IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Belgium is Largest Buyer of Zimbabwe Tobacco

    Belgium is Largest Buyer of Zimbabwe Tobacco

    {{Belgium is the biggest buyer of Zimbabwean tobacco so far this year with 3,4 million kilogrammes worth $9,1 million having been exported to that country to date, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board says.}}

    In its recent update, the TIMB said the United Arab Emirates was the second biggest buyer of the golden leaf with 2,2 million kg having been exported to that country since the start of the tobacco selling season on February 19 this year.

    On third position is China, which has bought 1,8 million kilogrammes worth $13,8 million at an average price of $7,45 per kg.
    During the same period last year, South Africa was on top having bought 8 million kg worth over $24 million.

    The highest export price has been US$7,45 per kg that China offered when it bought 1,8 million kg.
    France offered the lowest price after buying 148 640 kg for US$0,26 per kg.

    TIMB is on record saying the disparity in prices was a result of the tobacco grade.
    As of last week, at least 17,26 million kg of tobacco had been exported, raking in US$ 63,5 million.

    A total of 71,5 million kg of tobacco worth $227,9 million have so far been sold through the contract and auction sales.
    Tobacco is one of the largest foreign currency earners in the economy.

    Other export destinations for Zimbabwean tobacco include Spain, New Zealand, Singapore, Egypt, Montenegro and Russia.

    — New Ziana.

  • WhatsApp Hits 500 million Users

    WhatsApp Hits 500 million Users

    {{That is up from an estimated 450 million as of late February, as the service’s reach expanded rapidly in countries including Brazil, India, Mexico, and Russia.}}

    WhatsApp said Tuesday on its blog that its users are also sharing more than 700 million photos and 100 million videos a day.

    Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced in February that his social network is acquiring WhatsApp for $19 billion.

    The stock and cash purchase marries WhatsApp’s steadily growing user base with Facebook’s 1.2 billion active users.

    The huge price tag raised eyebrows but Zuckerberg told the Mobile World Congress in Spain days after the announcement that he believes WhatsApp is actually worth much more.

    He argued that there are very few services that reach so many millions of people in the world.

    The acquisition would be Facebook’s largest ever.

    wirestory

  • Bomb Scare Disrupts Court Session in Kenya

    Bomb Scare Disrupts Court Session in Kenya

    {{A bomb hoax disrupted operations at the Nyahururu Law Courts early on Tuesday after fears that explosives had been planted in the premises.}}

    Tension was high as security personnel moved in immediately and cordoned the court precincts and evacuated members of the public, court staff together with suspects who had appeared for mention and hearing of their cases.

    Senior Principal Magistrate Dennis Mikoyan however said that those who planted the two bags outside court corridors just wanted to disorganise the day’s activities.

    Police led by Nyandarua County Commander Hamisi Mabeya led the operation.

    Bomb experts however later ruled out the presence of explosives.

    Previously, the courts have dealt with two cases of people being arrested with explosives and one charged with being a member of the Al Shabaab militia.

    The government has urged the public to remain vigilant as the country deals with increased terror threats.

    Mikoyan however said it was good for the public to be alert as this could save lives.

    {capitalfm}

  • Washington Calls South Sudan Violence an ‘Abomination’

    Washington Calls South Sudan Violence an ‘Abomination’

    {{The White House expressed horror at what it called the “abomination” of spiralling violence in South Sudan’s civil war, where rebels have been accused of massacring hundreds of civilians.}}

    The rebels seized the town and oil-hub of Bentiu last week, unleashing two days of ethnic slaughter as they hunted down civilians sheltering in mosques, churches and a hospital, butchering dozens on the roadside, according to the United Nations.

    “We are horrified by reports out of South Sudan that fighters aligned with rebel leader Dr Riek Machar massacred hundreds of innocent civilians last week in Bentiu,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

    “These acts of violence are an abomination. They are a betrayal of the trust the South Sudanese people have put in their leaders,” he said.

    “Images and accounts of the attacks shock the conscience: stacks of bodies found dead inside a mosque, patients murdered at a hospital, and dozens more shot and killed in the streets and at a church — apparently due to their ethnicity and nationality — while hate speech was broadcast on local radio,” Mr Carney added, noting the dead have been buried in mass graves and populations of camps for displaced persons have surged.

    The UN said the killings continued for almost two days after the rebels issued a statement boasting of victory in Bentiu, a time when rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang previously said gunmen were “mopping and cleaning up” in the town.

    South Sudan’s army has been fighting rebels loyal to sacked vice president Riek Machar since the unrest broke out more than four months ago.

    The conflict has taken on an ethnic dimension, pitting President Salva Kiir’s Dinka tribe against militia forces from Machar’s Nuer people.

    The White House called on Mr Kiir and Dr Machar to “make clear that attacks on civilians are unacceptable, perpetrators of violence on both sides must be brought to justice, and the cycle of violence that has plagued South Sudan for too long must come to an end”.

    However, Mr Koang praised the “gallant forces” of the insurgents, who the UN said were driven by calls over local radio to rape women from the opposition ethnic group and drive out rivals from the town.

    NMG

  • SABC Refuses to Broadcast Opposition Party Advert

    SABC Refuses to Broadcast Opposition Party Advert

    {{South Africa’s public broadcaster has said it refused to broadcast a campaign message from the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) as it incited violence.}}

    The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) denied that it was banned because it came from the EFF.

    The advert calls for people to “destroy e-Tolls”, a controversial new road tolling system.

    The EFF, set up by ex-ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, is contesting an election for the first time next month.

    ‘Unfair coverage’
    Mr Malema likened the SABC’s actions to those used by the apartheid government, which censored messages with anti-government sentiment.

    “Once you suppress the people contesting elections it means you not ready to give us free and fair elections because unfair coverage leads to unfair elections,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.

    However, SABC spokesman Kaiser Kganyago said it was to do with regulations, not politics.

    “They submitted it, we looked at it, and we found that we couldn’t put it on air,” the South African Press Association news agency quotes him as saying.

    “The EFF, like any other political party, signed the code of conduct with the IEC [Independent Election Commission] that says it will not incite violence…. [the advert] goes against the code.”

    The SABC has reportedly written to the EFF telling them to amend the advert, but the party has refused to do so.

    {wirestory}

  • Sierra Leone to Host Fragile States Summit

    Sierra Leone to Host Fragile States Summit

    {{Nineteen countries making up the world`s fragile and conflict ridden nations are to meet in Sierra Leone this June.}}

    The conflict affected countries, officially called G7+ Group, was conceived in the early 2000s and basically champions the voices of fragile states in international debates.

    Member countries share experiences and forge a common front towards mobilisation of international action in support of state-led transition initiatives.

    The grouping was officially inaugurated in 2010 in East Timor, which is the current chair and which hosts the Secretariat.

    Other members are Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’ Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Togo and Comoros.

    The G7+ has since been calling for a review of the approach of donors which they say largely side line state authorities.

    1.5 billion people are said to be living in conflict-affected and fragile states, and about 70 per cent of these states have seen conflict since 1989. And 30 per cent of the world`s aid goes to them.

    They are confronted mainly by challenges of security and poverty.

    New deal

    In the lead up to the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea in November 2011, the G7+ assumed a more vocal posture, calling for what is now widely known as the ‘New Deal’ for fragile states.

    This identifies five Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs), among which is security, justice, and economic foundations, which are seen as crucial to member countries meeting the UN MDGs.

    The ‘New Deal’ however notably propagates, among ten key areas, for international engagement with fragile states to redirect its focus with emphasis on mutual trust, hence greater use of country systems.
    The ‘New Deal’ was supposed to be piloted in Afghanistan, CAR, DRC, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and East Timor.

    Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, UK and US, were the key supporters.

    Sierra Leone in March became the first country to be declared peaceful by the UN.

    The West African country`s government see the upcoming conference as opportunity for fellow fragile states to learn from its experience.

    “The Freetown meeting will enable Sierra Leone showcases its reform potential,” Finance and Economic Development minister Keifala Marah, who made the announcement recently, was quoted.

    The G7+ conference offers member countries the opportunity to tap from each other`s experiences in terms of challenges and weaknesses. They also seek to identify a common ground in addressing these issues.

    A popular theme for the group since its creation has been improving the business environments of member countries, making them competitive in light of global challenges.

    Some of its members have been identified among the world`s fifty economies thought to have made biggest improvements relative to their performance.

    NMG

  • Gabon Goalkeeper Dies After Head Kick

    Gabon Goalkeeper Dies After Head Kick

    {{AC Bongoville’s Sylvain Azougoui has died after being kicked in the head during a league match in Gabon.}}

    The goalkeeper died on the way to hospital after the incident during a match against Centre Mberi Sportif.

    The 30-year-old from Togo had just stopped a shot on goal, but the attacker lost his balance on the wet grass and stepped on Azougoui’s head.

    “It is truly difficult to see how fate can be so cruel,” a statement on the club’s Facebook page said.

    “He had been decisive and exemplary on several occasions when AC Bongoville were in difficulty – and knowing that he is leaving us so young because of an innocuous blow is truly sad.”

    Sunday’s game was played in Bongoville almost 800 kilometres from Gabon’s capital of Libreville.

    {agencies}

  • Senior Egypt Policeman Killed in Bomb Attack

    Senior Egypt Policeman Killed in Bomb Attack

    {{ A senior Egyptian police officer has been killed by a bomb blast in the capital, Cairo, security officials say.}}

    Brig-Gen Ahmed Zaki died when a device placed under his vehicle blew up in the western suburb of 6 October City.

    In Alexandria, a second officer was shot dead during a raid on what officials said was a militant hideout.

    Jihadist militants have stepped up attacks on security personnel and killed hundreds since the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi last July.

    On Saturday, gunmen killed an intelligence officer and a policeman while patrolling a desert road linking Cairo to the canal city of Suez.

    That attack came a day after a policeman died in another bombing in the capital claimed by a group named Ajnad Misr (Egypt’s Soldiers).

    It says it is waging a campaign against police because of the state’s crackdown on Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, in which more than 1,300 people have been killed and 16,000 others detained.

    The insurgency threatens security ahead of May’s presidential election, which former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win.

    The retired field marshal has vowed to crush the militants.

    In a separate development, the US will deliver to Egypt 10 Apache helicopters were held up after President Morsi was overthrown.

    BBC

  • Australia to Purchase 58 New F35 Jet Fighters

    Australia to Purchase 58 New F35 Jet Fighters

    {{Australia has approved the purchase of 58 new F-35 fighter jets worth 12.4bn Australian dollars ($11.5bn; £6.8bn).}}

    The new order will take Australia’s total F-35 tally to 72.

    The government said it would also spend more than A$1.6bn on new facilities at two air bases in the states of New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

    Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that the purchase would “ensure our edge as a regional power”. He added the deal did not involve any “new spending”.

    “I want to stress that this is money that has been put aside by government over the past decade or so to ensure that this purchase can responsibly be made,” Mr Abbott said.

    He added that the government needed to make the purchases “to ensure that our nation’s defences remain strong”.

    The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is built by Lockheed Martin Corp and is widely seen as one of the most advanced fighter jets.

    It has been designed to avoid being detected by radar, making it a key asset to have while trying to penetrate enemy defences.

    Australia ordered its first batch of 14 F-35 jets in 2009. The first of those aircraft are scheduled to enter service in 2020.

    wirestory

  • Hostile Mob Killed Ukraine Politician

    Hostile Mob Killed Ukraine Politician

    {{The Ukrainian town councilor whose apparent torture and murder helped to prompt a new government offensive in the east was mobbed by a hostile, pro-Russian crowd before he disappeared, a video of the incident shows.}}

    The footage from Thursday on local news site gorlovka.ua shows angry scenes outside the town hall of Horlivka, between the separatist flashpoint cities of Donetsk and Slaviansk, as councilor Volodymyr Rybak is manhandled by several men, among them a masked man in camouflage, while other people hurl abuse.

    Rybak had tried to remove the flag of the separatist Donetsk Republic, the website said. “Over my dead body will you take down that flag,” one man in plain clothes yells at Rybak as the politician tries to gain entry to the town hall.

    Two uniformed policemen appear in the video, though only one appears to intervene – ineffectually. After several minutes, Rybak appears able to walk away. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said he was seen being bundled into a car by masked men in camouflage later that day. His body was found on Saturday near Slaviansk.

    He and another, unidentified, man appeared to have been tortured and dumped alive in a river to drown, police concluded.

    Ukraine’s acting president, who like Rybak is a member of the Batkivshchyna party led by former premier Yulia Tymoshenko, cited the murder as grounds for relaunching a so far limited operation against militants who have taken over around a dozen towns and public buildings in the Russian-speaking east.

    {wirestory}