IGIHE

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  • South Sudanese Rebels Advance on Jonglei’s Duk County

    South Sudanese Rebels Advance on Jonglei’s Duk County

    {{South Sudanese rebels of the SPLM/A In Opposition said on Tuesday their forces have advanced on Jonglei state’s Duk county after repulsing government troops and their foreign allies who had attacked their defence positions on Monday in the Greater Bor area.}}

    the rebels military spokesperson, Brig Lul Ruai Koang, said that rebels had taken full control of the main town of Duk Padiet in Duk county after defeating the government forces in the area.

    Duk Padiet town is north-east of Jonglei state’s capital, Bor, and strategic area for the defence of the state capital.

    In Juba, the South Sudanese army confirmed the capture of the area by the rebels. He further said the fighters of the SPLM-In-Opposition launched their attack on Duk County on Tuesday.

    “The rebels of Riek Machar attacked and overran Duk County yesterday at around 5:00pm. They are now in the area,” Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

    This attack is “a clear violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement, which they have never respected. The SPLA has a right to defend itself and to protect the civil population and their properties,” he further stressed.

    Aguer , however, did not elaborate on the army plans to retake the control of the area, although military sources claimed that government troops were regrouping and organising themselves for a riposte against the rebels.

    However the rebel spokesperson claimed that their forces were advancing and pursuing the government troops to the south-west of the area.

    “The government troops are currently being pursued in directions towards Poktap payam west. A lot of equipment have been already captured from the fleeing (government forces),” Koang claimed.

    On Sunday, the former governor of Jonglei state and current lawmaker representing Duk County in the national parliament in Juba, Philip Thon Leek, appealed to the government to deploy more troops to the area as the rebels were mobilising for imminent attacks.

    However, the rebels said they were in preparations in anticipation of an imminent attack from the government against their defensive positions in the county.

    The rebels spokesperson, Koang, further dismissed the government announcements that the SPLA forces were advancing on Nasir, calling it a “wishful thinking”.

    On Monday, the SPLA spokesperson, Col. Philip Aguer, told media that government troops (SPLA) were battling the rebels’ for control of their stronghold town of Nasir.

    {sudantribune}

  • 60 Rwandans Arrested in Uganda over Illegal Entry

    60 Rwandans Arrested in Uganda over Illegal Entry

    {{Uganda Police is holding over 60 Rwandans who are accused of entering the country illegally.}}

    The suspects being detained at Kabale Police station are aged between 18 and 30 years are were arrested in Kabale district that boarders Rwanda.

    The Kigezi sub-region police spokesman, Mr Elly Maate, said the accused persons were arrested on Tuesday at around 1:30pm at Kabaraga Hill on the Kabale-Kampala road after they were found without any travel documents.

    The accused people, who were travelling in a bus, said they were going to work in tea estates in Mityana District.

    “We believe they entered Uganda through the porous borderline in the sub-counties of Rubaya and Butanda in Kabale District,” Mr Maate said.

    He added: “Knowing that security is tight in Kabale Town, they used boda-boda motorcycles to transport them to a hideout a few kilometres on the Kabale-Kampala road from where they boarded the bus. We managed to arrest them before they travelled 10km from Kabale Town at Kabaraga Hills,” Mr Maate added.

    One of the suspects said they came to Uganda to do menial jobs in tea estates to earn a living, adding that there are no job opportunities in Rwanda.

    {Kigezi sub-region police spokesperson Elly Maate speaks to the detained Rwandans at Kabale Police Station Tuesday.}
    Monitor

  • Kenya Gets US$692mn for Wind Power Project

    Kenya Gets US$692mn for Wind Power Project

    {{Lake Turkana Wind power project in Kenya will receive US$692mn in funds after 11 banking institutions signed a pact to finance the project.}}

    According to officials, construction is likely to begin in June 2014 and the wind farm will have a capacity of 300MW.

    The financiers include Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Standard Bank, PTA Bank, European Investment Bank and East Africa Development Bank, and shareholders will inject US$173mn.

    The US$861mn project is touted to be the largest single wind power scheme in Africa, and will aid consistent power supply in Kenya.

    According to a Kenyan official, a 428km transmission line would be built to transport the electricity from the wind plant.

    Carlo Van Wageningen, chairman of Lake Turkana Wind power project, said, ”Once constructed, Lake Turkana Wind Power will be the largest single wind power project in Africa. It is, to date, the largest single private investment in the history of Kenya.”

    The project expects to produce an initial 100MW in 2016, with the remainder expected to be produced in two years and eight months thereafter, added Van Wageningen.

    Kenya generates 1,664MW of electricity and is working on expanding its power supply by adding 5,000MW by 2017.

    The wind power scheme could help save Kenya up to US$150mn annually in money used to import fuel for thermal power generation, according to project sources.

    {africanreview}

  • South African Firm to aid Nigerian Mining Sector

    South African Firm to aid Nigerian Mining Sector

    {{The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa has announced that it will invest in Nigeria’s mining sector.}}

    IDC said that it was prepared to partner with local investors in the development of project plans, financing and executing, provided the cost is not less than US$10mn.

    Ashely Petersen, senior business development manager of IDC, Africa Unit, said, “Nigeria’s huge population and natural endowment places it as a destination for sustainable investment.

    “It is one of African’s huge markets and we are here to invest in mining as well as forestry.”

    Peterson added that South Africa was also working hard to achieve the inter-Africa trade policy of the African Union (AU).

    “The success of trade policy in the continent will promote stronger cohesion and better understanding among countries,” he added.

  • Rail Line Work Between Niger-Benin to Begin April

    Rail Line Work Between Niger-Benin to Begin April

    {{Construction work on the Cotonou-Parakou-Niamey rail link between Benin and Niger will begin on April 7 2014, according to Nigerian officials.}}

    The line will begin at Benin’s capital Cotonou, extending to Parakou in Benin, and ending at Niger’s capital Niamey, for a total distance of 1,050km.

    The cost of the project is over US$1.3bn, sources added.

    French firm Bollore, partner for the project, has reportedly committed itself to mobilise funds to complete the project in the next four years.

    Up to 40% of the construction cost is expected to come from partners, 10% each from Niger and Benin, 20% each from Nigerian and Beninese private sector partners, according to officials in Nigeria.

    The Cotonou-Parakou-Niamey rail link is part of the the West African rail loop, which aims to connect Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Niamey (Niger) and Cotonou (Benin) via 2,500km of rail track, helping export agricultural products, livestock and mineral resources.

    In November 2013, Mahamadou Issoufou, president of Niger and Thomas Boni Yayi, president of Benin had signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to construct this railway line.

    {africanreview}

  • Sleep Loss May Damage Brain–new Research Says

    Sleep Loss May Damage Brain–new Research Says

    {{Are you a truck driver or shift worker planning to catch up on some sleep this weekend?}}

    Cramming in extra hours of shut-eye may not make up for those lost pulling all-nighters, new research indicates.

    The damage may already be done — brain damage, that is, said neuroscientist Sigrid Veasey from the University of Pennsylvania.

    Alzheimer’s & Sleep

    The widely held idea that you can pay back a sizeable “sleep debt” with long naps later on seems to be a myth, she said in a study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience.

    Long-term sleep deprivation saps the brain of power even after days of recovery sleep, Veasey said. And that could be a sign of lasting brain injury.

    Veasey and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania medical school wanted to find out, so, they put laboratory mice on a wonky sleep schedule that mirrors that of shift workers.

    They let them snooze, then woke them up for short periods and for long ones.

    Then the scientists looked at their brains — more specifically, at a bundle of nerve cells they say is associated with alertness and cognitive function, the locus coeruleus.

    They found damage and lots of it.

    “The mice lose 25% of these neurons,” Veasey said.

    This is how the scientists think it happened.

    When the mice lost a little sleep, nerve cells reacted by making more of a protein, called sirtuin type 3, to energize and protect them.

    But when losing sleep became a habit, that reaction shut down. After just a few days of “shift work” sleep, the cells start dying off at an accelerated pace.

    The discovery that long-term sleep loss can result in a loss of brain cells is a first, Veasey said.

    “No one really thought that the brain could be irreversibly injured from sleep loss,” she said. That has now changed.

    More work needs to be done on humans, she said. And her group is planning to study deceased shift workers to see if they have the same kind of nerve damage.

    They hope their research will result in medicines that will help people working odd hours cope with the consequences of irregular sleep.

    internet

  • Egypt Death Sentences ‘Breach International Law’

    Egypt Death Sentences ‘Breach International Law’

    {{The UN human rights commissioner has condemned an Egyptian court’s decision to sentence to death 528 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsy}}.

    A spokesman for Navi Pillay said the “cursory mass trial” was “rife with procedural irregularities” and breached international human rights law.

    The defendants were found guilty on Monday of charges relating to an attack on a police station in Minya in August.

    Another 683 Morsy supporters went on trial at the same court on Tuesday.

    They include the Muslim Brotherhood’s general guide, Mohammed Badie, and the chairman of its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Saad al-Katatni.

    Later, security forces clashed with hundreds of Minya University students protesting against the trials.

    Tear gas was fired at the students after they blocked a main road, threw stones and set an armoured police vehicle on fire.

    There has been widespread condemnation of Monday’s decision by the Minya Criminal Court to sentence 528 people to death for their alleged participation in an attack on a police station in the central city in mid-August, in which a police officer was killed.

    The incident took place in the immediate aftermath of an operation by security forces to break up two sit-ins in the capital Cairo that left almost 1,000 people dead.

    The sit-ins were set up by supporters of Mr Morsy’s after he was overthrown by the military the previous month.

    The trial, at which more than three-quarters of the defendants were not present, is reported to have lasted less than an hour on Saturday.

    The prosecution did not put forward evidence implicating any individual defendant, even though it had compiled significant evidence, and the court prevented defence lawyers from presenting their case or calling witnesses, according to Human Right Watch.

    A second session was held on Monday solely to announce the verdict.

    On Tuesday, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, told a news conference in Geneva: “The astounding number of people sentenced to death in this case is unprecedented in recent history.”

    “The mass imposition of the death penalty after a trial that was rife with procedural irregularities is in breach of international human rights law.”

    Sixteen Egyptian rights groups voiced concern, saying the trial constituted a “dangerous, unprecedented shift in the Egyptian’s judiciary’s treatment of such cases” and represented “a grave violation of both the right to a fair trial and the right to life”.

    But Egypt’s interim government defended the court, insisting that the sentences had been handed down only “after careful study”.

    The state-run al-Ahram newspaper said the court would issue its final verdict on 28 April after Egypt’s grand mufti, who under the law must ratify each death sentence before it can be carried out, had passed judgement.

    The defendants may then appeal. Legal experts said a higher court would most probably order a retrial or reduce their sentences.

    NMG

  • AU Lists Central African Republic Militia ‘Terrorists’

    AU Lists Central African Republic Militia ‘Terrorists’

    {{The African Union on Tuesday branded militia targeting Muslims in Central African Republic as “terrorists” and said they would be treated as enemy combatants, a day after a Congolese peacekeeper was killed}}.

    The statement suggested deepening international frustration at continuing violence in the impoverished and landlocked country despite the deployment of 2,000 French soldiers and a 6,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission.

    The AU said a peacekeeper from Republic of Congo was killed in fighting late on Monday in Boali, 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangui. AU troops killed 12 militiamen in subsequent clashes, the statement said.

    The incident is the latest in a wave of attacks on the AU peacekeepers, known as MISCA, by the ‘anti-balaka’ militia now roaming much of the capital and the rest of the former French colony, a sparsely populated nation of 4.5 million people.

    “Henceforth, MISCA considers anti-balakas as terrorists and enemy combatants, and they shall be treated accordingly,” the statement said.

    The killing brought to 21 the number of MISCA peacekeepers who have died in Central African Republic, the statement added.

    Mainly Muslim rebels from the north seized power a year ago in Central African Republic but their rule was marked by a string of abuses on the majority Christian population, triggering waves of revenge killings that left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.

    The former rebels quit power in January under international pressure, giving way to an interim civilian government. But it has been powerless to halt attacks on Muslims by militia intent on driving them from the country.

    The United Nations estimates about 15,000 Muslims are still trapped in Bangui and other areas in the north, northwest and south of the country, protected by international forces.

    Heavy weapons fire rang out and grenades exploded as fighting gripped parts of the capital over the weekend, killing at least nine people, according to the local Red Cross.

    Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said its teams treated 38 people injured by bullets, explosions or machetes.

    “These renewed attacks show that the violence in Bangui is not over yet, despite the continued presence of international forces,” said Hakim Chkam, MSF’s head of mission in CAR.

    The U.N.’s top human rights official warned last week that hatred between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic had reached a “terrifying level”.

    reuters

  • Tuareg Rebels Threaten New Revolt

    Tuareg Rebels Threaten New Revolt

    {{The leader of a new armed group in Mali’s troubled north said the central government in Bamako could face another uprising of his Tuareg people if it resists pressure to launch long-delayed talks on the region’s future.}}

    Mali exploded into violence when Tuareg separatist fighters tried to take over the north in early 2012. Islamist militants eventually occupied the region, triggering a French military intervention last year that drove most of the militants out.

    President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, elected in August 2013, is now trying to rebuild Mali, a vast, landlocked former French colony of 16 million people, with the help of billions of dollars in Western aid.

    But critics say Keita’s election promise to build a strong, united Mali is being undermined by his failure to start talks with the Tuaregs, a nomadic people in the north who have rebelled four times since 1960.

    The light-skinned Tuaregs say black African governments in Bamako have consistently excluded them from power.

    “We would like to give talks a chance and we are asking Bamako to sit down at the negotiating table,” Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh of the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) told Reuters by telephone from Burkina Faso on Monday.

    “If the Bamako government doesn’t want to suffer from short-term memory, it should recall that we took up arms many times since 1963 because they didn’t listen to us.”

    wirestory

  • 3 Venezuelan Generals Arrested for Plotting Coup

    3 Venezuelan Generals Arrested for Plotting Coup

    {{Venezuelan officials arrested three air force generals ‘in contact with the opposition’ on charges of plotting a coup, President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday.}}

    Maduro told a meeting of South American foreign ministers that the three generals, who were not identified, “were trying to rise up against the legitimately constituted government.”

    “This group that was captured has direct links with sectors of the opposition and they were saying that this week was the decisive week,” Maduro said.

    He said the generals had already been summoned before a court martial, adding that the plot was discovered because other officers had come forward to say they were being recruited.

    Maduro has routinely accused opponents of plotting a coup like the one that briefly ousted his predecessor, former president Hugo Chavez, in 2002. He has rarely given details and few arrests have been reported.

    His latest disclosure comes amid a broadening government crackdown against Maduro’s opponents after weeks of street protests that have left at least 34 dead.

    On Monday, National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello announced that a prominent opposition deputy, Maria Corina Machado, had lost her seat and parliamentary immunity, and could be arrested at any moment.

    At a news conference in Lima, a defiant Machado said she would return to Caracas on Wednesday, adding she feared she would be arrested on her arrival.

    She said she was returning “because I am a Venezuelan deputy and I will enter Venezuela as such to continue fighting in the streets without rest until we achieve democracy and freedom.”

    Machado angered the government by going before the Organization of American States last week as a guest of Panama to discuss the crisis in Venezuela.

    Panama’s representative to the OAS, Arturo Vallarino, said the move to take away Machado’s seat was “proof of the arbitrary acts being committed in Venezuela.”

    Last week, two opposition mayors were also arrested, and another prominent opposition leader has been in jailed for a month, accused of inciting violence.

    france24