IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Congolese Armed Forces Occupy Rebel Positions

    Congolese Armed Forces Occupy Rebel Positions

    {{Government troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo have occupied strategic locations in the hills overlooking the eastern city of Goma, as rebel M23 fighters withdrew.}}

    The M23 rebels, who have fought an 18-month uprising in the eastern borderlands of DR Congo, said they quit the Kibati hills to allow an independent investigation into shelling that has killed civilians in Goma and the lakeside town of Gisenyi in neighbouring Rwanda.

    The Congolese troops, backed by an armed UN force with an expansive mandate, took the positions on Saturday.

    Congo’s army troops have been buoyed by the intervention of a new UN brigade fighting alongside them to drive back the M23 rebels. “We won!” they chanted in Kibati, which was, until Thursday, a rebel outpost on the frontline overlooking Goma.

    “They did not leave by choice, they were confronted with the power of the army,” Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Hamuli, a spokesman for Congo’s armed forces, told reporters.

    {agencies}

  • Rape Cases Soar in Somali Camps

    Rape Cases Soar in Somali Camps

    {{There has been a rise in incidents of rape and sexual abuse of women and young girls in Somalia.

    Most of the assaults go unreported because victims fear stigma and reprisals.

    The United Nations recorded 1,700 rapes in 500 camps for displaced people in the capital Mogadishu.}}

    Click to see video report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcZhqgRIsfM
    aljazeera

  • Kenyan rapper Octopizzo releases “NINI!” Video

    Kenyan rapper Octopizzo releases “NINI!” Video

    Kenyan rapper Octopizzo has released his latest MV “NINI!”

    ‘NINI!’ is a song based on the Swahili word “Nini,” meaning “What” in English and “What is” in what Octopizzo calls SwagHili.

    Dedicated to party animals, the track also resonates with people who have fallen victim to ill-mouthed characters. Octopizzo raps about staying positive as “they keep on talking we keep on moving” – “jomba ukibonga mzae mi-na-songa.”

  • Kenya sees lower-than-normal rains hurting farms, power output

    Kenya sees lower-than-normal rains hurting farms, power output

    {{Kenya is expected to receive lower-than-normal and poorly distributed rains in the last quarter of 2013 which could impact agricultural production and power supply from hydro-electric dams, the Meteorological Department said on Friday.}}

    East Africa’s biggest economy relies heavily on agriculture and power from dams. Analysts watch the forecasts to gauge the impact on inflation, which could be pushed up if harvests are weak and cheap hydropower is in short supply.

    Inflation rose to 6.67% in the year to August from 6.02% a month earlier.

    “Generally depressed rainfall is expected over most agricultural areas of the country. It is also expected that the rainfall will be poorly distributed,” the department said.

    “This will impact negatively on the agricultural activities in most of the areas. Food security is expected to deteriorate especially in the eastern sector of Kenya during the October-December period,” it said in a statement.

    Kenya has two rainy seasons, the so-called short rains of October to December and the long rains of March to May.

    The Meteorological Department said the short rains outlook in the food-growing areas of the Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions would be for near- or above-normal rain.

    It said some other food-growing areas such as Central, Southeastern and Coastal regions would have near-normal rains.

    For hydropower generation, the department said catchment areas in western Kenya would have near- to above-normal rainfall, improving water levels in some dams.

    But normal to below-normal rains in the Tana and Athi River catchment areas were likely to lead to low flows to major dams, it said, adding that this could reduce hydro-electric power capacity.

    The department said parts of the country’s Northeastern and Eastern provinces, which border Somalia and Ethiopia which are already drought prone, would receive scant rainfall.

    {wirestory}

  • EA region Lacks Local oil Expertise

    EA region Lacks Local oil Expertise

    {{East African countries are grappling with the challenge of how to fast-track training of oil and gas engineers after unexpected and continuing discoveries have positioned the region as a future global oil hot spot.}}

    Tanzania may have 40-billion cubic metres of gas, expected to double by 2015, while Uganda has an estimated 3.5-billion barrels of oil. Kenya’s deposits may be up to 10-billion barrels, according to Tullow Oil’s chief operating officer Paul McDade.

    Authorities in the region have been putting pressure on exploration companies to start pumping oil and gas.

    The lure for money and agitation for equity in distribution of oil and gas wealth by local communities have reduced focus on the priority issue of training local oil and gas human resources, industry players said.

    The dearth in local experts has paved the way for skilled labour from the Middle East and West Africa where oil and gas extraction is already established.

    In the meantime, locals could watch from the sidelines as expatriates take dominant positions when oil and gas pumping starts by 2016, a rough date set by Tullow Oil.
    “Our universities rarely teach oil and gas courses.

    We need international partnerships to start such training here,” said Petroleum Institute of East Africa CE Wanjiku Manyara.

    The exact number of qualified oil and gas engineers in three East Africa countries — Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — is not known but engineering associations say it is less than 20.

    NMG

  • Security Council Statement on DRCongo

    Security Council Statement on DRCongo

    {{The following Security Council statement was issued by Council President María Cristina Perceval ( Argentina):}}

    On 22 August 2013, the members of the Security Council heard a briefing by Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, on the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    The members of the Security Council condemned the resumption of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    They condemned in the strongest terms the repeated and targeted attacks by the M23 against civilians and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), which have led to civilian casualties and loss of life, the death of a peacekeeper and the injury of several others, and damage to a MONUSCO ambulance.

    The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed in the attack, as well as to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and to MONUSCO.

    They called on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

    They recalled that intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict, constitutes a crime under international law.

    They reiterated their demand to M23 and other armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), to cease immediately all forms of violence and that their members immediately and permanently disband and lay down their arms.

    In this regard, they reiterated their readiness to adopt additional targeted sanctions against those acting in violation of the sanctions regime and the arms embargo.

    The members of the Security Council also expressed concern at reports of repeated mortar shells and bombs from Democratic Republic of the Congo territory landing in Rwandan territory, and called for a thorough investigation into the sources of these shells and bombs by the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM).

    The members of the Security Council commended the active steps taken by MONUSCO to implement its mandate, in particular the protection of civilians, and encouraged the continuation of these efforts.

    They welcomed Special Representative of the Secretary-General Kobler’s order to the force to take all necessary actions to protect civilians. They emphasized that any effort to undermine MONUSCO’s ability to implement its mandate will not be tolerated.

    UNSC

  • Kenya:Human Head found at Police Commission HQ

    Kenya:Human Head found at Police Commission HQ

    {{A freshly chopped head of a man has been found in a box that was left outside the National Police Service Commission offices in Nairobi.}}

    The carton had the writing – Kavuludi you are next – which detectives have interpreted as death threat to the Commission’s chairman Johnston Kavuludi.

    A pair of hands chopped from the wrist was also found in the box, together with the head which was covered with blood.

    The box that was wrapped in a yellow polythene bag was abandoned for about two hours before police were alerted.

    It was dropped on a flower bed, just outside Luther Plaza, where the Mr Kavuludi’s office is situated off Nyerere Road near the University of Nairobi.

    Nairobi police chief Benson Kibui linked the incident to an earlier one where a torso, was found in a farm in Ruai.

    The Torso had the head and hands missing.

    “Judging by the decapitation of the head and hands, we can be able to connect. We shall start by seeking the identity of the victim, then we find the killers and establish their motive,” said Mr Kibui.

    Workers at the Commission told police that the carton was dropped there at around 4pm, and the police chief said his officers were alerted two hours later.

    Officers from the nearby Central Police station who were the first to arrive at the scene sealed it off and called in their colleagues from the Bomb Disposal Unit.

    “The experts did not detect any explosives and so scene of crime analysts took over and found the head,” Mr kibui added.

    He estimated the deceased was 30 years old.

  • Obama Appoints Long-awaited Sudan Special Envoy

    Obama Appoints Long-awaited Sudan Special Envoy

    {President Barack Obama meets with Ambassador Donald Booth, Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, in the Oval Office, Aug. 28, 2013.}

    {{Donald Booth, former ambassador who served in different parts of the African continent, has been named special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, the White House announced on Wednesday.}}

    Booth was received in the Oval Office today by president Barack Obama who stressed that “supporting peace between and within Sudan and South Sudan remains a priority for this administration”, according to a statement released after the meeting.

    The diplomat who served in Ethiopia, Zambia and Liberia “has extensive experience promoting peace and prosperity across the African continent”, the White House added.

    Booth will work with the African Union (AU) and the international community to facilitate the resolution of pending issues between the two countries, including Abyei referendum and the disputed border zones, the statement said in part.

    He also seek to aid efforts aimed at ending the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile “as part of a holistic solution to Sudan’s human rights, humanitarian, and governance crises”, the White House underlined.

    “And he will urge South Sudan to stay focused on protecting its people, meeting their needs, and realizing their aspirations for a more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic future”.

    Booth will succeed Princeton Lyman who resigned in late 2012 for what sources said was due to health reasons.

    Obama’s administration delay in picking a new envoy drew criticism from some US lawmakers including Representative Frank Wolf who wrote several letters to Obama urging him to swiftly pick a successor.

    Wolf accused the Obama administration of pushing the crisis in Sudan to the bottom of his priorities.

    Also, a coalition of Sudan activist groups in Washington known as Act for Sudan sent a letter to Kerry last March imploring him not to nominate former US ambassador to Khartoum Timothy Carney for the job citing what they perceived as his sympathetic views with the Sudanese government.

    They recalled Carney’s testimony in 2009 at the U.S. Congress in which he voiced his opposition to efforts aimed at isolating Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    He proposed instead to defer the ICC warrant, sending an ambassador to Khartoum and removing Sudan from the state department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

    The Sudan activist group known as Enough issued a statement today lauding the pick by Obama.

    “The appointment of a seasoned diplomat like Don Booth to this critical position will enhance U.S efforts to promote peace within Sudan and between Sudan and South Sudan. We urge Special Envoy Booth to push for a comprehensive, internationally-backed peace process in Sudan which does not segment the conflicts across border regions—Darfur, Abyei, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile State—but addresses them holistically, and includes greater engagement with opposition groups working toward democratic transformation in Sudan” Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw said.

    sudantribune

  • Chelsea to sign Eto for £7million One-Year Deal

    Chelsea to sign Eto for £7million One-Year Deal

    {{Chelsea will sign Samuel Eto’o on a stunning £7million one-year deal on Thursday after admitting defeat in their pursuit of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.}}

    Eto’o, the 32-year-old Cameroon forward, is taking a huge pay cut from the £17m a year that made him the world’s best paid footballer at Anzhi Makhachkala and will sign on a free transfer.

    However, Anzhi are understood to have sweetened the deal by giving Eto’o a multi-million-pound lump sum to get him off their wage bill.

    Eto’o arrived at London’s St Pancras station on Wednesday night, where he was pictured with super-agent Pini Zahavi, and is due to have a medical at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground before finalising terms after his advisers held talks on Wednesday.

    Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, a confirmed Eto’o admirer, turned to his Plan B after United steadfastly refused to sell Rooney.

    Indeed, the England striker’s immediate future at Old Trafford looks assured after he took to his Facebook page to voice appreciation of the support he received from United fans during his outstanding performance in Monday night’s goalless draw between the sides.

    Rooney posted: “It was an unbelievable reaction from the fans, so thank you. I really appreciate your support. It means a lot.”

    Mourinho may try again for Rooney later in the season, but for now he is content with Eto’o, about whom he once said: “Any coach would be stupid not to want to have a striker like him.”

    There is a kinship between the Chelsea coach and his new signing.

    {wirestory}

  • ICC rejects Ruto, Sang cases to be heard in Kenya, Tanzania

    ICC rejects Ruto, Sang cases to be heard in Kenya, Tanzania

    {{Kenya’s Deputy president William Ruto and Sang ICC trial is scheduled to commence on September 10, 2013.}}

    The International Criminal Court ( ICC) judges on decided the trial against William Ruto and Joshua Sang will take place at the seat of the Court in The Hague, Netherlands and not in Kenya or, Arusha, Tanzania as requested by joint defence teams of the accused.

    This is after the judges failed to reach the required two-thirds majority necessary for a decision to change the seat of the Court.

    The defence teams of Ruto and Sang on January 24, 2013 had requested the Court to change hearings for the trial in Kenya or in Arusha (Tanzania).

    “After carefully considering the arguments both in favour of and against holding the opening statements in the case in Nairobi or Arusha, the judges did not reach the required two-thirds majority necessary for a decision to change the seat of the Court. The opening statements of the trial will therefore be held in The Hague,” said ICC Prsident Judge Sang-Hyun Song.

    The Trial Chamber having received observations of the other parties and participants and the ICC Registry’s remarks on the feasibility of place of hearings, it recommended that it may be desirable to hold the commencement of trial and other portions in Kenya or in Tanzania but concluded that the proceedings shall be held at the ICC’s headquarters after taking into consideration numerous factors, such as security, the cost of holding proceedings outside The Hague.

    The Trial Chamber also took into considerartion the potential impact on the perception of the Court and the impact on the Court’s ability to conduct and support other proceedings that are taking place simultaneously at the seat of the Court.