IGIHE

Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

  • Kagame hails Rwanda-Israel bond at AIPAC

    {Rwandan president says Jewish state’s existence not an ‘infringement’ on others, highlights both countries as victims of genocide.}

    Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame became the first African leader to address Washington’s biggest pro-Israel forum Sunday, hailing the Jewish state as an inspiration for his own country’s rebirth after genocide.

    Kagame was commander of RPF that put an end to the 1994 genocide against Tutsi and has led the country since 2000, as it recovers from the conflict and becomes a regional economic success story.

    In Washington to attend the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he hailed the success of the State of Israel after the horrors of the Holocaust and pledged Rwanda’s friendship.

    “The security of peoples who have once been targeted for extermination can never be exclusively physical,” Kagame told the delegates, who received him with warm applause.

    “Until all ideologies which justify killing as a patriotic duty are defeated our world is not truly safe. Not for us, not for anyone.”

    Israel’s relations with African governments have not always been easy.

    Some African political movements saw their own struggles against colonial rule reflected in the Palestinian fight for statehood — and many remember Israel’s military support for South Africa’s former apartheid regime.

    But Israel has an active diplomatic engagement on the continent and has won friends through economic and technical cooperation with major players like Rwanda.

    {{‘Reckless efforts’}}

    Last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured four African countries — including Rwanda — and in October he is expected to meet around 30 leaders at an Israel-Africa summit in Togo.

    Kagame visited Israel in 2008 and made clear at AIPAC that he sees the country as a friend and ally, rejecting what he sees as efforts in some quarters to delegitimatize Israeli statehood.

    “Together with friends like the United States, we must call for renewed global solidarity against the reckless efforts to deny genocide and to trivialize the victims,” he said.

    “Israel has the right to exist and thrive as a full member the international community. This is not an infringement of the rights of any other people,” he declared.

    In 2014, when Rwanda sat on the United Nations Security Council, Kigali abstained from a resolution that advocated for the end of Israel’s presence in the West Bank but was ultimately rejected.

    US President Donald Trump’s new administration has so far proved more sympathetic to Israel’s ambitions, and both Rwanda and Israel hope for warm relations.

    Rwandan President Paul Kagame speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, DC, on March 26, 2017.

    {{Source:Times of Israel with slight edits }}

  • RNP join blood donation exercise

    {About 600 police officers, yesterday, donated blood as Rwanda National Police (RNP) joined the national efforts to boost the National Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT).}

    The RNP leadership, commissioners, Junior and Non-Commissioned Officers, lined up at the RNP General Headquarters in Kacyiru to donated blood.

    The voluntary exercise also coincided with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between RNP and Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), represented by DIGP Marizamunda and the Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) Janine Condo, respectively and witnessed by the State Minister in the Ministry of Health in charge of Public Health and Primary Health Care, Dr. Patrick Ndimubanzi.

    The MoU formalizes the existing partnership between the two institutions in aspects of health and security related health care.

    Specifically, the long-term collaboration binds the two parties in blood donation that will continue in other parts of the country, fighting against drug abuse in the youth, mental health interventions during the commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and sexual and gender based violence.

    Other areas of partnership include enforcement of laws and regulation against risks of Non Communicable Diseases, fighting counterfeit, selling and smuggling of pharmaceuticals; research activities, creation of data base for health care provision; prevention and detection of fraud and public funds embezzlement in health care agencies.

    Dr. Ndimubanzi, who also donated blood, commended the existing partnership and described the voluntary blood donation as an act of “heroism, selflessness and sacrifice” to ensure the health of Rwandans in all aspects of life.

    “We have been working together in other areas of health-security like fighting drug abuse, GBV and fighting smuggling and counterfeiting of medical drugs, which is valuable to the health of Rwandans. The step further to donate blood signifies the value, dedication and sacrifice you have for the people,” he said.

    According to the State Minister, such voluntary exercises continue to boost the blood bank, with at least 10 percent increase every year.

    Last year, he said, over 60, 000 units were collected, up from 53, 000 in 2015.

    On his part, DIGP Marizamunda said that the safety is a wide aspect that includes physical security but also public security-related health care, which includes having enough blood in the bank to save those in need.

    Source:Science Daily

  • Spread of ages is key to impact of disease, animal study finds

    {How a disease outbreak affects a group of animals depends on the breakdown of ages in the population, research has shown.}

    The findings could help scientists better understand how events such as disease outbreaks may affect certain groups in a population.

    Scientists sought to examine how a spread of ages can influence a population’s health, by simulating an outbreak of disease in small marine animals.

    With lab experiments and computer modelling, they found that disease spread can vary depending on the age at which individuals are exposed to infection, and the age at which females in the group become mothers.

    Experiments in the latest study found that offspring of younger mothers were more at risk from infection. The finding builds upon previous knowledge that younger individuals are more at risk.

    Taking these factors into account, computer models showed that when death rates are high, disease can spread faster — even as populations fall. This contradicts the expectation that disease should spread most easily in dense populations, in which individuals interact more.

    Researchers from the University of Edinburgh carried out lab experiments with water fleas, examining how four generations of the small crustaceans responded to a common bacterial infection. Their results were used to build a mathematical model of how the organisms might respond in the long term to threats such as incidence of disease.

    Their study, published in Ecology Letters, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

    Jess Clark, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: “Many societies around the world are experiencing aging populations, and investigating the impact of this might lend valuable insight into how such populations might respond to an outbreak of disease.”

    Source:Science Daily

  • Nyarugenge: Artistes boost campaign against illicit drugs

    {As Rwandans came together this Saturday in a monthly community work commonly known as Umuganda, musicians, comedians and gospel singers under their umbrella ‘Anti-crime Ambassadors’ joined residents of Nyarugenge District where they raised their voices to protect the young generation against illicit drugs.}

    The anti-drugs campaign followed Umuganda held in Nyarugenge Sector and brought together about 3000 residents, and members of Rwanda youth volunteers in community policing,

    Through their performances and talents, the artistes who also include movie actors, producers and journalists, called upon the youth to pursue their dreams in education and other development activities rather than wasting their future in abusing drugs.

    Muyombo Thomas known by stage name as Tom Close, said that their music is meant for safer and heathy people.

    “Our voice should be your voice…to save the Rwandan society from illicit drugs and to partner with the police to ensure that dealers and known and arrested,” Tom Close said.

    The anti-crime ambassadors have a unique partnership with Rwanda National Police to partner in various policing fields of crime prevention, raising awareness against drug-related crimes, human trafficking, radicalisation, gender based violence and child abuse.

    Other areas of partnership include promoting community policing initiatives of real time information on anti criminal activities, neighbourhood watch activities, environmental protection, protection and promotion of the rights of vulnerable groups, and active involvement in government development programmes.

    The mayor of Nyarugenge, Kayisime Nzaramba said that drug dealers, beside being a crime, undermines the country’s safety and health programmes as they influence crime and hazardous to users.

    She advisor d them to venture in legal business and boost the national employment and poverty alleviation programme commonly known as Hanga Umurimo.

    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Celestin Twahirwa, the commissioner for community policing in RNP, noted that Nyarugenge is one of the areas where drug related crimes are still high and called for continued collaboration to reverse the trend.

    Close to 800kgs of cannabis were seized in Nyarugenge in the last two weeks alone.

    “Partnership and effective and real time information sharing with you the public, and strengthened operations have played a significant part in breaking chains of drug supply. We need this to be everyone’s responsibility to fight drugs where you walk or leave,” he said.

    He urged them to be the eye and ears of their neighborhoods and call the police whenever they witness drug dealers and abusers.

    Source:Police

  • 21 quotes by famous people about money that will change your mentality

    {Money is the most sought-after commodity in the world today, and to say that our daily lives revolve around money isn’t an understatement. Every day we spend money, and we work ourselves everyday to make money.}

    As important as money is, there are some quotes by famous people that will change the way you think.

    1. “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” –Benjamin Franklin

    2. “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.” – Jonathan Swift

    3. “A man is rich in proportion to the things he can afford to let alone.” – Henry David Thoreau

    4. “Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don’t want..to impress people that they don’t like.” – Will Rogers

    5. “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” – Epictetus

    6. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

    7. “Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    8. “Financial peace isn’t the acquisition of stuff. It’s learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can’t win until you do this.” – Dave Ramsey

    9. “Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand

    10. “It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages.” – Henry Ford

    11. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

    12. “Money is usually attracted, not pursued.” – Jim Rohn

    13. “The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket.” – Kin Hubbard

    14. “Money will come when you are doing the right thing.” – Mike Phillips

    15. “Money can’t buy happiness, but it will certainly get you a better class of memories.” – Ronald Reagan

    16.. “Money is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it insures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises.” – Aristotle

    17. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn

    18. “Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” – James W. Frick

    19. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

    20. “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.” – Henry Ford

    21. “How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” – Robert G. Allen

    Source:Elcrema

  • Rwamagana: DPC cautions against ‘self-administered justice

    {The District Police Commander of Rwamagana, Supt. Edward Kiiza has appealed to residents to seek justice from authorized entities rather than taking the matter in their own hands, which is ‘criminal.’}

    While speaking to about 1500 residents in Musha Sector recently, the DPC reminded them that “no one is above the law” adding that a crime is handled by authorized institutions to ensure that justice is served.”

    The meeting was also attended by the vice mayor of Rwamagana in charge of Social Affairs, Jean Umutoni.

    While reflecting on the recent case in Rwamagana where people seriously assaulted a suspected thief apparently accusing him of stealing chicken, Supt. Kiiza called it criminal to which everyone who had a hand and took matter in their own hands will be held accountable.

    “Being within the limits of the law means that even when you are wronged, you have no right to take matters in your own hands to administer self justice; this is the duty of judicial institutions,” he emphasized.

    He cited articles 148 and 151 of the Rwandan penal code, on assault that causes bodily injuries or death, which also applies to those who take matters in their own hands, specifying a life imprisonment in case death.

    The DPC further urged the residents to strengthen community policing efforts especially against crimes like drug trafficking and abuse, domestic and gender based violence, child abuse, and corruption.

    “When you witness or suspect anything unlawful, just call the police,” the DPC said.

    The vice mayor, on her part, said that corruption and bribery kills service delivery, and urged them to stand up against such malpractices and report leaders, who “sale you free services or over-charge you for a service.”

    Source:Police

  • Scientists make new discovery about bird evolution

    {In a new paper published in National Science Review, a team of scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology (all in China) described the most exceptionally preserved fossil bird discovered to date.}

    The new specimen from the rich Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota (approximately 131 to 120 million years old) is referred to as Eoconfuciusornis, the oldest and most primitive member of the Confuciusornithiformes, a group of early birds characterized by the first occurrence of an avian beak. Its younger relative Confuciusornis is known from thousands of specimens but this is only the second specimen of Eoconfuciusornis found. This species comes only from the 130.7 Ma Huajiying Formation deposits in Hebei, which preserves the second oldest known fossil birds. Birds from this layer are very rare.

    This new specimen of Eoconfuciusornis, housed in the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, in Eastern China, is a female. The ovary reveals developing yolks that vary in size, similar to living birds. This suggests that confuciusornithiforms evolved a period of rapid yolk deposition prior to egg-laying (crocodilians, which are archosaurs like birds, deposit yolks slowly in all eggs for months with no period of rapid yolk formation), which is indicative of complex energetic profiles similar to those observed in birds.

    This means Eoconfuciusornis and its kin, like living birds, was able to cope with extremely high metabolic demands during early growth and reproduction (whereas energetic demands in crocodiles are even, lacking complexity). In contrast, other Cretaceous birds including the more advanced group the Enantiornithes appear to have lower metabolic rates and have required less energy similar to crocodilians and non-avian dinosaurs (their developing yolks show little size disparity indicating no strong peak in energy associated with reproduction, and much simpler energetic profiles, limited by simpler physiologies).

    Traces of skin indicate that the wing was supplemented by flaps of skin called patagia. Living birds have numerous wing patagia that help the bird to fly. This fossil helps show how bird wings evolved. The propatagium (the flap of skin that connects the shoulder and wrist) and postpatagium (the flap of skin that extends off the back of the hand and ulna) evolved before the alular patagium (the flap of skin connecting the first digit to the rest of the hand), which is absent in Eoconfuciusornis. Even more unique is the preservation of the internal structure of the propatagium which reveal a collagenous network identical to that in living birds. This internal network gives the skin flap its shape, allowing it to generate aerodynamic lift and aid the bird in flight.

    The nearly complete plumage preserves remnants of the original plumage pattern, revealing the presence of spots on the wings and the earliest documentation of sexual differences in plumage within birds. This new specimen suggests that female Eoconfuciusornis were smaller than males and lacked tail feathers, similar to many sexually dimorphic living birds and the younger Confuciusornis in which the plumage of the males and females are different from each other. Samples of the feathers viewed under a microscope reveal differences in color characteristics, allowing scientists to reconstruct the plumage. Female Eoconfuciusornis had black spotted wings and gray body with a red throat patch.

    Researchers have not found fossils from any other bird from the Jehol period that reveal so many types of soft tissue (feathers, skin, collagen, ovarian follicles). These remains allow researchers to create the most accurate reconstruction of a primitive early bird (or dinosaur) to date. This information provides better understanding of flight function in the primitive confuciusornithiforms and of the evolution of advanced flight features within birds.

    “This new fossil is incredible,” said co-author Dr. Jingmai O’Connor. “With the amount of information we can glean from this specimen we can really bring this ancient species to life. We can understand how it grew, flew, reproduced, and what it looked like. Fossils like this one from the Jehol Biota continue to revolutionize our understanding of early birds.”

    Chinese countryside (stock image). The new specimen from the rich Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota comes only from the 130.7 Ma Huajiying Formation deposits in Hebei, which preserves the second oldest known fossil birds. Birds from this layer are very rare.

    Source:Science Daily

  • Frustration as cabin electronics ban comes into force

    {Passengers decry US, UK ban on laptops and tablets in hand luggage on some flights from Middle East and North Africa.}

    The US and British ban on laptops and tablets in carry-on luggage on some flights from the Middle East and North Africa has come into force, immediately drawing complaints from passengers at several airports.

    The ban requires that personal devices larger than a mobile phone – such as tablets, laptops and cameras – be placed in checked baggage for US and Britain-bound flights.

    The US restrictions apply to flights originating from 10 airports in countries including Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

    The British restrictions do not include the UAE or Qatar but do affect Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

    The affected airports had until Saturday to implement the new rules.

    The ban s have already led to discontent and complaints from passengers at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, which is one of those listed.

    “This airport is so secured. The security level is so high compared to other airports in the rest of this part of the world. So why doing that from here?” Haggai Mazursky, a traveller, told Reuters news agency.

    Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said the airlines were trying to limit passengers’ frustrations while holding talks with the US to lift the ban.

    “They [Turkish airlines] believe that if the comfort of passenger is affected, it will impact the industry as a whole and the company as well,” she said.

    “In efforts to make it easier for the passengers, they [Turkish Airlines] are offering free wifi during flights and will also launch a special mobile application in April.”

    US and British officials said the decision to implement the security measures was a result of intelligence showing an increased risk for “terrorist activity” involving commercial aviation.

    However, many observers in the Middle East and North Africa said the ban amounted to discrimination, while others questioned the basis for the electronics ban, saying they were a ploy to undermine the aviation industry of the countries affected.

    “If you say it like this, you are saying everybody can be a terrorist. It’s not respectful. I think it’s not good,” said one passenger at Ataturk International Airport.

    Geoffrey Thomas, the editor-in-chief of A irlineratings.com, said the UK joining the ban gave it some credibility that there might be an evolving threat, “but at the same time UK has not banned UAE and Qatar, which raises a lot of concern as to what this is all about”.

    “Some suggest that the ban on UAE and Qatar has more to do with the Trump administration’s desire to curb the power of Middle East carriers, because one of the crazy parts about this ban is that Emirates from Dubai to Athens, and on to the US, is not included in the measures.

    “And then you have cities that actually have security challenges, such as Lagos and Islamabad, which are also not included in the ban. So, there are questions about this that leave a lot of experts perplexed,” Thomas said.

    Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that talks were underway to try to persuade the US and Britain to exclude Turkish Airlines and Istanbul airport from the bans.

    US, UK ban prohibits electronic devices larger than smart phones in cabins for flights coming from the Middle East and North Africa

    Source:Al Jazeera

  • US judge grants asylum to Singapore teen blogger

    {Amos Yee, accused of insulting the island’s late leader and religious groups, was jailed for weeks in 2015 and 2016.}

    A Singaporean teenage blogger who was jailed twice for his online posts insulting his government was granted asylum to remain in the United States, an immigration judge in Chicago ruled.

    Amos Yee was jailed in 2015 for four weeks for hurting the religious feelings of Christians and posting an obscene image as part of his attacks on the island’s late leader Lee Kuan Yew – whose son Lee Hsien Loong is now the prime minister.

    He was jailed again in 2016 for six weeks for insulting Muslims and Christians in a series of videos posted online, but critics claim the real reason was to silence him.

    Judge Samuel Cole issued a 13-page decision on Friday, more than two weeks after Yee’s closed-door hearing on the asylum application.

    “Yee has met his burden of showing that he suffered past persecution on account of his political opinion and has a well-founded fear of future persecution in Singapore,” Cole wrote.

    Cole said testimony during Yee’s hearing showed that while the Singapore government’s stated reason for punishing him involved religion, “its real purpose was to stifle Yee’s political speech”.

    He said Yee’s prison sentence was “unusually long and harsh” especially for his age.

    Department of Homeland Security attorneys had opposed the asylum bid, saying Yee’s case didn’t qualify as persecution based on political beliefs.

    It was unclear whether they would appeal the decision or if Yee would have to remain imprisoned if they did. Attorneys have 30 days to appeal.

    Singapore, an island republic of 5.6 million which has long been been criticised for strict controls on dissent, takes pride in its racial and social cohesion, which it regards as essential for stability in a volatile region.

    Source:Al Jazeera

  • Nicolas Maduro seeks UN help to ease medicine shortages

    {President Maduro asks for support to ‘treat economic and social injuries’ as country suffers severe medicine shortages.}

    Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has asked the United Nations for “help” boosting medicine supplies as he struggles to combat crippling shortages.

    “I’ve asked for support from the UN to help treat economic and social injuries that have hit our people caused by the economic war and the sharp fall in petroleum prices,” Maduro said in a televised appearance on Friday.

    He did not provide any details about the request except to say that the UN has the expertise to normalise the supply and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs in the country.

    But just acknowledging that Venezuela needs outside help is a telling sign of how deep in crisis the country, sitting atop the world’s largest petroleum reserve, has fallen.

    The country is suffering from triple-digit inflation as well as severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines, from painkillers to chemotherapy drugs.

    As many as 85 of every 100 medicines are missing in the country, Venezuela’s main pharmaceutical association has said.

    Shortages are so extreme that patients sometimes take medicines ill-suited for their conditions, doctors warn.

    Leftist President Nicolas Maduro blames the shortages on a right-wing plot to overthrow him.

    On Friday, the Washington-based Organization of American States, OAS, announced that it would hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to address the situation in Venezuela.

    The announcement comes a day after the United States and group of 13 other OAS nations called on Venezuela’s government to hold elections and immediately free political prisoners.

    OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro is pushing to expel Maduro’s government from the group for breaking the country’s democratic order and violating human rights.

    Venezuela’s government has accused the OAS leader of overstepping his authority in an effort to pave the way for an “international intervention” in Venezuela.

    Source:Al Jazeera