IGIHE

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  • Uncertainty persists over Egypt PM nomination

    {{The chaos in Egypt in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s military coup has been compounded further after the choice of liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei as interim prime minister was thrown into doubt by objections from conservative groups.}}

    ElBaradei’s nomination had been confirmed by several sources and state media on Saturday, but just before midnight a presidential spokesman told reporters that no prime minister had yet been chosen.

    “After some satellite channels declared that the new government will be announced tonight and mentioned the new prime minister’s name (referring to Elbaradei), I’m here to confirm that this is still a prediction and that it is still under consultation and negotiations,” Ahmed el-Musilamani, spokesman for the interim president Adly Mansour said in a public statement.

    The abrupt U-turn came amid opposition to ElBaradei’s appointment by the Nour Party, Egypt’s second-largest religious force that backed the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

    The dispute has highlighted the challenges the military faces in finding consensus among liberals and conservatives on who should run the country.

    The Al-Nour Party’s deputy leader Ahmed Khalil told the state news website that the party would withdraw from the political transition process if ElBaradei was confirmed in his post.

    Authorities acknowledged that there had been strong opposition to the possible appointment of the liberal Egyptian politician, but said that he was the most possible choice.

    “ElBaradei is the strongest candidate,” Muslimani said. “He is on top of the list of names” under discussion, he said.

    Meanwhile, tension was still running high in the divided nation with opponents and supporters of Morsi remaining on the streets. Deadly clashes between them on Friday that continued until early on Saturday had claimed at least 30 lives and left more than 1,000 wounded.

    aljazeera

  • Mass Slaughter of Civilians, Children in DR Congo: UN

    {{Armed groups in DR Congo’s war-torn east province slaughtered more than 200 people including scores of children between April and September, hacking some to death and burning others alive, the UN said Wednesday.}}

    “At least 264 civilians, including 83 children, were arbitrarily executed by armed groups in more than 75 attacks on villages between April and September this year,” the office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights said as it published a report into abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s resource-rich east.

    Investigators focusing on the southern town of Masisi in North Kivu province uncovered evidence of victims being hacked to death with machetes.

    Others were burnt alive in their homes, investigators found, blaming the majority of the killings on two armed groups, Raia Mutomboki and their allies the Mayi Mayi.

    Raia Mutomboki is a homeland defence militia whose agenda is to ethnically cleanse the region, forcing all Kinyarwanda speakers out of DR Congo. But it has also seized the villagers it purports to be protecting, using them as porters.

    Fighters from an ethnic Hutu militia called Nyatura were also responsible for killings and other human rights abuses, the UN said, along with the Rwandan Hutu group the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

    Following publication of the report — the result of six missions and more than 160 interviews with victims and witnesses — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the killings as “the most serious (human rights violations) we have seen in recent times in the DRC.”

    The number of killings could be considerably higher, the UN agency said, lamenting that security concerns had prevented investigators from probing other reported violations.

  • Wimbledon 2013: Bartoli Beats Lisicki To Win Title

    {{France’s Marion Bartoli won her first Grand Slam title with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 victory over German 23rd seed, Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final.}}

    Bartoli won the first set in 30 minutes as Lisicki failed to cope with the enormity of a first Grand Slam final.

    The 23-year-old cut a fragile figure and was reduced to tears in the second set, helpless to prevent Bartoli from lifting the Venus Rosewater dish.

    Bartoli ended with an ace, collapsing to the ground once victory was hers. When the stunned 15th seed rose to her feet, she celebrated by climbing to the players’ box to embrace family and friends.

    Among those whom Bartoli hugged was her mentor and 2006 Wimbledon champion, Amelie Mauresmo, the last Frenchwoman to win at SW19, and her father and former coach, Walter.

    Bartoli had bossed her opponents during the tournament and her decisive victory over Lisicki meant she is now the sixth player in the Open era to win a Wimbledon title without dropping a set.

    “Honestly I cannot believe it,” said the world number 15, a major winner on her 47th Grand Slam appearance.

    “When I was a little girl I dreamed of this moment for so long. Finishing with an ace, in my wildest dreams I’d never believe it.”

    It was the final few had predicted and the inexperience of playing on such a grand stage perhaps explained the edgy opening from both finalists.

    The unconventional French number one surrendered the first game of the match but her rival followed suit, double faulting to restore parity at 1-1.

    Bartoli, five years the senior and seeded nine places higher than the German, settled the quicker, securing the second of two break points in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead.

    The experience of losing the 2007 Wimbledon final perhaps helped Bartoli deal with the occasion better.

    “I missed out in 2007, I know what it is like and I’m sure Sabine will be here one more time, no doubt about it,” added Bartoli.

    Bartoli had returned brilliantly throughout the Championships – making 81 per cent of her returns prior to the final – and her ploy of returning from inside the baseline was key to her success over a player known as ‘boom boom’ in Germany.

    Lisicki’s powerful serve had been neutralised and the 23rd seed double faulted again in the sixth game before directing a forehand long to gift Bartoli a 5-1 advantage.

    In 30 minutes, Bartoli had secured the opening set and the debutant seemed ill at ease on the same turf where she had defeated top seed Serena Williams in the fourth round.

    Lisicki had opportunities in the second game of the second set but Bartoli held firm.

    {agencies}

  • Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party Zanu-PF in Grand Launch

    {{Hundreds of thousands of Zanu-PF supporters converged at the historic Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare, yesterday for the launch of the revolutionary party’s manifesto and 2013 election campaign}}.

    The highly-subscribed star rally, that turned the hallowed grounds into a sea of yellow and green, was reminiscent of President Mugabe and the late Vice President Joshua

    Nkomo’s triumphant return to Zimbabwe from Mozambique and Zambia in January 1980 where they had successfully led Zanla and Zipra guerillas to victory over the Smith regime.

    The colourful launch which just like the party’s campaign ran under the theme “Taking Back The Economy: Indigenise, Empower, Develop and Create Employment’’ set the stage for what is set to be an intense three-week campaign tailored to culminate in a resounding victory for Zanu-PF.

    All the party’s parliamentary candidates were introduced to supporters with the Presidium shaking hands with each of them.

    The Zanu-PF candidates for the elections are dubbed Team Zanu-PF and have the brief of slamming the ball into the back of the net in every constituency countrywide.

    The revolutionary party has since got a head start on other contestants, bagging 26 council wards unopposed countrywide.

    Before the arrival of the President, a number of groups provided entertainment to the crowd in the morning among them Mbare Chimurenga Choir, Vabvuwi, Jah Prayzah, the

    Born Free Crew, Mathias Mhere, Sebastian Magacha and Suluman Chimbetu.
    In his address, President Mugabe rallied the party’s candidates to victory saying “Go ye and win the battle’’, which he equated to “a battle of our lives”.

    “We have just congratulated our candidates for the elections. I say that because you are looking forward. It’s you again whom we are saying you are leaders in the elections that we will have.

    “We will only be your supporters, but we will be assisting so that we are elected and elected resoundingly. We are here not only to congratulate, we are also here to send you on a mission, to give you top authority of the party to represent it in the election and to enable you to conquer.

    “You are our soldiers; you have a battle to fight. Go into battle well armed with full knowledge that there is a political enemy. This is a do-or-die struggle. You are not alone because your victory will be our victory and your defeat, alas, will be our defeat. We want you to succeed.”

    The President described Highfield as a historic suburb where many pioneer nationalists such as Cdes Enos Nkala, George Silundika, Joshua Nkomo and Josiah Chinamano, lived.

    Early nationalist parties like the National Democratic Party and later Zapu and Zanu-PF were formed in Highfield.

    Therefore, he said the suburb was the cradle of the liberation struggle.

    “That is here where we returned after the struggle. Dr Nkomo returned first and he came to Highfield first. I followed. So Highfield is a politically sacred place. It is the cradle of our political struggle but now Highfield, Highfield, Highfield, I cry, where are you?

    “We have come here to regain what we have lost along the way, including Highfield, to correct an error, a huge political error.

    “We failed in 2008 and so we decided that in this sacred place we should bring our entire team (of candidates) which shall lead in a fight to conquer. We are not talking about defeat, but victory,” he said.

    He added that this time, Zanu-PF must secure a massive victory of up to 90 percent majority in Parliament and an equally decisive vote in the presidential race as well.

    “Will it be just 51 upon 100?” he asked. “Fifty one percent, 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, 90 percent or will it be upon, upon in every constituency.

    “Let us expect that we lose one or two men who have fallen as soldiers in a fight but we shall be able to say that our victory was not less than 90 percent. Tell the rest of the country that you have seen the soldiers that we put together. We have shaken their hands and we have strengthened them as fighters on our behalf.

    “Go ye, fight the battle and come back and tell us that you have won. Go ye meet the people, talk to the people, because you came from people, you were elected.
    “Go back to them and join forces in going to the national battle.

    It’s a battle for survival and all of us should support them. We shall work together and make the pledge that we of Zanu-PF do not know defeat. We, yes, suffer losses, losses of individuals here and there, a setback but we are able to re-organise and come back invigorated and wage a real, real, vigorous, devastating battle and this one should be a fight of our lives.”

    He reiterated that Zanu-PF should get a decisive victory to negate another inclusive Government with parties that work with Zimbabwe’s former colonial master, Britain.

    “Never shall Zanu-PF allow such parties to taste government again. You saw that the inclusive Government that gave us a three-headed creature. Some were refusing to let go, ahh, clinging to it, but we said let’s go and seek a new mandate; democracy demands that we do.”

    The President launched the 108-page manifesto, which details the party’s five-year plan of action for the party if it secures victory in the forthcoming elections.

    The document, the President said, focused on the land reform programme, indigenisation and economic empowerment, job creation, promotion of social services and industrial development, among other sectors.

    Small and medium-scale enterprise development, he said, was also an integral part of the manifesto, imploring the SMEs to grow bigger and venture into mining on a large scale.

    He acknowledged that the economic hardships caused by the illegal economic sanctions had made life difficult for people including job losses but commended their perseverance and calm in the face of the challenges induced by the sanctions.

    According to the manifesto, Zanu-PF would focus on consolidating and deepening “independence, sovereignty, unity, security, respect for the values and ideals of the liberation struggle, patriotism, gender equality, respect for the elderly, economic prosperity, achievement, equality, peace, freedom and democracy, non-violence, tolerance, stability, the youth as the future, employment, housing for all, respect for persons with disabilities, development and freedom of worship.”

    It says the revolutionary party has indigenised 12 million hectares of land. It would also seek to create a value of $7, 3 billion from the indigenisation of 1 138 companies across 14 key sectors of the economy.

    “These initiatives will create 2, 265 million jobs across key sectors of the economy and contribute to export earnings, food security and to the fiscus among many other benefits including urban housing, and construction of peri-urban farms acquired during the land reform exercise.

    In addition, Zanu-PF’s indigenisation and empowerment initiatives outlines in this people’s manifesto will see an average GDP growth rate of nine percent by 2018 up from the current 4, 4 percent.”

    Beneficiaries of the projects would include both rural and urban communities, war veterans, women, youths, workers, academic ordinary workers and others.
    Zanu-PF also plans to reduce the urban housing backlog, address corruption, give bankable leasehold security of tenure to beneficiaries of the land reform programme, ensure food security and engage Britain, European Union and the US to unconditionally lift their illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.

    Herald

  • Deported cleric Abu Qatada lands in Jordan from UK

    Radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada arrived in Amman on Sunday after Britain deported him to face terror charges ending a decade long legal battle, a Jordanian government official said.

    “Abu Qatada landed at Marka airport in east Amman,” the official told media on condition of anonymity.

    “He was escorted by British and Jordanian guards, who handed him over to state security court prosecutors.”

    Jordan vowed “credibility and transparency” in dealing with Abu Qatada.

    The Palestinian-born preacher, 53,was taken from prison in an armoured police van to a military airfield on the outskirts of London, where he boarded a privately chartered jet that lifted off into the night sky, photographers said.

    “The government is keen on credibility and transparency in handling the issue of Abu Qatada,” who was flown out of Britain at 0146 GMT on Sunday, Jordan’s information minister and government spokesman Mohammad Momani, told the state-run Petra news agency.

    “The deportation of Abu Qatada, which came as a result of Jordanian-British coordination and cooperation sends a message to all fugitives that they will face justice in Jordan.”

    Britain was finally able to expel the father of five, once dubbed Osama bin Laden’s deputy in Europe, after the two governments last month formally approved the so-called “Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters” treaty, guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used against him in any retrial.

    Home Secretary Theresa May said his departure proved that the government’s efforts to deport him had been worth the £1.7 million ($2.7 million, two million euros) legal bill and would be “welcomed by the British public.”

    “This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country,” she said in a statement released seconds after Abu Qatada’s plane took off.

    AFP

  • 80 Missing in Canada Train Blaze

    {{About 80 people are missing after a driverless oil tanker train derailed and exploded in the small Canadian town of Lac Megantic, destroying dozens of buildings.}}

    The accident in the small Quebec town, located around 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Montreal, created a spectacular fireball and forced 2,000 people from their homes.

    Officials earlier only confirmed one fatality, but had warned the toll could rise. A search for bodies was to begin Sunday at dawn.

    The firefighter said on condition of anonymity that there had been at least 50 people in one bar that was consumed by the flames.

    “There is nothing left,” he said.

    Witnesses reported as many as six explosions after the train derailed at about 1:20 am (0520 GMT) in Lac Megantic, a picturesque resort town of 6,000 residents near the border with the US state of Maine.

    Michel Brunet, a spokesman for Quebec’s provincial police, said late Saturday the official death toll remained at one but added: “We expect there will be more fatalities.”

    Radio-Canada had earlier reported that 60 people were unaccounted for in Lac Megantic, where the blaze was still raging, 20 hours on.

    “There have been several reports” from people who said they were unable to reach relatives who lived near the accident site, Brunet said.

    “The fire is still raging, our investigators have not yet even be able to get close to the scene,” he added, more than 12 hours after the incident.

    An initial evacuation zone of a kilometer around the crash site was widened Saturday as a precaution against harmful particles in the air, bringing the total to 2,000 people forced to leave their homes.

    Around 150 firefighters were battling the blaze, including some who came across the border from Maine, just 25 kilometers south of the town.

    “No conductor on board”

    The cause of the crash was still unknown, but a spokesman for the Montreal Maine & Atlantic company, Christophe Journet, told media the train had been stopped in the neighboring town of Nantes, around 13 kilometers west of Lac-Megantic, for a crew changeover.

    AFP

  • Nigeria President Says Military Must Abide By ethics

    {{Nigeria’s President Jonathan presided over the closing ceremony of the 150th anniversary of the Nigerian Army in Abuja, asking the Army to strictly abide by all ethics governing its conduct and respect human rights in all its operations.}}

    Congratulating all serving and retired personnel of the military for its dedication, professionalism and assistance to civil authority, President Jonathan said reports on the state of emergency declared in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe shows that it was “well-thought out” and successful, as people are now regaining their lives and communities back.

    Jonathan, who arrived the Eagle Square venue of the celebrations decked in the Army’s highest rank of Field Marshal, had taken national salute at the Presidential dais and later inspected the parade mounted by troops of the Nigerian Army.

    After that, he was driven round the venue where he waved and acknowledged cheers from top political and military leaders, school children and other members of the public.

    The celebrations included displays by the Army’s Physical Training and canine (dog) units. The dog unit is deployed mainly to the North East part of the country as part of the anti-terror war against the Boko Haram.

    There was also the airdrop of Nigerian Army paratroopers who landed at the designated spots.

    There was the display of the newly refurbished Armoured Personnel Carriers of the Army, armour fighting vehicles and other equipment by combat arms. There was a combat match by all corps and services of the Army.

    President Jonathan, who thanked “all Nigerians for their support in these challenging times,” condoled with the families of Nigerian security personnel who lost their lives in the war against terrorism.

    The President noted: “the task of building the nation remains a collective responsibility.”

    He the quoted a slogan during the Nigerian civil war: “To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done,” saying the country will continue to remain an indivisible nation.”

    Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika stated that the Army has made tremendous progress in discharging its duties towards resolving the nation’s challenges.

    He also added that the Army’s drive to maintain its own equipment has resulted in the rehabilitation of its 42 APCs that broke down in the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

    He also announced the mass production of local products that would help the Army’s operational efficiency.

    {Ngrguardian}

  • South Korean plane crashes, burns in US, 2 dead

    {{An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 with 307 people on board crashed and burst into flames as it landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday after a flight from Seoul, killing two people and injuring more than 180.}}

    Witnesses said the tail of the plane appeared to hit the approach area of the runway, which juts out into San Francisco Bay, as it came in for landing.

    The tail came off and the aircraft appeared to bounce violently, scattering a trail of debris, before coming to rest on the tarmac.

    Pictures taken by survivors immediately after the crash showed passengers emerging from the wrecked plane and hurrying away. Thick smoke then billowed from the fuselage, and TV footage later showed the aircraft gutted and blackened by fire, with much of its roof gone.

    There was no immediate indication of the cause of the accident, and federal officials were traveling from Washington to investigate. One survivor said the pilot seemed to be trying to gain altitude just before crash.

    Asiana Airlines said the flight, which had originated in Shanghai, had carried 291 passengers and 16 crew members. Most were Chinese, Korean and U.S. nationals.

    Dale Carnes, assistant deputy chief of the San Francisco Fire Department Chief, said two people were killed in the crash, and 49 were transported immediately to area hospitals with serious injuries. Another 132 people were later taken to hospitals with moderate and minor injuries.

    Five people were in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, according to spokeswoman Rachael Kagan. She said a total of 52 people were treated for burns, fractures and internal injuries.

    Three people were in critical condition at Stanford Hospital.

    The crash was the first-ever fatal accident involving the Boeing 777, a popular long-range jet that has been in service since 1995. It was the first fatal commercial airline accident in the United States since a regional plane operated by Colgan Air crashed in New York in 2009.

    San Francisco International Airport, a major West Coast hub and gateway to Asia, was shut down for several hours after the crash and flights were diverted to Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland and San Jose. By late afternoon two runways had reopened even as scores of safety workers scoured the airfield for debris.

    {wirestory}

  • Juba says Khartoum wants to buy 4,500 barrels of oil for Kosti power plant

    {{South Sudan’s cabinet has approved the outcome of the recent mission of the country’s Vice President, Riek Machar, to Khartoum to mend the souring relations between the two neighbouring countries, saying the mission was very successful and revealed that Sudan requested an an oil purchase for power generation purposes.}}

    On Sunday 30 June, Machar led a high level delegation consisting of five ministers and chairperson of an independent commission to engage his Sudanese counter-part, first vice-president Ali Osman Taha, over the recent threats by President Al-Bashir giving an ultimatum of 60 days to close the oil pipeline carrying South Sudan’s oil through his country’s territory and sea port to the international markets.

    Bashir said he made the decision accusing the South Sudanese ruling party of supporting and harbouring its former comrades, the SPLA-N, who fight Khartoum in the two areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

    In Khartoum, Machar met with president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir with who he discussed the claims of the support to rebels in the two countries.

    Following the recent talks, Khartoum backed down from its threats of oil shut down and suspension of the cooperation agreements, and the two parties recommitted themselves to the full implementation of the cooperation agreements.

    Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudan’s minister of information and official spokesman, told the press on Friday that the cabinet had endorsed the report presented by the vice-president, Machar, putting the two countries back on the right track of peaceful dialogue rather than threats.

    Marial said the oil will now continue to flow uninterrupted and that Khartoum also has requested to further buy 4,500 barrels per day from the South Sudan’s crude oil passing through the pipeline in order to operate its power station in Kosti.

    A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed in Khartoum between the two petroleum ministers, he said, adding that the details for the terms of the agreement will be worked out by the two ministers soon in Juba.

    However, Khartoum is still insisting that South Sudan has been openly supporting the rebels of SPLA-N or under the umbrella of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) including those of Darfur to topple the regime in Khartoum.

    Juba has been denying the allegations and counter-accused Khartoum of supporting its rebels including David Yau Yau who is battling South Sudan army in Jonglei state.

    This week Khartoum bombed a border area – Jau – of Unity state claiming that rebels from South Kordofan have been organizing themselves in the area to launch an offensive against the government.

    In a joint statement issued in Khartoum by the two vice-presidents, Machar and Taha, the two countries have committed themselves to support peace initiatives in each other’s countries.

    South Sudan officials, while acknowledging that fighters in the two areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile were their former comrades in the struggle, say they have no interest to support a war in Sudan but would be ready to use their influence as “honest broker” for a peaceful political settlement to the conflict.

    ST

  • President Kagame Meets with Burkina Faso Chief General Staff

    {{President Paul Kagame on June 6, met with Brig General Honore Traore, Chief General Staff of National Armed Forces of Burkina Faso as part of a one week visit to Rwanda aimed at strengthening military cooperation between the nations.}}

    Following his meeting, Brig. General Honore Traore Brig Gen Honore Traore expressed his admiration of the remarkable development and recovery of Rwanda as well as the role of the Rwanda Defense Forces in improving the lives of Rwandans as exemplified with the building of homes for the vulnerable near Kami Barracks.

    “We are pleased to be here and plan to learn from the organization and training of the Rwanda Defense Forces.”

    The trip included visits to various institutions including Zigama CSS Military Medical Insurance as well as training schools.

    Brig Gen Honore Traore also shared his intention to learn from the comprehensive social programs that benefit both the military and their families.

    During their visit, the team also paid a courtesy call to Chief of Defense Staff Patrick Nyamvumba and Minsister of Defense James Kabarebe.