Author: Publisher

Innocent Austin out of custody

{Uncle Austin, real name Austin Luwano, a renowned musician and radio presenter has been released from custody after investigations left him innocent over the crime of issuing a bounced cheque.
}

According to Austin, after his release from custody he plans to release his new single through his gospel album.

The K.F.M Rush Hour presenter was arrested last Monday evening after ignoring police sermons.

After the release Uncle Austin thanked his fans who tried to be near him while behind bars but also expressed anger to those who were excited on what had happened on him in jail, which he referred to as Swata.

January 10, 2014
CAR- President “Djotodia” resigns-leaves thousands dead and displaced

Central Africa Republic’s interim President Michel Djotodia has resigned at a regional summit aimed at ending violence that has engulfed the country.

However, CAR, s entire transitional assembly is attending the meeting in Chad organized by regional leaders.

Mr Djotodia, CAR’s first Muslim leader, had been resisting pressure to go.

His seizure of power last year has led to 20% of the population fleeing their homes amid fighting between Christian and Muslim militias.

The UN has warned of an impending humanitarian disaster.

Since December and the arrival of more regional peacekeepers and French troops, 1,000 people have died in sectarian clashes.

Many villages are deserted and in the last month the number of those who have fled their homes has doubled – including almost half of those living in the capital city, Bangui.

Mr Djotodia’s resignation was made in a statement by the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas).

His Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye, with whom he had a fractious relationship, has also resigned the AFP news agency reports.

January 10, 2014
Nyamagabe: Two suspected killers to face court today

{Two suspects including Ukwizagira Gaspard a.k.a Macenga and Nzasabimfura Emmanuel have pleaded guilty of killing three children in Nyamagabe village and stealing their livestock.}

Before Nyamagabe district court the two suspects accepted the crime while one denied the crime on 10th January 2014 this Thursday.

One of the suspects (Nzasabimfura) accepted the killings but denied stealing of live stock while Ntibitonda denied the crime.

This incident took place on 27th December 2013 at 12 pm in Bishahara village located in Nkomane sector Nyamagabe district.

According to the police, these men faked the children as park rangers while at the buffer-zone where they had found them rearing their livestock and picking firewood.

Among those who died include Nyiranzacahinyeretse who was 10, Mukeshimana Marigarita, 10 and uwizeyimana Emerance aged 8 while Ndabamenye Simeon 12 managed to escape the killings and currently under treatment at Mugonero hospital in Karongi district.

The killers were arrested by the police and have finally accepted the crime and asked for forgives in front of the public while 1 denied the crime.

According to the source the three are to face the court today under the leadership of Gisaro Jean Paul at Nyamagabe court of first instance.

January 10, 2014
“Our President is very much healthy and focused on improving the welfare of all Rwandans”

{The Director of Communication at the Rwanda President’s office qualified rumors that have been spreading around Goma as “Utter nonsense”. Friday, morning, there were rumors in Goma that President Kagame passed away.}

In Goma, People have been seen carrying coffins as a part of celebrating the death of President Paul Kagame.

Meanwhile, President Paul Kagame was, today, holding a meeting with MBA students from Wharton University (USA) at Village Urugwiro

Responding someone on twitter who asked what’s this crazy rumor in Goma Gisenyi that president Paul Kagame of Rwanda has passed away? The Director of Communication at the Rwanda President’s office, Yolanda Makolo, qualified these rumors as “utter nonsense”

Apart from Yolanda, The Prime Minister Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi via his twitter account also said that this rumor “is rubbish. I would advise people not to spend valuable time propelling senseless rumors and speculation.”

He later asserted that “Our President is very much healthy and focused on improving the welfare of all Rwandans”

January 10, 2014
DMO: Envoy says UK, Nigeria pact successful

As the launch of the independent review report of debt management in the country holds today in Abuja by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the British high commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, has described his country’s partnership with Nigeria on this score as successful.

Pocock also said Nigeria was on the path to macro-economic stability through the assistance of United Kingdom in debt management.

“Partnering with countries like Nigeria to pursue self-financed exits from poverty is a key part of the UK government’s development approach. Helping Nigeria improve its debt management is an important achievement on the road to macro-economic stability, economic growth and job creation”, the British envoy said.

Explaining the evolution of Debt Management Office (DMO) in Nigeria, the Centre for the Study of Economies in Africa (CSEA), which is organising today’s review report launch, said it was through the support of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) that Nigeria’s first ever DMO was established in October 2000.

According to CSEA, “Thirteen years on, an independent review concludes that the partnership between the Nigerian government and DFID to establish the DMO has been a success, and Nigeria is now sharing its expertise with other countries in Africa.”

It was also noted that technical assistance from DFID had enabled Nigeria to professionalise the management of its public debt.

“This made it possible for the DMO to establish Nigeria’s debt figure, and in 2005 to successfully negotiate its external debt down from $35 billion to $5 billion. The review also notes that other successes have been the extension of debt management systems from the national to sub-national levels of government and a reasonably well-functioning domestic government bond market enabling Nigeria to raise money from capital markets for its national development,” the Centre for the Study of Economies in Africa said, adding, “Following this success, the DMO has now graduated from UK government technical assistance.”

businessdayonline.com

January 10, 2014
Police, Army officers complete joint course in ‘Post Bomb Blast Investigation’

{The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), in charge of Administration and Personnel, Stanley Nsabimana, challenged the officers to use the acquired knowledge and skills to fulfil their assignments explosive investigations, among others.}

He made the call on Thursday while presiding over the closing of the four day training in Post Bomb Blast investigation course held at the Police Ethics Centre in Kacyiru.

DIGP Nsabimana expressed gratitude to trainers for conducting the course effectively.

He also thanked the officers for having followed the session attentively.

Trainees included twenty-one Police officers and five Army officers.

The course, which included theory and practical lessons aimed at enhancing the officers’ capabilities in investigating explosive-related acts.
Superintendent Vita Hamza, one of the participants thanked both RNP and RDF for organising the course.

“The new package has enlightened our understanding and skills to investigate explosives. We will share the skills with other officers so as to attain sustainable security and ensure that criminals are brought to justice,” SP Hamza said.

January 10, 2014
Kenya says 30 Shebab rebels killed in Somalia air strike

The raid on Thursday evening targeted a Shebab camp in Garbarahey in Gedo region, situated around 600 kilometres (390 miles) northwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu and near the border with Kenya and Ethiopia, the Kenyan military said.

“KDF (Kenya Defence Force) fighter jets attacked an al Shebab camp, where a meeting was being held,” a senior KDF official said.

“Initial battle damage assessment indicates more than 30 al Shebab militants killed, including key commanders,” the official added.

Another military official said the Kenyan armed forces were trying to determine the identities of those killed in the raid.

“We are yet to establish their identities, but they are definitely big shots in the militant group’s hierarchy,” the official said, adding that five vehicles and other “key assets” were destroyed in the raid.

Officials said they believed dozens of other militants were also wounded.

Kenya has been battling the al Qaeda-inspired Shebab on Somali soil since October 2011, and has since joined the African Union force deployed in the country.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to maintain Kenya’s military presence in the war-torn country despite Shebab attacks inside Kenya — including the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in September last year.

“Let them (Shebab) know that we will not relent on the war,” Kenyatta said late last year.

“Our forces will remain in Somalia until such time when we are satisfied that there is peace.”

AFP

January 10, 2014
Chad: Burundian President for Summit on CAR

{Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, has invited his Burundian counterpart, Pierre Nkurunziza, to take part in a Summit of the Central African Economic Community (CEAC) to discuss the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), PANA learnt Tuesday from official sources here.}

The invitation was transmitted by the Chadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Moussa Faki Mohamar, to Bernard Busokoza, the first vice-president of Burundi.

According to the sources, there is an urgent need for a Summit of Heads of States and of Governments of CAEC member states to evaluate and take the necessary measures regarding the situation in CAR.

Burundi and Chad are the two African countries that have sent troops to maintain peace in CAR.

Pana 08/01/2014

January 10, 2014
French magazine reveals Hollande ‘affair’ with actress

{French magazine Closer on Friday said President Francois Hollande was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet, promising to back its claim with photographs after months of swirling rumours.}

The weekly tabloid’s website said its Friday print edition would feature seven pages of revelations and pictures on the 59-year-old president’s alleged relationship with Gayet.

Closer, echoing reports published on various websites in recent days, said Hollande routinely drives through Paris on his scooter to spend the night with his 41-year-old mistress.

“Around New Year’s Day, a helmeted head of state joined the actress at her apartment, where he has got into the habit of spending the night,” Closer wrote on the website, which carries a blurred picture of the cover that appears to show Hollande.

The French presidency did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for a comment.

Respected news weekly L’Express had last month reported that the presidential palace’s security services were increasingly concerned by Hollande’s frequent “escapades”.

Closer said the pictures raise security concerns by showing that the head of state is accompanied by only one bodyguard when he treks halfway across Paris to Gayet’s flat.

The bodyguard “even brings the croissants”, Closer said.

Hollande lives with his partner Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist for whom he left fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children.

Gayet, who appeared in one of Hollande’s 2012 election commercials, filed a complaint in March over rumours of the affair which she said were a breach of privacy.

Gayet is an established television and cinema character actress who has appeared in more than 50 films. She is the mother of two children.

Closer’s revelations set social media alight, with several politicians speculating that pressure would mount on Hollande to officially comment.

If confirmed, Hollande’s relationship with Gayet would perpetuate a long French tradition of philandering presidents and senior politicians.

Jacques Chirac is believed to have had many extra-marital conquests, as was his predecessor Francois Mitterrand, who even had a daughter born to a mistress.

Valery Giscard d’Estaing was also described as an incorrigible womaniser. He even hinted in a recent book at an affair with Princess Diana.

The French are known for being tolerant of their leader’s gallivanting, which has often proved to have little or no negative impact on popularity ratings.

January 10, 2014
Indian diplomat allowed to leave US after indictment

{Devyani Khobragade, an Indian diplomat whose recent arrest in New York stirred outrage in her home country, was allowed to leave the United States on Thursday after being indicted on two criminal charges related to her housekeeper.}

Khobragade, who was India’s deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on Dec. 12 and indicted Thursday by a grand jury for visa fraud and making false statements about how much she paid her housekeeper.

The US State Department had asked India’s government to waive Khobragade’s immunity so that she could be prosecuted, a US government official said on the condition of anonymity, but the request was refused. The State Department then told her she had to leave the country.

At a court hearing late Thursday, Khobragade’s lawyer, Daniel Arshack, told US District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin that he had asked his client not to leave the country until he had informed the judge presiding over her case that she had diplomatic immunity.

Arshack said Khobragade, whose nighttime flight from Kennedy Airport was delayed a couple of hours before finally taking off, was “pleased to be returning to her country.”

“Her head is held high,” the lawyer said. “She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known.”

Allegations of mistreatment

Authorities say Khobragade claimed to pay her Indian maid $4,500 per month but gave her far less than the US minimum wage. The indictment said Khobragade had made multiple false representations to US authorities, or caused them to be made, in order to obtain a visa for a personal domestic worker.

Her arrest set off protests in India after it surfaced that she had been handcuffed and strip-searched. The dispute soured broader US-India relations, leading to sanctions against American diplomats in New Delhi and the postponement of visits to India by senior US officials and another by a US business delegation.

The maid, Sangeeta Richard, said in her first public statements Thursday that she had decided to come to the US to work for a few years to support her family and then return to India.

“I never thought that things would get so bad here, that I would work so much that I did not have time to sleep or eat or have time to myself,” she said in a statement released by the anti-trafficking group Safe Horizon.

She tried to return to India because of how she’d been treated, she said, but her request was refused.

“I would like to tell other domestic workers who are suffering as I did – you have rights and do not let anyone exploit you,” said Richard, who has been vilified in India and accused of blackmailing her employer.

Khobragade has denied the accusations.

In a letter to the judge on Thursday, prosecutors said there was no need for an arraignment because Khobragade had “very recently” been given diplomatic immunity status; they also mistakenly said she’d already left the United States.

A spokesman for prosecutors later clarified that the mix-up came because the State Department advised that she was to have left the country Thursday afternoon.

The charges will remain pending until she can be brought to court to face them, through a waiver of immunity or her return to the US without immunity status, the letter from the office of US Attorney Preet Bharara said.

Arshack said he was pleased the State Department had recognized Khobragade’s diplomatic immunity.

He said the confusion over whether his client had left the country was “emblematic of the series of blunders which has contributed to the false charges brought against her.” He said Khobragade did not make any false statements and paid her domestic worker what she was entitled to be paid.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, REUTERS)

January 10, 2014