IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Chinese Pork Firm $5.3 bn IPO set to be Biggest in a Year

    Chinese Pork Firm $5.3 bn IPO set to be Biggest in a Year

    {{Chinese pork producer WH Group hopes to raise more than $5 billion in what would be the world’s biggest initial public offering for a year as it plans to list in Hong Kong, giving a boost to the city’s IPO market.}}

    The company which last year bought US giant Smithfield Foods in a landmark multi billion dollar deal will sell 3.66 billion shares at an indicative price range of HK$8.00 HK$11.25 each.

    If the Henan based firm, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings, sells its shares at the top end of the range, it would raise $5.3 billion. That would make it the largest IPO globally since Brazil’s BB Seguridade Participacoes SA raised $5.7 billion in April last year.

    It would also be Hong Kong’s biggest since US insurer AIA raised $20.5 billion in 2010. WH Group’s shares are expected to list on April 30, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

    WH Group is the world’s largest pork company and is involved in the production, slaughter and distribution of the meat, a key ingredient in Chinese cuisine. It is also a shareholder of Spanish meat firm Campofrio Food, according to its website.

    If demand is strong, the firm — whose shareholders include Goldman Sachs and Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek — also has an option to sell a further 20 percent more shares, which could boost the sale to $6.37 billion.

    “It’s one of the largest (deals) in the world, it deserves some attention,” Tanrich Securities vice president Jackson Wong told media, adding that there was high demand when two other smaller pork producers listed in Hong Kong.

    In May WH Group, under the Shuanghui name, agreed to buy Smithfield Foods in a deal valuing Smithfield at $7.1 billion, making it the largest ever Chinese acquisition of a US company.

    AFP

  • Kenya Deports 82 Somalis

    Kenya Deports 82 Somalis

    {{Eighty two aliens have been deported to Somalia in the ongoing crackdown following increased terror threats.}}

    Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku says 102 suspects are still being detained for further interrogation at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium which has now been gazetted into a police station.

    Those being detained there were previously moved to police stations in the night but will now be held at the stadium throughout after its gazettement.

    “Those who have refugee documents are taken back to their respective camps, while those who are found to have broken the law, are taken to court.”

    He said police are currently holding a total of 472 people in other police stations.

    “The operation will continue within the law and so far, there are no reported cases of people being mishandled,” he affirmed. “This is not a place of incarceration.”

    The Cabinet Secretary who was accompanied by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo said the terror crackdown will go on despite protests from politicians, envoys and humanitarian organisations which have been denied access to the stadium.

    During a controlled visit for the media and human right activists, he refuted claims of police harassing those detained, saying they were being handled professionally.

    “As a Government we are very concerned when we hear individuals implying that what is going on is not within the law, we have gazetted this place as a police station where screening of those who have been arrested in the swoop are taken,” he said.

    “Police have clear instructions that they will work in a professional way. That’s why we have invited you here to tell the truth.”

    There was a scramble as more than 50 local and international journalists went through the process to ascertain the condition of those who were arrested. “You want to cause a stampede?” Ole Lenku at some point posed.

    “The event has received coverage almost similar to what was happening during inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta, there are too many (journalists),” an officer manning the entry said.

    Inside, there is a room for officials from the Immigration Department and the National Police Service involved in the screening process.

    The room has computers and other electronic gadgets meant to establish identification documents that are genuine.

    One of the women arrested, an Ethiopian who was at the service desk when we visited said, “they are saying my documents are okay, I’m now in the final stage. I am a refugee…I don’t know whether they will take me back to my country.”

    Asked whether she would like to go back to her home country, she shook her head in the negative, with teary eyes.

    Outside the room, those arrested queue waiting for their turn to be served.

  • 3 Reasons to Have Sex When Pregnant

    3 Reasons to Have Sex When Pregnant

    {{When you’re pregnant, your emotions might take a toll on your sex drive. At first, hormonal fluctuations, fatigue and nausea might zap your sexual desire. As your pregnancy progresses, weight gain, back pain and other symptoms might further dampen your enthusiasm for sex.}}

    But if your husband and you are in the mood, by all means – get it on.

    Clinicians say that as long as your pregnancy is proceeding normally, you can have sex as often as you like.

    Here are 3 reasons why you should have sex when pregnant:

    {{Physical and emotional bonding between you and your partner}}

    This is important, as you are about to embark on a new journey together as parents. The closer you are the easier it will be.

    {{Preparation of the pelvic muscles for childbirth}}

    Sex will help to keep your pelvic muscles toned and strong for the extreme physical experience ahead.

    {{Enjoyment!}}

    Being pregnant is a new experience and there’s no reason why it can’t be a new sensual experience too.

  • Sudan Rejects Juba’s Claims of SAF Military Activity Along Borders

    Sudan Rejects Juba’s Claims of SAF Military Activity Along Borders

    {{The Sudanese government today rejected accusations by Juba of conducting “unusual movements” along the borders describing it as “lies”.}}

    On Tuesday, South Sudanese army (SPLA) spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer told Sudan Tribune in an exclusive interview that such activities undermine regional stability and efforts to improve bilateral relations between the two countries.

    Furthermore, the Unity state’s deputy governor Stephen Mabek Lang told media on Tuesday that “there have been reports since last week from our forces about unusual movement of the Sudanese army along the border area, which is a clear evidence of [a] lack of respect and coercion and intimidation”.

    Lang said his country would continue to respect the terms of a government agreement, but would not accept any revisions of the border line outside the previous agreement between the two countries.

    “As the government we will continue to respect the terms of the agreements with the government of Sudan, especially the cooperation agreement, which was why our president visited Khartoum recently. It was to show the commitment of the government of the Republic of South Sudan,” Lang said.

    “But now it is appearing that someone wants to redefine the boundaries by force, which is a clear violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of another independent state,” he added.

    Lang said several local sources in Pariang county witnessed Antonov bomber and MiG jets flying over the Panyang area between about 9am and noon (local time).

    He further claimed that Sudanese jet fighters dropped at least 10 bombs, destroying one car and forcing civilians to flee from Panyang to Pariang.

    On Wednesday, South Sudan’s government officially accused Khartoum with which it contests the ownership of areas separating the two nations, of harbouring rebels fighting to depose president Salva Kiir, despite a cooperation agreement between the two sides.

    “The rebels of Riek Machar have been carrying out attacks on the positions of the SPLA in Upper Nile for the last few days. They carried out attacks on the 6th and today on 9 April, in Kaka Tajaria. They carried out [the] attack aided by the militia group based in South Kordofan, which is against the cooperation agreement,” Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

    He said the attack forced troops loyal to the government to “tactically withdraw” from the area.

    “The attack on Baliet and Adong by the rebels of Riek Machar, who uses Galachel as the base of their operation and attacks comes from Sudan,” Aguer said in a statement broadcast by the state-owned South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Wednesday.

    However, the spokesman for the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad, hit back at Juba’s accusations, saying that Khartoum has been monitoring the ongoing war in South Sudan and that its position remains the same, in that it is seeking an end to the current crisis and to lay the foundations for security and stability with an emphasis on the legitimacy of Juba’s government.

    In a statement released on Wednesday, Saad denied SAF troops had made hostile movements along the borders between the two countries.

    He said the allegations had caught SAF by surprise and that the remarks by other South Sudanese officials included lies, describing the claims as implausible and lacking credibility.

    “We affirm that we have [made] no movements toward the state of the South and there is no hostility nor war or deployments there, and we are more keen on advanced relations between the two countries, and we are awaiting for the positive outcome of the recent visit by South Sudan’s head of state to Sudan in order to further agreements of mutual cooperation between the two states,” the SAF spokesman said.

    He added that Khartoum is also awaiting the fulfillment of promises made regarding the implementation of security arrangements to determine the zero line, opening of border crossings and the formation of joint monitoring mechanisms between the two countries to verify implementation of these agreements.

    “However, we have not seen any implementation or response to implement these mechanisms on the part of [the]South Sudan state. We are still waiting for the reply which was promised during the recent visit of president Salva Kiir,” Saad said.

    Violence erupted in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, in mid-December last year killing thousands and displacing more than a million people. President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of instigating the violence, which the latter vehemently denied.

    Prior to the South Sudanese conflict Juba and Khartoum agreed to normalise relations and to implement a cooperation agreement signed in 24 September 2012. The two countries have, however, failed to deploy a joint force to monitor the border due to differences over the baseline for the demilitarised security zone, known as the zero line.

    The Sudanese president has maintained support for his South Sudanese counterpart since his visit to Juba on 6 January. However, the two countries denied they had agreed to sign a security agreement to deploy a joint force to protect South Sudan’s oil fields from rebel attacks.

    (ST)

  • DR Congo Urged to Deal with Impunity for Rapes

    DR Congo Urged to Deal with Impunity for Rapes

    {{The UN rights chief urged Democratic Republic of Congo authorities to “fight against impunity for crimes of sexual violence,” as she presented Wednesday the latest UN report on the scourge.}}

    The United Nations documented 3,635 victims of sexual violence in DR Congo between January 2010 and December 2013, and nearly three-quarters of the victims were women, according to the new report from the UN joint human rights office.

    Sexual assaults are often vastly underreported by victims or are hard to document. Previous tallies from Congolese government have been far higher, with 15,352 cases counted in seven provinces in 2013, alone.

    Rights chief Navi Pillay hailed progress by DR Congo in the area of military justice for sexual assaults, but added “there is still a long way to go” and the political will — when it exists — “is not sufficiently translated on the ground.”

    She called on Congolese authorities to “promptly complete effective and independent investigations, and to prosecute alleged perpetrators, including those suspected of having command responsibility.”

    The report also recommended authorities provide free legal aid to the victims, create a reparation fund, and adopt a law protecting victims and witnesses — who often face threats and intimidation.

    Just over half the rapes documented in the UN report were committed by members of armed groups that operate in eastern DR Congo. The remainder were attributed to state agents, including soldiers in the military, or FARDC, who were implicated in around one in three rapes.

    But members of armed groups nearly always escape justice, and prosecutors rarely charge high-level FARDC officers: of 136 soldiers convicted during the 2010-2013 period, only three were high level officers.

    In total, just 187 people were convicted of sexual assaults by military tribunals. They were given sentences ranging from 10 months to 20 years.

    Meanwhile, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said that the persistent security concerns in eastern DR Congo are an aggravating factor for the rape crisis.

    The Congolese government needs to restore its authority, to “fill the vacuum” as soon as any part of the territory is freed from the grip of armed groups, Ladsous said.

    The publication of this report coincides with a trial of Congolese soldiers prosecuted for a November 2012 incident in Minova, in eastern DR Congo, for mass rape, murder and looting. The public ministry Monday asked for life sentences for most of the 39 accused.

    wirestory

  • WHO urges global push to treat hepatitis C

    WHO urges global push to treat hepatitis C

    {{The World Health Organization called Wednesday for a dramatic increase in screening and treatment of hepatitis C, saying higher demand would help drive down the cost of drugs for the disease.}}

    Most of the 185 million people chronically infected with the liver disease worldwide do not know they have it due to lack of screening, and many of those who do cannot access treatment due to the high cost, the UN agency said.

    Some 350,000 people die of hepatitis C-related liver diseases annually, and as many as four million people become infected each year, according to the WHO, which on Wednesday released its first-ever guidelines on fighting the disease.

    Hepatitis C is caused by a virus that can be transmitted through sharing needles, receiving contaminated blood transfusions or having sex with an infected person.

    No vaccine exists for the disease, but new antiviral treatments like Gilead Sciences’ Sofosbuvir, recently approved in the United States and the European Union, have been shown to cure more than 90 percent of those treated, up from 50 to 60 percent for the previous generation of drugs.

    But with a price tag of $84,000 (61,000 euros) for a 12-week treatment of Sofosbuvir in the United States — or about $1,000 a tablet — few can afford it, WHO expert Peter Beyer said.

    Producing that drug meanwhile costs only between $68 and $136 per treatment, Beyer said, insisting the market for the drugs needed to be vastly expanded to spur more competition and help shrink the prices.

    “We want to benefit from the experience we have with HIV,” he said, noting that the cost of drugs used to treat the virus that leads to AIDS had been pushed down from around $10,000 to $100 per person per year.

    – ‘Power of scaling up’ –

    However, hepatitis C has a much lower profile in most countries, making it difficult to convince governments to address the disease.

    Stefan Wiktor, head of the WHO’s Global Hepatitis Programme, pointed to Egypt as an example of how countries can use “the power of scaling up” to push down prices.

    Egypt has the world’s highest infection rate of hepatitis C at more than 10 percent of the population because syringes are routinely re-used, according to WHO.

    The country, which has prioritised tackling the disease and has treated more than 300,000 people, has negotiated a 12-week treatment price of just $900 from Gilead.

    WHO expects more new drugs to hit the market soon, which could help bring down prices and broaden access, Wiktor said.

    Doctors Without Borders (MSF) meanwhile expressed outrage at the high prices and said even steep discounts to countries like Thailand, which looks set to receive Sofosbuvir treatments for $5,000, were not enough.

    “When you’re starting from such an exorbitant price in the US, the price Gilead will offer middle-income countries … may seem like a good discount, but it will still be too expensive for many of these countries to scale up treatment,” said Rohit Malpani, of MSF’s Access Campaign.

    Securing a decent price is only part of the battle though.

    Most cases of hepatitis C, which shows no symptoms until a person develops liver damage or cancer, go undetected. In the European Union, only two to three percent of sufferers receive treatment.

    “Many people remain unaware, sometimes for decades, that they are infected with hepatitis C,” said WHO expert Andrew Ball, calling for anyone at risk of carrying the disease to be screened.

    Hepatitis C statistics are sketchy, but WHO says the disease in developing countries like Egypt, or Pakistan, where nearly five percent of the population is infected, is usually contracted in a healthcare setting.

    In Europe, the United States and other wealthy nations, intravenous drug use is usually the cause.

    Worldwide, 69 percent of drug injectors are infected with the liver disease, according to WHO.

    Yet current and former drug users are often denied treatment, Wiktor lamented, insisting on the benefit of treating everyone with chronic hepatitis C.

    AFP

  • UN Alarmed by Growing Violence & Displacement in Darfur

    UN Alarmed by Growing Violence & Displacement in Darfur

    {{The United Nations has concern over the escalation of violence in Sudan’s western region of Darfur and its impact on civilians and relief efforts.}}

    In an interview, the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Ali al-Zaatari, said the killings in Darfur must be stopped, describing the situation there as “too troubled”.

    Zaatari was speaking just hours before he was scheduled to travel to the North Darfur state capital, El-Fasher, as part of a delegation that included the envoys of the United States and European Union.

    He said that reports reveal increased rates of displacement and continuing rape incidents committed by different culprits who are sometimes described as people in military uniforms or Arabs on camels and horses and in other cases there is no specific description.

    “It is difficult to say that a specific party that is committing these acts because anyone can wear any uniform and commit the crime, but the situation has become so common to the point where it should not be tolerated whether religiously or morally or conscience-wise,”Zaatari said.

    The governor of North Darfur Osman Yusuf Kibir told the delegation of UN officials and EU and US ambassadors that tension has returned to areas west of El-Fasher.

    He accused rebels of attacking a group of shepherds, killing some and looting their camels after which they headed out towards the area east of the mountain.

    It was reported that four shepherds were killed in the state by unknown gunmen as well as two others in a separate incident inside Zamzam IDP camp.

    Kibir added that outlaws took advantage of the incident to attack villages and citizens and their property including Zamzam IDP camp.

    He cleared the Rapid Support Force (RSF) from any violations, saying that it was outlaws committing it according to testimony of citizens. He affirmed that they have undertaken a package of measures to contain the situation and enforce the law, as well as preserve lives and property of citizens.

    Zaatari called for the latest crisis to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations rather than violence. He also welcomed president Omer Hassan al-Bashir’s recent call for national dialogue.

    He confirmed the readiness of the UN and other actors of the international community to help the people of Darfur in overcoming adversity, pointing to the large displacement witnessed in some areas as a result of ethnic conflicts and clashes between the government and the armed movements adding that necessitated assessing the situation on the ground in order to identify needs.

    Last month, the head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), Tijani El-Sissi, warned against the rapidly deteriorating security situation in North and South Darfur states, criticising government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.

    Sissi further said that insecurity in North and South Darfurcontinued to hampers the implementation of development projects.

    “What happens there will not be a catalyst to start any reconstruction effort in those areas,” he said.

    {sudantribune}

  • Police Opens Car of Missing Journalist

    Police Opens Car of Missing Journalist

    {{This morning about eight police officers including crime scene Investigators sealed off the scene where the car of the missing Journalist is parked.

    At about 10:20AM, the saloon car was opened by a police officer wearing white forensic overall. The officer was seen swiping the car door and the steering wheel including several parts of the car interior.

    In an attempt to fix the missing link in the disappearance of the Author and Journalist, a body of a young man in his 20’s has been found in a trench in Kinamba towards Gisozi.

    Residents in the area gathered at the scene above the large culverts as the lifeless body was removed. the dead man was a casual labourer who worked in gisozi neighbourhood. }}

    However, the search for the missing Journalist and Author continues.

    {{ {Below is a Scene at Kinamba, Gisozi where a body of a young man has been retrieved. Hundreds of Residents gathered at the scene of crime identified him saying he was a casual labourer in the area. Residents were overheard saying he could have been killed due work related wrangles.} }}

    {Director Amazing Grace Radio at Gisozi. He was at the scene to findout whether the retirieved body was of the missing Journalist. However it emerged it was a casual labourer}

  • Missing Author Last Spoke to Missing Journalist

    Missing Author Last Spoke to Missing Journalist

    {Author Niyomugabo Gerard (l) missing and Cassien Ntamuhanga a journalist also disappeared.}

    {{Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Niyomugabo Gerard ({pictured below}) an author and formerly an assistant lecturer at the former National University of Rwanda has also been missing for six days.}}

    Its also alleged that before Niyomugabo disappeared on April 4, he had last spoken to Cassien Ntamuhanga a radio journalist at Amazing Grace Radio.

    One week later Niyomugabo’s whereabouts are unknown yet the last person he spoke to was Ntamuhanga who also disappeared on April 7 the two were friends.

    Niyomugabo is said to have been teaching at {Carefour des artistes} school but school authorities there say they have not since seen or talked to him whether on phone or otherwise.

    In another twist of events, an individual on Whatsap social platform but using a different phone number has been sending messages claiming he is Niyomugabo and that he has travelled somewhere.

    However, Niyomugabo’s real phone number remains inaccessible.

    Until today Ntamuhanga’s car is still parked outside the radio offices.

    {Niyomugabo Gerard}

  • Tsvangirai Running Scared

    Tsvangirai Running Scared

    {{Embattled MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his allies will increasingly use “disciplinary” measures to silence officials who are calling for a change of the guard. Addressing a rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru on Sunday, MDC-T national chairman Mr Lovemore Moyo branded renewal proponents “betrayers of the highest order”.}}

    He ordered use of party structures to deal with those who want leadership renewal as Mr Tsvangirai’s camp muzzles freedom of expression and democracy in the opposition.

    This could put Mr Moyo and secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti on a collision course as the chair oversees disciplinary matters while the latter — who is pro-renewal — is in charge of party administration.

    “People that we picked when they were nobodies and were made who they are by this movement are today turning their backs on it.

    “If you want to deal with a person who has violated the party’s constitution, I am giving you, as your national chairman, that right to deal with those people who are misbehaving, using the structures,” Mr Moyo said on Sunday.

    Already, deputy treasurer Mr Elton Mangoma — the face of the renewal agenda — has been suspended as have many other officials across the country.
    However, treasurer-general Mr Roy Bennet has been allowed to “explain” to Mr Tsvangirai what he has meant by calling for leadership renewal without facing any reprisals. Sources said this was because Mr Tsvangirai was hesitant to take on Mr Bennet, who is a leading party fundraiser from his base in South Africa.

    Mr Tsvangirai’s supporters have been using violence to try and silence his critics, who point out the fact that the party leader has not won a single national election between 2000 and 2013.

    On Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said no one had the right to tell him what to do and said those who wanted leadership renewal should leave the party.

    “Where you there when we formed the party? What values are you talking about — do you know where the party came from? Form your party if you want!

    “Do not listen to those people who say Tsvangirai wants to privatise the party. I am not going to privatise the party. I am merely a leader of the people. If you want to form a party that kills MDC, so you want to promote Zanu-PF. That is what it means.”

    His critics are uncomfortable that the “T” in the party name stands for “Tsvangirai”, thereby personalising the opposition. They have since dubbed themselves MDC Team.

    herald