IGIHE

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  • Putin Features on Time Magazine’s ‘Most Influential’ List

    Putin Features on Time Magazine’s ‘Most Influential’ List

    {{U.S. magazine Time has named Russian President Vladimir Putin on its annual list of the world’s “100 most influential people.}}

    Other politicians who made the Time list published this week included U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

    Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who provided the write-up on Putin, said Russia’s recent interference in Ukraine has shown that “Putin’s worldview is colored by toxic fictions.”

    Putin’s domestic approval ratings have soared after the annexation of Crimea — reaching 80 percent according to a recent survey by independent pollster Levada Center — but “his increased influence will be temporary,” Albright said.

    “To some, Putin has ‘won’ Crimea,” she said. “Will he recognize his ‘victory’ is Pyrrhic — or try to repeat it? History is filled with aggressors who triumphed for a moment. Then failed.”

    Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, speaking Thursday in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, suggested that Moscow’s supposed victory in Crimea may end up eroding Russia’s global influence, and that Putin’s actions in Ukraine aimed to “avenge a personal grudge.”

    Last year, both Forbes magazine and British newspaper The Times named Putin “the most influential person of the year.”

    Neither Putin nor Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made Time magazine’s 2013 list, with Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin the only Russian on the list.

  • Tech Giants Settle Staff Poaching Case

    Tech Giants Settle Staff Poaching Case

    {{Four of the biggest technology firms – Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe – have settled a class action case alleging they conspired to hold down salaries.}}

    The case alleged that the firms agreed not to poach staff from each other, which it claimed prevented workers from getting better job offers.

    The firms did not disclose the details of the settlement.

    The US lawsuit had claimed $3bn (£1.8bn) in damages on behalf of more than 64,000 workers at the four firms.

    If the companies had lost the case and damages were awarded, they could have tripled to $9bn under US antitrust laws.

    The case was scheduled for hearing next month and was being closely watched for details about the alleged pact between the firms.

    {{Disclosing tactics?}}

    According to some reports, one email exchange cited in the lawsuit shows Eric Schmidt, former chief executive of Google, telling Steve Jobs the former boss of Apple that a Google recruiter who solicited an Apple employee would be fired.

    Mr Jobs forwarded that note to the a top human resources executive at Apple with a smiley face.

    Another exchange shows Google’s human resources directors asking Mr Schmidt about sharing the no-cold call pact with other competitors.

    “Schmidt responded that he preferred it be shared ‘verbally, since I don’t want to create a paper trail over which we can be sued later?’”, the Reuters news agency quoted the court filing as saying.

    Chuck Mulloy, spokesman for Intel, said the firm denies any wrongdoing but chose to settle “to avoid the risks, burdens and uncertainties of ongoing litigation.”

    Meanwhile, Adobe said in a statement: “We firmly believe that our recruiting policies have in no way diminished competition for talent in the marketplaces.”

    Google and Apple declined to comment.

    Some of the aggrieved employees in the class-action lawsuit worked at software maker Intuit and filmmakers Pixar Animation and Lucasfilm.

    Intuit, Pixar and Lucasfilm had previously negotiated a $20m settlement of the claims against them. That still needs court approval.

    BBC

  • Plane Stowaway ‘Wanted to Return to Somalia’

    Plane Stowaway ‘Wanted to Return to Somalia’

    {{The father of a US teenager who stowed away in a wheel well on a flight to Hawaii has said his son was unhappy at school and trying to return to Somalia.}}

    In an interview with US broadcaster Voice of America, Abdilahi Yusuf Abdi said “Allah had saved” his son.

    The 16-year-old survived lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures on a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii.

    Mr Abdi said his son, Yahya Abdi, would return to California after he finished health checks in Hawaii.

    The teenager jumped over a fence at San Jose airport to get to the plane.

    He reportedly told investigators he had been in an argument at home and then went to the airport, choosing the aircraft nearest to the fence, according to local media.

    Dr Neil Spratt, senior lecturer in neurology at the University of Newcastle, Australia, told the BBC the young man would have likely not survived the lack of oxygen if he had not been exposed to such cold temperatures.

    “We know that cold can protect the brain and other organs and it is used for that in various medical situations,” Dr Spratt said.

    A spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines said airline staff noticed the disorientated boy on the tarmac after the plane landed in Maui on Sunday morning.

    He was questioned by the FBI and given a medical screening and was said to be in a stable condition.

    A spokeswoman for Hawaiian Airlines said the boy was “exceptionally lucky to have survived”.

    Mr Abdi told the Voice of America he first heard of the news when Hawaiian police called him to tell him they had his son.

    “When I watched the analysis about the extraordinary and dangerous trip of my son on local TVs and that Allah had saved him, I thanked God and I was very happy,” he told the broadcaster.

    Mr Abdi said his son was “always talking about going back to Africa” and since the family came to the US, the son had been bothered by “education problems”.

    “We want to go back [to Somalia], but due to the current living conditions we can’t go back,” the father said.

    The 16-year-old transferred into a Santa Clara high school only five weeks ago, according to the school system.

    wirestory

  • Nigeria Vows to Rescue Abducted Schoolgirls

    Nigeria Vows to Rescue Abducted Schoolgirls

    {{Nigeria’s government has vowed to do all it can to rescue some 190 girls abducted from their school last week, following a crisis meeting in Abuja.}}

    Security chiefs, ministers, state governors and religious leaders met to discuss the growing insecurity.

    One governor said the abduction was the “issue of the moment” and said the government and army were doing everything they could to rescue them.

    But one of the girls’ fathers said he just wanted to see his daughter safe.

    “We will only say the meeting has achieved something tangible when we see our children back home,” the man, whose identity is being protected for security reasons.

    The government has been widely criticised for its muted response after gunmen abducted some 230 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno state last week. About 40 girls have managed to escape.

    {{Political wrangling}}

    The students were about to sit their final year exam and so are mostly aged 16-18.

    No group has said it was behind the kidnapping but Islamist group Boko Haram has been widely blamed.

    It has staged a wave of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent years, with an estimated 1,500 killed this year alone.

    Earlier in the day that the girls were abducted on 14 April, some 71 people were killed in a rare Boko Haram attack on the capital, Abuja.

    After Thursday’s security meeting, Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi described the abduction as “the issue of the moment”.

    “We must do everything to ensure that these abducted children are retrieved and protected. And the military assured us they’re doing everything in order to achieve this objective,” he said.

    Defence Minister Aliyu Gusau said the meeting had also discussed the wider Boko Haram insurgency, as well as a spate of deadly attacks between mainly Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers in central parts of the country.

    {The girls were seized from their hostel late at night}
    {agencies}

  • Bolivia Dismisses 700 Protesting Soldiers

    Bolivia Dismisses 700 Protesting Soldiers

    {{Bolivia’s military chiefs have ordered the dismissal of more than 700 troops who have been protesting to demand better working conditions.}}

    The army, navy and air force accused the men of committing acts of sedition and rebellion, and attacking the honour of the armed forces.

    The soldiers say the military discriminates against indigenous Bolivians, a claim the military denies.

    Protesters are calling for a meeting with President Evo Morales.

    The protest began on Tuesday with 500 soldiers, but grew to about 1,000 on Thursday.

    Non-commissioned officers and sergeants dressed in camouflage uniforms marched through the capital, La Paz, together with some of their wives and Aymara indigenous leaders who support their demands.

    The protesters are demanding reforms so that non-commissioned officers can study to become career officers.

    They also want the release of four protest leaders who were dismissed on Monday and say they want more medical benefits on a par with officers.

    “It cannot be that they dismiss our brothers for demanding their rights. We will expand the protest if they are not reinstituted,” said indigenous leader Samuel Coarite.

    On Wednesday, Defence Minister Ruben Saavedra said Bolivia’s armed forces were changing and that in 2015 enlisted men and sergeants would be able to receive scholarships to study to become officers.

    President Morales has so far not spoken publicly about the demonstrations.

    {wirestory}

  • Match-fixer Arrested in Finland

    Match-fixer Arrested in Finland

    {{Convicted football match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal is being held by Finnish police on an international arrest warrant, officials say.}}

    The Singaporean has already served time in Finland for match-fixing.

    After his release he was extradited to Hungary where he was believed to have been assisting police.

    Perumal has admitted being a key part of a Singaporean-based syndicate which he said rigged matches both at club and international level.

    Singaporean authorities confirmed on Thursday that they were making efforts to extradite Perumal.

    Police said in a statement that they had been “notified of the developments in Finland” and were “currently working with the relevant authorities”.

    It is not clear to what the extradition request refers.

    Finnish Detective Superintendent Jari Nieminen said that Perumal was arrested in Helsinki last week. It was not clear when he arrived in Finland.

    Perumal was arrested and jailed in Finland in 2011 for fixing games.

    On two occasions he is alleged to have organised for bogus African national teams to play and lose friendlies against international opponents, reports the BBC’s Jonah Fisher.

    In the three years since he was first arrested he has turned informant and provided detailed information on syndicates working out of Singapore using fixers in Europe and financial backers in China, our correspondent adds.

    In September 2013 police in Singapore arrested 14 people said to be part of a crime gang involved in global football match-fixing, including the alleged leader.

    BBC Sport

  • Prosecution Requests 30 Days Remand for Kizito & co-Accused

    Prosecution Requests 30 Days Remand for Kizito & co-Accused

    {{Prosecution has requested court to remand to 30 days in prison musician Kizito Mihigo and three other accomplices arguing that the accused are a flight risk.}}

    The prosecution submitted to court that Kizito and Cassien Ntamuhanga, a journalist at Amazing Grace Radio, former soldier Jean Paul Dukuzumuremyi and Agnes Niyibizi should be remanded because of the magnitude of their crimes they are accused of.

    Kizito and co-accused are accused of collaborating with FDLR rebels and working as an extension of RNC.

    The suspects had publicly admitted involvement in subversive activities; terrorist attacks against Rwanda, planning violent overthrow of the government, planning to assassinate government officials and inciting violence among the population.

    Kizito today admitted to court that he had engaged in conversation with the RNC and FDLR however, said some of the information had been omitted and requested the entire conversation be retrieved.

    The lawyer representing Kizito requested court to release on bail their client.

  • Franco-Rwanda Cultural Center in Kigali Shutdown

    Franco-Rwanda Cultural Center in Kigali Shutdown

    {{The government of France has said that it’s Property (Centre D’Echanges Culturels Franco-Rwandais) in Kigali city has been closed down by the city authorities.}}

    Ambassador Michel Flesch, the French envoy in Rwanda was quoted by foreign press saying the complex was shut down by Kigali city authorities that noted the complex did not match the standard required of buildings within the city.

    According to Ambassador Michel the complex was locked by the city authorities last week.

    This follows the stained relationship between the two countries in the run-up to the 20th commemoration when President Paul Kagame reiterated Frances principal role in the preparation and execution of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda which claimed a million lives.

    France responded by rejecting participation in the commemoration event in Kigali.

    However, the Mayor of Kigali city Fidel Ndayisaba said the closure of the cultural center has no connection with the stained diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    Ndayisaba said according to the law the cultural center complex didn’t comply with the new standards of the city and thus needed to be removed.

    In December 2013, the French ambassador was served with a notice letter giving the proprietor of the land onto which the complex is built 90 days to comply with the city standards.

    However, an official in the French Foreign affairs Ministry denounced the closure of the center saying it was still conducting its services of teaching french language to Rwandans.

  • Contact TV Falls in Huge Loss Before Takeoff

    Contact TV Falls in Huge Loss Before Takeoff

    {{Contact TV has been overwhelmed by the big loss it has undertaken following the closure of the {(Centre D’Echanges Culturels Franco-Rwandais)} Franco-Rwanda cultural exchange centre where the Contact Studios are located.}}

    The closure of the centre located close to the main roundabout at the entrance into Kigali city has been French property for a long time. However, under the new regulations, the plot of land has to be returned to Kigali city.

    The French government therefore intends to destroy the centre before handing the plot of land back to Kigali city council.

    Albert Rudatsimburwa the proprietor of Contact TV said the new changes have affected his television business which had just started days after the 20th commemoration week.

    Mr. Rudatsimburwa says His television had began airing programs to its viewers and was planning to connect through GO TV a cable Television service provider in Rwanda.
    He noted that finding a new place to install TV studio equipment will be a huge challenge.

  • Rwanda & Belgium Sign € 18M Financing Agreement

    Rwanda & Belgium Sign € 18M Financing Agreement

    {{Rwanda Government and Belgium have signed an € 18 million Financing agreement. The funds will be used in supporting the health sector.

    The Finance Minister Ambassador Claver Gatete signed onbehalf of Rwanda government while Belgium was represented by Belgium envoy to Rwanda.}}

    The Grant will be disbursed in two installments including first € 9M for 2014/2015 and the 2015/2016 fiscal years respectively to contribute to an annual increase in the allocation to the health sector budget for the two consecutive years.

    The Ambassador of the kingdom of Belgium in Rwanda noted;

    “Spectacular increase in life expectancy and substantial reduction of maternal and child mortality have become flagship successes of the Rwandan health sector. Rwanda is one of few countries in the world that is achieving key indicators of the millennium development goals in the health sector. This is the result of a sound policies and concrete actions to achieve well defined goals.”