[Les puissances mondiales et régionales réunies ce vendredi dans le groupe de contact sur la Libye ont pleinement reconnu la rébellion, ce qui leur permettra de lui apporter l’aide financière qu’elle réclame pour combattre le régime du colonel Kadhafi.]

BURUNDI :

Burundi : La Belgique soutient un projet dans l’enseignement

Écrit par Steven Addamah/www.legriot.info/ juil 15, 2011

Mercredi dernier à Bujumbura, la Belgique et le gouvernement du Burundi se sont engagés dans une convention portant sur la « Formation Initiale des Enseignants », un projet dans le secteur de l’éducation burundaise. Celui-ci, dont l’objet est clairement défini dans son intitulé, va faire l’objet d’un financement de 7 millions d’euros (9,5 millions de dollars américains) s’étendant sur les cinq prochaines années.

Cela faisait belle lurette que la formation des enseignants avait été interrompue au Burundi à cause des conflits qu’a connu le pays dans les années 1990. Ce projet, qui signe ainsi le grand retour des mises à niveau des instituteurs burundais de l’enseignement fondamental, vise à les rendre capables de conduire des travaux purement pratiques afin de professionnaliser très tôt leurs élèves. Dans cette optique, cette initiative prévoit non seulement de former d’abord les formateurs des professeurs mais également de favoriser l’élaboration d’outils de développement professionnel. Ces derniers pourront aboutir à valider les acquis des personnes formées. Un accent particulier sera mis sur un minimum de spécialisation dans cette formation car le projet inclut la conception de différents outils pédagogiques suivant les disciplines.

Par ailleurs, l’enveloppe belge servira à réfectionner 4 centres de formation initiale répartis dans 4 régions burundaises. Un des axes de ce projet des plus importants car la disparité de la distribution des écoles au Burundi a constitué pendant longtemps un véritable frein à l’accès à l’éducation dans certaines parties du territoire national, laissant pour compte les autres régions au profit du centre et du sud. S’éloignant du domaine purement éducatif, ce financement va aussi soutenir la création d’un cadre institutionnel et financier à la formation initiale des enseignements.

Burundi : le calvaire des enfants anglophones rapatriés de Tanzanie

VOA News/ 14/07/2011

En Tanzanie, les cours sont dispensés en anglais et en swahili. Pourtant, avant le retour de ces enfants au pays, le gouvernement burundais avait donné des garanties quant à leur scolarisation.

L’intégration, au Burundi, des enfants rapatriés de Tanzanie semble presque impossible. Aujourd’hui, ils abandonnent l’école ou acceptent d’être placés dans des classes de niveau inferieur.

La raison est simple : ils ne peuvent pas suivre les cours en français ou en kirundi. En Tanzanie, les cours sont dispensés en anglais et en swahili. Pourtant, avant le retour de ces enfants au pays, le gouvernement burundais avait donné des garanties quant à leur scolarisation.

A Makamba, ils sont nombreux, ces enfants anglophones qui ont du mal à se faire une place dans le système burundais. « Les conventions d’Arusha précisent que les enfants des deux classes terminales de l’école primaire, ceux du secondaire et de l’université devraient rentrer après leurs études, mais le HCR a trouvé que la meilleure solution serait de partir avec leurs parents », a expliqué un des parents interrogés.

Les autorités provinciales pensent que les cours de mise à niveau offerts à ces enfants devraient leur permettre de suivre les cours dans le système burundais.

RWANDA :

Gen. Kagame reshuffles military chiefs

By Risdel Kasasira & Richard Wanambwa / www.monitor.co.ug/Posted Friday, July 15 2011

Rwandan President Kagame has reshuffled top intelligence and security officers, removing Col. Dr. Emmanuel Ndahiro from the country’s top intelligence position.

Col. Ndahiro has been replaced by Maj. Gen. Karenzi Karake as the Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).

Gen. Karake, who was last placed under house arrest for indiscipline, replaces Col. Ndahiro who took over from Col. Patrick Karegyeya, who fled the country and now lives in exile.

It’s not clear what the new role of Col. Ndahiro will be at the Ministry of Defence, where he has been sent, but the new Rwanda Defence Forces Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Joseph Nzabamwita said “he is a colonel in the army and he will definitely get assignments”.

Col. Nzabamwita has replaced Lt. Col Jill Rutaremara who goes for further studies. When asked why the change of heart over Gen. Karake, the spokesperson said the new spy chief is “a senior and competent” officer.

“Don’t live in history. Look at the future. He is a senior and competent officer. He commanded the African Union force in Darfur and he has shown exemplary qualities as an officer,” said Col. Nzabamwita, who added that the reshuffle is a “routine activity” by President Kagame.

“The officers were transferred to positions where they will serve best and the changes aim at meeting our 2020 Vision, which is making Rwanda a middle income country and security is bedrock of our vision,” he said.

Gen. Karake, together with former air force chief Lt. Gen. Charles Muhire were last year placed under house arrest on claims that they committed “serious offences”.

Before his appointment, Gen Karake was the head of the Rwanda Military Academy-Nyakinama. The reshuffle follows grenade attacks in Kigali this week that left 12 people injured.

In other changes Brig. Richard Rutatina becomes the new head of military intelligence, Col. Dan Munyuza, who was accused in the local media of participating in the attempted murder on Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa last year, will now run external intelligence in the NISS. He is the former Director of Counter Intelligence.

Col. Tom Byabagamba is the head of the Counter Terrorism in the Ministry of Defence while Capt. Patrick Karuretwa will replace Brig. Rutatina as the Security Adviser to the President.

RDC CONGO:

Fichier électoral: plus de 30 millions d’enrôlés en RDC

Radio Okapi / www.congoplanete.com/ 14 juillet 2011

Plus de trente millions de personnes ont été enregistrées, au 10 juillet, dans l’opération de révision du fichier électoral en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), dont trois millions à Kinshasa. Ces chiffres ont été fournis jeudi 14 juillet, par le vice-président de la Commission électoral nationale indépendante (Ceni), Jacques Djoli, au cours d’une rencontre d’évaluation du processus.

Dans l’ensemble, les chiffres sont conformes aux projections de la Ceni, malgré quelques difficultés techniques et logistiques, a déclaré Jacques Djoli.

Après la révision du fichier électoral, la prochaine étape va concerner la consolidation de l’ensemble des données, a annoncé Jacques Djoli.

En clair, explique-t-il, il s’agit du nettoyage des listes pour enlever les irrégularités qu’on peut rencontrer, faire le «maching» pour avoir des listes consolidées à envoyer au parlement.

«Cette étape nous permettra de déterminer les sièges par circonscription et déterminer le quotient électoral », a-t-il expliqué.

L’opération de la révision du fichier électoral a débuté le 7 mai à Kinshasa et quelques mois après le lancement dans les provinces.

Elle a concerné tous les congolais majeurs de la RDC, même ceux qui s’étaient enrôlés en 2009.

UGANDA :

Uganda To Stop Buying Power From 2 Thermal Plants This Year -Minister

Published July 15, 2011/www.foxbusiness.com

KAMPALA -(Dow Jones)- Uganda’s government will stop buying expensive power from two thermal plants owned by London-listed Aggreko PLC (AGK.LN), in a bid to reduce its electricity subsidy burden, Minister of Energy and Minerals Irene Muloni said Friday.

The government will terminate its contract with the Kiira and Mutundwe plants–which have a combined capacity of 100 megawatts–by November, when the first unit of the 250 MW Bujagali Hydropower Project is commissioned.

Power from the Bujagali project will be cheaper and eliminate the need for expensive thermal power, Muloni said.

The Bujagali project is jointly owned by Sithe Global Power LLC and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

Aggreko officials couldn’t comment immediately.

Uganda has been grappling with acute power outages over the past two weeks, after two thermal plants were shut down due to unpaid arrears of around 300 billion Ugandan shillings, or $118 million.

The country spends at least $300 million every year on subsidizing thermal power plants, which supply most of the power generated to primary processing industries handling coffee, cotton, cocoa, tea, fish and horticulture products.

Uganda, which contracted thermal generators in 2006 to supplement hydropower, is expected to retain some heavy oil-fired plants that will be using crude oil produced in the Lake Albertine rift basin during an extended well testing program expected to commence before the end of the year.

UK-based Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) is expected to conduct the program in three blocks in the Lake Albertine rift, where at least 1 billion barrels of oil have been discovered.

Uganda is expected to start commercial oil production by 2014.

Ugandan prisoners subjected to slave-like labour: HRW

(AFP) /15072011

KAMPALA — Prisoners in Uganda are subjected to hard labour under conditions resembling slavery and face routine abuse and exploitation by officials, Human Rights Watch said in a report Thursday.

Detainees, including pregnant women and the disabled, are often caned, stoned or burned if they attempt to avoid hard labour, the New York-based rights group said.

“Prisoners in Uganda, many not convicted of any crime, are brutally beaten and forced to work under conditions resembling slavery,” said Katherine Todrys, a reasearcher with the rights group.

Some 17,000 detainees — more than half the total prison population — are yet to be convicted, while inmates are forced to sleep in shifts due to extreme overcrowding and face fetid conditions, nonexistent medical treatment and malnutrition, the watchdog said in a report.

“Few prisoners with HIV or TB get adequate health care, risking their lives and the development and spread of drug-resistant strains,” Todrys said.

According to the report “Even Dead Bodies Must Work: Health, Hard Labor and Abuse in Ugandan Prisons”, researches visited 16 prisons across Uganda and found inmates forced to trade sex for food and prison officers profiting illegally from the work done by the detainees.

“We dig from morning until evening without rest. They beat your head, back, or legs when you fail to move fast. We?re never paid for it, not even in food or soap,” the group cited a prisoner named Daniel as saying.

While conditions in some prisons have been improved in recent years, the rights group called on the Ugandan government to prosecute prison officials profiting from or abusing prisoners, ensure adequate medical treatment and cut down on the length of time suspects spend in pre-trial detention.

Uganda’s Commissioner General of Prisons Johnson Byabashaija admitted that the prisons were not conducive.

“As far as I am concerned these issues are very hard-hitting and I have to deal with them and I have to review my controls,” Byabashaija told AFP.

“We have very congested prisons … the fact is that a lot of prisons are far under international standards.”

Uganda can reap big from trade with Sudan

Thursday, 14th July, 2011 / www.newvision.co.ug

UGANDA can greatly reap from trade and the myriad of investment opportunities if we strategise to take advantage of the now independent South Sudan.

Already, there are millions of Ugandan traders in the South Sudan capital, Juba, but mainly operating small scale businesses like bars, restaurants and dealing in produce.

To fully take advantage of this virgin market and protect our interests, the Government needs to enter into agreement with the leadership in Juba to develop the infrastructure to ease this trade. With South Sudan as a new state, we are almost certain our annual exports to this new country will double.

However, we need to remember that we are competing with bigger economies like China, Japan, India and Kenya who are already in Juba.

Kenya has already signed a number of trade protocols with South Sudan and is seeking investors to fund a $22b planned corridor connecting Ethiopia and Sudan to the Kenyan coast with railways, roads, telecommunication cables and a 1,400 km pipeline.

These are the kind of strategic investments our government should partner in if we are to reap from the independent South Sudan.

Therefore, developing a rail network connecting South Sudan to Uganda and Kenya should be fast-tracked to facilitate trade and investments.

South Sudan is of strategic importance not only because of its proximity, but is projected to become the biggest economy in the region in 10-20 years. Official figures show that South Sudan is Uganda’s main export market in the region, importing goods worth $184.6m in 2009.

Strategic policy interventions should be made to expand the existing plants or establish new industries to feed this virgin market. The establishment of the sh3b industrial park in Gulu for manufacturers targeting South Sudan should be expedited.

SOUTH AFRICA:

SA’s own aid agency ‘a threat to foreign funding’

LOYISO LANGENI /www.businessday.co.za/Published: 2011/07/15

Expert says SA risks losing millions of rand in development aid from its traditional trading partners when the South African Development Partnership Agency (Sadpa) is established later this year

SA RISKS losing millions of rand in development aid from its traditional trading partners when the South African Development Partnership Agency (Sadpa) is established later this year, says an expert .

International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in her budget speech in May that a bill was being drafted to create the agency before the end of the department’s financial year, in March next year.

The proposed development aid agency also forms part of SA’s plan to play a more prominent role on the continent as a major donor country. Through the multimillion-rand African Renaissance Fund, managed by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, SA is one of the largest development aid providers in Africa. The African Renaissance Fund and all its activities will eventually be absorbed by the new aid agency, which will reduce the bureaucracy and duplication.

Through the fund, SA granted or committed R475,5m during the 2008-09 financial year to development aid projects on the continent.

The European Union (EU) is one of SA’s biggest contributors of overseas development assistance. The 27- member bloc provides 70% of SA’s overall development assistance.

As much as ¤980m has been pledged by the EU towards development assistance projects in SA between 2007-2013. The US, through its aid agency USAid, last year approved $577,5m to assist SA on health, education, anti-terrorism and economic growth activities.

“A related risk is that with greater responsibility as well as our development country status and the benefits we accrue from Sadpa … donor countries may rescind their aid and donor assistance from SA,” Lyndsey Duff, a researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue, said. The development aid agency had the potential of increasing SA’s reputation in global politics if its projects were managed properly, she said at a roundtable discussion in Pretoria.

International relations spokesman Clayson Monyela yesterday denied the assertions that SA could lose more development assistance funding when Sadpa comes into effect.

Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, national director of the South African Institute for International Affairs, said the financial crisis in developed countries gave emerging markets the opportunity to entrench their role as aid providers. “The growing influence of emerging powers in development corporation has spurred new thinking among traditional powers around their modus operandi in this area”, she said.

Last week, it emerged that China, India, Turkey, South Korea and Brazil had eclipsed SA as Africa’s top five emerging market trading partners. “This (SA’s efforts) would (not) necessarily provide any guarantees for future deals (on the continent) and ultimately market dynamics would dictate the outcome,” economist Eckart Naumann said.

langenil@bdfm.co.za

TANZANIA:

New director at African Barrick Gold

15 July 2011 / by StockMarketWire.com

StockMarketWire.com – African Barrick Gold has appointed Ambassador Juma V. Mwapachu, a Tanzanian national, as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Ambassador Mwapachu is a law graduate and began his career in the public sector in Tanzania as a State Attorney and subsequently served in the Foreign Office.

Following a period as a management consultant with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, he worked as Managing Director of one of the largest private sector Tanzanian business groups before establishing his own consulting group.

At 11:18am: (LON:ABG) Abbot Group share price was +2.7p at 454.5p

Senior Tanzania MP quits

2011-07-14/- Reuters/www.news24.com

Dar es Salaam – A senior lawmaker from Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or Party of the Revolution, who was once in President Jakaya Kikwete’s inner circle, has quit his seat amid accusations of graft.

Kikwete, who has pledged to root out corruption, faces infighting in the CCM, which is struggling with large-scale corruption allegations within its own ranks.

Denying the allegations, Rostam Aziz announced to leaders in his Igunga constituency in the Tabora region on Wednesday that he would step down both as member of parliament and as a member of CCM’s national executive committee (NEC).

There have been growing calls for Aziz and his two close confidants – former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and former minister Andrew Chenge – to resign from the party following widespread corruption allegations against the politicians.

“I have decided to relinquish all leadership positions in the party … my decision is based on a clear conscience to end these gutter politics and spend my time concentrating on my business,” Aziz said in his resignation speech seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Foreign donors and opposition leaders have fiercely criticised the slow pace of Kikwete’s fight against corruption. While he has pledged to do more to combat it, some observers say Kikwete’s hands are tied by high-ranking, influential party members.

CCM’s Uhuru newspaper, said this was the start of a serious clean-up and analysts said it was positive development for party that has ruled the country nearly five decades.

Samuel Mushi, a political science professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, said Aziz’s resignation was a positive development for CCM.

Graft accusations

“The positions of other politicians in CCM and government facing corruption allegations have become untenable and they too will have to follow suit and resign,” Mushi told state television on Thursday.

Aziz is a well-connected operator with vast business interests, including a 35% stake through his company Mirambo Holdings in Vodacom Tanzania, the biggest mobile phone company in the country and a unit of the South African telecoms giant.

He has been an MP for more than 15 years and has previously held senior positions in CCM, including former national treasurer and member of the central committee, the highest authority within the ruling party.

Aziz headed campaign fundraising for Kikwete in the 2005 general election, but was left out of the successful 2010 re-election bid against the backdrop of growing graft accusations against him.

Aziz was accused in a 2008 parliament report along with Lowassa of influencing the awarding of a power generation tender to a company that was later unable to deliver on the contract signed in 2007 after a power crisis in 2006.

He has denied the allegations but has often been criticised by CCM members, opposition leaders and the local media over graft claims.

Tanzanian Royalty announces deal offering to expedite development of Buckreef Gold project

Friday, 15 Jul 2011/www.steelguru.com

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation announced that it has entered into an underwriting agreement with Casimir Capital Limited whereby the Underwriter has agreed to purchase 4,237,289 units of the Company on a bought deal basis at a price of USD 5.90 per Unit for sale to the public in Canada and the United States.

The company statement said that the offering is expected to provide the Company with aggregate gross proceeds of USD 25 million. The primary use of the funds will be for the completion of a full Feasibility Study on the Company’s advanced stage Buckreef Gold Project in Tanzania which hosts approximately 2.0 million ounces.

Mr James E Sinclair president and CEO of Tanzanian Royalty said that the company is currently in discussions with international consulting firms with respect to a turnkey price for the construction of plant and mine related facilities at the Buckreef Project. We are not looking at a Cadillac operation more of a Ford in fact that will generate the returns that shareholder expect and deserve from such a robust gold mining project.

Mr Sinclair said that Buckreef is licensed for mining and in fact saw some commercial production as an underground producer during the 1980s. The permitting risk for Buckreef is minimal which is highly unusual for a project of this scope in this day and age.

In addition to the Buckreef Feasibility Study, some of the funds will be allocated to plant and equipment purchases for the mining of surface gravels at Buckreef and on the Company’s Kigosi and Lunguya prospects where gravel deposits of commercial interest are also indicated. If these projects unfold as expected they could be major cash generators to further development work at Buckreef.

A major priority for the Company will be the initiation of exploration work along established mineral trends within the Buckreef Project area. Of particular interest is the Buckreef Eastern Porphyry area where the potential to establish additional resources along a continuous mineralized zone that is known to extend for at least 300 metres has yet to be fully evaluated.

Significant drill intercepts reported by previous operators within the Eastern Porphyry area included 3.0 metres grading 22 g/t gold from RAB drilling. RC drilling at an average depth of 115 metres returned a peak grade of 18 metres averaging 6.58 g/t gold, 4.0 metres averaging 2.07 g/t gold, 3.0 metres grading 2.18 g/t gold, 2.0 metres averaging 8.81 g/t gold, and 5.0 metres grading 1.35g/t gold.

In consideration for the services to be rendered by the Underwriter under the Offering, the Underwriter will receive a cash commission of 7% of the gross proceeds of the Offering and compensation warrants entitling the Underwriter to purchase, in the aggregate, that number of Common Shares that is equal to 7% of the aggregate number of Units sold pursuant to the Offering.

(Filed by Matsiko Mike Steelguru Uganda correspondent)

KENYA:

Medical breakthrough in preventing HIV

Posted by CATHERINE KARONGO /www.capitalfm.co.ke/on July 15, 2011

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 15 – A new study conducted in Kenya and Uganda indicates that Anti Retroviral drugs (ARV) can be used to prevent HIV infection.

The study undertaken by scientists from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Makerere University in Uganda indicated that HIV medication taken daily was highly effective in preventing HIV infection in Africa.

“There is a lot of debate as to where will you put your money. If you use drugs to prevent and the same drugs are needed by people living with HIV/AIDS, will it cause a shortage?” Dr James Kiarie, a Principle Investigator in the study said on Thursday.

“But I think you have to do both. You have to prevent people from getting HIV and at the same time treat those with HIV. If you only treat, it is like wiping the floor, removing water but the tap is still running,” he explained.

He however emphasised that the medication had to be used alongside other prevention measures like condoms.

It is estimated that only 48 percent of Kenyans in need of the life saving HIV treatment are receiving it.

Dr Nelly Mugo, another Principle Investigator described the study which had over 4,700 participants in Kenya and Uganda was a major breakthrough in preventing the spread of HIV.

“The estimates right now, on a daily basis, have 7,400 new HIV infections globally. Should we use these new findings, we can reduce that figure by 73 percent and the number would be 1,998 which I think is very remarkable and I feel very excited about that,” Dr Mugo said.

The trial which was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was done among heterosexual African HIV serodiscordant couples, where one partner had HIV and the other did not, in Kenya and Uganda.

HIV negative partners were randomly assigned in equal numbers to one of the three study groups. The first group was put on Tenofovir, an antiretroviral treatment while the second group was on Truvada, another type of ARV.

“There was also a placebo group where you create a tablet that looks very much like the active ingredient so nobody knows who is on what treatment because we were blinded on who was taking the real medication or who was taking a placebo tablet,” Dr Mugo explained.

The concept was borrowed from that of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV where children born of HIV infected mothers are immediately started on ARV’s which they take throughout the breastfeeding period and this has proven successful in preventing transmission to the child.

“This principle was taken to the adult population and the question is if a sexually active HIV negative adult takes an antiretroviral medication every day, can they be prevented from acquiring the infection,” Dr Mugo said.

All study participants received a comprehensive package of HIV prevention services which included intensive safer sex counselling, HIV testing, free condoms, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and monitoring and care for HIV infection.

Out of the couples who were on trial, there was a total of 78 new HIV infections out of which 47 were amongst people who were on placebo, 18 were on Tenofovir and 13 amongst those taking Truvada.

The research showed that taking Truvada daily reduced the chances of HIV infection by 73 percent while Tenofovir reduced the risk of transmission by 62 percent.

Side effects reported during the study were diarrhoea and bloated stomachs.

The study began in July 2008 and was completed in November 2010.

Kenya: Karangi is New Military Boss

Andrew Teyie/ Nairobi Star (Nairobi) /14 July 2011

General Julius Karangi has replaced General Jeremiah Kianga as the Chief of Kenya Defence Forces. Karangi, 61, former Vice-Chief of General Staff, becomes the first Chief of Kenya Defence Forces under the new constitutional dispensation. The constitution replaces Kenya Armed Forces with Kenya Defence Force with the Chief of Kenya Defence Forces replacing the Chief of General Staff. Karangi was appointed by Board One – the highest decision making military organ – convened by the outgoing CGS.

Last evening President Kibaki, who is the Commander in Chief (C-In-C) of Kenya Defence Force, announced the appointments. President Kibaki had extended Kianga’s term for two-and-a-half years despite the fact that the terms of service for the CGS provide for only four years. Board One sits to appoint, promote, and post senior officers from the rank of major to lieutenant-general. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Yusuf Haji.

Sources within the military revealed that Karangi, who hails from Nyeri, will be 62 in September. If Board One was to meet in September, he would have retired together with Kianga. According to rules set up by former Chief of General Staff, General Daudi Tonje, officers can’t stay in one rank for more than two years. They either earn a promotion or retire.

The Deputy Chief of Defence Force is now Lt General Samson Mwathathe, who was in charge of Kenya Navy. Major General Mukala takes his place as the Commander of the Kenya Navy. Major General Kasaon take over as the Commander of the Kenya Army. He replaces Lt General Njuki Mwaniki, who has been the Army Commander.

Lt General Mwaniki has been transferred to National Defence College (NDC). Lt Gen Mwaniki together with Gen Karangi were in the race to succeed Genl Kianga. Maj Gen J.N. Waweru was appointed Commandant, Defence Staff College while Brig P.W. Kameru was promoted to Maj. Gen and appointed Director of Military Intelligence. Brig Otieno is now the new Commander of Kenya Airforce. He took over from Major General Tangai. Major General Tangai was appointed appointed Senior Directing Staff- Air, National Defence College. Karangi’s appointment is effective September 1.

Karangi will now be responsible for ensuring that the Kenya Defence Force is in line with the new constitution. The new constitution stipulates that the composition of the command of the defence forces shall reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya. Karangi is the most senior military officer in Kenya. He joined Kenya Air Force in 1973 and after cadet training in UK, he was commissioned as an officer in 1974.

After qualifying as a flight navigator in October 1975 in the Royal Air Force in England, he was posted to Flying Wing Kenya Air Force where he worked as a navigator. He was appointed commandant Defence Staff College, Karen where he worked between December 2000 and November 2003 in the rank of major general, after which he was appointed commander Kenya Air Force, where he served from Nov 2003 to 10 Aug 2005. On 10 August 2005, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and appointed vice chief of the General Staff Defence Headquarters.

Safaricom of Kenya Rebounds From Almost Two-Year Low on Bets Drop Overdone

By Eric Ombok / www.bloomberg.com/- Jul 15, 2011

Safaricom Ltd. (SAFCOM), East Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company, rebounded from the lowest price in almost two years after sinking beneath a key level of an indicator used in technical analysis.

The stock of Kenya’s second-biggest company by market value snapped five days of declines, rising 0.15 shilling, or 4.3 percent, to 3.65 shillings as of 1:01 p.m. in Nairobi, the capital. It closed at the weakest since August 2009 yesterday.

The company’s 14-day relative strength index closed at 19.9 yesterday and was at 36.2 today. The RSI identifies possible turning points in indexes or securities by measuring the degree that gains and losses outpace each other in a given period. A reading below 30 means the gauge is poised to rise.

“The price had come off quite a bit so now we are seeing new buyers who are getting in because the valuation is attractive,” Eric Musau, a research analyst at Nairobi-based Standard Investment Bank Ltd., said by phone today.

Kenya to open new camp on Somali border

15 Jul 2011/ english.aljazeera.net

New facility with 80,000 capacity to open at Dadaab, already home to hundreds of thousands fleeing threat of starvation.

Kenya has agreed to open a new camp near its border with Somalia to cope with the influx of refugees fleeing the region’s worst drought in 60 years.

The lfo II camp in Dabaab will open its doors to 80,000 refugees within 10 days, the Kenyan government said.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga agreed to open the new camp after visiting Dadaab’s three existing camps where an estimated 380,000 refugees are now living at facilities intended to cope with a population of 90,000 people.

A UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) official at the Dadaab Camp, Fafa Attidzah, said the announcement by Odinga was a big relief.

“We are just happy and again we are thankful and we are grateful to the Kenyan government and to the Kenyan people for having allowed these refugees who are suffering to have a little bit of dignity by having somewhere they where they could be accommodated,” Attidzah said.

The UNHCR had been urging Kenya to open the camp for the past two years but the government stopped work on it earlier this year, citing security concerns as one of the reasons.

Some government ministers had feared opening the camp would encourage more Somalis to cross the border.

During a news conference at the camp, Odinga said “although we consider our own security, we can’t turn away the refugees”.

“Time is of the essence in this matter. Let us not continue to delay, let us put bureaucracy aside and see that we have an obligation as members of the human race to assist and support our brothers and sisters who are threatened with death as a result of food and insecurity,” said Odinga.

Andrew Wander, a spokesman for the Save the Children charity, said “more children have died in Dadaab in the first four months of the year than all of last year”.

Many Somali refugees at the camp have travelled through harsh conditions with little food or water, and no humanitarian assistance, often abandoning members of their family who have died or are too weak to travel.

Al Jazeera’s Azad Essa, who reported from the Dabaab camp, said, “Over the past month, around 20,000 have made their way to Dadaab, many of them through similar means”.

Dadaab’s existing camps were set up in 1991 to host refugees fleeing war in Somalia. Between 40,000 and 60,000 are thought to be living outside the boundaries of the complex – existing as refugees beyond the current scope and control of the UN.

An average of 1,300 Somalis are arriving daily at the Dadaab complex.

Somalis have been fleeing from war for years now, but the drought, affecting 12 million people across the Horn of Africa, has brought the threat of a new humanitarian catastrophe to the region, with many people also seeking refuge in Ethiopia.

Source: Al-Jazeera and agencies

Aid in Somalia crisis, Kenya pleads

Posted by JUDIE KABERIA /www.capitalfm.co.ke/ on July 15, 2011

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 15 – Acting Foreign Affairs Minister and Internal Security Minister Professor George Saitoti on Thursday urged the international community to offer help in dealing with the growing number of Somali refugees in the country.

Speaking during a meeting with the African Diplomatic Corps in Nairobi he said Kenya’s security was threatened owing it to the huge influx of refugees fleeing Somalia frequently.

“Somalia remains an enormous challenge to peace and security in this region. We therefore call for urgent international humanitarian assistance to save victims of drought and famine,” he said.

He said Kenya was receiving thousands of refugees daily due to drought and violence in Somalia and it was already incapacitated to cope with the rising numbers.

According to the minister, a lot of work has to be done by introducing interventions strategies that will weaken the Al-shabaab which he singled out as the gravest threat in the war torn region.

During the discussions with the African diplomats, the newest nation, South Sudan also featured.

Prof Saitoti requested the African Union to fully support South Sudan in its quest to nature peace and stability.

“Following the successful declaration of South Sudan’s independence, I wish to observe that South Sudan needs the collective support of Africa to realize the aspirations of its people for peace, stability and progress,” he said.

He voiced the need for crucial effort in assisting both North and Southern Sudan and urged for an objective effort that will foster reconstruction and development by tackling thorny issues obstructing the peace process.

He said leaders should work together to resolve the Abyei issue and also the completion of the North/South border demarcation bearing in mind also on the sharing of oil revenue.

Libya which is going through tough times was also a concern for the diplomats and high commissioners.

Prof Saitoti said it was unacceptable that innocent civilians continued to die in the violence which he felt had degenerated into a fully-fledged civil war.

“We therefore call for the creation of humanitarian corridors, an immediate ceasefire and the start of a negotiated settlement under the mediation of the AU High Level ad-hoc Committee on Libya because the future of Libya can best be determined by Libyans themselves,” he said.

The meeting which brought together African ambassadors, high commissioners and officials from AU discuss issues affecting the continent and also expand their cooperation in trade.

ANGOLA:

Luanda named as most expensive city for expats

by Ray Clancy/ www.expatforum.com/ on July 15, 2011

Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for expats for the second year running, with Tokyo in second place and N’Djamena in Chad in third place, according to an annual survey of living costs.

Moscow follows in fourth position with Geneva in fifth and Osaka in sixth. Zurich jumps one position to rank seventh, while Hong Kong drops down to ninth, the 2011 Cost of Living Survey from human resources consultancy Mercer shows.

New entries in the top 10 list of the costliest cities in the world are Singapore in eighth place, up from 11 and São Paolo in tenth that has jumped 11 places since the 2010 ranking. Karachi at 214is ranked as the world’s least expensive city, and the survey found that Luanda, in top place, is more than three times as costly as Karachi.

Recent world events, including natural disasters and political upheavals, have impacted the rankings for many regions through currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services and volatility in accommodation prices, the survey says.

Down one place from last year, London, placed 18, is the UK’s most expensive city, followed by Aberdeen at 144, Glasgow at 148 and Birmingham at 150. Belfast, at 178, is ranked as the UK’s least expensive city.

The survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.

New York is used as the base city and all cities are compared against New York. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The cost of housing, often the biggest expense for expats, plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

‘Multinational companies have long understood the competitive advantage of a globally mobile workforce, though the enduring challenge is to balance the cost of their expatriate programmes. Currency fluctuations, inflation, political instability and natural disasters are all factors that influence the cost of living for expatriates. It is essential that employers understand their impact, for cost-containment purposes but also to ensure they retain talented employees by offering competitive compensation packages,’ said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, senior researcher at Mercer.

‘During the period of data collection for this year’s survey the world witnessed an incredible number of natural disasters and political upheavals that have all affected the lives of expatriate employees to some extent. Currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services, petrol in particular, have led to some reorganization of the ranking,’ she explained.

‘Overall, the cost of living in cities across Europe has remained relatively stable, while in Africa the picture is patchy with the limited availability of accommodation leading to increased living costs in some key cities,’ she added.

She pointed out that in North America increasing petrol prices continue to contribute to rising consumer prices, but many of its cities dropped in the rankings as price increases in other regions have been more severe pushing US cities down the list. Australian cities have witnessed dramatic rises in the ranking as the Australian dollar has strengthened against the US dollar.

Standard & Poor’s upgrades Angola’s long-term rating

16/7/2011/www.theportugalnews.com

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) upgraded Angolan sovereign debt one notch this week, following improvements in the country’s internal taxation situation and its international commitments.

The long-term assessment went up from BB- to B+ with a stable outlook. The outlook was not better because of the country’s “weak institutions and its dependence on oil exports”.

A diamond in the rough

By Yossi Melman/www.haaretz.com/15.07.11

A decade after Angola’s devastating civil war ended, this African nation is rebuilding quickly and wants Israel to take an active role in the work.

LUANDA − We flew 600 kilometers into the heart of Angola’s savannah in order to visit a diamond mine, but we didn’t see a single diamond. A tough South African security officer, accompanied by two grim-looking female Nepalese guards, dogged our every step with increasing suspicion, as if we had come to steal diamonds.

The security officer allowed us to look out over the mine and observe the heavy machinery digging up the red earth and loading it onto big trucks, which drove away in clouds of dust.

He let us approach the plant where the ore is separated from the soil, but not the processing plant, where the ore is sifted to determine the concentration of diamonds.

We − a group of Israeli journalists − were visiting the Catoca mine, not far from the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as guests of the Angolan government. After a two-hour flight from Luanda, on an old Beechcraft executive airplane, we landed on an asphalt strip surrounded by natural forest.

For 15 years, the Catoca Mining Society has been operating the world’s fourth largest diamond mine, an open pit 120 meters deep, with plans to go down to 600 meters. It employs about 1,500 local workers. Employment conditions at the mine seem to be reasonable, relative to the continent’s standards. One of the executives told us that workers are paid a minimum of $500 a month and an average of $1,200.

The mine’s owners reap huge profits. Due to the secrecy, it was hard to obtain exact figures, but we learned from various sources that the company extracted about 7 million carats’ worth of diamonds in 2009. Its turnover was about half a billion dollars and its profit was about $70 million.

There are four main partners in the mining company: the Angolan state diamond company Endiama ‏(33 percent ‏ ), the Russian diamond giant Alrosa ‏(33 percent ‏ ), the Brazilian engineering company Odebrecht ‏(16‏ ) and Israeli diamond trader Lev Leviev ‏(18 percent ‏ ), through Daumonty Financing, which is registered abroad for tax purposes.

It was recently reported that Leviev was selling his share for hundreds of millions of dollars to China Sonangol International Ltd., Angola’s national oil company. However, even without the mine partnership, Leviev’s Angola diamond business is flourishing: He owns a polishing company here and he is a partner in another mine and in Angola’s diamond export company. During our visit, we learned that billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak was also in town.

From arms to agriculture

A few months ago, Gaydamak, formerly a business partner of Leviev’s, filed a $1 billion suit against the businessman in a London court. According to Gaydamak, who in the 1990s brokered an $800-billion arms purchase for Angola, he was the one who opened the door for Leviev’s diamond deals there. Leviev denies this claim.

Gaydamak has had his ups and downs with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his top officials. After a Paris court acquitted Gaydamak of illegal arms trading, earlier this year, he has been making efforts to repair his standing in Angola.

According to unofficial estimates, there are 200 to 300 Israelis working in Angola. A few of them, like Leviev and former Shin Bet official Haim Boro, are in the diamond business.

Others represent firms like Gilat Satellite Networks, the Ashtrom construction group, a land-mine clearing company and agricultural consulting firms. Also active in Angola is Brig. Gen. ‏ (res. ‏ ) Zeev Zacharin, who in the 1990s trained the Congolese dictator’s presidential guard and subsequently linked up with Gaydamak.

Zacharin claims he no longer has any connection with Gaydamak, and is now running farms in the country. The largest Israeli company in Angola today is the Herzliya-based LR Group. The company, owned by three former air force pilots ‏ (Roy Ben-Yami, Eytan Stibbe and Ami Lustig ‏ ), initially sold arms and defense equipment to Angola, including aerial radar, unmanned aircraft and helicopters.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Angolan government, under the socialist ruling party MPLA ‏ (the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola ‏ ) and President dos Santos, desperately needed arms to fight its rival, UNITA ‏ (the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ‏ ), led by Dr. Jonas Savimbi. It sought help from Gaydamak, LR and Israel Military Industries, which sold it the light arms that allowed its forces to keep Luanda from falling to Savimbi.

Angola’s civil war began in 1975, immediately after Portuguese rule ended, and it lasted for 27 years. There were three sides to the fighting − the MPLA, UNITA and a third, smaller force commanded by Holden Roberto ‏ (see box ‏ ). Meanwhile, a parallel battle was being waged in Angola as part of the Cold War. The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLA; the CIA, South Africa, Zaire and Israel initially helped Holden Roberto and later Savimbi. The war killed hundreds of thousands, wounded millions and destroyed the country’s infrastructure. It ended in February 2002, when Savimbi was killed.

According to the prevailing version, Savimbi was captured by government special forces after his forest hideout was found, with the help of Israeli intelligence equipment. But that’s not what really happened. The Angolan army did use unmanned planes manufactured by Aeronautics Defense Systems in Yavneh, which were provided through LR, but it was not they who found Savimbi. He was captured and killed with the help of intelligence information from government agents.

The unmanned planes and radar systems did help the government expose the smuggling of “blood diamonds” sold illegally to several Israeli diamond dealers. The proceeds funded Savimbi’s arms acquisitions, assisted by Israelis to some extent. A source involved in Israeli arms sales estimates that over the past two decades, Israeli companies sold about $300 million in arms and defense equipment to the Angolan government. Half of this was a controversial deal to provide satellite photographs from Imagist, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries.

Hungry for investments

Currently most of Israel’s military aid consists of training of police and army pilots. Israel purchases about $300 million in Angolan oil a year − about 15,000 barrels a day, 7 percent of Israel’s consumption.

The Angolan government, say officials here, “wishes to establish the relations on a basis of mutuality between governments.” A senior government official said: “We want agreements with your defense ministry and homeland security, like the ones we have with Spain and the United States, and we don’t want you to send us for courses and training with private companies.”

Angola is hungry for investments, and its potential is tremendous. This is a huge country, with an area of 1.25 million square kilometers − six times the size of Israel − and a relatively small population of about 18 million. It is rich in oil, diamonds, wood, water, fish and arable land. Its 1,600 kilometers of coast are ideal for tourism and vacationing.

“The relations between the two countries are good, but there is room for improvement,” says State Minister Carlos Maria Feijo, one of the administration’s strongmen. “We want you to invest in agriculture, roads and construction.”

During the decade since my last visit to Angola, many things have changed: Multistory buildings have popped up along Luanda’s skyline, Western hotels have been built and modern restaurants have opened. There are more roads, and even some traffic lights.

There has been a huge increase in the number of vehicles and traffic jams. The government is now planning to build a million housing units mainly through Chinese companies and several Israeli contractors, including LR.

Nevertheless, it is still hard to do business in Angola. The bureaucracy is tough, sewage flows in the streets, the sidewalks are cracked and the roads are full of potholes. Morbidity is high: 5 percent of the population has malaria, and 2 percent is HIV-positive. Life expectancy is short: 47 years for men and 51 for women. Poverty is evident on nearly every street corner. Per capita income is about $300 a month.

Luanda has infrastructure for about 1 million people, but it has nearly 5 million residents. They live in rickety houses and slums, reminiscent of the Gaza refugee camps. The president and his generation refuse to take responsibility for the situation and blame everything on Portuguese colonialism, which ended in 1975.

One of Angola’s main problems is corruption. Government officials address each other as “comrade,” but wear $100,000 Cartier watches. The tremendous wealth is concentrated among a few tens of thousands of officials and government cronies.

Nevertheless, there are also signs of a slight change. Ten years ago it was forbidden to utter the word “corruption” here. Now, government officials like the director of the country’s investment agency, Aguinaldo Jaime, are willing to acknowledge its existence. But Jaime qualifies his statements. “It exists everywhere, not only in Africa,” he says.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Tamar Golan, Israel’s first ambassador to Angola.

AU/AFRICA:

Sudan activists want probe of alleged mass graves

Jason Straziuso, Associated Press/July 15, 2011

Nairobi, Kenya — Sudan activists Thursday called for the United States and the international community to intervene in a region of Sudan inaccessible to outsiders, after a U.S. group released satellite photos of what they said appear to be mass graves.

The Satellite Sentinel Project images show what appear to be freshly dug sites in South Kordofan state, where Sudan’s Arab military has been targeting a black ethnic minority loyal to the military of the newly independent Republic of South Sudan. A witness told the project that he saw 100 bodies or more put into one of the pits.

“The DigitalGlobe satellite images contain many of the details and hallmarks of the mass atrocities described by at least five eyewitnesses to the alleged killings,” said Nathaniel Raymond, of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, which analyzes the project’s images.

Fighting broke out in the region on June 5. Neither the United Nations, outside aid groups nor journalists have access to the region, raising fears that more violence is being carried out than is known publicly.

Samuel Totten, a genocide scholar at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, said a team of investigators from The Hague-based International Criminal Court must travel to the graves quickly to ascertain who the dead are in the graves, how many people were killed and in what manner.

“It is imperative member nations of the United Nations act now in a timely, efficient and effective manner to enter South Kordofan in order to ward off any more mass killings,” Totten said.

A spokesman for Sudan’s ruling party denied the project’s allegations and said the area is accessible to observers, though aid groups say it is not.

After the violence broke out, the United Nations said at least 73,000 people fled the region. Many of the displaced are ethnic Nuba who have long been marginalized.

CEO: More freedom for businesses in Africa

July 14 2011 / Sapa-AP

A survey of chief executives in 10 African countries finds that businesses in Africa enjoy more freedom and governments are more attentive to the private sector than in previous years.

The survey, released Thursday by PricewaterhouseCoopers, asked 201 business leaders from a broad cross-section of industries from both local and expatriate businesses.

Philip Kinisu, a top official with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kenya, said that the private sectors in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda are actively participating with governments on strategic planning.

The survey found that chief executives are generally optimistic about economic growth in Africa: More than 60 percent expect their business to grow in the next 12 months. – Sapa-AP

Sud Soudan: Des soldats éthiopiens se déploient dans la région d’Abyei

Pana /15/07/2011

Addis-Abeba, Ethiopie – Les troupes éthiopiennes ont commencé à se déployer dans la région litigieuse d’Abyei, entre le Sud et le Nord Soudan, a rapporté ce jeudi un média pro-gouvernemental. Le Walta Information Centre a cité le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères éthiopien, Dina Mufti, qui aurait déclaré que le déploiement, démarré depuis la semaine dernière, fait suite à un accord passé entre les dirigeants du Soudan et du Soudan du Sud, visant à démilitariser la région controversée et à permettre aux forces éthiopiennes de maintenir et superviser la paix.

“Je suis persuadé que la force de maintien de la paix remplira sa mission, qui est de satisfaire toutes les parties concernées,” aurait dit Dina, selon Walta.

La Télévision d’Etat, ETV, rapporte aussi que l’Ethiopie a commencé à mobiliser des véhicules blindés et du matériel logistique militaire sous la bannière des Nations Unies depuis vendredi dernier.

Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies avait unanimement approuvé à la fin du mois dernier le déploiement à Abyei d’une force de maintien de la paix de 4.200 soldats, appelée Force de sécurité par intérim des Nations Unies pour Abyei (UNISFA) ayant mandat de contrôler la paix pour les six mois à venir.

L’UNISFA est chargée de protéger les civils, de maintenir une zone tampon et de créer un environnement pacifié, pour permettre un référendum dans cette région pétrolifère d’Abyei.

Dans le cadre des missions de l’Union africaine (UA) et de l’ONU en Afrique, les forces éthiopiennes on servi dans plusieurs missions de maintien de la paix dans beaucoup de pays, dont le Rwanda, le Burundi, le Liberia et la République Démocratique du Congo.

Economie: La Communauté est-africaine en voie de concrétiser son marché commun

Pana /15/07/2011

Marché commun-Economie – Le chef de l’Etat burundais, Pierre Nkurunziza, et président en exercice de la Communauté est-africaine (East-African Community – EAC), a dressé, jeudi, un bilan satisfaisant du pas déjà franchi sur le chemin de l’intégration des cinq pays membres dans un ensemble régional de libre échange. Le président buruundais intervenait à l’ouverture d’une « retraite gouvernementale » de deux jours sur l’évaluation à mi-parcours des bénéfices et de l’action du Burundi à la tête de cette communauté régionale forte d’une population totale de 120 millions d’habitants, d’une superficie de 1,85 million de kilomètres carrés, qui mobilise un Produit intérieur brut global estimé à 41 milliards de dollars US.

‘L’union douanière est déjà dans sa phase opérationnelle, pendant que les négociations sur la mise en place de l’union monétaire se poursuivent depuis le mois de février 2011’, a-t-il rappelé à un auditoire composé de ministres, parlementaires et hauts cadres de l’Etat ainsi que de représentants du corps diplomatique et consulaire accrédités dans le pays.

Par ailleurs, le protocole portant création du marché commun de la Communauté est-africaine, qui consacre la libre circulation des marchandises, des personnes, de la main-d’œuvre, des services et des capitaux ainsi que les droits d’établissement et de résidence, marque une étape importante d’élargissement et d’approfondissement de l’intégration et de la coopération multiforme, a poursuivi le président Nkurunziza.

« L’environnement ainsi créé par le marché commun devrait permettre un boom des affaires et de l’investissement, rendant ainsi l’activité économique florissante, créant en conséquence la richesse à travers l’augmentation de la production et permettant l’augmentation du niveau de vie pour le grand bénéfice de nos populations qui, au fil de l’intégration, auront à jouir d’un meilleur bien-être », a-t-il souligné en substance.

Le président Nkurunziza, qui a souligné le rôle capital du secteur privé dans la croissance économique et le développement, ainsi que le profit qu’il aura à tirer de ce marché commun, a terminé sur une note d’espoir et d’optimisme de voir, ‘à très court terme’, la Communauté est-africaine devenir l’une des régions économiquement émergentes du monde de demain.

Les rebelles libyens veulent avancer avant le ramadan

Par Thierry Portes /www.lefigaro.fr/15/07/2011

Les insurgés envisagent de poursuivre leur effort militaire durant la période de jeûne.

Envoyé spécial à Jadu (ouest de la Libye)

L’idée de profiter du ramadan, qui durera tout le mois d’août, pour imposer une trêve et avancer vers une résolution du conflit libyen est toujours caressée par nombre de chancelleries occidentales. Les encouragements que la Maison-Blanche vient d’apporter à une médiation de la Russie, après les discussions engagées par la France avec l’entourage de Mouammar Kadhafi, prouvent que les nations de l’Otan participant aux frappes aériennes sur la Libye sont plus que jamais à la recherche d’une solution diplomatique.

Quatre mois après le déclenchement des hostilités, la solution militaire n’est en effet toujours pas en vue. L’offensive générale des rebelles sur Tripoli, hâtivement promise il y a deux semaines par les rebelles, a déjà tourné court. Les Occidentaux, notamment les Français, qui avaient parié sur ce scénario, ont revu leur copie militaire et relancé les discussions diplomatiques.

Responsable du conseil militaire dans le Djebel Nefousa, Juma Ibrahim, note cependant qu’il est «jusqu’à présent impossible de trouver une solution politique. Kadhafi veut rester en place et les rebelles ne le veulent pas». Il traduit ainsi, non pas uniquement le point de vue des combattants de l’Ouest libyen, qu’il dirige, mais également celui de ses frères d’armes de Misrata et de Benghazi.

Équilibre des forces

À moins d’une disparition soudaine de Mouammar Kadhafi, la guerre civile libyenne promet ainsi de se poursuivre sur son curieux tempo, entre guerre et paix. Rien ne sera sans doute réglé d’ici au ramadan, dont on peut douter qu’il apporte une solution politique. «Notre religion prévoit que l’on puisse, dans des cas extrêmes comme la guerre, repousser le mois de jeûne», explique Habil Aribi Doui, qui commande les forces rebelles de Jadu, dans le Djebel Nefousa. Ce ne serait pas la première fois qu’un pays musulman poursuit son effort militaire pendant ce mois. Une éventualité prise en compte par l’Otan.

Son porte-parole pour l’opération libyenne «Protecteur unifié» a récemment déclaré : «À propos du ramadan, il faudra voir si les forces de Kadhafi continuent de bombarder», ce qui ne manquerait pas de justifier des interventions des avions français et britanniques. Dans la quinzaine de jours qui les séparent d’août, les rebelles escomptent conforter leur avantage avant que ne s’engagent la bataille de Tripoli ou un règlement diplomatique du conflit imposé par l’Otan et les Occidentaux. C’est à l’ouest, dans le Djebel Nefousa, que leurs combattants ont le plus progressé ces dernières semaines. Toutefois, après avoir pris le hameau de Gualich la semaine passée, ils l’ont brièvement perdu, mercredi, avant de le reprendre en fin de journée. Ce va-et-vient prouve la réalité de l’équilibre des forces sur le terrain. Les rebelles n’en continuent pas moins de préparer la bataille d’al-Asaba, du nom d’une bourgade qui, prise, leur permettrait de mener l’attaque sur Gharyan. Gagner la dernière grande ville du Djebel Nefousa, qui leur ouvrirait la route de Tripoli, à 80 km plus au nord, ne sera toutefois pas facile.

À l’est, la ligne de front a été fixée il y a plusieurs mois à Ajdabiya. Mais les combats ont repris jeudi dans la région de Brega, faisant un mort, et les rebelles de Benghazi se déclarent prêts à lancer également l’offensive sur Ras Lanouf. Ils avaient brièvement occupé ces deux importants centres pétroliers au début du conflit. Ils ne pousseront sans doute pas leur avantage en cherchant à s’emparer de Syrte afin de joindre leurs forces à celles de leurs compagnons d’armes de Misrata. Ce plan nécessiterait un trop lourd investissement en hommes et en temps, vu l’importance des troupes kadhafistes stationnées à Syrte, ville de naissance du dictateur.

Sur le front de Tripolitaine, depuis deux mois les rebelles de Misrata butent toujours sur la ville de Zliten, à seulement une poignée de kilomètres de leurs positions. Ces derniers jours, ils sont parvenus à contourner Zliten, mais ne sont pas encore pour l’instant entrés dans cette ville. Eux-mêmes encerclés, les rebelles de Misrata ne peuvent aisément faire mouvement vers Tripoli sans prendre le risque d’être pris à revers.

Les villes qui, au début de cette guerre civile, ne sont pas passées dans le camp de la rébellion, sont ainsi demeurées fidèles au dictateur. Les cités côtières de Syrte et Homs, les villes du désert de Ben Walid et Sabha sont toujours reliées à Tripoli, d’où Mouammar Kadhafi dirige les mouvements de ses troupes et leur ravitaillement. Et où il se prépare à mener la dernière bataille qui, si elle a lieu, promet un bain de sang.

Kadhafi accuse l’Otan de “crime de guerre”

Par Europe1.fr avec Fabien Thelma/Publié le 13 juillet 2011

L’avocat français du leader libyen, Me Marcel Ceccaldi, a saisi la Cour pénale internationale.

Mouammar Kadhafi a choisi de riposter sur le même terrain. Alors que la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a délivré un mandat d’arrêt à son encontre pour crimes contre l’humanité, le leader libyen porte lui des accusations de “crimes de guerre” contre l’Otan par la voix de ses avocats français.

“Vous avez des populations civiles qui font l’objet d’attaques intentionnées de la part de l’Otan. Et bien, c’est un crime de guerre”, explique Me Marcel Ceccaldi, l’un des avocats français représentant le régime de Kadhafi.

“Est un crime de guerre, le fait d’avoir bombardé volontairement, en particulier le domicile du fils de Mouammar Kadhafi”, précise l’avocat en référence à l’attaque en mai de la demeure de Seïf al-Arab. Les frappes avaient la coûté la vie au plus jeune fils du leader libyen ainsi qu’à sa femme et ses trois enfants.

“Je vous renvoie au Statut de Rome : sont responsables des crimes de guerre, les chefs des armées”, ajoute Me Ceccaldi en référence à l’article 8 de ce texte définissant les règles de fonctionnement de la Cour pénale internationale. Adopté en 1998, le Statut de Rome décrit “le crime de guerre comme une action dirigée contre la population civile”. “L’enquête déterminera qui sont les responsables mais lorsque le domicile du fils de Mouammar Kadhafi est bombardé, ce n’est pas un objectif militaire. Il y avait à l’intérieur de la maison, une famille, des employés”, poursuit l’avocat.

“L’enquête déterminera qui sont les responsables” :

Nicolas Sarkozy pourrait être inquiété

“Le pilote qui a appuyé sur le bouton, ce n’est pas lui qui a choisi l’objectif. Les chefs des opérations militaires reçoivent les instructions des chefs de leurs armées, c’est-à-dire le président des Etats-Unis, le Premier ministre anglais et le président de la République française”, ajoute Me Ceccaldi.

Nicolas Sarkozy pourrait-il être visé directement par une plainte ? La réponse ne fait aucun doute pour lui. “Dès lors que la chaîne de commandement démontrerait que l’information a été portée à sa connaissance, il pourrait être effectivement poursuivi comme monsieur Cameron et au même titre que monsieur Obama pour crime de guerre”, conclut l’avocat.

Egypte: des milliers de manifestants au “vendredi du dernier avertissement”

(AFP) /15072011

LE CAIRE — Des milliers de manifestants se sont rassemblés vendredi à travers l’Egypte pour une journée de mobilisation, point d’orgue d’une semaine de sit-in exigeant un changement politique alors que la frustration des Egyptiens va grandissante face à l’armée qui tarde à réformer.

Plus de 28 groupes avaient appelé à manifester pour pousser le Conseil suprême des forces armées (CSFA) -qui dirige le pays depuis la chute du président Hosni Moubarak- à des réformes.

Au Caire, des milliers de protestataires étaient rassemblés place Tahrir, épicentre du mouvement qui a renversé M. Moubarak en février, où ont lieu des sit-in depuis une semaine, a constaté l’AFP.

Les manifestants qui prenaient part à cette journée baptisée “vendredi du dernier avertissement” ont réclamé un plan clair et transparent pour la transition du pouvoir, accusant les militaires de se l’être accaparé.

Un imam a appelé durant son prêche lors de la prière hebdomadaire à juger les policiers responsables de la mort de manifestants au cours des 18 jours de révolte qui ont conduit à la chute de l’ancien raïs, et prononcé une prière en leur mémoire, a rapporté l’agence officielle Mena.

Sanctionner les policiers s’étant rendus coupables d’abus, juger rapidement les hommes forts de l’ancien régime, redistribuer les richesses et mettre fin aux procès militaires de civils figurent parmi les revendications prioritaires des manifestants.

Après être longtemps resté silencieux face à la colère de la rue, le CSFA avait assuré mercredi soutenir la révolution et ses idéaux.

Le pouvoir égyptien a en outre cherché à apaiser la contestation en annonçant un report d’un à deux mois des législatives de septembre. Le ministre de l’Intérieur Mansour Issaoui a quant à lui annoncé le renvoi de plus de 650 hauts gradés de la police, dont de nombreux généraux, parlant du “plus grand remaniement de l’histoire des forces de police” en Egypte.

Mais les assurances du gouvernement laissent nombre d’Egyptiens sceptiques: “Nous voulons que nos revendications soient prises en compte, c’est pour cela que nous restons sur Tahrir”, a expliqué Ibrahim Aboul Kheir, 25 ans, membre du mouvement du 6-Avril, présent vendredi sur la place emblématique du Caire.

A l’inverse, certains groupements comme les Frères musulmans ne s’étaient pas joints à l’appel à descendre dans la rue, en raison des concessions faites par les autorités: “Le gouvernement a le droit à une chance, pour deux semaines”, a déclaré à l’AFP le leader Issam al-Aryan.

Mais, ce délai écoulé, les résultats “mériteront soit la gratitude, soit des manifestations”, a-t-il dit.

Le gouvernement a par ailleurs annoncé dans un communiqué avoir envoyé des ambulances et des médicaments sur Tahrir pour venir en aide aux manifestants grévistes de la faim.

A Alexandrie, quelque 5.000 personnes ont quitté vendredi la place Qaed Ibrahim, lieu du principal rassemblement, pour aller protester devant le siège de la police, où ils ont appelé à la démission du ministre de l’Intérieur Mansour Issaoui.

A Suez, où l’affluence a été nettement plus réduite que la semaine précédente, des centaines de personnes ont manifesté sur la place Al-Arbaeen. L’armée protégeait l’entrée du canal du Suez.

Libye: Le groupe de contact reconnaît officiellement la rebellion

le 15/07/2011/ www.20minutes.fr/ AFP

CONFLIT – La communauté internationale va ainsi pouvoir lui apporter une aide financière…

Les puissances mondiales et régionales réunies ce vendredi dans le groupe de contact sur la Libye ont pleinement reconnu la rébellion, ce qui leur permettra de lui apporter l’aide financière qu’elle réclame pour combattre le régime du colonel Kadhafi.

Le groupe de contact reconnaît désormais le Conseil national de transition (CNT), organe politique des rebelles, comme «l’autorité gouvernementale légitime» du pays, selon un extrait de la déclaration finale de la réunion du groupe à Istanbul.

«Cela veut dire que nous allons pouvoir dégeler un certain nombre d’avoirs appartenant à l’Etat libyen puisque que c’est le CNT qui exerce désormais cette responsabilité», a expliqué un peu plus tôt à la presse le ministre français des Affaires étrangères Alain Juppé.

La Turquie appelle à accroître l’aide financière

Le conseil de sécurité de l’ONU a adopté en février des sanctions économiques contre le régime de Tripoli, incluant le gel des avoirs de la famille et des personnalité proches du colonel Mouammar Kadhafi. Le CNT réclamait la rétrocession de ces avoirs à la rébellion.

La Turquie, pays hôte de cette réunion d’une journée, la quatrième du groupe de contact, a aussi appelé à accroître l’aide financière aux rebelles. «Je voudrais encourager tous nos partenaires du groupe de contact à envisager d’ouvrir des lignes de crédit au CNT, correspondant à un certain pourcentage des avoirs libyens gelés dans leurs pays», a déclaré le chef de la diplomatie turque Ahmet Davutoglu.

Son homologue italien Franco Frattini a indiqué que Rome avait débloqué en faveur de la rébellion une première tranche de 100 millions d’euros sous forme de crédits garantis par les avoirs gelés de Tripoli en Italie et que 300 millions d’euros supplémentaires seraient débloqués d’ici deux semaines.

Les rebelles appelés à établir un gouvernement de transition

Ahmet Davutoglu a également souligné que la Turquie soutenait une proposition de la rébellion de distribuer à Tripoli et Benghazi pour des besoins strictement humanitaires trois milliards de dollars provenant des avoirs gelés du régime libyen, sous supervision de l’ONU.

Dans sa déclaration finale, le groupe de contact demande que les rebelles travaillent sans délai à établir un gouvernement de transition, selon ce document distribué par une délégation à quelques journalistes. Il réclame de nouveau le départ du pouvoir du colonel Mouammar Kadhafi. «Kadhafi doit quitter le pouvoir selon des étapes définies qui seront annoncées publiquement», écrivent les alliés en Libye.

Franco Frattini, a par ailleurs affirmé que les participants à la réunion d’Istanbul avaient désigné l’émissaire spécial de l’ONU pour la Libye, Abdel Ilah al-Khatib, comme «le seul interlocuteur» parlant au nom de la communauté internationale sur la question libyenne. «Toutes les tentatives pour avoir des médiations secrètes, confidentielles, avec certains pays, car il y a eu des contacts, se sont avérées très contre-productives», a commenté le ministre, sans citer un pays en particulier.

«L’heure de la bataille a sonné»

L’émissaire de l’ONU «est habilité à présenter un paquet politique incluant un cessez-le-feu et à négocier avec Benghazi (la “capitale” des rebelles) et Tripoli», a déclaré Franco Frattini. Alain Juppé a également insisté sur la nécessité pour la communauté internationale de parler d’une seule voix à ses interlocuteurs libyens.

La réunion d’Istanbul comprend tous les pays participant à la campagne de l’Otan contre le régime de Mouammar Kadhafi. La Chine et la Russie, invitées, ont décliné l’invitation. Une quinzaine de ministres des Affaires étrangères sont présents à cette réunion d’une journée à Istanbul, ainsi que le secrétaire général de l’Otan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, et la représentante de la diplomatie européenne Catherine Ashton. Les travaux se tiennent dans un palais ottoman, sur le Bosphore.

Sur le terrain, la rébellion est passée à l’offensive, jeudi dans l’est, après des succès dans l’ouest, mais Mouammar Kadhafi est resté combatif, en annonçant que «l’heure de la bataille a sonné». Tout en consolidant leurs nouvelles positions dans l’Ouest près d’Al-Assabaa, ville stratégique à 80 km au sud de Tripoli, les rebelles ont commencé jeudi soir à avancer des troupes vers Brega, ville pétrolière de l’Est, où ils comptaient donner l’assaut.

Le gouvernement algérien met fin à la grève d’Air Algérie

Le Point.fr – Par Thierry Vigoureux / Publié le 15/07/2011

La fin du mouvement des hôtesses et des stewards d’Air Algérie, en grève depuis quatre jours, a été obtenue par le Premier ministre.

Les motifs de la grève des neuf cents hôtesses et des stewards d’Air Algérie qui a paralysé le trafic de la compagnie avec la France, très important en cette période de retour au pays, ne reposent pas uniquement sur des revendications salariales. C’est le statut même de cette catégorie de salariés qui est en cause, assimilée actuellement à du personnel au sol. Le Syndicat national du personnel navigant commercial algérien (SNPNCA – hôtesses d’accueil et stewards, chefs de cabine et chefs de cabine principaux), qui a déjà observé le 15 juin dernier une journée de débrayage, revendique un statut de personnel navigant spécifique, tout comme celui du personnel technique navigant (commandants de bord et copilotes). Cela implique un nouveau mode de rémunération assez complexe, basé sur un forfait mensuel et une grille d’heures supplémentaires, ce qui amène mécaniquement à plus de 106 % de hausse de salaire. Un chiffre qui provoque un enthousiasme pour le moins modéré des centrales syndicales algériennes qui essuient, par ailleurs, refus sur refus dans leurs demandes de hausses salariales.

Le premier conflit à Air Algérie en juin avait entraîné le limogeage du P-DG Wahid Bouabdallah, qui avait accepté 35 % d’augmentation. Son successeur Mohamed Salah Boultif a changé de stratégie et a limité la hausse à 20 %, se réfugiant derrière le respect de la loi. Le statut, lui, ne pouvait être modifié que par les instances de l’État. Aussi la sortie de crise a-t-elle été possible avec l’intervention du Premier ministre Ahmed Ouyahia qui s’est engagé à négocier sur ce point et à ne pas licencier une quarantaine de grévistes désignés par la direction de la compagnie. En France, dans de nombreux communiqués, Thierry Mariani, ministre des Transports, a assuré de son soutien les passagers (qui sont aussi des électeurs). Dans un premier temps, le gouvernement français suivait la situation de loin et avait annoncé une grève des pilotes algériens…

Lourdeur bureaucratique algérienne

La situation économique de la compagnie ne permet certainement pas de telles hausses de salaire, mais sa santé financière n’évoluera guère tant que son mode de gouvernance ne s’adaptera pas aux réalités du transport aérien. La gestion de la grève récente comme la menace de mise en liste noire d’Air Algérie en sont deux conséquences visibles. La moindre dépense, surtout si elle doit être réglée en devises, est soumise à une lourde et longue procédure d’autorisations administratives pouvant remonter aux plus hautes marches de l’État algérien.

Ainsi, les affrètements d’avions d’autres compagnies pendant la grève pour transporter les milliers de passagers en attente à Orly, Marseille, Nice, etc. n’en ont pas été facilités. La règle internationale dans ces opérations veut que la location soit payée comptant avant le décollage de l’avion. Difficile à concilier avec la lourdeur bureaucratique algérienne. Par ailleurs, en cette période de départs en vacances, les flottes des compagnies sont déjà très sollicitées, et rares sont les avions ayant six heures de disponibilité dans leur planning.

Menace de liste noire

Le mécanisme actuel des règlements financiers algériens paralyse aussi la maintenance de la compagnie Air Algérie qui peine à obtenir des pièces détachées facturées en dollars. Conséquence, les avions sont parfois mis en exploitation avec des équipements non essentiels en panne. Des tolérances sont admises et parfaitement codifiées, mais le nombre de vols autorisés reste limité. Aussi, quand un Boeing d’Air Algérie se présente sur les aéroports européens avec la même panne pendant des semaines, Bruxelles réagit.

Le Journal officiel de l’Union européenne du 5 juillet 2010 explique que la compagnie Air Algérie est dans le collimateur des autorités européennes de l’aviation civile. Depuis janvier 2009, les contrôles dits SAFA, effectués lors des escales, montrent des “manquements constatés dans les domaines de la sécurité du transport de marchandises, de la navigabilité et de l’exploitation des appareils et des licences du personnel navigant”. Les consultations de Bruxelles avec les autorités algériennes se sont multipliées, permettant d’éviter à ce jour une éventuelle entrée en liste noire.

Libye : échanges de tirs nourris entendus dans la banlieue de Misrata

2011-07-14 / xinhua

Des échanges de tirs nourris ont été entendus mercredi à Naim, situé dans la banlieue de Misrata, la troisième plus grande ville de Libye, a rapporté un correspondant de Xinhua.

Le correspondant a constaté que trois blessés avaient été transférés vers un hôpital.

Naim se trouve à seulement trois kilomètres de Zlitan, une ville côtière et un bastion des forces gouvernementales pour bloquer l’avancée des rebelles vers Tripoli, la capitale libyenne qui se trouve à 130 km de là.

Ces derniers jours, des combats féroces ont eu lieu entre les forces de l’opposition et l’armée gouvernementale, mais aucune partie ne semble avoir fait de progrès substantiels.

A Naim, le correspondant de Xinhua a également vu des rebelles sur le point de tirer des roquettes contre les forces gouvernementales. Selon des sources locales, les rebelles ont tiré mercredi au moins six roquettes de type Grad sur les troupes gouvernementales.

UN/AFRICA :

Industrialize – UN tells Africa

By Felix Njini /www.southerntimesafrica.com/ 15-07-2011

Windhoek – Boosting investment in the labour-intensive manufacturing sector is a way out for governments grappling with high unemployment levels.

A study carried out by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) drew comparisons with Asia (including China) where manufacturing is pivotal to GDP growth and job creation.

African governments should look beyond narrowly diversified economies anchored on export of raw materials by mobilizing resources, manufacturing sector investment and employment.

UNCTAD statistics show that between seven million and 10 million young Africans enter the job market annually.

The continent only accounts for one percent of global manufacturing.

Across Africa, manufacturing accounts for just 18 percent of the continent’s exports.

To its discredit, Africa remains reliant on resource-based manufacturing; including refined petroleum, basic metals, food and beverages.

The dependence on resource-based manufacturing is in stark contrast to – for example – Latin America, East Asia and the Pacific region, where the share of resource based-manufacturing was 34 and 13 percent respectively in 2008.

While resource-based manufacturing exports can contribute to high growth rates, they involve relatively low value addition and expose exporters to external price shocks.

‘Africa now accounts for about one percent of global manufacturing, and cannot realistically hope to reduce widespread poverty if its governments don’t rake effective measures to expand this vital economic sector,’ UNCTAD’s study noted.

‘Given the fact that most African countries are at an early stage of industrial development, one would expect the region to have very good performance in labour-intensive manufacturing activities.’

Failure by African governments to create high productivity jobs could either result in uprisings by dissatisfied youths or a further increase in skills loss to continents offering better prospects.

Inaction by African governments could also result in opportunities being grabbed by European, US and Chinese investors at the expense of local businesses.

Furthermore, continued reliance on primary industries such as agriculture and mining is not likely to have an impact on poverty eradication.

‘African countries should intensify efforts to develop manufacturing because it presents great opportunities for sustained growth, employment and poverty reduction,’ UNCTAD said.

Africa’s industrial structure is weak in terms of the number of firms and their average size, while weak technological capabilities stunt corporate growth.

Building an industrial base requires Africa to address structural weaknesses such as policy failures, poor infrastructure, low human capital, small size of domestic markets and a low entrepreneurial base.

‘Africa lags behind other developing country regions in skills and vocational training, reflecting largely the impact of the relative neglect of tertiary education,’ UNCTAD said.

To industrialize, UNCTAD advised, Africa should take effective leadership of the development process.

‘Because of Africa’s high dependence on official flows, external actors have had significant influence on the choice of policies and development paths in the region (continent) and this has had serious consequences for the attainment of national development goals and can make the achievement of industrial development more difficult.’

The UN agency recommended that African economies maintain linkages with the key agriculture sector and that industrialization should not be done at the expense of farming.

Industrialization, however, requires financing.

‘African governments should enhance the domestic mobilization of private and public savings by institution fiscal reforms, making more efficient use of public resources and developing and enhancing access to financial institutions.’

Manufacturing could also be financed by commercial banks.

Unfortunately, many commercial banks grow their balance sheets on short-term financing while industrial development requires long-term capital.

Africa could benefit from financing opportunities and skills available from Brazil, China, India and Turkey through enhanced South-South co-operation.

The UNCTAD study gave credence to African initiatives such as regional integration, which it argued could help countries build national industrial objectives.

‘Building a robust regional market is critical to unlocking Africa’s manufacturing potential and preparing it to compete in global export markets.

‘Given Africa’s current lack of competitiveness in the global market for manufacturers and the positive role that regional integration could play in addressing the issue, African countries should adopt an industrialisation and export strategy that emphasises the regional market as an engine of growth,’ UNCTAD said.

Statistics show that developed markets took a 60 percent chunk of

Africa’s total merchandise exports in 2009.

Asia accounted for 24.3 percent, Africa 12.3 percent and Latin America 3.1 percent.

And as Africa’s population booms on the backdrop of income growth, the continent could boost industrialization.

The UN projects Africa’s population to grow by 2.7 percent between 2009 and 2050.

Europe’s population is expected to decline by 0.3 percent, Asia’s will grow by 0.9 percent, Latin America 0.9 percent and North America by 0.7 percent.

‘The regional market can be a force for industrial development in Africa because unlike Africa’s exports to the rest of the world, which is skewed towards commodities and against manufacturers, the share of manufacturers in intra-African exports is quite high.’

Contrary to conventional economic wisdom, UNCTAD advised African governments to deliberately intervene in their economies to promote manufacturing.

‘The experiences of currently advanced countries and emerging economies indicate that governments have an important role to play in inducing structural transformation,’ the study said.

Developed countries used industrial policies to redirect resources and production to priority activities deemed necessary to promote industrialisation.

Steps towards building Africa’s industrialization capacity should anchor on promoting scientific and technological innovation, creating linkages in the domestic economy, fostering entrepreneurship, improving government capabilities, adopting appropriate monetary and fiscal policies, enhancing resources mobilization among others.

‘A new industrial policy is needed to induce structural transformation and engender development in African economies,’ UNCTAD concluded.

UN reports measles outbreaks, deaths among children in Ethiopia, Kenya

By Associated Press, / Friday, July 15

GENEVA — United Nations officials say outbreaks of measles in Ethiopia and Kenya have killed dozens of children and sickened thousands of others.

UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said Friday at least 17,584 measles cases, including 114 deaths, have been reported by Ethiopian health officials in the first half of the year.

.World Health Organization spokesman Tarek Jasarevic says at least 462 cases of measles, including 11 deaths, have been confirmed in recent months among Somali refugee children in the Kenyan refugee complex known as Dadaab.

He says 2 million children in Ethiopia are at risk of contracting measles.

WHO has warned that the movement of people and poor sanitation in overcrowded camps and towns due to drought and violence in East Africa increases the risk of cholera, typhoid and measles epidemics.

US/AFRICA:

‘Decision time’: Obama pauses contentious debt talks

msnbc.com news services /2011-07-15

President waits for ‘plan of action’ from lawmakers as warnings on default sounded

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama suspended U.S. budget negotiations for the day on Friday to give congressional leaders a chance to come up with a “plan of action” on how to unblock talks meant to cut deficits and avert a debt default.

Obama, who had vowed to meet top lawmakers every day until a deal is reached to raise the U.S. debt limit, gave top Democrats and Republicans until Saturday morning to reconsider their positions in the high-stakes negotiations.

He will hold a news conference on Friday at 11:00 a.m. EDT while awaiting feedback from meetings on Capitol Hill due to take place in the morning.

The debt negotiations may resume over the weekend.

“It’s decision time. We need concrete plans to move this forward,” Obama said on the fifth straight day of debt negotiations on Thursday, according to a Democratic official.

Financial markets are starting to worry that Republicans and Democrats are too far apart to reach a major budget agreement by Aug. 2, when the United States would run out of money unless the cap on government borrowing is raised.

Obama, who is running for re-election in November 2012, has rejected the idea of a stopgap or short-term agreement that would require the debt ceiling to be raised again next year.

First Thoughts: Always darkest before the deal

“A short-term solution is not something I will sign,” he said on Thursday.

Republicans are pressing for at least $1 in spending cuts for every $1 that the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling is lifted, and say the White House needs to get serious about reducing spending to properly address the debt problem.

Democrats are open to certain cuts but want some tax increases and other revenue-builders to be included in any deal so that the burdens of the austerity are shared.

Obama thinks a deal worth $2 trillion could be feasible if both sides bend a bit, officials familiar with the talks said.

McConnell compromise

But attention was focusing on a separate track under discussion by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. That plan would give Obama greater authority to raise the debt ceiling while setting procedures in motion that could lead to federal spending cuts.

The outline of the plan was winning unusual bipartisan support even as some conservatives voiced misgivings. The proposal is no one’s preferred option, and that’s what might make it the most palatable.

Under the plan, which would require approval by the House and Senate, Obama would have the power to order an increase in the debt limit of up to $2.5 trillion over the coming year unless both House and Senate vote by two-thirds margins to deny him. Reid and McConnell were trying to work out ways to guarantee that Congress would also get to vote on sizable deficit reductions. The plan also could be linked to immediate spending cuts already identified by White House and congressional negotiators.

“What may look like something less than optimal today, if we’re unable to get an agreement might look pretty good a few weeks from now,” Speaker John Boehner told reporters.

Talks were also under way over a plan to appoint 12 lawmakers from both parties to draft a long-term framework to stabilize the national debt, The Washington Post reported.

‘Historically disastrous’

Participants and aides described Thursday’s White House session as far more cordial than the tense conclusion to Wednesday’s meeting, when a curt Obama declared “enough is enough” and dispensed with end-of-meeting niceties.

One of the people in the room for the negotiations, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, said Obama has put on a display of patience.

“He is the president of the United States. I know he is busy,” Pelosi said. “I myself am almost too busy to continue listening to some of the things going on in that room, so I know he must be very busy. But he has treated everyone there with great dignity.”

The last such make-or-break negotiations, day by day, happened just earlier this year to prevent a shutdown of the government.

“Compared to the situation we’re in right now, the government shutdown was pee wee football. This is the Super Bowl,” said White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “This is incredibly important. The consequences of a shutdown would have been bad. The consequences of not dealing with this situation would be historically disastrous.”

‘The clock is ticking’

Compromises required for such a deal could be awkward for both Democrats and Republicans as the 2012 campaign heats up.

But a failure to raise the debt ceiling stands to hurt the fragile U.S. economy and reverberate worldwide, driving up interest rates and shaking currency, equity and bond markets.

China, the United States’ biggest foreign creditor with more than $1 trillion in Treasury debt as of March, fears even a small U.S. default. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday it hopes Washington adopts responsible policies to protect investor interests.

South Korea, which has more than $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves, was more upbeat. Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said he was optimistic that the United States will resolve the debt crisis and avoid default.

“We are not at a stage at which we need to consider steps such as (reviving) a currency swap,” Bahk told Reuters in an interview, referring to currency arrangements set up with the U.S. Federal Reserve during the global financial crisis.

“I am optimistic the U.S. Congress and government will find a good solution before the Aug. 2 deadline.”

The ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have also signaled they may cut the gold-plated U.S. credit rating if the borrowing limit isn’t raised and bills are not paid.

Dette : les Etats-Unis “dos au mur”

Par Frédéric Frangeul avec agences /www.europe1.fr/Publié le 15 juillet 2011

Si rien n’est fait avant le 2 août, l’économie américaine sera menacée de défaut de paiement.

Les négociations entre Barack Obama et les républicains sont dans l’impasse sur les mesures à prendre pour trouver une solution à l’épineux dossier de la dette américaine. Europe1.fr revient en détail sur les raisons de cette crise.

14.294 milliards de dollars. Tel est le montant de la dette américaine depuis le 16 mai dernier. Ce montant, qui correspond au maximum légal autorisé outre-Atlantique, est au cœur de l’épreuve de force en cours entre le président Barack Obama et les élus républicains du Congrès.

Un bras de fer politique. Le président américain veut obtenir le relèvement du plafond de la dette. De leur côté, les républicains, majoritaires au Congrès, demandent qu’on s’attaque en priorité au déficit. Mais pour y parvenir, Barack Obama, qui estime avoir fait un pas important en sacrifiant d’importants budgets publics, attend maintenant un geste des républicains, à savoir leur accord pour une hausse de la fiscalité des plus riches.

Augmenter les impôts des classes aisées ? Pour Philippe Wechter, directeur des études économiques chez Natixis, “on est dans une situation assez particulière aux Etats-Unis où les taux d’imposition sont très faibles”. “L’enjeu est là : est-ce que les Américains les plus riches, qui ont bénéficié le plus de l’amélioration de l’activité économique ces quinze dernières années, doivent payer plus d’impôts?”, a détaillé Philippe Waechter sur Europe 1.

Une course contre-la-montre. Les discussions aux Etats-Unis sont toujours dans l’impasse après cinq séances d’échanges. Ce qui a poussé le président américain a tapé jeudi du poing sur la table. “Le temps des décisions est venu” a-t-il fait savoir, mettant les républicains au pied du mur. Il leur a donné 36 heures pour trouver un accord. Lors d’une conférence de presse vendredi 15 juillet à Washington, Barack Obama a rappelé sa détermination. “Il nous reste peu de temps. Nous sommes dos au mur”, a-t-il indiqué. “Il ne faut pas jouer avec la dette”, a-t-il ajouté, jugeant le plan des républicains sans hausse d’impôts “pas sérieux”.

La menace du défaut de paiement. Le Trésor américain est formel : si rien n’est fait avant le 2 août, les Etats-Unis seront menacés de défaut de paiement. En théorie, cette situation aurait pour conséquence d’interdire à l’américaine de dépenser le moindre dollar. Les fonctionnaires ne seraient donc plus payés et les retraites ne seraient plus versées. Avec pour conséquence de plonger le pays dans une crise économique majeure. Un danger que les agences de notations internationales ont bien perçu, menaçant de dégrader la note américaine actuellement à “triple A”, la meilleure qui soit.

Les conséquences d’un abaissement de la note. Un abaissement de la note américaine causerait un séisme financier. Le PDG de la banque américaine JPMorgan estime en effet qu’un défaut de paiement américain pourrait être une “catastrophe” et qu’il serait donc “irresponsable d’en prendre le risque”. Même point de vue pour Ben Bernanke, le président de la banque fédérale américaine, qui a exhorté les élus américains à entendre le message des agences de notation. Pour lui, la perte du “triple A” des Etats-Unis entraînerait “une hausse des taux d’intérêts, de l’incertitude” et, “assurément”, une hausse du chômage.

La pression chinoise. De son côté, la Chine a également mis la pression sur les Etats-Unis pour qu’ils sortent cette impasse. Elle a demandé jeudi l’adoption des mesures “pour préserver les intérêts des investisseurs”. Pékin a placé plus de mille milliards de dollars en bons du Trésor américain, soit plus d’un tiers de ses colossales réserves de change. De quoi demander quelques garanties sur l’état de l’économie américaine.

Quelles issues possibles ? En cas de désaccord persistant, Barack Obama peut décider tout seul de relever le plafond de la dette. Mais il serait alors le seul à assumer la détérioration des comptes publics. ce qui constituerait une aubaine pour ses adversaires républicains, à un an de l’élection présidentielle américaine.

EU/AFRICA :

Libye : Kadhafi et l’épouvantail Sarkozy

15 juillet 2011/www.francesoir.fr

Une nouvelle fois, le colonel Mouammar Kadhafi a motivé ses troupes en ciblant ses ennemis occidentaux, et plus particulièrement Nicolas Sarkozy.

« Un criminel de guerre ». C’est en ces mots que Mouammar Kadhafi a désigné, jeudi, Nicolas Sarkozy, désormais élevé au rang de « meilleur ennemi » du régime libyen. Dans un enregistrement sonore diffusé par la télévision d’État – le troisième en deux semaines – le « guide » a une nouvelle fois motivé ses troupes en ciblant les ennemis occidentaux et donc, le chef de l’État français, qu’il critique violemment. « Sarkozy a détruit les rapports de son pays avec la Libye et les pays musulmans, assène-t-il avec sa retenue habituelle. C’est un retardé mental. »

Et Mouammar Kadhafi de faire référence aux origines hongroises du président de la République, assurant que le chef de l’État n’est « pas français » et qu’il a même « entaché l’histoire de la nation française ». Le dirigeant libyen va même jusqu’à conseiller le peuple de l’Hexagone. « En menant une croisade contre le peuple libyen, il (Nicolas Sarkozy) a entraîné son pays dans une guerre perdue. Celui-là n’est pas Français, il faut que le peuple bannisse ce criminel qui n’est pas français », a-t-il déclaré.

Suicidaire

Mouammar Kadhafi poursuit sa lutte contre les rebelles qui, reprennent peu à peu du terrain. « L’heure de la bataille a sonné, préparez-vous pour marcher sur Benghazi, sur Misrata et sur les montagnes de l’Ouest , a lancé le guide. (…) Nous sommes là et nous resterons sur cette terre, je resterai aux côtés de mon peuple jusqu’à la dernière goutte de mon sang. »

Ce discours teinté d’envie suicidaire pourrait bien être révélateur d’une volonté profonde. Selon Mikhaïl Margelov, un émissaire russe qui revient de Libye, le régime libyen aurait en effet mis sur pied un plan totalement suicidaire si des rebelles venaient à marcher sur Tripoli : la faire sauter en envoyant des missiles. Le diplomate du Kremlin exprime ses craintes dans un entretien au journal Izvestia, l’un des plus grands quotidiens russe. « Le Premier ministre libyen m’a dit à Tripoli : si les rebelles prennent la ville, nous la couvrirons de missiles et la ferons sauter », détaille-t-il avant de poursuivre : « Je crois que ce genre de plan suicidaire de la part Kadhafi existe effectivement ».

Trade and energy dominates Merkel’s Africa visit

15.07.2011 /www.dw-world.de

In her three-country trip to Africa, Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted to show that Germany sees Africa as more than a conflict zone. Her visit focused on trade and partnerships with Kenya, Angola and Nigeria.

In her visit to three giants of sub-Saharan Africa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear this was a trip prompted by trade, not aid.

The message repeated through her stops in Kenya, Angola and Nigeria was that it’s in Germany’s interests to see these countries stand on their own two feet, and be less reliant on foreign intervention.

Merkel wound up her trip on Thursday with a meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who paid tribute to Germany’s “key role” in Nigerian development.

The two discussed ways that Germany and Africa’s largest oil producer could boost cooperation, stressing energy as a particular area of focus. Merkel said Germany would help set up hydro power plants in Nigeria and said they would cooperate in speeding up the development of liquefied natural gas.

Partnership with Nigeria

Echoing sentiments she made in Angola earlier in the trip, Merkel praised Nigeria’s willingness to use its own troops to solve conflicts in Africa. She said the continent should rely on its own forces as much as possible.

“African conflict prevention and resolution will relieve United Nations peacekeeping in future,” the chancellor said.

The two countries agreed on forming a bi-national commission which will meet and discuss issues that are important to both nations.

Jonathan said a commission was important as some things “don’t move as fast as we want to.”

In her address, Merkel said themes such as education, combating disease, fighting terrorism and human rights were some of the issues for the two countries to work on.

“Nigeria still has to overcome a few impediments and problems so as to ensure prosperity for everyone in this country,” Merkel said. “And Germany will want to be at Nigeria’s side and to help Nigeria in this endeavor.”

Focus on trade

The chancellor opened her African visit in Kenya, a country experiencing a current economic boom. She was accompanied by a delegation of German business interests and told Kenyan officials that the door to the German economy was always open.

“The German economy has a great interest in further cooperation,” Merkel told delegates in Kenya.

Her next stop was Angola, where the focus was again on trade and investment. Trade between Angola and Germany currently stands at around 400 million euros ($566 million) and Merkel was keen to boost economic ties further.

Angola is still suffering from the effects of 27 years of civil war, and Merkel pledged Germany’s support for reconstruction projects and education and professional training.

“Germany is a fair and decent partner, not only interested in making profits but concerned with the development of Angola,” she added.

Warship controversy

Her stop in Angola proved to be more controversial, as the chancellor announced Wednesday that Germany was prepared to sell six to eight patrol boats to the country as part of an international cooperation deal.

Angola is rich in oil and natural resources, and Merkel suggested an “energy and raw materials” partnership in exchange for patrol boats to protect Angola’s borders.

“Every country needs to secure its own borders,” Merkel said when defending the exchange. “I think what we have here is not about a build up of armaments, but border security boats.”

Although the move had already been sanctioned by the previous governmen in Berlin, the move was criticized by the opposition Greens and Social Democrats.

Claudia Roth, leader of the Green party, labeled Merkel the “patron saint of the arms lobby,” while the SPD raised questions over Angola’s human rights record.

The controversy follows reports of the secret sale of hundreds of German tanks to Saudi Arabia that put Merkel under fire last week.

Author: Catherine Bolsover (AFP, dpa)

Editor: Martin Kuebler

Dutch cops in Rwanda for genocide probe

2011-07-15/SAPA

Kigali – Dutch police are in Rwanda to investigate suspects living in The Netherlands accused of crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an official said on Thursday.

“A team of five investigators, all Dutch police officers, are here to hear witnesses about two dozen suspects living in The Netherlands,” said Jean Bosco Siboyintore, the head of the unit tracking down genocide suspects.

Kigali has sent to The Hague a list of 20 Dutch-based suspects it accuses of involvement in the genocide, he added.

“We agreed [with the Dutch] that investigators would come to Rwanda to investigate themselves,” Siboyintore told AFP. “They conduct their investigations independently.”

Among the suspects accused of genocide and incitement to commit genocide is Yvonne Basebya, aged 64, the wife of a former parliamentarian.

She is accused of preparing a list of people to be killed in the Kigali neighbourhood she lived in – charges for which Rwanda’s traditional courts tried her in absentia on in 2007 and sentenced her to life imprisonment.

A Dutch appeals court last week sentenced to life imprisonment Joseph Mpambara, for having carried out an attack on a Protestant church where Tutsis had fled.

He was the first Rwandan to be convicted in The Netherlands for crimes during the genocide in which 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died, according to United Nations estimates.

– SAPA

Paris-Bruxelles: 309 KM contre les violences sexuelles en RDC

14. juil / Par Momi M’buze/ www.jambonews.net

Une marche mémorable de 309 kilomètres, depuis Paris à Bruxelles, a été entreprise contre les crimes sexuels commis contre les femmes en RD Congo du 30 juin au 14 juillet 2011.

Le second but était celui de déposer auprès des instances politiques et judiciaires belges un mémorandum demandant l’ouverture d’un tribunal international pour les crimes et violences sexuelles commis en RD Congo pour juger et punir les coupables, grands et petits. Car reconnaitre qu’il y a eu crime est une chose mais il faut passer à l’étape supérieur: faire justice! Car il ne peut y avoir de paix sans justice dans la région des grands lacs d’Afrique.

Cette initiative fut soutenue par plusieurs associations et organismes dont Ni Putes Ni soumises de France et Belgique mais aussi de manière ponctuelle par des municipalités des villes traversées qui offrirent le gite et le couvert gratuitement. Beaucoup d’habitants des villes traversées de France et Belgique accordèrent leur soutien, leur compréhension et compassion à la cause. Il s’agit des villes suivantes: Goussainville, Senlis, Compiègne, Noyon, Tergnier, St Quentin, Bohain en Vermandois, Solesnes, Valenciennes, Boussu, Mons, Soignies, Halle, Bruxelles.

En marge de cette marche, un groupuscule de Belgique s’est tristement distingué par son manque de compréhension de l’objectif de la marche parlant de récupération politique de la part d’autres personnes s’étant intégrées dans la marche

Alors que la marche n’avait aucun but politique mais plutôt social voire judiciaire, ce groupe ouvertement anti-Kabila, s’en est pris à quelques personnes, dont principalement Gisèle Mandaila, députée bruxelloise(MR), présentés comme étant pro-régimes et a épousé à leur égard des comportements déshonorant pour la communauté congolaise mais aussi africaine de France et Belgique.

A leur décharge toutefois, même si cela n’excuse pas leurs gestes, Madame Gisèle Mandaila avait été prévenue depuis Mons qu’elle était indésirable. La bonne séance aurait voulu qu’elle agisse avec sagesse et laisse la direction du groupe des membres de Ni Putes Ni Soumises de France à Fatoumata Sidibe, elle aussi députée dans le même parti mais aussi activiste de très longue date dans ces mouvements d’émancipation de la femme.

Autant les combattants ont fait preuve de brutalités autant il y a eu sans doute un moment un manque de sagesse surtout de la part d’une femme politique. Et c’est du mélange des deux qu’est née cette cacophonie.

L’inaction de ceux connus comme étant les leaders de ces mouvements face à ces comportements est également à regretter.

Les 309 kilomètres parcourus par ceux venus de France mérite d’attirer plus l’attention que ces comportements ayant déshonorés la cause qui a fait marcher les uns depuis Paris, les autres depuis Mons ou Halle.

309 kilomètres de détermination de voir justice enfin faite à ces femmes, filles et hommes. 309 kilomètres de volonté de vouloir participer à son niveau. Car ce sont 309 kilomètres pour dire qu’on aurait pu être à la place de ceux et celles en RD Congo et ailleurs en Afrique victime de ces comportements criminels ayant pour but le pillage et l’exploitation des minerais dont le Coltan qu’utilisent nos appareils portables (GSM et Ordinateurs).

Donc à défaut de prendre les décisions, de changer radicalement les choses, nous avons marché, pour que symboliquement la voix, la douleur de ces femmes et les crimes des personnes concernées soient plus que jamais connu de tous et que… justice soit faite!

Momi M’buze

Jambonews.net

Grève à Air Algérie : annulation des six vols prévus mercredi à Marseille

lci.tf1.fr/12/07/2011

Les six vols de la compagnie Air Algérie prévus mercredi au départ de l’aéroport Marseille Provence sont annulés du fait d’une grève du personnel navigant commercial de la compagnie en Algérie, a indiqué mardi à l’AFP un porte-parole de l’aéroport. Mardi, sur les sept vols assurés par Air Algérie au départ de Marseille, six ont été annulés (Constantine, Oran, Annaba et Alger), celui à destination de Batna étant le seul à être parti normalement, a-t-on précisé de même source. Néanmoins, deux avions supplémentaires ont été affrétés pour acheminer en priorité les voyageurs à mobilité réduite et devaient partir mardi soir à destination d’Alger.

Air Algérie : pas de vol au départ de Paris

Par Europe1.fr avec AFP/Publié le 13 juillet 2011

Tous les vols d’Air Algérie entre Paris et l’Algérie sont annulés mercredi en raison de la grève à la compagnie aérienne, a annoncé une source aéroportuaire. Une centaine de passagers, qui voulaient rejoindre l’Algérie pour les vacances, ont dormi dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi à l’aéroport d’Orly, où l’ambiance est souvent tendue au comptoir de la compagnie.

A Marseille, les six vols prévus mercredi au départ de l’aéroport Marseille-Provence sont également annulés. A Nice, par contre, un vol à destination de l’Algérie est maintenu mercredi en fin de matinée.

AirAlgérie:milliers de personnes bloquées

AFP /13/07/2011

Les annulations de vols provoquées par la grève d’Air Algérie ont conduit au “blocage de milliers de passagers” dans les aéroports français, a déploré mercredi dans un communiqué le ministre des Transports, Thierry Mariani.

Le ministre a réuni mercredi matin “des représentants de l’ambassade d’Algérie en France, de la compagnie Air Algérie, d’Aéroports de Paris et des services de l’Etat” et a rappelé au transporteur aérien ses “obligations envers ses clients”.

Abidjan. Fillon rend hommage à Stéphane Frantz di Rippel

15 juillet 2011 / www.letelegramme.com

.Le directeur du Novotel d’Abidjan, Stéphane Frantz Di Rippel, Yves Lambelin -patron du groupe privé Sifca- et deux de leurs collaborateurs – Raoul Adeossi et Chelliah Pandian- avaient été enlevés le 4 avril dernier puis conduits au palais présidentiel où ils ont été torturés avant d’être tués. Aujourd’hui en déplacement en Côte d’Ivoire, François Fillon leur a rendu hommage.

“Les raisons de l’acte inqualifiable qui a coûté la vie à ces quatre hommes demeurent encore inexpliquées”, a déclaré le chef du gouvernement français lors de l’inauguration d’une plaque en leur hommage placée dans le hall du Novotel. “La justice doit aller à son terme, et je suis convaincu que les coupables et les commanditaires de ces crimes seront identifiés, poursuivis et

punis”, a ajouté le chef du gourvernement.

Minute de silence

Quatre miliciens pro-Gbagbo, quatre militaires et un commissaire de police ont été inculpés par la justice ivoirienne dans cette affaire. “Je forme le voeu que dans cette Côte d’Ivoire meurtrie, l’heure des peurs et des pleurs s’efface devant l’aube d’un jour nouveau où liberté, fraternité et démocratie règnent sans partage”, a conclu le Premier ministre, avant d’observer une minute de silence en présence de proches des victimes.

Stéphane Frantz di Rippel, enlevé après avoir protégé notamment des journalistes présents dans l’hôtel, et Yves Lambelin, patron français du plus grand groupe privé de Côte d’Ivoire, seront élevés dans l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur.

La France annulera 1milliard d’euros de dettes de la Côte d’Ivoire

15/07/2011 / www.latribune.fr

Au deuxième jour de sa tournée africaine, François Fillon annonce des aides pour la Côte d’Ivoire. La France serait prête à annuler 1 milliard d’euros de dette et à passer des “contrats de développement” pour 2 milliards d’euros. Quatre mois après la fin des violents affrontements ayant suivi l’élection d’Alassane Ouattara à la tête de la Côte d’Ivoire, François Fillon promet de nouvelles aides pour le pays. En déplacement à Abidjan ce vendredi, le Premier ministre français a annoncé une remise de 1 milliard d’euros de dettes au pays tout juste sorti de la guerre civile. Cette somme s’ajoute aux 2 milliards d’euros auxquels la France a déjà renoncé en mai lors de la visite de Nicolas Sarkozy sur place.

A la suite du conflit entre les soutiens de Laurent Gbago, ex-chef d’Etat ivorien, et le camp favorable à l’actuel président, Alassane Ouattara, la France avait versé 350 millions d’euros d’aides pour aider à financer la reconstruction.

La France, partenaire “privilégié” de la Côte d’Ivoire

François Fillon voit plus loin qu’une simple aide d’urgence. “D’ici à quinze ans, je suis convaincu que la Côte d’Ivoire a toutes les chances de figurer parmi les pays émergents si elle s’engage dès maintenant dans la voie de l’exigence”, a-t-il ainsi annoncé lors de l’ouverture d’un forum réunissant entreprises françaises et ivoriennes à Abidjan.

La France reste l’un des premiers partenaires économiques de la Côte d’Ivoire avec 140 filiales de groupes français et 500 petites et moyennes entreprises qui y sont implantées. Le Premier ministre, qui s’est déplacé avec les représentants d’Alstom, Bolloré, BNP Parisbas ou encore Total, a réaffirmé la place de la France comme “partenaire de référence” de la Côte d’Ivoire. “L’un des plus importants contrats de désendettement-développement, pour près de 2 milliards d’euros”, a aussi été annoncé lors de cette conférence.

CHINA/AFRICA:

China pursues no colonialism policy in Africa

Updated: 2011-07-15 /(Xinhua)/ www.chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING — Chinese companies investing in Africa should abide by local laws and regulations, shoulder social responsibility, and pay attention to environmental protection and people’s wellbeing, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.

Chinese companies will strengthen their investment management in the continent to achieve mutually advantageous results for each other, Yao Jian, spokesman for the MOC said at a regular press conference, while adding allegations that China pursues a policy of new colonialism in Africa are groundless.

China has long been a big player in providing foreign aid to Africa. To date, the country has helped build more than 2,000 km of railways, 3,000 km of highways, 100 schools and 60 hospitals in the continent, and reduced or remitted debt worth of more than 20 billion yuan ($3.08 billion), Yao said.

Furthermore, the nation has provided aid in the construction of 20 agricultural demonstration centers, 30 anti-malaria centers and 100 renewable energy projects since 2009, which are all badly needed in Africa, he added.

Etisalat, EXIM and Huawei ink MoU for strategic cooperation

Fri, Jul 15, 2011 / Source : PTI/ www.moneycontrol.com

UAE telecom operator Etisalat, the Export-Import Bank of China and Huawei International have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Strategic Cooperation, encompassing Etisalat’s entire footprint in 18 countries.

Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei and Etisalat will continue to work together to provide innovative new technologies and services across Middle East, Africa and Asia to enrich people’s lives with emerging telecom technologies; and China EXIM Bank will extend finance support to the cooperation of the two companies.

The MoU was signed by Nasser bin Obood, Etisalat Acting/Chief Executive Officer; Yuan Xingyong, Assistant President China EXIM Bank; and Ji Ping, the Executive Vice-President of Huawei, amongst other dignitaries and business leaders from the UAE and China.

The signing ceremony took place at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

Commenting on the occasion, bin Obood said: “Etisalat has established a reputation within the telecom community for continuously innovating and identifying new ways of providing customers an unparalleled telecommunication experience.”

“Through this strategy, Etisalat touches every sphere of our customers’ lives and this helps maintain our leadership across our markets.

“This partnership is another demonstration of Etisalat’s commitment to provide the latest technologies to its customers and to help develop ICT across the entire region and countries we operate in,” he said.

Bin Obood said that through this agreement, Etisalat and Huawei will share the latest best practice covering telecommunication industry trends, including intelligent management of networks, cloud computing and applications.

“In the past eight years, the cooperation between Etisalat and Huawei has witnessed significant growth and success. From the first 3G network deployed in MENA in 2003, Etisalat and Huawei have since moved on to collaborate on a global perspective by cooperating to build and expand Etisalat’s networks in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, Afghanistan,” he said.

Yuan Xingyong, the Assistant President of the Export-Import Bank of China, said signing of this MOU will not only contribute to economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, but will also open a new chapter for cooperation between the three parties to this MOU.

Moreover, it is also of great importance for Chinese enterprises in their ‘go global’ endeavour, Xingyong said. After the signing ceremony, Ji Ping, the Executive Vice-President of Huawei, said: “Etisalat has been leading the Middle East’s telecommunication evolution for over three decades. It is the pioneer in deploying advanced infrastructure and introducing the latest telecom services.”

“Since 2003, starting with the first 3G network in Gulf, we have been honored to be sharing a strategic relationship with Etisalat. The agreement today is the enhancement in our strengthening partnership,” he added.

EN BREF, CE 15 Juillet 2011 … AGNEWS/DAM,NY, 15/07/2011