{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL, AGNEWS, le 04 juillet 2010 — Mass burials for more than 200 people killed by an exploding fuel tanker have been carried out in Democratic Republic of Congo.
BURUNDI :
RWANDA
UNESCO deplores murder of Rwandan journalist
Pana /04/07/2010
New York, US – The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has condemned the assassination of a prominent independent journalist from Rwanda, who was gunned down outside his home in the capital, Kigali.
In a statement issued on Saturday, UNESCO said that Jean-Leonard Rugambage, the editor of the bi-monthly “Umuvugizi”, died on 24 June after being shot at closer ange near his home in Kigali’s Nyamirambo district.
According to media reports, two men have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Also known as the ‘Sheriff’, Rugambage also served as a correspondent for Rwanda Journalists in Danger, an NGO based in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, also condemned the ‘heinous crime’, which she said represented “a blow to the fundamental right of freedom of the press”.
Bokova called on Rwandan authorities to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators of the killing to justice.
UNESCO, which is headquartered in Paris, France, is the UN agency mandated to defend freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
New York –
RWANDA: American academic released
Roison Joyce/www.universityworldnews.com/04 July 2010
Human rights lawyer and academic Professor Peter Erlinder was released by a Rwandan court on health grounds after being held by the authorities for almost three weeks, the BBC reported on 18 June.
Erlinder was arrested on 28 May on accusations of denying the 1994 genocide. He had recently arrived in Rwanda to join the defence team of Rwandan presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, yet ran into problems with the authorities as he disputes the official version of what happened in 1994.
Erlinder is a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St Paul, Minnesota. He is a lead defence counsel for genocide suspects at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, created by the UN Security Council to prosecute those accused of responsibility for the genocide. Tribunal authorities have argued that he should have diplomatic immunity.
Article 13 of the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda specifies that revisionism, negationism and the minimisation of genocide are punishable by law. Under Law number 33bis/2003 punishing the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Article 4 prohibits the denial, gross minimisation, and any attempt to justify or approve of genocide.
Both the constitution and the 2003 law are considered overly vague by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, with neither providing specific definitions of the terms. It is alleged, therefore, that the crime of genocide ideology has been used to silence dissent, including criticisms of the ruling RPF party.
UGANDA
Uganda President Asks ADF Rebels To End Rebellion, Return Home
Sunday, 4 July 2010/ Dow Jones/www.automatedtrader.net
KAMPALA, Uganda -(Dow Jones)- The Ugandan president has appealed to remnants of the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, who are have bases in lawless eastern Congo to abandon rebellion and return to the country, the president’s office said in a statement late Saturday.
A presidential spokeswoman said that the president made the remarks during a public rally at the Ugandan border district of Bundibugyo along the country’s oil-rich western border with eastern Congo.
“The President called upon the ADF remnants who took refuge in Congo and had tried to re-organize their ‘confusion’ from there, to return home and be part of the development the country is experiencing instead of wasting time in the bushes,” she quoted the president as saying.
Last week, the Ugandan army increased its troop presence along the country’s western border to counter possible invasion from the ADF rebels.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulaigye, the Ugandan Defense and Army spokesman, the ADF rebels are fleeing an offensive by Congo’s United Nations-backed army and could invade Uganda to destabilize it. The rebels attacked the Congolese town of Mutwanga on Monday, which is around 50 kilometers from the Ugandan border and killed at least 16 people.
President Museveni told the rally in Bundibugyo that Uganda now enjoys good relations with Congo and had even enhanced the capacity of its army to deal with any external threats.
The ADF rebels used to operate in western Uganda before they retreated to Eastern Congo in 2004 fleeing an offensive from the Ugandan army, ADF rebel remnants regrouped and infiltrated Uganda’s oil region in 2007 with the intention of disrupting oil exploration activities but were quickly repulsed.
At least one billion barrels of oil have been discovered by UK-based Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) and Heritage Oil PLC (HOIL.LN) in three blocks in Uganda’s Lake Albert basin and preparations are under way to develop the oil fields.
While exploration activities on the Ugandan side of the Lake Albert basin have been going on since the late 1990s, similar activities on the Congolese side have been curtailed mainly due to insecurity.
TANZANIA:
CONGO RDC :
Mass Burials After Congo Tanker Fireball
Sunday July 04, 2010 /Huw Borland, Sky News Online
Mass burials for more than 200 people killed by an exploding fuel tanker have been carried out in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Red Cross said at least 61 children and 36 women were among the dead in the east of the African country.
Witnesses said dozens of people had descended on an overturned truck to siphon fuel from the wreckage with plastic buckets before it ignited.
UN peacekeepers evacuated more than 200 wounded from the scene, while Red Cross teams carried charred bodies away in body bags.
The deceased have now been buried in two mass graves a few miles away from the scene of the explosion.
The truck had overturned as it was trying to pass a minibus on Friday, near the village of Sange, about 20 miles north of Uvira, close to the Burundi border.
The vehicle began gushing oil, then burst into flames an hour later.
Pakistani peacekeepers from a nearby UN base had tried to warn “people to get away from the area, but people refused to leave”, witness Bedide Mwasha, 45, said.
The fireball engulfed three nearby shacks, where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the World Cup.
Umoja Ruzibira, 25, who was about 100 yards away when he heard a huge explosion, said: “It was so terrible, we lost so many family and friends.
“There were so many men, women and children around when it happened.”
James Reynolds, of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Congo, said at least 219 people were killed.
Mr Reynolds said: “Many of the bodies were burnt far beyond recognition. It’s a terrible scene,” and a tragedy, he added, “for people who didn’t have very much to begin with”.
The United Nations estimated the death toll to be at least 220, but Sange police chief Flament Baliwa said 232 were killed.
KENYA :
USA commited to reforms in Kenya
By crocodila Nairobi : Kenya /www.allvoices.com/By George Okore/ Jul 04, 2010
The United States of America (USA) will not influence voting during Kenya’s second constitutional referendum to hold on August 4, but looks forward to helping the country achieve her reform agenda.
US envoy to Kenya Michael Ranneberger while speaking on the occasion of his country’s 234th independence anniversary celebrations, said the vibrant, strong and expanding partnership between the two countries was based on mutual understanding and democratic values. Mr. Ranneberger affirmed that Kenya continues to be USA’s most significant strategic partner in East Africa.
Coming on the heels of accusations that the American government was taking sides in the on going constitutional campaigns, the Envoy said political and economic reforms are interlinked. “Fundamental change can only be achieved through compressive reforms, including putting in place a new constitution. The new constitution will greatly enhance future democratic stability and prosperity” he explainded.
Supporters of the Kenya’s proposed Draft Constitution accuse some American Churches of funding its Opponents. early this week , Special Programme Minister Dr. Naomi Shabban who among the Opponents of the Draft Constitution , accused American government of interfering with Kenya’s internal affairs by supporting the implementation of the new constitution . “It is the responsibility of Kenyans to solve their own problems in their own way, but they need and deserve support from friends. United State care deeply about the future of this great country, and is interested in its reforms and democratic progress’ he said.
The independence fete was celebrated on July 2, instead of July 4 which falls on Sunday. However, the Ambassador explained that it was on July 2 that the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. the celebrations was attended by Kenyan former President Daniel arap Moi, National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende as well as several government ministers including Peter Anyang’ Ny’ongo’ (Medical Services), Sally Kosgey (Agriculture), Beth Mugo (Public Heal and Sanitation), William ole Ntimama (National Heritage).
The occasion was also attended by visiting US under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Affairs Judith McHale, who had earlier met with youth leaders, embassy staff, Kenyan entrepreneurs, Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Mathia and the media. During her visit, she officially launch the Department of State-sponsored “Apps 4 Africa”, a regional competition that seeks to harness the power of African software developers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and leverage the power of digital technology to improve the lives of ordinary people in East Africa and worldwide.
Kenya PM Odinga out of hospital
By DAVE OPIYO/www.nation.co.ke/Sunday, July 4 2010
Prime Minister Raila Odinga was on Sunday discharged from the Nairobi Hospital, six days after he underwent a head operation.
The PM – with his wife Ida and close family members in tow – emerged from North wing of the hospital at exactly 11am with a radiant smile, waving at the crowd that had milled outside the medical facility to witness the event.
Clad in a navy blue suit, a white shirt, a green patterned tie and a black cap, the PM stood at the entrance and paused for a minute, oozing confidence before proceeding to plant a commemorative tree.
The seedlings of the tree were donated by officials from the Mau Interim Coordinating Secretariat, whose chairman Hassan Noor was present.
All this time, a group of women, clad in orange skirts and blouses and another consisting mainly of school children, clad in yellow T-shirts took turns to sing religious songs – praising the lord for taking care of the PM.
“This is the day …that the Lord has made …we will rejoice…and be glad in it,” sang the children.
As this proceeded, Mr Odinga was heard uttering the words; “I am fine…I am ok.”
He then made a short statement before boarding his official vehicle, which then snaked out of the hospital towards his Karen home, where he is expected to continue recuperating before he resumes his duties.
Said Mr Odinga; “ I just want to take the opportunity to thank the management and staff of the Nairobi Hospital – the people who have looked after me for the last six days.”
“I also would like to thank the doctors who have done all that was possible to treat me under very difficult circumstances. Prof Macharia, Dr Olunya, Dr Gikonyo, Dr Ombati and all the others who have taken care of me during this period,” he said in reference to the team of doctors that looked after him.
He went on; “I also want to thank Kenyans who have prayed for me and finally, I also want to thank my wife Ida, for standing by me in this very difficult times. I am very happy to be back. As you can see, I’m very whole. Thank you very much.”
He is expected to hold a media briefing at his Karen home later on Sunday, where he is expected to speak mostly on his admission in hospital and his state of health.
The Prime Minister was admitted to the hospital on Monday hours after he had presided over the clean up of the Nairobi Dam, where he looked ill and exhausted.
He was driven to the hospital by his driver, complaining of a headache and general fatigue. Doctors performed an operation to relieve pressure outside his brain.
The pressure, they said, may have been caused by the PM banging his head in his car three weeks ago.
One of his doctors – Mr Livingstone Oluoch-Olunya said the PM was suffering from a condition called chronic subdural haematoma that was exerting pressure on his brain leading to frequent headaches.
Medical experts explain the condition as collection of blood and blood clots between the surface of the brain and its outermost covering. The chronic phase of this condition begins several weeks after the first bleeding. In a chronic subdural collection, blood leaks from the veins slowly over time.
It is usually not life threatening if treated early. However, if it is not treated in good time, it can take a dangerous turn, including bouts of unconsciousness, loss of memory and coordination
Brazilian President to visit Kenya
Sunday, July 4 2010 /www.nation.co.ke
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva will be visiting Kenya from Monday this week.
President Lula da Silva will be here for two days at the invitation of President Kibaki, according to a statement from the Foreign Affairs ministry. This will be the first time a Latin American President will be visiting East Africa.
The visit is aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries. Other areas of mutual cooperation to be discussed include agriculture, energy, infrastructure and science and technology.
A delegation of Brazil’s entrepreneurs accompanying the Brazilian President will interact with Kenyan businessmen at a planned symposium here, exploring business opportunities available in the two countries. Brazil is rated as one of the world’s largest economies at number eight, and with a population of 190 million.
During the visit, leaders of the two countries are also scheduled to discuss matters on the East African Community, climate change, United Nations reform, peace and security issues and other global concerns.
President Lula da Silva will later depart for South Africa for the finals of the ongoing football World Cup. Brazil will be hosting the tournament in 2014
ANGOLA :
Embassy to Italy regrets death of MP Paulo Jorge
7/4/10 /www.portalangop.co.ao
Luanda – The Angolan ambassador to Italy, Manuel Pedro Pacavira, expressed consternation for the death of nationalist and MP Paulo Teixeira Jorge, on June 26 in Luanda, of disease.
In a note that reached Angop, ambassador Pedro Pacavira, on his own behalf and of those of the workers of the diplomatic mission, stresses that Paulo Jorge joined the cause of the liberation struggle from the early days of his youth, when he became a member of the now ruling MPLA party.
The note states as well that “in 1975, the most critical period the country experienced, Paulo Jorge decided to be in Luanda, together with other struggle comrades, always side-by-side with Agostinho Neto, up to the victory that led to independence on November 11, 1975.”
ANGOLA: Professor on trial in Cabinda
04 July 2010 /www.universityworldnews.com
A professor is among three prominent rights advocates facing politically motivated criminal charges by the Angolan government following an attack on 8 January in Cabinda on Togolese footballers participating in the African Cup of Nations, Human Rights Watch reported on 23 June.
Belchoir Lanso Tai, a university professor, Father Raul Tai, a Catholic priest, and Francisco Luemba, a lawyer, face a criminal court in Cabinda for unspecified “other crimes against the security of the state”. The separatist guerrilla movement Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The three intellectuals have been accused of being the ‘mentors’ of the 8 January attack, based on their participation in an allegedly ‘illegal’ meeting with FLEC officials last year. But Human Rights Watch claims to have information the meetings were concerned with opening constructive dialogue with FLEC and had the support of senior government officials.
Human Rights Watch believes the attack is being used to justify a crackdown on Cabindan civil society, particularly against human rights defenders and government critics.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Angolan government to end the use of such state security laws to target peaceful critics and to conduct a credible, impartial and transparent investigation into the January attack.
SOUTH AFRICA:
I wasn’t charged or arrested: Hilton on drug ordeal
2010-07-04 /Sify
Socialite Paris Hilton isn’t letting her drug ordeal ruin her vacation plans in South Africa, insisting she was not arrested and that she was assisting the police with the investigations.
‘Hey guys, there’s a lot of crazy rumours going around. Just want you all to know the truth,’ contactmusic.com quoted her as writing in her Twitter page.
‘Everything is completely fine. I was not charged or arrested, cause (sic) I didn’t do anything. I was assisting the police with the investigation and answering their questions. Everyone was super nice and friendly to me.
‘I love South Africa! Such an amazing place, especially during The World Cup! Hope that clears everything up. Love you guys, thanks for your concern,’ she added.
Hilton and her pals were held at a police station in the St. Croix area of Port Elizabeth Friday after cops accused the group of smoking pot. They were later released without charge.
AFRICA / AU :
AFRICA: Pan-African University close to starting
Gilbert Nganga/www.universityworldnews.com/04 July 2010
Kenya has been selected as the East African host of the planned Pan-African University, a specialised institution comprising a network of universities that is being created to help supply the continent’s high-level human capital. This ends a five-month stalemate between countries in the region that had been squabbling over who the host would be.
The choice was made at a recent Conference of Ministers of Education meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa organised by the 53-member African Union, which is driving the project.
East Africa is to establish a regional hub for basic sciences, technology and innovation as well as satellite campuses. The African Union, or AU, is releasing a report detailing where satellite colleges will be based in the region, and these campuses will provide opportunities for other countries.
Some of Africa’s four other geographical regions – North, West, Central and Southern Africa – are at a more advanced stage than East Africa in launching Pan-African University hubs and satellite campuses.
West Africa will focus on earth and life sciences, with the hub based at Lagos University in Nigeria. Southern Africa will concentrate on space sciences, based in South Africa, and a Central Africa hub in Cameroon will cover social and human sciences and governance. North Africa will host a hub for water and energy sciences, though the host has not been decided.
Sources who attended the Addis Ababa meeting said the decision was hard to make, as most East African countries had expressed interest in hosting the hub. At play were national interests, with most nations aware that being the host would raise their educational profile ahead of regional integration and promote their country as a regional economic leader.
Kenya, Sudan and Uganda were the main contenders for the hub during sometimes heated proceedings at the Addis Ababa meeting.
Earlier, representatives from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Eritrea and Seychelles said they had not been asked to express interest in hosting the institution, a hitch that stalled the decision to pick the winner by two months.
The ministers had met in April in Nairobi to try to hammer out a decision, but failed because of the disagreement. Other nations in the region are Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda and Somalia.
Kenya’s Higher Education Permanent Secretary Chrispus Kiamba confirmed to University World News that the country had been picked. Kenya has 30 universities, seven of which are public and the rest privately run. It is not clear yet which university the government will select to host the hub, which could heighten soaring competition among institutions.
The AU has said the Pan-African University was born of the need to strengthen higher education in Africa, and capitalise on the performances of strong universities. It is envisaged as a continental network of institutions training postgraduate students.
The aim is to create a specialist university network that contributes to Africa’s development and helps to reverse the continent’s under-achievement in science by training a critical mass of people with high-level skills in key areas identified as drivers of growth. It will also support research, encourage collaboration between scientists within Africa and in the diaspora, and promote greater collaboration between universities and industry.
New higher education infrastructure will not be constructed, at least not for now. Rather, existing universities will be used as satellites across the continent. The African Union, international partners and host institutions will support the university financially and most funding will be spent on bursaries for students.
Signalling the AU is getting closer to rolling out the Pan-African University, the union launched a competition to solicit designs for its official logo, to establish a visual identity. The winning design will be announced within a month.
The higher education working group of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa, ADEA, has relocated to the African Union to boost the commission’s work in higher education and will also support the fledgling Pan-African University.
But there are concerns over lack of funding which continues to dog education across Africa, raising doubts about the sustainability of the university network.
“Much as African governments appreciate the core value of tertiary education and research, the reality in terms of public investment, general allocation of resources and policy focus seems to belie this appreciation. In general, the system is under-funded all over the continent,” said the AU in a concept paper on the continental university.
Since 1979, when African intellectuals recommended that governments committed 1% of gross domestic product to science and technology, nothing much has changed. Subsequent meetings in 1981, 1987 and 2007 revealed that almost all countries were far from meeting that target because of lack of political commitment and a host of other problems.
The impending launch of the Pan-African University comes at a time when the African Union is scaling up efforts to improve quality in Africa’s universities. It is seeking to subject institutions to fresh scrutiny, with the aim of establishing the quality and relevance of degree courses being offered at universities across the continent.
Kenya’s Education Minister Professor Sam Ongeri, who is also chair of the Conference of Ministers of Education, said education was critical for Africa’s development and integration because of its role in developing high-level human resources. African countries should share knowledge and experience in order to improve the quality of and access to education continent-wide, he said after the June meeting at African Union headquarters.
Deputy chair of the African Union Commission, Erastus Mwencha, stressed that Africa’s nearly one billion people were “looking to education to be the engine for economic and social growth on the continent”.
Challenges for one East Africa Common Market
Sunday, 04 July 2010 /By James Shikwati/thecitizen.co.tz
East African member states (Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda) must be applauded for taking a bold step to implement a one market protocol as from last Thursday.
The quest for one market may however run into hurdles if some of the provisions in the common market protocol are not brought at par with national goals and members fail to harmonize governance standards.
Business people keen to reap the benefits from the 120 people million strong market will find provisions in Article 32 and Article 33 in conflict.
Article 32 of the East Africa Common Market Protocol on Harmonization of Tax Policies and Laws stipulates that: “The Partner States undertake to progressively harmonize their tax policies and laws and remove tax distortions in order to facilitate free movement of goods, services and capital to promote investment within the community.”
The next article 32 then focuses on prohibited business practices. If the budgetary estimates that were read out in early June on how individual member states plan to raise revenue through taxes are anything to go by; then the EAC team must be ready for a surge in “prohibited business practices.”
If a corporation that supplies similar goods across the East African market is hit with different taxation regimes (because of progressive law); its products will have different prices for each member state.
The state with lower taxes will have cheaper products from the same corporation while the one with higher taxes will have higher prices.
The outcome of such an arrangement will be magendo (prohibited business practice.) for products that are from one source. The differences in Excise Duty on malted beers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania leads to price variations of Ksh 32.50; Ksh 16.05 and Ksh 10.61 respectively.
The cumulative effect of varying taxation regimes result in for example, one Tusker beer in the East African Common Market costing Ksh 90 in Kenya; Ksh 63 in Uganda and Ksh 78 in Tanzania.
What will stop unethical enterprisers from taking advantage of the tax effect on prices to sneak Ugandan Tusker to the Kenyan and Tanzanian market?
Varying tax regimes in one market may also complicate the operational costs of businesses that are keen to tap into the larger market. It will be costly for industries to seek to relocate their bases because of taxation regimes.
Variation in tax policies also touches on Article 34 on prohibited subsidies. Although focused only on resources from government, prohibition of subsidies may also include favorable taxation regimes to distort competition in the market.
If one member state taxes lower, it undercuts those who tax highly! It is important therefore that member states prioritise a calendar of implementing a harmonised tax policy for the region.
On matters of governance, the signals emanating from Rwanda whose political leadership exhibits high levels of intolerance to opposition may not augur well for the common market.
Rwanda’s traumatic past calls for urgent attention to help nurture it into a culture of positive pluralism.
A stable political environment will attract both indigenous and foreign investors to the region’s common market. Kenyans must seize the moment presented by the ongoing referendum to enact a new constitutional dispensation and give leadership to the region.
Member countries must harmonize their national policies with the regional policy framework to avoid wastage, duplicity and conflict.
A slow approach to harmonization of critical policies will only breed corruption and slow economic growth.
We must strengthen productivity in the region so as not to turn East Africans into consumers of exports from outside the trade bloc.
Two kidnapped Russians, one Lithuanian freed in Africa
July 4 /(Reuters)
July 4 (Reuters) – Two Russian sailors and one Lithuanian abducted from their ships in Cameroon in May have been freed, the Seafarers’ Union of Russia (SUR) said on Sunday.
The Russian captain and chief engineer of the Greek-owned North Spirit, and the captain from Lithuanian vessel Argo — abducted on May 16 when unidentified gunmen raided their ships in an attack analysts said marked an expansion in the range of West African piracy — are on their way to neighbouring Nigeria.
“The negotiation process lasted a month, finally the Union has received good news,” the SUR said in a statement, adding the three would receive a medical check and be met by embassy staff in Nigeria.
ITAR-TASS news agency, citing a SUR spokeswoman, said the Greek ship owner Balthellas Chartering paid a ransom for their release.
The release of the three sailors comes as gunmen attacked two cargo vessels off the coast of the oil-producing Niger Delta, killing one crew and kidnapping 12 foreign workers. [ID:nLDE662046].
On Sunday, the SUR said seven of those kidnapped are Russian.
Analysts said May’s attack near the port of Douala — which serves land-locked Chad and the Central African Republic — showed pirates in the region were venturing further south and becoming more brazen.
Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have mostly been clustered off the Bakassi Peninsula on the restive Nigeria-Cameroon border where various armed groups operate.
Cameroon in April blamed piracy for part of a 13 percent slide in oil production in 2009. The country’s output averaged 73,000 barrels per day last year, down from 84,000 bpd in 2008.
UN /ONU :
Taylor war crimes trial orders Naomi Campbell to court
July 4, 2010/ by Nikhil Bhatia/findtut.com
Share Prosecutors trying former Liberian president Charles Taylor for war crimes at a U.N.-backed court asked judges on Thursday to subpoena supermodel Naomi Campbell to testify about being given uncut diamonds by Taylor.Special Court for Sierra Leone Prosecutor Brenda Hollis filed a motion saying Taylor allegedly gave Campbell diamonds at a reception in South Africa in September 1997.
Taylor denies prosecutors’ allegations that he provided arms and ammunition to brutal rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war in exchange for so-called blood diamonds.Taylor, once one of West Africa’s most powerful men, is charged with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers and terrorism in his role backing rebels in Sierra Leone’s 1991-2002 civil war.
Numbers of Somali refugees down, but situation still dire, UN agency reports
Written by solomon / www.ethjournal.com /Sunday, 04 July 2010
Although the flow of Somali refugees into neighbouring countries has weakened, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today cautioned that the Horn of Africa nation’s security and humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.
Compared to last year, the number of Somalis arriving in Kenya and Yemen – the two countries which have received the greatest number of Somali refugees – are down sharply.
In Kenya, arrivals have dropped off by a third from 44,400 in the first half of 2009 to nearly 30,000 in the same period this year. In Yemen, there were some 6,700 new arrivals in the first six months of this year, compared to 13,800 during the same period in 2009.
“The reasons for this drop are not safer or more stable circumstances,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva today.
Rather, the situation is worsening and daily violence and human rights abuses continue to uproot thousands of civilians, he added.
The agency estimates that over 200,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes this year alone, with most remaining within the country’s borders. Government forces continue to clash with Islamist rebels.
Given the insecurity and lack of access to large parts of the impoverished country, UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies face obstacles in reaching the millions of people in need of assistance.
“Those who reach safety abroad speak of a dire situation inside the country,” Mr. Edwards said.
Somalis who have arrived in Yemen by boat have told UNHCR of the existence of one dozen checkpoints – manned by different armed groups – on the road from the capital, Mogadishu, to the northern port of Bossaso, where many trying to flee then board smugglers’ boats.
Meanwhile in Kenya, refugees said that they had difficulties leaving Somalia because of fears of being forcibly recruited to fight as they fled. There is often no transport out of the country, and even when there is, many cannot afford to pay for the trip to the border.
Unlike Kenya and Yemen, Ethiopia has witnessed a spike in arrivals from Somalia, with 12,700 Somali refugees having entered in the first half of 2010, compared to 8,400 in the same period last year.
The number of Somali refugees in the region has neared 600,000, with more than half in Kenya.
“After Afghanistan and Iraq, Somalia is generating the largest number of refugees in the world,” Mr. Edwards noted, adding that there are over 1.4 million Somalis displaced within their country. (Un news)
USA :
CANADA :
Zambia to start building new power plant in 2011
Sunday, 04 Jul 2010/Reuters
Reuters reported that Zambia’s main distributor of power to mines, which produce the largest amount of copper in Africa will start building a new power generation plant next year to help meet growing demand from the metal producers.
Mr Michael Tarney Copperbelt Energy Corporation MD for corporate development said that the 40 MW Kabompo hydropower plant planned for the copper rich north western region of Zambia would cost USD 120 million.
Demand for electricity by the mines is estimated to rise to 1,000 MW within 5 years from about 800 MW following a rally in copper prices that encouraged mining companies to invest in new projects in the country.
Mr Tarney said that CEC was verifying the financial model of the project and would come up with a detailed design of the plant before the end of 2010.
He said that we will be advertising internationally asking for expressions of interest to do a detailed bid after the design is complete and we expect Chinese, European and South African companies to be interested in the project. We expect that the power generation project should be commissioned by 2015.
Mr Tarney said that the region had the Lumwana and Kansanshi mines located in north western Zambia as well as other mines.
Some of international mining companies operating in Zambia include Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, London listed Vedanta Resources Plc, Equinox Minerals, Metorex of South Africa and Glencore International AG of Switzerland.
(Sourced from Reuters)
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
Turkish businessmen expect EU, North Africa and Gulf region to lift visas
04 July 2010, Sunday/THE ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY ANKARA /www.todayszaman.com
Turkish businessmen are expecting EU-members states and countries in North Africa and the Gulf region to put an end to visa procedures for Turkish citizens.
Thanks to intense diplomatic efforts and Turkey’s zero-problem policy with its neighbors in the recent term, the number of countries which do not require visas from Turkish citizens has risen up to 61, officials told the Anatolia news agency on Sunday.
Mehmet Büyükekşi, the head of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), said that visa exemptions had positive reflections in Turkey’s foreign trade.
Noting that visa exemption was of great importance for businessmen travelling frequently to hold bilateral talks and to visit fairs, Büyükekşi said, “a significant number of producers who had not previously thought about carrying out exports activities now started to deal with exports as travelling is much easier”.
Pointing to EU’s visa procedures against Turkish citizens, Büyükekşi said, “our products move freely in Europe, but our businessmen cannot”.
Büyükekşi said that talks were being held on such issue currently, adding the problem should be solved as soon as possible.
“At least our businessmen should have the right to free movement in Europe,” he said.
In an interview with AA, chairperson Şükrü Koçoğlu of Turkish Employers’ Association of Construction Industries (INTES) also said that lifting of visas would provide Turkish businessmen with important advantages.
Kocoglu said his association wanted the visa procedures with the EU, Gulf countries and North Africa to be terminated.
Turkey currently has visa exemption agreements with a total of 61 countries and special administrative regions.
These are Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Albania, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Morocco, Fiji, Philippines, Guatemala, South Africa, Georgia, Haiti, Croatia, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Colombia, South Korea, Kosovo, Qatar, Costa Rica, Libya, Lebanon, Macau, Macedonia, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Russia, St. Vincent-Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Syria, Swaziland, Chile, Thailand, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uruguay, Jordan and Venezuela.
CHINA :
What can China bring to Africa?
By Wang Wei /China.org.cn/ July 4, 2010
China and Africa are seeing increasingly closer ties over the years. By 2008, the loans China provided to Africa totaled 46 billion yuan (US$6.75 billion). By the end of September 2009, the financial aid China provided to Africa totaled 76 billion yuan (US$11.15 billion).
Unlike Western countries, which prefer “soft power-enhancing” projects, China prefers to invest in projects that can bring immediate benefits to local people. Of some 900 projects China built in Africa, more than half are aimed at improving local people’s livelihoods. By September 2006, the Export-Import Bank of China had invested in 259 projects in 36 African countries, of which 79 percent were related to infrastructure construction, such as the Benguela railway in Angola, the Merowe Dam in Sudan and the thermal power plants in Nigeria.
Since 2000, thanks to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, cooperation between China and Africa has extended to a wider range of areas, such as technological development and independent innovative capacity building.
China has become Africa’s second-largest trading partner. From 2000 to 2009, the volume of bilateral trades surged from US$10.6 billion to US$91.1 billion, a 27-percent annual increase. The proportion of Sino-African trade in China’s total foreign trade has risen from 2 percent to 4 percent, and the proportion of Sino-African trade in Africa’s total foreign trade has increased from 4 percent to 10 percent.
In 2009, despite the price decline of bulk commodities in the international market, the volume of zero-tariff goods China imported from Africa jumped 80.3 percent to US$2.13 billion. As demand from Europe and the U.S. shrank amid the global financial crisis, this rise greatly lessened the pressure on Africa. China’s export volume of daily necessities registered a positive increase. The export of shoes reached US$1.43 billion, up 11.4 percent from 2008.
With the development of trade and economic cooperation zones, African countries have seen more investments from Chinese companies. In past years, China’s direct investment in Africa was larger than in anywhere else in the world. In 2009, China’s direct investments in non-financial areas other in Africa rose 36.8 percent from 2008, reaching US$1.36 billion.
African countries are also investing more in China. By now, African countries have invested nearly US$10 billion in some 4,000 projects in China. In 2009, South Africa alone invested more than US$40 million in China, up 60 percent from 2008.
Recently, China greatly enhanced its aid to Africa. In addition to financial supports, it began to cancel African debts and dispatch young volunteers to the continent. Agriculture, finance, tourism, aviation and environment protection have become new contributors to Sino-African economic cooperation. The close relations between China and African countries have exerted a positive effect on African economic development.
First, infrastructure construction in transportation, hydropower and telecommunications has enhanced African economic development. In the past, China had been working hard to improve local living and production conditions by funding, contracting and participating in infrastructure construction. Recently, to satisfy African countries’ need in developing its information industry, economy and people’s livelihood, China shifted its investment focus to power and water supply and information network construction.
Second, Sino-African cooperation has increase Africa’s capacity to develop modern industries. The Egypt Mingzhou Trades Co., Ltd. is the first suitcase and handbag producer in Egypt. About 20 percent of its products are sold in the local market and the rest are exported to Morocco, Algeria and other parts of the world. The Yue Mei (Nigeria) Textile Industry Park, the first private Chinese company established overseas, will be home to 15 to 17 textile enterprises, creating more than 10,000 jobs for Nigerians.
Third, the potentials of local human resources have been greatly tapped. Recently, the Chinese government set up a human resource development fund for African countries. It will offer scholarships to African students, help African countries set up laboratories, fund school construction and dispatch teachers and young volunteers. Chinese companies in Africa also pay great attention to employee training. In Huawei’s two R&D centers and six training centers in Africa, more than 60 percent of employees are locals. Some 12,000 trainees have become the backbone of the African telecommunications industry after taking courses in these centers.
With the implementation of new measures pledged in the Fourth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation by China, along with special loans for medium and small African enterprises, the China-Africa Development Fund and the China-Africa Joint Research and Exchange Program, the cooperation between China and Africa will bring even more benefits to Africans.
INDIA :
India offers equity principle meet in run up to Cancun
PTI /www.thehindu.com/juillet 4, 2010
In the run up to the Cancun summit on climate change in December, India has offered to hold an international conference to deliberate the issue of principle of cumulative per capita emissions being embedded in the draft of the long-term deal.
“India would be delighted to host a meeting before Cancun (in Mexico) to enable this discussion (to arrive at an operational set of formulae on equity based primarily on cumulative per capita emissions),” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said at the recently concluded seventh meeting of Major Economic Forum in Rome.
“Hopefully we can make tangible progress on this by Cancun and in Cancun. Let us work together collectively to ensure that Cancun becomes an equity-based conference and not one that gives a burial to it,” he said.
To firm up their stand on the issue, the BASIC Group comprising of India, Africa, China and Brazil are meeting in Rio de Janeiro in late-July where they will attend a workshop to deliberate equity related matters.
“These are important discussions and we must now bring these concrete proposals from the margins into the core of our negotiations. If only lip service continues to get paid to equity, and if we pay obeisance to it only in words and think we have addressed the issue, I am afraid that no international agreement will be possible,” Mr. Ramesh noted.
His comments came in the backdrop of the developed nations attempt to move for a global cap on emission without spelling out how the burden to maintain a certain temperature level would be shared.
Even as India has announced that poverty alleviation and economic development remain as its highest priorities, it has taken considerable steps to cut its domestic emission in merely six months after Copenhagen climate meet in Denmark December last year.
These include setting up of an expert group on a low carbon strategy for inclusive growth, a ‘Carbon Tax’ on coal to fund clean energy, Approval of National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Solar Mission, Green Mission, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH) and release of India’s national GHG inventory 2007.
From Indian Premier League to India Penal Code for Lalit Modi
Vijay Tagore / DNA/Sunday, July 4, 2010
Mumbai: He may be soaking in the football World Cup in South Africa right now.
But the BCCI seems determined to boot suspended IPL chairman, Lalit Modi, out of the BCCI once and for all.
Armed with a go-ahead at the Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday, top officials of the BCCI have decided to take the ultimate step in their battle against Modi by initiating civil and criminal proceedings against him.
This decision was taken after formal approval from the BCCI members at the SGM called specifically to discuss the issue.
“The general body has authorised me to take appropriate action — civil or criminal. I will take the action after going through the legality of the cases,” BCCI president Shashank Manohar said after the SGM.
The members, the Board president revealed, ratified the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan’s decision to refer Modi’s replies to the disciplinary committee.
Sources have revealed that cases against Modi pertain to financial irregularities and bid-rigging in the IPL, and will be filed on IPC sections 406, 407, 409 which deal with criminal breach of trust, and IPC 420 and 421, dealing with cases of cheating.
There could also be cases under IPC 506 for criminal intimidation and IPC 120b for conspiracy.
The SGM has also reconstituted the three-member disciplinary committee by including Jyotiraditya Scindia, the president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, in place of Manohar.
Manohar had earlier recused himself from the committee after Modi accused him of being biased against him. The other members of the committee are Arun Jaitley and Chiaryu Amin.
The committee has time till October 26 to submit its report on the case.
At the SGM, there were no tears shed for Modi. Member after member argued vociferously against him, asking the Board not to ‘spare him’. “He seems to have committed a lot of fraud,” said a member, saying the misappropriation of funds runs into hundred of crores.
One of the most vocal members against Modi was Rajasthan Cricket Association president CP Joshi. When asked to raise their hands to show their support, all the 30 members, including Jagmohan Dalmiya, backed the Board’s decision.
Modi’s known supporter, IS Bindra, was absent. The Mumbai Cricket Association, of which Sharad Pawar is the president, was represented by Dilip Vengsarkar.
Meanwhile, Manohar revealed that Modi had given the transport contract to a travel agency run by Modi’s relatives. He also revealed that there were no papers on the company that handled the ticketing licenses for the semifinals and final of IPL 3.
Modi, currently in South Africa, could not be reached for comment but his counsel termed the business of the SGM as a legal absurdity. “On the one hand, the SGM decided to ratify the referring of charges against Modi (by secretary N Srinivasan) to the (reconstituted) disciplinary committee for further investigation.
On the other hand, the BCCI decides also to file criminal charges on the same ground. That means the BCCI has already formed an opinion about the commitment of offences by Modi,” a Modi counsel said.
Bharti to invest $100 million in Nigeria
Submitted by Pankaj Lakhotia/www.stockwatch.in/Sun, 07/04/2010
One of India’s top mobile service company that has recently entered into the African market with the acquisition in Zain, – Bharti Airtel, has aid that it is going to invest in Nigeria. The amount, it said, will be closer to $100 million.
Bharti is investing since it wants to improve not only its reach but also its quality of network in the nation by 2012.
Bharti, through its Zain takeover, has managed to take over mobile operations in 15 African countries and is now the No.5 in world in terms of number of subscribers.
Talking to the media, Manoj Kohli, chief executive of the group’s international business said that the company is going to start its operations in Nigeria by October this year and latest by 2012, it will invest close to $100 million.
He further added that Bharti will also focus on covering the rural areas of the West African nation.
The main aim, said Manoj, is to make telecommunications more accessible and give value both in terms of price and quality of service provided.
Investment in other nations like Zambia is also on the cards.
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 04 juillet 2010… AGNEWS /OMAR, BXL,04/07/2010
