IGIHE

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  • US jet Crash Passengers Told to Remain Seated

    {{Passengers on a jet which crashed in San Francisco were told by the pilot to stay in their seats after the aircraft came to rest on the runway.}}

    It was not until a fire erupted 90 seconds after the crash that the order to evacuate the Asiana airlines Boeing 777 was given, according to the National Transport Safety Board on Wednesday.

    The Asiana flight crashed Saturday when its landing gear and then its tail clipped a rocky seawall just short of the runway.

    Deborah Hersman, the chairwoman of the NTSB, said the pilot told passengers to stay in their seats while he contacted the control tower at the airport.

    She added that, “in order to get certified, an aircraft manufacturer has to show that a fully loaded aircraft can be evacuated, fully evacuated within 90 seconds.”

    “What we saw here was that the first doors and slides weren’t opened for about 90 seconds.”

  • Mandela Responding to Treatment

    {{Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment but remains in a critical but stable condition after more than a month in hospital, the office of President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.}}

    “We are encouraged that Madiba is responding to treatment and urge the public to continue providing support and showering him with love, which gives him and the family strength,” Zuma himself said after visiting Mandela, often referred to affectionately by his clan name Madiba, in a Pretoria hospital.

    Mandela, whose 95th birthday is on July 18, has been receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection that has led to four hospital stays in the past six months.

    A presidency statement said Zuma “found Mandela still critical but stable, and was informed by doctors that he was responding to treatment”.

    The faltering health of South Africa’s first black president, a figure admired globally as a symbol of struggle against injustice and racism, has reinforced a realization that the father of post-apartheid South Africa will not be around for ever.

    His eldest daughter Makaziwe said in a court document filed late in June that her father was in a “perilous” condition and breathing with the aid of life-support machines.

    {agencies}

  • Nigerian President Secures $1.1bn From China

    {{Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have presided over the signing of accords between their governments to facilitate $1.1bn in low-interest loans for much-needed infrastructure in Nigeria.}}

    The ceremony took place on Wednesday in Beijing at the start of Jonathan’s four-day visit.

    China, which is increasingly looking to Africa for oil and other natural resources, is offering Nigeria loans to help fund airport terminals in four cities, roads, a light-rail line for its capital, a hydropower plant and oil and gas infrastructure.

    Jonathan’s visit comes a few months after Xi’s trip to Africa, which took him to the Republic of Congo, Tanzania and South Africa. All three countries are rich in natural resources.

    Xi said China and Nigeria had been brought together by a common task of pursuing national development.

    “China and Nigeria share the same goal of achieving prosperity for both countries, and this shared task brings our two countries together.”

    Jonathan is visiting with a dozen of his cabinet ministers, including those for petroleum resources, trade and transport, as well as several state governors, senior government officials and business-people.

    “China is a very good country, has a very robust economy. And that’s why when I was coming, I came with quite a number of cabinet ministers and other very senior government functionaries,” Jonathan said.

    Following a meeting between Xi and Jonathan, representatives from both countries signed five deals, including a lending agreement between China’s Import-Export Bank and the Nigerian finance ministry for the expansion of the airport terminals and an economic and technical cooperation pact.

    Details of the agreements were not immediately available.

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister, said the loans being finalised during the trip were part of $3bn approved by China at interest rates of less than 3 percent.

    Chinese companies are already building roads across Nigeria in contracts worth $1.7bn.

    China’s demand for crude oil produced in Nigeria is expected to rise tenfold to 200,000 barrels a day by 2015, according to information provided by a team accompanying the Nigerian president.

  • Egypt has less than 2 Months Imported Wheat Left

    {{Egypt has less than two months’ supply of imported wheat left in its stocks, ousted President Mohamed Mursi’s minister of supplies said, signaling that a shortage is more acute than previously revealed.}}

    Speaking to Reuters near midnight in a tent at a vigil where thousands of Mursi’s supporters are protesting against the Islamist president’s removal, former Minister of Supplies Bassem Ouda said the state had just 500,000 metric tons ( 1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of imported wheat left.

    Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat, half of which it distributes to its 84 million people in the form of heavily subsidized bread.

    The ousted government closely guarded figures about its foreign grain stores even as a shortage of cash halted its imports.

    Two and a half years of political turmoil have caused a deep economic crisis in Egypt, scaring away investors and tourists, draining foreign currency reserves and making it difficult to maintain imports of food and fuel.

    After buying 3.7 million metric tons from a domestic harvest that is now finishing, Egypt has 3 million metric tons of home-grown wheat left in its stores, Ouda said.

    Egypt normally mixes its lower-gluten domestic wheat with equal parts foreign wheat in order to produce flour suitable to make bread. Ouda said Mursi’s government had tried to increase the ratio of domestic wheat it used to 60 percent.

    In a typical year Egypt imports about 10 million metric tons of wheat. Egypt had not imported any wheat since February – its longest absence from the market in years – until the eve of Mursi’s overthrow when it bought 180,000 metric tons for shipment in August.

    The government said on June 26 it had 3.613 million metric tons of total wheat but did not reveal how much of that was imported.

    Since Mursi was toppled last week, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have promised $12 billion in cash, loans and fuel, which economists say buys Cairo several months of breathing room to fix its finances.

    {agencies}

  • Population Covered by Ban on Tobacco Advertising Has Doubled

    {{At 2.3 billion, the number of people worldwide covered by at least one life-saving measure to limit tobacco use has more than doubled in the last five years, according to the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2013. }}

    The number of people covered by bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, the focus of this year’s report, increased by almost 400 million people residing mainly in low- and middle-income countries.

    the Report shows that 3 billion people are now covered by national anti-tobacco campaigns. As a result, hundreds of millions of nonsmokers are less likely to start.

    However, the Report notes, to achieve the globally agreed target of a 30% reduction of tobacco use by 2025, more countries have to implement comprehensive tobacco control programmes.

    Bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are one of the most powerful measures to control tobacco use. As of today, 24 countries with 694 million people have introduced complete bans and 100 more countries are close to a complete ban.

    However, 67 countries currently do not ban any tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship activities or have a ban that excludes advertising in national broadcast and print media.

    “If we do not close ranks and ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, adolescents and young adults will continue to be lured into tobacco consumption by an ever-more aggressive tobacco industry,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.

    “Every country has the responsibility to protect its population from tobacco-related illness, disability and death.”

    Tobacco is the leading global cause of preventable death and kills 6 million people every year. It can cause cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.

    If current trends continue, the number of deaths attributed to tobacco smoking is projected to rise to 8 million a year by 2030.

    In defiance of the deleterious effects of smoking, tobacco companies are spending tens of billions of dollars each year on advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

    “We know that only complete bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are effective,” stresses Dr Douglas Bettcher, the Director of WHO’s Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases department.

    “Countries that introduced complete bans together with other tobacco control measures have been able to cut tobacco use significantly within only a few years.“

  • Boston Bombing Suspect Pleads not Guilty

    {{Reports from US indicate that a Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday pleaded not guilty on all charges in connection with the April attacks, some of which could carry the death penalty.}}

    Tsarnaev, making his first court appearance, entered the federal courtroom in Boston in handcuffs, shackles and wearing an orange jumpsuit. His arm in a cast and his face swollen, Tsarnaev also appeared to have a jaw injury and facial swelling.

    “Not guilty,” said the 19-year-old ethnic Chechen, as each of the 30 counts against him – 17 of which carry the death penalty – were read out at the brief, seven-minute-long arraignment.

    The heavily guarded courtroom was packed with emotional victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line, some of whom needed canes to walk. Their families, police officers, and members of the public and the media were also in attendance.

    The attacks stunned America with scenes of carnage and chaos at one of the country’s premier sporting events. The bombs were packed with metal fragments to cause maximum damage, and several people lost one or more limbs.

    Tsarnaev is accused of plotting and carrying out the attacks with his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan, who died in a shootout with police as the pair tried to escape the Boston area several days later.

    He is also charged in connection with the shooting death of a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the brothers’ overnight getaway attempt.

    {wirestory}

  • Russia convicts dead lawyer of tax evasion

    A Russian court has convicted whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose death in detention led to one of the biggest Washington-Moscow rows in years.

    Judge Igor Alisov of the Moscow court on Thursday read the verdict in the case against Magnitsky and his former boss, US-born British citizen William Browder, the head of the Hermitage Capital investment fund who is being tried in absentia.

    Local media reports that this is the first time a Russian or Soviet court as brought about a prosecution against a dead man.

    The tax evasion case against Magnitsky, who died in pre-trial detention after accusing interior ministry officials of corruption, has been slammed by legal experts and Western governments.

    Magnitsky died in custody in 2009 at the age of 37 after attempting to reveal massive tax fraud against the British Investment Fund Hermitage Capital, to which he was an adviser before, and the Russian state.

    He had accused interior ministry officials of organising a $235m tax scam, but was then charged with the very crimes he claimed to have uncovered.

    {Sergei Magnitskaya died in custody in 2009 at the age of 37 }
    wirestory

  • UN Assistant Secretary-General for Safety & Security Meets with Minister of Defence

    {Minister, Gen. James Kabarebe presenting a gift to the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Dept. of Safety and Security, Ms. Mbaranga Gasarabwe Clotilde. Photo/ MoD.}

    {{Hon. Minister of Defence, Gen. James Kabarebe today 10 July 2013 received in his office, the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), Ms. Mbaranga Gasarabwe Clotilde. }}

    The purpose of the visit at the Ministry of Defence was to introduce the UNDSS country team to the Rwandan authorities for future collaboration.

    The Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security said that she came in Rwanda to meet with their UNDSS country team together with Rwandan Authorities “Safety and Security is the main issue for all the countries”, she noted adding that wherever they have staff, they have to ensure that they are safe and that their safety is hands of the host Nation.

    She further explained that they have to ensure that the Country team works closely with the National authorities, “they are the ones who protect us”, what ever we do, security assessment, security analysis, we do it closely with national authorities, and that every thing is done and shared.

    Ms. Mbaranga Gasarabwe Clotilde will also attend the official launch of the Command Post Exercise (CPX) codenamed “Africa unite” Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. During this Exercise, Representatives of Security Organs from 37 African countries convened at Rwanda National Police will exercise on how to fight Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) both at home and during Peace Support Operations during conflict situations.

    Ms. Mbaranga Gasarabwe Clotilde revealed that she will attend the event to witness the Rwandan best practices that can be shared with the whole African countries in Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.

    She thanked Rwanda for her esteemed contribution to Peacekeeping Missions. She said that wherever Rwandan Peacekeepers are deployed bring good values, best practices, discipline, integrity to others in peacekeeping missions areas.

    As deputy to the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, the Assistant Secretary-General is responsible for the day-to-day overall management of the department (UNDSS), for strengthening internal management as well as representing the Department in the absence of the Under-Secretary-General.

  • Rutsiro Forest Devastated by Wild Fire

    {{Rutsiro district authorities are still investigating the cause of fire that destroyed vast area of Rutsiro forest on Sunday.}}

    The district Mayor Gaspard Byukusenge told media that 6 hectares of forest had been burnt down after a wild fire that started on Sunday night spread quickly.

    Byukusenge says Part of the destroyed forest belonged to the government.

    However, local sources estimated the extent of fire destruction to over 20hectares.

    Area residents extinguished the fire after several hours battling with the fire using all means available.

    The Mayor hinted that the district authority is considering banning chacoal burning which also contributes to such wild fires.

    “As we continue our efforts to mobilise the population against anything that can cause wild fires, we are also considering other options so as to ensure we limit such incidents,” the mayor said.

    {Newtimes}

  • Suspect Detained over Fake Currency Notes

    {{Police has arresyed a suspect Telesphore Twahirwa, 32, from Nyanza district for forginging Rwandan currency.}}

    He is being held at Busasamana Police station. He was found with seven extra currency notes in denominations of Frw5000 after buying grocceries.

    He paid for chicken he bought on the street as he drove to Nyanza town. He issued one of the fake notes. After speeding off, the street marchant disvovered he had been conned with a fake note.

    He hired a motorcycle and chased Twahirwa until he caught him along the way and called Police.

    His colleague Emanuel God, whom Twahirwa is shifting all the blames to, ran away before he was arrested.

    The Police Spokesperson for Southern region, Chief Superintendent Hubert Gashagaza, said the crime is very serious and could be handed jail term of more than two years and a fine.

    RNP