IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Thai Military Tightens Focuses on Economy

    Thai Military Tightens Focuses on Economy

    {{Thailand’s military tightened its grip on power on Sunday as it moved to douse smoldering protests fuelled by social media and to rally commercial agencies and business to revitalize a battered economy.}}

    The military overthrew the government on Thursday after months of debilitating and at times violent confrontation between the populist government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the royalist establishment.

    Critics say the coup will not end the conflict between the rival power networks: the Bangkok-based elite dominated by the military, old money families and the bureaucracy, and an upstart clique led by Yingluck’s brother and former telecommunication mogul Thaksin Shinawatra. The Shinawatras draw much of their influence from the provinces.

    The military has detained leaders of the ousted government including Yingluck and an unknown number of her ministers, party officials, and supporters. Leaders of six months of anti-government protests against Yingluck have also been held.

    The military has thrown out the constitution, censored the media and on Saturday it dismissed the upper house Senate, Thailand’s last functioning legislature, in what amounts to a clean sweep of the political landscape.

    Power now lies squarely in the hands of army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha and his junta known as the National Council for Peace and Order, and their priorities appeared to be stamping out dissent and tending to the economy.

    agencies

  • Ruhengeri Hospital: Former Staff & Patients Killed in Genocide Honoured

    Ruhengeri Hospital: Former Staff & Patients Killed in Genocide Honoured

    {{The staff of Ruhengeri hospital have paid tribute to over thirty victims of the Genocide that were killed at the hospital.

    The victims include former employees at the hospital, patients and their attendants that were massacred during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda that claimed a million lives.

    The event to honour the victims was held on May 23 which included a Walk to remember from Ruhengeri hospital to Muhoza Genocide memorial site where over 400 Victims are laid to rest.

    Musonera Jean Damascene a former staff at Ruhengeri hospital gave a testimony in which he explained that Doctors who were professionally obliged to protect life actually served patients to militias.

    The North Province Governor Bosenibamwe Aimé blamed the genocide on the previous bad Leadership that planned and executed the killings of citizens they were supposed to protect; “such atrocities and bad leadership should never happen again in Rwanda”.

    Governor Bosenibamwe hailed the strength of survivors and their efforts in forgiving and living side by side with perpetrators.

    He added that the government will continue supporting the survivors and helping to improve their livelihoods to rebuild the nation free of ethnic divisionism.
    }}

  • UN Condemns Killing of Rwandan Peacekeeper in Darfur

    UN Condemns Killing of Rwandan Peacekeeper in Darfur

    {{The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms” the latest attacks against a peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s Darfur region, which left a peacekeeper dead.}}

    “The Secretary-General was deeply disturbed to learn of another attack today by unidentified armed assailants on a convoy of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) near Kabkabiya, North Darfur, in which one Rwandan peacekeeper was killed,” said a statement issued here by Ban’s spokesperson on Sunday night.

    Ban expressed his sincere condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper, and to the government of the Republic of Rwanda.

    He expected the Sudanese government to take swift action to bring the perpetrators of this and previous attacks on UNAMID to justice.

  • Somali Parliament Attacked, 10 Killed

    Somali Parliament Attacked, 10 Killed

    {{Al Shabaab stormed Somalia’s parliament on Saturday, killing at least 10 security officers in a bomb and gun assault that the United Nations called “an attack against the people”.}}

    The attack – by the al Qaeda-linked group that killed 67 people at a Kenyan shopping mall last year – started with a car bomb at a gate to the heavily fortified parliament compound, followed by a suicide bombing and then a gun battle which continued for hours.

    “Ten government forces died and 14 others were injured in the attack today. Four lawmakers were also injured. Seven of the fighters who attacked the house were also killed as you see their bodies,” Kasim Ahmed Roble, a police spokesman, told reporters at the scene.

    Roble made no mention of any civilian casualties.

    A spokesman for al Shabaab, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said that the group’s fighters had killed 30 people. “We killed 30 from the AU (African Union) and from the various forces of the so-called Somali government,” he said.

    The al Shabaab estimate of the death toll was not independently verifiable.

    Reuters witnesses saw four bodies at the scene and saw a soldier fall from a rooftop after being shot. Reuters television pictures showed a large pool of blood near a blast site, and a man with his shirt drenched in blood running away from the scene.

    The fighting continued for hours after the initial explosion, with gunfire and smaller blasts being heard around the parliament.

    “We are behind the suicide bombing, explosions and the fighting inside the so-called Somali parliament house, and still heavy fighting is going on inside,” said the al Shabaab spokesman.

    The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said in a statement that all the lawmakers who were in parliament before the attack were safely evacuated.

    The attack on parliament, a building about 300 meters (yards) from the president’s palace that is guarded by African Union peacekeepers and Somali forces, showed that the al Qaeda-linked group remains capable of hitting the center of Mogadishu despite being pushed out of the capital two years ago.

    reuters

  • UNFPA Statement on International Day to End Obstetric Fistula

    UNFPA Statement on International Day to End Obstetric Fistula

    {{The theme of this year’s International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, “Tracking Fistula – Transforming Lives,” reflects an important step forward in eradicating this preventable condition, which affects an estimated two million women and girls in developing countries.}}

    Obstetric fistula highlights persistent global inequalities in access to health care and basic human rights.

    Most women who develop fistula, a hole in the birth canal usually caused by prolonged, obstructed labour, remain untreated for their entire lives, and the condition can easily recur in women and girls whose fistula has been surgically treated but who receive little or no medical follow-up and then become pregnant again.

    To treat fistula and provide women with follow-up medical care, we need to know more about how many women and girls are in need of services and also where they live. In most instances, stigma forces women living with the condition to remain hidden and isolates them from families and communities.

    By systematically registering and tracking each woman and girl who has or had an obstetric fistula, we can make enormous strides in improving their well-being and increasing the chances of their babies’ survival in subsequent pregnancies.

    Eliminating the health crisis of obstetric fistula requires scaling up countries’ capacities to provide access to equitable, high-quality sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and maternity care, especially comprehensive emergency obstetric care.

    Tracking and treating all fistula cases is crucial, but it is also necessary for countries to take steps to prevent fistulas by addressing underlying medical and socio-economic causes, eliminating gender-based social and economic inequities, preventing child marriage and early childbearing and promoting education, especially for girls.

    To address the neglected health and human rights violation of obstetric fistula, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, together with partners around the world, launched the global Campaign to End Fistula a decade ago.

    Much progress has been made. With support from UNFPA, 47,000 women and girls have undergone fistula repair surgery. Partner organizations have provided treatment to many more women and girls living with fistula.

    However, much remains to be done, and far more support and momentum are needed to enable the Campaign to expand its reach to all corners of the world where women suffering from fistula remain isolated and often unaware that treatment is available or even possible.

    The time has come to put an end to obstetric fistula and address the circumstances that perpetuate it, including poverty, lack of access to health care, child marriage and early childbearing. We have the resources and know-how.

    What we need now is the political will to elevate the status of women and girls, rectify inequalities and protect the human rights of every woman and girl, so that fistula may never again undermine a person’s health, well-being, dignity and ability to participate in and contribute to their communities.

    {Author is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund}

  • Malawi President Cancels General Election

    Malawi President Cancels General Election

    {{Malawi’s President Joyce Banda says she is annulling this week’s general election – in which she was a candidate – because of voting “irregularities”.}}

    Ms Banda had earlier said Tuesday’s vote had been marred by rigging, multiple voting and computer-hacking.

    She said a new vote should be held within 90 days but she would not stand again in any new poll.

    However, the head of the electoral commission said the president did not have the power to annul the vote.

    Media reported people voted two days on from election day because of delays in distributing polling material.

    Frustrated voters set one polling station alight and smashed election material at another.

    In some places, voting boxes or lids did not arrive so officials used buckets and plastic wrap.

    The president of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Maxon Mbendera. said despite problems involving the electronic count, the poll remained valid and vote-counting would go on.

    Late on Friday, the MEC said Joyce Banda’s rival candidate Peter Mutharika had taken a lead of 42%, with 30% of votes counted. Ms Banda was in second place with 23%, the commission said.

  • Youth Sensitised on Campaign Against Drug Abuse

    Youth Sensitised on Campaign Against Drug Abuse

    {{A total of 210 youths from Rwezamenyo sector in Nyarugenge district met on May 22 to discuss their role in the ongoing campaign against crimes and drug abuse in particular and reinforce security in the sector.}}

    Hardi Munyakazi, one of the participants observed that the youth can actually play a vital role in reinforcing security in the country, if they all committed to do so.

    “Majority Rwandans are the youth and most of those involved in crimes are also the youth. If we can all stand up and join forces with Police and other security organs against crimes, sustainable security can be inevitable in a very short period,” Munyakazi observed.

    He appealed to fellow youngsters to abstain from drug abuse and join the campaign against drugs in the country.

    Assistant Inspector of Police Alexandre Minani, District Community Liaison Officers, thanked the youth for standing up against criminal acts such as trade and consumption of narcotics and illicit brew, which has led some of their colleagues to drop out of school.

    He took the youth through major drugs registered in Rwanda such as cannabis, kanyanga, chief waragi and other illicit brew made out of sorghum and sugarcane residues.

    He also explains to them on the dangers of the vice and laws that prohibit and punish those involved.

    Trafficking and consumption of such drugs is punishable under article 594 of the penal code.

    Alexis Semitari Rwezamenyo, the sector Executive Secretary also appealed to the youth to organize themselves in anti-crime clubs to effectively raise their voice in the campaign to reinforce safety and security in their communities and the country in general.

    RNP

  • Marking International Day to End Obstetric Fistula

    Marking International Day to End Obstetric Fistula

    {{The world marked on May 23rd, for the second time the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. }}

    This day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly, in 2013. This year also marks the 11th anniversary of the Campaign to End Fistula, which was launched by UNFPA, in collaboration with a wide range of partners.

    The theme of this year’s International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, “Tracking Fistula – Transforming Lives,” reflects an important step forward in eradicating obstetric fistula.

    The celebration, organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNFPA, will be held at Umubano Hotel on Friday 23 May 2014 from 9:30am.

    The aim of the event is to publicly acknowledge the efforts of government, providers, clients, communities and development partners in ending fistula. The event will also help create awareness of the plight of women suffering from fistula.

    Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal typically caused by prolonged labour without prompt emergency care—usually a Caesarean section.

    The woman is left with chronic incontinence and, in most cases, her baby is stillborn. Unable to control her flow of urine or faeces, she is often abandoned by her husband and shunned by her community.

    “The time has come to put an end to obstetric fistula and address the circumstances that perpetuate it, including poverty, lack of access to health care, child marriage and early childbearing. We have the resources and know-how.

    What we need now is the political will to elevate the status of women and girls, rectify inequalities and protect the human rights of every woman and girl, so that fistula may never again undermine a person’s health, well-being, dignity and ability to participate in and contribute to their communities”, said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director.

  • President Kagame in Gabon for New York Africa Forum

    President Kagame in Gabon for New York Africa Forum

    {{President Paul Kagame has travelled to Libreville, Gabon, to join business and political leaders at the New York Forum Africa 2014.

    The leaders will engage in intense, collaborative sessions to draw up a road map for individual businesses as well as national policy makers as a guide and spur to action.}}

    The New York Forum Africa is organized around a number of major debates that examine the key economic and business issues for Africa today.

    President Kagame addressed participants alongside President Bongo and President Catherine Samba-Panza of Central African Republic in the interactive Citizens’ Forum with 500 Gabonese youth. The discussion was based on the results of the “Train My Generation Survey”.

    “Where there is a will there is a way, as Rwanda we started with the political will to make sure that we deepen and broaden integration which is the way to go for our continent because it brings countries together, it brings scale in terms of markets or decisions to be made on a wider scale that have implications on development.

    We had to start from somewhere, we can’t be talking about integration and we are not allowing people to move freely across borders and allowing them to do business freely with each other.”

    Other Speakers of the forum include; Laurent Fabius Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, (France), Mark Simmondsm, FCO Minister for Africa (UK), Günter Nooke, and German Chancellor’s G8 Personal Representative for Africa (Germany).

    President Kagame also engaged with other leaders on current economic opportunities in Africa, Africa’s place in the World as well as ICT and regional integration, moderated by Richard Attias, a prominent Moroccan businessman and former organizer of the World Economic Forum and co-founder of Clinton Global initiative.

    The New York Forum Africa 2014 will focus on transformation: unlocking the competitiveness of the African economy through building value chains around the transformation of the continent’s natural resources, including its human capital.

    President Kagame also met with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius on the sidelines of the Forum.

    Concerning the meeting, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louis Mushikiwabo said:

    “President Kagame held a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on the margin of the New York Africa Forum. They discussed the state of bilateral relations and agreed to step up exchanges and hold more regular consultation at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in order to improve dialogue.

    The inaugural New York Forum Africa in 2012 was about recognising Africa’s economic achievements and understanding the opportunities for business and investors.

    The New York Forum Africa 2013 focused on the hard work needed to make the opportunities a reality, focusing on the six imperatives for African economies to grow (independence, investment, incubation, innovation, infrastructure and inspiration), where participants worked together to create an action plan, and to sign new partnerships between the public and private partnership.

    The New York Forum is a New York-based organization founded in 2010 by Richard Attias, and brings together top political and business leaders from around the world.

  • US Preacher Bynum In Uganda for Christian Event

    US Preacher Bynum In Uganda for Christian Event

    {{Renowned American preacher Juanita Bynum 54, is in Uganda this weekend as a guest speaker at a three-day Christian event dubbed Ugafest (Uganda Festival).}}

    Bynum is popular for her sermons and books on love and relationships, her most famous book being No More Sheets: The Truth about Sex.

    She will speak at an executive business breakfast and a “Single but Whole” conference thereafter, at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.

    Bynum, whose sermons are watched on TBN, is a pastor and president of Juanita Bynum Ministries. She rose to fame for her vocal and edgy mode of preaching.

    Her “No More Sheets” sermon, has one million hits cumulatively on Youtube in its five part tabs. She is also a recording artiste, ambassador, entrepreneur, conference, radio and TV show host.