IGIHE English

Author: b_igi_adm1n

  • Americans Vote

    {{American Citizens are voting for the next US president. Here Residents of Rosslyn, a neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia stand in long lines to vote. }}

  • New Condoms to ‘Completely Inactivate’ HIV

    {{A permanent solution to the spread of AIDS could be round the bend as Canadian researchers say they may have found a solution to the humble condom’s fatal flaw – nanoparticles.}}

    Researchers say Photodisc Nanoparticles may be the solution to condoms’ 15% failure rate.

    Condoms have a 15% failure rate, so a University of Manitoba team tried soaking condoms in a solution packed with “remarkable” microscopic silver nanoparticles, and the treated condoms appeared to kill all HIV and herpes in lab experiments, the scientists reported.

    This could be a major breakthrough in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide. The AIDS scourge is responsible for the deaths of more than half the world’s population and continues to spread at an alarming rate.

    Yet how, exactly, the silver nanoparticles neutralize HIV and other viruses is still a bit of mystery. It could be the particles or the silver ions they release attach to the virus and prevent it from binding to cell “receptors” in the host’s body, said Dr. Yao, a medical microbiologist.

    Or they could actually change a key protein on the virus’s surface, and in that way stop it from sticking to host cells. Some condoms are now treated with an anti-microbial substance, called Nonoxynol-9.

    Recent studies, though, have shown that N-9 can trigger inflammation and ulceration in the genitals, actually making infection more likely.

    The silver nanoparticles do not cause inflammation, said Dr. Yao. The nano-treated condoms have the added advantage of being quickly discarded, meaning the potentially toxic metal does not linger in users’ bodies, the study notes.

    The research is still in its early stages, however, with animal studies on the nanoparticle contraceptives the next step, and possible entry on the market relatively far off.

    Dr. Julio Montaner, one of Canada’s leading HIV scientists, said the idea is “intriguing” and welcome in the field.

    Meanwhile, though, the most significant problem with condoms is not the 15% that fail to prevent STIs, but the fact many people simply neglect to use them.

    “Unfortunately, at the most critical moment when these decisions are so important, people’s judgment may be impaired,” said Dr. Montaner. “At the end of the day, if they stay in the pocket, it’s not going to do the job.”

    As well as providing extra protection to sexual partners when a condom fails, nanotechnology could have other benefits, too, said Dr. Yao.

    There are reports from developing countries such as India of children and others finding and touching used condoms, then contracting STIs, he said.

    Treated with nanosilver, the chances of discarded condoms infecting anyone might be greatly reduced.

    {{Adopted from Nationalpost.com}}

  • 7 Syrian Army Generals Defect

    {{Seven Syrian army generals defected to Turkey on Tuesday, Turkish media reported.}}

    The generals were allowed to enter Turkey through the southern Hatay province under tight security measures, the Anadolu Agency said.

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost a stream of high-level government and military officials in recent months as his forces continue battling rebels seeking an end to four decades of al-Assad family rule.

    Manaf Tlass, a brigadier general and a former close friend of the president, left Syria’s Republican Guard in July. Prime Minister Riyad Hijab has also defected.

  • Requests For Proposals For Research on Three Land-Related Themes

    {{Initiated in June 2012, the LAND Project seeks to strengthen the resilience of Rwandan citizens, communities and institutions and their ability to adapt to land-related economic, environmental and social change. }}

    Building the capacity of Rwandan institutions to produce high quality, evidence based research on land is a critical part of reaching this goal.

    Solid, empirical research is fundamental to the identification of needed policy changes in the land sector and also to validate policies and laws that are already contributing to stronger citizen resilience and improved livelihoods.

    From September 24th to 26th, the LAND Project held a multi-stakeholder workshop to identify key, policy-relevant research priorities on land.

    Drawing from a list of 58 research themes submitted in advance of the workshop, participants collaborated to distill this down to three research priorities that would receive LAND Project support during the first year: Subsequently, LAND Project sought the views of several GOR institutions whose mandates intersect with these research priorities to help inform that development of draft technical Terms of Reference for each theme.

    Requests for Comments on the technical Terms of Reference were then published and responses from stakeholders informed the further development of those TORs for incorporation into the present Requests for Proposals.

    The LAND Project is eliciting three separate Requests for Proposals (RFP) for research on the following themes:

    {{1.}} Examination of the Inheritance and Succession Law and its Practice in relation to Land Rights: A Gender Perspective;

    {{2.}} Assessment of the Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts of the Land Use Consolidation Component of the Crop Intensification Program in Rwanda; and

    {{3.}} Land Market Values, Urban Land Policies, and their Impacts in Urban Centers of Rwanda.

    Only Rwandan organizations or companies are eligible to submit tenders. If you are interested in receiving a copy of one or more of the above RFPs, please send a request to LAND Project Operations Director, Andrew Musemakweli at amusemakweli@land-project.org. Please be sure to specify clearly which RFP you wish to receive.

    Proposals must be received no later than 16h30 on Wednesday, 4th December 2012, following the instructions contained in the RFPs.

  • Bashir in Saudi Arabia for Medical Checkup

    {{The president of Sudan, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday to receive a medical checkup, state media has reported, stoking speculations about the health of the 68-year-old ruler.}}

    Bashir “will carry out ordinary medical check-ups during the visit,” during the trip which will also include meetings the top officials including King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, according to presidential news bulletin seen by Sudan Tribune.

    In August it was reported that Bashir underwent surgery on his vocal chords in Qatar.

    The spokesperson of the presidential palace, Imad Said Ahmad, confirmed the reports late last month saying that Al-Bashir had undergone a “mild” throat but he also insisted that the president enjoys good health.

    The news about Bashir’s health has also led to widespread speculation across the social media platforms.

    The rumor was fueled by the fact that he has made few public appearances and speeches lately.

    It was also observed that Al-Bashir failed to address dozens of his supporters who gathered in front of the council of ministers in Khartoum two weeks ago to rally against the alleged Israeli attack on Al-Yarmook military factory.

    He merely waved his hand while his deputy Vice-President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha addressed the crowd.

  • Kagame Tips African Experts to ‘Think Outside the Box’

    {{The just concluded 2012 African Economic conference that was held in Kigali, 30 October-2 November 2012 was another opportunity for senior African economic experts, researchers and policy-makers to find a way forward for Africa.}}

    Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Rwandan president Paul Kagame urged a group of senior African economic experts, researchers and policy-makers gathered in Kigali to think outside the box and come up with new ideas for an economic model that responds to the needs of the African people.

    The seventh annual African Economic Conference was hosted by Rwanda for the first time,and was jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

    The conference had drawn around 400 participants including economic experts and decision-makers from across Africa, to discuss critical issues in African development as a way to ensure economic growth, poverty reduction and inclusive development.

    The Rwandan President stressed that despite the growth rate witnessed by some countries on the continent, there was also a need to learn lessons from past experience in order to ensure that the benefits of growth reach all people, especially the most vulnerable, read a statement from the conference website.

    African countries among the fastest growing economies
    According to the 2012 African Economic Outlook, a joint publication produced by the African Development Bank , United Nations Development Program, Economic Commission for Africa and the OECD Development Centre, between 2001 and 2010 six of the world’s 10 fastestgrowing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa.

    The AEO report shows that Africa`s economy was undermined last year by the Arab uprisings. The report revealed that the continent`s growth fell back from 5% in 2010 to 3.4 in 2011.

    However, growth across the continent is expected to accelerate to 4.5% in 2012 and 4.8% in 2013 with the recovery of North African economies and sustained improvement in other regions.

    The report indicates that Africa has the world`s youngest population that is rapidly growing.

    Africa`s youth is not only growing rapidly, it is also getting better educated. The report stresses that based on current trends, 59% of 20-24 year olds will have had secondary education in 2030, compared to 42% today.

    To turn this rapid growth in human resources into an opportunity, Africa needs to tackle youth employment.

    The youth came to mind as the Rwandan president Paul Kagame was urging African economic experts to devise solutions that will impact the most vulnerable.

    Young people are full of energy to work but it is disappointing that Africa`s growth was not sufficiently inclusive to meet the need for jobs of a fast growing population, according to the AEO report.

    For his part, AfDB President Donald Kaberuka emphasized the importance for Africa’s economic experts to suggest internal solutions in order to finance their respective economies.

    “But inclusive development is impossible without energy access, broadband connectivity and adequate mechanisms to boost infrastructure for economic growth and other trade investments,” he stressed.

    {{Regional integration to boost FDI}}

    Experts at the African Economic Conference in Kigali agreed that Africa would need to strengthen regional integration in order to boost increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the continent, because it creates larger domestic markets and stimulates trade, two elements that can attract FDI, according to the statement from the website`s conference.

    “At a time when China, India, Brazil and other large emerging markets are taking on such a prominence in the global economy, we must surely focus the minds of African policymakers,particularly from smaller, landlocked countries, on the importance of pushing forward the regional integration agenda”, said Andrew Mold, a senior Economic Affairs Officer of ECA.

    Policy makers at the conference showed a wide consensus that regional integration in Africa is the way to go.

    John Rwangombwa, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said that in the continued uncertainties of the global economy, Africa must present itself as the most profitable and secure destination of investors’ funds that are scared of the problems in the Western markets.

    “It is worrying to know that Africa attracts less than nine percent of FDI. We need as much as possible to continue reducing the uncertainties about the evolution of our economies”, said Minister Rwangombwa.

    According to the 2012 African Economic Outlook, Africa needs to attract more productivityenhancing FDI to diversify its economy, develop its private sector and benefits from technology transfers and spill-over effects.

    African countries need to diversify their trading partners within and outside the continent.

    Pursuing deeper regional integration will improve the low levels of both intra-African and internal trade according the AEO.

    {{Do we learn lessons, can we learn lessons?}}

    In his opening speech, President Paul Kagame asked whether African experts can learn lessons from the past. “I think that is another weakness.

    We meet in the room; we have experts. They tell us the right themes which contribute to that and we fail to put that in the wider context of lessons of the past that have led to many failures that we continue to witness today and therefore likely to repeat in the future,” said the Rwandan President.

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    email: nzohabonadaniel@yahoo.fr

  • Russian Defence Minister Fired

    {{Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday fired defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov over a corruption scandal, the most dramatic change to the government since he returned to the Kremlin for a third term.}}

    Putin replaced Serdyukov, who had been implementing an unpopular but Kremlin-backed military reform, with Moscow region governor and long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu, his spokesperson said.

    Serdykov was relieved of his duties so that a thorough investigation can proceed into a suspected US$100m property scam at a defence ministry holding company, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

    “This is in connection with the situation at the defence ministry. It has been done to create all the necessary conditions for the investigation,” Peskov said.

  • EAC Agrees on Standards For Grains & Cereals

    {{The East African Community (EAC) states have agreed on the recommended moisture content for cereals and grains in the region, New Vision Reports.}}

    Technical experts from East African Standards Council from Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda made the resolutions during a two day regional workshop on EAC staple food standards harmonization held at the Lake Victoria Serena Hotel, in Entebbe last Wednesday.

    The final approval followed Kenya’s petition to the EAC in Arusha regarding the deficiencies in the staple foods standards approved by the East African Standards Council in Arusha in June last year.

    The delayed harmonization of the cereals standards was allegedly hurting traders.

    Uganda argued, “Cereal traders in the region can now sell their produce with ease. We have finally reached an agreement regarding the agreeable moisture content of cereals in the region.”

    The continuous delay of harmonization of various standards in the region was seen as an impediment to the common market protocol.

    The EAC experts reached consensus on moisture content of maize, dry beans, wheat, milled rice, millet grains, peas, sorghum, soy beans, split beans and brown rice among others.

  • Uganda to Unveil New Tourism Products at UK Expo

    {{Uganda will exhibit fresh tourism products at the world travel market (WTM) expo taking place in London, UK. }}

    This was revealed at a press conference where private and public sector representatives including Uganda tourism board, the Ministry of wildlife and antiquities, Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and wildlife Trust , civil aviation authority, Sheraton Hotel and twenty tour operators met on Monday to discuss how best to represent the country at the leading global event for the travel industry.

    Wildlife and antiquities minister Maria Mutagamba, speaking at the conference at Sheraton Hotel’s lake room about the presentation of Uganda at the WTM that is taking place in Excel Docklands in London, reminded the different exhibitors that they were going as marketers not tourists, and they should be keen to find out what their potential clients’ interests are regarding Uganda.

    She urged them to uphold good discipline as well as understand and embrace on the element of cooperation and competition.

    Though a lot is known about Uganda’s tourism, this is only the tip of the iceberg. “The opportunities to innovate, create, package and present fresh and new tourism opportunities and destinations for Uganda are enormous,” Chris Pollard, the General Manager Sheraton Kampala, said.

    Pollard said: “As we transition into another generation of 50 years after independence, the challenge is for Uganda to look beyond the obvious opportunities if we are to build tourism in the country beyond what it is today.”

    “Since its initiation over 30 years ago, Uganda has participated in the WTM for over 16 years, but we must agree that this is not an ordinary year. It is our jubilee year and we must present fresh perspectives and projections for Uganda’s tourism to the rest of the world,” Pollard added.

    He said there is still untapped business in weekend tourism. “Therefore I see the WTM as an opportunity for us to not only boast for what we are known for but most importantly to give the world fresh and new reasons to rate Uganda as a major destination.

    The opportunities are enormous, I have no doubt that the resources are available to further expand and exploit out tourism potential for the next generation.”

    He said the Government needs to set the agenda to change mindsets towards what we have and the importance of preserving it. “Uganda, we are gifted, lets embrace this gift, and not under price it,” he said.

    Bugama Cuthbert Balinda, the Executive Director of Uganda Tourism Board, said at the three-day event, Uganda will showcase The Pearl of Africa with her numerous attractions and also celebrate the 50 years Golden Jubilee and the numerous accolades received in 2012.

    Uganda will showcase the gorilla as the major draw card, over 1040 bird species, hiking the diverse mountains-the snow capped Mount Rwenzonri, Alpine Afromontane zones to the Albertine Rift Valley- and White water rafting among others.

    Newvision

  • Teenager Stabbs Friend to Death

    {{Police in Nyagatare district are holding Jean Paul Twizerimana 19, for allegedly killing his colleague identified as Maurice Habiyambere 18.}}

    Its alleged that Twizerimana stabbed Habiyambere after they engaged in a heated debate on who can defeat the other, if they fought.

    Few minutes later Twizerimana, pulled out a knife and stabbed his colleague several times in the head and the eye.

    Habiyambere died on the way as he was being taken to Rukomo Health centre.

    The incident happened on November 4, at about 7:30pm in Rukomo sector, Gashenyi cell, as the two young men were coming from a movie theatre in Agasima trading centre.

    It is said that the debate was initiated by their colleagues, whom they were together watching a movie.

    Police also said the suspect is a known criminal, who has been stealing agricultural products in the area, especially bananas.

    The suspect is currently held at Gatunda Police Post.

    Eastern Region Police Spokesperson, Supt Bénoît Nsengiyumva, condemned the criminal act and warned the public to desist from moving with dangerous weapons.