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  • Kenya Westgate Missing Drops to 39

    Kenya Westgate Missing Drops to 39

    {{The Kenyan Red Cross has said the number of missing in the Westgate shopping centre attack has gone down to 39 from an earlier figure of 61.}}

    Fourteen of the missing have been found alive and seven bodies were in the morgue, it said.

    The government has said 67 people were killed after al-Shabab militants stormed the Westgate centre in the capital, Nairobi, on 21 September.

    MPs have started a probe into alleged intelligence failings over the attack.

    The Red Cross says some relatives were not updating them when they found people who had been reported as missing.

    A Red Cross tracing manager told media”some were reports from people who could not get through to their relatives on the phone and thought they might have been at the mall”.

    The organisation has been calling those who reported people missing for updates.

    wirestory

  • Airbus A400M Military Transport Plane Finally Delivered

    Airbus A400M Military Transport Plane Finally Delivered

    {{European aerospace giant Airbus on Monday delivered its first A400M military transport plane to French officials in the southern Spanish city of Seville on Monday, marking what the plane manufacturer hopes will be a string of strong sales worldwide.}}

    Four years late and 6.2 billion euros over budget, Airbus and parent company EADS, officially handed over the revolutionary aircraft to France, its first client, though the plane was actually ready earlier.

    “It is an extremely high performance aircraft and I am quite proud that France is number one for delivery,” French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at a handover ceremony also attended by Spain’s Prince Felipe.

    Last June, French President François Hollande made a big entrance at the annual Paris Air Show by arriving in an A400M with Le Drian.

    It took 10 years to bring the A400M to the skies in one of the European military industry’s most ambitious projects, backed by seven partners: NATO members Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.

    Designed at the request of European chiefs of staff after the first Gulf War of 1991, which exposed the need for such a plane, the A400M is a multi-task military air lifter.

    Equipped with four turboprops, it can transport up to 37 tonnes including armour or helicopters over a distance of 3,300 kilometres (2,050 miles) but also land on unprepared terrain such as sand.

    The A400M will be the sole plane on the market to challenge the US-made Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, which has a capacity of 20 tonnes and was designed more than 50 years ago.

    Its other rival, the C-17 Globemaster, which can lift 76 tonnes, will exit production from 2015, US manufacturer Boeing announced recently.

    Airbus Military aims to export 400 A400M planes in the next 30 years, beyond the 174 already ordered in Europe and Malaysia. Germany has ordered 53, France 50, Spain 27 and Britain 22. The manufacturer will assemble ten planes next year, and then about 30 a year.

    france24

  • Japan Arrests Chinese Sailor over Deadly Boat Collision

    Japan Arrests Chinese Sailor over Deadly Boat Collision

    {{Japan has arrested a Chinese sailor after a deadly collision between two cargo ships in Japanese waters, officials say.}}

    Xia Hong-bo, 35, was on duty when the Sierra Leone-registered ship Jia Hui crashed with the Eifuku Maru No 18 on Friday, Japanese coast guard say.

    Five crew members of the the Japanese-registered Eifuku Maru were killed and one is still missing.

    The collision was about 11km (seven miles) off an island south of Tokyo.

    The 498-tonne Eifuku Maru capsized after it collided with the 2,962-tonne Jia Hui. A 61-year-old engineer was still missing on Monday, reports say.

    Xia Hong-bo, who is being held on suspicion of negligence, was quoted as saying he was unable to avoid the collision despite efforts to do so, media says.

    The 13 crewmembers of the Jia Hui, bound for South Korea, were unhurt, Kyodo adds.

    The Chinese embassy in Japan said Mr Xia was arrested late on Sunday and the embassy said it has asked Japan to investigate the incident and provide a lawyer for Mr Xia,media reports.

    On Friday, Japan’s coast guard sent boats and helicopters to search for the missing crew. The bodies of the five crew members were recovered.

    At the time, a spokesman for the coast guard said they were unsure of what caused the collision.

    wirestory

  • Eurozone Inflation Falls to Lowest Rate in 3 Years

    Eurozone Inflation Falls to Lowest Rate in 3 Years

    {{Eurozone inflation is running at its lowest rate in more than three years.}}

    Consumer price inflation fell to an annual rate of 1.1% in September from 1.3% in August according to Europe’s statistics agency Eurostat.

    A fall in energy prices helped to ease inflation. Price rises in food, alcohol and tobacco moderated, also helping.

    Economists say slowing inflation gives the European Central Bank (ECB) more freedom to help the eurozone’s weak economic recovery.

    The ECB targets an annual inflation rate of below, but close to 2%.

    “The ECB has plenty of scope to loosen monetary policy further,” said James Howat, European economist, at Capital Economics in a research note.

    “At the very least, further action to boost liquidity in the banking sector looks increasingly likely.”

    Low rates
    The ECB could boost the banking sector by offering eurozone banks a one-off chance to borrow at low rates for relatively long periods of time.

    A similar operation at the end of 2011 offered banks cheap financing for three years and is credited with helping to keep the cost of borrowing low.

    Mr Howat says it may announce a similar policy in its October policy meeting, or perhaps later in the year.

    But economists say the ECB is unlikely to cut interest rates in October as economic data has shown signs of improvement.

    It may also repeat its forward guidance that interest rates will remain at the present level, or be lower, for an extended period of time.

    The ECB’s main interest rate stands at 0.5%.

  • Popes to be Declared Saints in April

    Popes to be Declared Saints in April

    {{Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on 27 April 2014, Pope Francis has announced.}}

    The Pope said in July that he would canonise his two predecessors, after approving a second miracle attributed to John Paul.

    Polish John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978-2005.

    Pope John was pontiff from 1958-1963, calling the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Church.

    The decision to canonise the two at the same time appears designed to unify Catholics, correspondents say.

    John Paul II is a favourite of conservative Catholics, while John XXIII is widely admired by the Church’s progressive wing.

    ‘The good pope’
    John Paul stood out for his media-friendly, globetrotting style. He was a fierce critic of communism, and is credited with helping inspire opposition to communist rule in eastern Europe.

    John Paul has been on a fast track to sainthood since his death, when crowds in St Peter’s Square chanted “santo subito” (“sainthood now”).

    During his own papacy he simplified the process by which people are made saints, and created more of them than all previous popes combined.

    John XXIII is remembered for introducing the vernacular to replace Latin in church masses and for creating warmer ties between the Catholic Church and the Jewish faith.

    He has a big following in Italy, where he is known as Il Papa Buono, the good pope.

    Two living popes are expected to be present at the canonisation ceremony: Francis, who will officiate, and Pope Benedict, who retired earlier this year.

    The double canonisation will be the first in the Church’s history.

    Pope Francis approved John XXIII’s canonisation despite the fact that no second miracle had been attributed to him – usually a requirement for sainthood.

    BBC

  • New trial for Boeing as Norwegian demands 787 repairs

    New trial for Boeing as Norwegian demands 787 repairs

    {{The brochure for Boeing Co’s aircraft repair service makes a simple assertion: “No one knows Boeing airplanes better than Boeing.”}}

    Now that claim is being put to a visible test as budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA grounded a brand new, $212 million 787 Dreamliner over the weekend. The airline demanded Boeing fix the state-of-the-art jet, saying it needs repairs after less than 30 days in service.

    Investment analysts say the glitch involving a hydraulic pump is minor and isolated, and it is unlikely to affect Boeing’s stock price, which is towering at record levels.

    But Norwegian Air’s vocal airing of its complaints is another black eye for the troubled Dreamliner. It follows a string of electrical and other safety problems that included battery meltdowns so severe they prompted regulators to ban the long-haul jetliner from flight for more than three months this year.

    On Sunday, Polish airline LOT 787 flying from Toronto to Warsaw was forced to land at Iceland’s Keflavik airport after problems with its air system.

    Norwegian Air’s formal request on Saturday for Boeing to take charge of fixing the plane throws a spotlight on an often overlooked facet of the 787’s performance: reliability. And it shows how quickly a plane that cannot fly can hit a carrier’s bottom line.

    Like other airlines with small long-haul fleets, Norwegian Air does not have a spare plane it can use if a jet breaks down. The carrier said it had to rent planes and cancel tickets when it could not use its 787s, and the company’s stock has fallen 6 percent since a peak earlier this month, hit by a string of 787 problems and concerns about its broader business.

    “Reliability is a big deal, especially for low-cost carriers such as Norwegian,” said Russell Solomon, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service in New York.

    But since the problem appeared to be a “one-off” and part of the normal growing pains for a new plane, he added, it probably would not unsettle Boeing investors.

  • Miss Philippines Crowned Miss World 2013

    Miss Philippines Crowned Miss World 2013

    {{US-born Ms Young, 23, beat 126 other contestants and pledged to be “the best Miss World ever”.}}

    The competition was moved to Bali from the capital, Jakarta, because of protests from hardline Muslim groups.

    Security for Saturday’s event was high in Bali, a resort island with a majority Hindu population, but no further demonstrations were reported.

    Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, came second in the contest and Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, took third place.

    Wearing a glittering gown, Ms Young, who moved to the Philippines at the age of 10, wept as the Miss World sash was put over her shoulder by 2012 winner Miss China.

    She told the cheering crowd in Nusa Dua in southern Bali she would “be myself in everything I do, to share what I know and to educate people”.

    Our own Stella Nantumbwe did not make it to the top twenty.

    Here is a list of Special and sponsored award winners;

    {{Best in Talent}}: Samantha Mae Bernardo

    {{Best in Fashion Runway}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Friendship}}: Zahra Saldua

    {{Miss Sports by FILA}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Novu Hair}}: Patricia Ejercitado

    {{Miss Reducin}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Redux Fat}}: Bianca Paz

    {{Miss Pantene}}: Zahra Saldua

    {{Miss Olay:}} Megan Young

    {{Best in Swimwear}}: Janicel Lubina

    {{Miss Laguna}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Bold and Glamorous by Revlon}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Figlia}}: Megan Young

    {{Miss Photogenic}}: Janicel Lubina

    {{Miss Bench Body}}: Megan Young

    {{Best in Gown}}: Bianca Paz

    {Megan Young}

  • Kenya Says U.S. Travel Ban is Counter-Productive

    Kenya Says U.S. Travel Ban is Counter-Productive

    {{Kenya on Sunday asked the U.S. government to lift an advisory warning U.S. citizens over travel to the east African country after the September 21 Nairobi mall attack, calling it “unnecessary” and “unfriendly”.}}

    Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku delivered the sharp diplomatic rebuke to Washington when he updated reporters on a government investigation eight days after the assault by Islamist militants on the upmarket Westgate mall in the Kenyan capital.

    Although Kenyan police assisted by U.S., Israeli and European experts are still poring over the partially wrecked building, Ole Lenku said the death toll from the attack still stood at 67. Five attackers were also killed.

    Nine suspects were in custody over the raid, one of them arrested on Sunday, he added. The minister declined to give any information about the suspected attackers or those arrested, saying “we do not discuss intelligence matters in public”.

    Ole Lenku expressed strong objections to an updated travel advisory issued by the U.S. government to its citizens urging them to “evaluate their personal security situation in light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism” in the east African country.

    “We believe issuing the travel advisory is counter-productive in the fight against global terrorism,” Ole Lenku said.

    “We request the United States, as a friend of Kenya, to lift the travel advisory,” he added.

    Kenya’s government believed that no hostages were left in the building after the attack, “unless forensic evidence shows otherwise,” the interior minister said.

    The raid, claimed by Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab, ended after a four-day siege.

    {wirestory}

  • Rwanda to host Meeting for Olympic Committees of Africa

    Rwanda to host Meeting for Olympic Committees of Africa

    {{Rwanda is scheduled to host the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) 30th General Assembly from October 12-13, the National Olympic Committee (RNOC) has confirmed.}}

    According to RNOC’s head of communications, Fidele Kajugiro Sebalinda, the Secretary Generals of all African national Olympic committees will meet in Kigali to discuss issues to do with efficiency and effective administration.

    “They will be discussing a wide range of issue including management, good governance, roles and responsibilities of Secretaries General and resource mobilization for NOCs, challenges and potential solutions for the existing problems,” Kajugiro said on Friday.

    The official noted that during the meeting, participants will seek ways and means on how African NOCs can learn lessons from the 10th All Africa Games that were held in Maputo, Mozambique.

    Source: {The Newtimes}

  • Kagame Says Rwanda Doesn’t Fight Corruption to Please Others

    Kagame Says Rwanda Doesn’t Fight Corruption to Please Others

    {{Over three thousand Rwandans living in Canada and the United States yesterday attended the fifth edition of Rwanda Day in Torornto, Canada.}}

    President Paul Kagame in his address said that those who are surprised by Rwanda’s achievements believe success is an anomaly for African nations.

    Rwanda’s head of state said that his leadership is driven by the ambition to improve the lives of Rwandans not to attract international praise.

    “Rwanda does not fight corruption to please others. It fights corruption because the leadership believes resources should benefit all Rwandans. Rwanda did not choose the path of development to win a prize or please anyone but ourselves”.

    He said that it is time for Rwandans to wake up, and be determined to ensure that Rwanda does not die a second time.

    President Kagame urged Rwandans in diaspora to invest in their country, because part from being their motherland, Rwanda has been ranked the 2nd most reformed economy.

    “We call on all of you to make the kind of investments in Rwanda too or sensitize potential investors that there’s a country called Rwanda that provides conducive environment for investors. They will find all necessary requisites in place to enable their businesses make profits”.

    Rwanda Day brings together Rwandans and friends of Rwanda living around the world to reaffirm their core national value and celebrate the country’s progress and discuss ways of being part of Rwanda’s social-economic transformation.

    Rwanda Day event was launched in June 2011. Past events have been held in Boston, Chicago, Paris and London.

    Rwanda day 2013 in Toronto, was held under the theme; Agaciro: “Investing in Our Future”.

    RBA