IGIHE

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  • UK Bank Suspends Money Transfer to Somalia

    {{The announcement by Barclays Bank Plc of the UK that it will from this week withdraw banking services from some 250 money transfer companies has caused panic among Somalis in the diaspora who use these companies to send money to family members back home.}}

    Explaining the move, Barclays stated: “It is recognised that some money service businesses don’t have the proper checks in place to spot criminal activity and could, therefore, unwittingly be facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing.”

    Critics of the decision say that remittances are a “lifeline” for the millions of Somalis who are not served by formal banking institutions and that thousands will not be able to pay for food, education and medical expenses.

    Some researchers have suggested that Somalis operate and even thrive in a largely unregulated and informal economy because of remittances.

    Last month, a group of researchers and aid workers sent a letter to Mark Simmonds, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa, urging him to persuade Barclays not to withdraw its services to the money transfer companies (also known as hawala), adding that these companies not only provide essential services to the global Somali community, they also make it possible for aid agencies, such as UNDP and Oxfam, to pay their staff and procure services in Somalia.

    NMG

  • Usain Bolt wins Diamond League Paris 200m

    {{Usain Bolt recorded the fastest time of the year as he won the 200m at the Diamond League meeting in Paris.}}

    The six-time Olympic gold medallist clocked 19.73 seconds to beat fellow Jamaican Warren Weir (19.92) and France’s Christophe Lemaitre (20.07).

    Olympic champion Greg Rutherford pulled out of the long jump, little more than a month before the World Championships, after sustaining a hamstring injury.
    The Briton later wrote on Twitter there was “plenty of time” to recover.

    Rutherford initially said: “Looks like bad news people. The old injury strikes. Hamstring pull.”

    But the 26-year-old added: “Just realised worlds is still five and a half weeks away. Plenty of time for this old hand.

    “Flash back to 2009. I tore my hamstring three weeks before worlds in Berlin. First round of the qualification I broke the British record.”

    Rutherford jumped 7.99m in round three before withdrawing from the event, which Jamaican Damar Forbes (8.11) won from Briton Chris Tomlinson (8.08).

    Bolt, meanwhile, showed there was no reason to be concerned about his slow start to the season.

    This was the Jamaican’s second outing over his favoured distance this year after clocking 19.79 in Oslo on June 13.

    “I’m happy with myself,” said the 26-year-old, the world record holder in both sprint events.

    But he added: “I still need to work on a few mistakes.”
    American Tyson Gay, Bolt’s main sprint rival, won the US World Championships trials in 19.74 last month.

    He was also victorious in the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday in the second fastest time of the year.

    Britain’s European indoor 400m champion Perri Shakes-Drayton clocked 53.96 seconds to finish second in the women’s 400m hurdles behind Olympic bronze medallist Zuzana Hejnova (53.23).

    Shakes-Drayton, 24, ran 53.82 in her victory in Birmingham last week, and was disappointed with her performance in Paris.

    “I have two more races to go,” the Londoner told the BBC as she continues her
    preparations for the World Championships in Moscow.

    “I am going to the trials next weekend, I have not made the team yet so that will be important, then I have the Anniversary Games in London.”

    Another Briton, Marilyn Okoro, achieved the World Championship A standard in the 800m, her one minute 59.76 seconds enough for fifth place behind winner Francine Niyonsaba (1:57.26) of Burundi.

    “I am really happy,” Okoro said. “It has been an interesting few months, but my coach said I was ready.

    “A tremendous amount of pressure comes off now ahead of the trials. Now I have got the A standard, I just have to focus on finishing in the top two.”

    Okoro’s Great Britain team-mate Steve Lewis finished sixth in the pole vault, equalling his season’s best of 5.60m, with France’s Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie (5.92m) claiming victory.

    World and Olympic champion Kirani James, from Grenada, won the head-to-head with American Lashawn Merritt in the 400m, clocking the first time under 44 seconds in the world this year.

    James (43.96) was followed home by Merritt, who finished second in a season’s best 44.09, with American Tony McQuay (44.84) in third.

    Reigning 10,000m Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, of Ethiopia, won the 5,000m in 14 minutes 23.68 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year, while Britain’s Stephanie Twell (15:18.60) ran a season’s best to finish 11th.

    Jamaican double Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also ran her best time of the year, 10.92 seconds, to win the 100m, while Olympic champion Robert Harting, from Germany, claimed victory in the discus with a throw of 67.04 metres.


    {BBC}

  • KQ Plane to Rescue Passengers Stranded in Athens

    {{Kenya Airways has mounted an operation to rescue passengers who have been stranded in Athens since Saturday.}}

    The national carrier’s Chief Operating Officer Mbuvi Ngunze said the airline is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits for the plane that will relieve flight KQ117.

    “We are only waiting for civil aviation clearances enroute because that doesn’t depend on us, that depends on airspaces in Sudan, in Ethiopia and through to Egypt before we can send the flight,” Ngunze told Capital FM News.

    Nzunge said 16 of the stranded passengers were already on their way to Nairobi onboard a cargo flight, including four who were unable to leave the airport to be temporarily housed at a hotel as they lacked the necessary documents.

    “We actually eventually managed to get all but four through to a hotel on Saturday evening but we had diverted an aircraft last night to pick up the cargo that was on ground and we were able to pick up 16 from there so that shows you we were trying to be proactive to make sure we could mitigate for those people who were unable to be accommodated,” Ngunze said.

    KQ’s COO said they were forced to send another plane and crew to Athens after the Greece Civil Aviation declined to clear flight KQ117 for take off despite Boeing and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority having already cleared the plane.

    {agencies}

  • Ghana in dramatic 4-3 victory over Chile

    {{The Black Satellites of Ghana snatched a late 4-3 winner against Chile in a cracking quarter final game at Telecom Arena in the ongoing World U-20 tournament in Turkey. }}

    It was Ebenezer Assifuah’s header and a little mix-up in defence by the Chileans which rewarded Ghana victory in arguably the best game of the tournament.

    Ghana, twice had to come back from behind to secure a late win in extra-time with just a minute left to go for the shoot-out.

    They have thus booked a battle of revenge against France in the Semi-final stage of the competition.

    The game was lighted with a cracking volley by Moses Odjer in the 11th minute to open Ghana’s account. He trapped an immaculate cross on his chest and with all the dexterity, he unleashed a terrific shot with the Dario Melo completely beaten.

    The Chileans quickly responded and in spectacular fashion.

    In the 23rd minute, Nicholas Castillo fired a thunderbolt from an acute angle which zoomed straight into the roof of the net with Ghana’s goal keeper Eric Antwi in wonder land.

    Four minutes later, it was Angelo Henriquez who increased the tally and deepened the woes of the Satellites with a well taken strike just at the edge of the 18 yard box.

    He had left his marker, Richmond Nketia clearly beaten with superb first touch and with Antwi on sight he shot it low and fast into the net for the Chilean second.

    It was Ghana’s turn to respond but not until the second half. In a thrilling end-to-end stuff and a comedy of missed chances by both teams, the Ghanians finally got the dream back on and it was Ebenezer Assifuah.

    The Liberty Professional striker was played through wonderfully by Clifford Aboagye and he did rest on his weaker left foot.

    The game went into Extra time with two teams waiting to rue the missed chances that came their way.

    In the 98th minute Henriquez got his second of the night with a glancing header that left Antwi again motionless and completely beaten.

    The striker timed his run, dug his head slightly under an inch-perfect cross from mid-field and it was the Chileans who were in front again.

    The Ghanaians had to chase the equaliser again but time was not their friend.

    They were anxious and fired loosely from all angles in a desperate attempt to get the equaliser. And when it came, it was spectacular.

    A superb team goal with play maker Clifford Aboagye in the thick of affairs again. In a breathtaking one-two passing game, the Chilean defence was split open and Salifu tapped in from close range. Dario Melo had been beaten again.

    3-3 it was. The 30 minutes extra time had been exhausted. The game looked destined to be decided on a shoot-out. The players were looking ahead for it. But Ebenezer Assifuah had other ideas.

    He leapt and connected a cross which could easily have been cleared by the Chilean defence but somehow the ball bounced off two Chilean defence men and slipped through into the yawning net for one of the greatest come backs in World football.

    The Satellites will now be seeking revenge against their nemesis France in the semi-final stage of the competition.

    The French forced a 3-1 defeat down the throats of the Ghanaians in the opening game of the tournament.

    {myjoyonline}

  • 30 Boys Die From Circumcision Injuries in South Africa

    {{Thirty boys have died from circumcision-related injuries in the Eastern Cape Province alone during the initiation season, authorities said on Sunday.}}

    Meanwhile, nearly 300 have been hospitalised in the province, suffering from dehydration, gangrene, and septic wounds, the provincial health department said.

    Some have lost their genitals due to botched circumcisions, according to the department. The number of deaths during this year’s initiation season was unusually high.

    The latest deaths came after almost 40 boys died earlier during what was reported as initiation and circumcision rituals across the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.

    According to local custom, the initiations are normally viewed as a traditional passage for a young boy to enter manhood.

    However, the ancient initiations this year have became the fatal platform for those boys. The rising death toll has alarmed the government.

    President Jacob Zuma has called for a swift legal action to deal with the issue.

    “We wish to urge them to ensure swift justice for the families and that those responsible for the deaths are brought to book without delay,” he said.

    Police have opened murder dockets for many of the deaths.

    Wirestory

  • Somali President’s plane ‘catches fire’

    {{A plane carrying the Somali president has been forced to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu after one of its engines reportedly caught fire.}}

    A spokesman for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said it was not clear why the engine stopped working.

    The president was not hurt but firefighters scrambled to put out the flames, local reports say.

    Mr Mohamud was chosen as president last year in a UN-backed move to end decades of conflict.

    The president was flying to the South Sudan capital, Juba, when it was forced to turn round.

    One of the first reports of the incident came from a Twitter feed run by the al-Shabab militant group but it did not say it had attacked the plane.

    African Union and Somali forces backing Mr Mohamud have driven al-Shabab from the country’s main cities in the past year but the al-Qaeda-linked group still stages occasional attacks.

    The new government is the first one in more than two decades to be recognised by the US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    BBC

  • Pope Francis visits Italy’s migrant island of Lampedusa

    {{Pope Francis has said Mass for migrants on Italy’s tiny island of Lampedusa, condemning the “global indifference” to their plight.}}

    On arrival, he threw a wreath in the sea in memory of the many people who have drowned trying to reach Europe.

    A small boat carrying 166 Africans – reportedly Eritreans – arrived at Lampedusa’s port just hours before the Pope’s plane touched down.

    The island is struggling to cope with thousands of illegal migrants.

    Lampedusa, about 80 miles (120km) from Tunisia, is one of the nearest gateways to Europe for Africans fleeing poverty and conflict.

    Tens of thousands of migrants have made the dangerous crossing in recent years, usually packed into rickety wooden boats exposed to the elements.

    As Francis arrived on a coast guard ship, dozens of Lampedusan fishing boats sailed in nearby.

    The Pope is on his first pastoral visit outside Rome since his election in March.

    {agencies}

  • China & Russia Kick Off Largest-Ever Joint Naval Drills

    {{China and Russia kicked off their largest-ever joint naval drills Friday in the Sea of Japan, a further sign of the broad-based progress in ties between the former Cold War rivals.}}

    Eighteen surface ships, one submarine, three airplanes, five ship-launched helicopters and two commando units were taking part in the “Joint Sea-2013” exercise that runs through July 12.

    The drills will cover anti-submarine warfare, close maneuvering and the simulated takeover of an enemy ship.

    The drills are considerably bigger than anything China’s navy has previously held with a foreign partner.

    China’s increasingly formidable navy is contributing four destroyers, two latest-generation guided missile frigates and a support ship, all of which sailed Monday from the port of Qingdao, where China’s Northern Fleet is based, to the rallying point in Peter the Great Bay near Vladivostok.

    “This is our strongest line-up ever in a joint naval drill,” Rear Admiral Yang Junfei, commander of the Chinese contingent, was quoted as saying by state media.

    China has long been a key customer for Russian military hardware, but only in the last decade have their militaries begun training jointly.

    The naval drills are to be followed by another round of anti-terrorism joint drills in Russia’s Ural Mountain region of Chelyabinsk from July 27 to Aug. 15.

    China’s armed forces are eagerly pursuing stronger links with most regional militaries, with the notable exception of Japan, with which China is embroiled in a strongly emotional spat over control of an uninhabited East China Sea island group north of Taiwan.

    Chinese land units have taken part in border security and anti-terrorism exercises organized by the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

    {The Moscow Times }

  • Egypt Muslim Brotherhood says 35 dead near army HQ

    {{Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday that 35 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were killed at dawn when security forces opened fire on them as they were praying.}}

    “Morsi supporters were praying while the police and army fired live rounds and tear gas at them. This led to around 35 dead and the figure is likely to rise,” the Brotherhood said in a statement.

    Earlier, the Egyptian armed forces said “armed terrorists” had tried to storm the headquarters of the elite Republican Guard, where the Brotherhood had been protesting, leaving one security officer dead.

    The Islamist group’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, called for “an uprising by the great people of Egypt against those trying to steal their revolution with tanks.”

    It urged “the international community and international groups and all the free people of the world to intervene to stop further massacres … and prevent a new Syria in the Arab world.”

    AFP

  • Zambia Telecom Regulator Takes 3 Operators to Court

    {{Zambia has begun criminal proceedings against all the three mobile phone operators in the country, accusing them of failing to meet minimum standards, its spokeswoman said on Monday.}}

    Ngabo Nankonde said the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority instituted criminal proceedings against the local units of India’s Bharti Airtel, South Africa’s MTN and the state-owned Zamtel.

    “The deteriorating levels of quality of service has made communication difficult and resulted in increased public outcry and negative impact on ease of doing business in Zambia,” Nankonde said.

    {agencies}