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  • Norwegian Kenya Attack Suspect Named

    Norwegian Kenya Attack Suspect Named

    {{The man being investigated by Norwegian police over the attack on Kenya’s Westgate shopping centre is Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, media has learned.}}

    The 23-year-old Norwegian citizen of Somali origin is suspected of helping to plan and carry out the attack.

    Reporters have spoken to a relative of his in Norway who said he left the town of Larvik for Somalia in 2009.

    At least 67 people died in the attack in Nairobi, which the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab says it carried out.

    Last week Norway’s intelligence agency, the PST, said it had sent officers to Kenya to verify reports that a Norwegian citizen had been involved in the assault on the shopping centre, which began on Saturday 21 September and lasted four days.

    It is unclear how many militants were involved. Police had initially estimated that there were 10-15 attackers inside the complex, but the CCTV footage which has so far been released by the Kenyan authorities shows just four men.

    Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow is believed to be one of those four, the media has learned from sources in Kenya and Norway.

    Forensic investigators are still combing through the rubble of Westgate – no bodies have yet been identified and it is not known whether the attackers are alive or dead.

    BBC

  • Ethiopia ‘tortures’ inmates says HRW

    Ethiopia ‘tortures’ inmates says HRW

    {{Ethiopian authorities are torturing and mistreating political detainees to extract confessions, Human Rights Watch says.}}

    The US-based group says former prisoners at the main detention centre in Addis Ababa described being beaten and kicked during interrogation.

    It accuses Ethiopia of using anti-terrorism laws to stifle dissent.

    The government has dismissed the report as biased and lacking credible evidence, according to media.

    The report by HRW says police investigators at Maekelawi prison use illegal interrogation methods, keep inmates in poor detention conditions, and routinely deny them access to a lawyer.

    Former detainees reported “being held in painful stress positions for hours upon end, hung from the wall by their wrists, often while being beaten”, it said.

    {{‘Culture of impunity’}}

    “Ethiopian authorities right in the heart of the capital regularly use abuse to gather information,” said Leslie Lefkow, HRW’s deputy Africa director.

    “Beatings, torture, and coerced confessions are no way to deal with journalists or the political opposition.”

    {Protests earlier this year called for the release of political prisoners}
    {wirestory}

  • China’s Economic Growth Speeds Up

    China’s Economic Growth Speeds Up

    China’s economic growth picked up pace in the July-to-September period, the first rise in three quarters.

    The world’s second-biggest economy grew 7.8% from a year earlier, up from 7.5% expansion in the previous quarter.

    The official figures also showed growth in industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment.

    After years of blistering growth, China has seen its pace of expansion slow recently and there have been fears that growth may slow further.

    China has set a growth target of 7.5% for the year. Analysts said the latest numbers indicated that it was likely that Beijing would meet this.

    “This is an indication that China’s economic growth is holding up in a range which is within the comfort zone of both the Chinese policymakers as well as global watchers,” said Song Seng Wun, a senior economist with CIMB Research .

    {{‘Keep it going’}}

    Over the past few decades China has relied heavily on its exports and manufacturing sectors as well as government-led infrastructure spending to help boost growth.

    However, a slowdown in key markets such as the US and Europe has hurt demand for its exports.

    As a result, it has been trying to spur domestic demand to offset the decline in foreign sales and also to rebalance its growth.

    Earlier this year, it unveiled fresh measures to help boost the economy.

    From 1 August, China has suspend value-added tax (VAT) and turnover tax for small businesses with monthly sales of less than 20,000 yuan ($3,257; £2,125).

    The cabinet said the move would benefit more than six million small companies and boost employment and income for millions of people.

    Policymakers said they would also implement measures to simplify customs clearance procedures, cut operational fees and facilitate the exports of small and medium-sized private enterprises.

    The cabinet also announced plans to completely open China’s railway construction market to private investors to develop the sector further.

    It said it would set up a railway development fund, with the initial money coming from the government.

    Analysts said the moves were starting to have an impact on the growth numbers.

    {agencies}

  • India Police Arrest Crew of US Ship

    India Police Arrest Crew of US Ship

    {{Police in India say they have arrested the crew of a US-owned ship accused of illegally entering Indian waters with a huge cache of weapons.}}

    MV Seaman Guard Ohio was detained on 12 October by the Indian Coast Guard and is anchored at Tuticorin port in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

    Its 35-member crew include Indians, Britons, Ukrainians and Estonians.

    The vessel, owned by a private US-based security firm, is registered in Sierra Leone, officials say.

    The US embassy in the capital, Delhi, told the media they had “no comment” to make on the reports.

    A police official in Tuticorin said that the crew have been taken to the Motiapuram police station where they are being questioned.

    Since February last year, India and Italy have been embroiled in a bitter diplomatic row after India arrested two Italian marines for killing two Indian fishermen.

    The marines – who are being prosecuted in India – were accused of shooting the fishermen off the Kerala coast.

    They were guarding an Italian oil tanker and said they mistook the fishermen for pirates.

    In recent years piracy has emerged as a major threat to merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, with Somali pirates hijacking ships and their crews for ransom.

    But there have been fewer attacks recently, partly because more armed guards are now deployed on board ships.

    {agencies}

  • Brazil Crime Bosses Threaten ‘World Cup of Terror’

    Brazil Crime Bosses Threaten ‘World Cup of Terror’

    {{One of Brazil’s largest criminal gangs has threatened to unleash a wave of terrorist attacks during next year’s FIFA World Cup and presidential elections if authorities transfer jailed bosses to a solitary confinement unit in the state of Sao Paulo, according to a Brazilian daily.}}

    The First Command of the Capital gang, better known in Brazil by the Portuguese acronym PCC, also plan to organise prison strikes and target police officers, according to mobile telephone conversations intercepted by intelligence units and leaked to the Estado de Sao Paulo daily.

    The threat to spread fear during next year’s international football tournament comes a week after an extensive report by prosecutors on the PCC’s activities was revealed by the same newspaper. The report confirmed that the gang’s leaders continued to run crime operations from inside prisons via mobile phones.

    The PCC’s “World Cup of Terror” warning came after Brazil’s press reported that cartel bosses would be moved to the maximum security Presidente Bernardes Prison, located near Sao Paulo’s isolated western border, and that new equipment blocking mobile telephone signals would be installed at penitentiaries.

    The state’s top cop, Benedito Roberto Meira, said he had ordered his troops to be on high alert. Over 100 state police officers were murdered in 2012 after the PCC ordered attacks on security forces.

    agencies

  • Taiwan to Receive First Batch of US Attack Helicopters

    Taiwan to Receive First Batch of US Attack Helicopters

    {{Taiwan is set to receive the first batch of attack helicopters ordered from the United States next month, after the US government ended its two-week shutdown, a report said Friday.}}

    The $6.5 billion arms deal, including a fleet of 30 advanced Apache Longbow helicopters, was announced in 2008, causing anger in China which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and opposes arms sales to the island.

    The first six Apache AH-64Es, the latest variant of one of the world’s most powerful attack helicopters, are expected to be delivered to the southern port of Kaohsiung as early as November 4, the state Central News agency said, citing unnamed military sources.

    The Taiwanese army will become the first force outside the US to introduce the variant, the report said.

    Delivery for the choppers was originally set for October but has been delayed by the US government shutdown, it added.

    The US government reopened for business Thursday after President Barack Obama signed a bill ending the two-week shutdown and extending the Treasury’s borrowing authority.

    The second batch of Apache AH-64Es are scheduled to arrive in December while the remaining choppers will be delivered by the end of 2014, the report said without elaborating.

    Taiwan’s defence officials declined to comment on the report.

    Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war. However, Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, prompting Taipei to seek more weaponry mainly from the United States.

    Tensions between the two sides have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan’s president in 2008 on a China-friendly platform.

    But Ma has stressed that Taiwan needs to maintain sufficient self-defence and will continue to acquire arms from the United States.

    {wirestory}

  • French Mayors in gay Marriage opt-out Bid

    French Mayors in gay Marriage opt-out Bid

    {{France’s top court will rule Friday if the country’s mayors should be given the right to opt out of performing same-sex marriages.}}

    Five months after France passed a controversial law legalising gay marriage, a group of mayors and registrars opposed to the legislation have brought their case before France’s Constitutional Council – the country’s highest legal authority.

    They argue that the same-sex marriage bill, which came into force in May, should include a “freedom of conscience” clause, giving officiators the right not to carry out same-sex marriages if it conflicts with their personal religious or moral beliefs.

    The lack of such a clause in the bill goes against the French constitution, they claim.

    “The Constitutional Council has a big decision to make,” Geoffroy de Vries, the lawyer representing the group of mayors, told reporters. “It could open the door to an exception for those opposed to gay marriage.”

    Didier Maus, a professor of constitutional law, said it was “difficult to know” how the Council would view the case but noted that mayors already have the option not to officiate at a marriage.

    “If they are not available, they can delegate this task to their assistants or even a councilor,” he said.

    The Council is due to announce its decision on the case at 10:00 local time (08:00GMT).

    However, the mayors have already stated that they intend to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights if the French court rules against them.

    france24

  • Transformation is a Result of Leadership, REB tells Educators

    Transformation is a Result of Leadership, REB tells Educators

    {{The Rwanda Education Board (REB) is holding a series of eight town hall meetings, due to end in November. }}

    The meetings are to reinforce synergy among REB, vice mayors of social affairs, district and sector education officers, and head teachers as well as to reinvigorate efforts to implement policies and programs.

    This Friday, 500 education officials are expected in Huye. Last week, approximately 185 from Gatsibo, Kayonza and Nyagatare districts attended the meeting held in Nyagatare town.

    On the agenda was REB’s School-based Mentoring Program, the upcoming national examinations, curriculum reform, and ICT in education, particularly One Laptop per Child.

    As part of the mentoring program, 60 senior mentors provide support at the district level, and upwards of 900 school-based mentors are deployed at schools.

    The program, supported by partners including the USAID-funded Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative, aims to provide primary one to senior three teachers with continuous professional development in English language and teaching practice.

    According to REB Director General Dr. John Rutayisire, English language should be seen as a tool for development, business, and trade.

    “We are talking about how to utilize language to achieve stated objectives,” Dr. Rutayisire said at last week’s meeting in Nyagatare.

    During discussion, Twesigye Francis, a head teacher from Kayonza district, proposed several suggestions on how English can be promoted at the school level. “We should teach this language by motivating students,” he said.

    Dr. Joyce Musabe, head of REB’s curriculum department, explained the ongoing, intensive process of primary and secondary curriculum reform, supported by UNICEF and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

    The reform will result in a skills- and competency-based curriculum designed to equip children with the in-demand skills needed for Rwanda’s development.

    Curricula will integrate the use of ICTs as pedagogical tools and will be closely linked with examinations.

    The success of these projects, Dr. Rutayisire stated, depends on actors at every level. “The transformation that has happened in this country is because of leadership,” he said. “You are the most important person in the lives of the children of Rwanda.”

    Muganwa Stanley, the Vice Mayor of Economic Affairs in Nyagatare district, representing the Mayor, delivered closing remarks. “This policy, we are going to implement it,” he said, to rounds of applause.

    In September and earlier in October, meetings were held in Rubavu, Musanze, and Karongi districts. Additional meetings are scheduled in Huye, Nyanza, Rwamagana, and Nyarugenge, ending on November 19.

  • Police Cautions Public on Counterfeit Currency

    Police Cautions Public on Counterfeit Currency

    {{Rwanda National Police is cautioning the public on the use of counterfeit currency.
    According to a Police report, many cases of counterfeit indicate there is an increased tendency to forge the Frw2000, Frw5000 and US 100 dollar notes. }}

    The head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Department in the Criminal Investigation Department Senior Superintendant Eric Kanyabuganza advised citizens to remain vigilant.

    He said people should check for basic legal signs such as the thin silver ribbon running through the note and colour. Most fake notes are bleached and thus look faded.

    Once one is given a fake note, it is advised to report the matter to Police.

    Any person who counterfeits or circulates forged currency can face a jail term of up to five years and a fine of two to ten times the value of the counterfeit money.

  • TVETs Get Frw15Billion Boost

    TVETs Get Frw15Billion Boost

    {{Rwanda has received financial support worth Frw15Billion to be injected into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).}}

    The funding comes after Rwanda and Germany signed financing Agreement that will contribute to the Rwandan TVET reforms by supporting selected vocational training centers and technical secondary schools.

    During the signing, Rwanda was represented by Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Amb. Claver Gatete and Ambassador Peter Fahrenholtz signed on behalf of Germany.

    Meanwhile, a portion of the agreement worth Euros 7Million was signed between the Workforce Development Authority Director-General, Jerome Gasana, and KfW Country Director Daniela Beckmann.

    Minister Gatete said, “The support will facilitate in skills development and employment which is well embedded in the productivity and youth employment as stipulated in the EDPRS2.”

    He added that the money will be invested in acquiring necessary equipment as well as to renovate or extend existing facilities at technical schools that will be selected.
    Ambassador Fahrenholtz said, “Germany will continue to work with dependable partners such as Rwanda. Rwanda is a success story that gives hope for the rest of Africa.”

    A portion of the grant worth 5.5 million Euros (about Rwf5 billion) will finance ongoing programs in economic development, employment, decentralisation and good governance.

    source:Newtimes