IGIHE

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  • Miss World Arrives in Ghana

    {{The reigning Miss World Wenxia Yu, and Chairwoman of the Miss World organization Julia Morley as well as some members of their backroom staff, have arrived in Accra Monday.}}

    The eight-member delegation jetted in on Monday evening, and was met on arrival by the reining Miss Ghana Naa Okailey Shooter and her first runner up Nadia Ntanu, as well as some officials of Exclusive Events Ghana including Inna Maryam Patty.

    They are here to lend support to the Miss Ghana Foundation’s charity projects in Northern Ghana, which includes construction of some two Bore Holes at the Nabuli and Leili Witch Camps.

    Miss Morley and her team will be in the Northern Region for two days, during which they will meet with the Regional Minister, the Tamale Chief and also visit the Tamale Children’s Home.

    The team will also visit the Maternity Block of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which the Miss Ghana Foundation is raising funds to renovate.

    The delegation is also expected to pay a courtesy call on President John Mahama on Wednesday.

    They will also attend the finals of the Miss Ghana pageant at the Banquet Hall on Saturday July 20. The team will leave on Sunday July 21.

    {myjoyonline}

  • AfDB Issues Loan to Fund Kenya-Tanzania Road

    Kenya government has signed a Sh9.8billion loan agreement with the African Development Bank to finance the construction of the Taveta-Voi road that links Kenya and Tanzania.

    Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the loan will be paid over a period of 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years and at one percent interest rate from the 11th year.

    However after 20 years, the interest rate will be at three percent.

    The government has already commenced the upgrading the 24 kilometre Voi- Mwatate section at a cost of Sh2.3 billion.

    “The Kenya section of the existing gravel road runs from the border at Taveta to Voi through Mwatate linking with Mombasa. The components of this project include design review and supervision, road side amenities, support to road safety initiatives and trade facilitation,” Rotich said during the signing ceremony.

    The bank will finance the rehabilitation and the expansion of the 115 kilometre Holili-Arusha road and a 42 kilometre by-pass in Arusha, Tanzania, at a cost of Sh10.4 billion.

    The completion of the two roads, by 2018, will increase trade between the Kenya and Tanzania.

    “To complement the support from our development partners in realizing our vision 2030 objectives, the government is focusing on investing in priority sectors that will spur economic growth. We will ensure that we develop infrastructure in this country,” Rotich said.

    The Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road is one of the transport corridors of the East African Region meant to reduce the cost of doing business, increase competitiveness of the region on the global market and at the same time promote integration.

    The corridor, at completion will link the port of Mombasa to northern and north-western Tanzania and the landlocked countries including Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, providing an alternative route to the sea.

    “The East African Community seeks to improve regional transport infrastructure to support economic and social development programs in the region, promote tourism and foster regional integration and at the same time reduce the cost of doing business,” AfDB’s regional Director Gabriel Negatu said.

    CapitalFm

  • Uhuru Says Kenya’s Foreign Policy Favours Africa

    Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has said his Government’s Foreign Policy will be geared towards deepening trade relations with East Africa Community member States.

    He was addressing the Kenyan diaspora in Nigeria. Uhuru said intra-Africa trade diplomacy would form the backbone of Kenya’s foreign policy.

    The Kenyan leader said the policy is to facilitate people to easily cross borders to explore opportunities and engage in trade within the continent.

    He added that African countries should focus on removal of trade barriers while rooting for internal solutions to the many challenges facing the African continent.

    Elsewhere, Uhuru urged African countries to fully utilise the existing world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the continent.

    He said the facilities have the capacity to produce drugs to win the war against HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.

    Uhuru was speaking during a Special Summit meeting on HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria at Abuja International Conference Centre.

  • Mandela’s Tribal King Defects From Ruling ANC

    {{Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, the king of Nelson Mandela’s Thembu tribe, has defected from the ruling African national Congress (ANC) to join the Democratic Alliance (DA), days after launching a fierce attack on President Jacob Zuma.}}

    Dalindyebo, who rules over Mandela’s tribe in the Eastern Cape province, the ANC heartland, was photographed holding a DA membership card in a very public snub to the ruling party.

    Last week, Dalindyebo – no stranger to controversy – called Zuma a parasite, accusing him of being in the pocket of corrupt individuals.

    Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesman, Mmusi Maimane, said although they do not agree with some of the king’s statements “anyone is free to join the DA.”

    The king has spoken about his regular use of cannabis and has been charged with manslaughter, arson, assault and kidnapping.

    “We believe that he represents an important component of society in the Eastern Cape,” Maimane said.

    The predominantly white party, which runs the Western Cape province, is trying to boost its profile in black areas ahead of the 2014 elections.

    Dalindyebo was visited at his palace by DA regional leader, Athol Trollip, after he expressed a desire to join the party.

    Tribal chiefs in South Africa are seen as crucial for tapping the rural electorate, which bears the brunt of poverty and lack of services.

    The controversial king claimed joining the party would be a gift to the ailing Mandela, whom he has visited in hospital.

    {wirestory}

  • Al-Mustapha of Nigerian Army Faces Imminent Retirement

    {{The Nigerian Army Monday confirmed that Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, is still a soldier in the Nigerian military.}}

    Chief of Staff in the Directorate of the Army Public Relations, Col. John Agim, told journalists at a briefing by the Joint Security Services Public Information Committee that “with regards to Al-Mustapha’s release, well I want confirm that he is still in the Army.

    “The case is going to be handled by the Army administratively in line with the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service.

    “Throughout his detention and trial that lasted over 15 years, Major Al-Mustapha was receiving his full entitlements as a soldier of the Nigerian Army in the rank of Major.

    And since he is a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 28, Al-Mustapha is going to be asked to apply for voluntary retirement from the Army as members of the course are already in the two-star rank of Major Generals.”

    A source stated that “the best Al-Mustapha can get from the system in the circumstances is to apply for voluntary retirement or wait for one to be written to him as he has been caught by the barrier of age on rank.

    The issue of promotion is off the cards, as even if he gets promoted to the next rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he will still be two full senior ranks away from his course mates.”

    {NgrGuardian}

  • Japan Police Bust Overweight Sex Firm

    {{Japanese police have arrested the alleged ringleader of a sex home delivery service specialising in women weighing up to 150 kilograms (330 lbs), a force spokesman said on Tuesday.}}

    Keiko Saito, 41, and one of her employees are suspected of conspiring to run a prostitution business under the name “Makkusu Bodi” (Max Body), which boasted that it catered for men who like “explosive boobs and bums”, police said.

    Saito is alleged to have had about 30 overweight women in her employ, including one who tipped the scales at more than 150 kilograms, Jiji Press reported.

    Police say punters in Tokyo could telephone to request a visit in their home or hotel room, a service called “deri-heru” (delivery health) that is widespread in Japan, where it is illegal to sell penetrative sex.

    Saito, who is believed to have earned about 400 million yen ($4 million) over three years, had previously worked as a prostitute, Jiji said. She began her business because she believed larger women were popular with customers, the agency added.

    {{agencies}}

  • South Africa’s Cell C Receives $570M in Equity, Loans

    {{South Africa’s third largest mobile operator, Cell C, said on Tuesday it will receive a $350 million cash injection from majority shareholder Oger Telecom and a further $222 million in loans.}}

    Dubai-based Oger Telecom – partly owned by Saudi Telecom – holds a 75 percent stake in the South African firm. It invested $200 million in 2012 and Cell C said it would make another significant injection in 2014.

    Cell C said it also has a further 2.2 billion rand ($222 million) in loans from Nedbank and the Development Bank of South Africa.

    Cell C, which has been chipping away at the market shares of bigger rivals Vodacom and MTN, has been asking the industry’s regulator to cut interconnection rates to allow for more competitive tariffs.

    “The company has a solid business strategy and we are confident that the regulator will make decisions that give smaller players a better chance of being sustainable competitors,” Mohammed Hariri, chairman of both Cell C and Oger Telecom, said in a statement.

    Cell C expects to use the fresh funding to improve network quality and boost its capital structure.

    It has increased users by about 2.5 million to 11.5 million in the last nine months.

    {agencies}

  • South Korea Accuses North of Cyber Attacks

    {{South Korea accused North Korea on Tuesday of mounting cyber attacks on the websites of its presidential office and other government agencies, saying it had identified signature malicious computer codes and an internet address.}}

    The cyber attacks took place last month, on the anniversary of the beginning of the 1950-53 Korean War which left the peninsula divided between the rival countries.

    North Korea has been suspected of masterminding previous cyber attacks on South Korea, including one in March that paralyzed tens of thousands of computers and servers at major broadcasters and banks.

    North Korea has repeatedly denied responsibility for such attacks saying it has also been a victim of hacking.

    South Korean officials said they had detected North Korean involvement in the latest cyber assault that shut down several sites including those of the presidential office and the conservative ruling party.

    “An IP address within North Korea’s bandwidth was found,” Chun Kilsoo, an official at the state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency, told a briefing, referring to a computer’s internet protocol address.

    The malicious computer codes and technique of the attack were similar to those detected in previous hacking attacks traced to the North, officials added.

    The accusation comes as the two Koreas wrangle over the reopening of a joint factory park just inside North Korea that North Korea closed during a period of tension that began when it conducted its third nuclear test in February.

    They failed to reach agreement on Monday on the reopening of the complex.

    South Korea has not confirmed findings by U.S. online security company McAfee that a group of hackers was behind a string of cyber attacks on South Korea dating back to 2009 aimed at spying on its military.

    South Korea’s defense minister said at a recent conference that North Korea had about 3,000 highly trained cyber warfare personnel, according to media reports.

    In March, the North suggested the United States was behind cyber attacks on its internet servers after reports of disruptions to its main news services.

    A hacker collective known as Anonymous said it had attacked North Korean websites on the anniversary of the Korean War.

    The group denied through Twitter posts any involvement in attacks on South Korea.

    {agencies}

  • Munyenyezi Gets 10 years in U.S. Prison for Lying About Genocide

    {{A Rwandan woman living in New Hampshire was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Monday for obtaining her U.S. citizenship unlawfully by lying about her role in the 1994 genocide in her central African homeland.}}

    Beatrice Munyenyezi, 43, who has been in the United States since 1998, failed to disclose during her citizenship application that she had been a member of Rwanda’s ruling MRND party, which helped carry out the killing of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

    “She has stolen the highly prized status of U.S. citizenship,” District Court Judge Stephen McAuliffe said in a statement issued by the Department of Justice.

    “The defendant personally participated in the killing of men, women and children, merely because they were called Tutsi.”

    Munyenyezi was convicted of lying to federal authorities and stripped of her citizenship earlier this year. She will be deported to Rwanda – where she could face additional charges – after she serves her sentence in the United States.

    During her trial, witnesses testified that Munyenyezi staffed a roadblock outside her home where she checked IDs and decided who would be allowed to pass, and who would be detained pending almost certain death.

    Munyenyezi had testified for her husband, Arsène Shalom Ntahobali before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2006.

    Ntahobali was convicted by the tribunal of helping lead the genocide in the southern Rwandan town of Butare.

    She also had links to others convicted on genocide charges. Her mother-in-law, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, was convicted of war crimes by the tribunal and last year her sister, Prudence Kantengwa, was convicted on federal charges in Boston of lying under oath during immigration proceedings.

    {reuters}

  • Bashir Leaves Nigeria After Calls for His Arrest

    {{The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir returned home abruptly before the conclusion of the HIV summit that took place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja amid controversy over his attendance.}}

    A Sudanese diplomat who would not give his name told The Associated Press that Bashir left at 3 p.m. Monday, less than 24 hours after he arrived and in the middle of a two-day summit ending Tuesday.

    But he denied that Bashir’s hasty departure was related to demands for his arrest.

    The Nigeria Coalition on the International Criminal Court (NCICC) issued a statement today condemning the government for hosting the Sudanese leader who is wanted by the ICC in connection with war crimes committed in Darfur.

    NCICC said that Nigeria’s failure to arrest Bashir “will be a brazen disregard of its international treaty obligation under Article 89 of the Rome Statute of the ICC which it has ratified since 2001”

    “Such failure also undermines the pursuit of international justice, peace and security which are the objectives of the ICC” the group said.

    The group also revealed that it has filed a suit at the Federal high court Abuja seeking a domestic arrest warrant for Bashir.

    “The judiciary in this country has the responsibility to implement legal obligations created by treaties undertaken by Nigeria. As a state party to the Rome statute of the ICC, Nigeria is under legal obligation to execute within its national jurisdiction the arrest warrants issued by the trial chamber of the ICC against Mr Al Bashir while in its national territory”.

    The British government also released a statement expressing disappointment at Nigeria.

    “The UK has a strong and abiding bilateral relationship with Nigeria. I am therefore disappointed that Nigeria has chosen to host President Al Bashir of Sudan at an African Union event, despite International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants against him for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

    This undermines the work of the ICC and sends the victims a dismaying message that the accountability they are waiting for will be delayed further,” said the UK Foreign Office Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds

    Abuja defended its decision to host Bashir saying it is abiding by AU decisions that instructs members not to cooperate with ICC in executing the warrant against the Sudanese president.

    The minister of health Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, who accompanied Bashir to the summit, described the summit as a success adding that Sudan has played a crucial role with regards to establishing a roadmap to protect HIV+ individuals and simplifying efforts to combat this virus and others including Malaria and Tuberculosis.

    He went on to say that resolutions issued in previous summits have been reaffirmed such as linking healthcare to development.