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  • Floods Kill Atleast 50 in Bujumbura

    Floods Kill Atleast 50 in Bujumbura

    {{At least 50 people are reported to have died after floods and landslides hit the Burundi capital, Bujumbura.}}

    The reporters in Bujumbura city says it is not yet possible to give accurate figures because bodies may be hidden in the mud or under debris.

    One man said he had lost nine relatives.

    Our correspondent says the main hospital’s morgue is full, and that people are being treated outside.

    Local hospitals are unable to cope with the numbers of wounded.

    Water and mud flooding down from hills outside the city have washed away hundreds of houses, according to police.

    “The rain that fell in torrents overnight on the capital caused a disaster,” Security Minister Gabriel Nizigama told reporters.

    “We have already found the bodies of 51 people killed when their houses collapsed or were swept away,” he said.

    Media reports that torrential rain fell for 10 hours overnight and caused widespread power cuts.

    Roads and crops have also been destroyed.

    Bujumbura is on a plain that lies between a range of hills and Lake Tanganyika.

    {Buterere is one of the worst affected districts of Bujumbura}
    {agencies}

  • Ghana Oil Sector Created 7000 Jobs

    Ghana Oil Sector Created 7000 Jobs

    {{About 7,000 jobs have been created by the oil and gas sector since Ghana became full time petroleum exporting country in 2011, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has revealed.}}

    According to Edward Abambire Bawa, Head of Communications Unit of the Ministry, Ghanaians have directly benefited from about 5,600 jobs out of the figure.

    This, he said, is outside jobs provided by statutory state institutions such as the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC).

    Mr. Bawa was contributing to discussions to a radio program regarding how revenue accrued from the oil and gas has been disbursed after almost five years exploration.

    There are concerns funds accruing to the nation from the oil discovery are not being properly utilised to benefit the Ghanaian, as people cite the recent economic downturn coupled with the falling value of the local currency.

    Mr. Edward Bawa said government also facilitated the establishment of 75 local companies to provide services in the oil and gas industry. He said this has contributed to the “gradual increment” in the flow of investments into companies run by local people in the sector.

    “So, that’s one aspect of some of the benefits that we get [from the sector] that may not necessarily be reflected on the various revenues that we get in terms of the petroleum revenues,” he stated.

    He called for restraints from the public in demanding how the funds are being utilised, stressing, “we are at the infant stage of this [oil find], till we begin to start putting things well.

    “…These are some of the things we can do based on the experience we are gathering over last period of four or five years that we have found oil in our country”.

    {{Transparency is key}}

    Kwame Gyantua, past vice Chairman for Civil Society Platform for Oil and Gas, called for transparency in the management of the fund as well as the need to educate the people to enable them become conversant with the operations of the sector.

    “If the law says publish how the monies [revenue] are being spent, publish it so that you don’t get innuendos …it puts the government in bad light.

    “The other thing we should try and do is that the terms and the terminologies and the kinds of words we use in this industry should be defined for the ordinary man to also understand”.

    {{Developing Ghana’s economy}}

    Mohammed Amin Adam of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, expressed worry about how a chunk of revenue from the sector is being used to develop oil and gas infrastructure at the expense of other sectors of the economy.

    “So far, the way we have disbursed the oil money does not show that we are diversifying our economy. Countries that have succeeded in translating their oil and gas resources to tangible development outcomes, are countries that have used their resources to diversify their economy.

    “About 340 million dollars out of the 770 million dollars we got [for 2014] went to the oil and gas infrastructure. What is happening is that the agriculture sector suffers, the manufacturing sector suffers [and] road infrastructure suffers,” he noted.

    “If we begin to reason that oil will finish one day but our agric will be with us, our manufacturing will be with us, education will be with us [then] we have to begin to use this money to build these sectors so that when the oil is finished we still have an economy,” Mr Adam stressed.

    {myjoyonline}

  • EU Agrees to Open Cuba Negotiations

    EU Agrees to Open Cuba Negotiations

    {{The European Union has agreed to launch negotiations with Cuba aimed at restoring full bilateral relations with the Communist-run island.}}

    The talks, which could begin as soon as next month, will try to increase trade and investment, and include a dialogue on human rights, officials said.

    Since 1996, the EU has restricted its ties with Cuba to encourage multi-party democracy and progress on human rights.

    The bloc is Cuba’s second-biggest trading partner after Venezuela.

    It represents a major source of investment, and hundreds of thousands of European tourists visit the island every year.

    {{‘Vote of confidence’}}

    EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton stressed that human rights remained “at the core” of its dealings with Cuba.

    “These negotiations will help consolidate our engagement with Cuba,” she said. “I hope Cuba will take up this offer.”

    The announcement comes with Cuba engaged in an economic and social reform process launched by President Raul Castro.

    The EU ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the talks came in response to “serious” changes in Cuba.

    “It is to some extent a vote of confidence in the reforms and that the new realities in Cuban society are irreversible, and that we want to be on board,” Mr Portocarero said.

    “We hope to promote a future model of Cuban society which is closer to European values.”

    But he added that the EU had a number of “red lines” in order for the relations to be normalised. These included such issues as human rights and the possibility for civil society groups to have legal status.

    The move indicates the most important diplomatic shift since the EU lifted sanctions against Cuba in 2008.

    It follows the visit by Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans to Cuba in January. During his trip, Mr Timmermans called on the EU to change its policy toward the island.

    He said the best way to promote change was through dialogue, not isolation.

    In 1996, the EU agreed on a set of rules governing its relations with Cuba, called the Common Position.

    It states that the EU’s objective is “to encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as sustainable recovery and improvement in the living standards of the Cuban people”.

    Despite the policy, more than half of EU member states have bilateral agreements with Cuba.

    Cuba has rejected the Common Position, arguing that it constitutes an interference in its internal affairs.

    {BBC}

  • More art Found in Nazi Loot Probe

    More art Found in Nazi Loot Probe

    {{Dozens more art works have emerged at the Austrian home of Cornelius Gurlitt, the German collector found in 2012 with hundreds of paintings believed stolen by the Nazis.}}

    The latest finds in Salzburg include paintings by Renoir, Monet and Picasso.

    A spokesman for Mr Gurlitt, who is in his eighties, said experts were examining the works to see if they were stolen during the Nazi era.

    “After an initial assessment that suspicion is not confirmed,” he said.

    More than 1,400 art works estimated to be worth $1.35bn (£846m), were discovered in Mr Gurlitt’s apartment in Munich in March 2012. But details of the find only came to light last year, apparently during a routine tax inspection.

    Hundreds of the paintings were believed to have been looted by the Nazis. Mr Gurlitt’s late father Hildebrand was a Nazi-era art dealer but kept many of the works himself.

    A lawyer, Christoph Edel, who is acting as supervisor for Mr Gurlitt, has arranged for the works found at the collector’s Salzburg home to be secured from any break-in or theft, German news agency DPA reports.

    BBC

  • 100 Dead in Algeria Plane Crash

    100 Dead in Algeria Plane Crash

    {{An Algerian military transport plane has crashed in the north-east of the country, killing more than 100 people, Algerian media say.}}

    The plane crashed in a mountainous area in Oum al-Bouaghi province, said private TV station Ennahar.

    Its source said that contact was lost with the military plane between Constantine and Oum al-Bouaghi.

    There are reports that the plane was carrying military personnel and family members.

    There has been no official confirmation from the army as yet.

    Ennahar reports that ambulances have been dispatched to the crash zone, which is some 380km (240 miles) east of the capital Algiers.

    wirestory

  • Kigali will host renown Swedish Photographer Jens Assur’s exhibition “Africa is a Great Country”

    Kigali will host renown Swedish Photographer Jens Assur’s exhibition “Africa is a Great Country”

    {Photographer and film-maker Jens Assur depicts urban Africa and challenges western preconceptions with highly topical photographic works, in an art project with the ironic title Africa is a Great Country. The exhibition will be on show at CRD Studio (former Camp Kigali) 12-22 February, 2014. “We’re constantly being fed an image of how Africa is dying,” explains Assur. “I want to show how Africa is thriving.” }

    Jens Assur, one of Sweden’s top award-winning photographers and film-makers, has visited twelve African cities, including Kigali with the aim of challenging the dominant western media reporting on Africa and presenting a completely different picture of the continent instead. An Africa that is progressing and developing at a record pace, with countries that top the list of the world’s fastest growing nations.

    “I’ve chosen exciting cities where growth and development can be seen clearly. One example is Kigali in Rwanda, which is associated in most people’s minds with the genocide of 1994. Today, the city is almost like a cross between Beverly Hills and Switzerland – prosperous, orderly and green. Or Gaborone in Botswana, a country that conjures up images of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, with its red earth roads and its picturesque landscape. You could take a slice of the city and put it down in Los Angeles, and no-one would notice the difference.”

    Embassy of Swede

  • Kagarama Court to determine who killed Buhendwa’s servant

    Kagarama Court to determine who killed Buhendwa’s servant

    {Rwanda National police has said that the court will decide who is responsible for the murder of a young girl who was killed and buried at home where she was a servant.}

    Last month, Police arrested several suspects after discovering the body of the deceased servant was buried at her boss’s home although the family of Buhendwa Miladji and his wife Nyirakimonyo Akyda was announcing that Musindikazi Favolonia (their servant) went missing.

    The incidence took place in Intwari village, Rukatsa Cell, Kagarama Sector in Kicukiro District.

    On 31 January 2014, Kagarama court ordered the temporary release of Buhendwa Miladji and his wife Nyirakimonyo Akyda previously arrested in connection with the death of their servant Musindikazi Favolonia.

    Apart from the couple, on 7th February 2014, Kagarama Court has also decided to release another suspect Rugira Richard previously suspected to have handful information about the murder of Musindikazi.

    Rugira’s Lawyer Kayiranga Cyrile told IGIHE that “The court decided his release after having found that there are no reasons for his detention”

    Meanwhile Police said releasing them does not stop the investigations from continuing. “This is a temporary release. If we find other signs justifying their arrest, Police will go and arrest them but because they are not, the court will name people involved in the murder and we will arrest them.”

  • Government of Rwanda and Global Fund sign Frw 138 billion grant agreement

    Government of Rwanda and Global Fund sign Frw 138 billion grant agreement

    {The Government of Rwanda and the Global Fund yesterday signed a two year US$ 204 million (approximately Frw 138 billion) grant that will support the National Strategic Plan (2013-2018).}

    The grant is part of a result-based funding mechanism approach which will finance two of the five year National strategic Plan. National Strategic Plan is a five year strategy which will guide programming and implementation of HIV related interventions and activities in the period of 2013 – 18.

    According to the agreement, the funds will be channelled through sector budget support based on HIV national strategic plan cash needs.

    The National strategic plan is aligned with the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2), Vision 2020 and takes into account of last strategy achievements.

    Speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete noted that Global Fund has been a good development partner and has supported various health projects, including Malaria and Tuberculosis.

    “Without a healthy population we cannot go anywhere. We realize that there has to be sustainability. We will ensure accountability not only for further funding but also to sustain the gains made,” Minister Gatete said.

    Minister of Health Agnes Binagwaho lauded the results based funding approach noting that it is a result of Rwanda’s proven track record of success in health programs and financial management.

    “This funding will sustain the universal access to treatment and care, reduce new infections by two-thirds, and halve the number of HIV/Aids related deaths in the next five years,” Minister Binagwaho underscored.

    Global Fund executive director, Mark Dybul acknowledged Rwanda’s record in effective use of resources noting that the country was a role model in the world for what can be done best.

    “This grant model is only applicable in high performing countries with robust and reliable national systems, Rwanda definitely fits the bill,” Dybul said.

    Besides the grant signing, the event also marked 10 year partnership between the Rwandan Government and Global Fund which has seen the latter cumulatively grant Rwanda close to $ 900 million.

  • RURA warns Rwandans not to buy fake decoders

    RURA warns Rwandans not to buy fake decoders

    {The Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA) warns buyers of decoders for their TV sets that some vendors are offering fake decoders whose capacity are not responding to the latest digital technologies.}

    RURA made the warning on Sunday during a radio talk show ‘ Kubaza bitera Kumenya ‘ which was devoted to the new digitized technology used in TV programs instead of analog technology previously used in the transmission of images of the Rwanda Television.

    Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the Head of Information and Communication who participated in the debate said “We will always track those who trade decoders that do not meet criteria of approved decoders. To date, only Startimes , Transafrica , TV10/GOTV are authorized to distribute decoders”

    With digital technologies, it is expected that 90% of Rwandan citizens will have ample access to TVR programs whereas with analog system, they were only 45%.

  • Kikwete Sends Special Envoy to Kigali

    Kikwete Sends Special Envoy to Kigali

    {{Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete has reportedly sent his special assistant, Prof Mark Mwandosya, to Kigali for a week-long official visit ‘to learn on how Rwanda plans and implements social and economic services’.}}

    The Pro government media (The Citizen) says Prof Mwandosya, is a minister of State in the President’s Office, Special Duties, he reportedly travelled to Rwanda on Saturday .

    Diplomatic relations between Kigali and Dar es Salaam have been at an all-time low.

    Diplomacy between the two countries was shaken following Kikwete’s advice last May that Rwanda initiates talks with FDLR rebels as part of efforts to end the DR Congo crisis.

    Rwanda felt offended by President Kikwete’s advice and rejected the idea outright saying that they cannot sit down with genocidaires.

    However, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and his counterpart held talks in the Uganda capital Kampala last August over the matter.