PARAMARIBO – “The Indigenous villages of Zanderij, Witsanti and Bernharddorp have been hit by a serious water shortage,” said the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname (VIDS).

Ortwin Cairo who is in charge of the SWM water station at Republiek explained that three wells went ‘offline’ and that this resulted in a drop in the amount of water that could be delivered. “Meanwhile two wells are back online. Things are expected to be back to normal this Friday,” said Cairo who added that water trucks delivered water to the local communities.

Lilian Armaketo, resident of Witsanti, still has not noticed any improvement. “We haven’t seen a single drop of water coming out of the faucets these past couple of days. We can’t take a shower,” said Armaketo. Ivana Vincke who also resides in Witsanti hopes that the water problem will be a thing of the past soon. “Water is essential. The children who go to school also need water. Due to this problem the school closes at 10 a.m.,” said Vincke. Most of the villagers reportedly use water from the creek’s and swamps…[+]

FLORIDA – Vanessa Hudgens is excited to be a new mom, but wishes she had more control over how the news was shared. The “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” star wrote in a post on Instagram Thursday, “We’re disappointed that our family’s privacy was disrespected and exploited during this very special time due to the greed of a long lens camera feeding the media. Despite all of that, mom dad and baby are happy and healthy.”

Hudgens was referring to reports earlier in the week that showed pictures of her leaving a hospital with her newborn. While the circumstances of the announcement were not ideal, the singer and actor’s Instagram message amounted to her first confirmation that she gave birth to her baby, her first child with spouse Cole Tucker.

CNN has reached out to Hudgens’ representatives to see if she has any additional comment. On Oscars night in March, Hudgens revealed that she and the Major League Baseball outfielder were expecting their first child. Hudgens and Tucker reportedly wed in December in Tulum, Mexico after announcing their engagement early last year. They were first linked in 2020 when Hudgens posted a photo of herself captioned “date night” and was photographed holding hands with Tucker later that evening. (CNN)…[+]

PORT SUDAN  –  Sudan army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said “many countries remain silent and turn a blind eye” to crimes allegedly committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s more-than-year-long civil war. Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between forces loyal to al-Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Since the war broke out, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions more have been displaced as a humanitarian crisis has deepened. Both sides have been accused of possibly committing war crimes by UN officials and rights groups. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera in Port Sudan, al-Burhan said, “Many countries remain silent and turn a blind eye to the crimes being committed every day.”

“Every day, the enemies are killing the Sudanese people, plundering their land and raping their wives and daughters … Everyone who remains silent and those who support what the other side is doing daily is definitely an enemy,” al-Burhan said, without naming any country.

“Perhaps some countries have used their influence to stop aid provided to the Sudanese state. Some countries may have used their international and regional mechanisms to stop supporting the armed forces,” he added. In March UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said his team had documented dozens of cases of sexual violence.

“Sexual violence as a weapon of war, including rape, has been a defining – and despicable – characteristic of this crisis since the beginning,” he said. His team has documented 60 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, involving at least 120 victims across the country, the vast majority women and girls, he said but added that “these figures are sadly a vast underrepresentation of the reality.”

“Men in RSF uniform and armed men affiliated with the RSF, were reported to be responsible for 81 percent of the documented incidents,” Turk said. The RSF has, in recent months, made several breakthroughs and is closing in on Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where the army, government and United Nations agencies are currently based. (Al Jazeera)

Photo: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, left, and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Daglo. (AFP)…[+]

PARAMARIBO – The Moravian Church Foundation (MCF) is proud to announce that on July 5, 2024, its business arm, MCF Business Enterprises B.V. (MCFBE) transferred 24% of the shares in C. Kersten en Co. N.V. (Kersten) to the Foundation for Asset Management Moravian Church Suriname (FAMM), the business arm of the Moravian Church in Suriname.

MCFBE was established in 2004 and received all shares in Kersten at that time. In 1981 and later in 2016, the highest governing body of the Moravian Church, the Unity Synod, passed a resolution for the transfer of 24% of Kersten shares to the Moravian Church in Suriname. On November 9, 2022, FAMM was established to hold the shares on behalf of the Moravian Church in Suriname.

In welcoming FAMM, Nonhlanhla Nkosi, President of MCF said, “On behalf of the MCF, I am really pleased to welcome the Moravian Church in Suriname as a co-shareholder of Kersten through its foundation, FAMM. I am proud and grateful that we were able to deliver this historic moment that will no doubt cement and strengthen our relationship going forward, given our common Moravian beliefs and values. This is a special and joyous milestone for the Moravian Church Suriname (EBGS). It has been long awaited by the province of Suriname. Praise, honor and thanks are due to the Lord.”

The collaboration with Kersten dates to June 29, 1768. The name Kersten is derived from one of the missionaries who came to Suriname from Herrnhut, Germany, namely Christoph Kersten. So it’s a historic collaboration that we want to continue. With the share transfer, we are beginning a new chapter together. The most important mission for the EBGS is the proclamation of Jesus Christ, so that His light is spread. Because of this mission, we have now a structure of proclamation of His Word, Education, Reception and Care. The transfer will give us now more opportunities to continue and expand this structure for our country and especially for our church.

Our sincere thanks go to the total Unitas Fratrum, especially the Unity Board, MCF, Kersten and all who contributed to the share transfer. We pray the MCF, Kersten and FAMM God’s assistance and prosperity for the building up of His Church in Suriname and the entire Unitas Fratrum”. Vishal Jadnanansing, CEO of Kersten, said the following in welcoming the new shareholder, “Kersten warmly welcomes FAMM as a new shareholder, and looks forward to a good cooperation and contribution towards growing our company. From a business and operations perspective, everything remains the same within Kersten including our commitment and dedication to providing high-quality services to our customers”…[+]