IGIHE

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  • Ban Appoints Kazibwe As Envoy For HIV/AIDS In Africa

    {{United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon August 1, appointed Specioza Wandera-Kazibwe as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.}}

    She will replace Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania.

    The Secretary-General thanked Asha-Rose Migiro for her outstanding and dedicated service to the UN and her commitment as a powerful advocate for his efforts to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination all around the world.

    Wandera Kazibwe is Senior Adviser to President Museveni on Population and Health.

    She is also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Microfinance Support Center Ltd.

    Kazibwe served as the Vice President of Uganda from 1993 to 2004.

    She is also the first woman in Africa to be appointed a Vice President.

    Kazibwe holds a Doctorate of Science Degree in Global Health and Population from the Harvard School of Public Health.

  • Kenya: 5 People Killed in Gilgil Road Accident

    {{Reports from Kenya indicate that Five people died in a road accident that occurred in Gilgil on Saturday after a bus they were traveling in lost control and rolled several times.}}

    Traffic commandant Samuel Kimaru told Capital FM news that the bus that was ferrying passengers from Nairobi to Siaya overturned after the driver hit a culvert.

    Those killed include a man and three women who died on the spot in the 1 am incident—according to police.

    “The bus veered off the road as the driver attempted to avoid hitting an oncoming trailer,” Kimaru said “it is apparent the bus was on a high speed at the time of the accident.”

    Forty five other passengers were injured in the accident and taken to the Gilgil District Hospital where some were still admitted.

    {agencies}

  • Giant virus ‘opens Pandora’s box’, says French team

    {{Dr Chantal Abergel is not easily surprised by the discovery of giant viruses. A director of research at Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS (France’s National Centre for Scientific Research), she has already been involved in identifying two very large viruses, the Mimivirus and Megavirus.}}

    In fact, the IGS laboratory headed by her colleague, Professor Jean-Michel Claverie, had long predicted the existence of giant viruses. And yet they were taken aback by their own latest discovery… a virus so big that it resembled a cell.

    “We were expecting giant viruses to have 1,000 genes; however, one of the two viruses we recently found had 2,556 genes, which is huge,” Dr Abergel told France24.com, adding that the other virus’s gene count was around 1,500.

    The team at the IGS laboratory discovered the two viruses from samples obtained in Chile and Australia – two among several countries they were drawn to after earlier studies had pointed to the prevalence of giant viruses in marine environments.

    “As far as Chile was concerned, we took advantage of Europe’s ASSEMBLE project that allowed us to use their marine facilities worldwide to try different locations, one of which was Las Cruces, Chile. The sample in Australia was a result of random sampling we carry out in places we visit,” Dr Abergel explained.

    Because of the unique nature of the viruses and the fact that little is known about their genetic makeup, Dr Claverie’s team opted for the term “Pandoravirus”.

    A new perspective on evolutionary biology

    “This discovery has opened a Pandora’s box,” said Dr Abergel. “It will force us to change the way we think about viruses. The Pandoraviruses are extremely complex. In fact, 90 percent of their genes are unlike anything we have known so far. Out of the 2,556 genes of the Pandoravirus, less than 200 are known to us. This discovery is bound to make us reconsider our perception of evolutionary biology.”

    According to the French researcher, the Pandoravirus is totally different from previously known viruses.

    “Normally, under a microscope, viruses look like crystals. But Pandoraviruses looked like cellular structures. First, we thought they might be special bacteria because of their size and morphology. However, further tests confirmed that they were viruses,” she said.

    When asked whether the French team’s discovery had set a new limit for a virus’s size, Dr Abergel replied that there was no limit. “Our latest discovery has shown that giant viruses exist all over the planet. To find Pandoraviruses at locations 15,000 km away from each other indicates the prevalence of such viruses,” she said.

    While Pandoraviruses are not pathogenic to humans or animals, Dr Abergel said they were involved in the production of carbon and oxygen. “They have more than 2,000 genes whose nature and coding behaviour for proteins and enzymes is unknown to us. As a result, a deep study of such viruses will not only have important implications in the field of biotechnology, but it will also enhance our understanding of the beginning of life,” she said.

    france24

  • Fatal Sierra Leone road crash kills 18

    {{At least 18 people have been killed in one of the worst road accidents in Sierra Leone this year.}}

    The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, in a remote area to the country’s north, some 180 km from the capital Freetown.

    The truck involved in the accident was traveling from the capital city to the diamond-rich district of Kono, according to local media reports.

    Police sources said 16 women, one man and a three-month-old baby died in the crash.

    Between 30 and 36 passengers, mostly women, were on board the vehicle, sources say.

    The vehicle was also packed with goods, and the dead were all on the back of the truck.

    Freetown daily, Premier News, cited sources who said at some point in the journey some passengers were arguing with the driver over drinking and driving.

    Other witnesses, the paper added, said the driver fell asleep and in the process lost control right on top of a hill, causing the vehicle to accelerate backwards and plunge into a ditch.

    Until Friday night the driver of the vehicle and his assistant were said to be at large having fled the scene of the accident.

    Reckless driving and overloading, coupled with bad roads, have fuelled road accidents in Sierra Leone.

    As a routine, large vehicles are allowed to ply the roads only at night when the traffic is low. But at that time of the night police are not thorough in their checking, leaving drivers entirely at liberty.

    It is common to see vehicles without any lights along the highway, putting commuters at increased risk of accident.

    The head of the Sierra Leone Police traffic division, Superintendent Ambrose Sovula, said Friday they were still investigating the accident and promised to release the findings on Saturday.

    NMG

  • Morsi supporters clash with police in Cairo

    {{Islamist backers of Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi staged defiant rallies Friday and clashed with police in Cairo, after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.}}

    Police fired tear gas and birdshot at roughly 1,000 protesters who tried to set up a new camp outside a large media compound.

    The clashes erupted as US Under Secretary of State William Burns landed in Cairo, the latest international envoy on a mission to press Morsi’s backers and the interim government to resolve the standoff peacefully.

    Meanwhile, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born head of the militant Al-Qaeda organisation, accused the United States of “plotting” Morsi’s overthrow with the Egyptian military and the country’s Christian minority.

    “Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged … with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi’s government,” he said in a 15-minute audio recording posted on militant Islamist forums.

    In his first comments since the July 3 coup, Zawahiri also attacked Morsi’s secular opposition and Coptic Christians, who he said wanted a secessionist state in Egypt, and called for a mass movement to install Islamic law.

    In Cairo, Morsi supporters began to march after Friday prayers, pouring out of several mosques in the capital.

    An early evening protest outside Cairo’s media production city descended into mayhem, with at least one protester wounded by birdshot.

    Police fired tear gas at protesters who had set up tents and brick fortifications outside the compound. The protesters responded with stones.

    A security source said protesters had “tried to storm” the compound, but the demonstrators said police fired tear gas when they tried to camp outside the compound.

    “I am a Muslim, not a terrorist,” they chanted.

    The interior ministry accused the protesters of firing birdshot, wounding a conscript, and said police made 31 arrests.

    Witnesses also reported clashes between residents in the Alf Maskan area and Morsi loyalists after they tried to set up a protest site.

    Morsi supporters announced Friday evening marches to several security facilities, including the Republican Guard headquarters, where more than 50 demonstrators were killed last month.

    While large crowds turned out to one march at the military intelligence headquarters, stopping short of the building and turning back after a brief protest, attempts to march to the Republican Guards appeared to have been called off.

    Military vehicles were stationed on at least two side streets from the key Rabaa al-Adawiya protest site, and on the way from the site to the Republican Guard facility.

    At a march on the state security police forces, protester Ward Abdel Moghny said demonstrators “went to them… to say we no longer fear you.”

    Morsi’s supporters have remained defiant in the face of mounting threats from the army-installed interim government.

    france24

  • Expo opens Brazilian trade up to eastern Africa

    {{Companies from across Brazil were on hand to showcase their products and services at the Eastern Africa Expo 2013 held at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, in late July}}

    The expo provided a platform for business opportunities in the technology, agriculture, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, housing, finance and fuel sectors in the East Africa region.

    Brazil has, over the last few years, been seeking business investment opportunities in eastern Africa, with trade volumes between Kenya and Brazil standing at US$306mn in the 2011/12 financial year.

    Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer has recently signed deals with Kenya Airways and supplied a number of planes for the airline’s regional market expansion.

    “Kenya is Brazil’s fifth largest trade partner in Africa with transactions in agriculture and aviation. We see the country as the entry point for expansion to other African markets”, observed Marcela Nicodemus, Brazil’s ambassador to Kenya while addressing delegates at the exhibition.

    With a population of more than 200mn, Brazil has emerged as one the fastest growing nations in the world. It is the world’s leading producer and exporter of coffee, sugar, ethanol, fruit juices, soya, beef, chicken, tobacco and leather.

    Kenya has been eager to tap into this emerging potential having recently signed agreements in bio-diesel, bio-ethanol and power co-generation with Brazilian authorities and companies.

    Kenya’s industrialisation secretary Adan Mohammed remarked, “Brazilian firms should tap into existing investment opportunities in renewable energy. There is available expertise considering that Brazil produces the bulk of its electricity from biofuels.”

    Agreements have also been signed for agricultural mechanisation programme on crop research and developments focused on agribusiness, fisheries and marine culture technology.

    Agreements have also been reached on HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention and control, and institutional strengthening of the Kenya Wildlife Services, Kenya Airports Authority and Nairobi County.

    “Effort should be made to establish direct flights between Brazil and Nairobi. This will significantly increase economic and commercial exchange between the two regions”, observed Mohammed.

    Speaking during the expo, Andre Luis Fodi, an export supervisor with packaging firm and baling machines manufacturer Indumak Company, said, “We have been in contact with a Kenya dealer after studying the local market. There is potential for our products.”

    Indumak is one of the largest in Brazil packaging 90 per cent of the country’s sugar and 75 per cent of its rice, with an annual turnover of US$30mn, and operations in Egypt and Nigeria.

    Another Brazilian firm Perfilline, a maker of construction panels, plans to enter the market by the end of December 2013.

    The expo also provided an opportunity for expansion into the larger East African Community market (EAC). With a population of about 140mn and a GDP per capital of $732, the EAC market offers plenty of opportunities for Brazilian companies, and can act as a gateway to the eastern and southern African nations of South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi and DR Congo.

    {africanreview}

  • Zimbabwe Opposition Calls for Political Boycott

    {{A leading Zimbabwe opposition figure has called for a campaign of “passive resistance” after election results showed President Robert Mugabe’s party had won a large majority in parliament.}}

    Roy Bennett, treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said people should force Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF to “rule by themselves”.

    The MDC has already said it will not recognise the results, alleging fraud.

    It comes as the party holds emergency meetings to discuss the outcome.

    The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission earlier said Zanu-PF had won 137 seats in the 210-seat chamber – just short of two-thirds – with most seats declared.

    Results in the presidential race have yet to be announced.

    Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the MDC and is running for president against Mr Mugabe, has already dismissed the election as “a sham”.

    Amid rising tension, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on President Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai to send “clear messages of calm” to their supporters.

    His spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said Mr Ban wanted any election disputes to be handled “transparently and fairly”.

    The MDC was believed to be holding talks on Friday and Saturday to decide on a response to the results.

    Its treasurer Roy Bennett said there should be a wave of social disobedience in order to bring the regime to a halt.

    “I’m calling on the people of Zimbabwe, who are our constituents and who we represent in the positions we hold, for passive resistance and for total disengagement,” he said.

    “And let Zanu-PF rule and rule by themselves and bring the country to a standstill.”

    Mr Tsvangirai, 61, earlier said the vote was “null and void”.

    {wirestory}

  • MONUSCO Enforces Weapons Ban in Eastern DRC

    {{UN peacekeepers began a new effort to disarm fighters in volatile eastern Congo on Thursday, setting up a zone where only the country’s security forces can now carry firearms.}}

    The move is aimed at stabilizing the eastern city of Goma and areas around it – a zone that is home to more than 1 million people who have faced waves of rebellion and attacks from armed groups in recent years.

    Earlier this week, the UN peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO issued an ultimatum before beginning the disarming effort.

    “With the expiration of the 48-hour deadline, MONUSCO and Congolese armed forces will take up patrols to make sure that weapons are not being held by any unauthorized people,” MONUSCO spokesman Carlos Araujo told UN-run Radio Okapi on Thursday.

    UN officials have emphasized that the weapons ban will not only apply to the M23 rebel group, which has posed the greatest threat in the region. The group briefly seized control of Goma last November. Peace talks with the government have repeatedly stalled.

    In New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the security zone “is not an offensive operation and is not targeted at any one armed group.” He emphasized that the disarmament effort will protect civilians.

    {agencies}

  • Arms Depot Blast Kills Scores in Syrian City of Homs

    A leading Zimbabwe opposition figure has called for a campaign of “passive resistance” after election results showed President Robert Mugabe’s party had won a large majority in parliament.

    Roy Bennett, treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said people should force Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF to “rule by themselves”.

    The MDC has already said it will not recognise the results, alleging fraud.

    It comes as the party holds emergency meetings to discuss the outcome.

    The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission earlier said Zanu-PF had won 137 seats in the 210-seat chamber – just short of two-thirds – with most seats declared.

    Results in the presidential race have yet to be announced.

    {agencies}

  • Ex-PM Keita to face Cisse in Mali election run-off

    {{Mali’s postwar election produced no clear winner and former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face ex-Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse in a run-off due on August 11, the government said on Friday.}}

    Provisional results gave Keita 39 percent of votes cast in the July 28 poll, well ahead of Cisse’s 19 percent. But the third and fourth placed candidates may now rally behind Cisse, with whom they have been in coalition.

    The election was the first since a March 2012 coup led to the occupation of Mali’s north by separatist and Islamist rebels. French forces intervened in January to defeat the al Qaeda-linked Islamists, whose threats to disrupt the poll did not materialize.

    The election turnout, at 51.5 percent, was the highest ever in Mali, underscoring its people’s deep desire to turn the page on the violence and upheaval that have brought the West African nation to its knees over the last 18 months.

    “The crisis is reaching an end … There will be no problem for the second round,” interim Prime Minister Django Sissoko, on a visit to neighboring Ivory Coast, said after the results were announced.

    “We are confident that we can do everything to ensure a peaceful vote and a result that will be accepted first of all by the Malian people and also by the candidates,” he said.

    But more than three million people did not take part and 400,000 of those who did spoiled their ballot papers, according to official figures, setting the stage for some hectic campaigning and coalition building before the second round.

    “I think this is a positive thing for Malian democracy given what the country has just gone through,” said Christopher Fomunyoh, a senior associate with the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute, which works to strengthen democracy around the world.

    “Firstly it allows whoever wins the second round to have a full mandate, legitimacy that is required to govern. Secondly it is going to allow the election management body… to address some of the shortcomings that were identified in the first round,” he added.

    {agencies}