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Mozambique’s largely deserted capital was hit on Tuesday by skirmishes between protesters and police, AFP reporters said, the day after the ruling party was controversially confirmed winners in recent elections. Police in armoured vehicles patrolled the centre of the city, where hundreds of protesters in small, scattered groups threw objects and started fires. Makeshift roadblocks on major thoroughfares were set alight on Monday evening, covering the city with thick smoke, soon after the country’s highest court confirmed the victory of the ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo. Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, has claimed the election was rigged, sparking fears of violence between rival party supporters. Shops, banks, supermarkets, petrol stations and public buildings meanwhile were ransacked, with their windows smashed and contents looted. Some were set on fire and reduced to smouldering rubble. “Maputo Central Hospital is operating in critical conditions, more than 200 employees have not been able to reach the site,” its director Mouzinho Saide told AFP, adding that nearly 90 people had been admitted with injuries. ALSO READ: Analysts suggest a GNU as a solution to Mozambique instability Forty were injured by firearms and four by knives, he added. Main roads leading to Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola were blocked by barricades and burning tyres, while the road leading to Maputo airport was largely impassable. Most local residents stayed at home, with the few who ventured out doing to look at the damage or do last-minute Christmas shopping. Christmas Eve is normally a busy time, with large crowds in central Maputo but shops and even small neighbourhood grocery stores were closed, making petrol and bread unavailable. Public transport was also paralysed, with only ambulances and funeral vehicles running. ‘Humiliation’ ALSO READ: Hundreds arrested at Lebombo for illegally attempting to cross SA-Mozambique border The unrest spread to several cities in the northern part of Mozambique, local media reported, with violence and vandalism in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambezia and Tete, where opposition support is strong. More than 100 people have already died in the unprecedented post-election violence, with fears that the toll could increase after Mondlane’s claim of victory. Mozambicans are demanding “electoral truth”, he said in a Facebook post. “We must continue the fight, remain united and strong.” Monday’s confirmation of the result of the October 9 election came despite claims of irregularities from many observers. Chapo won 65.17 percent of the vote, more than five points lower than the initial results declared by the country’s electoral commission. In the National Assembly, Frelimo has a majority of 171 seats out of 250, down 24 from the announcement in October. ALSO READ: SA pushes for dialogue and stability in Mozambique “Venancio”, as Mondlane is called on the street, repeated his assertion in a social media message on Tuesday that the constitutional court was “legalising fraud” and “the humiliation of the people”. “We want to create a People’s Constitutional Court, which will confirm Venancio Mondlane as president,” he said of himself. “I will be sworn in and invested,” he added. Chapo, who is due to take office in mid-January, struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech on Monday, promising to “talk to everyone”, including his main opponent. – By: © Agence France-PresseBIG TEN ROUNDUPRobot builders could accidentally kill their human colleagues, researchers have warned. It says there is an "urgent" need for safety guidelines for robots working on construction sites. Boffins are worried ‘Bot the Builders - increasingly deployed as bricklayers, road pavers, drywallers and demolishers - cannot detect human counterparts accurately enough with current technology. As a result health and safety experts said it was critical to know how hard robots can bump into real colleagues without causing harm. Researchers from the Division of Safety Research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Civil Engineering, Stony Brook University, US, and PILZ Automation Safety warned robots could injure workers by unexpected contact. ‘Bots therefore need to be operated under specific safety procedures to safeguard lives. Researchers noted ‘bots have tools to help them detect human colleagues - including computer vision devices that sense movement and allow them to calculate how to avoid humans. But the study found the tech does not work well in construction where environments are less structured and tasks complex. "An open jobsite such as a construction site is often not an ideal environment for robots to have all necessary sensors to detect workers’ movements and environmental changes,’’ it said. "Environmental disturbance, noises, and an insufficient number of sensors can greatly affect the ability of the robot to detect surrounding hazards and movements of existing objects in the construction space.’’ While robots may be able to detect the presence of workers they may not be able to monitor them continuously from all directions on a building site. If they cannot recognise the human worker’s movements that means it is less likely ‘bots can perform all the required safety operations to avoid them. To mitigate the danger boffins said the industry needs to regulate "energy transfer between the human worker and the robot or the construction material carried by the robot" so collisions do not result in tragedies. The study - presented at the 41st International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction - considered two cases of ‘bots carrying masonry blocks making an unexpected impact with workers. In the first the worker was struck and forcibly pushed away and in the second the ‘bot hit the builder from behind bending them forward at the waist. Researchers developed complicated mathematical equations to calculate the maximum speed the ‘bot must travel at and payload it should carry to avoid causing injuries. The study found the maximum speed of a masonry ‘bot should be less than 700mm per second if it is carrying a 17kg block and 570mm per second with a 25kg stone. At that speed human injuries from collisions could be `adequately prevented’, researchers said. "This approach can provide reference values for safely operating robots on construction sites,’’ the study said. "In the future dynamic models for different scenarios and different operational environments could be developed, such as rainy weather and muddy ground. "The construction industry urgently needs safety guidelines for the use of robotic equipment on open construction sites."Homelessness increase a symptom of government inaction: frontline workers

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Trump Media Trademark Filing For 'TruthFi' Hints At Potential Digital Wallets, Asset TradingFACT FOCUS: Posts misrepresent Biden administration spending on EV charging stationsRobert “Bob” Ruesch has been tapped by his City Council colleagues to serve the next year as mayor for Mission Viejo’s 90,000 residents. Ruesch succeeds Councilmember Trish Kelley, who has been mayor for the past year – her sixth time holding the position. This year, Ruesch worked alongside Kelley as mayor pro tem, and was nominated by her to advance to the role of mayor. Councilmembers choose a mayor from among their numbers to lead the body for the next year. Ruesch said in an email he will be sharing his goals for the city at the first meeting of the new year. He started serving the city in 2016 when he was appointed to the Community Services Commission. In 2018, he was appointed to Mission Viejo’s Planning and Transportation Commission. In 2022, Ruesch was elected to the City Council to represent the newly created District 1 as the city transitioned to by-district-voting. At the Dec. 10 meeting, Councilmember Wendy Bucknum was chosen mayor pro tem. She joined the City Council 10 years ago and now represents Mission Viejo’s District 5. Before becoming a councilmember, she served on the city’s Community Services Commission. In the past, she worked on the city’s Community Services Commission. Ruesch and Bucknum’s terms as mayor and mayor pro tem will begin Jan. 1. Mission Viejo’s next council meeting is scheduled for Jan. 14. The meetings can be watched in person at City Hall at 200 Civic Center in Mission Viejo. Meetings are also livestreamed through the city’s website, cityofmissionviejo.org. Related Articles

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July uprising: Women activists feel sidelined and forgottenNorth Texas saw its losing streak hit five last week, when the Mean Green fell to East Carolina. UNT got off to a great start before collapsing in the second half of a 40-28 loss. The Mean Green gave up 31 straight points after taking a 21-0 lead. The loss dropped UNT to 5-6 on the season heading into a game at Temple on Saturday. It shapes up to be one of the more consequential games in recent program history. The Mean Green are 5-6 and have fallen toward the bottom of the American Athletic Conference standings at 2-5. A win over the Owls would make UNT bowl eligible for the first time in two seasons under Eric Morris. A loss would send the Mean Green into the offseason on their longest slide since losing six straight in 2021. Before we turn our attention to UNT’s showdown with Temple, it’s time for What We Learned, our weekly look back at the Mean Green’s last game and where the team stands. No quit in this team! 🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/5DldLdl0ig The Mean Green were hoping a switch at defensive coordinator would spark a turnaround in the final two weeks of the regular season. UNT coach Eric Morris fired Matt Caponi and elevated linebackers coach Brian Odom to replace him on an interim basis following a loss to UTSA on Nov. 15. The Mean Green had allowed at least 45 points three times in what was a four-game losing streak at that point. UNT showed some signs of improvement under Odom. “Our guys had a spark, were energized and inspired,” Morris said. That energy didn’t make a big enough difference when it came to the bottom line. UNT played well early and allowed just seven points in the first half. ECU broke free with 33 points after the break. UNT has struggled to stop the run all year, an issue Morris has pointed to repeatedly. The Mean Green were allowing 201.4 yards per game heading into the day. UNT didn’t fair any better against ECU and allowed 255 yards and three touchdowns. The Pirates scored the second touchdown during their 31-0 run when UNT seemingly had Rahjai Harris stopped near the line of scrimmage. He wiggled free from a scrum with the help of offensive lineman Jimarion McCrimon and raced 39 yards to the end zone. “We were amped up early,” defensive lineman Terrell Dawkins said. “We couldn’t finish it out.” If there is anything Chandler Morris has shown during his winding college career it’s that he’s tough both physically and mentally. Those traits helped him during his journey from Oklahoma to TCU and finally UNT. He’s dealt with a series of injuries while adjusting to new teams and coaches along the way. The former Highland Park standout displayed those abilities again after a tough couple of weeks. Morris threw four interceptions and just one touchdown over the course of two games heading into UNT’s game at ECU. He bounced back in a big way while throwing for 266 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Pirates. Morris also rushed for 39 yards. Morris’ stat line would have been even better had it not been for a few drops by UNT’s receivers. “Chandler played well enough and made some nice throws,” Eric Morris said. “We had some drive-killers where we didn’t catch the football.” No team in the country has attempted to convert on fourth down more than UNT, which has gone for it 41 times. The Mean Green have benefitted plenty of times from the approach. UNT converted all four of its attempts in a win over Wyoming early in the season. Those conversions helped extend three scoring drives that helped the Mean Green roll to a 44-17 win. UNT has converted just one of its last nine attempts over the course of its last two games and didn’t cash in on any of its four tries against ECU. The Mean Green went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 46 in the third quarter. Makenzie McGill II was stuffed for a 1-yard loss. ECU cashed in with a field goal.

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