groups fighting Israeli occupation. Israeli raids have demolished dozens of houses and torn up large stretches of roadway as well as cutting off water and power. Humanitarian officials say they have not seen such displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the territory west of the Jordan River, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. “This is unprecedented. When you add to this the destruction of infrastructure, we’re reaching a point where the camps are becoming uninhabitable,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israeli forces have also continued to carry out arrests of Palestinians across the West Bank. On Wednesday, four people, including two children, were detained from Jenin. Also on Wednesday, an elderly woman was shot in the chest near the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces have sealed the entrances of the camp and that soldiers stationed at the main entrance have been shooting at people who try coming near it. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces raided and demolished a home in Hebron, while military bulldozers razed agricultural land. *Aljazeera* *'A Decade Of Mismanagement': Man Utd Reveal Revenue Drop* A Manchester United supporters' group says fans must not "pay the price" for the club's financial "mismanagement" after the Red Devils announced revenues decreased by 12% in the last financial quarter. The club announced on Wednesday that revenues had dropped to £198.7m for the final three months of 2024, down from £225.8m for the same period 12 months previously. Overall, the club made an operating profit of £3.1m - down from £27.5m over the same period in 2023 - after spending £14.5m on the sackings of Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff, including the £4.1m cost of hiring and then dismissing former sporting director Dan Ashworth within five months. The announcement comes against a backdrop of the club making over 200 redundancies and raising matchday ticket prices to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners. United wrote to supporters in January to say "difficult" decisions would need to be taken as the club was "close" to breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. The club did not deny reports that it is seeking to make further redundancies when approached by BBC Sport earlier this month. It is expected by United that the restructuring decisions will lead to savings of between £30m and £40m. "Fans should not pay the price for a problem that starts with our crippling debt interest payments and is exacerbated by a decade or more of mismanagement," said Manchester United Supporters' Trust in a statement. "It's time to freeze ticket prices and allow everyone - players, management, owners and fans - to get behind United and restore this club to where it belongs." Overall, the club made a quarterly operating profit of £3.1m, which was down from £27.5m over the same period in 2023, but United said club debt increased from £506.6m to £515.7m because of "unfavourable" exchange rate changes. Included in the results is a £14.5m 'exceptional item' figure, made up of the £10.4m spent on sacking Ten Hag and his coaching staff in October and £4.1m for the departure of Ashworth in December. Commercial revenue was up 18.5% from £71.8m to £85.1m, as a result of the front-of-shirt partnership with Snapdragon. "We recognise the challenges in improving our men's team's league position and we are all working hard, collectively, to achieve that," said Omar Berrada, United's chief executive officer. Berrada said the club's redevelopment of the training ground was "on track". The £11m cost of appointing new head coach Amorim and his staff is not specifically mentioned in United's latest financial results. United sources say that cost is being spread over their two-and-a-half-year contracts. The club paid the sum to activate Amorim's release clause at Portuguese outfit Sporting while he was under contract and with the 2024-25 season under way. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's co-owner, has a 28.94% stake in the club through his Ineos group. The British billionaire has sought a number of cost-cutting measures in order to help the club to comply with profit and sustainability rules. Under profit and sustainability rules (PSR), clubs can record a maximum loss of £105m over a three-year reporting period. United's losses over the past five years total over £370m, but some costs - such as infrastructure costs, youth development and community spending - do not count towards PSR calculations. Since Ratcliffe's investment was announced in December 2023, United have made about 250 staff redundant. The club made two men's team signings in the January transfer window, with Patrick Dorgu arriving from Lecce and Ayden Heaven joining from Arsenal. Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia all left United on loan. However, transfer activity in January is not included in the latest financial results as it falls outside the quarterly timeframe. *BBC*