{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL, AGNEWS, le 09 juillet 2010 — Businesses across the country were yesterday counting their losses after a fault knocked out an undersea cable that brings high-speed internet to the country and most of East Africa.
BURUNDI :
RWANDA
General wanted in three countries
LOYISO LANGENI/www.businessday.co.za/ 2010/07/09
FRANCE, Rwanda and Spain had lodged extradition applications with SA for Rwandan Lt-Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa, justice and constitutional development spokesman Tlali Tlali yesterday confirmed.
SA had previously refused to confirm the identities of the countries that applied for an extradition order for the Rwandan general. SA does not have an extradition treaty with the Rwandan government.
“The matter is currently under consideration and there is no decision as yet,” Mr Tlali Tlali said.
It is unclear on what grounds the Rwandan government wants the general to be extradited.
Lt-Gen Nyamwasa formed part of the inner circle of Rwandan president Paul Kagame before the fallout that led him to flee that country earlier this year.
SA has since granted the general asylum — to the fury of human rights groups.
Calls to the Rwandan embassy went unanswered yesterday.
It is generally understood that Spain and France want to try the general for his alleged role as one of the key perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The French and Spanish embassies yesterday refused to confirm or deny the motivation for the extradition requests.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) said Lt-Gen Nyamwasa had been discharged from hospital after being shot by alleged foreign intelligence operatives.
SAPS spokesman Brig Govindsamy Mariemuthoo refused to divulge details of his whereabouts. He said the police were still investigating the circumstances that led to the assassination attempt .
“The suspects will be appearing in court in two weeks’ time (on July 27),” he said.
Earlier this week, SA’s envoy to Rwanda, Dumisani Gwadiso, was summoned by the Rwandan foreign ministry to convey a message to the South African government, but i nternational relations and c o-operation director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba yesterday refused to give details .
Dr Ntsaluba said the government was preparing a response to the concerns raised by Rwanda .
He reiterated SA’s position that strong action would be taken against foreign intelligence operatives who were conducting surveillance without the government’s permission.
Top Rwanda genocide suspect Uwinkindi pleads not guilty
Friday, 9 July 2010/news.bbc.co.uk
A Rwandan priest captured last week and accused of helping to orchestrate the 1994 genocide has pleaded not guilty at a UN-backed tribunal.
Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi was arrested after entering western Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He is accused of ordering the killing of ethnic Tutsis after they sought refuge in his church.
About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu militias in 100 days in the Rwandan genocide.
Mr Uwinkindi was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in Tanzania, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
His indictment said he was a pastor at a Pentecostal Church near Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, in 1994.
The prosec
ution alleges that in investigations after the genocide, some 2,000 corpses were found near the church.
Until his arrest by Ugandan police, Mr Uwinkindi was one of the ICTR’s 11 most-wanted suspects.
The US had offered a $5m (£3.3m) reward for information leading to his arrest.
UGANDA
Business bleeds as Internet cable fails
By Martin Luther Oketch/www.monitor.co.ug/Friday, July 9 2010 at 00:00
Businesses across the country were yesterday counting their losses after a fault knocked out an undersea cable that brings high-speed internet to the country and most of East Africa.
Banks, cybercafés, telecom companies and other offices were particularly hit by the fault on the Seacom cable which connects Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique to Europe and Asia.
Traffic affected
The owners of Seacom said the fault was in a repeater station on the cable, 4.7km beneath the sea surface. They said they had initiated emergency repairs off the Kenyan coast which are expected to take up to eight days but could take up to two weeks.
“This unexpected failure affects traffic towards both India and Europe. Traffic within Africa isn’t affected,” a statement from Seacom said. Completed in July 2009, the Seacom cable helped bring broadband internet to the region and dramatically reduced connectivity costs.
However, a survey carried out by Daily Monitor yesterday revealed that Internet Service Providers and bandwidth-hungry users had fallen back on satellite connections which are slower and more expensive.
Jackie Namara, the marketing manager at Stanbic Bank Uganda, said the slower internet speeds meant they were spending as many as 30 minutes on tasks that required five minutes with broadband connections. “It is really very frustrating and very annoying because you cannot download or upload a file,” she said.
“The slowdown has also slowed down services at the Automated Teller Machines in bank branches,” Ms Namara added. “It takes a person one to three minutes to access money using the ATM and the concern is that since we resorted to using satellite which is very expensive to run it might lead to increase in transaction costs.”
Mark Tayebwa, who manages a cybercafé on Dewinton Road in Kampala, told Daily Monitor yesterday that the slow speeds had driven away many customers and cost him money.
“Uploading and downloading files is not possible for many people because the speed of the Internet is very slow,” he said. “Usually the number of people coming for Internet services in this café is in the range 50 to 60 people, but since morning I have received only 10 people who did not even last for long after discovering that the speed is slow.”
At Web City Café, one of the largest Internet cafés in the city, a notice to clients warned of slow speeds due to the damage to the Seacom cable.
Emmy Olaki, a spokesman at Uganda Telecom, said the company had switched back to the slower and more expensive satellite connectivity to keep its customers connected.
This is the second major outage the Seacom cable, which is 15,000km long, has experienced since it went live.
A cable cut in the Mediterranean in 2008 temporarily disrupted up to 70 per cent of internet traffic to Egypt and 60 per cent to India, the BBC reported yesterday.
TANZANIA:
Call to create appropriate policies to solve youth problems
Friday, 09 July 2010/By Beldina Nyakeke/thecitizen.co.tz
Political parties which are going to participate in the forth coming October general election should create appropriate youth policies.
Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, the Tanzania Youth Vision Association (TYVA) general secretary Mr Deogratius Siale said, this would enable the coming government appropriately address challenges facing youths in the country.
Mr Siale said that currently, many politicians have been listing challenges facing youths but there was little done to address them.
“Listing challenges facing youths will not help solve the problems,” he insisted.
He said that since there is youth policy launched in 2008, it was right time now that it is implemented.
He said that implementation of the youth plan set by each political party was the best way to show if the designed youth policy meets their requirements.
“It is unfortunate that since the policy was launched there has been no initiative set by the government or other institutions to put it in practice,” he said.
He said that youth employment was a big challenge, adding statistics show that 60 per cent of unemployed people in the country were youths.
Mr Siale said that there should be strategies to increase employment opportunities especially to youths as the shortage was threatening peace and national security.
Mr Siale also said that the establishment of a national youth council was a way of addressing various challenges facing the group.
Internet crash sees govt move on gateways
Friday, 09 July 2010 /By Frank Kimboy/thecitizen.co.tz
The government yesterday expressed its concerns over the country’s continued dependence on one Internet gateway noting that the collapse of such a source posed a serious challenge on national security.
This was said by the minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Peter Msola, following two days of Internet blockade that Tanzania experienced earlier in the week after the collapse of a Seacom cable near Mombasa, Kenya.
Speaking to The Citizen through the phone from Dodoma where he is attending Bunge sessions, Prof Msola said the government has already started talks with other gateways in a bid to get Tanzania connected to alternative cables.
He said that apart from complementing one another, multiple gateways would serve as back-up in case one of them collapsed.
He named the operators of submarine cables that the government has contacted for talks as Uhuru Net and Tills, both from Kenya. Currently the country is connected to two submarine cables namely Seacom and Eassy. The latter is yet to begin its operations.
“We are very concerned with the abrupt Internet disruptions that have largely been caused by relying solely on Seacom… As a result we are seeking partnerships with other companies that operate submarine cables,” Prof Msola told The Citizen.
Early in the week, Tanzania suffered its second major Internet connection breakdown in three months after a submarine fibre-optic cable experienced a serious technical problem off the coast of Mombasa.
The breakdown that occurred on Monday disrupted communication in the country, forcing big businesses to seek alternatives that have proven very expensive. The problem also affected mobile phone money transfer services in the country.
The connection was restored on Wednesday after Seacom connected its clients to an alternative gateway.
However, the minister could not establish in monetary terms the loss caused by the breakdown, only describing it as a ‘big loss to the nation’.
He also urged Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to make sure they are connected to more than one gateway, to stem losses in the event of a collapse of one of them.
The Monday Internet breakdown was caused by a cable outage near the coast of Mombasa that caused a ‘Repeater’ to fail to improve Internet signals.
Opposition calls for repeal of media law
Friday, 09 July 2010 /By Alvar Mwakyusa, Dodoma/thecitizen.co.tz
The Opposition camp in Parliament has called for the immediate nullification of the Newspaper Act of 1976 which gives the minister of Information, Culture and Sports excessive control over media operations in the country.
The Information, Culture and Sports shadow minister, Ms Mwanawetu Zarafi (Special Seats-CUF), was concerned that the law gives excessive power to the minister to determine what is right or wrong for the media.
“These are among 40 laws which Judge Nyalali’s commission had recommended for scrapping… It is now 17 years since the recommendations were made and the government has neither scrapped them nor shown intention to do so,” said the legislator, while presenting the Opposition’s views on the ministry’s budget estimates for the 2010/11 financial year.
The Opposition legislator noted that it had become a common tendency by the government to use the law to clamp down on private media houses in the country, even when an editor and the media house he or she represents proved they had proof of published reports that caused such a backlash from the state.
She also demanded that the minister explains the role of the Tanzania Information Services Department (Maelezo), which she claimed was being used to threaten media houses and editors instead of grooming them.
“The government’s decision to establish information units in all ministries has rendered Maelezo idle… It has thus turned into a place where employees just show up to read newspapers,” claimed the MP.
She likened the present set up of Maelezo to that of the defunct Tanzania News Agency, known then in Kiswahili as Shirika la Habari Tanzania (Shihata).
“The Opposition wants to know why the government shouldn’t close the department (Maelezo) which has proved to be a burden to the government,” said the legislator.
Presenting the ministry’s budget earlier, minister George Mkuchika noted that for the ministry to implement its activities effectively for the next one year, it needed a budget of Sh18.7 billion. From the amount, Sh14.3 billion would be allocated to recurrent expenditure, while Sh4.5 billion would be chanelled towards development projects.
The minister hinted that during the forthcoming financial year, the government would pass a law that would govern media activities in the country. He noted that the law would seek to get rid of outdated legislation that has caused complaints among stakeholders.
According to Mkuchika, the law would put in place an organ, called the Media Supervisory Board, that would be in charge of overseeing academic qualifications and ethics among media practitioners.
CONGO RDC :
DR Congo receives US$82 million US donation to fight hunger
Pana/ 09/07/2010
Kinshasa, DR Congo – The United States of America has granted US$82 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to tackle hunger, malnutrition and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a statement from the US Agency for International Aid (USAID) said on Thursday.
The donation including food would be for over 3.5 million people across the country, particularly the 145,000 persons living in the regions of High-Uele and Low-Uele where violence carried out by Ugandan rebels, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA),have displaced several populations.
“The US contribution will help save lives of displaced populations whose food security is compromised by the conflict in DRC, within the framework of the operation carried out by the director of USAID,” Stephen Haykin, said.
The WFP representative to DRC, Abdou Dieng, thanked the USAID director saying “the USAID’s contribution remains one of the most important donations this organization has received over the past three years”.
The armed conflicts prevailing in DRC since 1998 have resulted in disastrous humanitarian situations among which a food crisis that has hit thousands people.
The country’s national experts recorded a malnutrition rate which is very high within children under-five and women in several provinces such as Equateur,Western and Eastern Kassaï, Katanga and Maniema.
Kinshasa –
ICC orders stay of proceedings in Lubanga trial
09 Jul 2010 /www.haguejusticeportal.net
The ICC has ordered a stay of proceedings in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo due to abuse of process.
On 8 July 2010, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered to stay the proceedings in the case The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. The Trial Chamber considered that the fair trial of the accused is no longer possible due to non-implementation of the Chamber’s orders by the Prosecution. The judges had ordered the Office of the Prosecutor to confidentially disclose to the Defence the names and other necessary identifying information, of intermediary 143.
In its ruling, the Chamber held that “in order for the Chamber to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial, it is necessary that its orders, decisions and rulings are respected, unless and until they are overturned on appeal, or suspended by order of the Court”.
Intermediaries
The Chamber had ordered the Prosecution to disclose to the defence the names of ‘intermediary 143’ in order that the defence could conduct an investigation. ‘Intermediary 143’ worked as an agent of prosecution investigators in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in identifying individuals who testified against Lubanga. The Defence had argued that some intermediaries had bribed and coached witnesses appearing at trial. The name of intermediary 143 was to be disclosed once protective measures had been in place to protect the intermediary.
The Prosecutor did not comply with the order and filed an urgent request to vary the time limit or to stay proceedings pending consultations with the Victims and Witnesses Unit (VMU). It stated that although the Prosecution has a duty to the Court to disclose the information, it had a statutory duty of protection, meaning it could not take steps that would risk the safety and well-being of a person. In its submission, the Prosecutor stated that:
“The Prosecutor accordingly has made a determination that the Prosecution would rather face adverse consequences in its litigation than expose a person to risk on account of prior interaction with this Office. This is not a challenge to the authority of the Chamber, it is instead a reflection of the Prosecution’s own legal duty under the Statute.”
In its decision on the Prosecutor’s urgent request, the Chamber found that the Prosecution no longer felt bound by the Chamber’s orders. It wrote that the prosecutor appears to argue that it may choose whether to comply with the Chamber’s orders, depending on its own interpretation of the Rome Statute. The Chamber wrote:
“The Prosecutor has chosen to prosecute this accused. In the Chamber’s judgment, he cannot be allowed to continue with this prosecution if he seeks to reserve to himself the right to avoid the Court’s orders whenever he decides that they are inconsistent with his interpretation of his other obligations. In order for the Chamber to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial, it is necessary that its orders, decisions and rulings are respected, unless and until they are overturned on appeal, or suspended by order of the Court.”
The Chamber therefore held that under these circumstances, a fair trial is not possible, and ordered a stay of proceedings. The Office of the Prosecutor has indicated that it will appeal the decision. An appeals hearing take place during the stay.
The Court will hear submissions on the continued detention of Lubanga on 15 July..
Thomas Lubanga
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was the founder and president of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC) and the founder and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC). He is charged with war crimes by the ICC on the basis of individual criminal responsibility with enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 and using those children to participate actively in hostilities. These crimes were allegedly committed in the Ituri region in the north-east of the DRC.
KENYA :
Bharti to invest $150 mln in Kenya: executive
Fri Jul 9, 2010 /Reuters
NAIROBI (Reuters) – India’s Bharti Airtel will invest $150 million in Kenya to help boost network and capacity distributions after it took over mobile operations of Kuwait’s Zain in 15 African nations, a senior executive said on Friday.
“Kenya offers a great opportunity to grow. We will start with a rural focus,” Manoj Kohli told reporters in Nairobi. He did not specify any timeframe for the investment.
Kenya to Reopen 25-Year Bond, Aims to Raise 15 Billion Shillings
July 09, 2010/By Sarah McGregor/Bloomberg
July 9 (Bloomberg) — Kenya plans to reopen its 25-year bond this month and aims to raise as much as 15 billion shillings ($184 million), said Jackson Kitili, the Central Bank of Kenya’s head of monetary operations and debt management.
The East African nation may issue 31.6 billion shillings of infrastructure bonds in August, the only infrastructure bond sale planned in the fiscal year ending June 2011, Kitili said by phone from Nairobi, the capital.
The interest rate and maturity date of the infrastructure bond hasn’t been decided, he said.
MWEB restores full international bandwidth capacity
Staff Writer /MyBroadband / 09 July, 2010
After days of negotiations MWEB has restored its full international bandwidth capacity after SEACOM problems
The SEACOM submarine cable failure which started on Monday morning continues to influence international Internet access in South Africa.
SEACOM said in a press statement yesterday that the faulty section of the cable is at one of the deepest points along its route, some 4700m below sea level. This may require robotics to be deployed to locate and retrieve the cable so that repairs may be undertaken onboard the specialised repair ship, before replacing the cable back on the ocean floor.
SEACOM added that its technical team has identified the exact location of the fault and that the repair process has been fully mobilised. “The specialised repair ship is being deployed but information on its whereabouts and the exact timeline of the repairs cannot be made available as the repair process is managed by the contractors. This is common practice in the industry.”
Furthermore, SEACOM said that it has successfully sourced and activated restoration capacity on other cable networks servicing eastern and southern Africa and will continue to work closely with all parties to ensure that restoration capacity is made available to additional clients requiring it.
MWEB at full capacity again
One of the worst hit ISPs in the country is MWEB which has been using significant capacity on the SEACOM system to serve its growing uncapped ADSL subscriber base.
Yesterday afternoon MWEB announced that it has been in discussions to secure additional capacity, and that their negotiations have resulted in access to ‘an alternative international cable’. “While this does not meet our full demand, it is sufficient to cater for normal browsing to international sites including G-Mail, Google and Yahoo. Peer-2-Peer traffic however remains heavily shaped for now,” MWEB said.
Good news to MWEB subscribers is that their international bandwidth capacity should be fully restored. In an official statement this morning the company said that “as of the very early hours on Friday morning we have restored all of our international bandwidth and we are running on full capacity once again.”
MWEB added that indications from SEACOM are that their cable will only be restored later next week. “In the interim, we now have full capacity split over two separate routes. Once again, thank you for your patience and support during this time,” MWEB concluded.
ANGOLA :
Angola FLEC leaders call off war in Cabinda
Fri Jul 9, 2010 /Reuters
LUANDA (Reuters) – Exiled leaders of the Angolan separatist group FLEC announced an end to their armed struggle for control of the African country’s oil-producing enclave of Cabinda, Portugal’s Lusa news agency reported on Friday.
The leader of the small and divided Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, Henrique N’zita Tiago, said his group’s fight was no longer viable and offered to start talks with the Angolan government in Portugal’s capital Lisbon.
FLEC, which has been fighting for Cabinda’s independence from Angola for over 30 years, grabbed world headlines in January for staging a deadly attack on the Togo national soccer team during the African Nations Cup in Angola.
“No, we don’t want war in Cabinda. The Portuguese government should advise the Angolan government or its leaders to start a dialogue. I would like those talks to begin in Lisbon,” said N’zita Tiago.
The leader of splinter group FLEC Renovada, Alexandre Builo Tati, echoed the 82-year-old N’zita Tiago’s comments in a separate interview with Lusa on Friday. He said the only way forward was to begin talks with the Angolan government.
The Angolan government branded FLEC as a terrorist organisation after it claimed responsibility for the January 8 ambush of a bus carrying the Togo team to Angola, killing two members of the soccer team’s delegation.
Angolan authorities also issued an arrest warrant for FLEC’s leaders, many of whom are thought to be exiled in Paris. Several prominent figures in Cabindan society, including a university professor, a human rights activist and a priest, have been arrested.
Angola, former Portuguese colony, rivals Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer and oil giants Chevron Corp and Total SA, among others, are involved in offshore oil exploration activities in Cabinda.
Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a strip of land belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
SOUTH AFRICA:
Zimbabweans flock back amid xenophobia rumours
KELVIN JAKACHIRA /www.newsday.co.zw/ Jul 09 2010
Zimbabweans who fled the country to escape political and economic turmoil are reportedly flocking back home from South Africa amid rising fears they could be xenophobic attacks after the Fifa World Cup ends on Sunday.
There were reports this week that Zimbabweans scattered all of over South Africa were boarding any available transport to reach Beitbridge Border Post to escape possible attacks, congesting the exit point in the process.
Fears of violence have heightened with reports that a Zimbabwean man was on Tuesday thrown off a moving train by five South African men in Cape Town. The man, whose identity was given as Reason Wandi, was lucky to survive the attack. Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa Simon Khaya Moyo said he was hopeful there would not be xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Close to 60 African immigrants were killed two years ago when mobs went on a rampage, attacking foreigners whom they accused of taking jobs they should have had.
Assurances by the South African Police Minister Nathi Mtetwa that they would not tolerate any form of violence yesterday appeared to have done little to calm the situation. A refugees’ rights group yesterday told NewsDay from South Africa that a much larger number of Zimbabweans were crossing back into Zimbabwe than at any other time of the year. People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (Passop), a South African refugee rights group, yesterday said a very large number of Zimbabweans, leaving South Africa.
Braam Hanekom, coordinator of Passop said although there did not appear to be an organised campaign to attack foreigners, a strong rumour had engulfed the country. Hanekom attributed the movement of Zimbabweans to “rumours started by people with their own agendas”.
He said the army had been deployed in the townships to assist the police in the event of such attacks “so the chances of people getting injured are very minimal”. Hanekon said his organisation did not have exact figures of Zimbabweans leaving South Africa but “a very large number of Zimbabweans are leaving now”.
A Zimbabwean staying in Durban, Slyia Maenda, said: “The xenophobic threats are getting serious especially for those staying in the shacks and high density areas. But as for those in the suburbs, the threats are not serious.”
Evlyn Makunike, another Zimbabwean based in Johannesburg said the situation was very scary, especially for those staying in the townships.
Mining Company Stocks Fall Following Deaths
July 9, 2010/ by bernews
Bermuda-registered Aquarius Platinum has seen its shares fall following an accident in South Africa which killed five people, and left one critically injured.
The Perth-based mining company reported multiple fatalities in South Africa due to a rock fall on Tuesday July 6th. National Union of Mineworkers area chairman Lazarus Ditshwene said the union’s members had downed tools at the mine until the bodies of their colleagues had been retrieved.
Mr Ditshwene said the men were trapped underground when the 200m-long rock which was the roof of the tunnel they were in fell on top of them. A rescue team entered the mine an hour after the accident. By Wednesday July 7th evening, the bodies of all five of the employees who died in the accident were retrieved.
Aquarius shares on the Australian stock exchange, its primary listing, were down 38 cents, or 6.86%, at $5.16 at the market close. Its shares on the London Stock Exchange also closed more than 6% weaker overnight. Aquarius’ Johannesburg-listed scrip has fallen 4% in the past week.
Bloomberg reported that Aquarius Platinum may lose 1,500 ounces to 2,000 ounces of output of platinum group metals. Bloomberg continued on to say that the drop in production, about 0.3 percent of its estimated attributable output in fiscal 2011, is likely if a government suspension at the company’s number-four shaft remains in place for two weeks.
Stuart Murray, CEO of Aquarius, said:
This tragic accident is the worst such incident in AQPSA’s history, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the men who died. Prior to this incident, Marikana operations had completed over 800,000 fatality-free shifts, which is the equivalent of 18 months without a fatal accident. This is among the best safety records in the industry, and the safety of our personnel remains of paramount importance to us. Aquarius and AQPSA will do everything within their power to analyze the cause of this accident and ensure that all efforts are expended to prevent such accidents in the future, and that best in class safety standards continue to be met at all of its operations
AFRICA / AU :
Senegal riots over electricity cuts
Friday 9 July 2010 /Kemo Cham, AfricaNewsreporter in Dakar, Senegal
Riot broke out in the city of Mbour, about 80km from the Senegalese capital Dakar when protesters took to the streets denouncing frequent power cuts. The protesters settled for the local branch of the national water and electricity company, Senelec, where they destroyed materials belonging to the company in demonstration of their anger.
Outnumbered by the rioters, the few police present at the scene failed to prevent the damages.
Power cuts have become a chronic problem in Senegal, with the authorities hardly able to give any plausible explanation.
However, the local media Thursday reported that officials of Senelec blamed “bad weather” for the current spate of outages.
Prior to the commencement of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Senelec raised hopes among electricity consumers in Senegal with the announcement of a CFA 21 billion investment in the energy sector as a means of ensuring convenience throughout the period of the tournament. But it never worked.
A senior workers union member, Lamine Diarra, told Music superstar Youssou Ndour’s RFM radio that the blackouts were in fact related to bad quality of fuel used in the machines. He accused the authorities of spending money on exceptional poor quality of fuel that is dangerous for the engines of the machines.
Meanwhile, the so-called Collective of Imams in Dakar has issued a warning, according to Sen24heures.com, threatening boycott of payment of electricity bills if the situation continued.
UN, AU to joint efforts for lasting peace in post war countries
Friday, 09 July 2010/www.waltainfo.com
Addis Ababa, July 9 (WIC) –The United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) have agreed to join their efforts towards ensuring lasting peace in post conflict countries particularly in Africa, the UN News Center disclosed.
The representatives of the UN and the AU discussed ways of boosting cooperation between the two bodies to support the efforts of post-conflict countries in bringing lasting peace and stability in a meeting held in New York on 8th July 2010.
In that first consultative meeting of the members of the UN Peace building Commission (PBC) and the AU Peace and Security Council, the two bodies agreed to deepen the cooperation between them towards realizing a comprehensive vision for peace and prosperity in Africa.
Ambassador Dalo Gbouagbre of Côte d’Ivoire, Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council, who also co-chaired the session, said that the discussion could lay a foundation to further develop the channels of communication between the two bodies.
According to the UN News Center, the meeting has also encouraged the exchange of views on how members of the two organizations could optimize their respective comparative advantage in support of peace building efforts in Africa.
It is also learnt that the PBC has Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and the Central African Republic (CAR) in its agenda currently.
Representatives of the two bodies and other participants emphasized the need for joint action on mobilizing resources for peace building activities in Africa and affirming the importance of national ownership of the peace building process in post-conflict countries as well as the partnership in support of the international community.
The Peace building Commission was established in 2005 to help struggling States avoid slipping back into war and chaos.
Ethiopia to lead Africa in 2011 GDP growth – AFDB
07/09/2010 /jimmatimes.com
Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to grow by 10.9 percent in 2010-2011, putting the horn Africa’s nation in the lead across continent, the African Development Bank (AFDB) said.
The Bank in its 2011 report forecast indicated that, Ethiopia will be in a leading development position by 10.9 percent, followed by Angola and Uganda with expected 7.9 and 7.9 percent growth respectively.
The report said Ethiopia is expected to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015.
The report recalled that Ethiopia ranked first in its overall GDP in 2009 by registering 9.9 percent growth followed by Congo and Malawi registered 7.6 percent and seven percent respectively.
UN /ONU :
UN Secretary-General urges West African nations to pursue good governance to avoid conflicts
Friday, July 9th, 2010/ BNO News /wireupdate.com
By BNO News
UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged in a report the West African nations to pursue good governance to avoid conflicts, consolidate peace and continue making positive gains, the United Nations announced on Thursday.
“The resurgence of coups d’état in West Africa, which I have consistently denounced, and the major role played by the armed forces in these coups, are a reflection of the difficult civil-military relationships in situations of bad governance,” Ban said.
Last year, Guinea suffered a coup by the forces of Moussa Dadis Camara, after the death of long-time president Lansana Conté. People became unrest with the emerging dictator who responded by opening fire on unarmed protesters, killing at least 150 people.
In February, a military council dissolved the government in Niger, seized the president and suspended a contested constitution that would have allowed then President Mamadou Tandja to remain in power beyond stipulation.
However, Ban welcomed the recovery efforts in both countries. The government of Niger is working to restore democratic rule and address the humanitarian crisis. Guinea’s transitional government fulfilled its commitment of holding a democratic election process last month.
Despite that the other West African nations has been political stable in the last six months, Ban warned that the increased election-related tension and violence, as well as weaknesses in armed and security forces, could threaten democratic processes and cause unrest among citizens.
In conclusion, the Secretary-General called on West African leaders to bolster their national policies and for greater regional cooperation to fight cross-border criminal activities and terrorist threats.
Ahmadinejad: UN should be in free land
Fri, 09 Jul 2010/www.presstv.ir
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the UN headquarters should be moved to a free land where its operations and decisions will not be undermined.
“The UN should be in a free place, away from US domination,” Ahmadinejad, who was speaking at the end of the Group of Eight Developing Countries (D8) in the Nigerian capital Abuja, said on Thursday.
He added that the US imposes itself on international organizations like the United Nations and undercuts their efforts, IRNA reported on Friday.
The Iranian chief executive further added that the US has appropriated the power to grant visas for UN members to participate in its sessions, while the authority should lie with the UN.
He also criticized nuclear-armed states that have the veto power in the UN Security Council and “dominate” it.
Ahmadinejad noted that the US exploits other countries with “fiat dollars” and uses the currency as leverage in its global transactions.
He further noted that the new UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic will have no effect on its nuclear energy program.
The US and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic weapons, a charge that Tehran rejects, describing its nuclear activities as purely civilian.
On Friday, Ahmadinejad returned home after his African tour. He described his tour of Africa, which included visits to Mali and Nigeria, as positive.
GHN/HRF/MGH
UN envoy hails regional support for Somali peace process
July 9th, 2010/APA
APA-Mogadishu (Somalia) The newly appointed United Nations Special envoy for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, has lauded the recent decision of the Inter-governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) to send 2,000-strong forces to join the African Union (AU) peace mission in Somalia (AMISOM), said a UN press release APA received on Friday.
Augustine P. Mahiga welcomed the decision taken by IGAD at its 5 July summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to engage more forcefully in the search for the resolution of the conflict in Somalia.
Mahiga underlined the support by IGAD of the Djibouti Peace Process as the sole basis for peace and reconciliation in Somalia.
“The UN will continue to uphold its partnership with IGAD and the African Union in Somalia in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on Somalia signed by the three Organizations on the 28 April 2010,” the Special Representative said in the release.
The African Union formerly promised to send 8,000 peacekeepers to the lawless horn of African country, but so far there are only 6,000 peacekeepers from only two of the troop-contributing countries i.e. Uganda and Burundi.
IGAD comprises six eastern African countries i.e. Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.
USA :
Somaliland: United States Praises Somaliland For Conducting Real Democracy
Friday, 09 July 2010 /www.unpo.org
With international observers describing last week’s presidential elections in Somaliland as “free and fair”, the United States government on Wednesday praised the break away Somali region for conducting real democracy. Below is an article published by Somaliand Press:
With international observers describing last week’s presidential elections in Somaliland as “free and fair”, the United States government on Wednesday praised the break away Somali region for conducting real democracy.
In a statement of which APA obtained a copy on Wednesday the United States government commends the people of Somaliland, the national electoral commission, and the political parties for conducting a peaceful election on June 26.
Reports indicate that the election proceedings were generally peaceful and orderly. Saying that the high voter turnout indicated that the citizens of Somaliland are determined to exercise their rights.
International observers have also indicated that the June 26 election process was largely free and fair.
“The election marks an important milestone for the people of Somaliland. We congratulate the winner and commend the other candidates for their statesmanlike acceptance of the results,” the statement said.
The US went on to urge the people of Somaliland to sustain their efforts to see this process through to a peaceful conclusion, with the swearing-in of the winner within approximately thirty days.
Somaliland, which broke away from the rest of Somalia in 1991, is enjoying relative calm and peace, eve though it is yet to gain international recognition of its independence.
CANADA :
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
French foreign minister: Sudan rebel leader agrees to join peace efforts for Darfur
By The Associated Press (CP,Canadian Press)/ 09072010
PARIS — France’s foreign minister says a Paris-based Sudanese rebel leader has agreed to back peace talks for Darfur.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says in a statement that the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement, Abdelwahid Elnur, “confirmed his intention to actively contribute to the peace process in Darfur, personally and via the intermediary of his representatives.”
Kouchner praised Elnur on Friday for “betting on peace” and said his “new position” resulted from months of discussions between him and French government officials.
Qatar has been hosting peace talks on Darfur. The U.N. estimates that 300,000 people have died as a result of violence, disease and displacement since fighting began between rebels in Darfur and the government in 2003.
CHINA :
China and Africa envision new security cooperation
By Wang Wei /China.org.cn/July 9, 2010
Public security conditions in Africa have been stable in recent years. Peace and development have become the mainstream in some African countries. However, abnormal shifts of political power and regional unrest remain in places such as Somalia, Darfur, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Moreover, Africa faces increasing pressure from untraditional security problems such as food safety, terrorism, climate change, proliferation of small arms, and refugees and the spread of disease.
African countries need help from the international community to establish and maintain lasting peace and safety. China has always put a lot of emphasis on Africa’s security issues and supported African countries and organizations to solve conflicts independently.
First of all, China continues to strengthen cooperation with African organizations within the framework of Charter of the United Nations. As a permanent member state, China actively promotes discussion and solution of African issues and calls on the UN and competent countries to offer more help to improve Africa’s ability to prevent and solve regional conflicts.
China made an explicit promise to cooperate with Africa in public security in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation-Addis Ababa Action Plan on December 26, 2003. It stated: “We are resolved to step up cooperation and work together to support an even greater role of the United Nations, the African Union and other sub-regional African organizations in preventing, mediating and resolving conflicts in Africa. We will continue to pay attention to the issue of African refugees and displaced persons. China will continue its active participation in the peacekeeping operations and de-mining process in Africa and provide, within the limits of its capabilities, financial and material assistance as well as relevant training to the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. In order to strengthen the capacity of African states to undertake peacekeeping operations, we look forward to the strengthening of China’s cooperation with African States and Sub -regional organizations in the areas of logistics.”
The two sides will also focus on untraditional security and anti-terrorism issues. They view terrorism as a threat to peace and security of all countries and want it fought through effective cooperation.
China described the security cooperation details in China’s African Policy, which was published in January 2006. It covered cooperation in military affairs, conflict solving, peace keeping, judicial and police affairs and untraditional security issues.
In the Declaration of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation published by the Chinese government in November 2006, China called on the international community to encourage and support Africa’s efforts to pursue peace and development and provide greater assistance to African countries in peaceful resolution of conflicts and post-war reconstruction.
China also said it will continue to strengthen its cooperation with the AU and sub-regional organizations and institutions in Africa, support the AU’s leading role in resolving African issues, and take an active part in UN peacekeeping operations in Africa in the Forum On China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2007-2009) in 2006.
The Chinese government made a promise again in Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Sharm el-Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012) in 2009. It pledged it would continue to support the UN Security Council in playing a constructive role in solving conflicts in Africa and continue to support and participate in UN peacekeeping missions. It intended to strengthen cooperation with countries concerned in the UN Peace Building Commission and support countries in their post-war reconstruction processes.
At the same time, the Chinese government appreciates the practice of African solving their own problems. China will continue to support the efforts of the AU, other regional organizations and countries concerned to solve regional conflicts, and will intensify cooperation with African countries in peacekeeping theory research, peacekeeping training and exchanges and in supporting the building of peacekeeping capacity in Africa.
China has actively participated in peacekeeping missions in Africa, which has become a major area of Chinese peacekeeping activities. China has sent tens of thousands of people to participate in 12 UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. China first sent an organized peacekeeping force to the DRC in December 2002. In the past three years, China has sent 6,281 soldiers and police. Currently, 1,629 Chinese work in six UN peacekeeping areas of Africa.
In addition, the Chinese government also offers financial aid to Africa. Premier Wen Jiabao provided $1 million in cash to the Africa Union to support the peacekeeping mission in Sudan during his visit to the DRC in June 2006. China donated $300,000 to the AU’s Somali peacekeeping mission in 2008, and a check of $400,000 in August 2009.
The Somali escort is a good example of Chinese-African anti-terrorism cooperation. The Chinese navy has sent six naval escort flotillas to the Gulf of Aden.
Promoting China-Africa security cooperation is an indispensable choice for both sides. It has become an important part of the strategic cooperation and will lay a solid foundation for the development of mutual political trust between the two.
INDIA :
BRASIL:
Brazilian president won’t attend World Cup closing
Sapa/2010/07/09
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend the closing ceremony of the world cup because of duties he has to attend to in his home country.
“I will not be staying. I’ve been away for seven days already and I’m followed by phone calls from Brazil,” Lula said in Pretoria today.
He was speaking after signing an agreement on co-operation between South Africa and Brazil at the Union Buildings.
Lula also indicated he had to attend to the flood in the north eastern parts of Brazil.
President Jacob Zuma said he would not be persuading Lula to stay for the ceremony as he would have done the same.
“I invited my brother, but then he explained that duty was calling and I have no intention to persuade him.” Lula, who is on a state visit to South Africa, said he had been received well and was the first Brazilian president to visit Africa a number of times.
He had been to 27 African countries so far and would be making his 28th trip to Mozambique.
Lula emphasised the importance of bilateral relations between Brazil and South Africa.
EN BREF, CE 09 juillet 2010… AGNEWS /OMAR, BXL,09/07/2010
