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  • Tanzania Child Deaths Drop

    Tanzania Child Deaths Drop

    {{The United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, has applauded Tanzania for decreasing maternal and neonatal deaths in line with the 2015 Millennium Goals.}}

    According to a statement made available by the State House, Mr Ban made the remarks during the last day of a conference on discussions of mother and child health in Toronto, Canada.

    “I would like to congratulate President Kikwete for his efforts in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths. President Kikwete and [Canadian] Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper have revealed how they have grown up in their leadership skills,” said Mr Ban.

    He also urged other countries to emulate Canada in helping other countries to fight against the deaths. Despite these successes, President Kikwete said efforts were still needed to maintain the gains. “We still need health professionals, equipment and technologies.” He said concerted efforts were still needed to manage the success.

    Earlier, President Kikwete said at the dawn of the new millennium, maternal mortality was at 870 per 100,000 live births, infant mortality rate was 115 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality rate was at 191 per 1,000 live births.

    He also noted that the coverage of contraceptives was 7 per cent, and only 43.9 per cent of women gave birth at the health facilities.

    under the care of skilled health professional.

    “Today, less than 600 days towards the deadline, Tanzania maternal mortality rates in 2010 were 454 deaths per 100,000 live births, neonatal rate was 21 (2012) deaths per 1,000 live births and under five mortality is at 54 deaths per 1,000 live births,” said Mr President.

    He added that the use of contraceptives had increased to 27 per cent from 7 and women who give birth at health facilities and attended by skilled midwives are 51 per cent.

    NMG

  • Sudan Denies Death Row Woman Will Be Freed

    Sudan Denies Death Row Woman Will Be Freed

    {{The Sudanese foreign ministry denied a statement attributed to its Undersecretary Abdallah Alazrag in which he announced that the government will seek to free a woman sentenced to death for apostasy within the next few days.}}

    “The lady will be freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice,” Alazrag told press.

    “She will definitely not be executed. I am sure about this,” he to media today.

    The Sudanese diplomat made similar statements to BBC and Reuters.

    Alazrag, who was Khartoum’s ex-ambassador to London, has been staying in Britain for some time seeking medical treatment.

    He did not specify how the 27-year-old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim would be released despite a court conviction which a lawyer told local media can only be overturned by appeals court or a clemency issued by president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

    In a statement to CNN, Sudan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Abu Bakr al-Sideeg, said he was unaware of any plans to release Ibrahim “before a ruling from an appeals court”.

    The court convicted Ibrahim, who is in custody with her 20-month-old son and her newborn baby, of the charges on May 11th and gave her three days to return to Islam.

    The judge also sentenced Ibrahim to 100 lashes after convicting her of adultery as under Sudan’s Islamic Shar’ia law her marriage to a non-Muslim is considered invalid and therefore an adulterous relationship.

    The ruling drew widespread condemnation by Western governments and human right groups.

    Ibrahim’s lawyer Elshareef Ali Elshareef Mohammed told UK-based Channel 4 News today that she is currently being held in the hospital ward of a prison that is overcrowded and “not a proper place” for a new mother. Ibrahim gave birth to her baby daughter this week with her feet chained together, he added.

    He further stressed said that any decision to release her would have to be made by an appeal court, not a government official, and that it would take months, rather than days, to process the appeal.

    He accused Alazrag of making false statements to pacify the media and fend off international pressure.

    “One person in the UK (Alazrag) saw the UK media, and wanted to stop the campaign (for her release),” the lawyer said.

    sudantribune

  • Kinyinya Suburb to Get Tarmac Road Soon

    Kinyinya Suburb to Get Tarmac Road Soon

    {{Residents of Kinyinya Sector in Gasabo District have welcomed the launching by the City of Kigali for the construction of a 5.8 km paved road connecting Kibagabaga area to Kinyinya Suburb.}}

    Kibagabaga-Kinyinya road is a part of the construction of over 10 km of tarmac roads in Kigali City launched Friday 30th May 2014 by the City of Kigali.

    The Construction work is expected to complete within nine months, according to Fidel Ndayisaba, the Mayor of Kigali city.

    Lenata Uwayezu, 45, resident of Kinyinya said that the paved roads will improve the transportation as well as contribute to the beautification of the area.

    “We are very happy to get this road, we waited for it for a long time, and today it is a day full of Joy to see our authorities launching these constructions works” She said in an interview with IGIHE Reporter.

    The City announced that these roads are part of the Kigali master plan. They will open up neighborhoods, reduce congestion on busy roads and support investment.

    According to Officials the Kibagabaga-Kinyinya road will increase accessibility to the upcoming residential area of Kinyinya.

    Other infrastructure projects in the City of Kigali include the construction of 100km of cobblestone roads in the different city neighborhoods.

    The City of Kigali also plans to construct 54km which will include by-pass roads and expansion of d existing roads prone to congestion

    {{One of the well paved roads at lower Kiyovu within Kigali city}}

  • Iran Executes Man Despite International Pressure

    Iran Executes Man Despite International Pressure

    {{Iran on Sunday hanged a man said to be affiliated to an exiled opposition group, state media reported, despite international pressure on the Islamic republic to halt the execution.}}

    According to the official IRNA news agency, Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani was convicted of “waging war against God” (moharebeh) by helping the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI).

    The announcement of the hanging came just hours after Amnesty International said Khosravi Savadjani’s trial in 2010 had been unfair.

    The rights group said the condemned man’s family were informed by prison officials on Saturday that they must go to a jail west of Tehran, sparking fears his execution may be imminent.

    Khosravi Savadjani was until then being held in solitary confinement at Evin Prison in the capital. Death row prisoners in Iran are generally transferred to isolation units before their executions take place.

    Prior to his death, Amnesty said the execution would be a breach of domestic and international law, as Khosravi Savadjani — held since 2008 — should have benefited from a subsequent law that imposed lighter penalties for the crimes he was convicted of.

    The PMOI was founded in the 1960s to oppose the pro-western shah.

    After the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah, the PMOI took up arms against Iran’s clerical rulers and Tehran holds it responsible for murdering thousands of Iranian civilians and officials.

    Iran says PMOI members currently in exile in Iraq should be extradited to face charges.

    Khosravi Savadjani was arrested in 1981 and jailed for several years. He was detained again in 2008 for having contact with the PMOI and has been in custody since.

    According to the Iranian judiciary, documents, including photos and papers from sensitive facilities such as military bases, were recovered when Khosravi Savadjani was arrested. These had been given to the PMOI and their affiliated media, officials said.

    Khosravi Savadjani had also been accused of facilitating financial aid for the opposition group. He was convicted by a revolutionary court and the verdict was later upheld by a branch of Iran’s Supreme Court.

    Amnesty International said Khosravi Savadjani had reportedly been held for more than 40 months in solitary confinement in various detention centres.

    “Yet again Iranian authorities are about to execute a man who did not even receive a fair trial,” Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Saturday.

    Iran remains the second biggest executioner in the world, after China, according to the United Nations.

    wirestory

  • WHO Wants 50% Increase on Tobbacco Taxes

    WHO Wants 50% Increase on Tobbacco Taxes

    {{The World health organization (WHO) has called for a 50% increase in taxes on tobacco.}}

    “We estimate that by increasing tobacco taxes, all countries would reduce the number of smokers by 49 million within the next three years and ultimately save 11 million people,” Collins Mwesigye from WHO told a press conference in Uganda Capital, Kampala.

    In 2012 Uganda cancer institute reported that 20.4 percent of esophagus cancers were linked to tobacco.

    Other disease linked to tobacco use are chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart and blood vessel diseases.

    Mwesigye noted that raising taxes on tobacco in support of the reduction in consumption is a core element of the WHO framework convention on Tobacco control. “As tobacco taxes go up, death and disease will go down,” he said.

    Health minister Ruhakana Rugunda called upon parliament to urgently pass the Tobacco control Act to protect Ugandans from diseases and death.

    He appealed to civil society to play an important role in advising Tobacco farmers to resort to other crops.

    President Yoweri Museveni recently encouraged tobacco farmers in Koboko district during his visit, to adopt alternative crops for their own safety.

    The manager center for Tobacco control in Africa, Possy Mugenyi noted that smoking amongst adults is going down and it is on the rise among the youth.

  • Police Officers Complete Criminal Investigation Course

    Police Officers Complete Criminal Investigation Course

    {{Fifty Nine Police officers completed a ‘basic criminal investigation’ course on May 30 as the force continues to equip the officers with skills in investigating crimes.}}

    officers, the fifth of its kind, was held at the Police Training School in Gishari, Rwamagana District.

    Participants were drawn from different parts of the country.

    During the thirty days, the officers acquire skills in investigation, court procedures, penal code and customer care.

    The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, Dan Munyuza said that training is a vital tool to capacitate officers with skills to deal with the policing challenges effectively.

    Capacity building especially through training is among the priorities of the Rwanda National Police.

    “I have no doubt you are leaving here with the ability to investigate crimes, including those that are cross-border in nature which are largely facilitated by technology,” DIGP Munyuza said.

    He challenged them to use the acquired skills to investigate and fight corruption.
    He also asked them to offer quality services to those who come to them and share the skills and knowledge with their colleagues.

    CPL Gilbert Uwishema, one of the participants said the course improved their understanding and skills in crime investigations and how to handle those who come to seek services.

    The course was organized by the RNP in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

    RNP

  • China Denounces US-Japan Speeches

    China Denounces US-Japan Speeches

    {{China has denounced the Japanese PM and US defence secretary for making “provocative” speeches against China at an Asian security forum in Singapore.}}

    Chinese army general Wang Guanzhong said Chuck Hagel and Shinzo Abe’s comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue were “unacceptable”.

    Mr Hagel had earlier said China was “destabilising” the South China Sea.

    Meanwhile, Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe had vowed to give greater support to South-East Asian countries.

    The forum, which brings together the US and South-East Asian countries, comes amid growing tensions between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, with Japan-China ties also strained over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

    {{‘Unwanted criticisms’}}

    Apparently deviating from his prepared speech, Mr Wang accused Japanese Prime Minister Abe and Defence Secretary Hagel of coordinating and encouraging each other to attack China in their remarks.

    He said it was “unimaginable” to receive such “unwanted criticisms against China”.

    In a keynote address on Friday, Japan’s Shinzo Abe outlined his vision for a more robust role in resolving territorial disputes in the region.

  • Pele’s Son Jailed for 33 Years Over Drugs

    Pele’s Son Jailed for 33 Years Over Drugs

    {{The son of the Brazilian football legend Pele has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money raised from drug trafficking.}}

    Edinho is a retired footballer who played goalkeeper for Pele’s old club, Santos, in the 1990s.

    He was first arrested in 2005 and has served a sentence for drug trafficking offences and links with a notorious drug dealer in the city of Santos.

    He admits he had a drug problem but denies the trafficking charges.

    The ruling was issued by a judge in the nearby coastal city of Praia Grande, in Sao Paulo state.

    Brazilian media have not been able to contact Edinho, whose real name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, but they say he is expected to appeal.

    Edinho, 43, works as a goalkeeping coach at Santos.

    {{US childhood}}

    Pele, or Edson Arantes do Nascimento, played all his professional career in Brazil for Santos.

    Playing for Brazil, he won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and was acclaimed as the greatest footballer of his generation.

    He retired in 1974, but made a comeback a year later for New York Cosmos.

    Edinho is Pele’s third son from his first marriage. He was five when the family moved to New York to play for Cosmos.

    When he returned to Brazil he decided to pursue a career in professional football – as a goalkeeper, much to his father’s surprise.

    He was Santos’ goalkeeper in 1995 when the team reached the Brazilian league final, losing the title to Botafogo.

    His detention and alleged involvement with drug gangs took most people in Brazil by surprise.

    Pele, now 73, went to visit his son several times in jail.

    “God willing, justice will be done. There is not a shred of evidence against my son,” he said in 2006.

    Edinho said that his father was his idol.

    Four other people have also been convicted for many laundering, including a man accused of controlling much of the drug trafficking in the region – Ronaldo Duarte Barsotti, known as Naldinho.

    wirestory

  • Qatar World Cup: $5M Corruption Claim

    Qatar World Cup: $5M Corruption Claim

    {{Fifa is facing fresh allegations of corruption over its controversial decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, Reports the Sunday Times.}}

    has obtained millions of secret documents – emails, letters and bank transfers – which it alleges are proof that the disgraced Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totalling US$5m to football officials in return for their support for the Qatar bid.

    Qatar 2022 and Bin Hammam have always strenuously denied the former Fifa vice-president actively lobbied on their behalf in the run-up to the vote in December 2010.

    But, according to emails obtained by the Sunday Times, it is now clear that Bin Hammam, 65, was lobbying on his country’s behalf at least a year before the decision.

    The documents also show how Bin Hammam was making payments directly to football officials in Africa to allegedly buy their support for Qatar in the contest.

    Qatar strongly denies any wrongdoing and insists that Bin Hammam never had any official role supporting the bid and always acted independently from the Qatar 2022 campaign.

    When approached by media to respond to their claims, Bin Hammam’s son Hamad Al Abdulla declined to comment on his behalf.

    Although the vast majority of the officials did not have a vote, the Sunday Times alleges Bin Hammam’s strategy was to win a groundswell of support for the Qatari bid which would then influence the four African Fifa executive committee members who were able to take part in the election.

    The Sunday Times also alleges that it has documents which prove Bin Hammam paid 305,000 Euros (£250,000) to cover the legal expenses of another former Fifa executive committee member from Oceania, Reynald Temarii.

    sundaytimes

  • Anti Third Term Protests Grip Burkina Faso Capital

    Anti Third Term Protests Grip Burkina Faso Capital

    {{Tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou on Saturday to voice their opposition to a referendum that would lift presidential term limits and allow the country’s leader to seek re-election next year.}}

    The rally in the 45,000-seat Stade du 4 Aout was a response to a demonstration last month by President Blaise Compaore’s supporters who backed the referendum.

    “We don’t want unlimited presidential mandates because Burkina Faso is not a kingdom where one dies in power,” opposition leader Zephirin Diabre told the crowd. “It is a republic where men move on and the institutions remain.”

    Compaore, who has held power since leading a coup in 1987, has positioned himself as a power broker in West Africa and a key ally of France and the United States in the fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists in the Sahara-Sahel band.

    While he has not yet formally announced his plans, last month’s rally was the clearest indication yet that he wishes to change the constitution.

    The referendum would ask voters to approve changes to Article 37 of the constitution, which was drafted in 2000 and limits presidents to two terms. Compaore secured his second five-year mandate in 2010.

    “We must dissuade President Blaise Compaore and his supporters from organising the referendum. But if they persist, we will move into another phase,” said Diabre, who heads a grouping of 36 opposition parties.

    “We will use all means allowed under the law to make them fail miserably,” he said.