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  • Angola denies reports on banning Islam

    Angola denies reports on banning Islam

    {Angola’s government has denied it had banned Islam and closed mosques in the country, after media speculation that sparked outrage among Muslims worldwide.}

    “There is no war in Angola against Islam or any other religion,” said Manuel Fernando, director of the National Institute for Religious Affairs, part of the ministry of culture, onTuesday.

    “There is no official position that targets the destruction or closure of places of worship, whichever they are.”

    David Ja, a spokesman for local Muslims, challenged the government’s account and said that a number of mosques had already been closed.

    But according to the ministry of culture, those closures were related to a lack of necessary land titles, building licenses or other official documents.

    A witness in the province of Uige (Carmona) told Al Jazeera that the closed mosques were hastility built by expatriate communities from west and north Africa who needed a place to perform Friday prayers.

    “It’s true that several mosques have been destroyed and others simply shut down in the last few months. Most of the mosques that were destroyed were built without government permission. Two authorised mosques in Luanda are still operating without a problem. I have not heard of any official decision to ban Islam or prohibit Muslim prayers in mosques.” Ahmed ould Taher told Al Jazeera.

    Worldwide media coverage

    Reports that Angola, a traditionally devout Catholic nation, would crack down on Muslims had drawn condemnation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and others.

    In Egypt, mufti Shawqi Allam said such a move would be “a provocation not only to Angolan Muslims but to more than 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world”.

    The issue, which was first reported late last week, attracted huge media coverage worldwide and generated strong reactions on social media.

    The controversy was further fueled by the government’s poor communication on the issue.

    The oil-rich southern African nation has a population of about 18 million people, several hundred thousand of whom are Muslims.

    Religious organisations are required to apply for accreditation in Angola, which currently recognises 83, all of them Christian.

    In October the justice ministry rejected the applications of 194 organisations, including one from an umbrella Islamic community group.

    Angola’s oil boom has attracted large expatriate communities from across the world.

    Source:
    Al Jazeera and agencies

  • Somalia: Deputy PM “The country is moving towards peace and the rule of law”

    Somalia: Deputy PM “The country is moving towards peace and the rule of law”

    {The Somali government is putting human rights and development “centre-stage” of its bold reforming agenda, Her Excellency Fawzia Yusuf H. Adam, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister says today.}

    Speaking at a high-level EU Development summit in Brussels, the Deputy Prime Minister will give an upbeat assessment of progress during the government’s one year in office. As part of its rights-based approach to development and the war against extremists, the administration was prioritising education and youth employment.

    “Make no mistake, education and employment are absolutely critical to wean young Somalis away from extremists. My message today is that they must both be seen as part of the war against Al Shabaab,” the Deputy Prime Minister says.

    The government has been working closely with the UN, EU and other international partners to develop a Somali-owned Human Rights Road Map with a new Directorate General for Human and Minority Rights and the Rule of Law. Earlier in the year, the UN’s Independent Human Rights Expert on Somalia Dr. Shamsul Bari, visited Mogadishu and gave the new government a vote of confidence, arguing that “the rule of law and justice were taking root” and that there was “a bright future ahead”.

    The worst abuser of human rights in Somalia was Al Shabaab, says the Deputy Prime Minister, the group that Somali religious scholars recently issued a fatwa against. “Their wanton violence, their treatment of women and minorities, their blockade of humanitarian aid to the vulnerable populations, and their opposition to schools and clinics in areas that they control are clear indications that Al Shabaab is a force that must be met with unified international resolve to destroy.”

    Summarising the situation in Somalia, the Deputy PM says optimism is “the new buzz word. We are now at an exciting time in Somalia where we are rebuilding institutions and government virtually from scratch. We are moving from a period of conflict and anarchy towards peace and the rule of law. No longer a failed state, we are well and truly back on the map.”

    The high-level summit includes the President of the European Commission, the Presidents of Liberia and Niger and the Prime Ministers of Jamaica, Lithuania and Cape Verde and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

    RBC Radio

  • EU High Rep Catherine Ashton condemns the killing of Rwandan UNAMID Peacekeeper

    EU High Rep Catherine Ashton condemns the killing of Rwandan UNAMID Peacekeeper

    {The spokesperson and High Representative of European Union, Catherine Ashton, strongly condemns the killing of Rwandan UNAMID Peacekeeper in a recent attack that took place in Kabkayiya, North Darfur.
    }

    High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy issued the following statement today:

    “The High Representative strongly condemns the attack by unidentified assailants on UNAMID peacekeepers on 24 November near Kabkayiya, North Darfur, in which one Rwandan peacekeeper was killed.”

    Catherine offers her heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim, to the Government of Rwanda and to all UNAMID personnel.

    The High Representative calls on the Government of Sudan to take swift action to investigate the incident, as well as other recent attacks on UNAMID, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

  • Cooperative agriculture -The best solution to achieve profitable agro-Business

    Cooperative agriculture -The best solution to achieve profitable agro-Business

    { Cooperative farming is a system in which individual farmers pool their resources (excluding land) to buy commodities such as seeds and fertilizers, and services such as marketing.}

    It is a system of farming found throughout the world and is particularly widespread in Denmark and the ex-Soviet republics, in a collective farm where land is also held in common.

    In Israel, farmers have nearly perfected cooperative farming. Moshavim are types of cooperative agricultural communities of individual farms pioneered by the Jewish immigration, during the early 20th Century.

    The moshavim are similar to kibbutzim with an emphasis on community labor, But contrary to the collective kibbutzim, farms in moshav tended to be individually owned but of fixed and equal size.

    Workers produced crops and goods on their properties through individual or pooled labor and resources and used profit and foodstuffs to provide for themselves, thus creating a system where good farmers were better off than bad ones, unlike in the communal kibbutzim where all members enjoyed the same living standard.

    However, Small holder farmers gain big benefits from agricultural cooperatives including bargaining power and resource sharing that may lead to food security and poverty reduction for millions of people.

    The importance of agricultural cooperatives in improving the lives of millions of smallholder farmers and their families cannot be overstated.

    {{Benefits of cooperative agriculture}}

    Empowered by being a part of a larger group, smallholder farmers can negotiate better terms in contract farming and lower prices for agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizer and equipment. In addition, cooperatives offer prospects that smallholder farmers would not be able to achieve individually such as helping them to secure land rights and better market opportunities.

    Ranging from small-scale to multi-million dollar businesses across the globe, cooperatives operate in all sectors of the economy, count over 800 million members and provide 100 million jobs worldwide – 20 per cent more than multinational enterprises.

    In 2008, the largest 300 cooperatives in the world had an aggregate turnover of US$1.1 trillion, comparable to the gross domestic product (GDP) of many large countries.

    Agriculture, including farming, forestry, fisheries and livestock, is the main source of employment and income in rural areas, where the majority of the world’s poor and hungry people live.

    Agricultural cooperatives play an important role in supporting men and women small agricultural producers and marginalized groups by creating sustainable rural employment.

    Producer cooperatives offer men and women smallholders market opportunities, and provide them with services such as better training in natural resource management, and better access to information, technologies, innovations and extension services.

    Through support from the government and other organizations, smallholders can achieve sustainable livelihoods, improve food security in their communities and play a greater role in meeting the growing demand for food on local, national and international markets.

    In Brazil, cooperatives were responsible for 37.2 percent of agricultural GDP and 5.4 percent of overall GDP in 2009, and earned about US$3.6 billion from exports. In Mauritius, cooperatives account for more than 60 percent of national production in the food crop sector and in Kenya the savings and credit cooperatives have assets worth US$2.7 billion, which account for 31 percent of gross national savings.

    {{How to support agriculture cooperatives}}

    • Carrying out initiatives to better understand cooperatives and assess their socio-economic development impact, and to raise awareness of their role and impact on the lives of men and women smallholder farmers.

    • Supporting cooperatives to form networks through which smallholder producers can pool their assets and competencies to overcome market barriers and other constraints such as a lack of access to natural resources;

    • Assisting policy-makers in the design and implementation of policies, laws, regulations and projects that take into consideration the needs and concerns of both men and women smallholder farmers and create enabling environment for agricultural cooperatives to thrive; and

    • Strengthening the dialogue and cooperation between governments, agricultural cooperatives, the international research community and civil society representatives on analyzing the best conditions for cooperatives worldwide to develop.

  • Zambia: 2 Rwandese get 6yrs for manslaughter

    Zambia: 2 Rwandese get 6yrs for manslaughter

    THE Lusaka High Court has sentenced two Rwandese businessmen to six years imprisonment with hard labour after they were convicted of manslaughter.

    In this case, Fresiyano Nyaiman, 28, and Edward Mpendwanzi, 36, were charged with murder contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

    It was alleged that the duo on September 25, 2010 jointly and whilst acting together murdered Acklas Moonga.

    The duo pleaded not guilty to the offence and the prosecution called eight witnesses in support of its case.

    The court later reduced the charge to manslaughter.

    According to one of the prosecution witnesses, the deceased, who was a bricklayer, went to a shop in Chalala and bought a sachet of milk.

    However, the shopkeeper refused to give him his change, saying he had already been given.

    During the argument, the deceased was hit with a Coca-Cola bottle on the head and bled profusely.

    The witness also said he was standing next to the deceased when the owner of the shop hit him with his vehicle.

    The witness explained that the deceased fell to the ground next to the vehicle.

    In her judgment, Lusaka High Court judge Anessie Banda-Bobo said she had no doubt in her mind that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the duo’s unlawful action of hitting the deceased first with a bottle and later with the vehicle led to his eventual death.

    Judge Bobo, however, said the state had not proved through the testimony of its witnesses that the duo formed the necessary intention to cause grievous bodily harm or had a blameworthy state of mind to kill the deceased.

    “I have no doubt that A1 and A2 inflicted bodily injury on the deceased which ultimately led to his death even though not immediately,” she said.

    Judge Bobo said on the weight of the evidence before her, the assault on the deceased was not so much that the accused could be taken as reasonable men to have contemplated grievous bodily harm.

    “Consequently, I find that the accused committed the felony termed manslaughter by an unlawful act that is inflicting bodily injury which caused the ultimate death of Acklas Moonga although their acts were not the immediate or sole cause of death,” said judge Bobo.

    {{The Post}}

  • Rwanda Launches Mass circumcision to curb HIV

    Rwanda Launches Mass circumcision to curb HIV

    {Rwanda aims to non-surgically circumcise 700,000 adult men by 2016 as part of strategy to achieve AIDS-free generation.}

    Rwanda has launched a national drive to “non-surgically” circumcise 700,000 men in a bid to cut rates of HIV infection, claiming to be the first country in the world to do so.

    The health ministry said it “aims to circumcise 700,000 adult men between ages 15-49” by the end of 2016.

    “Studies have shown that circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV/AIDS infection by roughly 60 per cent,” the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that “male circumcision is one of the key strategies to achieving an AIDS-free generation.”

    Around 210,000 people are living with HIV in the tiny central African country.

    Non-surgical circumcision involves a plastic device called PrePex comprising two rings and an elastic band that cuts off blood supply to the foreskin, which shrivels and is removed with the band after a week.

    Bloodless procedure

    Minister of Health Agnes Binagwaho said it had been “clinically validated as a bloodless procedure that doesn’t necessitate injected anaesthesia”.

    “Rwanda is the first country to launch non-surgical adult male circumcision with an aim of reducing HIV infection,” Binagwaho said at the launch of the project, which is backed by the World Health Organisation.

    The makers of PrePex boast that a man “can resume work and almost all daily activities shortly after the procedure”, with the device “designed to be placed, worn, and removed with minimal disruption”, although they should abstain from sex for six weeks afterwards.

    The device takes only five minutes to apply. Tzameret Fuerst, president of PrePex, described it as “a very simple procedure that any nurse can conduct.”

    Rwanda’s adult HIV rate of 2.9 per cent is already quite low compared to some other African nations.

    As well as Rwanda, the PrePex device is already also being used in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    Agencies

  • France sends in troops to Central African Republic to stop ‘another Rwanda’

    France sends in troops to Central African Republic to stop ‘another Rwanda’

    {France is to send 1,000 soldiers to the Central African Republic to try to contain a conflict which threatens to explode into a vicious Muslim-Christan civil war.}

    The deployment – the second French intervention in Africa this year – is likely to win UN Security Council approval in the next few days. The French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves le Drian, spoke of a “short mission to allow calm and stability to return” after the overthrow of the President eight months ago.

    “The Central African Republic is in a state of collapse and we cannot allow a country to fall apart like that, with the risk of violence, massacres and humanitarian chaos, ” Mr Le Drian said.

    Both sides have accused each other of atrocities since a Muslim rebel alliance overthrew a Christian president in March. There have been reports of massacres, rape and the conscription of child soldiers by the rebel forces.

    Over a million people, in a country of 4.4 million, are facing famine. An estimated 400,000 people have been forced from their homes and 68,000 have fled to neighbouring countries.

    The UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the Security Council on Monday that the CAR was becoming a “breeding ground for extremists and armed groups” and could descend into a full-scale civil war between Muslim and Christian communities. UN officials have warned of the “potential for another Rwanda”.

    Mr Eliasson suggested that the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force of up to 9,000 troops might now be inevitable. The new French force will join the 400 French soldiers on the ground in a six-month “bridging operation” before a large peacekeeping operation by the African Union begins next month.

    Agencies

  • Vanoil Says It May Accept Other Explorers in Rwanda Oil Search

    Vanoil Says It May Accept Other Explorers in Rwanda Oil Search

    {Vanoil Energy Ltd. (VEL) is discussing with the Rwandan government the option of allowing other companies to help explore the country’s East Kivu Graben Basin as they seek to end a dispute over exploration rights.}

    “It is possible that a settlement or an agreement between the parties might allow other companies to come in, but we’ll have to wait and see where we get at with the agreement,” Chief Executive Officer Sam Malin said in an interview today from Cape Town, South Africa.

    The Canadian oil and gas explorer said in September it had the sole rights for a production-sharing contract in the northwest block after signing a technical evaluation agreement and spending $3 million on exploration. The company said then it would seek a conciliation session with the East African government after talks for the concession broke down in June.

    “We’ve moved on from that,” Malin said. “Vanoil and the government are in discussions on an appropriate solution, settlement if you like, that’s fair to both parties without going through costs, et cetera, that everybody would incur if we were to go down the arbitration route.”

    Rwanda is trying to leverage its natural resources to accelerate growth in the $7 billion economy, which is now mainly dependent on coffee and tea exports and tourism. Gross domestic product is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to increase 7.5 percent both this year and next.

    Investment in East Africa’s oil and gas industry has surged since the 2006 discovery of oil in Uganda, while Kenya found its first crude deposit last year and Tanzania and Mozambique hold large natural gas reserves off their coast.

    {{Kivu Basin }}

    Rwanda’s Minister of State for Mining Evode Imena said this month the government was in late-stage discussions to secure “the best oil exploration companies that can handle the work” in the Kivu basin and that the next step was to conduct a three-dimensional seismic survey.

    “We are far from getting the picture of the amount of oil deposits that lie in Kivu basin,” Imena said. “The 3D seismic will give the full picture on the amount of deposits.”

    Elsewhere in Africa, Vanoil also has exploration rights to two inland blocks and a 10 percent working interest in offshore acreage in Kenya. It holds a 25 percent participating stake in two offshore areas of Seychelles, along with partner Afren Plc (AFR), according to the British Columbia-based company’s website.

    Malin, a former non-executive director at Vanoil, this month replaced Aaron D’Este, who stepped down because of health reasons, the company said on Nov. 15.

    Bloomberg

  • Rwanda delegation heads to Lesotho to exchange on Decentralization

    Rwanda delegation heads to Lesotho to exchange on Decentralization

    {Following the visit of the Deputy Premier and Minister of Local Government of Lesotho the Right Honourable Metsing Mathejoa and his delegation to Rwanda, Minister Musoni James is on a four day reciprocal visit in Lesotho leading a delegation comprised of Vincent Karega, Rwanda High Commissioner to South Africa and Dr Shyaka Anastase, CEO of Rwanda Governance Board.
    }

    The visit aims at implementing the Memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Government of Rwanda and the Kingdom of Lesotho in the area of Decentralization.

    Lesotho has embarked on a series of governance reforms including Decentralisation. Having a lot in common with Rwanda such as being landlocked countries, small size and less endowed with natural resources, the two friend nations strongly believe in south cooperation in search for innovative solutions to boost their development.

    In that regard Lesotho finds Rwanda 13years of successful decentralisation processes and achievements to be quite inspiring and more relevant to their development vision.

    The Rwanda delegation has made a presentation and exchanges on Rwanda experience in decentralisation to the Lesotho cabinet of ministers.

    Similar exchanges are planned with both the lower chamber of Parliament and the senate in the following days coupled with site visits to development projects.

    Rwanda journey in Decentralisation and home grown solutions are highly appreciated by Lesotho as a model to borrow a leaf from.

    The Rwandan delegation also finds the case of Lesotho quite inspiring in terms of nation building and sustaining with deep belief in their own culture and values. The two countries wish to build long lasting and productive cooperation through governments and people to people partnerships.

  • After M23 Defeat, DRC Amasses Troops Near ADF Bases

    After M23 Defeat, DRC Amasses Troops Near ADF Bases

    {The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Katumba Wamala has been assured by the DRC government that the Uganda rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) would be attacked in the coming weeks, Chimpreports exclusively reveals.
    }

    Katumba who was on a working visit to Goma last weekend was assured by the DRC Chief of Staff, Gen Didier Etumba Longila that Congo was in its final stages of battling the Islamist militants hiding in Beni.

    A top source says Katumba was informed that DRC would be helped by members of Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) comprising Tanzania, Malawi and South African troops to defeat the insurgents that have kept Uganda’s security on the edge for over a decade.

    “By close of business Monday, at least 4,000 DRC troops were deployed in Kamango in preparation for an attack on ADF bases,” a knowledgeable and highly-placed source told Chimpreports.

    It should be remembered that during the military operation codenamed “Operation Rwenzori,” DRC forces (FARDC) were severely beaten by the ADF rebels who eventually seized considerable caches of heavy equipment from the attackers.

    The onslaught was carried out after Uganda lost patience with DRC as the rebels continued to train, recruit and even acquire sophisticated weapons including anti-aircraft machines. Perhaps the support of FIB forces that recently defeated the M23 rebels could help FARDC have an edge in the new campaign against ADF.

    Unlike M23 who were congested near the Uganda and Rwanda borders, ADF operates clandestinely in civilian communities over large swathes of land. ADF also boasts an Islam ideology that has hardened the hearts of combatants trained in deadly combat at a very tender age.

    In the 1990s, ADF managed to maintain presence in several districts across western Uganda such as Kamwenge, Kasese, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Bundibugyo among others in just a few weeks before being