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Zimbabwe VP says government will block LGBTQ scholarship initiative

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Zimbabwe VP says government will block LGBTQ scholarship initiative

Zimbabwe’s powerful vice president said the government will block a university scholarship for young LGBTQ+ people, a move that human rights groups described Friday as a perpetuation of the African country’s homophobic practices.

The state university scholarship for people between the ages of 18 and 35 is sponsored by GALZ, a membership organization for LGBTQ+ people in Zimbabwe. The association started offering it in 2018 without incident. But a recent online advertisement inviting applications attracted a harsh response from Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a self-proclaimed devout Catholic and former army commander.

In a strongly worded statement Thursday night, Chiwenga claimed the scholarship was “a direct challenge” to the government’s authority.

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES UPHOLDS GAY SEX BAN

“Our schools and institutions of higher learning will not entertain applicants, let alone enroll persons associated with such alien, anti-life, un-African and un-Christian values which are being promoted and cultivated by, as well as practiced in decadent societies with whom we share no moral or cultural affinities,” he said.

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GALZ has previously said the scholarship seeks to provide equal access to state universities for LGBTQ+ people who are often ostracized by their families and struggle to pay for higher education. It did not comment on the vice president’s statement.

However, a coalition of human rights groups that GALZ belongs to said it demonstrated that sexual and gender minorities are endangered in Zimbabwe.

“We are extremely concerned about the statement from the second-highest office in the land because it exhibits intolerance, especially taking into account that the advertisement opens young people to so many opportunities,” Wilbert Mandinde, the programs coordinator at Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, center, attends a tobacco season opening event in Harare, Zimbabwe, on March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

Like many African countries, Zimbabwe has laws criminalizing homosexual activity. Sex between men carries a potential sentence of up to a year in prison, and the country’s constitution bans same-sex marriages.

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Chiwenga said Zimbabwe’s anti-gay laws make “any (scholarship) offers predicated on the same aberrations both unlawful and criminal, and a grave and gross affront on our national values and ethos as a Christian nation.”

He said the government “will not hesitate to take appropriate measures to enforce national laws,” adding that young people “should never be tempted to trade or sell their souls for such abominable and devilish offers.”

Zimbabwe has a history of discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people. Former President Robert Mugabe, who ruled the southern African nation for 37 years, once described them as “worse than dogs and pigs” and unworthy of legal rights.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power following a 2017 coup led by Chiwenga when he was still an army general, has been less publicly vocal in his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. But Chiwenga’s threat to ban the scholarship highlights the continued hostility from authorities and sections of society, including influential religious groups, remains.

In December, Zimbabwe’s Catholic bishops, like many of their African counterparts, cautioned against Pope Francis’ declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, citing “respect of the law of the land, our culture and for moral reasons.”

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Zimbabwe has in the past stopped public acts that may appear to demonstrate approval of gay people.

In 2021, a planned visit by a gay South African celebrity, Somizi Mhlongo, for the reopening of a trendy Zimbabwean restaurant was canceled after a Christian sect and members of the ruling ZANU-PF party’s youth wing vowed to block his appearance.

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‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Sets Summer Release, Reveals More First-Look Photos as Jason Sudeikis Returns to Richmond

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‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Sets Summer Release, Reveals More First-Look Photos as Jason Sudeikis Returns to Richmond

Jason Sudeikis‘ long-awaited return to AFC Richmond now has a date.

Apple TV has announced that that the fourth season of “Ted Lasso” will debut globally this summer, while the streamer has also sharing new stills and plot details.

Currently in production, the show will see the return of Sudeikis, who exec produces, plus Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Emmy winner Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift. New signings include Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsey, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern and Grant Feely.

In season four, Ted returns to Richmond, taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women’s football team. As per the synopsis: “Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would.”

“Ted Lasso” season four also adds Emmy winner Jack Burditt (“Nobody Wants This,” “Modern Family,” “30 Rock”) as executive producer under a new overall deal with Apple TV. Sudeikis stars and executive produces alongside Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Jane Becker, Jamie Lee, and Bill Wrubel. Goldstein serves as writer and executive producer alongside Leanne Bowen. Sarah Walker and Phoebe Walsh will serve as writers and producers for season four, and Sasha Garron co-produces. Julia Lindon will write for season four, and Dylan Marron will serve as story editor.

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Bill Lawrence executive produces via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content. Doozer’s Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer also serve as executive producers. The series was developed by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Kelly and Hunt, and is based on the preexisting format and characters from NBC Sports.

Following its global debut on Apple TV, “Ted Lasso” immediately broke records, the first season becoming the most Emmy-nominated comedy series. The series went on to land back-to-back outstanding comedy series Emmys for its first two seasons on air.

See the other first-look stills from “Ted Lasso” season 4 below.

Michael Becker Courtesy of Apple

Courtesy of Apple

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Ted Cruz urges US to arm Iranian protesters as militias threaten ‘total war’ against America

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Ted Cruz urges US to arm Iranian protesters as militias threaten ‘total war’ against America

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Sen. Ted Cruz called for the U.S. to arm Iranian protesters Tuesday as unrest continues inside the nation and Iran-backed militias issued threats against Washington.

“We should be arming the protesters in Iran. NOW,” Cruz wrote in a post on X.

“For the Iranian people to overthrow the Ayatollah — a tyrant who routinely chants ‘death to America’ — would make America much, much safer,” the Texas Republican added.

Cruz was responding to another post from Tehran Bureau, which cited a source inside Iran detailing what was described as a rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground as security forces continued to crack down on demonstrations.

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IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS

“From trusted source in Tehran: Tell all of your friends [abroad] — everyone you know: there is absolutely nothing else we can do here inside Iran,” the post read.

“They are killing people in such ways, they’ve descended upon people so brutally, they’re attacking us in such ways… We’ve lost so many lives that no one dares go out anymore. They shoot directly with bullets. They kill outright. And even after killing, they come and behead you, and do countless other violent things to you,” it continued.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for the armament of anti-government protesters in Iran. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Going out into the streets is literally suicide. It’s not about bravery anymore. It’s madness. You go out and they shoot you point-blank. They don’t even ask why you came. They just kill you,” the post continued. “There is absolutely no way for us to gather unless we had weapons, unless we were armed like them. Otherwise they have weapons everywhere.”

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According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, activist groups estimate that more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iran, with additional cases still under review.

The protests began in late December amid widespread anger over economic hardship, political repression and corruption, according to reports.

IRAN REGIME REPORTEDLY ISSUED NATIONWIDE SHOOT-TO-KILL ORDERS AS PROTEST DEATH TOLL SURGES

Iranian security forces allegedly killed detainees and burned bodies during protests, with clashes continuing in Kermanshah, Rasht and Mashhad despite government claims. (NCRI)

Cruz’s post came after armed militias aligned with Iran warned the U.S. they would retaliate against any American attack on the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration moved forces into the region.

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Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq said it was prepared for “total war” if the U.S. attacked Iran, according to The Associated Press.

Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the group’s leader, said the “enemies” of the Islamic Republic would face “the bitterest forms of death.”

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS

Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq said it was prepared for “total war” should the U.S. attack Iran. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“You will taste every form of deadly suffering, nothing of you will remain in our region, and we will strike terror in your hearts,” the statement read.

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Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis also threatened to restart attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, releasing a video Monday showing a ship engulfed in flames, captioned: “Soon,” The Associated Press reported.

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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, President Donald Trump said Iran appeared to be seeking negotiations with the U.S. amid the growing military buildup, telling Axios, “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East on Monday as unrest inside Iran continued to escalate.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sen. Ted Cruz for comment.

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North Korea’s Kim to outline plans to boost nuclear arsenal

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North Korea’s Kim to outline plans to boost nuclear arsenal

Pyongyang expected to release five-year development plan for defence and economy at upcoming congress.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will unveil plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces at an upcoming governing party meeting, state media reported.

The report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday came the day after Kim oversaw the latest in a series of missile tests that have unsettled the region. Kim has ordered the “expansion” and modernisation of the country’s missile production.

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Details, which Kim has warned will bring “excruciating mental agony” to his enemies, are expected to be released at the upcoming ninth Communist Party congress, which is due to take place in the coming weeks.

At the meeting, the first such gathering since 2021, the governing party will unveil a five-year development plan for defence and the economy.

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Kim described Tuesday’s test-firing of a large-calibre multiple rocket launcher system as of “great significance in improving the effectiveness of our strategic deterrent” and said it showed the weapon system could be used for “specific attacks”, KCNA reported.

The missiles that were fired “hit a target” in waters at a distance of 358.5km (222.7 miles), the North Korean leader declared.

The missiles were fired in the direction of the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. Two landed outside North Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone, Japanese state news agency Jiji Press reported, citing Defence Ministry sources.

South Korea’s military reported that it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from north of Pyongyang towards the Sea of Japan.

“The result and significance of this test will be a source of excruciating mental agony and serious threat to the forces that attempt to provoke a military confrontation with us,” Kim said.

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Analysts told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that the “self-steered precision guided flight system” mentioned by Kim may indicate a new navigation system employed to help the weapon defy global positioning system (GPS) jamming.

Photos showed Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, accompanying him to the test, along with Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the party’s central committee, and Jang Chang-ha, chief of the Missile Administration, Yonhap reported.

While acknowledging that development of the rocket launcher system had “not been plain sailing”, Kim said the test was “of great significance in improving the effectiveness of our strategic deterrent”.

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