{{Sudanese woman who was spared death sentence for renouncing Islam has flown to Italy after more than a month in US embassy}}
Author: Théophile Niyitegeka
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Experts to Examine MH17 Flight Data
{{UK investigators are to start examining the flight data recorder from the downed Malaysia Airlines plane.}}
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough will start the process almost a week after the plane crashed in eastern Ukraine.
Whitehall sources, meanwhile, say information shows some evidence was tampered with at the crash site.
The sources said this included moving bodies and scattering the parts of other aircraft among the wreckage.
All 298 people on board flight MH17 were killed in the crash in Ukraine on 17 July.
They included 10 Britons on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
{{Missile launch}}
British accident investigators will attempt to retrieve data from the recorders following a request by authorities in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said “valid data” had already been downloaded from MH17’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR) which will be “further analysed”.
The board said: “The CVR was damaged but the memory module was intact. Furthermore no evidence or indications of manipulation of the CVR was found.”
The black boxes have been transported to the UK after pro-Russian rebels handed them to Malaysian officials this week.
The data recorder records technical information on the performance of the aircraft.
The other box takes down sounds such as pilots’ voices and, potentially, an explosion.
{{Replay units}}
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said data from the two devices would be downloaded and sent back to Dutch investigators.
Depending on damage to the black boxes the process should take about two days, the spokesman said.
Jonathan Sumberg, BBC transport reporter, said the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was one of two “replay units” in Europe with the necessary equipment to listen to the cockpit voice recorder.
wirestory
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CAR Factions Announce Ceasefire
{{Rival armed groups in the Central African Republic have signed a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending over a year of religious conflict.}}
The agreement was signed in Congo-Brazzaville between mainly Muslim Seleka rebels and the largely Christian anti-Balaka militia.
As part of the deal, the Seleka dropped their demand for CAR’s partition.
Thousands of people have been killed and almost a quarter of the 4.6 million population forced from their homes.
Muslims have been forced to flee the capital city and most of the west of the country, in what rights groups described as ethnic cleansing.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes such as torture and unlawful killing.
The negotiations began in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville on Monday.
“We have signed this ceasefire agreement today in front of everyone. Our commitment is firm and irreversible” said Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane, who headed the Seleka delegation.
Patrick Edouard Ngaissona, head of the anti-Balaka negotiating team, said anyone caught violating the ceasefire would be arrested.
{{‘First step’}}
The president of Congo-Brazzaville and mediator of the talks, Denis Sassou Nguesso, said the talks were a success.
“The longest journey begins with the first step… Brazzaville is the first step,” he said after the agreement was signed.
The Seleka rebels dropped their demand for CAR to be divided into a Muslim north and a Christian south.
BBC
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Danish Diplomat Named new UN Envoy to South Sudan
{{U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday named Danish diplomat Ellen Margrethe Loj as his new special envoy to South Sudan and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the world’s newest nation.}}
Loj replaces Hilde Johnson of Norway, who stood down this month after three years in the job and amid renewed violence sparked by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.
The conflict has reopened deep ethnic tensions in the South Sudan, which only won independence from Sudan in 2011, pitting Kiir’s Dinka against Machar’s Nuer.
Thousands of civilians have been killed and more than a million forced to flee their homes since December, prompting U.N. warnings of a looming famine.
Ban said Loj “brings to the position a wealth of experience in peacekeeping and international affairs, having served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the United Nations Mission in Liberia from 2008 to 2012.”
She has also been Denmark’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, the United Nations and Israel.
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West African States Pledge Regional Anti-Boko Haram Force
Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon pledged on Wednesday to mobilize a joint force to tackle the growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram Islamist militants operating mainly in Nigeria.
Each nation is due to put forward 700 men to the force in the latest effort to improve the regional response to the militants, who have intensified the insurgency in northern Nigeria and carried out some attacks in neighbouring countries.
“This step is proof of our commitment to do everything possible to eradicate this curse,” said Karidio Mahamadou, Niger’s minister of defense.
The four countries, whose borders meet at Lake Chad, an area that is a Boko Haram stronghold, already share intelligence and coordinate border security in the zone, but mobilizing a regional force on this scale would be a major escalation.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the defense ministers from the four countries, but no details on the timing or location of the deployment were given.
The militants have killed thousands of people since 2009, when they launched their efforts to carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria.
Bombings and attacks have become common in Nigeria’s north, but Boko Haram grabbed global attention some three months ago by seizing more than 200 girls from a school.
The kidnappings led to international calls for action and pledges from presidents in the region for a “total war” against the militants.
Niger and Cameroon have in particular bolstered security in the border areas but there have been no signs of a major offensive involving regional forces.
The militants have killed more than 2,000 civilians in the first half of this year, Human Rights Watch estimated a week ago.
At least 82 people were killed on Wednesday in two suicide bombings in the northern city of Kaduna, one aimed at an opposition leader and ex-president and another at a moderate Muslim cleric about to lead a crowd in prayer.
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Makerere Ranked 7th Best University in Africa
{{Makerere University has been ranked the best institution in East, Central and West Africa in the latest world university ranking.}}
The results released last week by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) 2014 Edition, the country’s oldest university was ranked 7th on the continent and the 891 in the world. The rankings were released in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
South Africa, Egypt and Uganda were the only African countries represented in the top 1,000 world universities ranked.
The United States of America (USA) took the lion’s share, contributing 229 institutions to the top 1,000 followed by China with 84 institutions.
The Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof John Ssentamu-Ddumba, said the results are a reflection of the institution’s reputation in training the human resource needed not only in East Africa, but on the continent.
“Makerere University has the highest number of PhD holders in the region who are actively engaged in ground-breaking research. Our gallant alumni spread the world over are recipients of a number of distinguished awards in both academia and the corporate world. We are confident that this greatly contributed to our being ranked 7th in Africa and among the top 1,000 universities worldwide,” Prof Dumba said.
According to a statement on the CWUR website, they publish the only global university ranking that measures the quality of education and training of students as well as the prestige of the faculty members and the quality of their research without relying on surveys and university data submissions.
{{Criteria}}
Unlike the Webometric Rankings whose biggest parameter visibility (at 50 per cent) considers the number of websites linking to the university’s domain, CWUR’s quality of education, alumni employment and quality of faculty objectives are each ranked at 25%, with the remaining 25% equally distributed between the publications, influence, citations, broad impact and patents objectives.
NMG
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Curtain to rise on 20th Commonwealth Games
{{Sir Chris Hoy says Glasgow will deliver “the biggest and best Commonwealth Games we’ve ever seen”, ahead of Wednesday’s opening ceremony.
About 4,500 athletes from 71 nations will take part in the 20th edition of the Games, which run until 3 August.}}
“It’s going to be spectacular,” said Scotland’s six-time Olympic and double Commonwealth champion.
Swimmer Michael Jamieson, a big Scots medal hope, added: “You can already see there’s a buzz around the city.”
The 25-year-old silver medallist from the 2012 Olympics, who is chasing 200m breaststroke gold on the opening day of action on Thursday, said: “It’s known as the friendly Games for a reason. It just has such a great feel about it.”
The reputation of the Commonwealth Games was damaged by the 2010 Games in Delhi, which were plagued by poor ticket sales and problems with venues and accommodation.
Organisers were forced to give away thousands of free tickets after seats remained unsold, but that still could not prevent images of half-empty venues being beamed around the world, but Hoy is confident there will be no repeat in Glasgow.
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Sierra Leone’s Chief Ebola Doctor Contracts the Virus
{{The head doctor fighting the deadly tropical virus Ebola in Sierra Leone has himself caught the disease, the government said.}}
The 39-year-old Sheik Umar Khan, hailed as a “national hero” by the health ministry, was leading the fight to control an outbreak that has killed 206 people in the West African country. Ebola kills up to 90 percent of those infected and there is no cure or vaccine.
Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, more than 600 people have died from the illness, according to the World Health Organisation, placing great strain on the health systems of some of Africa’s poorest countries.
Khan, a Sierra Leonean virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has been transferred to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, according to the statement released late on Tuesday by the president’s office.
Health Minister Miatta Kargbo called Khan a national hero and said she would “do anything and everything in my power to ensure he survives”.
Khan told Reuters in late June that he was worried about contracting Ebola. “I am afraid for my life, I must say, because I cherish my life,” he said in an interview, showing no signs of ill health at the time.
“Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk.”
Three days ago, three nurses working in the same Ebola treatment centre alongside Khan died from the disease.
The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea’s remote southeast in February and has since spread across the region. Symptoms of the highly infectious disease are diarrhea, vomiting and internal and external bleeding.
reuters
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Burundi Proposes New Taxes as Revenues Fall Short
{{Burundi’s cabinet will propose new duties on some alcoholic drinks and other products, an airport departure tax and other measures to make up for a shortfall in forecast revenues for 2014, according to a draft bill seen on Wednesday.}}
This year’s budget had predicted revenues of 633 billion Burundi francs ($411.04 million), but the government now expects to fall short by 44 billion francs. Even so, the final figure is likely to exceed 2013 revenues of 559.5 billion francs.
This year’s shortfall has been blamed on the move to cut corporate taxes to 30 percent from 35 percent last year.
The draft bill, seen by Reuters and due to be presented to parliament, has drawn an angry response from activists in the impoverished east African nation. One campaigner called for protests, saying the taxes would hurt the poor most.
According to the draft, a new tax will be introduced of 0.21-1.0% on alcoholic and other drinks made by brewery Brarudi, which brews beers and bottles soft drinks. It is 59% owned by Heineken and the rest by the state.
Wines, liquors, cosmetics, tobacco and mobile phones will pay a $0.25 “new stamp tax”, while the bill also introduces new taxes on fuel, lubricants, washed coffee, sugar, flour and mineral water.
Passengers departing from Bujumbura international airport will pay a 30,000 franc tax ($19). Importers are set to pay a deposit worth 3 percent of the value of imported goods, a sum that will be deducted from their final income tax payment.
“We have people in government who cannot justify their wealth. The government should instead impose taxes on wealth of those individuals who steal the taxpayers’ money,” said Gabriel Rufyiri, head of the local anti-corruption body Olucome.
{wirestory}
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Kenya’s Stock Exchange Prices IPO, Plans Derivatives Market
{{Kenya’s securities market priced shares in its initial public offering at 9.50 shillings ($0.11) on Wednesday, saying it planned a new derivatives market, as it opened up to non-brokers for the first time in 60 years.}}
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is used as an entry point into east Africa by foreign investors seeking exposure to fast-growing economies in the region.
Several Kenyan firms are cross-listed on neighbouring bourses.
The business, which was until this year mainly owned by brokers who paid for a membership in the mutual company that ran the market, hopes the listing will enhance transparency and provide funds for new investments.
The Kenyan government owns a small stake.
It plans to invest the 627 million shillings raised, if the offer is fully subscribed, in rolling out new products including a derivatives market, offering futures and options.
Referring to new products in the IPO prospectus, NSE Chief Executive Officer Peter Mwangi said: “Individuals and companies can cushion themselves against interest rate fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, and commodity price changes while boosting liquidity in the underlying assets.”
Investors in the issue, which will be open from July 24-Aug. 12, will be offered about 31 percent of the NSE’s 212.5 million authorised shares.
The NSE has assets of 1.4 billion shillings and reported a pretax profit of 379 million shillings last year. It had more than 120 listed equities and bonds at the end of last year.