Author: IGIHE

3 Reasons for not missing Kigali Fashion Week 2017

{With a few years left to hit a decade since the Kigali Fashion Week was established and few days to this year’s edition, here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t miss this event. }

{{No bigger Show than this in the Country}}

Fashion weeks are the most awaited events for fashion enthusiasts in a world where the fashion scene is turning into a multi-polar deal. Although the concept of fashion week began in Paris, when marketers would hire women to wear couture items in public places, from racetracks to salon, it’s been already a pleasure to enjoy the past 6 parades of fashion in Rwanda. So why miss out on the opportunity to witness the growth of the Rwandan fashion industry?

{{More than 20 Designers to showcase their collections}}

The 7th edition promises to feature designers from four(4) continents with highlight on local designers like Moses from the house “Moshions”, Patrick Muhire from the house “Inkanda”, Cynthia Rupari from the house “Rupari Designs” and others who will enjoy sharing the scene with designers like Gulu from DRC, Nancy from the US, Cassandra from Switzerland, Rawal representing India, Tsukasa from Japan, to only name a few who will amaze you with their beautiful creations.

{{Over 50 Rwandan Models on the catwalk }}

Kigali Fashion Week has always been a great opportunity for Rwandan Models who are willing to dive in the fashion industry offering them an opportunity to walk the walk, hearing claps and posing for flashlights while beautifying various pieces of clothes they are wearing.

In the 7th edition, more models will do their first catwalk with the help of experienced models like Kaneza Lynca Amanda, Kalisa Winnie, Jay Rwanda and others.

The Event production will be taken care of by Mosound Event. Guests will be pleasured by the amazing vocals of Weya Viatora and Selecta Copain is the official deejay of the Grand Finale hosted at Serena Hotel after sunset of May 27th.

Gates will be open from 6:30 pm, tickets are already on sale online and delivered to you via Ronkos.rw places.

By Ivan Nyagatare

May 23, 2017
Upcoming movies at Century Cinema

{The summer is coming, and the weather is not the only thing hot in Kigali instead here is some hot blockbuster movies to watch this summer at the Century Cinemas and make the month of June a masterpiece for moviegoers.}

{{-WONDERWOMAN }}

Before she was Wonder Woman(Gal Gadot),she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot(Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

Don’t miss out on this adventure of how the World War I was really fought, starting on the 2ND of June.

{{-CARS 3 }}

After being trounced in a race by upstart newcomer Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), everyone begins to wonder if Lighting McQueen (Owen Wilson) should retire. But Lightning isn’t ready to throw in the towel yet, and with the help of another rookie Cruz Ramirez (Christella Alonzo); the old dog is going to learn some new tricks and attempt a comeback in the Florida 500.

Lightning McQueen is a hotshot rookie race car who loves going faster than fast meet him on June 16th at the century cinemas

{{-BEFORE I FALL }}

Samantha Kingston (ZoeyDeutch) seems to have it all: popularity, a loving boyfriend (KianLawley) and a seemingly perfect future. Everything changes in the blink of an eye when she dies in a car crash but then magically wakes up to find herself reliving the same day over and over again. As Samantha tries to untangle the mystery of a life derailed, she must also unravel the secrets of the people closest to her and discover how the power of a single day can make a difference.

This is the definitely a drama to watch before the summer ends, see you on the 16th of June.

{{-ROUGH NIGHT}}

Five best friends (Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, llana Glazer, Zoë Kravitz)from college
reunite 10 years later for a wild bachelorette weekend in Miami. Their hard partying takes a hilariously dark turn when they accidentally kill a male stripper. Amid the craziness of trying to cover it up, they’re ultimately brought closer together when it matters most.

This hilarious comedy will crack your ribs and that is a promise, check it out on June 16.

{{-EVERYTHING EVERYTHING }}

Maddy (Amandla Stenberg) is a smart, curious and imaginative 18-year-old,
who is unable to leave the protection of the hermetically-sealed environment within her house because of an illness. Olly (Nick Robinson) is the boy next door who won’t let that stop them from being together.
Gazing through windows and talking only through texts, Maddy and Olly form a deep bond that leads them to risk everything to be together, even if it means losing everything.

Besides the hot weather here is also Romance between these two risking everything for love, meet them on the 23rd June.

{{-BABY DRIVER(action) – (30TH JUNE)}}

Talented getaway driver Baby (AnselElgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After meeting the woman (Lily James) of his dreams, he sees a chance to ditch his shady lifestyle and make a clean break. Coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), Baby must face the music as a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.
This action movie starring Jamie Foxx is just perfect to end the month of June as it will be screened on the 30th.

Please remember to not forget to keep up with these movie schedules on centurycinemas.rw and their official social media accounts

By Ivan Nyagatare

May 23, 2017
Switzerland-Rwanda strengthen relations

{Vocational skills training is to become a new priority of the countries’ development cooperation with the aim of opening up new opportunities and prospects for the people of Rwanda}

“Today’s meeting is an opportunity to review the situation and open up a new phase in our countries’ relations”. This proposal made by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter was welcomed by Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo during their official meeting in Bern. Specifically, the two ministers decided to expand relations in areas of shared interest, in particular at the multilateral level and in conflict prevention.

They also reviewed priorities in the field of development cooperation, giving greater importance to vocational skills training, access to water, and good governance in the Great Lakes region, which also includes Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After the talks, the Swiss and Rwandan ministers signed an aviation agreement.

Rwanda has developed into an important economic and political player in recent years
Rwanda has developed into an important economic and political player in recent years. In addition, it has become a stabilising factor in the troubled Great Lakes region. For this reason, the two states’ efforts at the multilateral level to strengthen stability, security and peace were a focal point of the talks between Mr Burkhalter and Ms Mushikiwabo, which took place in Von Wattenwyl House.

The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and his Rwandan counterpart agreed that conflict prevention is of key importance. Rwanda supports the initiative launched by Switzerland that aims to promote closer cooperation in the area of conflict prevention between the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and the Security Council in New York. MrBurkhalter and MsMushikiwabo discussed concrete steps to help contain or prevent conflicts. Topics discussed in the context of the two countries’ activities at the multilateral level included the abolition of the death penalty and the work of the Human Rights Council, of which both Switzerland and Rwanda are currently members.

MrBurkhalter and MsMushikiwabo agreed that countries that are non-aligned and well connected as are Switzerland and Rwanda can mediate at the international level between groups taking different positions, and promote dialogue, and in this role carry out an important function. In this context, MsMushikiwabo welcomed the profile, as bridge-builder, on which Switzerland’s candidature for the UN Security Council is based.

The new phase in relations between Switzerland and Rwanda that MrBurkhalter and MsMushikiwabo ushered in today provides for new impetus at the bilateral level. Vocational skills training is to become a new priority of the countries’ development cooperation with the aim of opening up new opportunities and prospects for the people of Rwanda. Switzerland will increase its support in this area as part of its new strategy for the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In this context, five training centres will be established in close cooperation with the Rwandan government to train masons, electricians, carpenters, welders, plumbers, mechanics, and hotel professionals.

Furthermore, the new strategy gives priority in Rwanda to improving infrastructure, especially access to drinking water for the population, to creating a transparent system of tariffs, and to focusing more closely on governance, in particular encouraging civil society and independent media.

The ministers also discussed developing closer political and economic relations between the two countries. In this context, they signed a bilateral aviation agreement. After the meeting, MsMushikiwabo travelled to La Chaux-de-Fonds to visit companies active in coffee production.

[Switzerland-Rwanda strengthen relations ->https://www.newsghana.com.gh/vocational-skills-training-a-priority-for-rwanda/]

Source:News Ghana

May 23, 2017
Rwanda, Switzerland sign air service agreement

{The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo and her Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter have signed air service agreement opening Swiss skies to RwandaAir.}

The agreements were signed yesterday in Bern city during Mushikiwabo’s visit to Switzerland as per her twitter account.

Rwanda previously signed Air service agreement with India where RwandAir operates flights.

Other countries with which Rwanda signed similar agreements include Sao Tome et Principe, Benin, Mali, Morocco and Djibouti among others.

During her visit to Switzerland, Mushikiwabo met Rwandan diaspora on Sunday and held a meeting in Geneva attended by Rwanda’s ambassador to the country Dr Ngarambe François Xavier.

Rwandan community pledged on becoming ambassadors for their country and working tirelessly for its good positioning.

May 23, 2017
US raid kills ‘seven al-Qaeda fighters’ in Yemen

{Pentagon says US forces kill seven suspected members of AQAP in a ground raid on a compound in Marib governorate.}

US forces have killed seven suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during a ground raid in Yemen, the Pentagon has said.

The operation in the early hours of Tuesday came some four months after a botched US commando raid against the group that left more than a dozen civilians dead.

US forces used “a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes” to attack a compound in the Marib governorate, with the support of Yemen’s authorities, a statement by the US Central Command said on Tuesday.

“Raids such as this provide insight into AQAP’s disposition, capabilities and intentions, which will allow us to continue to pursue, disrupt, and degrade AQAP.”

Two US officials, speaking to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said the primary objective of the raid was to gather intelligence. There were no known US casualties or injuries, they said.

The statements could not be independently verified.

The US has increased attacks against AQAP, which it regards as the most dangerous branch of the armed group, since President Donald Trump took office in January.

That has included an ill-fated raid against AQAP in January that left at least 16 civilians, including women and children, dead. AQAP fighters and a US Navy SEAL were also killed in the operation.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014, when Houthi fighters allied with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured large expanses of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, including the capital Sanaa.

AQAP and a local affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group have exploited Yemen’s war to carry out assassinations and bombings, mostly in lawless areas in the south.

According to the UN, more than 10,000 people have died – nearly half of them civilians – since an Arab coalition began a campaign of air strikes in March 2015 to drive out the Houthis and their allies.

Source:Al Jazeera

May 23, 2017
New Venezuela clashes after man set ablaze

{Health professionals hit the streets to denounce Maduro government as protesters torch Hugo Chavez’ childhood home.}

Doctors rallied in Venezuela in the latest street protests against President Nicolas Maduro as the death toll climbed to 49 with the deepening unrest entering its eighth week.

New clashes broke out between protesters and police on the outskirts of Caracas, where demonstrators blocked streets with barricades.

After marches by various civil groups, it was the turn of the Venezuelan Medical Federation to vent its frustrations on the streets.

More than a thousand of its sympathisers marched towards the health ministry in Caracas. Police fired tear gas to drive them back in scenes familiar after weeks of turmoil.

“The country is verging on catastrophe. The health system is a disaster,” said Fernando Gudayol, a 50-year-old surgeon. “One is always afraid to come out, but we will carry on doing it until there is a change.”

The opposition is demanding elections to remove Maduro from power. They blame him for an economic crisis that has caused shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies.

“A simple infection can turn into something serious for a lack of antibiotics and any kind of supplies, and for a lack of maintenance of the equipment,” said Eliecer Melear, a 41-year-old urologist.

Maduro’s supporters staged a counter-demonstration near the presidential palace.

“What lack of medicine?” asked medical student Rangel Vegas, 31. “We are in the streets and in the clinics giving a response to what communities need.”

Maduro called for a further “march for peace” on Tuesday.

Meanhwile, protesters set late president Hugo Chavez’s childhood home in western Venezuela on fire on Monday, an opposition lawmaker said.

While demonstrators are decrying Maduro for the country’s triple-digit inflation, rising crime, and shortages of food and medicine, they have also destroyed at least five statues commemorating Chavez, Maduro’s mentor and the founder of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution.”

Demonstrators lit the house in the city of Barinas, where Chavez spent his early years, aflame along with several government buildings, said Pedro Luis Castillo, a legislator who represents the area.

The burnings capped a violent day in Barinas – known as the cradle of Chavez’s revolution – during which protesters clashed with national guardsmen, businesses were shuttered, and roads were blocked with fire-filled barricades.

Yorman Bervecia, 19, was shot and killed during a protest, according to the nation’s chief prosecutor. His death brings to at least 49 the number killed in two months of anti-government protests.

“It is pretty symbolic that the citizens are venting their frustrations on the author of the Bolivarian revolution,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas.

The street clashes engulfing Venezuela appear to be turning increasingly violent, with both security forces and youth protesters looking more unruly.

Opposition leaders are urging restraint from their followers, but say security forces and pro-government militias – not the protesters – are behind the vast number of deadly attacks.

Maduro accused protesters on Sunday of setting fire to a government supporter, saying what he calls “Nazi-fascist” elements are taking root inside the opposition’s ranks.

Maduro said Orlando Zaragoza, 21, suffered burns to almost all his body when he was doused with gasoline and set on fire at a protest in Caracas a day earlier. Videos circulating on social media show a man covered in flames fleeing a small mob.

It’s not clear what triggered the attack, which is under investigation, although some eyewitnesses told local media that Zaragoza was caught robbing demonstrators who had gathered by the tens of thousands to protest Maduro’s rule.

Source:Al Jazeera

May 23, 2017
Iran’s Rouhani denounces US’ Middle East ignorance

{Iran’s president fires back at Trump’s funding ‘terrorists’ accusation, saying Americans don’t know the region.}

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Tehran’s help, responding to criticism from US President Donald Trump who is visiting the region.

Trump called for a US alliance with Muslim countries aimed at fighting “terrorism”, singling out Iran as a major source of funding and support for armed groups in the Arab world.

Rouhani, a pragmatist who won last week’s presidential election, hit back hard by dismissing the summit as a “ceremonial [event] that had no political value and will bear no results”.

“Who can say regional stability can be restored without Iran? Who can say the region will experience total stability without Iran?” he said at a news conference.

At a weekend summit in Riyadh, Trump accused Iran of funding and arming “terrorists, militias and other extremist groups” in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.

Rouhani, who fronted Tehran’s deal with six major powers in 2015 to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, said the US administration lacked knowledge about the Middle East.

“Americans resorted to many different methods against Iran but failed in all… We are waiting for the new US administration to find stability and continuity in its policies,” Rouhani said.

“The problem is that the Americans do not know our region and those who advise US officials are misleading them.”

Rouhani said Iran was the vital force behind the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and repeated Iran’s official stance that the United States and Saudi Arabia are funding “terrorism” in the Middle East.

“Who fought against the terrorists? It was Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Russia. But who funded the terrorists? Those who fund terrorists cannot claim they are fighting against them,” he said.

Tehran and Riyadh are involved in proxy wars across the region, backing opposite sides in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

Fragile diplomacy

Already fragile diplomatic and trade ties between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia-dominated Iran were severed last year, after Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric and as a result protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Iran.

“Buying arms or building weapons won’t make a country powerful. Military power is only a part of strength and we are fully aware of that. But the foundation of power is national strength and this only happens through elections,” Rouhani said.

“Maybe it will help if Saudi leaders let their people to decide over their country’s fate by casting their vote… It will make them [rulers] stronger.”

He said Iran welcomed better relations with its regional neighbours and pledged to fulfill his campaign promises of opening Iran to the world and delivering freedoms to the Iranian people.

“The Iranian people voted for moderation as they know a prosperous economy and jobs can only happen through investment, and investment through freedom and interaction with the world,” he said.

Rouhani’s efforts to open up Iran to less hostile relations with the West still have to be couched in the rhetoric of anti-Americanism that has been a pillar of Iranian rule since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Iran’s most powerful authority – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – has ruled out normalisation of ties with the United States.

Iran’s economy has slowly recovered since the lifting of sanctions last year but deals with Western investors are few and far between as foreign investors are cautious about trading with or investing in Iran, fearing penalties from remaining unilateral US sanctions.

Washington last week imposed new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

“The Iranian nation has decided to be powerful. Our missiles are for peace and for defence… American officials should know that whenever we need to technically test a missile, we will do so and will not wait for their permission,” Rouhani said.

“America’s dream on ending Iran’s missile programme will never come true.”

Source:Al Jazeera

May 23, 2017
Protester dies amid fears of more unrest in Tunisia

{One protester is killed after a national guard vehicle ran him over and at least 50 others injured in south Tunisia.}

One person was killed after a national guard vehicle ran him over, and dozens others were injured after protesters clashed with security forces in southern Tunisia, raising fears of mounting social unrest in a region rocked by weeks of protest.

The young protester was killed on Monday after a national guard’s vehicle “accidentally” ran him, the health ministry said.

“The health ministry announces the accidental death of a young man, (run over) by the national guard. He was a protester,” the ministry told AFP news agency.

The death comes as tensions have risen between protesters, who are demanding jobs and a share in revenue from local gas and oil companies, and security forces outside the El Kamour oil and gas pumping station.

Protesters have been camping outside the desert installation in the Tataouine region for around a month, blocking trucks from entering.

Earlier on Monday, security forces fired tear gas at the demonstrators as they tried to storm the facility, local radio said, with another protest later reported in the city of Tataouine some 100 km away.

The head of Tataouine hospital, Ibrahim Gharghar, said “around 50 injured” people were admitted, including one who was hit in the eye by a tear gas canister.

The death of the demonstrator came two days after soldiers fired warning shots in El Kamour to deter protesters.

It was the first escalation since President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month the army would protect key economic installations from being disrupted by protests over social and labour issues.

Late on Sunday, the defence ministry warned in a statement that the army would use force against anyone who tried to enter those installations.

The statement warned “all citizens of legal proceedings in the case of clashes with military or security units” and of possible casualties in “the case of a gradual escalation of use of force”.

“One must understand that attempting to enter by force an installation protected by the army… is not a peaceful act… It requires a reaction,” ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati told Express FM radio on Monday.

Source:Al Jazeera

May 23, 2017
Zimbabwe hunter ‘crushed to death by shot elephant’

{A professional big-game hunter was crushed to death by an elephant that had been shot, according to reports in South Africa.}

The Netwerk24 website said an elephant cow stormed a group headed by Theunis Botha in Zimbabwe on Friday.

The elephant was reportedly shot as she picked him up with her trunk, before she fell and died, crushing Mr Botha.

He had been leading a group of hunters near the Hwange national park in Zimbabwe when he died.

It is the same park where Cecil the Lion was shot dead by an American hunter in July 2015, sparking an international outcry.

Mr Botha, 51, was a father of five from the northern Limpopo province in South Africa.

His eldest daughter Marike confirmed her father’s death to the BBC, but would not comment further on the circumstances of his death.

Mr Botha’s website says he began leading hunting safaris on private ranches in 1989, having previously served as a sergeant in the South African infantry.

It said he specialised in hunting lions and leopards with dogs.

His website lists various packages available to hunters in Zimbabwe, noting that animals including leopards, giraffes, buffalo and elephants could be hunted.

A Facebook tribute by Zimbabwe-based Kuronda Safaris, which worked with Mr Botha, called him “a great man with a fantastic sense of humour”.

South African media reported that Mr Botha was friends with fellow hunter Scott Van Zyl, whose remains were found in a crocodile last month.

Mr Van Zyl was killed on the banks of the Limpopo river in Zimbabwe in what was the latest in a series of fatal crocodile attacks in the country.

Source:BBC

May 23, 2017
South Africa’s Western Cape declares drought disaster

{South Africa’s Western Cape province has declared a drought disaster as it faces its worst water shortage in 113 years.}

Provincial leader Helen Zille said water will be harvested by drilling boreholes to serve key points like hospitals in Cape Town.

The alert will last for three months but could be extended if the crisis persists, she said in a statement.

Southern African nations are reeling from a two-year drought.

The UN estimates that over 40 million people have been affected by the drought that was caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon.

“The disaster declaration will accelerate… the province’s strategy to ensure that taps do not run dry,” Ms Zille said.

She also announced plans to use a mobile desalination plant and tap the natural aquifer under Cape Town’s Table Mountain.

Residents have also been urged not to use no more than 100 litres (22 gallons) of water a day.

Ms Zille said the disaster declaration will mean that authorities in the province can prioritise public funds for drought relief operations.

Two reservoirs in the Western Cape region are already completely dry according to official statistics.

The Karoo and West Coast areas of the Western Cape previously declared drought disasters in 2016, but Monday’s announcement extends the scope of those emergency measures to the entire province, the AFP news agency reports.

Source:BBC

May 23, 2017