The man was reportedly beaten to death in Hurungwe district, in Mashonaland West Province: unconfirmed accounts said another MDC supporter was killed in Mudzi distict in Mashonaland East Province. Both northern provinces have in the past overwhelmingly voted for ZANU-PF, but in the 29 March election the MDC picked up seats and local government wards.

A spokesperson for an organisation working with political violence victims told IRIN: "We can confirm that one MDC supporter was beaten to death by ZANU-PF supporters, youths and war veterans over the weekend in Hurungwe. The brother to the victim of violence is currently detained in a hospital with severe injuries. We are still making a follow up to confirm reports that there was another murder in Mudzi."

Acts of political retribution have reportedly increased in rural areas that were formerly seen as ZANU-PF strongholds, where the MDC scored startling successes in last month's poll.

"More than 200 families have had their homes burnt down and chased away. Many are reported to be living in the forests and nearby mountains while trying to make their way to urban areas, especially Harare [the capital]. Those who have been targeted are those who were election or polling agents for the MDC or known supporters," said the human rights defender, who asked not to be named.

Teachers who worked as polling officers are some of those who have been targeted, according to the secretary general of the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Raymond Majongwe, told IRIN.

"Teachers who worked as polling or presiding officers are being accused of rigging the elections in favour of MDC. Teachers have been abducted and tortured to alter election results," Majongwe alleged.

Bednock Nyahude, the MDC winning candidate in the parliamentary elections for a constituency in Mashonaland Central, another former ZANU-PF stronghold, claimed he had been threatened by ruling party militants.

"ZANU-PF supporters have been threatening me and my supporters with physical assault. They have threatened to kidnap my children on their way from school," he reportedly said.

According to the official vote count, ZANU-PF has lost its majority in parliament for the first time since independence in 1980, but it has called for a recount in 23 constituencies where it claims its candidates were cheated. The presidential results are yet to be released, two weeks after the ballot. If it is determined that incumbent President Robert Mugabe or MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to win over 50 percent of the vote, a  second round run-off will be called.

Military maneovers

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary general, Wellington Chibebe, told IRIN that the deployment of the military, war veterans and ZANU-PF militia was in line with statements made by senior military commanders who said they would not recognise any elected government except one led by ZANU-PF and Mugabe.

"What is happening is clear proof that the military meant what it said, but what is undeniable is that ZANU-PF has been beaten in the just ended elections and that it is now an opposition party. Mugabe lost the elections otherwise why is he traumatising innocent Zimbabweans?"

While the police confirmed there were "isolated" cases of violence, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association, Jabulani Sibanda, told IRIN that his members were not responsible for the attacks. "No genuine war veteran would go out and commit acts of violence. We are a disciplined force."

Ratidzo Moyo, a teacher in Mudzi, said she had witnessed the political unrest in the district before she fled. "I saw many villagers, especially MDC supporters and teachers, being beaten up by armed men and ZANU-PF supporters. I only carried a few clothes and came to Harare. I am afraid if I continue to stay there, I could be a victim of political violence."

For now she is staying with her sister in the high density suburb of Glen View in Harare. Although heavily armed soldiers and police patrol the township, she feels safer among urban residents.

"I was in the market when a friend called me to tell me she had heard that Abdiaziz [her 13-year-old son] was caught up in an explosion. I had sent him to school earlier before I left for the market."

Abdiaziz Abdulle was seriously injured when a remote-controlled bomb that killed some security guards of former Prime Minister Ali Gedi exploded.

"The first information I got was that he was killed in the explosion. I almost fainted but I ran to the area, not far from the market. When I got there I found him alive and was so happy.

"My happiness turned into sadness when the doctors told me he was severely injured, with so many pieces of shrapnel in his body. The worst was the one lodged in his spine, which is making it impossible for him to walk.

"I no longer work. I have to take care of him day and night. He cannot go to the bathroom. He cannot control his bowel movements. It is heartbreaking to see him like this. He was full of life. He wanted to be a doctor but now I don’t know what will become of him.

“Every time his school-friends come to visit him I can see the longing in his eyes to be able to go with them. It breaks my heart.

“He has begun to destroy any pictures of himself before he was injured. He says he does not want to see them.

“Doctors have told us there is nothing they can do for him in this country. They said he needs specialised treatment that is not available here.

“We cannot afford to take him to a doctor here, much less outside. We are a poor family that depended on what I could earn from the market and now even that is no longer there. We depend on the generosity of friends and relatives to survive.

“I would do anything and give anything, including my life, to see my boy normal again. Every day I pray for a miracle.”

The Banjulinding woman, who caused serious bodily harm to her adopted daughter, will devote 40 hours to community service.

Besides, she was ordered to pay a compensation of D5000 to her victim.

Ramatoulie Jallow was recently convicted by the Brikama Magistrates’ Court for causing series of injuries to her adopted daughter. She added pepper to the injuries and asked her to take bath, adduced sub-Inspector Saine, the prosecution officer.

Ramatoulie admitted cutting the child with a razor blade but denied the allegation of adding pepper to injuries.

“It’s the handiwork of Satan. I don’t think I’m that arrogant to do what I did,” added she.

Ramatoulie’s action was the aftermath of a report given to her by her daughters schoolmates that the child was playing truant from school.   

Learning how to stay on a successful gout prevention diet can be beneficial and so can knowing how to take care of your feet. Gout foot flare ups that are caused by foot injuries can be dramatically reduced if you make a regular effort to take care of your feet.

There are many ways you can take care of your feet to prevent recurring attacks of gout. Here are some suggestions:

Wear comfortable shoes - Comfortable shoes are shoes that provide your feet proper cushioning and arch support. Comfortable shoes should also be properly fitted to your foot which means the shoe should not be too big or too small. You should have enough room to wiggle your toes, and they shouldn’t quite reach the end of the shoe.

Wear sneakers whenever possible – If you want to prevent gout, you need to limit how often you wear fashion shoes such as those with heels or boots, and try to wear sneakers as much as you can, especially when you will be standing or walking for long periods of time. High heels press your toes together and force your foot forwards, increasing pressure.

Replace shoes often – Although you may own a pair of comfortable shoes, you need to realize that these shoes won’t last forever, and as soon as they begin to look worn, they will need to be replaced because they are no longer providing your feet with the support they need.

Stretch your feet on a regular basis – Regardless if you will be engaging in exercise or not, it’s a good idea to stretch your feet daily to help strengthen them and reduce the risk of gout. Two examples of good exercises for stretching, strengthening, and encouraging circulation in your feet include:

Pointing and flexing your feet

Rotating your ankle

Make sure you take exercises slowly, and increase them over time to avoid putting your feet through excessive strain.

Avoid activities that stress the foot joint – This includes walking for long periods of time or sitting without having your feet flat on the floor. In addition, standing for long periods of time without walking or rocking your feet, also increases stress. Consistent standing without movement concentrates all of your weight on the balls and heels of your feet. Your feet aren’t meant to act like tree stumps, they are meant to move.

Lose weight – If you are overweight, you are putting too much pressure on your feet. You need to maintain a healthy body weight to keep pressure of your foot joints. Excess weight places stress on joints which can aggravate gout foot.

Keep your feet clean and dry – Keeping your feet washed on a regular basis is important to protect against bacteria, but ensuring your feet are dry is equally important. Feet that are moist and not properly dried are not only subject to bacteria, they are also subject to corns and calluses. These are foot ailments you will not want to encounter if you are also prone to gout, as this can only exacerbate the problem.

Follow a gout reducing diet – Avoid foods high in purines, such as alcohol, seafood, red and organ meats, to reduce the chance of a gout foot attack.

Resting your feet – Elevating your feet is beneficial to your overall foot health. As much as your feet need to be stretched and exercised, they also need time to relax and heal from daily stress. Therefore, take the time to elevate your feet so they are above your heart when you are relaxing and watching TV or lying in bed.

When you take care of your feet, you reduce the chance of gout foot attacks because you reduce the stiffness in the joints which prevents injuries that can aggravate uric acid crystals that may exist within the joint, leading to gout flare ups. Furthermore, by taking care of you feet, you prevent other foot problems that can make a gout attack all the more painful. Thus, it is imperative you take care to keep your feet healthy.

About the Author:
Grab your free copy of Lisa McDowell's brand new Gout Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you discover more about gout foot care.

Explosions in the port town of Bosasso, the commercial capital of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, killed 21 people and injured 69 others on 5 February, a senior official said.

"At around 8pm last night, two consecutive explosions killed 21 Ethiopian migrants and injured 69 others near the port area," Abdirizaq Hareed, the mayor of Bosasso, told IRIN on 6 February.

Puntland has been relatively peaceful compared with the rest of the country.

"This is the first incident of its kind," said Hareed. "It was an inhuman act. I cannot imagine why someone would target these people," he added.

A local journalist told IRIN said there was an "air of disbelief" in Bosasso. "It is all people are talking about and wondering what next. We are not used to this kind of thing."

Authorities have not yet established who was responsible for the blast. "The police are following a number of leads in their investigation but we will not rest until we capture the culprits," said Hareed.

Hareed assured the residents that the authorities were in control of the situation and would "do everything possible to safeguard peace".

Yassin Farah Artan, a doctor, told IRIN that 69 people were in hospital and that some of them had "horrific injures".

He said hospital wards were full and some casualties were being treated in the corridors, adding that the death toll could rise given the severity of some injuries.

Almost all the injured were Ethiopian migrants.

Bosasso has become a magnet for thousands of would-be migrants from southern Somalia and Ethiopia, willing to risk all for a dangerous voyage across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen hoping to find a better life.

The journey is treacherous and hundreds of people die at sea every year when often overloaded boats capsize or sink in the shark-infested waters or are forced to jump into the sea by the smugglers.

Bosasso, the main port of Puntland, has been relatively peaceful compared with southern Somalia where the transitional government backed by Ethiopian forces has been fighting insurgents since the Islamist courts were ousted from Mogadishu by Ethiopians troops in December 2006.

As many as 3,000 mine workers are trapped in Elandsrand mine, a gold mine in South Africa about 50 miles west of Johannesburg in Carletonville, Gauteng, after an incident at 8:00 GMT. The mine is owned by Harmony Gold Mining Corporation. At least 1,300 have been rescued so far and the company stresses that there are no injuries to any miners trapped or rescued.

The mining company says that a lift electrical cable broke on a basket that was carrying miners, trapping thousands at least 2,200 meters (1.3 miles) below the earth's surface. There are no injuries, but some reports say that rescuers have not been able to contact miners. Reports from MSNBC and the Guardian Unlimited say that the shaft may have collapsed when a water or air pipe burst. So far, the rescue operation has been going well with no complications, but mine officials say that the operation could take at least 10 hours before all the miners will be rescued.

"They were underground when the accident happened and they were not able to surface because an electric feeder cable that is connected to the mine lift was severed," said a spokeswoman for the mining company, Amelia Soares. The snap was caused by a "fatigued" air pipe which burst and fell down the shaft damaging the "steelwork and electrical feeder cords," added Soares. So far, 150 have been evacuated. They are all in good condition."

"They are all safe. There have been no injuries or deaths ... It may take as long as 10 hours, the cage (lift) is traveling fairly slowly to avoid risks ...I 'm very confident all will come out," said CEO of Harmony mining, Graham Briggs who also said that the miners have been contacted and have been given "food and water."

Earlier reports had stated that Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman with the National Union of Mineworkers, said that the miners have not been heard from for hours and that they could have been enduring temperatures as high as 105 degrees fahrenheit (40 degrees celsius).

"This is a terrible situation. The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground," said Seshoka.

Rescue workers will use a mine shaft that is next to the damaged one in an attempt to reach the trapped miners. Reports say that only 75 can be lifted to safety at a time and that most should be rescued within the next 24 hours. There is no emergency exit in the shaft which is reported to have "not been maintained for ages," added Seshoka.

"An escape route is the most important thing and they have failed miserably. They need to ensure that the shaft is maintained. This is why we have this disaster. Our main worry is for more than 3,000 people who are underground," said National Union of Mineworkers for S. Africa chairman, Deon Boqwana.

Current reports say that "negligence" was the initial cause for the pipe burst and that there has been a history of negligence from the mine. "We suspect negligence. Because of continuous operations there is no time to make adequate checks," said the President of the Miners union, Senzeni Zokwana to reporters during a news conference.

The Elsrand mine is currently under development and has been since February 2001 when Harmony bought the mine.

The mine is located in the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa, which is said to be the location of the largest area of raw gold on the planet.