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  • Al Shabaab claim attack on Turkish mission in Somalia, 3 Dead

    {{A car loaded with explosives rammed into an office housing Turkish embassy staff in the Somali capital, killing three people, witnesses and officials said on Saturday, the latest in a series of blasts claimed by Islamist al Shabaab rebels.}}

    Al Shabaab was pushed out of bases in Mogadishu by Somali and African forces about two years ago, raising hopes of a return to relative security in a city hit by years of war.

    But the militants have kept up guerrilla-style attacks and continue to control large rural areas, challenging the authority of a government less than a year old.

    The group has carried out several brazen attacks in the past two months, including one on an African peacekeeping convoy that killed eight and another on the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu that killed 22 people.

    “A suicide car bomb targeted a building housing Turkish embassy workers near K4 (Kilometre Four),” police officer Ahmed Mohamud told Reuters from the scene of the blast.

    Three people were killed and nine others were wounded, he said.

    “The car was taking advantage of a Turkish car that was going into the building, thus the car bomb exploded and destroyed the gate,” he said.

    A Turkish government official told Reuters that one Turkish security officer was killed when the mission’s guards clashed with the attackers as they attempted to enter the complex.

    Three Turkish officers were being treated for their wounds, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

    Al Shabaab, which said earlier this month it would increase attacks during the Ramadan fasting period, claimed responsibility for the bombing on its Twitter feed.

    “Mujahideen forces in Mogadishu have just carried out an operation targeting a group of Turkish diplomats in Hodan district,” al Shabaab said.

    “All the Mujahideen who carried out the operation have returned safely back to their bases inside Mogadishu, preparing for the next operation.”

    Somalia is attempting to rebuild itself after two decades of civil war and lawlessness, triggered by the overthrow of president Siad Barre in 1991.

    The fragile government is being backed by international aid aimed at preventing it from becoming a haven for al Qaeda-style militants in east Africa.

    Turkey has led efforts to help Somalia, pouring some $400 million of aid into the country since 2011, most of it from private companies.

    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who became the first non-African leader to visit Somalia in nearly 20 years when he traveled there in 2011, said the attack was carried out by “supposed Muslims”.

    “They are doing this against our government. Why? Because we are helping our brothers in Mogadishu,” Erdogan said in a speech that was broadcast live.

    Turkey has also sought a greater diplomatic role in the region, including brokering dialogue this year between Somalia and Somaliland.

    The United States condemned the attack, saying that Turkey, a NATO ally, had played an important role in helping Somalia emerge from two decades of conflict.

    “This cowardly act will not shake our commitment to continue working for the brighter, more democratic and prosperous future the people of Somalia deserve,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

    {wirestory}

  • Sharapova Tops Forbes’ List of Russian Celebrities

    {{Maria Sharapova has claimed the throne in Forbes’ 2013 edition of Russia’s top 50 celebrities. The nominations were allocated based on three factors: income for the year, media coverage and top searches in Yandex.}}

    The tennis player has replaced singer Stas Mikhailov — who topped the list two years in a row — due to her hefty income of over $29 million.

    Gregory Leps came in second place with an estimated earning of $15 million for the year.

    Although Leps came in behind Sharapova, he dominated in being the top searched celebrity in Yandex, having 6.5 million searches to his name versus Sharapova’s 760 thousand.

    Many accredit Leps’ recent popularity to his performance at the State Duma where he publicly chastised journalists and their constant presence.

    Third place went to the conductor and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev. According to Forbes, Gergiev’s income was $16.5 million, topping Leps’. The directors yearly income has more than tripled over one year; it is reported that in 2012 the conductor’s annual income was $3 million.

    The top ten positions also included: singer Philip Kirkorov ($9.7 million), hockey player Alexander Ovechkin ($16.8 million), TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak ($1.4 million), singer Nikolai Baskov ($8.9 million), model Natalia Vodianova($8.6 million) and football player Andrei Arshavin($6.4 million).

    For the first time since this edition started printing, Alla Pugachyova did not make in the top 10, and is instead at 11th place with an annual earning of $2.5 million.

    {The Moscow Times }

  • US: 7 Shot dead in Florida hostage rampage

    {{In Us, a gunman set fire to his Miami-area apartment unit, then killed six people in and around the building in a shooting rampage before he was slain by police who stormed his position early Saturday and rescued two neighbors he had taken hostage.}}

    The freed hostages emerged unharmed from the pre-dawn raid, which ended a standoff that began late Friday and lasted several hours, police in the Miami suburb of Hialeah said.

    “We don’t have a clear motive,” Hialeah police spokesman Carl Zogby said. “This was an irrational act, and many times there is no rational explanation.”

    Police said Pedro Vargas, 42, had no known criminal history and he was described by other residents of the apartment building as a quiet man who kept largely to himself.

    Neighbors said the gunman, described by the Miami Herald as a part-time graphic artist, may have been facing eviction, but police were still investigating.

    The melee unfolded on Friday evening, police said, when the suspect set fire to the fourth-floor apartment he shared with his mother. According to the Herald, police said Vargas started off by torching about $10,000 in cash he had withdrawn earlier from his savings account.

    Two building managers, 78-year-old Italo Pisciotti and his wife, Camira, 68, saw smoke pouring from the unit and ran to the apartment, Zogby said.

    “He came out of the door and shot both of them several times, killing them right at the scene,” he said.

    Vargas then went back inside his burning apartment, walked out on the balcony and fired 10 to 20 shots into the street, Zogby said.

    A man who lived across the street was killed as he was walking from a parking lot toward his home. Vargas also shot at arriving emergency personnel and police, hampering their efforts to aid the victims, police said.

    The gunman then went to a third-floor apartment, kicked down the door and shot dead a couple and their 17-year-old daughter, Zogby said.

    Vargas next ran through the building, firing erratically and exchanging gunshots with police officers who swarmed to the building. Running up to the fifth floor, he took two people hostage and barricaded himself inside their apartment, police said.

    reuters

  • Tanzanian Army Declines Their Soldier Held Captive by M23

    {{The Tanzania People’s Defence Forces has declined the media reports that M23, a Congolese Revolutionary Army, is holding a Tanzanian soldier, Mr Christopher Yohana.}}

    Speaking to The Citizen, TPDF acting spokesman Major Joseph Masanja said the information was baseless and that it was only a rumour spread via social networks.

    He said had the information been true, TPDF would have given a statement already.

    However, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation permanent secretary John Haule said they were following up on any information in connection with the matter and that so far no reliable data has been received from trusted sources.

    He said, they were communicating with the embassy of Tanzania in the Democratic Republic of Congo to clear out things. “We’ve not received any information to prove the matter,” said Mr Haule.

    According to social media reports and some local media, M23 said it was holding a Tanzania soldier who was found collaborating with the Rwandan rebels accused of the 1994 genocide.

    {NMG}

  • Juba to host security meeting with Khartoum

    {{Delegates from the north and south Sudan will meet in Juba on Monday for the security committee meeting that is chaired by intelligence officials from both nations.}}

    A committee source told the Sudanese pro-government Ashorooq TV that the meeting will continue to discuss the mutual allegations regarding rebel support as well as for the demarcation of the zero line and the establishment of joint mechanisms for supervision and verification.

    The meeting was originally scheduled for early June in Juba but was postponed in the wake of Khartoum’s decision to begin the process of shutting down pipelines carrying South Sudan’s oil.

    Furthermore, a South Sudan military official said this week that Khartoum previously wanted to move the meeting from Juba to Addis Ababa.

    At the time Sudan said it is waiting for African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) report on the obstacles facing the implementation of the cooperation agreements particularly with regard to the issue of supporting and harboring rebel movements and determination of the centre line in the demilitarized zone.

    On Thursday Sudan agreed to pleas by AUHIP chairman Thabo Mbeki and China to postpone for at least two weeks the deadline by which it will implement the oil shutdown.

    Mbeki told reporters after meeting the Sudanese president that he discussed the issue of the demilitarized zone between Sudan and South Sudan and Juba’s alleged support to the rebels which the AU committees are probing.

    “We came to say to the President that the committees formed by the African Union to review the matter started its work and it is our opinion that these committees should be given time to do their job,” he said.

    In September of last year, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

    Last March, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. The latter allowed for the resumption of oil flow after a one year suspension for differences over transit fees.

    ST

  • South Africa’s Malema tells Revenue Body to Leave Politics

    {{The South African Revenue Service [Sars] must not allow itself to be used to settle political fights, Economic Freedom Fighters [EFF] leader Julius Malema said on Saturday. }}

    “They must never be part of any political faction or political party,” he said in Soweto at the party’s national assembly.

    “We are warning them politely and we hope they are listening because if they are not listening and continue to use that institution, we will be forced to call on our masses and respond radically.”

    Malema said his colleague Kenny Kunene and another EFF members had received notices from Sars stating they were under investigation.

    SARS had an obligation to rise above political divisions to ensure the public could trust it with their finances, he said.

    Polokwane house auctioned

    Malema said if Sars continued to allow itself to be used, the EFF would fight back.

    On Tuesday, Malema’s Polokwane house was auctioned.

    Sars attached the property to recoup a R16m tax debt owed by the controversial leader.

    In May, Malema’s incomplete mansion in Sandton, Johannesburg, was sold on auction for R5.9m.His farm in Limpopo fetched R2.5m at an auction in June.

    Several of his household goods were also auctioned off earlier in the year.

    Malema also faces corruption charges in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court. He is accused of making nearly R4m from corrupt activities, and is out on bail of R10 000.

    On Saturday, the former ANC Youth League leader also attacked Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and President Jacob Zuma.

    He said accused Gordhan of fractional politicking, and said Zuma was a “disaster” who was “driven by money”.

    SA led ‘by people from outside’

    “We should have known that there would be a price to pay for not paying attention to detail. That mistake should never be repeated,” said Malema.

    “Our country is being led by people from outside. We didn’t elect them but they decide on ministers and board members.”

    Malema went on to say that none of the expenses incurred by the EFF’s two-day assembly was paid in full.

    “…We have no money, no funding. We have a political agenda unlike Agang who have the money but not the agenda,” he said.

    On Saturday night after hours of talks, the EFF adopted an agenda.

    {SAPA}

  • Zambia Leader Accused of Squeezing Media

    {{Recent arrests of journalists and blocked access to critical websites in Zambia have sparked concerns of a clampdown on media freedom under President Michael Sata’s government.}}

    Prior to the 2011 elections that ushered Sata into power, the then-opposition leader promised to free the media from government interference.

    But immediately after taking office, he sacked journalists who had been critical of him as well as the heads of state television and newspapers.

    In June the government blocked local access to the Zambian Watchdog, a hard-hitting online newspaper.

    This month police detained three journalists with ostensible links to the publication, which does not publish its reporters’ names.

    Clayson Hamasaka and Thomas Zyambo were held in Lusaka without charge for more than 24 hours after police night-time raids.

    Zyambo was eventually arrested and charged with “being in possession of seditious material with intent to publish”.

    Police had found him with hand-written biographical notes on Sata.

    {agencies}

  • Gen. Kiir Appoints Marial new Foreign Affairs Minister

    {{South Sudan President Salva Kiir has issued a republican order appointing Barnaba Marial Benjamin as the country’s new foreign affairs minister.}}

    Marial, the ex-information minister replaces Nhial Deng Nhial who was removed together with his counterparts in Tuesday’s cabinet dissolution.

    Marial’s lone appointment was triggered by the vacuum created, which has paralyzed contacts on foreign relations as well as with the country’s diplomatic missions abroad.

    The former government spokesperson recently volunteered to explain to the public, through media, the constitutional rights of the president to relieve the cabinet; a stance believed to have earned him trust for the position.

    He may now try to establish contacts with the outside world and further explain the situation.

    Marial is admired by the general public for the role he played in the conduct of the referendum he ensure that both international and local media gets full access to cover the event without difficulties.

    The public is also happy with him for playing another active national role during South Sudan army’s brief military confrontation with their Sudanese counterparts over territorial claim of Heglig/Panthou in April last year.

    In a separate matter, Kiir has also issued another order adding two members to the five-member committee that is tasked with investigating the suspended SPLM secretary-general, Pagan Amum.

    The Human Rights Commission chairperson, Lawrence Korbandy, and former parliamentary affairs minister Michael Makuei have been included on the committee, bringing the total number of investigating members to seven.

    The order was read on the national television on Saturday, with Marial the first minister to be named following the reshuffle.

    The president issued a decree on Tuesday removing his long-time vice-president, Riek Machar and the entire country’s cabinet.

    According to media reports, deep divisions in the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have delayed the formation of the next cabinet and left a power vacuum since Kiir’s announcement.

    There has also been fears political uncertainty in the country could spark unrest in different parts of the country, with extra troops deployed around the capital, Juba.

    In a joint statement issued earlier this week, the African Union Commission, Canada, the intergovernmental Authority on Development, along with Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States called for calm, urging leaders in the country to expedite the formation of a new cabinet.

    {{AMUM TO CHALLENGE DECISION}}

    Kiir’s newly-appointed committee will probe allegations that Amum made comments inciting tribal sentiments in the country after he criticised a presidential order that lifted the immunity of cabinet affairs minister Deng Alor Kuol and his finance counterpart Kosti Manibe Ngai.

    The duo have been implicated in a questionable $8 million transfer for the purchase of fire safety equipment without the president’s knowledge or authorisation.

    Amum is also accused of using the public media to discredit the party and its leadership, as well as impeding the proper functioning of party structures.

    Amum said he intends to challenge the decision, saying his suspension and the pending investigation is a violation of the ruling party’s charter.

    In an interview with the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, he stressed any issue with his performance should be handled directly by the chairman of the party, the political bureau or the Liberation Council.

    It is still not known who will replace Machar, although a number of potential candidates have been named publicly, with speaker of the parliament James Wani Igga, former head of the National Congress Party (NCP) in South Sudan Riek Gai Kok, former justice minister John Luk Jok and the current chief of general staff, James Hoth Mai among those touted for the position.

    The former vice-president’s removal came after he recently declared his intention to contest the party’s leadership at the 2015 presidential elections.

    {{CALL FOR NOMINEES}}

    According to a statement published on the South Sudanese government’s official website, Kiir held a consultative meeting on Saturday with the leaders of South Sudan’s 17 political parties, during which he briefed leaders on the current political situation in the country.

    The statement said each of the party leaders had been asked to submit a list of three nominees, from which the president will select whom he believes is fit to be given a portfolio in the coming government.

    Kiir assured the country’s political leaders, the incoming government will be an inclusive, representative and gender sensitive government.

    They leaders of the South Sudanese political forces congratulated the president for peacefully managing the political situation in the country and particularly for his decision to reduce the cabinet to 19.

    “Political party leaders expressed sincere gratitude to the president for consulting them on formation of the coming new government, which they say shows democratic governance”, the statement said.

    {Sudantribune}

  • Massive Jail Break in Libya

    More than 1,000 detainees have escaped from a prison near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in a massive jailbreak, as protesters stormed the offices of political parties in Libya’s main cities.

    It was not immediately clear if Saturday’s jailbreak at the Al-Kuifiya prison came as part of the protests or if inmates received outside help.

    Protesters had massed across the country angry over the killing of an activist critical of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood group.

    “There was a riot inside Al-Kuifiya prison, as well as an attack from outside. More then 1,000 prisoners escaped,” the official said on Saturday, asking not to be named.

    “Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners.”

    aljazeera

  • Rubengera Technical School Officially Launched

    {{Rubengera Technical Secondary School (RTSS) located in Karongi district was officially launched by the state Minister in charge of TVET Albert Nsengiyumva.}}

    The event took place with a call on the local community to maximally use this opportunity to impart on skills on young people in Carpentry and Wood Technology currently offered at RTSS.

    Rubengera TSS which was started in February 2013 is managed by the community of Sisters ‘Abaje ba Kristo’, a protestant Sisterhood. This school started with 16 students, among them 4 females.

    “The purpose here goes beyond launching to particularly seeing young people believe in sustaining themselves in future” said the State Minister.

    Moise Ibyishaka one of the trainees at RTSS has already started benefiting from the skills acquired by performing part time jobs during his holiday. “ I now believe in the possibility to create jobs owing to what I earn from these skills and look forward to creating a company for much income”, Ibyishaka said.

    The Director of RTSS Sr. Marie Louise Niyonsenga said that their community is very much committed to change the lives of young people through practical skills, guided by spiritual values towards a rich society.

    This new development was also commended by the Mayor of Karongi district Bernard Kayumba who noted that capacity building contributes much to poverty reduction, a plan embedded in EDPRS 2.

    The community ‘Abaja ba Kristo was founded in cooperation with the ‘Eglise Presbyterienne’ in Rwanda (EPR) and the Community of Sisters in Holland, on the 1st of December, 1984.

    RTSS’s vision is to train young people to believe in future for their lives and families through lifelong –learning opportunities, based on a firm foundation of Christian values.

    MINEDUC