IGIHE

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  • DRC Refugees Threaten Border Security

    {{Ugandan authorities say Some Congolese refugees who refused to be relocated to the new camp have proved a security threat to the country as they cross back to DRC in search of food}}.

    Uganda’s security organs are monitoring the situation across the Uganda–Congo border, where clashes are still eminent.

    About 1,000 of the more than 60,000 refugees who entered Uganda 12 days ago cross back to see their relatives and bring food into Uganda.

    Sources say security in the DR Congo had not normalised yet, although government troops have dominated Butembo and Kamango areas. ADF is still fighting with the Congo government Forces almost every day.

    Some of the refugees who snubbed the transfer move argue that their colleagues who were earlier taken to Kyangwali in Hoima District and Rwamwanja in Kamwenge District, were allegedly suffering due to lack of food and poor sanitation.

    {wirestory}

  • Kidnapped Election Officials in Mali Set Free

    {{A group of election workers, who were kidnapped over the weekend in northern Mali’s troubled Kidal region where they had gone to distribute voter ID cards, were released Sunday, officials said.}}

    The incident comes a week before Mali is rushing ahead with a July 28 presidential election, despite concerns over the lack of government control in the province of Kidal, which remains largely the turf of Tuareg separatists.

    The rebels known as the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, or NMLA, reluctantly signed an accord last month, renouncing their claim to independence and agreeing to allow government administrators to return ahead of the election.

    “The hostages were found not far from Tessalit,” said Kidal’s Governor Col. Adama Kamissoko. One of the hostages was able to use his mobile phone to call the French forces stationed nearby, who are called Serval, he said.

    “Serval was able to locate them, and then put pressure on the NMLA in order to find the hostages. This morning Serval went and brought the hostages and handed them over.”

    The election workers, who numbered at least five people including four election workers and the deputy mayor of Tessalit, were driven to Camp Amachache, a military camp located 7 kilometers (4 miles) outside Tessalit, which is the base of Chadian forces with the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

    Officials differed on how many people had been kidnapped, with the governor saying a total of five, while the ministry of territorial administration originally said six were taken.

    The kidnapping is one more worrying sign for the upcoming presidential election. One of the 28 candidates in the race, opposition politician Tiebile Drame who came in third in the last election six years ago, dropped out last week, arguing that the election risks worsening Mali’s crisis.

    {agencies}

  • Kenya Stars Storm IAAF World Championships in Moscow

    {{Kenyan stars preparing to face the world at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow from August 10-18 can look forward to performing in front of a capacity-packed arena.}}

    The world governing body disclosed on Monday that ticket sales for the upcoming Worlds are accelerating fast with a sold out final weekend and an average of 80.59 percent sold for the nine days of competition at the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.

    IAAF General Secretary Essar Gabriel said today: “Looking at the latest ticket sales summary from our partners in the Moscow LOC confirms that Muscovites prefer to buy their tickets closer to the event.

    “Since the beginning of July, thanks to enhanced promotional campaigns on television, radio, in the press, with billboards throughout the city and most recently, on the Moscow Metro (used by 9 million Russians per day), we have seen a real surge in ticket sales. With the competition not starting until the 10 August, the IAAF is very optimistic that the evening sessions can now be sold out.”

    The 14th edition of the IAAF World Championships will be the largest global sporting event of 2013.

    Nine days of competition which will witness 2000 athletes from over 200 nations compete in front of a cumulative audience of more than five billion TV viewers.

    As already announced, broadcasting agreements are in place covering more territories than ever before in the history of the IAAF World Championships that will ensure coverage of Moscow 2013 in over 200 territories worldwide.

    Kenya has a team of 49 athletes for the event where they are seeking to better their all time best return of seven gold, six silver and four bronze won at the last edition in Daegu, South Korea.

    Ezekiel Kemboi (men 3000m steeple), Edna Kiplagat (women marathon) and Asbel Kiprop (men 1500m) will return to defend their crowns.

    The country’s track and field team is in residential training at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani whilst the marathon squad is building up at Eldoret.

    {CapitalFM}

  • President Mugabe Tells Zuma to Silence his Advisors

    {{Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has made an impassioned plea to his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma to silence a diplomat who has been vocal about the chaotic preparations for the country’s July 31 elections.}}

    President Mugabe told a campaign rally Saturday that President Zuma must emulate his predecessor Thabo Mbeki who never criticised Zimbabwe in public during his tenure as a facilitator in talks between the country’s three major political parties.

    The 89-year-old leader was angered by President Zuma’s international affairs advisor Lindiwe Zulu’s remarks last week that Zimbabwe’s election preparations were in disarray.

    “May South Africa stop its negative voice; I appeal to Zuma to stop this woman from speaking on Zimbabwe,” President Mugabe said.

    “We were given one facilitator with one mouth and that is President Zuma himself; that’s the voice, the only voice we want to hear.

    “Yesterday, it was Thabo Mbeki who was facilitator and only his voice spoke, no other voice spoke.”

    At the launch of his Zanu-PF party’s election manifesto a fortnight ago, President Mugabe described Ms Zulu as a loud mouthed street woman.

    President Zuma is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator on Zimbabwe and he has been pushing an election roadmap for the country that was rejected by Zanu-PF.

    {agencies}

  • EU envoy in Uganda Quits After Attacking Museveni

    {{The Head of the European Union Delegation in Uganda is leaving the country prematurely, weeks after his public criticism of President Museveni’s perceived succession plan stirred uproar, compelling government to summon him and seek an explanation.}}

    According to diplomatic sources, Mr Roberto Ridolfi, who had said Uganda was not a monarchy for the President to hand over power to his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, will leave in October instead of December 2013, when his three-year tenure was due to lapse.

    Diplomatic sources indicate that Mr Ridolfi has been redeployed after his position became untenable when he was summoned and grilled by the Kampala authorities, following his stinging criticism of President Museveni’s State-of-the-Nation Address in June.

    The government reportedly also filed a protest note to EU authorities in Brussels sources said.

    Mr Ridolfi will now become the director for cooperation at the EU Commission’s Development and Cooperation directorate-general, responsible for developing policies and delivering European aid across the world.

    He is reportedly out of the country on holiday and Mr Simon Kasyate, EU’s press and information officer in Kampala, would neither confirm nor deny his imminent departure.

    Asked if the envoy was leaving over his June fall-out with government, Mr Kasyate said: “EU ambassadors take three to four years during tour of duty in any country.

    Ridolfi’s exit is within the end of his tenure, and all I can say is that relations between the EU and government of Uganda haven’t been any better than under him.”

    {wirestory}

  • Female Genital Mutilation: 30 million girls ‘at risk’

    {{More than 30 million girls are at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) over the next decade, a study by Unicef has found.}}

    It said more than 125 million girls and women alive today had undergone a procedure now opposed by the majority in countries where it was practised.

    Ritual cutting of girls’ genitals is practised by some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in the belief it protects a woman’s virginity.

    Unicef wants action to end FGM.

    The UN Children Fund survey, described as the most comprehensive to date on the issue, found that support for FGM was declining amongst both men and women.

    FGM “is a violation of a girl’s rights to health, well-being and self-determination,” said Unicef deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta,

    “What is clear from this report is that legislation alone is not enough.”

    The report, ‘Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change’, was released in Washington DC.

    The study, which pulled together 20 years of data from the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is still practised, found girls were less likely to be cut than they were some 30 years ago.

    They were three times less likely than their mothers to have been cut in Kenya and Tanzania, and rates had dropped by almost half in Benin, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Liberia and Nigeria.

    But FGM remains almost universal in Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti and Egypt and there was little discernible decline in Chad, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Sudan or Yemen, the study found.

    However, it did find that most girls and women, and a significant number of boys and men, opposed the practice. In Chad, Guinea and Sierra Leone more men than women wanted to see an end to the practice.

    “The challenge now is to let girls and women, boys and men speak out loudly and clearly and announce they want this harmful practice abandoned,” said Ms Rao Gupta.

    The report recommends opening up the practice to greater public scrutiny so that entrenched social attitudes to it can be challenged.

    In some communities FGM, also known as female circumcision, is seen as a traditional ritual used culturally to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable.

    It typically involves procedures that alter or injure female genital organs and is often carried out by traditional circumcisers, who play other central roles in communities.

    The dangers of FGM include severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of newborn deaths in childbirth.

  • Nigerian Players Banned for Life in Match-fixing Scandal

    {{Players and officials of clubs involved in two Nigerian promotion play-off games that ended 79-0 and 67-0 have been banned for life.}}

    Plateau United Feeders were 79-0 victors over Akurba FC while Police Machine FC demolished Bubayaro FC 67-0.

    The four clubs have been banned from the game for 10 years.

    A Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) committee recommended that match officials involved in the two matches should be given life bans.

    Plateau United Feeders and Police Machine went into the matches level on points, with promotion to the lowest tier of the Nationwide League Division at stake.

    Feeders scored 72 of their goals in the second half, while Police Machine reportedly scored 61 times after the break in their game.

    The results meant that Plateau edged above Police Machine on goal difference.

    The NFF said in a statement: “The NFF have accepted the recommendations and they would be communicated to the clubs, the state FA’s, CAF and FIFA.

    “We will publish all the names of players and officials with their photographs and details.”

    {wirestory}

  • Rwanda Signs Solar Energy Project with Gigawatt Global

    {{The Rwandan government has signed an agreement with GigaWatt Global Rwanda to develop a grid-level solar electric generating plant.}}

    The Rwandan minister of state in charge of energy and water, Emma Françoise Isumbingabo said, “Generation and provision of electricity to all Rwandans is a priority for the government of Rwanda.

    This initiative to produce 8.5MW of clean energy is an important addition towards closing our current energy gap.”

    According to the agreement, GigaWatt Global Rwanda will design, finance, maintain and operate the 8.5MW solar electric generating plant at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in the Rwamagana district.

    The estimated value of the project has been calculated to be US$23mn.

    The agreement has outlined the main roles and responsibilities of both the investor and the government with respect to the energy project. A feasibility study has already been completed and the plant will be expected to be operational in June 2014.

    Rwanda Development Board acting chief operating officer Tony Nsanganira said, “Energy is key in driving Rwanda’s economic development and specifically to reach our targets as set in the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy of Rwanda.

    We welcome investors like GigaWatt Global as this partnership will benefit Rwandans directly as well as contribute to Rwanda’s competitiveness.”

    {agencies}

  • China Plans Send World Shares Higher, Gold Pauses

    {{World shares pushed up towards five-year highs on Tuesday helped by China’s plans for avoiding a hard landing in its slowing economy, while gold took a breather after its biggest one-day gain in more than a year.}}

    Local media in China reported that the government is looking to increase investment in railway projects as it aims to ensure annual economic growth does not sink below 7 percent.

    The reports saw China shares post their best day in two weeks .CSI300, driving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS up 1.3 percent to its highest since early June.

    European shares added to their recent gains on hopes that China’s plan would boost demand for construction materials, climbing 0.4 percent in early trade .FTEU3 with the focus expected to switch to corporate earnings reports.

    “Earnings have also been relatively good so far, although the bulk of results still has to come. We’ll have a better idea of the big picture by the end of the week,” said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading at Global Equities.

    An upgraded economic outlook from Japan’s government added to the better tone in the markets, lifting Tokyo’s Nikkei .N225 0.8 percent, sending the MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS up 0.2 percent to within touching distance of the five-year high hit at the end of May.

    Expectations Japan will stick with its expansionary policies after the government’s victory in weekend elections also supported the yen, which hit a one-week peak against the dollar at 99.13 yen before settling back to 99.51 yen.

    The greenback has been softer against many major currencies, giving an extra shine to gold, as concerns of an imminent reduction in the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying stimulus ease.

    Gold eased off from its recent gains, up just 0.1 percent to $1,336.84 an ounce. The precious metal has now recovered nearly $160 from a three-year low of $1,180.71 an ounce hit on June 28.

    In emerging markets, traders were watching Turkey, where the central bank will decide whether to raise interest rates to shore up the lira after burning through its foreign exchange reserves in a desperate bid to shore up the currency.

    {agencies}

  • Egypt’s ousted President Morsi ‘abducted by army’

    {{The family of the ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has accused the army of abducting him.}}

    His daughter Shaimaa told a news conference in Cairo that the family was taking legal measures against the army.

    Mr Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location without charge since he was removed from power on 3 July.

    At least three people were killed in clashes on Monday between opponents and supporters of the former president.

    Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement has refused to recognise the new military-backed administration and continues to hold almost daily street protests.

    One person died and dozens of protesters were wounded during unrest in central Cairo, medical officials said. Egyptian state TV reported that seven pro-Morsi protesters had been arrested for possession of illegal weapons.

    At least two more people were reported killed in separate clashes in Qalyubiya province, north of Cairo.

    BBC