IGIHE

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  • Britain Bans Boko Haram

    {{A month after the Nigeria Federal Government proscribed Jamaatu Ahlis-Sunna Liddaawati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, the terrorist group agreed to cease fire on Monday .}}

    The government had equally banned Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, also known as Ansaru.

    The ceasefire deal is coming on the eve of the Muslim Holy month due to begin Wednesday throughout the country.

    The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki announced the ceasefire deal on Radio France International Hausa services monitored in Kano on Monday afternoon.

    Turaki who is the chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee on Dialogue and Peace Resolution on the security challenges in the north-east, spoke in Yola, the Adamawa State capital in north-eastern Nigeria yesterday, while fielding questions from journalists.

    Turaki said that his committee had contacted some top leaders of the group and there was a positive response from the gang leaders that they would drop their arms for peace and unity in the north-east region.

    The chairman of the committee who pointed out that the members of the committee were in Adamawa State to meet with the stakeholders and security chiefs to discuss the way forward on how to resolve the security crisis in north-east zone, called on the entire people of the area to support the presidency in tackling the crisis.

    This is coming as Britain banned Boko Haram and Minbar Ansar Deen, a United Kingdom-based Islamist extremist group.

    Announcing the ban yesterday, the British interior ministry said the proscription of the two groups would begin from Friday, subject to parliamentary approval. “This will make membership of, and support for these organisations a criminal offence,” the ministry said in a statement.

    “The government is determined to work with the international community to tackle terrorism and take the steps necessary to keep the UK public safe. Proscription of these groups sends a clear message that we condemn their activities.”

    The British government said its ban on Boko Haram would give the police the power to target British support for the group.

    The British-based Minbar Ansar Deen allegedly promotes terror through its website and encourages people to travel abroad to engage in extremist activity, the Home Office added.

    {NgrGuardian}

  • Lauryn Hill Reports to Jail

    {{Right on schedule, singer Lauryn Hill reported to federal prison on Monday to begin a three-month sentence for failing to pay federal income taxes.}}

    The musician and mother of six pleaded guilty last year to three counts of failing to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million from 2005 to 2007.

    The Grammy winning artist was sentenced to three months in federal prison, which she’ll serve at a low security female facility in Danbury, Connecticut.

    Hill has sold millions of albums — 16, to be exact — but when she appeared before a judge in May, she said that she lives modestly considering the amount of money her music has earned for others.

    “Someone did the math, and it came to around $600 million,” she said at the time. “And I sit here before you trying to figure out how to pay a tax debt? If that’s not like enough to slavery, I don’t know.”

    The U.S. attorney’s office said that the income in question was earned mainly from music and film royalties that were paid to companies she owned from 2005 to 2008.

    According to the prosecutor, the sentence handed down “also takes into account additional income and tax losses for 2008 and 2009 — when she also failed to file federal returns — along with her outstanding tax liability to the state of New Jersey, for a total income of approximately $2.3 million and total tax loss of approximately $1,006,517.”

    After her three-month prison stint, Hill was also sentenced to three months of home confinement and a year of supervised probation. She’ll also have to pay penalties, the taxes still owed and a $60,000 fine.

    {wirestory}

  • Osama bin Laden lived in plain sight

    {{Osama bin Laden lived in plain sight for almost a decade and was once even pulled over for speeding but not apprehended, thanks to the incompetence of Pakistan’s intelligence and security services, an official report into his killing said on Monday.}}

    The report, leaked to Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera which circulated it late on Monday, offers fascinating details about life on the run for the world’s most wanted man, who, it says, wore a cowboy hat to avoid being spotted from above.

    Written by a judge-led commission that the Pakistani government set up shortly after U.S. special forces killed bin Laden in 2011, the 336-page report is based on interviews with 201 sources including members of his family and various officials.

    In one testimony showing how close bin Laden came to being captured, “Maryam”, the wife of one of his most trusted aides, recounted how his car was stopped by Pakistani police in the Swat region.

    “Once when they were all … on a visit to the bazaar they were stopped for speeding by a policeman,” the report says. “But her (Maryam’s) husband quickly settled the matter with the policeman and they drove on.”

    To avoid detection from the sky, bin Laden took to wearing a cowboy hat when moving about his compound in the city of Abbottabad, his wives told investigators.

    The inquiry’s findings – which have not yet been officially published – include evidence of incompetence at almost every level of Pakistan’s security apparatus. The report is also fiercely critical of the “illegal manner” in which the United States conducted the raid.

    agencies

  • EU hits Russia with WTO dispute over car levy

    {{The European Union will launch the first trade dispute against Russia at the World Trade Organization later on Tuesday, challenging Moscow’s car recycling levy, diplomats said.}}

    “We gave Russia until July 1 to lift these recycling fees and it failed to do so, so that is why we are taking this to the WTO. Hopefully this can be resolved quickly. It is important that Russia, as a WTO member, plays by global trade rules,” an EU diplomat said.

    The dispute comes less than a year after Russia signed up to the global trade rules and follows repeated warnings from Brussels about non-compliance. Japan and the United States are set to join the EU at a WTO meeting on Thursday to air concerns about Russia’s failure to stick to the rules.

    Cutting import tariffs on cars was a major sticking point in Russia’s 18-year negotiation to join the WTO. Moscow agreed to do so, but critics say the recycling fee, collected up-front when a car is imported, effectively cancels out the lower tariffs.

    That matters to Brussels because Russia is on course to overtake Germany as Europe’s biggest car market within a few years, offering a lucrative export market for recession-weary EU car makers.

    Russia has warned the European Union in the past that it has its own concerns with EU policies, suggesting it could hit back with another WTO dispute if the bloc launched a WTO challenge.

    Under WTO rules, Russia has 60 days to satisfy EU concerns about the recycling levy, by changing or explaining its policy. After that the EU could ask the WTO to adjudicate, which could force Moscow to change the rules or face trade sanctions.

    EU and Russian officials declined to comment on the case, which has not yet been formally notified.

    {{reuters}}

  • Egypt seeks quick elections

    {{Egypt’s interim head of state has set a speedy timetable for elections to drag the Arab world’s biggest country from crisis, after the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last week sparked a wave of bloody protests.}}

    A decree issued by Adli Mansour pointed to a parliamentary ballot within about six months with a presidential vote to follow. However, it was faulted for repeating flaws in the 2011 transition plan that contributed to the current crisis.

    {{The need for a political breakthrough is pressing.}}

    At least 51 people were killed on Monday when the army opened fire on Mursi supporters camped outside Cairo’s Republican Guard barracks where the deposed leader is believed to be held.

    The military said it opened fire in response to an attack by armed assailants. On Friday, clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi supporters swept Egypt and left 35 dead.

    Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement called for more protests on Tuesday, raising the risk of further violence, although an umbrella group representing anti-Mursi protesters said they would not demonstrate.

    The bloodshed has shocked Egyptians, already tired of the turbulence that began 2-1/2 years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.

    It also raised alarm among key donors like the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979.

    Millions of people took to the streets on June 30 to demand Mursi’s resignation, fearing he was orchestrating a creeping Islamist takeover of the state – a charge the Brotherhood has vehemently denied.

    But for many Islamists, the overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president was a bitter reversal that raised fears of a return to the suppression they endured for decades under autocratic rulers like Mubarak.

    reuters

  • Police College students visit RGB

    {{Twenty eight police officers from the Rwanda National Police College visited the Rwanda Governance Board this Monday to learn about good governance and development in Rwanda.}}

    The team, comprised of police officers from 12 African countries, was received by Deputy CEO in charge of Research and Monitoring; Dr. Felicien Usengumukiza who lectured them about Good Governance policies and how they have been key pillars for Sustainable Development in Rwanda.

    This team is pursuing a Senior Command and Staff Course at the National Police College. Their visit is part of the study tours organized by Rwanda National Police to learn about good governance and development.

    Dr. Felicien Usengumukiza discussed Rwanda’s commitment to fostering good governance and transformational leadership, unity and reconciliation; and social economic development.

    He requested participants to encourage their respective countries embrace values of dignity and self-reliance. “In Africa today, we recognize that trade and investment, and not Aid are pillars of Development.”

    The Commandant of the National Police Academy, Commissioner of Police Felix Namuhoranye, said that the academy conducts training courses as joint conflict prevention mechanism in Africa.

    The team will visit different institutions including, RDB, RAB, NURC, FARG, RDRC and IRDP.

    RNP

  • Germany: Rwandans & Friends of Rwanda Celebrate 19th Liberation Day

    {{The Rwandan Community in Germany on July 8, celebrated Rwanda’s 19th Liberation and 51st Independence Day.}}

    More than 150 guests followed the invitation of the Rwandan envoy to Germany, Ambassador Christine Nkulikiyinka, who had invited members of the Rwandan community as well as friends of Rwanda to the celebration.

    The event was also attended by representatives of the German Government and Members of the Parliament as well as members of the diplomatic missions accredited to Germany. Especially, the heads of African missions were highly represented in order to join Rwandans in celebrating their national day.

    In her welcoming remarks Ambassador Nkulikiyinka highlighted the theme of this year’s celebrations, “Celebrating African Renaissance, working for Self-Reliance”, and shared with her guests the meaning of liberation for Rwanda:

    “The liberation of Rwanda means not only liberation from a government that prepared and executed the genocidal plan of killing their own people, but also liberation from certain barriers that hindered us to develop ourselves.

    Looking at our country, we can definitely speak about a Rwandan renaissance. Few people could have believed that in a short period as 19 years, a nation that had fallen to its knees would find the strength and the confidence to stand up and walk straight again.”

    She paid tribute to the fallen soldiers who lost their lives in the fight for liberation, stating that their sacrifice led the way to a free and dignified nation.

    The Ambassador explained that ever since the joint efforts by the Rwandan people with a visionary leadership at the forefront have led to the often cited African success story that was made in Rwanda.

    She emphasised that the secret of Rwanda’s success after such a tragic experience was the belief in the nation’s self-determination and dignity. She explained the definition of the Rwandan term “Agaciro”, meaning self-worth, and disclosed that it forms the foundation of the nation’s understanding that self-reliance is the key to a fully independent country.

    Rwanda’s Ambassador further added that this spirit can now be observed across the African continent, best reflected in the decision by African countries to take ownership for their fate and provide own solutions for their problems.

    “Our dignity was and is still the key to our country, so that we were able to look inward for home-grown solutions for the challenges we were facing. 19 years later, we have overcome the worst, even achieved the unexpected and we continue to strive for the highest level of well-being, prosperity and security for our people.”

    Ambassador Nkulikiyinka was joined by the Director General in the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. von Götze, who spoke on behalf of the Federal Government. He expressed his respect for the resilience of the Rwandan people and said that Rwanda’s journey is an example for the whole African continent.

    He especially commended the country’s promotion for peace and security in the region and the remarkable progress done in achieving the Milenium Development Goals, saying that the entry into the UN Security Council reflects very well Rwanda’s efforts for a peaceful and self-reliant Africa. Dr. von Götze further conveyed the continuous support of Germany for Rwanda.

  • Belgian Lawmakers Pay Tribute to Genocide Victims in Murambi

    {{Four Belgian legislators have paid tribute to genocide victims at Murambi in Nyamagabe District.}}

    The delegation laid a wreth of flowers at the Murambi Memorial Site where thousands of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi are buried.

    The visiting lawmakers were given a brief history of the Genocide before they laid a wreath in honour of those buried at the memorial.

    Over 50,000 Tutsis are believed to have been killed at what was meant to be a technical school in Murambi.

    The Genocide against ethnic tutsi in 1994 claimed over a million lives in a span of only a hundred days.

  • Four Tanzanians Seized Carrying illicit Drugs

    {{Four Tanzanians were seized carrying illicit drugs with a total street value of Sh7.1 billion in two separate incidents yesterday, highlighting the concern that East Africa is fast becoming a major trafficking hub in the continent.}}

    In the first incident, two women travelling from Tanzania were arrested at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, after authorities discovered 150kg of illicit drugs known as crystal methamphetamine stashed in their luggage.

    The drug is better known locally in South Africa as ‘tik’. A statement by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) said the estimated street value of the 150kg of ‘tik’ is R42.6 million (about Sh7 billion).

    The head of the anti-narcotics unit in the Tanzanian Police Force, Mr Godfrey Nzowa, said the couple was heading to Bangkok and were arrested on Saturday around 2pm after a tip off.

    “It is the biggest tik or crystal meth bust that SARS customs has made at any port of entry,” said SARS spokesperson, Ms Marika Muller, in an interview yesterday.

    The drug haul shows that Tanzania, like Uganda and Kenya, is also becoming a major conduit of the methamphetamine.

    NMG

  • Rwanda Hosts EAC Good Governance Conference

    {{Rwanda is hosting the 4th edition of the East African Community (EAC) annual conference on Good Governance under the theme: ‘Sustaining the Fight against Corruption to promote Regional Integration’.}}

    According to EAC Deputy Secretary General (In charge of Political Federation) Charles Njoroge said, “The Conference will focus on corruption as an impediment to the regional integration agenda.”

    He noted, “The timely realization of negative effects of corruption in the pursuit of regional integration cannot be overemphasized.’’

    The decision by the EAC Council of Ministers to negotiate the Protocol on Preventing and Combating Corruption, Njoroge said, was a vivid demonstration of the Partner States’ commitment to address the vice.

    He added: ‘’with increased trade, movement of persons, goods, services and capital under the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols, corruption has been identified as one of the Non- Tariff Barriers (NTBs). It impedes investments, trade, and movement of capital and provision of services and in the end, enhances poverty levels in our region’’.

    About 150 representatives from Ministries responsible for Good Governance, EAC Affairs, Justice and Constitutional Affairs, National Institutions of Governance such as Anti-Corruption Agencies, Human Rights Commissions; National Electoral Commissions, Anti-Corruption Courts, East African Court of Justice and East African Legislative Assembly.