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{{A local church Pastor James Gasana of Church of hope, Samuduha Kicukiro District has put clarity of emerging arguments that tends to bend the meaning of celebrating Christmas.}}

Christmas or Christmas Day literally Christ’s mass is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious or cultural holiday by all Christians around the world.

The precise day of Jesus’s birth, which historians place between 7 and 2 BC, is unknown. In the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church first placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted also in the East.

The original date of the celebration in Eastern Christianity was January 6, in connection with Epiphany, and that is still the date of the celebration for the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia, where it is a public holiday.

As of 2011, there is a difference of 13 days between the modern Gregorian calendar and the older Julian calendar.

Those who continue to use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus celebrate December 25 and January 6 on what for the majority of the world is January 7 and January 19.

For this reason, Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine and Macedonia celebrate Christmas, both as a Christian feast and as a public holiday.

“we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our savior, we Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born, what is important to us that Jesus Christ was born to us, it does not matter to me the actual date, because I don’t worship the date anyway I only worship the Lord so the date should not get control over me,” Pastor Gasana James of Church of Hope, has said.

In a cell phone interview with Igihe.com, Gasana said some people have spent lots of energy debating on the actual date other than knowing the importance, reason and the mighty of the one who was born on that date.

“The fact is that HE was born, all of them who debate about the date believe HE was born which is a huge success to all of us who believe in HIM, Had HE not born we would not have a reason to celebrate,” Gasana added.

” This is a time to look back in 2011 and say thank you lord. It is also the time to look forward and say lord I need your favor, blessings, protection, and guidance in 2012,” He noted.

He also called upon all Christians to pray and work for them to grab their destiny noting that having faith to pray for provision from God and noting is faith without action which is dead referring to holy book, The Bible.

Pastor Bruce Muhoza of Jehova Shalom Church, Kacyiru Gasabo District said on Rwanda Television that Jesus Christ was born to bring salvation to mankind adding that he had a mission to redeem mankind.

Quoting the bible in the book Isaiah 9:6-7, Pastor Muhoza Christmas should be celebrated with intent to understanding who Jesus Christ is and what HE came to on this planet earth.

Apostle Moses Muhumuza of Prayer Palace Church, Remera said that Jesus Christ is the only reason for celebrating this festive season whether Christmas or New Year days quoting the book of Luke 1:26-38 in the bible.

Christmas is a feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide.

Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world’s nations,celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

The precise day of Jesus Christ’s birth, which historians place between 7 and 2 BC, is unknown.

In the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church first placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted also in the East.

Theories advanced to explain that choice include that it falls exactly nine months after the Christian celebration of the conception of Jesus, or that it was selected to coincide with either the date of the Roman winter solstice or of some ancient pagan winter festival.

The popular celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian and secular themes and origins.

Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations, including Christmas trees, lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly.

In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas and Kris Kringle among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.

Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses.

The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

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{{Dependable news from Stockhom,Sweden indicates that Swedish police has arrested a Rwandan genocide fugitive.}}

The suspect identified as Stanislous Mbanenande in his fifties, lived in Gävle, in central Sweden. According to the Swedish police he has both Swedish and Rwandan citizenship.

The suspect was arrested Thursday evening (10pm) at Bromma airport. The suspect is believed to have been returning from Liberia where he is said to have been working with a NGO.

“The remand hearing was expected today to be held in Stockholm,”if there’s time”, according to Wretling. If not, the hearing will be held over Christmas,” Said the chief investigator Anders Wretling.

Wretling said that plenty of work remains to be done in the investigation, which has been going on since April.

The suspect was interrogated shortly after his arrest, and denies all crimes. His lawyer Tomas Nilsson assisted him in a police interrogation today (Friday) afternoon.

“As you surely understand, I can’t tell you what was said, except that my client denied all crimes,” said Nilsson. This was the first time he met with the suspect.

“We’re happy to be able to give a clear signal that Sweden is no safe haven for war criminals,” said Wretling.

Jean Bosco Siboyintore the head of the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit of Rwanda has confirmed the developmet saying Mbanenande was arrested in partnership between the two countries.

This followed an arrest warrant and indictments issued in a search for the hiding perpetrator.

“We don’t want many of Genocide Fugitives to continuously get a blanket cover from different prosecution,” John Bosco Siboyintore said in an interview with IGIHE.com.

According to Siboyintore, the arrest of Mbanenande was first announced on swidish Television.

He fled the country immidiately after 1994 Genocide. He is accused of organising attacks to exterminate and kill ethnic Tutsis.

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{{72 MTN subscribers have today won x-mas gifts in the ongoing MTN’s Izihize promotion .The winners recieved their prizes at MTN’s service center in Nyamirambo.}}

The prizes won include phones of Ideos model, blackberry tourch, Gatego and, Samsung Galaxy. Laptops and Samsung tabs.

Izihize promotion was initiated by MTN to reward its customers during the festive season starting from 30th November and 72 subscribers are rewarded every Friday. The last group of winners will be rewarded on 29th December.

Active subscribers enter the promotion automatically if they use MTN services such as making a call, sending an SMS, buying a caller tune, use internet, sending money by MTN Mobile money, etc.

Yvonne Manzi Makoro, the MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer remarked that the promotion have rewarded 2, 872 winners and 11, 488 people by the end of the promotion.

One of the beneficiaries, Jean Jacques Rutayijana a commercial manager for COGEAR insurance company was given a Samsung tab.

“I’m so overwhelmed, at first I thought it was a joke when they called me yesterday at around 10 AM to tell me the good news, the tab will be so essential to my duties, I feel relieved because carrying my heavy old modeled laptop was a bothersome,” he said with uncontrolled amusement.

Another prize winner Theoneste Hakorimana a cleaner at the city’s Union Trade Centre (UTC), was handed an LG smart phone.

“It has always been my dream to have a phone which I can access internet, but now I don’t find myself being bored because I will be chatting with my friends on Facebook and access news online most likely from Igihe.com,” he noted.

{{Rwanda President Paul Kagame and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni at the Uganda-Rwanda Boarder at Gatuna have this Friday inaugurated the reconstruction of the highway connecting Rwanda to Uganda.}}

The Road has been dotted with potholes for a long time. The information comes from a statement released by office of the Rwandan President.

President Kagame is expected to spend Xmas with his family in Uganda during the Four-day visit.

The Uganda government is currently involved in the developing, upgrading and maintenance of over 10,800 km of the country’s road network.

This is estimated to cost the Ugandan government a whopping $1.5 billion.

The programme is co-financed by Uganda government, and various development partners including the European Union (EU), the African Development Bank (ADB), the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

The government of Rwanda and the European Union (EU) earlier signed a contract worth Rwf 27 billion for the rehabilitation of the Kigali-Gatuna highway expected to start in May next year.

Strabag road Construction Company will upgrade the 78km stretch from the main roundabout in Kigali city centre to Gatuna. The parking yard at the border will be upgraded as part of the wider initiative to create a single border post.

The Kigali, Gatuna, Mbarara highway connects different countries from East and Central Africa including Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Strabag International, a construction company secured the tender to rehabilitate the road, according to the State Minister in charge of Transport Dr. Alexis Nzahabwanimana.

{{The Minister of Finance and economic planning John Rwangombwa has announced that teachers’ salaries will be increased by 10% in the next financial year.}}

Rwangombwa made the announcement during a joint press conference after the cabinet meeting.

“This will be based on qualification and experience in the teachers’ profession,” Rwangombwa said.

The minister said that the next financial year have been increased by Rwf 59 million so as to cater for such long awaited needs and to cover 2000 teachers expected to join the profession 2012.

It is also intended to widen the ‘One Laptop per child’ program in schools, gir’inka and also acquiring more shares in the cement factory CIMERWA, which was other factor to increase the government budget.

In the same joint press conference, the minister of health Dr Agnes Binagwaho emphasized that organ transplant from dead people would help a lot in Rwandan saving of lives.

These all among the recent cabinet meeting that brought a mixed filling about organ transplant.

Organ transplantation is the removing of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient’s own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient’s damaged or absent organ.

A section of the ministerial decree determines the donation card and the will format for a person to donate his or her body, body parts or organs for research, medical, scientific and educational purposes.

Another section determines procedures for importation and exportation of organs, tissues and products from a body of a dead person for therapeutic or scientific research utilization purposes.

The cabinet also approved a ministerial decree establishing a list of diseases whose medical tests must be undertaken by a person willing to donate or to receive an organ or tissues of human body.

Dr Alex Butera the Ag. CEO of one of the referral hospital King Faisal told the New Times that the ministerial decree will streamline the exercise.

“The decree came in the right time; you have heard of cases of organ trafficking, these decrees clearly state how organs are to be imported and exported,” said Dr. Butera.

He said since the hospital started conducting organ transplants, donor responses have been impressive.

“People in this country are good at donating organs; we have had cases of parents willingly donating organs to children and relatives”.

According to medics, organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, eyes, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and thymus. Tissues include bones, cornea, skin, heart valves, and veins.

Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed closely by the liver and the heart.

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{{Provisional statistics from Rwanda Development Board (RDB) indicate that investment registration has reached US $ 598 million surpassing US $ 550m target.}}

According to John Gara the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the target was attained due to proper packaging of Rwanda’s investment opportunities to potential investors.

“We are happy with the figures registered so far, that surpassed our set targets, we initially thought we were quite ambitious setting it,” Gara said.

He added that the target aimed at recovering lost grounds suffered last year with Investments registration of US$398m.

According to available statistics, Agriculture has topped investors’ attraction list with US$116.3m closely followed by ICT with US$109.6m and US$108.8m in tourism.

This is contrary to last year’s investors’ choice list which construction and hospitality sectors that dominated the list.

The Foreign Director Investments into Rwanda, one the key aspects to the transformation of the country’s economy, stands at 62 percent with over US$371 million, compared to less than 50 percent last year.

At least 47 projects have been listed as FDIs, 73 are local investments with 13 projects designated as joint ventures, bringing to 133 the total number of registered investments expected to generate 8,688 jobs into the economy.

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{{The Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi has said that the transformation of the national broadcaster ORINFOR is government priority.

Habumuremyi made the remarks during a guided tour at ORINFOR audio,visual and print facilities.}}

“Despite the good work ORINFOR provides to the nation, there is need to improve the overall performance of the institution. The printing press should be enhanced to capture the regional market, print {Imvaho} newspaper on daily basis before the end of January 2012. ”

The premier also hinted on the increment of remuneration of ORINFOR staff however he said this should be done with corresponding equipment improvement.

“Giving good salary to staff that lack skills wouldn’t transform the institution into achieving its objectives,” The Prime minister noted adding that Capacity building for instutions staff was paramount and should be strengthened quickly.

{{Friday, Kenyans will receive from Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) the medical test results of a woman who died from a mysterious disease with signs similar to a hemorrhagic disease.}}

The woman identified as Gladys Muthoni died from what looked like a highly contagious and fast-killing Ebola in Nairobi.

Before succumbing to death the woman exhibited symptoms including bleeding from all openings in her body and destruction of main body organs. This has stunned Kenyan medical fraternity and threatens Xmas celebrations.

Workmates say blood oozed from all her openings including eyes, ears and mouth, leaving her supervisor, fellow workers and patrons in shock.

Before she was rushed to hospital, Muthoni had mingled with many people at the busy hotel along Sheikh Nkrumah Road in Nairobi, where she reported for work on Wednesday night.

She also went to the market to buy supplies for the hotel, where her colleagues said she was suddenly hit by heavy bleeding, before she collapsed.

Several medical specialists at KNH led by Dr Masika Wafula doused both the bloodstained car that carried the disease and from which the body had not been removed five hours later with disinfectants.

Those who brought her were quarantined to be tested and to prevent spread of the virus if it turned out to be killer Ebola.

{{Over 12 people were killed by heavy rains that left Dar es Salaam submerged by the floods. About 30 houses were destroyed by strong currents.

On Tuesday Red Cross teams were sent in to distribute relief food, leaving Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces to focus on rescue operations.}}

There were reports of extensive damage to public infrastructure such as bridges and roads. Personal property, including houses and other belongings, were swept away by the flood waters.

Some key Dar es Salaam roads were closed after bridges were destroyed or submerged in the raging waters.Morogoro Road at Jangwani, covering the stretch between Kariakoo and Magomeni, was hard hit.

The same road was temporarily closed at Mbezi Mwisho after flood waters rose beyond bridge level.

Upcountry travellers were stranded for hours before the raging water subsided mid-morning. Part of Kawawa Road was also closed at Msimbazi.