IGIHE

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  • MONUSCO Prepares to Quit DRCongo

    MONUSCO Prepares to Quit DRCongo

    {{The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday it is preparing a gradual withdrawal from the country despite the continued presence of dozens of armed groups.}}

    Late last month, the UN Security Council renewed the mandate for one more year of its stabilisation mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) and its intervention brigade charged with “neutralising” foreign and domestic armed groups.

    The latest resolution (2147) contains “a new idea … to prepare for the departure of MONUSCO, to prepare for … a strategy of withdrawal,” mission chief Martin Kobler told a press conference in Kinshasa.

    “We will not leave tomorrow. It’s a gradual process. But it’s clear that we should define the parameters, the criteria that must be achieved before MONUSCO leaves the country,” he said.

    Since late 2013, most of MONUSCO’s 20,000 troops have been based in the east where armed groups have been particularly prevalent.

    According to Resolution 2147, UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon must present recommendations for the redeployment of peacekeeping forces by the end of the year.

    Despite increasing troop numbers and a broadening mandate since a UN peacekeeping mission was first sent to the country in 1999, the “blue helmets” and the Congolese army have struggled to bring peace to a country the size of western Europe.

    MONUSCO had a budget of $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) per year, although this has been halved under the latest resolution.

    UN missions have long faced criticism for failing to protect civilians in the DR Congo, although perceptions have improved since an offensive by the Congolese army, supported by the United Nations, defeated the M23 rebel group in November.

    AFP

  • EU, African Leaders Seal $39 Billion Deal

    EU, African Leaders Seal $39 Billion Deal

    {{The European Union will offer Africa 28 billion Euros ($39 billion) over six years to fund a range of projects, officials announced here at the end of the fourth EU-Africa summit.}}

    According to a joint communiqué issued after the meeting of 40 African leaders and 20 European counterparts, more money would be available through bilateral financing arrangements.

    The money will go towards peacekeeping operations, investment, and development projects between 2014 and 2016 although details remain to be worked out.

    The size of the fund was eagerly awaited after China announced a $20 billion credit facility for Africa in July 2013, spread out over three years during its last summit. It was double the $10 billion that China had offered in 2009-2012 and is mostly focused on infrastructure projects in Africa.

    European and African leaders meeting for two days in Brussels also committed to foster human capital through education and training to create additional incentives for investment, and to find ways of creating jobs for the youth.

    They also promised to work together for peace and security, with the EU announcing a military mission to the Central African Republic, part of its growing portfolio of peace building and peacekeeping operations in Africa.

    “We have committed to promote peace and prosperity,” Mr Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, said.

    At a summit where EU officials repeatedly spoke of partnership and the need to treat Africa as its equal, Mr Rompuy noted that the relationship between the two continents is changing. “Our partnership of equals has come of age,” he said.

    The summit came on the heels of tensions between African leaders and their European counterparts over the prosecution of sitting African leaders including President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, his deputy William Ruto, as well as Sudan’s Omar al Bashir at the International Criminal Court.

    The final communiqué did not make specific mention of the matter but reiterated the need to fight impunity, while leaving the door open to dialogue. “We undertake to enhance political dialogue on international criminal justice, including the issue of universal jurisdiction, in the agreed fora between the two parties,” the communiqué noted.

    The summit also failed to make a firm commitment to backing Africa’s demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, only noting the need for further reform of the UN bodies.

    Speaking during the closure of the summit, African Union (AU) Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said Africa’s progress in democracy, governance and human rights needs to be consolidated and said the continent was open for investment.

    “Africa has 60 per cent arable land still available for world agriculture. Europe on the other hand has experience of adding value to agricultural products, so we can take advantage of this,” she said.

    She called for increased investment in young people in Africa to stem the flow of illegal migrations to Europe, one of the main points of discussion at the summit.

  • 61 Elephant Tusks Seized in Tanzania

    61 Elephant Tusks Seized in Tanzania

    {{Tanzania’s anti-poaching squad in Manyoni District has seized a total of 61 elephant tusks during the past seven days.}}

    The head of the special task force, Mr. Robert Mande, said the seizure was a result of a systematic manhunt by the team for a period of almost two months.

    “We embarked on a strategy to dismantle the poaching network in this area on February 1, 2014. Through the cooperation with the Anti-poaching Zonal Office for Manyoni, we managed to capture five suspects on Monday,” he said.

    The suspects, including a village executive officer, were found in possession of 53 elephant tusks, weighing 169.7Kgs.

    Mande said, “To get the tusks, the suspects might have killed some 26 elephants.”

    Tanzania government, says it will employ some 450 new game rangers in the coming few days to boost the war on poaching.

    {Tanzania’s Natural Resources and Tourism minister Lazaro Nyalandu inspects seized elephant tusks in Manyoni on Wednesday. Five people were arrested in connection with the haul.}

  • Rwanda Teens to Compete for 2nd Edition of Airtel Rising Stars

    Rwanda Teens to Compete for 2nd Edition of Airtel Rising Stars

    {{Airtel Rwanda has today kicked off registrations for teams that intend to participate in the second edition of Airtel Rising Stars Season 2, a tournament that will see the total number of participants go up to 1,600 under 17 teenagers countrywide.}}

    For the second year running, Airtel will provide another opportunity for budding stars in Rwanda and Africa to showcase their football skills and to gauge their raw talent against continental peers.

    This season, which has now been amplified to constitute a girls’ team will see 80 teams, 48 boy’s teams and 32 teams selected across the country.

    Making the announcement, Teddy Bhullar, Managing Director of Airtel Rwanda said, “Airtel Rising Stars is committed to growing grassroot football in Rwanda and Africa as a whole.

    We believe emphatically that nurturing young talent is the means by which we will ensure the foundations of the game in this country stay strong. It would be great to see Rwandans support the teams that will represent the country at continental level.”

    Also speaking at the same event, the president of FERWAFA, Mr. Degaule Vincent Nzamwita said, “Airtel Rwanda has demonstrated strong support for nurturing football talent in the country.

    We at FERWAFA as the football custodians of the country will ensure that we support in every way possible to make sure that Rwanda is well represented at the Pan African tournament.

    While this will be the second edition of the Airtel risings tars in Rwanda, the fourth edition of the initiative is set to take place in 16 countries across Africa with hundreds of thousands of youngsters taking part in the regional and national tournaments.

    The best teams of each country will be pitted against each other in the Airtel Africa Championship. The winning teams will receive a total of Rwf8m which will be put towards the players’ education.

    The 2013 pan-African Championship Tournament saw the girls from Tanzania and the boys from Niger emerge as the Airtel Rising Stars champions. By designing a big stage for the teams and the future soccer stars, Airtel is inching closer to its objective of becoming the biggest and most consistent supporter of grassroots football in Africa.

    {{Date for the soccer clinics}}

    Rwanda will this month host the Airtel soccer clinics in which the best players of the Airtel Africa Championship will get the opportunity to be trained by the biggest football clubs in the world: Arsenal FC and Manchester United.

    Rwanda will be the host country for the Arsenal soccer clinic while Tanzania will be the host country for the Manchester soccer clinic.

    It is through these workshops that players get a chance to take their talent to the next level and get a sense of how it feels to be a professional footballer.

    The Airtel Rising Stars initiative, the biggest Under-17 grassroots tournament on the African continent, aims at identifying talent and nurturing upcoming footballers. This is one of the few football equal opportunity initiatives that targets boys and girls.

    Over the years, the Airtel Rising Stars initiative has yielded many success stories and has enabled several upcoming soccer talents to join Africa Premier League clubs and their countries’ national teams.

  • Mistakes Women Make With Men

    Mistakes Women Make With Men

    {{There are some classic mistakes that women make with men. So classic that I honestly wish a book was made of them — a rule book — and women had to read it in high school. And then take a test on it. Like 50 tests. And they had to memorize every single word.}}

    But there is no Relationship 101 unless you count the ones in the School of Hard Knocks. You have to live it or have your friends live it — sometimes multiple times — for the lessons to kick in. And sometimes then they don’t even stick.

    But, boy, if every woman knew these classic mistakes, and to avoid them, before plunging into the dating world in their early 20s, what a different experience love could be for those ladies. Here are 6 classic mistakes women make with men.

    {{Classic Mistake #1: I can change him.}}

    Although people do hear that old adage, “People don’t change,” no one really takes it seriously until he or she is faced with a person who needs to change. It’s at that point you go into denial. “Oh, he just needs someone who understands him,” “If I do everything for him, he’ll feel like he wants to reciprocate,” etc. Chances are, that is never, ever going to happen.

    Not that people don’t change — they do. But YOU can’t make them. A good rule of thumb is this: If you knew that this man would be EXACTLY the same for the next 50 years, would you still want to marry/date him? If the answer is “hell no,” then abort mission if you aren’t married yet. And if you are already married, carefully consider what your next step is and whether it should be divorce.

    {{Classic Mistake #2: I’m the exception.}}

    I’ve seen far too many intelligent women get involved with a guy with a horrible romantic history who then goes on to cement the pattern with them. Why? Because they thought they would be the “exception.” I’ve heard: “We were such good friends, I thought he’d never pull that on me.”

    I’ve heard: “He cheated on his wife, but that was 10 years ago.” I’ve heard: “He broke off two engagements, but this time he says he’s really ready and has met the right person.” Not that you’re definitely NOT the exception — hey, maybe you are — but chances are, you’re not. And why would you want to risk it anyway?

    {{Classic Mistake #3: Not listening.}}

    I’ve come to believe a man tells you pretty much everything you need to know about him in the first few months, if not the first few dates. If he says, “I’d really love to get married, but I’ve found it so hard to find someone I’m compatible with,” women hear: I’d really love to get married.

    They don’t hear, “I find most women are incompatible with me, and I’m not even considering that this might be my fault.” I had one friend whose new man told her right off the bat that he gets tired of women after two months. However, when she confronted him on this, he backtracked and said he was just joking around. Guess what happened after two months? Listen. And take heed.

    {{Classic Mistake #4: Giving points for being “honest.”}}

    If a man is telling you all about his troubles, his rocky romantic history, his financial problems, or his drug addictions, women tend to think: “Oh, he’s being so honest with me, that must mean he doesn’t plan on doing any of this stuff with me.”

    Women find it impossible to believe a man would advertise his future bad behavior. But men often give you a warning for a good reason — they are testing you to see if you will stick around after hearing about their chronic unemployment, cheating history, or addictions. If you do, then they consider that you’ve had fair warning.

    {{Classic Mistake #5: He will leave his wife for me.}}

    This is such an old-timey classic mistake that it’s crazy to think there are women who still fall for it, but they do. As high as the divorce rate is, chances are a guy who gets involved with you while he’s with his wife is doing it because he wants two women — not one.

    If he dumps his wife, that would mean he’s only got one woman. You. Which is not what he wants. If he swears he’s leaving his wife soon, what harm can it do to walk away and tell him to call you once the divorce is final? If he likes you that much, it should only speed up the process, right?

    {{Classic Mistake #6: Marriage and/or children will change him/settle him down.}}

    This does happen with some guys, but it’s a huge mistake to assume it’s going to happen. In fact, women who are with abusers are never more at risk of being killed than when they get pregnant. And guys with a history of cheating are likely to do it even more once they get married. Guys who cheat are usually commitmentphobes who use other women to keep distance from you. So getting married will only intensify those commitmentphobic feelings and increase the desire to cheat.

  • AFDB U$19M Loan to Fund Construction in Region

    AFDB U$19M Loan to Fund Construction in Region

    {Shelter Afrique Managing Director Alassane Ba}

    {{Shelter Afrique has signed a U$ 19,963,168 Million loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), one of its primary shareholders.}}

    The loan is intended to boost the trade finance instruments to small and medium enterprises involved in real estate and construction related activities in the country and Africa at large.

    The AfDB’s four-year facility will allow Shelter Afrique to expand its Trade Finance Program launched in June 2011, under a product diversification strategy to address the acute financing shortage facing real estate developers on the continent.

    Shelter Afrique Managing Director Alassane Ba said the facility will contribute to addressing the critical shortage of building materials while creating jobs and income in the region.

    “With strong partnerships with organisations like AfDB, we know we are not too far from finding lasting solutions,” Ba said.

    The agreement will now see Shelter Afrique begin a stronger second quarter of the year having already signed a U$5,065,798 line with Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) for its social housing programe and floating a bond.

    In October last year, the firm raised U$40,387,912 through a bond issue to fund low cost urban housing projects across the country, being the sixth time Shelter Afrique was tapping into the Kenya debt capital markets.

    “The housing industry is experiencing exponential growth and urbanisation and the bulge of a growing middle class which all hamper the provision of adequate housing in Africa.

    AfDB would like to call on government, the private sector and all interested parties to rise to the occasion and address housing as it was a key requirement for development,” Regional Director for AfDB Gabriel Negatu said.

    Shelter-Afrique is owned by 44 African governments, the African Development Bank and the African Reinsurance Corporation.

    It currently has an active portfolio of projects in more than 30 African countries.

  • Uhuru Says Kenya May Stop Hosting Refugees

    Uhuru Says Kenya May Stop Hosting Refugees

    {{President Uhuru Kenyatta has warned that Kenya will no longer continue hosting refugees at the expense of peace and suffering of its innocent citizens.}}

    Uhuru says Kenya hosts more than 1 million refugees in the spirit of good neighbourliness but this has brought pain and suffering through terror attacks which have killed and maimed many innocent Kenyans.

    He castigated the terrorists’ claims that Kenyan soldiers must withdraw from Somalia for terror to end, saying: “Kenyans weren’t in Somalia when terrorists bombed the American Embassy in 1998; Kenyans were not in Somalia when they attacked Mombasa and shot at an aircraft in 2002,” observed President Kenyatta.

    He said Kenyan’s will not be divided by terrorists who want their criminal activities to be seen as a religious war.

    “Terrorists are out to divide Kenyans along religious lines, we have lived in peace and unity we will not allow criminal elements to destroy this peace,” he assured.

    He pointed out that terrorists must know Kenyans of all faith fought to make Kenya free during the struggle for independence and are ready to defend that freedom today.

    Mr. Uhuru described the terrorists simply as “criminals” and asked for the support of Kenyans as the Government deals swiftly with the criminals.

    “As you all know, we are faced with a resurgent extremist movement. It has set out to divide us against ourselves.”

    “By killing and maiming, it hopes to turn us against our brothers and sisters, and to destroy the nation we have laboured so long to build. They have learned too well the old Biblical lesson that a house divided against itself cannot stand,” said the President.

  • Malawi Makes Progress After Corruption Scandles–IMF

    Malawi Makes Progress After Corruption Scandles–IMF

    {{International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday Malawi has made progress after a massive government corruption scandal last year, but urged action to bring soaring prices under control.}}

    Malawi adopted an action plan to bust graft in the wake of massive fraud last year that prompted Western donors to freeze $150 million in aid.

    The country is heavily dependent on donors, who bankroll up to 40 percent of its national budget.

    “The authorities have made progress in addressing governance and public financial management weaknesses,” said the International Monetary Fund at the end of its latest review mission to the country.

    The IMF said the central bank should “tighten monetary policy more aggressively”, noting that inflation remains high at nearly 25 percent.

    President Joyce Banda, who faces an election in just over six weeks, has implemented austerity steps that led to the restoration of an IMF $79.4 million credit facility.

    The facility was suspended during the administration of her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika, who died from a heart attack in April 2012.

    The IMF will return in June for another review that will pave way for the disbursement of a $20-million credit facility.

    {agencies}

  • Police Destroys 5500Kgs of Kabaruka Plant Seized in Gatsibo

    Police Destroys 5500Kgs of Kabaruka Plant Seized in Gatsibo

    {{Police in Gatsibo District has destroyed over five tones of the valuable Kabaruka Plant ({asiris lauceolata}) which were seized in various operations.}}

    Kabaruka Plant is vital in the processing of chemicals used in the production of perfumes. The Plant is on high demand in neighbouring Uganda.

    In Rwanda Kabaruka is vastly grown in the Eastern province and other parts of the country.

    This has led to an increased illegal harvest of the plant that is later smuggled to Uganda where it fetches a fortune.

    On April 2 , over 5550 Kgs of the Kabaruka stem were burnt at at Kabarore Police Station in Gatsibo.

    The stems and roots of the Kabaruka plant were seized in several Police operations in collaboration with the area residents.

    According to the District Police Commander Supt. Pierre Tebuka, due to the high value of the plant, smugglers dig the trees from the ground and chop them for easy transportation.

    Meanwhile, a kilogram is costs Frw2000 in Rwanda and fetches Frw5000 in Uganda.

    In some instances, smugglers transport their loot on motorcycles during night hours when Traffic Police check points are limited on the roads.

    Supt. Tebuka said, “The reason we burn them is to dissuade those who deal in them so that they may not repeat. We don’t sell them because it can just accelerate the crime.”

    Mr. Yonas Mwiseneza the District Environment Officer present at the destruction of the Kabaruka stems said;

    “The harvesting of Kabaruka trees is illegal because they are among the endangered plant species. They were set apart as trees that should not be harvested whatsoever with other trees like imiguruka scientifically called megarocarpus flaxinofolius.”

    When found guilty, the suspects risk a punishment of imprisonment of between six months and 2 years and or a fine of between Frw300,000 and Frw 2 Million.

  • Ebola Outbreak: Mali on Alert

    Ebola Outbreak: Mali on Alert

    {{Mali is on alert over the deadly Ebola virus after three suspected cases were reported near the border with Guinea, where 86 people have died.}}

    A BBC correspondent says there are tight controls on people entering the capital, Bamako, from the border area.

    He says thermal-imaging cameras are screening passengers at the airport in case they have a fever.

    The virus, which is spread by close contact and kills 25%- 90% of its victims, has already spread to Liberia.

    Six people have died in Liberia, out of 12 suspected cases, according to the local health authorities.

    Sierra Leone has also reported suspected cases, while Senegal has closed its normally busy border with Guinea.

    The BBC’s Alou Diawara in Bamako says the three people feared to have Ebola have been moved to isolation wards on the the edge of the city.

    Samples have been sent to the US for testing and the results are expected in a few days.

    Mali’s government has advised its national against all non-essential travel to areas affected by Ebola.

    The virus was first spotted in Guinea’s remote south-eastern region of Nzerekore, where most of the deaths have been recorded.

    But it was not confirmed as Ebola for six weeks.

    It has now spread to Guinea’s capital, Conakry, where five deaths have been recorded out of 12 suspected cases.

    Saudi Arabia suspended visas for Muslim pilgrims from Guinea and Liberia on Tuesday, in a sign of the growing unease about the outbreak.

    This is the first known outbreak in Guinea – most recent cases have been thousands of miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

    There is no known cure or vaccine for Ebola.

    The tropical virus leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

    {wirestory}