Mozambique talks restart after Dhlakama death
MOZAMBIQUE peace talks have restarted after the unexpected death of rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama earlier this month threatened to end the tentative negotiations, his party said on Thursday.
Face-to-face talks between President Filipe Nyusi and Dhlakama, the head of the Renamo opposition party, began after a truce ended unrest that erupted from 2013 to 2016.
Dhlakama played a key role in advancing the peace process, and his death from a suspected heart attack aged 65 threw the talks into doubt.
“We contacted the Presidency of the Republic and received a good signal and we reopened the dialogue,” Alfredo Magumisse, spokesperson for the Renamo party, told reporters. “We are continuing to speak with the government.” At Dhlakama’s memorial service, the president had said that he wanted to continue talks.
The 2013-2016 unrest raised fears of a return to the bloody 16-year civil war that Renamo fought against the ruling Frelimo party until 1992.
Renamo, which operates both as an opposition party and as an armed militant group, is demanding better integration of its supporters into the police and military — a major sticking point in any peace deal.
Frelimo has ruled the country since independence from Portugal in 1975. — AFP WHETHER you find breaking wind funny, disgusting or like to pretend you never do it, it’s a bodily function we all perform.
Also known by other, less polite names, on average we produce half a litre of gas a day by breaking wind.
If everything is ticking along nicely, this gas is spread out over 15 daily wind breaking.
But admit it, there are times when it seems as if you are exceeding this daily average. Why is this?
Dr Patricia Raymond, a physician and a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology spoke to Refinery29 and explained why some days are gassier than others. Firstly, why do we break wind? Everyone breaks wind, with the average being between 5 to 15 times a day according to the NHS. As for why we break wind, it’s a physiological necessity. We need to release all that intestinal gas which builds up as a result of digesting food.
This gas can be found throughout the digestive tract, including the stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum.
Gas is also automatically accumulated as a result of swallowing air when we chew or talk. The build-up can also be caused by accumulating bacteria in our gut and carbohydrates which haven’t been digested properly. 1. In-flight breaking of wind Have you ever noticed how you’re a bit more liberal with breaking the wind when you’re on an airplane?
There is a genuine reason behind this. Research has shown how high altitude causes the gas in our bodies to expand.
In turn, this leads to bloating and eventually flatulence. Bearing in mind how packed commercial flights can be, it’s enough to put anyone off getting on a plane ever again. 2. Healthy eating Not all the food we eat gets digested. Anything our small intestine doesn’t process gets passed on to our large intestine where it brews.
Unfortunately, we owe our smelliest farts to the healthiest foods.
Fruit, vegetables, whole-grains and legumes all generate a stink.
Onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and sprouts contain a carbohydrate called raffinose, which the stomach and the small intestine are also unable to digest. 3. Too much air There are two “sources” of our farts. One is the gas produced in our large intestine.
The other is the air we swallow, which makes its way through our digestive tract.
The good news is if you’re swallowing a lot of air, the farts which are a by-product tend to be odourless, rather than the silent-but-deadly variety.
It’s called “aerophagia” and it’s caused by eating your meals quickly, chewing gum, or drinking lots of carbonated beverages. 4. Absorption Now on to the silent-but-violent variety. When farts are particularly unpleasant, it may be because our bodies are having trouble absorbing certain nutrients.
We all react differently to various food types, but the most common one people experience problems with are the sugars from carbohydrates followed by lactose. 5. Something more serious The quantity and ‘quality’ of our farts will differ from day to day.
But Dr Raymond suggests recurrent episodes, or gas and bloating that comes with pain or other symptoms like diarrhoea or constipation, are worth talking to your doctor.
Excessive and bad smelling farts could be symptoms of medical conditions such as IBS and celiac disease. — DailyMail
both sides have left a room for future talks, I think there might be a chance that the talk can happen.”
Kim Soon-taek, a 70-year-old retiree said, “There’s a feeling of disappointment, but I have seen a lot of cases in which North Korea changed their stance or scrap what’s been discussed. I don’t have a trust in this case as well.”
Experts said the sudden cancellation of the summit comes as a result of recent exchanges of hostile remarks made between the US and North Korea. “The statement from the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui seems to be an immediate trigger of the Trump’s letter,” said John Delury, associate professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University in Seoul.
On Thursday, Choe said the summit with the US will be reconsidered if the US continues its “unlawful and outrageous acts”, describing remarks by US Vice President Mike Pence as “ignorant and stupid”. — Al Jazeera