IGIHE

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  • ‘Super’ Banana to Face First Human Trial

    ‘Super’ Banana to Face First Human Trial

    {{Rwandan farmers are expected to benefit from a newly improved super banana variety that has been developed by Australian scientists.}}

    The New super banana variety is expected to be available in Africa including Rwanda by 2020.

    According to the Australian reseachers, a super-enriched banana genetically engineered to improve the lives of millions of people in Africa will soon have its first human trial, which will test its effect on vitamin A levels, Australian researchers said Monday.

    The project plans to have the special banana varieties — enriched with alpha and beta carotene which the body converts to vitamin A.

    The bananas are now being sent to the United States, and it is expected that the six-week trial measuring how well they lift vitamin A levels in humans will begin soon.

    “Good science can make a massive difference here by enriching staple crops such as Ugandan bananas with pro-vitamin A and providing poor and subsistence-farming populations with nutritionally rewarding food,” said project leader Professor James Dale.

    The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) project, backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes to see conclusive results by year end.

    “We know our science will work,” Professor Dale said.

    “We made all the constructs, the genes that went into bananas, and put them into bananas here at QUT.”

    Dale said the Highland or East African cooking banana was a staple food in East Africa, but had low levels of micro-nutrients, particularly pro-vitamin A and iron.

    “The consequences of vitamin A deficiency are dire with 650,000-700,000 children world-wide dying … each year and at least another 300,000 going blind,” he said.

    Researchers decided that enriching the staple food was the best way to help ease the problem.

    While the modified banana looks the same on the outside, inside the flesh is more orange than a cream colour, but Dale said he did not expect this to be a problem.

    He said once the genetically modified bananas were approved for commercial cultivation in Uganda, the same technology could potentially be expanded to crops in other countries — including Rwanda, parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania.

    “In West Africa farmers grow plantain bananas and the same technology could easily be transferred to that variety as well,” he said.

    AFP

  • S. Sudan VP Says Opposition Be Excluded From Interim Govt

    S. Sudan VP Says Opposition Be Excluded From Interim Govt

    {{South Sudanese vice-president, James Wani Igga said members of the SPLM-In-Opposition should not be allocated seats in the proposed interim government.}}

    “We cannot make a mistake neither to accept the rebels demand for president [Salva]Kiir to step down. This is very wrong and can never and ever happen in this world”, Igga told thousands of South Sudanese at International University of East Africa (IUEA) in Kampala on Saturday.

    He described as “unwise” any decision by government to share power with rebels, further arguing that it could spur more rebellions among the maginalised in the country.

    The vice-president reiterated his government’s commitment to the ongoing talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa mediated by regional leaders from the East African regional bloc (IGAD).

    “As a government, we are committed for peaceful settlement to South Sudan conflicts. If the other side are faithful to the negotiation, why not us taking bold decision to use it, or buying the same way to reconcile our people?” he asked.

    {{South Sudan’s vice-president, James Wani Igga, speaks at a press conference in the capital, Juba}}

    sudantribune

  • Sudan Justice Minister Orders Release of Opposition Leader

    Sudan Justice Minister Orders Release of Opposition Leader

    {{Sudanese authorities on Sunday released the National Umma Party (NUP) leader al-Sadiq al-Mahdi after being in detention for almost a month, state media reported.}}

    The move was done after al-Mahdi’s lawyers appealed to the justice minister Mohamed Bushara Dousa agreed to use his powers under article (58) of Sudan’s penal code to stop criminal proceedings against any suspect at any point before being sentenced by a court.

    The minister also consulted with the plaintiff, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), which approved of his decision in line with public interests being superior to private interests.

    According to media report, Dousa also cited the spirit of national reconciliation in the country for releasing the former Prime Minister.

    State media carried a statement by NUP Central Commission stating that they support the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and that what al-Mahdi mentioned regarding RSF is derived from complaints and claims “that are not necessarily all true”.

    There was no mention in the state media of a pardon by president Omer Hassan al-Bashir as was reported earlier following a mediation led by a committee of national personalities.

    Sudan’s state minister of information Yasser Youssef told Reuters that the release of al-Mahdi occurred within a “legal framework” but did not give further details.

    Al-Mahdi was arrested on May 17th for criticizing alleged crimes and atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia. He was accused of undermining the constitution among other charges that could have led to the death penalty if convicted.

    Kamal Idriss, a member of the national personalities committee was quoted at a press conference on Sunday as saying that al-Mahdi will turn the plight of the prison into a point of convergence to achieve national agreement and social peace.

    He said al-Mahdi met with the mediation committee which included figures from various political parties and entities including the veteran Islamist , Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, father Falt?’us Faraj, the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) leading figure, Taha Ali al-Bashir, former prime minister, al-Gizouli Dafa’alla, and former chief justice, Dafa’alla Al-Hag Youssef.

    According to Idriss, the committee members felt that the country was facing a real danger following arrest of al-Mahdi and therefore decided to intervene to salvage the national dialogue, stressing that the latter’s detention represented a significant impediment in the face of national agreement.

    {{Opposition leader of Umma Party and Sudan’s former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi receives a hug from a supporter at his home in Omdurman after he was released, June 15, 2014 }}
    SUNA

  • Morocco to Become ‘Big Solar Power Developer’ in North Africa

    Morocco to Become ‘Big Solar Power Developer’ in North Africa

    {{A KPMG report has claimed that Morocco is showing great promise as a renewable energy developer in North Africa}}

    The government of Morocco has decided to decrease its dependency on fossil fuels and focus on increasing its production of renewable energy, stated the report.

    Production of concentrated solar power (CSP) is in particular a popular option and Morocco is receiving financial aid from the World Bank for these endeavours.

    In a statement made in January 2014, the World Bank said, “In a region that has recently come to be associated with social upheaval and anemic growth, Morocco often stands out as an exception.

    Over the last decade the country has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty and sustaining economic growth.

    Policies focussed on steady public finance consolidation and manageable budget deficits opened up the fiscal space for sustained investment and social expenditures.

    “Following the 2011 demonstrations, a new constitution was ushered in, accompanied by the launch of a number of reform programmes aimed at responding to popular demands for more voice and accountability.”

    In its mission to promote awareness of green energy, Morocco is hosting a solar boat in the Marchica lagoon.

    PlanetSolar is a boat that has travelled the world using solar energy and the initiative aims to show that one can rely on solar power alone, and thereby reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

    PlanetSolar is currently in Atalayoun, in the Marchica lagoon of Morocco – showing the Moroccan authorities’ desire to promote the use of renewable energies within the framework of a comprehensive development plan for the Marchica lagoon, stated reports.

    The German Aerospace Centre, in a report in 2005, stated that if just 0.3 per cent of North Africa were to be fully supplied with solar power-generating facilities, there would be sufficient energy to power the needs of the European Union countries.

    Morocco alone receives 3,000 hours of sunlight every year, ie, at least eight hours of sunlight everyday. Its proximity to the Sahara desert makes the country a viable candidate for harnessing solar power.

    One of the major CSP projects coming up in Morocco is the Ouarzazate project in south Morocco, comprising five solar plants. The contract for the first phase of 160MW has already been awarded to Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power.

    This project is expected to cover 18 per cent of Morocco’s power needs upon completion in 2019, KPMG said.

    However, compared to the recommened but costly CSP model, the photovoltaic (PV) model works better for Morocco, according to the KPMG report. PV solar panels can be installed easily on rooftops, even in underdeveloped areas.

    {africanreview}

  • Ghana Hosts Water and Construction Show

    Ghana Hosts Water and Construction Show

    {{Ghanaian minister of water resources, works and housing, will open the Water Africa and West Africa Building & Construction 2014 exhibition in Accra, Ghana}}

    ACE Event Management will be staging the exhibition and seminar programme at the Accra International Conference Centre from 2-4 July 2014.

    More than 80 exhibitors from around the world will be displaying their products and services to the West Africa market and to Ghanaians in particular.

    Underlining the prestigious nature of the event, Dauda will be the official guest of honour and will open the event.

    The opening will also see the start of two days of seminars devoted to the most important topics of the day facing providers of infrastructure for the water and sanitation sector and organisations in the building and construction industry.

    Places will be available for practitioners in the water and wastewater and building and construction sectors to take part in the seminar programmes, which will be run in co-ordination with the Ministry of Water Resources, Works & Housing.

    africanreview

  • Islamists Massacre 48 in Kenya Attack

    Islamists Massacre 48 in Kenya Attack

    {{At least 48 people have died after al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked hotels and a police station in a Kenyan coastal town, officials say.}}

    Witnesses in Mpeketoni said gun battles lasted several hours, while several buildings were set on fire.

    The town is on the mainland near Lamu island, a well-known tourist resort.

    Somalia’s al-Shabab group said the attack was carried out to avenge the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia and the killing of Muslims.

    Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 to help the weak UN-backed government defeat the militants.

    The local media reports gunmen shot dead anyone who was unable to recite verses from the Koran.

    This is the most deadly attack in Kenya since last September, when at least 67 people were killed during a siege by al-Shabab fighters at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre.

    Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku described the attackers as bandits, and said they had crossed a “red line”.

    Police fought fierce battles with the gunmen, who fled into a nearby forest, Mr Ole Lenku said.

  • F1 Champion Michael Schumacher ‘Out Of Coma’

    F1 Champion Michael Schumacher ‘Out Of Coma’

    {{F1 champion Michael Schumacher has left hospital in Grenoble and is no longer in a coma, his family says.}}

    The 45-year-old has been transferred to Lausanne university hospital in Switzerland, officials there say.

    Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.

    His family thanked people who had sent messages of support, saying: “We are sure it helped him.”

    They also praised the “excellent job” of medical staff at the hospital in Grenoble, in south-east France.

    Doctors had kept the seven-time champion in a coma to help reduce swelling in his brain.

    “Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore,” Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, said in a statement on behalf of his family on Monday.

    “For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye,” she said, without giving further details.

    Relatives have previously warned that “it was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael”.

    The BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the university hospital in Lausanne is one of Switzerland’s most renowned hospitals, with all the expertise a patient would need.

    But it is not clear what Schumacher’s condition is and his process of recovery is still expected to be a long one, our correspondent adds.

    Monday’s statement was the first substantial update since early April when Ms Kehm said the German racing driver was showing “moments of consciousness and awakening.”

    {agencies}

  • Afghan Police Kills Finger Cutters

    Afghan Police Kills Finger Cutters

    {{Afghan security forces say they have killed two Taliban insurgents accused of cutting off the ink-stained fingers of a group of elders who voted in Saturday’s presidential election.}}

    The elderly men were seized after voting in western Herat province, and then mutilated.

    All voters must dip a finger into ink to register their ballot.

    Although the Taliban vowed to disrupt the run-off poll, they say they had nothing to do with the incident.

    Insurgent commander Mullah Shir Agha and one of his officers were killed after a combined police and military operation on Sunday, police said.

    Another insurgent believed to have been involved in the recent violence was injured and is in police custody, they said.

    The UN’s special representative in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, had condemned the attack on the elderly men saying: “By their vote, they already defeated those who promote terror and violence.”

    {{The elderly men are recovering after their hands were mutilated}}

    BBC

  • Russia Cuts Gas Supply to Ukraine

    Russia Cuts Gas Supply to Ukraine

    Ukraine says Russia has cut off all gas supplies to Kiev, in a major escalation of a dispute between the two nations.

    “Gas supplies to Ukraine have been reduced to zero,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said.

    Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom said Ukraine had to pay upfront for its gas supplies, after Kiev failed to settle its huge debt.

    Gazprom had sought from Kiev $1.95bn (£1.15bn) – out of $4.5bn it says it is owed – by 06:00 GMT.

    The company said it would continue to supply gas to Europe, although Gazprom chief Alexei Miller warned there now were “significant” risks for gas transit to the EU via Ukraine.

    Russia-Ukraine ties remain tense since Moscow annexed Crimea in February.

    Kiev says Moscow backs separatists in the east of the country. Russia denies the charge.

    BBC

  • Colombia’s Rebels Told It’s Time For Peace

    Colombia’s Rebels Told It’s Time For Peace

    {{President Juan Manuel Santos vowed to bring peace to Colombia after winning re-election on Sunday, telling Marxist rebels his victory shows that voters demand an end to five decades of war.}}

    Santos, a centre-rightist who has staked his reputation on securing a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), won almost 51 percent support in the runoff election on Sunday. His right-wing rival Oscar Ivan Zuluaga trailed with 45 percent.

    The election divided Colombia between voters who support a deal to end Latin America’s longest-running insurgency and Zuluaga’s backers who want to force the rebels into a battlefield surrender.

    “This is the end of more than 50 years of violence and the start of a new Colombia,” Santos said after his election victory, holding up a hand daubed with the word “peace” and wearing a trademark pin of a white dove on his lapel. “A Colombia at peace with itself.”

    Santos opened talks with the FARC in late 2012. The conflict has killed over 200,000 people and forced millions more from their homes.

    Last week, Santos also revealed preliminary talks with a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and he said on Sunday the Colombian people were now insisting on peace.

    “The demand is not just for the government. Today’s message is for the FARC and the ELN and it’s a clear message – this is the end,” the centre-right president said surrounded by family.

    He will start his second four-year term on Aug. 7.

    reuters