*_AMH journalist Blessed Mhlanga’s trial in false start again_* https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaLeCqqFCCoeBnaiF743 BY Paidashe Mandivengerei Tue Jun 17 2025 23:00:03 By Staff Reporter The trial of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) journalist Blessed Mhlanga, accused of transmitting data messages inciting violence, failed to start again on Tuesday after the presiding magistrate failed to show up due to poor health. Magistrate Learnmore Mapiye is presiding over the hearing with Mhlanga now jointly charged with his employer, Heart & Soul TV (HSTv), a subsidiary of AMH. Trial is now expected to begin on July 17. Mhlanga and his employer are being charged under Section 164 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, but were arrested separately. The journalist was arrested in February this year and spent 72 days in pretrial detention. `Follow and Share Change Radio for Real-Time News and Updates on WhatsApp!` He was granted US$500 bail by High Court Judge Justice Gibson Mandaza on his third freedom bid. Mhlanga landed in the dock after HSTV published a press conference by Zanu PF war veteran Blessed Geza, who was calling for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s resignation. Geza is currently in hiding. Link to the original article Mzembi remanded in custody to July 1; judge says former minister was not as sick as he wants court to believe BY Paidashe Mandivengerei Tue Jun 17 2025 15:26:37 By Staff Reporter Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Walter Mzembi, will languish in jail after Harare magistrate Donald Ndirowei revoked his bail on the grounds that he willfully skipped court for the past seven years. The magistrate dismissed his application seeking cancellation of his three arrest warrants and remanded him in custody until July 1. Ndirowei, in his ruling, said Mzembi failed to give a convincing explanation why he defaulted court. “There is a gap as to what transpired in his medical report since the attached medical reports should have worked if he availed himself in 2019, not 2025,” the magistrate noted. Ndirowei noted that after his discharge in 2024 in Zambia, Mzembi never made an effort to come and cancel his warrants. “He was not sick to the extent that he wants the court to believe; however, he was Saviour Kasukuwere’s campaigner for the 2023 elections, and he was active on his social media.” “The accused’s submissions fall far short and the warrants of arrests are hereby confirmed, bail revoked, he is hereby committed to prison pending trial,” he ruled. Mzembi had said he was not in wilful default. He told the court that he had been in and out of the hospital over the years, and he was out of the country, adding that he had undergone many operations to correct his ailment. Link to the original article Explosion at fireworks factory in central China kills nine and injures 26 BY Paidashe Mandivengerei Tue Jun 17 2025 08:28:21 AFP An explosion at a fireworks factory in central China killed nine people. It injured 26 others, state media said on Tuesday, as challenging on-site rescue work continued a day after the incident. The blast occurred shortly before 8:30 am Monday at a factory in a village outside Changde, a city in Hunan province, state-run China National Radio (CNR) said. As of 9:00 am on Tuesday, nine people were dead and 26 injured, CNR said, citing a rescue command centre. Rescue work at the scene was ongoing, CNR reported, noting a “complicated” situation and the risk of additional explosions hampering response efforts. Adding to the challenge, the site was in a “mountainous area with no large water source”, it added. “During more than 20 hours of uninterrupted and continuous rescue, the rescue team used remote-controlled water cannons to extinguish the fire,” the report said. State news agency Xinhua also said Tuesday that the Ministry of Emergency Management had sent a working team to Hunan to oversee the rescue. “Efforts must be made to ascertain the cause of the explosion as soon as possible and to hold those responsible accountable,” the ministry said, according to Xinhua. Industrial accidents are fairly common in China due to vague regulations and lax safety standar