IGIHE

Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

  • Western Province: RPC calls for Community policing ownership

    {The Regional Police Commander for the Western Province, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Emmanuel Karasi has called upon residents of Rubavu District to enhance their partnership in crime prevention and ensuring safety.}

    He made the call on April 27, in a community meeting held in Gisenyi Sector and also attended by the Mayor of Rubavu, Jeremie Sinamenye along with representatives of other security organs, and local leaders.

    ACP Karasi told hundreds of residents that crime detection and prevention is not only the responsibility of uniformed officers but also a duty of every Rwandan.

    He outlined drug trafficking, smuggling, theft as some of the common crimes in the district they should give emphasis to fight in collaboration with police and local leaders.

    “Narcotic drugs come in through porous borders that some of you may know; we urge you to always inform security organs about those porous entries so that we can collectively keep our country safe. The ill-effects of these illicit drugs are not limited to a certain group of people; everyone can be affected and that’s why we have to fight them with all efforts combined,” said the RPC.

    He went on to note that majority of the criminals are arrested due to timely information provided by residents.

    Talking about smuggling, the RPC said: “smuggling severely harms the economy of a country in multidimensional ways. It undermines the local industry, discourages legal imports and reduces the volume of revenues collected from duties and levies. This in return frustrates development of a nation since there is little money to invest in areas like infrastructures.”

    During the same meeting, the Mayor appealed to residents to forge a close partnership with security organs, precisely the police echoing the impact of partnership in security and development.

    Source:Police

  • MMI staff comfort widows of Genocide against the Tutsi in Ruhango

    {Military Medical Insurance (MMI) staff led by the Director General, Col J P Bitega, on 27 April 2017 paid visit to widows of the1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in Kinazi Sector, Ruhango District.}

    The widows are all members of Humura Mubyeyi Cooperative that is engaged in small scale farming projects, to help the survivors access decent lives, and keep in solidarity while struggling against the pains resulting from the Genocide.

    To comfort and support the Kinazi widows, MMI employees donated 4 cows to them, in addition to an equal number of cows the institution offered 4 years ago.

    The widows appreciated very much the MMI visit and cows donation.

    “We do consider this as a symbol of love and solidarity by our military and the Government in general. We cannot thank enough the RPA soldiers now RDF, our children who saved us from the hands of the killers, and continue to support our lives. These cows contribute to transform our lives as we get milk”, Nyirasamaza Georgette said.

    The widows in general expressed recognition to Rwanda Defence Force and said they feel strengthened and full of hope for the future.

    The MMI Director General, Col J Paul Bitega comforted the widows saying that the RDF in general stays in solidarity with them in this particular period when we remember the Genocide against the Tutsi. He urged the survivors to scale up their efforts in combatting poverty. “Poverty remains the first enemy threatening our lives and we are here as RDF in general inspired by our top leadership to support you, our people to live decent lives”, Col Bitega said. The MMI DG further promised continued support to the Kinazi widows, members of Humura Mubyeyi Cooperative, and the Genocide survivors in general.

    Source:Minadef

  • Strong parent connections enhance children’s ability to develop healthy response to stress

    {Report, strong at the broken places, lifts up positive protective factors that help low-income families flourish despite adversity}

    Children in low-income families have an increased chance of thriving when their caregiver relationships include certain positive characteristics, according to new research from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Using data from more than 2,200 low-income families surveyed as part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, NCCP researchers found that school-age children who reported high levels of parent involvement and supervision were more likely to report behaviors associated with positive emotional development and social growth.

    According to Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low-Income Parents, an estimated 14 million families with at least one child earned below 200 percent of the poverty threshold in 2015 — a total of 65 percent of low-income families. Research has found that living in poverty can produce environmental stressors that lead to negative behaviors in children, such as inattention, impulsivity, aggression, withdrawal, depression, anxiety, or fearfulness. Furthermore, children living in poor families are significantly more likely to have trouble developing social-emotional competence — the ability to manage emotions, express needs and feelings, deal with conflict, and get along with others.

    “Too often, when poor families are discussed, the focus is on deficits,” said Renée Wilson-Simmons, DrPH, NCCP director and a co-author of the report. “And chief among those deficits is what’s seen as parents’ inability to successfully parent their children.” Dr. Wilson-Simmons challenged the deficits focus, adding that despite the multitude of obstacles that low-income parents face, many of them succeed in helping their children flourish. “They raise children who possess the social-emotional competence needed to develop and keep friendships; establish good relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults; and experience a range of achievements that contribute to their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. These families have something to teach us all about thriving amidst adversity.”

    Available online at http://www.nccp.org, Strong at the Broken Places presents findings from the survey responses of 2,210 nine-year-olds who lived in low-income families for three to five years. The report also cites additional research involving low-income families from diverse backgrounds and geographic areas showing certain common attributes among parents who are able to function well when faced with challenges. Those effective protective factors range from exhibiting a positive outlook, establishing family routines, and spending sufficient family time together to having good financial management skills, an adequate support network, and the willingness to seek help.

    The major finding presented in the report is that low-income parents who provide their children with warmth and nurturance as well as rules and consequences are helping them develop both socially and emotionally in ways that will serve them well as they move from childhood to adolescence to young adulthood:

    Low-income parents who know which friends their children hang out with were twice as likely as parents rated as low in parental supervision to have children who do not to engage in problem behaviors.
    Those who attend events important to their children were twice as likely to have children who do not engage in negative behaviors as those who rarely attend important events.
    Caregivers who treat their children fairly were twice as likely to have children who did not engage in negative behaviors as those whose children felt that they are treated unfairly “often” or “always.”
    Overall, most of the nine-year-olds surveyed rated their caregiver high on all of the factors NCCP researchers used to measure resiliency in low-income families:

    68 percent reported that their primary caregiver (most often their mother) had knowledge of what they did during their free time and the friends with whom they spent time
    74 percent said their mother “always” or “often” spent enough time with them, and 76 percent said they talked about things that matter “extremely well” or “quite well”
    92 percent rated their relationship with their mother as “extremely close” or “quite close”
    “The good news is that parents who struggle financially are still finding ways to have the kinds of interactions with their children that help them to develop socially and emotionally, despite the many external stressors competing for their attention,” said co-author Yang Jiang, PhD, who led data analysis. “Since we know that children do better when their families do better, it’s important that advocates and policymakers bolster families’ efforts by supporting policies and programs that help parents develop strong connections with their children.”

    To promote family resiliency, NCCP researchers also recommended two-generation approaches that enhance the well-being and life opportunities of both parents and their children. The following policy strategies, outlined in Strong at the Broken Places, help stabilize low-income households so that parents are better able to engage with their children:

    Increase parents’ access to health and mental health care, including depression screening and treatment

    Invest in training for providers of evidence-based parenting and parent-child programs and expansion of these programs

    Strengthen safety net policies (e.g., unemployment insurance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, housing assistance) to reduce extreme adverse circumstances that can overwhelm families and reduce their chances of escaping poverty and ensuring their children’s success

    Expand two-generation programs that connect low-income families with early childhood education, job training, and other resources, helping them break the cycle of poverty

    Source:Science Daily

  • New appetite control mechanism found in brain

    {Study explains why food looks even better when dieting}

    Over recent decades, our understanding of hunger has greatly increased, but this new discovery turns things on their head. Up until now, scientists knew that leptin — a hormone released by fatty tissue, reduces appetite, while ghrelin — a hormone released by stomach tissue makes us want to eat more. These hormones, in turn, activate a host of neurons in the brain’s hypothalamus — the body’s energy control center.

    The discovery of NPGL by Professor Kazuyoshi Ukena of Hiroshima University shows that hunger and energy consumption mechanisms are even more complex than we realized — and that NPGL plays a central role in what were thought to be well-understood processes.

    Professor Ukena first discovered NPGL in chickens after noticing that growing birds grew larger irrespective of diet — suggesting there was more to energy metabolism than meets the eye. Intrigued, the researchers at HU performed a DNA database search to see if mammals might also possess this elusive substance. They found that it exists in all vertebrates — including humans.

    In order to investigate its role, if any, in mammals, Professor Ukena’s team fed three groups of mice, on three distinct diets, to see how NPGL levels are altered. The first set of mice was fed on a low-calorie diet for 24 hours. The second group was fed on a high-fat diet for 5 weeks — and the third lucky group was fed on a high-fat diet, but for an extended period of 13 weeks.

    The mice fed on a low calorie diet were found to experience an extreme increase in NPGL expression, while the 5-week high-fat-diet group saw a large decrease in NPGL expression.

    Further analysis found that mice possess NPGL, and its associated neuron network, in the exact same locations of the brain as those regions already known to control appetite suppression and energy use.

    Professor Ukena proposes that NPGL plays a vital role in these mechanisms — increasing appetite when energy levels fall and reducing appetite when an energy overload is detected — together, helping to keep us at a healthy and functioning weight, and more importantly alive!

    As NPGL levels greatly increased in mice exposed to a low calorie diet, Professor Ukena believes it is an appetite promoter, working in opposition to appetite suppressing hormones such as leptin. Backing this hypothesis up, it was found that mice directly injected with NPGL exhibited a voracious appetite.

    Interestingly NPGL levels, which plummeted in the 5-week-long high-fat-diet mice — fell back to normal levels in mice who gorged themselves for the longer period of 13 weeks.

    It is proposed that exposure to high-fat diets for long periods of time lead to insensitivity to leptin’s appetite-suppressing effects, and so NPGL — even at normal levels — leads to weight gain and obesity, showing that the body can only do so much to keep our weight in check.

    Professor Ukena says that further study is required to understand the interaction of previously known appetite mechanisms with this new kid on the homeostasis block. It does seem however, that we still have a lot to learn about appetite, hunger, and energy consumption. It is hoped that this study into mammalian NPGL adds another piece to the puzzle.

    What is certain — but you knew this already — is that dieting is difficult. The discovery and study of mammalian NPGL helps explain why, and provides a plausible excuse for those whose good intentions fall short.

    Source:Science Daily

  • Ethiopian PM hails Rwanda’s hillside agriculture transformation

    Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has commended Rwanda for improving farmer’s livelihood through transformation of hillside agriculture using sustainable terracing practices.}

    The Ethiopian leader who arrived in Rwanda on Thursday for a three-day state visit toured Kageyo sector, Gicumbi District, Northern Province to witness agriculture transformation and excellence in practice.

    Desalegn who was accompanied by the Rwanda minister of natural resources including other senior government officials was given a presentation by the ministry of agriculture officials about hillside agriculture transformation in Gicumbi district Friday.

    Farmers in the area have managed to practice sustainable agriculture activities and land management technologies, hillside irrigation, post harvest handing, marketing and rural finance which boosted agricultural productivity and incomes.

    “This is quite impressive and educative. These are impressing agriculture practices which can help in turning marginal lands into productive agriculture fields,” said Desalegn during the tour.

    Land husbandry terracing works have enabled farmers to sustain cultivation and productivity on steep-slopes which has significantly reduced soil erosion whereby marginal and unproductive lands have been put back to productive use.

    The practice was introduced in the country in 2010 to increase productivity and commercialization of hillside agriculture in some of the poorest areas in Rwanda.

    Close to 100,000 hectares of land across hilly areas of Rwanda have been terraced which has given a boost to farmer’s agricultural productivity and improved incomes.

    Speaking to reporters, Geraldine Mukeshimana, Rwanda minister of agriculture and animal resources said that hillside agriculture transformation has enabled small holder farmers in poverty stricken areas across Rwanda to increase crop production, improve livelihoods and incomes.

    “The agriculture practices form part of our investment in the development of smallholder farmers so that they can move from traditional subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture,” She added.

    Agriculture in Rwanda accounts for a third of the country’s GDP, employing about 80 percent of the total population. It contributes 33 percent of Rwanda’s domestic goods and exports.

    The country’s second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy define a large number of programs in the agriculture sector including the intensification of sustainable production systems in crop cultivation and animal husbandry.

    Ethiopian PM visiting Gocumbi yesterday

    Source:Xinhua

  • Ladies only:Possible reasons why you are single

    {While there are a lot of women who are single because they simply do not feel they have to date, there are a lot of single women who are single because of their own doing. Sometimes the things we do are the very things that stop us from achieving happiness. If you’re a single woman, and you want to date, but you CAN’T for reasons you CAN’T explain, then you must read on because you can learn a thing or two to help you change your situation.}

    These are some possible reasons why you are still single

    {{Poor attitude/manners }}

    The image you project to the world is what everyone sees, and judges you by. If you’re not accommodating and you don’t seem receptacle to people, men will run away from you, and that’s because nobody wants to be made a fool of. It’s the truth. There’s also the issue of the way you carry and conduct yourself around people. Men aren’t attracted to women who do not carry themselves with some dignity and respect. Men will avoid a woman who doesn’t treat others with respect; believe it or not, it’s the way it is.

    {{You haven’t proven you can offer more than just sex }}

    If all you have to offer a man is just sex, then that may be all you’re ever good enough for. Men want a woman who going to feels like going home; a woman who can understand, a woman who listens and a woman who can shows support even without the man asking. Beauty and sex isn’t enough to land you a man, you got to understand this.

    {{You think dating is a means of livelihood }}

    There are women out there who really live off men, literally. They go into a relationship with a man with the thought that he’ll provide every single thing they need. And this mentality is ridiculous. Your man isn’t your bank. No man wants to be burdened by another being, no matter how much they care about the person, they’ll eventually get tired of the requests, and when they do, they’ll take a walk.

    {{You don’t care for yourself }}

    Outward beauty isn’t everything in a relationship, but it does matter to an extent. You want to be attractive to men, but you can’t attract anyone with yourself looking unkempt. You can’t attract a man with smelly hair or dirty looking nails. Self care and love are important because they sell you to people out there.

    {{You blame men for everything }}

    It’s possible you have remained single because you have refused to hold yourself responsible for your actions. Some women wrongly feel all their problems stem from the men and that somehow, all would be well the moment men start to tow the imaginary line they’ve drawn. To women with this mentality, they always feel they’d behave well if the man behaves well. And while I agree that a lot of men need to step up, too often it is a case of ladies feeling more entitled than she should normally feel. You need to step up before you expect the same from a man. Take care of your flaws, and watch the right brother locate you.

    Are you still single? These are possible reasons why.

    Source:Elcrema

  • Justice Minister blames burning of street children

    {The Minister of Justice Busingye Johnston has condemned the act of killing street children saying that such acts of mob justice cannot be tolerated.}

    “Initial investigations indicate that this may have been a deliberate act to kill these youth. This is unacceptable. Police have credible information on the suspects who are on the run, and they are hunting for them. The suspects will be apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law for this hideous crime,” Busingye said in a statement.

    The reaction follows the incident that took place yesterday where unknown people burnt two street children to death as they hid in a water trench in front of CHIC building in Kigali city. One was left with severe burns, IGIHE has learnt.

    One of the female street children has told IGIHE that unknown people chased after them in the night when she hid herself behind a car parking near former headquarters of Business Development Fund (BDF) while her peers hid in a water trench.

    The latter has told IGIHE that her mates were burnt with petrol.

    Talking to IGIHE, the police spokesperson in Kigali city, SP Hitayezu Emmanuel has also confirmed the unfortunate incident.

    Besides, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion , UmutoniGatsinzi Nadine and police spokesperson ACP Theo Badege have visited the surviving victim at hospital.

  • Arkansas executes fourth inmate in eight days

    {Kenneth William’s death wraps up an aggressive execution schedule set to beat expiry of drug used in lethal injection.}

    Arkansas has wrapped up an aggressive execution schedule, putting to death its fourth inmate in eight days, hours after a last minute motion to halt his execution failed before the US Supreme Court.

    Kenneth Williams, 38, received a lethal injection on Thursday night at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner for the killing of a former deputy warden in 1999.

    He was pronounced dead at 11:05pm, 13 minutes after the execution began.

    Arkansas had initially held off on executing Williams, who was scheduled to die at 7pm local time, as officials awaited word from the Supreme Court. His death warrant was set to expire at midnight.

    A few minutes after 10pm, the court ruled to deny the petitions, without elaborating on its decisions.

    An Associated Press reporter who witnessed Thursday’s execution said Williams lurched and convulsed 20 times during the lethal injection. A prison spokesman said he shook for approximately 10 seconds, about three minutes into the procedure.

    “I extend my sincerest of apologies to the families I have senselessly wronged and deprived of their loved ones,” Williams said in a final statement he read from the death chamber. “… I was more than wrong. The crimes I perpetrated against you all was senseless, extremely hurtful and inexcusable.”

    Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before one of its lethal injection drugs expires at the end of April – the nation’s fastest pace since the Supreme Court reauthorised the death penalty in 1976. Courts issued stays for four of the inmates.

    Among the four lethal injections was Monday’s first double execution in the United States since 2000.

    State officials have declared the string of executions a success, using terms like “closure” for the victims’ families.

    The inmates have died within 20 minutes of their executions’ beginning, a contrast from midazolam-related executions in other states that took anywhere from 43 minutes to two hours. The inmates’ lawyers have said there are still flaws and that there is no certainty that the inmates aren’t suffering while they die.

    “The long path of justice ended tonight and Arkansans can reflect on the last two weeks with confidence that our system of laws in this state has worked,” Governor Asa Hutchinson said in a statement issued after the execution. “Carrying out the penalty of the jury in the Kenneth Williams case was necessary. There has never been a question of guilt.”

    Arkansas scheduled the executions for the final two weeks of April because its supply of midazolam, normally a surgical sedative, expires on Sunday.

    The Arkansas Department of Correction has said it has no new source for the drug – though it has made similar remarks previously yet still found a new stash.

    Court filings by Williams on Thursday afternoon followed two threads: that Arkansas executions this week were so flawed that there is little doubt Williams will suffer as he dies, and that he has an intellectual disability that would make him ineligible for execution.

    He was sentenced to death for killing former deputy warden Cecil Boren after escaping from the Cummins Unit prison in a 1,800-litre barrel of hog slop in 1999. He left the prison less than three weeks into a life term for killing University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff cheerleader Dominique Hurd in 1998.

    At the conclusion of that trial, he had taunted the young woman’s family by turning to them after the sentence was announced and saying “You thought I was going to die, didn’t you?”

    After jumping from the barrel of kitchen scraps, he sneaked along a tree line until he reached Boren’s house. He killed Boren, stole guns and Boren’s truck, then drove to Missouri.

    There, he crashed into a water-delivery truck, killing the driver, Michael Greenwood. While in prison, he confessed to killing another person in 1998.

    Source:Al Jazeera

  • Seoul rejects Trump demand it pays for missile system

    {$1bn THAAD defence system in South Korea guarding against threats from North Korea will be operational ‘within days’.}

    South Korea’s government has brushed aside US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that it should pay for a $1bn missile defence system the two allies are installing in South Korea to guard against threats from North Korea.

    The first components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system have already been delivered and set up at a former golf course in South Korea – infuriating China – at a time of heightened tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes.

    Top US officials have said THAAD will be operational “within days”.

    “I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. It’s a billion-dollar system,” Trump said in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

    “It’s phenomenal. It’s the most incredible equipment you’ve ever seen – shoots missiles right out of the sky,” said Trump. “And it protects them and I want to protect them. We’re going to protect them. But they should pay for that, and they understand that.”

    The two countries have been in a security alliance since the 1950-53 Korean war, and more than 28,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea.

    Seoul retorted that under the Status of Forces Agreement that governs the US military presence in the country, South Korea would provide the THAAD site and infrastructure while the US would pay to deploy and operate it.

    “There is no change to this basic position,” South Korea’s defence ministry said in a statement.

    The row comes with tensions high on the Korean peninsula following a series of missile launches by North Korea and warnings from the Trump administration that military action was an “option on the table”.

    But earlier this week it said it would seek stronger sanctions against Pyongyang and held open the possibility of negotiations, with US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris saying it wanted to bring leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”.

    The White House also wants China to do more to rein in North Korea, but Beijing has been infuriated by the THAAD deployment which, it fears, weakens its own ballistic capabilities and upsets the regional security balance.

    Social media commentators were derisive. “So he wants to start a war with North Korea and he wants South Korea to pay for it,” wrote one Twitter poster.

    Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from Seoul, said that the THAAD system was controversial from the start but that Trump’s comments have “come out of the blue”.

    “This is US equipment, it is being run by United States personnel, it is on South Korean land that has effectively been given to the United States,” said Hay. “So it is difficult to see how Donald Trump can get this one through.”

    Hay said there had also been a negative response to Trump stating that he wants to renogiate or terminate a five-year-old free trade pact with South Korea because of the deep trade deficit with Seoul.

    South Korean car manufacturers expressed concern about Trump’s comments.

    “Generally, the free trade agreement has worked well – trade has increased between the two countries when we’ve seen trade decreasing generally around the world,” said Hay.

    The THAAD missile defence system was deployed in a golf course in Seongju

    Source:Al Jazeera

  • #SaltWaterChallenge: Palestinian solidarity goes viral

    {Palestinians take on ‘Salt Water Challenge’ to draw attention to plight of more than 1,500 prisoners on hunger strike.}

    A social media campaign highlighting the plight of more than 1,500 hunger striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has gone viral, with people from across the world posting videos of themselves on social media drinking salt water in solidarity.

    Similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014, the Salt Water Challenge sees supporters of the hunger striking prisoners drink a mixture of salt and water. The participants then challenge others to do the same.

    Since April 17 , Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, many prisoners in Israeli jails have been on an indefinite hunger strike protesting prolonged imprisonment without charge, medical negligence, administrative detention and limited family visits among other charges.

    The prisoners have refused to eat food until their demands are met and they are only consuming salt water as a means to steady their health.

    The salt water campaign was launched with a video by Aarab Marwan Barghouti, the son of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences over his role in the second Intifada against the Israeli occupation.

    Barghouti has spent nearly two decades of his life in Israeli jails, and spent almost three years in solitary confinement. According to a 2013 interview, his tiny windowless cell denied him aeration or direct sunlight and was infested with cockroaches and rats.

    “My father, along with 1,700 other political prisoners started the Hunger Strike for Freedom and Dignity in demand for human rights and humane living conditions in the prisons,” Aarab Marwan Barghouti said in the video.

    The clip then ends with Barghouti nominating ‘Arab Idol’ winner Mohammed Assaf and others to take part in the challenge.

    Assaf helped the campaign go viral (Arabic) which has now seen thousands of people take part in the challenge, including the the 2017 winner of Arab Idol, Yacoub Shaheen.

    According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, since the start of Israel’s occupation 50 years ago, more than 750,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned by Israeli forces.

    About 6,500 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, 300 are children.

    Palestinian leaders have denounced Israel’s refusal to negotiate with the hunger strikers, warning of a “new Intifada” if any of them die.

    Demonstrations have been held in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to support the prisoners, with Israeli forces firing tear-gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at protesters.

    Source:Al Jazeera