Category: News

{{The American ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three embassy officials were killed Tuesday when a mob attacked the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the interior ministry said.}}

Protests continue in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and fears of spreading to other Arab states in the Middle East Region. The protestors are angry at an American produced Film that defames Islam.

Libyan security guards were also killed and wounded during the attack, The Libyan incident came hours after thousands of Egyptian demonstrators Tuesday tore down the Stars and Sripes at the US embassy in Cairo and replaced it with a black Islamic flag, similar to one adopted by several militant groups.

Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s deputy UN ambassador, told reporters that up to 10 Libyan security personnel were casualties of the attack on Tuesday. “Some of them have been killed at the start of the attack,” he said.

The envoy who was visiting Benghazi died when an armed mob protesting against a film deemed offensive to Islam attacked the US mission, hours after Islamists also stormed Washington’s embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Stevens, a career diplomat, had been in Libya for less than four months after taking up his post in Tripoli in May.

The Libya posting had marked a high honour for Stevens who had served as the No. 2 diplomat at the US Embassy in Tripoli from 2007 to 2009, when Libyan leader

Muammar Gaddafi was in power.

He later served as the US envoy to the National Transitional Council, the umbrella resistance group that opposed Gaddafi during the revolt last year. In January, he was nominated for the top job in Libya.

Israeli-American Sam Bacile, a 52-year-old real-estate developer, made “Innocence of Muslims”, the film at the centre of the anti-US protests and he describes Islam as a “cancer” and depicts the Prophet Mohammed sleeping with women.

“Islam is a cancer,” Bacile told the Wall Street Journal of his film, which depicts the Prophet Mohammed variously sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as “the first Muslim animal.”

The film is being promoted by controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones, who has drawn protests in the past for burning the Koran and vehemently opposing the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York.

Witnesses said the attackers ripped up a US flag, then looted the consulate before setting it on fire on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

“Dozens of demonstrators attacked the consulate and set fire to it,” said a Benghazi resident, adding that he had seen the flames and heard shots in the vicinity.

Nearly 3 000 demonstrators, most of them Islamist supporters of the Salafist movement, gathered at the embassy in protest over the film.

In Cairo, dozens of protesters then scaled the embassy walls, went into the courtyard and took down the flag from a pole.

They brought it back to the crowd outside, which tried to burn it, but failing that, tore it apart.

The protesters on the wall then raised on the flagpole a black flag with the Muslim declaration of faith on it: “There is no god but God and Mohammed is his prophet.”

AFP

{{The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), meeting in its 140th Session, approved US$12 Million described as supplementary Loan to scale up Electricity Acess.}}

The Loan will help Rwanda improve access to reliable and cost-effective electricity services for households and priority public institutions (such as schools and health centers) in urban and peri-urban areas, as well as densely-populated rural areas presently unconnected to the grid.

Rwanda says, the additional funds will be dedicated to the construction of Rukarara Substation and Rukarara – Kilinda High Voltage line. The two activities will facilitate the dispatch in a reliable way, Energy from Rukarara Power Plant to the National grid (including to Kigali City).

The line additionally help in the power transmission from planned Hydro Power Plants of Rukarara I & II and other different Micro Hydro Power Plants expected in the surrounding area.

OPEC approved 12 loans and grants totaling over US$201 million to boost socio-economic development in 29 partner countries.

The bulk of the funding will co-finance projects aimed at combating energy poverty, followed by loans to help bolster the agriculture, education, health and transportation sectors of the recipient countries.

The portfolio of OPEC Fund for International Development include among other projects: A new project to co-finance lot 6 of the Kivu Belt Multinational Road withOFID’s contribution amounting USD 10 Million;
Co-financing in the Rehabilitation of Kitabi-Congo Nil (Nyungwe forest) Road:USD 10 Million;

The completed rehabilitation of Ngororero – Mukamira Road: 10,000,000 USD, Project.

The Umutara Community Resources and Infrastructure Development Programme, total loan amounting USD 8 million;

The Contribution to ongoing Three Hydroelectric Power Plants Rehabilitation Project: Mukungwa, Gihira and Gisenyi: USD 3 Million

Ongoing Butare Water Supply phase II Project: USD 4 million.

The discussions on the forthcoming cooperation is on;
{{Infrastructure}}:

{{Road:}} the financing of the construction of Base – Gicumbi – Nyagatare andNgoma – Ramiro – Nyanza Road Projects;

{{Private Sector Development}}; Request for Credit Lines to finance SMEs and International trade through leading (Commercial and Development):

Rwanda signed with OFID“Agreement for the Encouragement and Protection of Investment” on February 1, 2002 and OFID has announced the “International Trade Guarantee Scheme” in partnership with Chattered Standard Bank, BK has submitted an expression of interest for this credit line to support SMEsin range of 20 million USD.

{{Prominent Rwandan artist Cécile Kayirebwa has dragged six media houses including the state broadcaster(ORINFOR), Radio Flash, Contact FM, Radio Isango Star,City Radio, Radio Voice of Africa.}}

Her lawyer, Kizitio Safari told IGIHE that his client has ungergone financial loss because the accused media houses have been using Kayirebwas music without her permission—she also claims there have been no sales of her music because it was being broadcast freely.

The artist is demanding compensation from ORINFOR a whooping Frw 90 Million and Frw30 from each of other media outlets accused—this brings the total claim of approximately Frw270 Million.

However, the Commercial court has said it’s not in its competence to handle the case but will 2nd October pronounce itself on the case.

{{The recruitment of Congolese young men into the country’s military FARDC is faced with low turnup and a situation that is likely to derail Kinshasa government plans for a one million strong force which it claims would contain insecurity in the vast country.}}

Currently the recruitment process is said to be ongoing in Ituri (Orientale Province).

Only 200 candidates are said to have enrolled in three weeks. FARDC had anticipated about 1500 recruits from Ituri.

Local sources indicate that some eligible youths reportedly have refused to get recruited because of the poor living conditions of the Congolese military.

Other young potential candidates for recruitment also fear being sent directly to the war front in the Kivus where firepower from M23rebels is seen as unbearable.

The FARDC head of the delegation in charge of recruitment in Ituri, Col. Désiré Lobho noted that the purpose of this recruitment is not sending new recruits directly to the war front but rejuvenate the FARDC.

“The goal of this recruitment is to replace the military who have aged by young people who are recruited. These will not be sent to the front but the enrollment center in Kisangani, “said Colonel Désiré Lobho.

The head of the delegation of recruitment Kasongo (Maniema), Colonel Bushiri Heradi lamented the fact that young people who want to serve under the flag are intoxicated by “politicians in bad taste” that dissuades.

Since the beginning of August, the chief of General Staff of FARDC launched the operation of recruitment of young Congolese aged 18 to 25 years throughout the country.

{{A one armed father of nine children, Rugwizangoga Damien 69, has won a motorcycle prize in the ongoing MTN Sharama Prize draw.

Rugwizangoga is an advisor in a transport company ATRACO at the Kibungo agency.

During the draw, 20 telephones were awarded to winners including; 5 bicycles, 2motocycles, mattresses, laptops, internet modems also 10 people won each frw50000 prize money through mobile money transfer.}}

{{International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday submitted to the Assembly of States Parties the names of three candidates to be her Deputy Prosecutor.}}

Raija Toiviainen of Finland, Paul Rutledge of Australia and James Stewart of Canada have been selected from 126 candidates who applied.

The Deputy Prosecutor will be elected by the 121-member Assembly of States Parties at its 11th session, due to take place in The Hague from November 14 to 22.

The chosen candidate must get an absolute majority.

Canadian James Stewart is the only one with international justice experience, having worked as a prosecutor at both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

He returned in 2007 to Canada, where he is General Counsel for the Attorney General of Ontario.

The Prosecutor has thus chosen like her predecessor Luis Moreno Ocampo to work with one Deputy rather than two.

Ocampo initially had both Bensouda and Serge Brammertz as deputies, but did not replace Brammertz when he left in 2006.

{{A UN report says Rwanda has already achieved Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 4 of reducing the deaths of children under five years by two-thirds below 1990 levels by 2015.}}

Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation show that only 54 Rwandan children die out of every 1000 new borns.

The report was released on Tuesday by the UN children agency UNICEF.

In 1990, Rwanda’s child mortality rate was 174 deaths per thousand live births. Massive government investment saw figures come down to 112 by 2008.

The latest UNICEF report puts Rwanda among 10 countries with countries with greatest decline in under-five mortality rate.

The major factors behind Rwanda’s targets is said to be the reductions in the spread of malaria and pneumonia.

A few years back, Pneumonia had been one of the biggest threats to survival of children in Rwanda. It was killing one in five children in Rwanda and is responsible for 23% of all child deaths.

Various mass vaccination campaigns against pneumonia have seen those figures drop.

Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame has been the biggest advocate for a disease free livelihood for Rwandan newborns.

Her efforts have seen thousands of children immunized against some of the biggest killer diseases.

As for malaria, before a child is born in Rwanda, the mother will have slept in the mosquito net during pregnancy.

The same child will be born with the same service and grow up with it.

All this is thanks to a strict program at health centres across the country requiring mothers to seek a free net when pregnant and have another for the new born.

Rwanda has implemented an insurance plan that covers 90% of treatment costs for families.

This program greatly relieves the financial burden of illness, as families only have to pay 10% of their medical bills.

The government has also given community workers basic training on how to diagnose and administer basic antibiotic treatment, after which patients can be safely transferred to better-equipped and staffed hospitals or larger community.

{{Police in Nyamirambo is holding a man identified as Emmanuel Muhayimana for conning about 10 people of Rwf350, 000.

He was arrested on September 10 in an operation conducted by police in Abaturushwa.}}

Muhayimana 31, is a resident of Abaturushwa village, Rwezamenyo cell in Nyarugenge District, who is said to have been conning people of their money on promises of getting them driving licences.

At the time of his arrest, he was also found with ten provisional licences, a fake traffic police stamp and eight Rwanda Revenue Authority receipts.

Muhayimana was allegedly charging Rwf10, 000 per head as registration fees to get a driving license, paid on spot.

He would later tell them to pay Rwf50, 000 to acquire a licence.
The suspect, who said he started the illegal business in February last year, confessed to the crime, but begged to be pardoned.

Rwanda National Police Spokesperson, Supt Theos Badege, urged the public to always seek driving licence services through legal channels from Traffic Police and driving schools.

Supt Badege said measures have been adopted to apprehend such fraudsters whom he said “tarnish the image of Police.”

There has been a suicide attack at the gates of a hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where the new president was staying.

At least seven people died in the attack, including the two bombers who targeted the hotel.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who has been based at the Jazeera hotel near the airport, was unharmed.

The al-Qaeda-aligned group al-Shabab said it had carried out the attack.

On Tuesday, the group said the president’s election, which is the latest step to end decades of war, was organised by the “enemies of Somalia”.

It was the first time for years that a president has been chosen on Somali soil.

“This atrocious attack comes only two days after a milestone vote where the Somali parliament overwhelmingly and transparently elected Mr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as president, giving to Somalia a renewed hope for a better future,” UN envoy to Somalia Augustine Mahiga said in a statement.

“Such attempts to push the country back into chaos and violence will not deter the Somali people’s determination to move forward.”

{{Kenya minister visiting}}

“There has been a blast around the hotel where the president was. The president is safe. All the people who were inside the hotel are safe,” Col Ali Houmed, a spokesman for the African Union force in the country, known as Amisom,said.

One witness said that two militants parked a vehicle near the hotel and walked towards the building.

One man blew himself up at the gate as the second man ran into the hotel firing a gun which wounded a policeman, he said.

The second attacker was shot dead before there was a further explosion.

BBC says two Somali soldiers were killed in the first blast and two civilians were killed in the ensuing shoot out.

In a statement, Amisom said one of its soldiers had died and three others were injured.

Six civilians were also wounded and are being treated in hospital for bullet wounds, our reporter says.

The blasts took place as President Mohamud was holding a press conference in the Jazeera Hotel with visiting Kenyan Foreign Minister Sam Ongeri.

“When we just started the press conference there was a suicide bombing outside and gunshots which were heard from outside the hotel,” a woman inside the building, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.

“We could see them from the window,” she said.

The Kenyan foreign ministry confirmed that there was an attack whilst Mr Ongeri was delivering a “goodwill message” to the new president.

“The meeting however went on successfully after the thwarted terrorist attack with Minister Ongeri and his entourage are expected back to the country later this evening,” the statement said.

Kenya sent troops to Somalia last year, saying that it wanted al-Shabab defeated because the militants threatened its security.

Kenyan soldiers have since joined the Amisom force in the country, boosting its numbers to nearly 18,000.

Just over a year ago, al-Shabab was largely driven out of Mogadishu by African Union forces and Somali government troops.

But militants still stage occasional attacks in the city.

Since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has seen clan-based warlords, Islamist militants and its neighbours all battling for control.

{{Officials of Health institutions in the East African member states are in Rwanda discussing possible ways of establishing uniform ways of universal health insurance like it is in Rwanda.}}

The move to have a harmonized health care system is aimed at improving the lives and health of citizens in the regional bloc.

A Rwandan official in charge of Health Insurance, Makaka, told IGIHE that Rwanda is currently well positioned compared to EAC member states in the health insurance of its citizens adding that the meeting will require Rwanda to share its experience which could be vital in the streamling of health insurance in all five member states of the bloc.

Makaka also noted that Rwanda receives cases of patients from neighbouring countries. Such patients incur heavy bills compared to Rwandans insured.

Participants that have been in a meeting that started Tuesday unanimously agree that health for citizens is paramount and should be given top priority.