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  • EAC Police chiefs Meet Over Terrorism

    EAC Police chiefs Meet Over Terrorism

    {{Police chiefs from the East African Community (EAC) partner states are meeting in Kampala to discuss strategies aimed at fighting renewed threats of terrorism.}}

    The meeting, which closes today, comes in the wake of a recent terror attack on Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya in which over 60 people were killed.

    While opening the meeting, Uganda’s Minister of Internal affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, said the East African region is faced by renewed terrorism threats arising from its unstable neighbours.

    “You can choose your friend but you cannot choose your neigbours,” he told the meeting that also comprised officials from the EAC secretariat.

    Gen. Kale Kayihura, Uganda’s Inspector General of Police called on partner states to reflect on the Westgate terror attack, and pool resources towards acquiring state of the art forensic equipment that can efficiently detect crime.

    “We have moved from just having meetings to conducting joint operations together and we shall continue to have engagements on this,” he said.

    Rwanda’s Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana , said that it is in their strategic focus to pursue collective security through timely sharing of information and exchange of criminal fugitives.

    Charles Njoroge, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation said that the EAC secretariat is considering developing a short curriculum on integration for basic police training programmes.

    “I believe these interventions will empower the Police to adequately facilitate the implementation of the Common Market imperatives in particular,” Njoroge said.

    Njoroge called for more joint operations, saying that it’s through such efforts that partner states can test their capacity to effectively work towards eliminating crime networks.

    Source: The New Times

  • African Ministers Meet Over Rising Population

    African Ministers Meet Over Rising Population

    {{Ministers and other top African leaders met in Addis Ababa to forge a way to deal with the continent’s population growth that has now surpassed the one billion mark.}}

    The 179 governments committed to a 20-year Programme of Action (PoA) to deliver human rights-based developments.

    Since the adoption of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action in 1994, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), working jointly with the African Union and UNFPA, has provided intergovernmental platform to translate the ICPD into regional realities.

    In 2012, while global growth declined by 2.7 per cent, due to the economic crisis, Africa bucked the trend and grew at five per cent.

    Notably, all the sub-regions grew faster than the global average, with the highest rate being 6.3 per cent and the lowest one 3.5 per cent.

    “Smart investments in human capital and institutional capacity with emphasis on domestic mobilisation are critical.

    Therefore strong government commitment coupled with strategic planning are key,” Mr Ato Hailemariam Dessalegn, Ethiopia prime minister, said at the opening of the ICPD conference.

    “That means despite our exceptional demographic vitality, and even more astounding our five per cent average growth, we are not capable of creating the 15 million jobs we need every year,” he added.

    Uganda was represented by state ministers Sarah Opendi (Health), Fred Omach (Finance) and Rukia Nakadama (Gender).

    {Thecitizen}

  • Uganda to Import Mozambique Coal

    Uganda to Import Mozambique Coal

    {{Uganda is targeting to import coal from Mozambique to support the development of its vast iron ore reserves.}}

    Mozambican President Armando Guebuza concluded a visit to Uganda during which he attended the 51st Independence Day anniversary celebrations in Rukungiri district.

    During the celebrations Museveni said, “We have iron ore but don’t have coal. Mozambique has coal and they are working on infrastructure. We shall have to buy coal from them to work on our iron ore.”

    Iron is derived from ore through a reduction process to remove oxygen. This reduction process can be aided with the use of natural gas or carbon-based agents such as coal.

    President Guebuza said that while Mozambique and Uganda are historically linked politically, the link could soon also become commercial.

    Guebuza noted that with stability, Uganda has recorded remarkable development with observable presence of public and private infrastructure and moving towards prosperity thanks to Museveni’s enlightened leadership and determination to press progress as a national priority.

    The two countries – Uganda and Mozambique – are on the cusp of an economic boom after discovering oil and gas.

    Uganda has also got confirmed huge deposits of iron ore in Muko, located in the southwestern district of Kabale, straddling to Kisoro; as well as the eastern region district of Tororo in the areas of Sukulu and Bukusu.

    Museveni added, “We have gas and it can be used to remove oxygen from the iron ore. But we shall see which is cheaper in terms of economics.”

    NV

  • Mombasa Port Services to Clear Goods Online

    Mombasa Port Services to Clear Goods Online

    {{Kenya is turning to online clearance of goods to cut by two-thirds the time it takes to move imports through the port of Mombasa and reduce the cost of doing business. }}

    “The system will enhance service at the Mombasa port and increase the competitiveness of the Northern corridor by reducing cargo dwell time at all ports of entry,” said KenTrade chief executive Alex Kabuga.

    The government will from October 31 deploy an electronic cargo clearance system at the port to replace the manual system, hoping to cut the clearance time from 10 to three days.

    The Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade), the body charged with rolling out the virtual one-stop cargo clearing shop, says the system will save the economy Sh21.5 billion ($250) annually from delays, inefficiencies and corruption.

    A study by the World Bank estimates that such delays cost shippers between $10,000 and $12,000 per day in demurrage fees, increasing the cost of doing business which is ultimately passed on to consumers.

    The platform will allow traders to lodge import and export trade documents electronically for processing and approval and to pay through digital channels such as bank wire transfer and mobile money.

    KenTrade said the online solution will reduce cargo clearance at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to a maximum of 24 hours and cut the cargo dwell time for both transit and intra-regional trade consignments to a maximum of one hour.

    NMG

  • AU Demands Kenyatta Trial Delay

    AU Demands Kenyatta Trial Delay

    African leaders agreed on Saturday that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta should not attend trial at the International Criminal Court if the U.N. Security Council did not agree to delay the proceedings, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said.

    Tedros Adhanom said that the African Union would request the trial be deferred under article 16 of the court’s Rome Statute that allows a delay of a year subject to renewal and would request a postponement if that demand was not agreed.

    “If that is not met what the summit decided is that President Kenyatta should not appear until the request we have made is actually answered,” Tedros told journalists, explaining decisions of a meeting to discuss Africa’s relations with the court.

    wirestory

  • Renault-Nissan Alliance to set up Car Assembly hub in Nigeria

    Renault-Nissan Alliance to set up Car Assembly hub in Nigeria

    {{The Renault-Nissan Alliance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with West African conglomerate Stallion Group to start a vehicle assembly unit in Nigeria
    According to a media report, the car makers have decided to set up a base in Nigeria as they expect the government to approve a new policy designed to encourage the development of the automobile industry in the country.}}

    The first vehicle from this assembly unit to be introduced to the market would be the Nissan Patrol SUV in early 2014, company sources said.

    Renault-Nissan Alliance chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn said, “Nissan is preparing to make Nigeria a significant manufacturing hub in Africa. As the first-mover in Nigeria, we are positioned for the long-term growth of this market and across the broader continent.”

    Stallion Group, which is Nissan’s exclusive distributor in the country, is also expected to increase capacity to 45,000 at its existing plant in Lagos, Renault-Nissan Alliance said. It will be an assemble of cars, light-duty trucks, pickups and vans, media added.

    {africanreview}

  • 20 Dead & Many Missing in Mali Boat Accident

    20 Dead & Many Missing in Mali Boat Accident

    {{At least 20 people were killed and as many as 170 were uncounted for after a boat overloaded with passengers and goods capsized on the Niger River in Mali, local residents and officials said on Saturday.}}

    The boat was travelling north from Mopti towards the city of Timbuktu when it sank around 4 km (2.5 miles) from the town of Konna late on Friday.

    “Right now we have recovered 20 bodies and 210 survivors. There are also 10 wounded … This death toll could still go up,” Demba Tiemouga, a local government official from Konna, told Reporters.

    A hospital official in Konna said it was believed as many as 400 passengers may have been aboard the boat at the time of the accident. Recovery operations were still under way on Saturday afternoon.

    Poor roads and the relatively high cost of overland travel make West and Central Africa’s waterways important transport arteries. Enforcement of safety regulations is lax and accidents are common.

    Eight people drowned earlier on Friday in Gambia when a ferry sank in bad weather 12 km (7 miles) north of the tiny country’s capital Banjul.

  • Gaza tunnel uncovered inside Israel, says army

    Gaza tunnel uncovered inside Israel, says army

    The Israeli army says it has discovered a tunnel running 1.7km (1 mile) from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

    The tunnel led from a house to a site close to a kibbutz, Ein Hashlosha, and could have been used to carry out attacks on civilians, a spokesman said.

    Israel has responded by halting the transfer of all construction materials to Gaza. Restrictions on the private sector were lifted last month.

    Gaza’s Hamas rulers accused Israel of “exaggerating things”.

    map

    By talking about the discovery of a tunnel, Israel was “trying to justify the blockade and the continuous aggression on the Gaza Strip,” spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

    A spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, said on Twitter that “the minds which manage to dig the tunnel can dig dozens more”.

    The tunnel was uncovered last Tuesday after kibbutz residents complained of hearing an unusual noise from the border area.

    It ran from Absan village near Khan Younis in Gaza under the border fence almost as far as Ein Hashlosha, Israeli media reported.

    Explosives found inside the tunnel had since been made safe, the army said. A spokesman told the BBC the tunnel was some 15-18m (50-60ft) deep and would have taken at least one month to dig.

    Tunnels have been used before to launch attacks from Gaza. In 2006, Palestinian militants seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was kept in captivity in Gaza for more than five years.

    Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu praised the army but warned the “quietest year in over a decade” had been disturbed by recent militant activities.

    Maj Gen Eitan Dangot said as a result of the discovery, the export of construction materials to the private sector in Gaza would be suspended.

    Israeli human rights group Gisha said 70 lorry loads of building materials for the private sector and 60 loads for humanitarian projects had been due to enter Gaza on Sunday.

    wirestory

  • Gaddafi Spy Chief to Be Tried in Libya

    Gaddafi Spy Chief to Be Tried in Libya

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled that Libya’s Gaddafi-era intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, can be tried in Libya.

    The decision means that the ICC will no longer demand that Mr Senussi be sent to The Hague to stand trial.

    The former military intelligence boss was indicted by the ICC in 2011 for war crimes allegedly committed during the uprising against Colonel Gaddafi.

    Mr Senussi’s lawyer, Ben Emmerson, described it as a “shocking decision”.

    Mr Emmerson said he would be appealing against the ruling.

    He said the ICC had evidence “that the Libyan justice system is in a state of collapse and that it is incapable of conducting fair trials of any Gaddafi-era officials”.

    The lawyer for the Libyan government welcomed the ICC’s decision.

    Philippe Sands said the ruling “vindicates the efforts it [the Libyan government] has made to give effect to the principle of complementarity, which allows Libya to conduct the trial of Mr Senussi if it satisfies the court, as it has done, that it can conduct a fair trial”.

    The principle referred to means that the ICC does not carry out proceedings against a suspect if it deems they are receiving a fair trial in a domestic court.

    A pre-trial chamber at the ICC decided that “Libya is willing and able genuinely to carry out” investigations into Mr Senussi, the court said in a statement.

    france24

  • Protests in Niger Against French Nuclear Giant Areva

    Protests in Niger Against French Nuclear Giant Areva

    {{Thousands of people in Niger protested Saturday against French nuclear firm Areva, which has been mining uranium in the impoverished country for nearly 50 years, one of the organisers said.}}

    “The aim of the protest gathering some 5,000 people is to support the government in its upcoming discussions with Areva on the subject of our uranium,” Azaoua Mamane told AFP. Several other sources confirmed the turnout number.

    Last Sunday, Prime Minister Brigi Rafini vowed that Niger would review its dealings with the French firm “with a fine-tooth comb” amid accusations that the partnership was unbalanced.

    Rafini specified that the contracts with Areva subsidiaries Somair and Cominak, which end in 2013, would be reviewed.

    The protesters, a mix of local elected representatives and residents, marched on the streets of Arlit in northern Niger shouting anti-Areva slogans.

    They accused the nuclear giant of “polluting” the environment, “provoking radioactivity” and “not showing interest in the concerns of local inhabitants”, one protester said.

    “The population has inherited 50 million tonnes of radioactive residues stocked in Arlit, and Areva continues to freely pump 20 million cubic metres of water each year while the population dies of thirst,” he said.

    Areva is the world’s second-largest uranium producer and extracts more than a third of its uranium in Niger, which is among the world’s top producers of uranium but also one of its poorest countries.

    AFP