Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

Musanze: Youth volunteers in anti-crime awareness campaign

{Members of Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Community Policing (RYVCP) in Musanze District have called upon residents to be custodians of the law and stand up against any criminal acts.}

They made the call recently as they held the campaign in Muhoza Sector, which attracted hundreds of residents.

This was shortly after a healthy sporting event that included joking.

Theodore Murangamirwa, the coordinator for the youth volunteers organization in Musanze, briefed participants on the mission of the youth forum, which he said is to primarily fight crimes through public education.

He called for the involvement of every youth and support of elders to realize their dream of ensuring safer and crime-free communities, and building a focused generation.

Inspector of Police (IP) Viateur Ntiyamira, the District Community Liaison Officer (DCLO) of Musanze, who commended the role of the youth volunteers, and called for strengthened collaboration at all levels and residents, in community policing activities that are mainly geared towards crime prevention.

He asked them to remain vigilant and be an eye for a neighborhood.

“The partnership we have enjoyed over the years through information sharing has led to improved safety and security in Musanze, and criminals arrested. However, it remains everyone’s responsibility to leave no gaps that criminals like drug dealers use,” the DCLO said.

Source:Police

March 21, 2017
Gene editing technique helps find cancer’s weak spots

{Genetic mutations that cause cancer also weaken cancer cells, creating an opportunity for researchers to develop drugs that will selectively kill them, while sparing normal cells. This concept is called “synthetic lethality” because the drug is only lethal to mutated (synthetic) cells. Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Jacobs School of Engineering developed a new method to search for synthetic-lethal gene combinations.}

The technique, published March 20 in Nature Methods, uncovered 120 new opportunities for cancer drug development.

“The ovarian cancer drug olaparib works by synthetic lethality — it inhibits a gene that, when a BRCA gene is also mutated, kills just those cancer cells,” said John Paul Shen, MD, clinical instructor and postdoctoral fellow at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center. “Many other cancers could likely be treated this way as well, but we don’t yet know which gene mutation combinations will be synthetic-lethal.” Shen was co-first author of the study, along with Dongxin Zhao, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and Roman Sasik, PhD, computational biologist in the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

To overcome this limitation, the team developed a new method that uses the gene editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 to simultaneously test for thousands of synthetic-lethal interactions. CRISPR/Cas9 works like this: researchers design a “guide” RNA to match the sequence of a specific target gene in a cell. The RNA guides the Cas9 enzyme to the desired spot, where it cuts the DNA. The cell can repair the DNA break, but it does so imprecisely, thereby inactivating the gene.

In this study, the researchers designed a CRISPR/Cas9 system with two guide RNAs: 1) one that targets a tumor suppressor gene that is commonly mutated in cancer and 2) one that targets a gene that could also be disrupted by a cancer drug. They deployed this system against 73 genes in three laboratory cell lines — human cervical cancer, lung cancer and embryonic kidney cells — for a total of 150,000 gene combinations. Then they measured cell growth and death.

The approach revealed more than 120 new synthetic-lethal interactions.

“Identifying underlying genetic interactions in this way can reveal important functional relationships between genes, such as contributions to the same protein complex or pathway,” co-senior author Trey Ideker, PhD, professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine, founder of the UC San Diego Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics and co-director of the Cancer Cell Map Initiative. “This in turn can impact both our fundamental understanding of biological systems, as well as therapeutics development.”

Many of the gene interactions the team identified were synthetic-lethal in just one of the three cell lines tested. This means that synthetic-lethal interactions may be different in different types of cancer. The researchers said this will be an important consideration for future drug development.

“Moving forward, we intend to further refine our technology platform and make it more robust,” said co-senior author Prashant Mali, PhD, assistant professor in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. “And we are scaling our cancer genetic networks maps so we can systematically identify new combination therapies.”

Source:Science Daily

March 21, 2017
4 reasons women say “I’m fine” When they clearly aren’t

{One thing that’s very consistent with most women is telling their man that they are fine even when it’s obvious that there’s something wrong. They’ll give you the “I’m fine” response and give an attitude almost throughout the day.}

Why do women do this? This is an age-long question many men have sought the answer to, but all to no avail.

This article will throw a bit more light on why women are fond of this.

{{1. They just expect you to know }}

A lot of the time, women just expect men to know everything happening around them without them having to reveal anything. Women just want you to know everything, and they believe it’s your job to pay attention and know what’s wrong.

{{2. They love the attention }}

Sometimes, they kind of love the attention this brings; they love it when you give them all your attention, when you are worried about their state and when you keep being concerned even after you’ve gotten the “I’m fine” response. Trust me; she’ll get angrier if you took her response literally.

{{3. They unconsciously want to see the sensitive nature in you }}

Women are the more sensitive ones; the motherly nature in them brings out a rare kind of sensitivity that men don’t have; this is why a mother will look into a child’s eyes and tell you that something is wrong with the child’s health, while a father wouldn’t notice a thing.

Women are sensitive that way, and they also want to see the sensitivity in their man when they are hurting from a situation that he probably didn’t cause.

{{4. They are too hurt to talk }}

More often than not, she might just be too hurt to talk, especially if the man has done something terrible to hurt her feelings. This is a major reason women hold back and give the “I’m fine” response.

When she tells you “I’m fine” and gives an attitude that says the opposite; she’s clearly passing a message that everything isn’t okay.

Source:Elcrema

March 21, 2017
President Kagame holds talks with Pope Francis

{President Paul Kagame today held talks with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.}

Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, who accompanied President Kagame to the Vatican, said:”President Kagame and the Holy Father discussed several aspects of the relationship between Rwanda and the Holy See. The President commended the Church’s contributions to Rwanda’s socio-economic development, particularly in the education and health sectors.”

Also discussed was the Church’s role in the most tragic chapters of Rwanda’s past, leading up to the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Well before 1994, Catholic institutions and missions, together with the colonial administration, played a decisive role in dividing Rwandans and laying the intellectual foundation for genocide ideology. Today, genocide denial and trivialisation continue to flourish in certain groups within the Church and genocide suspects have been shielded from justice within Catholic institutions.

According to Minister Mushikiwabo:”Today’s meeting was characterised by a spirit of openness and mutual respect. It is a positive step forward in the relationship between Rwanda and the Holy See, based on a frank and shared understanding of Rwanda’s history and the imperative to combat genocide ideology. It allows us to build a stronger base for restoring harmony between Rwandans and the Catholic Church.”

Rwanda’s progress in reconciliation and economic development was noted, including the fact that survivors and repentant perpetrators have learned to live and work side-by-side, and that shared Catholic faith has facilitated these efforts and provided comfort.

Kagame has responded to Vatican invitation where he arrived yesterday after a two-day state visit in China.

His visit to Vatican follows the appointment of new Pope’s envoy to Rwanda, BishopAndrzej Jozwowicz who is expected to strengthen existing bilateral ties with Vatican.

March 20, 2017
Green Party for trans-boundary wall

{Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) has unveiled a plan to build an eight-meter wall at Rwanda’s borders with Burundi and DRC if its candidate wins upcoming presidential elections in August 2017. }

The wall will be built under a project that Green Party has called ‘barring enemies of the country’.

Habineza Frank, the president of Green Party who has been nominated as its flag-bearer in presidential polls made the pledge during the party’s general assembly held yesterday.

This has been confirmed by the media relations officer in Green Party,Tuyishime Deo who said; “We will build an eight-meter wall that will be closely protected by security officers. We will also install security cameras relaying what is happening around. The wall will not only be built at Rwanda, DRC border but also at Burundi border because in the recent past unidentified gunmen killed people in Rusizi, escaped and culprits are still at large.”

Green Party neither indicates the source of funding for the mega-structures nor how it will be built in the area separating Rwanda, DRC at Lake Kivu.

March 20, 2017
Rwandans in Kenya celebrate International women’s Day in style

{Members of Rwandan Community in Kenya last week converged at Invergara Club in Nairobi to mark International Women’s Day in a colorfully event that was attended by Rwandans and their Kenyan friends .The ceremony was officiated by the High Commissioner, Ambassador James Kimonyo.}

In his remarks, Ambassador Kimonyo said that the contribution by Rwandan Woman in social-economic transformation dates back to 1990’s during liberation struggle where women played a big role in liberating the country.

He said that women have demonstrated potential to deliver on their duties equally as their male counterparts, which is why they continue to occupy key decision making positions.

“Our constitution provides for 30 percent of Women representation in key decision making positions but because of the potential and hard work that Rwandan women have continued to demonstrate, it has given them a leeway to do more than just what the constitution says. That is why they occupy 64% seats in our National Parliament and at least 50 percent in other institutions across the Government.”

The envoy emphasized that, Rwanda’s leadership does not empower women because of affirmative action policies, it’s rather because women are equally as capable as men.

“Our top leadership does not empower women for equality purposes, they rather give equal opportunities to women and men because we believe it’s a right not a favor and Rwandan women have proven beyond any doubt that they are capable,” Amb. Kimonyo said.

Rwandan women based in Kenya used this event to showcase their work and shared success stories of how they have been able to thrive on Kenyan market.

One Valerie Uwimana shared a story of how she ventured into tailoring business in 2013 under her company La Fontaine LTD with only one sewing machine and only one employee but has since then gone on to expand her business and currently employs thirty employees.

“I started off with only one sewing machine and one worker but now I employ thirty one full time and twenty to thirty part time workers depending on volume of work. These include eleven Rwandans. I have also been able to increase my sewing machines from one to twenty nine”.

Uwimana says she started with an initial capital of Kshs 500,000 (Rwf4,000,000 ) but now gets an annual turnover of about Rwf5,000,000 Kenya shillings (40,000,000 Rwf). She says she is in the process of registration to expand her business to Rwanda.

Other Rwandan women doing business in Kenya used this event to showcase products mainly arts and crafts, cloths, shoes and carpets.

March 20, 2017
World Bank Group Announces Record $57 Billion for Sub-Saharan Africa

{Following a meeting with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today announced a record $57 billion in financing for Sub-Saharan African countries over the next three fiscal years. Kim then left on a trip to Rwanda and Tanzania to emphasize the Bank Group’s support for the entire region.}

The bulk of the financing – $45 billion – will come from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries.

The financing for Sub-Saharan Africa also will include an estimated $8 billion in private sector investments from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector arm of the Bank Group, and $4 billion in financing from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, its non-concessional public sector arm.

In December, development partners agreed to a record $75 billion for IDA, a dramatic increase based on an innovative move to blend donor contributions to IDA with World Bank Group internal resources, and with funds raised through capital markets.

Sixty percent of the IDA financing is expected to go to Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than half of the countries eligible for IDA financing. This funding is available for the period known as IDA18, which runs from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2020.

“This represents an unprecedented opportunity to change the development trajectory of the countries in the region,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “With this commitment, we will work with our clients to substantially expand programs in education, basic health services, clean water and sanitation, agriculture, business climate, infrastructure, and institutional reform.”

The IDA financing for operations in Africa will be critical to addressing roadblocks that prevent the region from reaching its potential. To support countries’ development priorities, scaled-up investments will focus on tackling conflict, fragility, and violence; building resilience to crises including forced displacement, climate change, and pandemics; and reducing gender inequality. Efforts will also promote governance and institution building, as well as jobs and economic transformation.

“This financing will help African countries continue to grow, create opportunities for their citizens, and build resilience to shocks and crises,” Kim said.

While much of the estimated $45 billion in IDA financing will be dedicated to country-specific programs, significant amounts will be available through special “windows” to finance regional initiatives and transformative projects, support refugees and their host communities, and help countries in the aftermath of crises.

This will be complemented by a newly established Private Sector Window (PSW)—especially important in Africa, where many sound investments go untapped due to lack of capital and perceived risks. The Private Sector Window will supplement existing instruments of IFC and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – the Bank Group’s arm that offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement – to spur sound investments through de-risking, blended finance, and local currency lending.

This World Bank Group financing will support transformational projects during the FY18-20 period. IBRD priorities will include health, education, and infrastructure projects such as expanding water distribution and access to power. The priorities for the private sector investment will include infrastructure, financial markets, and agribusiness. IFC also will deepen its engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states and increase climate-related investments.

Expected IDA outcomes include essential health and nutrition services for up to 400 million people, access to improved water sources for up to 45 million, and 5 GW of additional generation capacity for renewable energy.

The scaled-up IDA financing will build on a portfolio of 448 ongoing projects in Africa totaling about $50 billion. Of this, a $1.6 billion financing package is being developed to tackle the impending threat of famine in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.

March 20, 2017
Banks in East Africa face most risk of cyber attacks

{Information and communications technology experts have asked commercial banks in the East African region to step up their investment in cyber security, to combat the growing threat.}

According to the African Cyber Security Report 2016, banking is the leading risk sector. The report by Serianu, a Tanzania-based non-governmental organisation, notes that African countries lost $2 billion in cyber attacks last year. In East Africa, Kenya lost $171 million to cyber criminals; Tanzania lost $85 million, while Uganda lost $35 million.

A cyber security roundtable at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January also heard that the biggest banks face up to two billion cyber attacks a year. While this number is growing by double digits annually, many medium and large corporations do not devote sufficient resources to cyber risk management.

Michael Niyitegeka, an IT expert and ICDL Africa country manager for Uganda said that the amount lost to cybercrime is likely to rise if players in the sector do not prioritise and invest in cyber security.

“The evolving nature of cyber crime makes it more complicated for banks and businesses in general. An anti-virus bought today may not work tomorrow; you cannot have a watertight system,” said Mr Niyitegeka.

Mr Niyitegeka also noted that the limited number of certified professionals makes the war against cybercrime in the financial sector difficult.

According to the report, at 1,400, Kenya has the highest number of professionals in East Africa, followed by Uganda at 300, while Tanzania has the lowest number at 250. Half of them are not trained or get ad hoc training when an incident occurs.

The cost of investment is also prohibitive in some cases, forcing bank officials worried about their bottom line and shareholder dividend demands to leave cyber security to chance, hoping no attack will take place, experts observe.

According to the report, 96 per cent of African organisations including banks spend less than $5,000 on cyber security annually, an investment that does not match up to the levels of concern registered.

Stanbic Bank chief executive Patrick Mweheire puts the bank’s investment at about $10 million annually though he did not indicate whether this applies to its Uganda operations alone or across the region. He has called for better co-operation in the sector.

The chairperson of the Uganda Bankers Association Fabian Kasi said that members invest 20 per cent of operational costs in cyber security. UBA also hopes to strengthen its members’ response to cyber-crime through a certified computer emergency response team, which is an investment by all the banks because it is an expensive venture.

Mustapha Mugisa, a certified fraud examiner and chief executive of Summit Consulting, suggests that “ethical hackers” be employed to detect the nature and level of threat through a mock cyber attack.

“In the area of cyber security, to catch a thief you must first think like one. So if I’m going to protect you, I want you to give me a challenge and say, Mustapha prove to me that I am actually exposed. We can then work together to fix that problem. This will also help the bank assess its level of responsiveness,” he said.

Mr Mugisa, however, noted that institutions need to look inward too, as the more advanced attacks are usually perpetuated by internal staff.

Source:The East African

March 20, 2017
Clashes in Syria’s Damascus after surprise rebel attack

{Fierce clashes reported in eastern areas of the Syrian capital after rebels attack government positions.}

Heavy clashes rocked eastern districts of the Syrian capital on Sunday after rebel fighters launched a surprise assault on government forces, a monitor and state television said.

Steady shelling and sniper fire could be heard across Damascus on Sunday as rebel factions allied with former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham launched an attack on government positions in the city’s east.

The clashes centered on a government-held gap between two besieged opposition enclaves, the Jobar and Qaboun neighborhoods. The Ahrar al-Sham rebel group said fighters had “liberated” the area.

Tahrir al-Sham – a umbrella group of rebels formed by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham last month – and the independent Failaq al-Rahman group also participated in the attack.

Syrian state media said the military had repelled an attack by one group after “terrorists” infiltrated through tunnels in the middle of the night.

Rebels detonated two large car bombs at 5:20am on Sunday close to the Jobar neighborhood. Tahrir al-Sham claimed responsibility for the attack.

Rebels then advanced into the nearby Abbasiyn Square area, seizing several buildings and firing a barrage of rockets into multiple Damascus neighbourhoods, according to Rami Abdelrahman of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Government forces responded with nearly a dozen air strikes on Jobar, he added.

‘The fight is still on’

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Al Jazaeri, reporting from near Damascus, said that at least 15 civilians had been killed after government forces shelled residential neighborhoods in Eastern Ghouta, but that the fighting had since become less intense.

“This advance is the largest for opposition groups in over a year and a half,” Al Jazaeri said. “Military operations have not stopped in the area but it has calmed down. There remains sniper shooting from both sides and regime forces are shelling Jobar neighborhood, as well as other areas controlled recently by the opposition.”

Control of Jobar – which has been a battleground district for more than two years – is divided between rebels and allied fighters on one side, and government forces on the other. It is one of three pockets in the Syrian capital still in opposition hands.

The recent fighting has resulted in rebel control of industrial areas in Al-Qaboun in addition to parts of Abbasiyn breaking a siege on the area and linking it to Jobar neighborhood, which is connected to Eastern Ghouta, Al Jazaeri said.

Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria at the University of Oklahoma, told Al Jazeera that the offensive had taken the government by surprise and that its response was likely to be very significant.

“I don’t think it’s going to change the trajectory of the war, which has been seeing the regime make important gains and the opposition getting increasingly restricted. But it shows the opposition is far from dead. It shows also that this new combination led by [Tahrir al-Sham] is very potent,” Landis said.

“The regime is going to realise that it cannot allow these two areas to linger there because they are beachheads for this Tahrir a-Sham group to make inroads into the Damascus area,” he said, adding the government would likely withdraw some forces from areas such as Homs and Hama to refocus on Damascus.

“It means that the fight is still on, there are many fronts to this war, and the opposition remains powerful.”

Syrian state TV aired footage from Abbasiyn Square, typically buzzing with activity but now empty except for the sound of shelling.

Residents said artillery shells and rockets were landing in the heart of the city.

The Observatory said rebel shells hit several nearby districts in Damascus, including Bab Touma, Rukn al-Din and the Abbasiyin area.

Several schools announced they would close through Monday, and many civilians cowered inside in fear of stray bullets and shelling.

{{‘From defensive to offensive’}}

According to the Observatory, the Faylaq al-Rahman group and the Fateh al-Sham Front – known as al-Nusra Front before it broke ties with al-Qaeda – were present in Jobar.

“This neighbourhood is the most important front line because it’s the closest rebel position to the heart of the capital,” said Abdel Rahman.

Government forces have long sought to push the rebels out of the district because of its proximity to the city centre in Damascus.

But with Sunday’s attack, Abdel Rahman said, “rebels have shifted from a defensive position in Jobar to an offensive one”.

“These are not intermittent clashes – these are ongoing attempts to advance,” he said.

One rebel commander told the Associated Press news agency they launched the assualt from Jobar as a way to relieve allied fighters in the nearby districts of Barzeh, Tishreen, and Qabun from government attacks.

“This is to relieve the pressure on rebels with the regime not stopping its bombardment and artillery shelling,” said Abu Abdo, a commander from Failaq al Rahman.

The attack on Damascus comes just days before a fresh round of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva aiming to put an end to Syria’s six-year war.

Rebels and government troops agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities in December, but fighting has continued across much of the country, including in the capital.

Rebels said the army had advanced in the last two days after weeks of bombardment and aerial strikes aimed at regaining control of strategic areas inside the capital, a few kms away from President Bashar al Assad’s seat of power.

The army had advanced towards a road between Qaboun and Barza, whose capture severed the links between the two besieged rebel districts where tens of thousands of people live.

“Taking this road would isolate Barza and Qaboun completely and with a security belt around it,” said Abu Abdullah, another fighter with Failaq al Rahman rebel group.

The army and allied militias have been targeting the besieged Eastern Ghouta area, the biggest remaining rebel bastion around the capital, for months, making incremental gains.

It has undertaken a relentless bombing campaign of residential areas to force rebels to surrender and agree to deals that push them out of these areas.

Source:Al Jazeera

March 20, 2017
Thousands rally in Beirut against proposed tax hikes

{The government says the increases are needed to avoid a $4bn budget deficit.}

Thousands rallied in Lebanon’s capital on Sunday against proposed tax hikes that the government has said are needed to avoid a $4bn budget deficit this year.

Protesters chanted “we will not pay” and blamed corrupt politicians as they gathered in central Beirut’s Riad el-Solh square.

Addressing the crowd, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri vowed to fight corruption.

“The road will be long…and we will be by your side and will fight corruption,” Hariri said. Protesters responded by shouting “thief” and hurling empty water bottles at the prime minister.

On Twitter, Hariri later urged the organisers of the protests to form a committee and “raise their demands and discuss them positively.”

Police barricaded the entrance to the government headquarters and parliament building during Sunday’s demonstration, which followed three days of smaller protests in Beirut.

Authorities are seeking to raise taxes to help pay for a deal on public sector pay increases, which is part of a wider effort led by Hariri to approve the country’s first state budget in 12 years.

Lebanon faced years of political deadlock. A new government was formed in December of last year after more than two years without a president.

Lawmakers approved several tax hikes last week, the most prominent being a one percentage point increase on the sales tax.

Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab said there was a lot of anger and frustration among protesters.

“When you consider the fact that many people in Lebanon really don’t have high wages and you consider the fact many have some of the highest rates of personal debt as well, any kind of increase is going to be felt in the pocket book,” he said.

In the coming weeks, parliament will vote on a number of other increases, all of which must be signed off by the president before taking effect.

In recent days, various civil society groups and some leading political parties have called for people to take to the streets in protest.

The Christian Kataeb party and the Progressive Socialist Party, led by Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, have staunchly opposed the new taxes. The Iranian-backed Shia Hezbollah movement has also voiced reservations about the increases.

Sunni leader Hariri became premier in October in a power-sharing deal that saw Michel Aoun, a staunch Hezbollah ally, elected president. Hariri, whose Saudi-backed coalition opposed Hezbollah for years, formed a unity cabinet that includes nearly all of Lebanon’s main parties.

Aoun’s election ended a 29-month presidential vacuum in a country that had been crippled by political gridlock for years.

“We had hopes for this new government, but unfortunately … these politicians are still exploiting resources for their profit,” said protester Mahmoud Fakih. “This is to refuse the taxes that are being imposed on poor people.”

Signs and slogans accused parliament of theft and people chanted for lawmakers to step down. “Take your hands out of my pockets,” one placard read.

Lebanon’s parliament has extended its own mandate twice since 2013, a move that critics including the European Union have condemned as unconstitutional. Current lawmakers were elected in 2009 for what was meant to be four-year terms.

Anger at Lebanon’s government has fueled repeated protests in central Beirut over the last two years, particularly in the summer of 2015, when politicians failed to agree a solution to a trash disposal crisis.

Piles of garbage festered in the streets, prompting massive protests that were unprecedented for having been mobilised independently of the big sectarian parties that dominate Lebanese politics.

Source:Al Jazeera

March 20, 2017