IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Poaching On Agenda at First UN Environment Meet

    Poaching On Agenda at First UN Environment Meet

    {{Poaching among other types of illegal trade in wildlife are set to top the agenda at the first ever United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) to be held in Nairobi in June.}}

    United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said they are planning to table a report on the growing trade and the threat it poses at the meeting.

    “This is not a small thing. The threat it poses is not to be underestimated,” he reiterated, “because we are confronted with a battle that we’re not winning.”

    And while Steiner admitted that there remains an absence of empirical evidence directly linking poaching to terrorism, he maintained that it did not negate the very real possibility that one fed the other.

    “What we have is anecdotal evidence that poaching has in some instances financed armed conflict which could be extended to terrorism and that is what we will be presenting,” he said.

    Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UNEP Martin Kimani said Kenya was pleased that poaching would top the agenda at the assembly as it hits close to home.

    “Elephant and rhino poaching are something the government is fighting day and night to eradicate so we’re happy to put our heads together with the rest of the world and host this very important conversation,” he said.

    Steiner said while UNEP was already actively involved in the fight against poaching, the Assembly would not only allow for the world to speak and act with a united voice against it, it would inject some much needed impetus into the fight.

    “We need to address the consumer end because there will be no point to poaching if there is no market for the trophies. And with China being one of the biggest consumers of ivory we’re already holding exhibitions there, in train stations and elsewhere, to sensitise the public on the high price there is to pay for that trophy, that mythical cure,” he said.

    Awareness Steiner and his team plan on raising at the highest levels with over 100 government representatives expected at the UNEA between June 23 and 27.

    “None other than UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon will be leading this conversation with Ministers, Chief Justices and Chief Executives, about 1,200 delegates in total,” Steiner enumerated.

    Also top on the agenda is sustainable development; an area in which, both Steiner and Kimani agreed, Kenya was again invested in.

  • Nigeria vows ‘total war’ Against Boko Haram

    Nigeria vows ‘total war’ Against Boko Haram

    {{Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to wage a “total war” against militant Islamist group Boko Haram. }}

    Speaking on the the 15th anniversary of the end of military rule, he said “international terrorism” threatened Nigeria’s democratic gains.

    Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

    Its fighters killed 42 people during a raid on Gurmushi village in the north-east on Wednesday, a survivor said.

    Villagers were shot and hacked to death, and many homes were torched, the female survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told media.

    Boko Haram has been holding more than 200 schoolgirls captive since last month, demanding a prisoner swap.

    Earlier this week, media reported that Nigerian government called off a deal to swap some of the girls for Boko Haram fighters in custody.

  • Cane Toad Relative Invades Madagascar

    Cane Toad Relative Invades Madagascar

    A relative of the cane toad, which has devastated wildlife in Australia, has invaded Madagascar, scientists report.

    The Asian common toad was first seen on the island in March, and there have been several sightings since.

    In a letter to the journal Nature, researchers warn that the arrival of the amphibian could cause “an ecological disaster” and wreak havoc on the country’s unique fauna.

    They say that urgent action is needed to remove the toads before they spread.

    The fear is that the poisonous amphibians could poison local wildlife and carry diseases, such as the deadly chytrid fungus that has killed amphibians around the world.

    One of the authors, Jonathan Kolby, of James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, said: “It’s worrying because Madagascar has amazing endemic biodiversity – plants, animals and amphibians that are found nowhere else.

    “And this one species has the propensity to damage that.”

    The amphibians were first seen in Toamasina, the main port of Madagascar. It is thought that they arrived in shipping containers from their native home in South East Asia.

    “They are a very hardy and adaptable species,” said Mr Kolby.

    “They can handle a long ride on the ocean in a container, and then hop out wherever they end end up. And this is most likely how they got there.”

    The fear is that the warty brown creatures could repeat the damage that their relative, the cane toad (Rhinella marina), caused in Australia.

    Cane toads, native to Central and South America, were introduced to Australia in the 1930s, initially to control pests, but they are now widespread and number in their millions.

    They produce toxins that are deadly to the local birds, mammals and reptiles that prey on them and they have had a dramatic impact on the country’s wildlife.

    Asian common toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) are smaller than cane toads, but they are also venomous – and researchers think Madagascar’s animals could be especially vulnerable.

    “These animals have never been exposed to Asian toad toxins before and will likely not have an evolutionary defence against them,” said Mr Kolby.

    The 11 co-signatories of the letter add that the toads could outcompete other species and potentially spread the deadly chytrid fungus.

    The researchers, from Australia, the US and Madagascar, say that conservationists and Madagascan government need to act quickly to eradicate the toads.

    Mr Kolby said: “The question is, can we still eradicate them? Have we caught it soon enough that eradication could be a feasible option? Obviously we all hope the answer is yes.”

  • IGAD to Deploy Troops in South Sudan

    IGAD to Deploy Troops in South Sudan

    {{The long-awaited deployment of the protection and deterrent forces from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries to South Sudan is expected to take place within next month, a member of the mediating team disclosed on Wednesday.}}

    “Before end of June I am quite sure the forces will be distributed in the whole of the South Sudan,” Mohamed Ahmed Mustefa, a Sudananese envoy currently part of the IGAD-led peace talks told reporters in the South Sudanese capital, Juba.

    Leaders from the East African regional bloc, he said, are in Juba to consult with the government ahead of the next round of talks between the two warring parties.

    The next phase of the mediation process will commence on 4 June.

    In March, the IGAD member states resolved to deploy to South Sudan unknown numbers of forces from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi to protect the oilfields and other vital installations which President Salva Kiir’s government may fail to protect.

    Mustefa, however, said the Sudanese army will not be part of the joint IGAD force.

    “Sudan is only participating with the MVTs [Monitoring and Verification Teams] and with the joint technical commission here. Sudan has no any forces coming. Only number of retired officers supporting IGAD in areas where there is difficulties; a few of them – less than 15″, said the envoy.

    Mustefa further said IGAD was effectively monitoring the ceasefire without the force.

    “We will try our utmost efforts to bring the forces here”, he said, adding, “We will try our utmost efforts to bring the forces here”.

    President Kiir has called for the immediate approval and deployment of a regional deterrence and protection force to end ongoing violations of the cessation hostilities agreement signed with his former deputy-turned rebel leader, Riek Machar.

    However, the country’s opposition forces led by Machar have already questioned the IGAD-member state’s decision and intention to deploy additional troops to the war-torn region, arguing that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has a force of over 12,000 personnel mandated to protect the civilians.

    South Sudan is embroiled in armed conflict since mid-December with thousands of people killed and over a million displaced both within and into neighbouring countries.

    A cessation of hostilities agreement signed on 23 January and recommitted to on 9 May has largely failed to halt fighting between the two warring sides, with each accusing the other of violating of the agreed ceasefire.

    sudantribune

  • Sudan Rejects Iranian Offers to Build Air Defense System on Red Sea Coast

    Sudan Rejects Iranian Offers to Build Air Defense System on Red Sea Coast

    {{The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti disclosed that his government turned down several offers by Iran by which it would have installed air defense systems on the Red Sea coast.}}

    In an interview with the London-based al-Hayat newspaper published on Thursday, the minister said that this military platform “was intended to be directed against Saudi Arabia”.

    Karti reiterated that Khartoum has no special ties with Tehran and only an insignificant level of military cooperation.

    “This is not true, our relationship with Iran is very normal and below the level [you would expect] between two Muslim nations and especially that Iran stood with Sudan in all international forums and defended it a lot,” he empathized.

    “But there is a minor need for Sudan in light of the security challenges facing the country , and we have said this over and over that Sudan benefits from its relationship with Iran in a limited way in the field of maintenance of some of the weapons produced by some Sudanese factories,” Karti added.

    The Sudanese top diplomat said that his government is willing to have this cooperation with Iran to “monitored and observed”.

    He stressed that there are no Iranian military experts in his country or Iranian weapons crossing from Sudan to any other nation.

    In late 2012, Khartoum denied reports that it has approved an Iranian request for building a naval base off the Red Sea.

    Since 2012, Port Sudan has become a regular stop for Iranian warships drawing concern by the US and its allies in the Gulf. Khartoum insists that its relations with Iran are based on common interests and not intended to threaten the interests of the Arab Gulf states.

    Iran says that In line with international efforts to combat piracy its Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Tehran.

    Israel also accuses Sudan of serving as a hub for weapons coming from Iran that are sent to Palestinian militants.

    Last March, Israeli navy commandos seized a ship in the Red Sea off the Sudanese coast that was allegedly hiding Syrian-made M-302 surface-to-surface missiles supplied by Iran.

    The mostly Sunni Muslim Arab Gulf states are wary of Iranian influence in the Middle East, fearing the Shiite-led country is seeking regional dominance that will stir sectarian tensions.

    Karti further explained that Tehran’s backing of proliferating Shiite faith in Sudan “does not reflect the official will of the country’s government”.

    The Sudanese official has in the past criticized his government’s move to receive Iranian vessels and said that he recommended against the move.

    sudantribune

  • President of East Africa Court of Justice Signs Out

    President of East Africa Court of Justice Signs Out

    {{Outgoing president of the East African Court of Justice, Justice Harold Nsekela, wants the court to have permanent judges to handle the big volume of cases that are pending hearing at its original stage. }}

    Nsekela said that there were many cases being filed into the Court’s different registries in the member countries that end up being referred to the its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

    The cases needed constant hearing and quick decisions that require permanently appointed judges to the court at the original stage.

    “It is high time the East African Court of Justice had permanent judges at the initial stage, who should constantly hear and decide cases that are being filed into its registries in big numbers from member countries,” Nsekela proposed.

    Nsekela said that the present way of judges carrying out their work at the EA Court of Justice while at the same time carrying out their judicial work at their local jurisdictions stalls the cases that come in from different member states which needed expeditious disposal.

    The East African Court of Justice Chief law lord, who is due to relinquish his term of office on June 25, 2014, having been appointed in 2006, was in Kampala on Tuesday to say farewell to Uganda Judiciary officials enroute to Rwanda and other member countries.

    Acting Chief Justice (CJ) and Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Remmy Kasule, in company of other Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court Justices and many other High Court judges, received Justice Nsekela at Twed Tower, Nakasero, where they held an hour’s cordial discussion over tea and coffee.

    Justice Kasule represented the Acting CJ/DCJ Steven Kavuma who was reported to be out of the country on official duty.

    The EA Court of Justice registrar, Prof Dr John Eudes Ruhangisa, accompanied Justice Nsekela, who are both Tanzanians.

    In a separate interview, Justice Kasule told media that the court is one of the organs responsible for integrating East Africans in the area of the administration of justice.

    Its main role is to interpret the provisions of the East African Community Treaty, so that whatever is done in any partner state is not in violation of the provisions of that treaty.

  • ECOWAS Leaders to Meet in Accra Tomorrow

    ECOWAS Leaders to Meet in Accra Tomorrow

    {{Heads of State and Governments of the West African sub-region are expected to attend a one-day Extraordinary Session on Friday, 30th May, in Accra.}}

    The meeting would be chaired by President John Dramani Mahama, in his capacity as the current Chair of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

    The one-day summit is the first to be hosted by President Mahama since his election in February this year as Chair of ECOWAS.

    The discussions are expected to focus on issues of mutual and urgent concern, including the security situations in northern Mali and parts of Nigeria.

    President Mahama is scheduled to open the Session with a welcome address, to be followed by a statement from President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo.

    The leaders will then enter into closed-door deliberations and a Final Communiqué is expected at the end of the one-day meeting.

  • EAX Hosts SEC Nigeria Delegation During AfDB 2014

    EAX Hosts SEC Nigeria Delegation During AfDB 2014

    {{A delegation of the Nigerian Securities & Exchange Commission of Nigeria, led by Mrs. Arunma Oteh (OON), the Director General paid a visit to the East Africa Exchange (EAX) during the 49th Annual African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings in Kigali, Rwanda last week.}}

    Mrs. Oteh called in to acquaint her group with the Exchange’s Operations as well as witness the progress the Exchange has made since it began operations in 2013.

    Also visiting was Mr. Samuel Nwanze, a board member of the Exchange and Finance Director of Heirs Holdings (Nigeria) – one of the Exchange’s key partner and Mr. Christopher Marks, former Global Head of Debt Capital, BNP Paribas Bank (France).

    The CEO of the East Africa Exchange, Mr. Paul Kukubo briefed the delegation on the Exchange’s current activities in Rwanda and expansion strategies for the East African region. Mr. Kukubo explained the Exchange’s regional focus and launching of new offices in Kenya and Uganda.

    Mr. Kukubo also explained that the Rwandan government has recently made available thirteen (13) warehouses located in several grain production sites of the country in support of farmer cooperative groups.

    Among others, the Exchange will support farmers to address post-harvest losses through better storage and collateral management. The

    Exchange has signed up Collateral Management International, a highly reputable collateral manager worldwide to support the farmers in addressing post-harvest losses and improve farmer’s income.

    The Exchange will also provide the farmers access to finance, linking them to Banks through its electronic warehouse receipts program, as well as providing a trading platform for the farmers to trade their product.

    An electronic warehouse receipt represents commodities stored in an exchange-accredited warehouse with specific quality, quantity, ownership, and reference location stated on the receipt.

    The integrity of the receipt is guaranteed by a collateral manager who maintains the quality and quantity of stored commodities.

    Mrs. Oteh congratulated EAX for their initiatives to support smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest losses and improve their income as well as progress in linking commodity markets across the East African Community area, and promoting cross border trade across the region.

    She stressed that Nigeria has a similar effort and the two countries can share common experiences.

    The EAX Trading Manager Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju demonstrated the use of the NASDAQ trading platform, and explained that so far over 200 users including farmers have been trained and used the platform for trading since the Exchange operations commenced.

  • Tea Firm Opens East Africa’s Largest Solar Plant

    Tea Firm Opens East Africa’s Largest Solar Plant

    {{Williamson Tea has inaugurated East Africa’s largest solar plant at the Changoi Tea Farm in western Kenya}}

    The 1MW solar plant will be expected to reduce Williamson Tea’s energy costs by 30 per cent by supplying solar power to production facility.

    The project was designed by UK-based Solarcentury and developed by solar specialists East African Solar and Azimuth Power.

    Dan Davies, director for Solarcentury in East Africa, said, “We applaud Williamson Tea for investing in solar to support the company’s sustainable business growth. In a country blessed with plentiful irradiance and land space, solar is a perfect solution and reduces dependence on fossil fuels while improving energy security.”

    Williamson Tea’s solar farm will work in parallel with the national grid, reducing the amount of grid electricity imported.

    When the grid is down, the solar power system will work with standby diesel generators, with the project’s design making it the sixth solar plant of its kind globally, according to Solarcentury.

    The solar farm forms part of Williamson Tea’s commitment to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, which includes initiatives to install solar street lamps for local communities and solar-powered heat exchangers at its factories.

    africanreview

  • Snowden Wants to Return to US

    Snowden Wants to Return to US

    {{Fugitive self-proclaimed spy Edward Snowden said on Wednesday he wants to return home, as he defended his massive leak of US intelligence secrets, saying abuses of constitutional rights left him no choice.}}

    “If I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home,” Snowden said almost a year to the day since he revealed a stunning US surveillance dragnet mining data from phones and Internet companies around the world, including Europe.

    “From day one, I said I’m doing this to serve my country. Whether amnesty or clemency is a possibility, that’s for the public to decide,” he told NBC in his first interview with US television since the scandal broke in early June last year.

    And he sought to defend himself against charges led by the US administration that he is a hacker and a traitor who endangered lives by revealing the extent of the NSA spying programme through the British daily The Guardian.

    “The reality is the situation determined that this needed to be told to the public. You know, the Constitution of the United States has been violated on a massive scale,” he said.

    “How can it be said that this harmed the country when all three branches of government have made reforms as a result?” Snowden asked, looking relaxed and calm during the interview in a Moscow hotel.

    But top US officials laughed off the idea of a clemency. Secretary of State John Kerry said the 30-year-old former CIA employee should “man up” and return to face trial.

    Snowden also alleged he was not just a low-level contractor working for the CIA, as the White House has repeatedly insisted.

    {agencies}