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Zimbabwean sculptor David Ngwerume is gaining attention for works inspired by the pandemic. One of his collections urges people to get vaccinated and another reminds people to take health measures hammering home a message to curb the spread of the virus. Ngwerume’s latest piece is called “Michael Jackson,” named after the late U.S. pop icon who was well-known for wearing masks and a glove. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare.Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe      
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As the EU and Britain try to work out a deal to govern their trade relations after Brexit, the dreams that many British people have of retiring in Spain are being shattered by the new reality – and a whole new set of rules.  For VOA from Sitges, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, Alfonso Beato has this report narrated by Jonathan Spier.Camera:   Alfonso Beato Produced by:  Rob Raffaele 
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will investigate the potential threat of domestic violent extremism within its own ranks, the department said on Monday.DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not say what prompted the internal review at DHS but referred to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. He said it highlighted the threat of U.S.-based extremists.A group of senior DHS officials “will immediately begin a comprehensive review of how to best prevent, detect, and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism within DHS,” the department said in a statement.President Joe Biden called for funding to investigate any complaints of white supremacist beliefs at immigration enforcement agencies within DHS in his first budget proposal, which was unveiled this month.The U.S. military has also faced concerns over white nationalism and other extremism in its ranks after current and former military service members were found to have participated in the attack on the Capitol.Mayorkas said in a statement on Monday that domestic violent extremism “poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today,” adding that “hateful acts and violent extremism will not be tolerated” within DHS.Domestic extremism is a major focus of investigations into the Capitol attack, and members of right-wing extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are among those now facing federal charges in connection with the violence.
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An Indonesian brigadier general was killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and a rebel group in restive Papua province, authorities said Monday.The clashes started April 8 in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province after rebels set fire to three schools and shot to death a teacher in Beoga village in Puncak district. Another teacher was also killed a day later as rebels fired at teachers’ housing complex and burned down a house of a tribal chief in Beoga.Police, military and intelligence forces joined Operation Nemangkawi to find the attackers, who authorities believe belong to the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization.Rebels have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s, when Indonesia annexed Papua, a former Dutch colony. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.Papua’s intelligence agency chief Brig. Gen. Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha was shot in the head and died in a rebel ambush, said Col. Iqbal Alqudusy, the Operation Nemangkawi’s spokesperson.The ambush occurred while the general was patrolling Beoga’s neighboring village of Dambet with 13 other personnel on motorcycles Sunday afternoon after rebels set fire to an elementary school and houses in the village, he said.He said security forces managed to evacuate the body on Monday morning while a joint military and police force was hunting “an armed separatist criminal group.””We are on the highest alert as instructed to all troops on the ground,” Alqudusy said.In televised remarks, President Joko Widodo expressed condolences to the family and the Indonesian people for the general’s death.Flanked by the vice president and chiefs of military, police and intelligence agency, he ordered government forces to hunt down the rebels.”I emphasize that there is no place for armed criminal groups in Papua and in all corners of the country,” Widodo said from the Merdeka Palace in the capital, Jakarta, on Monday.Attacks by rebels in several districts in Papua have spiked in the past year, including in the Grasberg mine.The Grasberg mine’s vast gold and copper reserves have been extracted for decades by Freeport-McMoRan, damaging the surrounding environment while providing significant tax income for the Indonesian government.But Indigenous Papuans have benefited little and are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia. 
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As the world marks World Malaria Day (April 25), several African countries continue to battle the impact of a preventable disease claiming thousands of lives. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria has claimed an estimated 380,000 lives in 2018 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But there are some signs of hope in Somalia.This year’s theme was reaching the “Zero Malaria” target as the WHO celebrated the achievement of those countries that are on the verge of eliminating the disease.While Somalia is still not malaria-free, the country’s authorities say there has been some progress in the past three years in decreasing the number of deaths from the disease. That is welcome news for the Horn of Africa nation struggling to curb other challenges, including drought and lack of security.  Dr. Ali Abdulrahman, manager of Somalia’s national malaria control department,  pointed out that deaths from malaria have declined, from 31 in 2018, 22 in 2019 to five last year.”There was a lot of interventions we have done including distribution of long-lasting insecticide nets to the target population, especially IDPs (internally displaced persons) and other vulnerable and indoor residual spraying were done in the riverine areas and also case management was going on in all health facilities in the country that was interventions done to reduce cases,” Abdulrahman said.Somalia has a weak health care system and is poorly resourced, according to the WHO. Due to decades of insecurity and conflict, the country’s institutions struggle to provide access to malaria prevention and treatment to those at risk of contracting the disease, including pregnant women and children.  Falestine Mohamed Abukar, a mother of three who lives in an internally displaced persons camp in Mogadishu, said she paid $40 last year to get medicine from a local pharmacy where she was referred when she tested positive for malaria and typhoid.She said she was very weak in bed and when she visited the nearest health center but the health care providers said they did not have the medicine. They then referred her to get it from private pharmacies and pay out of pocket.Dr. Jamal Amran from the country’s World Health Organization office says WHO is working with Somali authorities to improve access to malaria medication.   “This year will start to do rapid assessment needs of IDPs  and other neglected groups like nomads to see how and what the factors are preventing them to utilize health services properly. And based on all findings, we will, along with other partners, develop [a] specific strategy for health services for these minorities, and of course, with the involvement with civil society groups and the community and also workers especially now with COVID-19,” Amran said.Hailed as a possible breakthrough, a new malaria vaccine has shown to be 77% effective in early trials to combat the disease. And once approved for use, countries like Somalia could benefit in continuing their fight against malaria and meet the malaria-free goal. 
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