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Somali PM: We will eliminate Al shabaab from the country soon

MOGADISHU (Sh. M. Network) – The government of Somalia is determined and committed to eliminating and getting rid of Al shabaab from the horn of African nation, Somali prime minister aid on Monday.

In an interview with BBC Somalia service, the Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the premier of the interim government said that during his one year mandate, the government will flush out Al shabaab fighters from the country completely.

Mr. Ali says that his government has made more developments and advances in its battles against the insurgent group.

He stated that he will fight against the corruption and mismanagement inside his administration for this year.

Some of world countries say Somali government officials are very corrupted and unreliable.

Talking his stance on Somaliland separation from Somalia, the prime minister said that they are ready to talk to that administration,

Source:Shebelle

India, U.S. agree to enhance maritime security cooperation: Nirupama

NEW YORK – India and the U.S. have agreed to enhance their maritime security cooperation, asserting safety of sea lanes of communication across the Indian Ocean is crucial for the economic growth for the entire region.

“One-fifth of the world’s energy supplies now travel across the Indian Ocean. The safety of the sea lanes of communication which criss-cross the Indian Ocean is crucial for the economic growth not just for India and the U.S. but for the entire region,” Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao said.

“Maritime trade routes in the Indian Ocean are vital for international commerce and global energy security and we have a shared interest in combating threats such as piracy. Therefore we have agreed to enhance our maritime security cooperation,” Ms. Rao said in her remarks on ‘Is there a future for the U.S.-India partnership?’organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Brookings Institute, a Washington-based eminent American think tank.

“For instance, we are working together with the U.S. and the international community to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. Indian and U.S. navies are enhancing their collaboration to deal with natural disasters building on the experience gained so far from the coordinated action,” she said.

The diplomat said, “More broadly, our defence cooperation has grown significantly. The paradigm that we should visualise for defence cooperation should incorporate a strong component of joint production, research and co-development, which are all of strategic importance.”

Source: The Hindu

Dar court clears way for Dowans billions

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) must pay Dowans the $65 million (Sh110 billion at yesterday’s exchange rate) awarded by an international tribunal for breach of contract, the High Court ruled yesterday.Mr Justice Emilian Mushi said it would be improper for the court to interfere with the findings of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which he added, addressed the issue adequately.“…this petition is hereby dismissed with costs. It is hereby ordered that the ICC’s final award filed in this court, be formally registered and should be a decree of this court and enforceable as such,” he said.

Commenting immediately after the ruling, the chairman of the parliamentary Public Organisation Accounts Committee, Mr Zitto Kabwe blamed the ruling CCM for Tanesco’s plight.“This is the cost of ill-advised politics and blind patriotism. We have caused this huge loss to the country due to poor leadership and infighting within CCM,” he told The Citizen.But Mr Kabwe said Tanesco was not supposed to pay the compensation as the firm was pressured into terminating the contract.

He said the committee had already directed that the debt should be paid by the government.
“Even the Controller and Auditor General has refused to sign Tanesco accounts for 2010 until the government agrees to shoulder the debt,” he added. The decision means Tanesco has to remit $65 million plus an interest of 7 per cent per annum, which could amount to about Sh118 billion.

Two weeks ago, Mr Justice Mushi dismissed a similar petition by four human rights activists, who challenged validity of the ICC order, arguing it was against the public interest.In his 89-page verdict he read for nearly three hours yesterday, Mr Justice Mushi said it would not be proper to interfere with ICC findings, saying doing so would amount to re-opening and re-arguing on the issues of fact and law that Tanesco and Dowans had agreed to submit to ICC for consideration and decision.

ICC had in November last year awarded Dowans Holdings SA (Costa Rica) and Dowans Tanzania Limited $65.8 million for wrongful termination of a power generation contract in 2008.Tanesco was asking the court to set aside the award or remit it to ICC for reconsideration for, among other reasons, being against public policy and disregarding its evidence at the hearing.The public utility alleged that public procurement rules were grossly flawed 2006 when the government directed Tanesco to award the contract to Richmond Development Company (RDVECO), which later passed the contract to Dowans.

Tanesco argued that the tribunal did not consider its evidence that Richmond lacked capacity to honour the contract. It also dissatisfied with what it described as ‘erroneous interpretation of the Public Procurement Act, 2004’ by the tribunal.

According to Tanesco, ICC deliberately disregarded the evidence that the procurement of the power agreement was done without a valid tender after Tanesco’s tender board cancelled the initial tender award.

The petitioner also argued that the enforcement of the ICC final award was contrary to public policy
But yesterday, Mr Justice Mushi said he was satisfied that all the questions of fact and law decided by the tribunal were those which the parties specifically asked the tribunal to decide on and were rightly decided.He said the court could not allow the petitioner to challenge the matter of facts and law that were directly asked by parties to be determined by the arbitration tribunal.

Outside the court, a lawyer who represented Dowans, Mr Kennedy Fungamtama, said his clients were still willing to sit with the government to negotiate the payment. One of the lawyers who represented Tanesco at ICC and in the petition, Dr Hawa Sinare, said he would advice Tanesco to appeal against the decision. “This is a kind of case that has to go to the Court of Appeal. We are shocked on how the judge addressed the issues of public policy and erroneous application of laws,” visibly upset Dr Sinare said.

Before Tanesco and rights organisations rushed to challenge the award, the Attorney General, Mr Frederick Werema had cautioned that Tanzania could not avoid paying Dowans for wrongful termination of the contract.

He said during the swearing in ceremony of Chief Justice Mohamed Othman Chande that it was wrong to give people false hope of opting for an appeal, adding that “any attempt to use public resources in pursuing the matter further was likely to be a waste of taxpayers’ money.”At the hearing of the petition, Tanesco blamed the arbitrator of failing to address it overwhelming evidence that proved how the power contract was improperly procured.

Source The Citizen

NASA spots first planet in binary star system

NASA's Kepler space telescope, searching for planets around distant suns, has discovered a Saturn-size world orbiting two stars 200 light years from Earth, a long-sought "circumbinary" planet reminiscent of the fictional world Tatooine in the Star Wars saga.

"This is the first definitive detection of a circumbinary planet and the best example we have of a Tatooine-type world," said Laurance Doyle, a researcher at the SETI Institute's Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe and lead author of a paper in the journal Science describing the discovery.

"Now, we don't expect Luke Skywalker or anything else to be living on Kepler-16b, but if you could visit there, you would see a sky with two suns, just like Luke did."

An artist's concept of Kepler-16b, a Saturn-size world orbiting two stars some 200 light years from Earth. The discovery by NASA's Kepler space telescope is a first in the ongoing search for planets beyond Earth's solar system.

(Credit: NASA)

Launched in March 2008, Kepler trails the Earth in its orbit around the sun, aiming a 95-megapixel camera at a patch of sky the size of an out-stretched hand that contains more than 4.5 million detectable stars. Of that total, some 300,000 are the right age, composition and brightness to host Earth-like planets. Over the life of the mission, more than 150,000 of those will be actively monitored by Kepler.

The spacecraft's camera does not take pictures like other space telescopes. Instead, it acts as a photometer, continually monitoring the brightness of candidate stars in its wide field of view, on the lookout for the minute dimming that occurs when a planet passes in front of the star.

By studying subtle changes in brightness from such planetary transits--comparable to watching a flea creep across acar's headlight at night--and the timing of repeated cycles, computer analysis can identify potential worlds in habitable-zone orbits.

The probability of finding sun-like stars with Earth-like planets in orbits similiar to ours--and aligned so that Kepler can "see" them--is about one-half of 1 percent. But given the sample size, that still leaves hundreds of potential discoveries.

Last February, the Kepler team announced the discovery of 1,235 potential "exoplanets." At that time, 15 were confirmed and since then, five more confirmations have been announced. Another batch of candidates is expected to be announced next month. But as it now stands, Kepler-16b is the spacecraft's 21st confirmed planet and the first found orbiting a binary star system.

Given that binary stars abound, the Kepler discovery likely opens the door for additional findings.

A family portrait showing the Kepler-16 binary star system and its one known planet. Given the abundance of binary systems across the Milky Way, the Kepler discovery likely opens the door to additional findings.

(Credit: NASA)

"This discovery is stunning," Alan Boss, a member of the Kepler team, said in a statement. "Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality."

The two stars at the heart of the system are some 200 light years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. The larger, yellow star is 69 percent as massive as the sun and the smaller red star is 20 percent as big. Kepler-16b orbits the system's center of mass every 225 days.

"When you have a binary star with planets orbiting that, the binary star produces gravitational perturbations that can be very severe for planets," said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "Planets can get tossed out of the system, or tossed into one of the stars.

"This particular planet is far enough out, it's far enough away from the two binary stars that it effectively is feeling them as a single gravitational attraction. And while there are perturbations, those perturbations aren't severe enough to actually cause problems for the orbit."

But unlike Tatooine, Kepler-16b, orbiting beyond the system's habitable zone where water can exist as a liquid, is not habitable. Even so, it clearly sparked the imagination of the science team.

"This is an example of another planetary system, a completely different type that we've never seen before," Doyle said. "That's why everybody's making a big deal of it. Nobody's ever seen a place like this before, with one exception. I seem to remember seeing a place like this about 30 years ago in a galaxy far, far away."

John Knoll, a visual effects supervisor for film maker George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic for three Star Wars movies, told reporters no one worried at the time that Tatooine did not reflect prevailing scientific theory.

"I don't think George particularly concerned himself that the leading theory of planet formation made this setting somewhat unlikely," he said. "But Kepler-16b is unambiguous and dramatic proof that planets do form around binaries. It's possible there's a real Tatooine out there, a planet like that could really exist."

Re-imagining a scene from the first Star Wars movie, Doyle described a sunset on Kepler-16b: "Sometimes, the red star would set first, sometimes the orange star, sometimes they'd set touching each other, sometimes set together. So you'd get this very dynamic sunset. It's never two sunsets are the same."

If Skywalker could stand on Kepler-16b, he would see two shadows, Doyle said, adding that "if you wanted to tell the time by sundial, you'd need calculus, you know?

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-20106952-239/nasa-spots-first-planet-in-binary-star-system/#ixzz1Z4NCB5i7

Dead satellite likely fell into Pacific Ocean--maybe

NASA's derelict Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell to Earth Saturday, presumably into the Pacific Ocean west of Canada. But it's not yet a sure thing.

(Credit: NASA)

NASA's decommissioned 6.3-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, out of gas and out of control after two decades in space, plunged back into the atmosphere early Saturday, heating up, breaking apart, and presumably showering chunks of debris along a 500-mile-long Pacific Ocean impact zone.

Maybe.

U.S. Strategic Command radar tracking indicated re-entry would occur around 12:16 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) Saturday as the satellite was descending across the Pacific Ocean on a southwest-to-northeast trajectory approaching Canada's west coast. If re-entry occurred on or before the predicted time, any wreckage that survived atmospheric heating almost certainly fell into the Pacific Ocean.

"Because we don't know where the re-entry point actually was, we don't know where the debris field might be," said Nicholas Johnson, chief orbital debris scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

"If the re-entry point was at the (predicted time) of 04:16 GMT, then all that debris wound up in the Pacific Ocean. If the re-entry point occurred earlier than that, practically the entire pass before 04:16...is over water. So the only way debris could have probably reached land would be if the re-entry occurred after 04:16."

Johnson said amateur satellite watchers in the U.S. northwest and the Canadian southwest were "looking to observe UARS as it came over. Every one of those attempts came up negative. That would suggest that the re-entry did, in fact, occur before it reached the North American coast, which, again, would mean most of this debris fell into the Pacific."

But it's not yet certain and it's equally possible a delayed re-entry resulted in debris falling somewhere in northern Canada or elsewhere along the trajectory.

"We may never know," Johnson told reporters in an afternoon teleconference.

The centerpiece of a $750 million mission, the Upper Atmosphere Research satellite was launched from the shuttle Discovery at 12:23 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) on Sept. 15, 1991. The solar-powered satellite studied a wide variety of atmospheric phenomena, including the depletion of Earth's ozone layer 15 to 30 miles up.

The long-lived satellite was decommissioned in 2005, and one side of its orbit was lowered using the last of its fuel to hasten re-entry and minimize the chances of orbital collisions that could produce even more orbital debris. No more fuel was available for maneuvering and the satellite's re-entry was "uncontrolled."

As with all satellites in low-Earth orbit, UARS was a victim of atmospheric drag, the slow but steady reduction in velocity, and thus altitude, caused by flying through the tenuous extreme upper atmosphere at some five miles per second.

UARS' final trajectory as it neared the discernible atmosphere proved difficult to predict. The descent slowed somewhat Friday, presumably because the spacecraft's orientation changed. As the day wore on, the predicted impact time slipped from Friday afternoon to early Saturday.

Johnson said falling satellites typically begin breaking up at an altitude of around 50 miles. In the case of UARS, computer analysis indicated about 26 pieces of debris would survive to reach the surface, spread out along a 500-mile-long down-range footprint. Johnson said the heel of the footprint, the area where the lightest debris might fall, is typically 300 miles or so beyond the breakup point.

But so far, "we've got no reports of anyone seeing anything that we believe are credible," Johnson said.

Johnson told reporters last week he expected most of the satellite to burn up as it slammed into the dense lower atmosphere at more than 17,000 mph. But computer software used to analyze possible re-entry outcomes predicted 26 pieces of debris would survive to impact the surface, the largest weighing some 330 pounds. Impact velocities were expected to range from 30 mph to 240 mph.

"We looked at those 26 pieces and how big they are, and we've looked at the fact they can hit anywhere in the world between 57 north and 57 south, and we looked at what the population density of the world is," he said. "Numerically, it comes out to a chance of 1 in 3,200 that one person anywhere in the world might be struck by a piece of debris. Those are obviously very, very low odds that anybody's going to be impacted by this debris."

For comparison, some 42.5 tons of wreckage from the shuttle Columbia hit the ground in a footprint stretching from central Texas to Louisiana when the orbiter broke apart during re-entry in 2003. No one on the ground was injured and no significant property damage was reported.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-20111207-239/dead-satellite-likely-fell-into-pacific-ocean-maybe/#ixzz1Z4LeN5PF

Apple slashes fourth-quarter iPad orders, report says

Apple has cut iPad orders from manufacturing partners, Bloomberg is reporting, citing an investment report from JP Morgan Chase.

Apple has reportedly cut fourth-quarter iPad shipments by 25 percent per JP Morgan Chase. The analysts at JP Morgan said that this is the first time they've seen Apple slash iPad shipments since thelaunched last year.

If Apple has, in fact, cut iPad shipments for the fourth quarter, it will have a profound impact on many of its suppliers, including Hon Hai Precision. According to the analysts, Bloomberg says, Hon Hai was planning to ship 17 million iPads in the fourth quarter, but will now only ship 13 million units.

It's unclear why Apple might want to cut back on iPad shipments, if that is in fact what's happening. Perhaps it ordered too many iPads in previous quarters, or it's slowing down iPad 2 production to prepare for the eventual iPad 3, or there might be other supply chain management and spending issues involved.

What's more, even with those purportedly reduced shipments, analysts aren't ready to say that Apple will sell fewer iPads in the fourth quarter. According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz will maintain estimates that Apple will ship up to 12 million iPad units in that quarter, even with reduced orders to suppliers.

If Apple can keep up its momentum, and sell as many iPads as researchers expect, this could be another big year for the tablet. Last week, research firm Gartner reported that it expects Apple to sell nearly 47 million iPads this year, up from the 14.7 million it sold last year. Even more impressive, Gartner believes Apple will ship nearly 149 million iPads in 2015.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on the Bloomberg report.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20111534-17/apple-slashes-fourth-quarter-ipad-orders-report-says/#ixzz1Z4KOl9Ju

World Bank boosts Horn of Africa aid to $1.88 billion

WASHINGTON – The World Bank said on Saturday it was more than tripling funding to $1.88 billion for a 'worsening' drought in Horn of Africa countries affecting over 13 million people.

The funding is boosted from around $500 million the World Bank announced in July.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the financing would help fill a $1 billion funding gap needed to tackle drought and a food crisis engulfing parts of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Uganda.

The United Nations estimates some $2.4 billion in aid is needed for immediate drought relief assistance. While international appeals have drawn $1.4 billion in donor pledges, there is still a gap of $1 billion.

Zoellick said the World Bank funding would be allocated in three phases following initial needs assessments conducted by bank experts in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somali refugee camps and Uganda.

Somalia is at the epicenter of the hunger crisis. The U.N. has said about 750,000 people face imminent starvation in Somalia where the al Qaeda-affiliated rebel group, al Shabaab, controls much of the south and will not allow food shipments in.

Source: Reuters

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Uganda: Two Army Officers Die in Somalia

A UPDF officer was last week killed by falling debris as he drove a tank through a building during clashes with Somali insurgents. Lt. Kabutu Mugisha, from Isingiro District, was hit on the head by rubble as Ugandan soldiers fought to flush the al-Shabaab out of a building.

The army spokesperson, Lt. Col Felix Kulayigye, confirmed the death but said he had not received details on what exactly happened. Lt. Mugisha, from the armoured brigade, was buried on Saturday.

A few pockets of al-Shabaab fighters under the command of Dahir Aweys remained in the district of Karaan to stop advancing peacekeepers after the radical Islamist group withdrew from Mogadishu.

According to military sources, the heavy concrete fell on top of the tank and hit him from inside the armoured fighting vehicle.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, al-Shabaab insurgents detonated a bomb near at the offices of the United Nations Mine Action Service in Mogadishu City, killing a Ugandan army Captain.

The Ugandan army has not yet revealed the name of the fallen officer.

China pledges more support to relieve African food crisis

UNITED NATIONS – China will make further contributions to help Africa with food security and sustainable development, Foreign Minster Yang Jiechi said at a mini-summit held to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa at the UN headquarters in New York on Saturday.

Speaking to representatives of more than 50 UN member states, Yang said that China has announced it would give the region emergency grain aid and financial support - worth about $70 million - including a $16 million donation to the World Food Program to support famine-relief operations in Somalia.

'It is the largest amount of grain assistance in Chinese foreign aid since New China was founded (in 1949), which has set another example of Sino-African friendship in overcoming difficulties and hardship together,' Yang said.

Earlier this month, China sent its first shipment of humanitarian aid to relieve drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Shipments of wheat and rice are expected to arrive in Ethiopia and Kenya by the end of the month.

The Horn of Africa, a region of eastern Africa, is home to countries including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, which have been suffering drought and famine.

An estimated 13 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are facing severe food shortages, according to the UN.

Somalia is bearing the brunt of the most severe food crisis in Africa. About 3.6 million people, half of the country's population, are at risk of starvation. More than half of all Somali children are malnourished, with six infants dying from malnutrition every day.

During the summit, at least $218 million in new aid was pledged to help tackle the region's humanitarian crisis. Still, about $500 million is needed to meet the overall humanitarian need in the Horn of Africa this year.

Heads of state and government from Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia, as well as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called at the summit for humanitarian assistance to the region.

Ban called on the countries in the region and international donors to take a 'long-term view'.

'As we scale up our response, we must also do more to coordinate our work Tackling the root causes of drought and food insecurity requires a long-term approach from national authorities and from donors,' Ban added.

Yang said that the severe drought and famine, the worst to affect the Horn of Africa for 60 years, was a matter of grave concern for China.

He emphasized the importance of agricultural cooperation between China and Africa and urged the international community to support African nations in their efforts to achieve food security and development.

The 'China-Africa Cooperation Forum has agriculture as its cooperation priority and implemented a number of measures to support agricultural development and to promote food security in Africa', Yang said.

China has also conducted cooperation with Africa in infrastructure, technology transfer and personnel training under the framework of the UN, he added.

Yang made the speech on the sidelines of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, where he is going to speak at the general debate on Monday.

Source: China Daily

Anti-Terror Police seize three Britons in Kenya

NAIROBI– Three British men have been arrested by anti-terrorism police in Kenya, it was revealed last night.

The trio were being quizzed in the coastal city of Mombasa after being picked up on Thursday.

Police said the arrests came after officers spent 24 hours monitoring the movements of the unnamed men.

Ambrose Munyasia, head of Kenya’s Coast Province force, said that the three had claimed to be tourists but were spotted “acting suspiciously”.

He added: “We trailed them for a day after suspecting their movement. Though they told us they are tourists, some of their actions have given us cause to believe that they are not.

“We have contacted Interpol to establish their background in the UK.”Specialist forensic officers are examining laptops and digital cameras belonging to the suspects.

The Foreign Office confirmed the arrests and added: “We are providing consular assistance.”

Officials from Kenya’s anti-terrorism police unit declined to comment on whether the men were suspected of belonging to a specific terror group.

In 2002 Mombassa was hit by terrorists who plotted an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane. Fifteen people died when a huge bomb exploded at the Paradise Hotel.

Terror group Al-Shabaab is thought to be holding Briton Judith Tebbutt who was kidnapped in Kenya on September 11 near the Somali border.

Source: Express

Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai dies in Nairobi

Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey (R) and Kenyan Environmentalist Wangari Maathai (L) during a Tree Planting & Dedication ceremony commemorating the two-day "Be the Change" leadership conference addressed by both women at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, outside Johannesburg, November 25, 2008.

US President Barack Obama (left), his wife Michelle (right) and Prof Wangari Maathai (centre) at Uhuru Park, Nairobi in August 2006. Mr Obama, who was the then Illinois Senator, visited Kenya as part of a tightly scripted four-country tour in Africa to raise awareness for AIDS and to reconnect with his roots.

Prof Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace laureate and conservation heroine, has died in Nairobi after a long battle with cancer. She was 71.

The environmentalist and politician died at the Nairobi Hospital at around 10pm on Sunday, officials at her Greenbelt Movement organisation told Nation.co.ke.

Prof Maathai will be remembered for her courage and tenacity in seeking social justice, conservation, democracy and corruption.

She successfully fought off an attempt by the Moi regime to build a 60-storey building at Uhuru Park, at the centre of Nairobi city. She also took on powerful individuals in the Moi government who had hived off parts of the Karura forest in the outer fringes of the city.

She also joined mothers of political prisoners in a hunger strike in a quest to force then President Moi to free them.

The environmentalist later joined politics and was in 2002 elected the Member of Parliament for Tetu, Nyeri District and served as an Assistant Minister in President Kibaki's first government.

Known for her love for trees, Prof Maathai was in 2004 awarded the Nobel peace prize for her conservation efforts.

She was also a celebrated academic having been the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.

Courage

President Kibaki sent condolences from New York where he had travelled to attend the UN General Assembly.

"It is with a deep sense of sadness and sorrow that I learnt of the death of Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai. On behalf of the government and people of Kenya and on my own behalf I send you this message of sympathy, at this time when we mourn a global icon who has left an indelible mark in the world of environmental conservation.

"With the passing on of Professor Maathai, the country and the world has not only lost a renowned environmentalist and but also a great human rights crusader," said a dispatch from President Kibaki's press service.

Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete was amongst the first world leaders to celebrate the professor.

"Rest in peace Dr Wangari Maathai. A great woman, an inspiration for many women across Africa, a magnificent visionary & embodiment of courage," President Kikwete said via twitter.

Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said Prof Maathai would forever be celebrated and honoured

President Jakaya Kikwete receives the founder of US Doctors for Africa

President Jakaya Kikwete receives Mr Ted Alemayhu, the founder and Chief Executive of US Doctors for Africa, who paid a courtesy call on the president at Jumeirah Hotel in New York City recently. (Photo by John Lukuwi)

Hillary Clinton Promotes Women's Rights Treaty That U.S. Has Not Yet Signed

NEW YORK -- On the eve of high-level meetings for the United Nations' general assembly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended an event on Monday afternoon designed to highlight the importance of women's participation in public life.

Together with a selection of major female world leaders, including Catherine Ashton, the European Union's top diplomat, and Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile and the head of U.N. Women, Clinton put her name to a document calling for developing countries -- especially in the changing Middle East -- to clear the way for women to hold leadership roles.

The joint statement read:

We call upon all States to ratify and fulfill their obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to implement fully Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women and Peace and Security and other relevant UN resolutions.

Sata is president (Zambia)

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata is the new president of Zambia. Mr Sata was declared winner by Chief Justice Ernest Sakala this morning after beating his closest rival Rupiah Banda by a margin of 188, 249 votes.

Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson Ireen Mambilima said Mr Sata received 1,150,045 votes, representing 43 per cent from 143 constituencies counted while Mr Banda polled 969,796 votes, representing 36.1 per cent. Justice Mambilima said results from the remaining seven constituencies would not have changed the status even if they were given to Mr Banda. The seven constituencies had a total of 157,710 votes.

“Under section 74(3) (b) of the Electoral Act of number 12 of 2006, the commission is empowered to determine and declare the result of an election without receiving the results of all polling stations if the outstanding results are not likely to materially influence the overall result of that election,” she said.

She said by the time of declaration ballot papers from Kalabo, Liuwa, Sikongo, Lukulu West, Luena, Mongu Central and Nalikwanda had not yet been received. Justice Mambilima, however, said ECZ had ascertained the winner of the 2011 polls and therefore the Chief Justice, who was the returning officer, should make the official declaration.

At the time of the declaration, United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema had polled 489,944, while his Alliance for Development and Democracy counterpart Charles Milupi had 13,382 votes. National Restoration Party president Elias Chipimo Jr had 10,190 votes, UNIP’s Tilyenji Kaunda had 9, 713, Forum for Democracy and Development’s Edith Nawakwi had 6,627 with National Movement for Progress leader Ng’andu Magande polling 6, 097 votes.

Heritage Party president Godfrey Miyanda got 4,358 while Zambians for Empowerment and Development leader Fred Mutesa had 2,191 votes. The chief justice, in making the declaration, said he had ascertained the result and was satisfied that Mr Sata was the duly elected Head of State.

He also said he was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr Sata had met all the requirements of the statutes of ECZ. And immediately after the declaration, PF campaign manager for Mr Sata Willie Nsanda said that he was happy that finally justice had prevailed. He said for a long time, the PF had been attempting to seek the presidency but to no avail and was therefore happy that at last justice had prevailed.

There were wild scenes of celebrations outside Mulungushi International Conference Centre as jubilant PF supporters celebrated Mr Sata’s declaration as president. The chanting and hooting took centre stage elsewhere in the capital city, just like it was in Ndola and other towns of the Copperbelt where PF supporters thronged the streets despite the time of the night.

After surviving an assassination attempt Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh returns to Sanaa

Supporters of President Saleh are celebrating his return to Yemen

 

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has returned to the country from Saudi Arabia three months after surviving an assassination attempt.

Yemen TV said President Saleh arrived in the capital, Sanaa, by private plane at dawn.

Hours after his arrival, a presidential official said Mr Saleh was calling for a "truce and a ceasefire".

He went to Saudi Arabia in June for treatment following a rocket attack on the grounds of the presidential palace.

President Saleh, who has been in power for more than 30 years, has faced months of protests urging him to quit.

Correspondents say his return raises the risk of all-out civil war.

"The president calls on all political and military parties to achieve a truce," said the official, quoted by AFP news agency.

"There is no alternative to dialogue and negotiations to end the bloodshed and resolve the crisis," he added.

In Sanaa, anti-government protesters and supporters of President Saleh held rallies after Friday prayers.

An al-Jazeera correspondent in the city says they have taken place within a few miles of each other, although it appeared many anti-government protesters had stayed at home for fear of violence.

Protest organiser Mohammed al-Asl said Mr Saleh's return would lead to "an escalation of violence".

"But let him come back - we want him to come back and be tried for his crimes," he added.

Activists have been camped out in an area of Sanaa dubbed Change Square since January, demanding an end to President Saleh's rule.

Clashes in the capital have recently intensified as elite Republican Guards, led by President Saleh's son Ahmed, fight running battles with army units that have defected to the opposition and tribal fighters who support the protesters.

More than 80 people, mostly unarmed protesters, have been killed since Sunday.

Doctors say at least one person was killed overnight and many others wounded when mortars landed in Change Square. Other reports said four people were killed in the northern al-Hasaba district on Friday.

Source BBC News

WIKILEAKS (Mugabe)

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe feared war veterans would turn against him if he stopped them from occupying farms, says WikiLeaks

Latest : ECZ puts Sata ahead of Rupiah in official results

 

PF leader Michael Sata casting his vote

ECZ chairperson

MICHAEL Sata has widened his lead ahead of President Rupiah Banda with almost
73, 000 votes difference from the 33 out of the 150 constituencies, ECZ chairperson Irene Mambilima confirmed Wednesday night.

And the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has shut down the results
component of its website following reports that it had published a summary
of 133 out of 150 constituencies.

Addressing a media briefing that the elections totalling centre in Lusaka,
Justice Irene Mambilima said the ECZ had received full results from 70 constituencies but had only verified those from 33 constituencies while
those from the other 37 were still being verified.

"From the 33 that we have so far verified, the position is as follows: Mr
Michael Sata 2 65, 843 representing 46.59 per cent, Rupiah Banda MMD 192,
966 representing 33. 82 per cent, Mr Hakainde Hichilema UPND 93, 645 representing 16.41 per cent, Mr Elias Chipimo 1133 representing 0.32 per cent, Ms Edith Nawakwi FDD 1631 representing 0.29 per cent, Mr Tilyenji
Kaunda 1412 representing 0.25 per cent, Mr Charles Milupi 941 representing 0.16 per cent, Mr Magande Ngandu 854 representing 0.15 per cent, Miyanda Godfrey Heritage 715 representing 0.13 per cent, Mr Mtesda Frederick ZED 326 representing 0.06 per cent," the electoral commission chairperson said.

She observed that as at now there had been a lot of speculation as to the
final outcome of the results.

She said the ECZ was the only institution that was mandated to announce the
final declaration of results.

She urged the media not to dwell on unsubstantiated stories which were given
to them.

Justice Mambilima appealed to media organisations to desist from publishing
alarming statements.

"Publication of false statements is an offence and contrary to the provisions of the electoral code of conduct," Justice Mambilima said. "We have received a lot of queries this evening regarding a statement that is appearing on our website stating that the commission has announced and declared summarised results from 133 constituencies for the presidential election. This information is not correct. We have therefore shut down the results component of our website until we get to the root of this matter."

She said the ECZ hoped to receive all the results within a reasonable timeframe.

"The Commission is also happy to note that there are no further reports of incidences of violence across the country," said Justice Mambilima.

Boy, 12, carrying explosives arrested in restive Mogadishu

MOGADISHU – An Al Shabaab-linked 12-year-old boy carrying explosives has been arrested by security forces of the Somali government in a security crackdown in conflict-ridden Mogadishu, an official said Wednesday.

Adan Fidow Barre, the director of explosives prevention for the Somali National Security Agency (NSA) said the boy, Jabril Mohamed Ali, was intercepted while carrying an explosive device and cellphones that the director said were intended to detonate the device.

“The explosive device was aimed at harming the officials of the government and civilian people in Mogadishu and this was plotted by the extremist Al Qaeda-inspired group al Shabaab,”Barre said at a news conference.

“It was an attempt of suicide attack by al Shabaab using this very young Somali boy as equipment to conduct their devil and vindictive act, but fortunately Somali security managed to thwart the attack and save the life of the youngster,” he explained.

The director stated the arrest of Ali and the seizure of the explosive device came with the help of government soldiers who had defected from Al Shabaab.

The boy told reporters that he was sent by Al Shabaab to kill government officials or soldiers by committing suicide.

“I have been in Elasha Biyaha neighborhood (18 kilometers south of Mogadishu) where my family live in. I don’t know more what Al Shabaab loaded on me...,”Ali lamented.

On Aug. 6, Al Shabaab, which has declared its allegiance to al Qaeda, abandoned most of Mogadishu districts in what it called a tactical move, but vowed to continue its war against the transitional government and African Union peacekeepers in the capital. It’s sourced AHN.

Concern raised over CIA work in Somalia

LONDON – International rights groups want answers from Washington amid allegations the CIA was involved in questionable activity in war-torn Somalia.

Amnesty International and seven other human rights organizations said, in a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, that they had 'serious' concerns about allegations raised in a series of articles about the CIA's work in Somalia.

They allege the CIA was involved 'in detention, interrogation and transfer operations in Somalia that may violate domestic and international law.'

The letter points to a July article in The Nation and an August article in The New York Times that alleges the CIA is involved in the interrogation of detainees in Somali using techniques that are questionable and potentially unlawful.

They point to a 2009 executive order from Obama that requires the CIA to avoid such activity and further obligates the U.S. government to uphold its treaty obligations regarding torture and other international human rights issues.

Clara Gutteridge, an official at British rights group Reprieve, told the BBC this month that she had evidence from 'multiple, concurrent sources' that the CIA was running a secret detention center under the presidential compound in Mogadishu.

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohammed Ali told the BBC the reports weren't credible but said Washington was helping to 'improve the security situation in the country.'

The letter to Obama states that 'the United States and its officials may be liable for the unlawful actions of individuals, groups, or foreign states acting under its control, or for knowingly assisting in or conspiring to commit such unlawful actions.'

Political parties call for free EAC polls body

The establishment of an independent electoral commission for East Africa and a panel of eminent persons to arbitrate electoral disputes are the main issues that emerged from the just-ended first consultative meeting of the region's political parties, held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

At least 60 political parties, drawn from the East African Community (EAC) member states, attended the meeting.

Government representatives, members of parliament, registrars of political parties, national electoral commission bodies, national human rights commissions, internal security sector and law-enforcement representatives also attended the meeting.

The political parties said there was a need for a lasting solution to the prevalent rejection of election outcomes in the region.

The meeting, whose theme was 'Exploring the role of political parties in EAC integration', recommended the establishment of an East African independent electoral commission, said a communique containing the meeting's recommendations availed to EANA.

The political parties recommended that there was a need to have "homegrown solutions for the arbitration of disputes arising from outcomes of democratic processes," adding that a political parties' regional polls observation forum and a regional political party centre of excellence were additional institutions that, once established, would support the regional electoral body.

"The principal of zero-tolerance to violence should be adopted and political parties in East Africa should embrace more formal party structures with set standards and sanctions against electoral malpractices as a deterrent," the parties resolved.

To bolster commitment to the recommendations, the parties called for the extension of the jurisdiction of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

"The jurisdiction of the EACJ should be extended to cover gross violations of human rights, including electoral violence, as well as other crimes against humanity," the communique further said.

Regarding an East African federation, which is the ultimate aim behind the establishment of the EAC, the parties said a regionwide referendum would be necessary to give the political federation process a solid foundation and legitimacy.

"This process should involve public education and awareness up to the grass-roots level," the parties said.

The conference was opened by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who called on political parties in the bloc to embrace the regional integration process and asked them to make it part and parcel of their party manifestos.

EAC deputy secretary general (in charge of Political Federation) Beatrice Kiraso stressed that political parties were and would continue to be key stakeholders in the integration process and the realization of the Community’s ultimate desire for political federation.

‘’Well functioning political parties are a prerequisite to democracy, and they need to be engaged in exploring alternative policy options," she said in her opening remarks.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

 

Tanzania, China sign 4.8trn/- pacts

NDC board chairman Chrisant Mzindakaya (R) exchanges documents with National People`s Congress of China official Liu Canglong after signing a joint venture agreement between NDC and Sichuan Hongda for implementing Mchuchuma and Liganga iron and coal projects.

 

Tanzania and China have agreed on the implementation of a coal-fired power project at Mchuchuma and an iron and steel one at Liganga in Ludewa District, Iringa Region, worth a combined 4.8trn/-.

The agreement to that effect was signed at a ceremony held in Dar es Salaam yesterday at which National Development Corporation (NDC) board chairman Dr Chrisant Mzindakaya represented Tanzania and his Sichuan Hongda Group counterpart, Liu Canglod, China.

Vice President Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal, who graced the event, said implementation of the two projects was sure to accelerate Tanzania’s economic development and uplift the people from poverty as envisaged in the country’s Vision 2025.

Other prominent people at the function included Chinese Ambassador Liu Xinsheng, Members of Parliament, ministers, several other government officials and a Chinese government delegation.

Dr Bilal expressed hope that the projects to substantially boost and stabilise power generation and supply in Tanzania and unlock the country’s mineral potential.

He noted that the iron ore extraction said, would mainly seek to produce iron and ultimately expedite the growth of the country’s steel industry.

“The production of electricity and iron and steel from these projects will also lead to the development of key infrastructure, including Mtwara Port, the Mtwara-to-Mchuchuma railway and the erection of more power transmission lines,” he said.

The Vice President urged NDC and all other relevant authorities to draw up a strategy to ensure that the infrastructure was developed in a synchronised fashion to maximise the benefits arising from exploitation of the resources.

Alongside serving the projects, he said, the infrastructure so developed would help to spur the further development of other economic activities along the Mtwara Corridor.

“That will definitely make the long-envisioned Mtwara Corridor a reality and a bustling economic region in Tanzania,” he noted, adding that the government would do all its best to facilitate implementation of the projects.

Retracing relations between Tanzania and the People’s Republic of China, Dr Bilal talked of “a long history with major accomplishments”.

He said the main vivid symbol was the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara), with the others including Urafiki (Friendship) Textile Mill, Ubungo Farm Implements, Kiwira Coal Mine and the recently completed ultramodern National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Sichuan Hongda Group board chairman Liu Canglond said his company would start work on the two projects “soon after completion of the preparatory activities”, adding that it has already set aside USD600m as funding for the initial stages of the projects.

“We are sure to produce enough iron and steel for local consumption, sustainable and reliable power for domestic and industrial use while also supporting technology transfer, creating employment opportunities and stimulating the development of infrastructure,” he noted.

Dr Mzindakaya meanwhile explained that work on the projects would start in three years’ time at the latest with the generation of at least 600MW, adding that more than 40 companies bid for the projects following a tender floated in 2007.

He revealed that implementation of the power project would run in four 150-MW phases.

In earlier remarks, Industry and Trade minister Dr Cyril Chami said implementation of the project was expected to provide enough power and coal for the extraction of iron ore.

He added that the ministry had the responsibility of industrialising Tanzania and making sure that the industrial sector contributed more significantly to the national economy.

The country’s industrial sector currently grows at an annual 9 per cent, while Vision 2025 wants this to rise to 15 per cent.

Experts say Tanzania has coal reserves which could be extracted for more than 300 years.

NDC and Sichuan Hongda have also formed a joint venture company known as Tanzania China International Mineral Resources to oversee all these operations in Tanzania.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

  

President Jakaya Kikwete Rings The NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete speaks during the ceremony

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete rings the NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell at NASDAQ MarketSite at 4 Times Square, New York, Wednesday September 21, 2011

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete with First Ladies, Health Ministers and Global Health Leaders cheer after the bell zanzibar

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete makes his remarks during the roundtable discussions

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete with First Ladies, Health Minister for Tanzania Mainland Dr Hadji Mponda and his Zanzibar coounterpart, Mr Juma Duni Haji (third and second right respectively), Ambassador Amina Ali, AU Permanent representativ to the UN (left) and Roll Back Malaria Goodwill Anbassador Yvonne Chakachaka pose after the bell.

The Roundtable in progress

President Kikwete greets Mr Andrew Whitman, Varian company's Vice President, before holding talks

President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete shakes hands with Dr Samia Al-Amoudi, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al-Amoudi, CEO and Founder of the Centre of Excellence in Breast Cancer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

African Union's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Amina Ali at the roundtable

Dr Ida Betty Odinga, wife of Kenya's Prime Minister, addresses the roundtable

Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland Ministers for Health Mr Juma Duni Haji (right) and Dr Hadji Mponda, excvhange pleasantries with Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Princess of Africa Foundation founder, renowned singer and Roll Back Malaria Goodwill Ambassador.

President Dr Jakaya Kikwete in talks with Mr Andrew Whitman, Varian's Vice President, who has expressed keen interest to working with Tanzania in health matters.Photo State House

One of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa (Ngorongoro Crater)

 

Black Rhinos Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken caldera. Often referred to as "Africa's Garden of Eden," the crater is home to over 30,000 animals including elephants, lions, cheetahs, wildebeests, buffaloes, and the rare black rhinos. View Wildlife of Ngorongoro Crater to learn more about the wildlife and View Birds of Ngorongoro Crater

to discover some of the many species that are found in the area.

Ngorongoro Crater was created from a volcano that exploded creating the caldera wilderness haven. The crater is 12 miles (19 km) across and consumes 102 square miles (264 sq km) of wilderness. The rim of the crater rises just over 2,000 feet (610 m) above the caldera floor reaching an elevation of 7,500 feet (2,286 m).

(VOTE) MT. Kilimanjaro nominated as candidate for the new seven natural wonders of the world

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Tanzania Tourist Board wishes to inform the public that Mount Kilimanjaro has been nominated as a candidate for the seven natural wonders of the world, in a competition organised by an organisation known as Seven Natural Wonders in which tourist attractions from all over the world are voted to nominated as The Seven Natural wonders of The World.

Tanzania will gain much publicity from being listed in the new list of Seven Natural wonders of the World and will be able to use this opportunity to promote Mt. Kilimanjaro as being in Tanzania.

Out of the 28 contestants which have made it to this stage, only two nominations are from Africa, these being Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and Table Mountain (South Africa). There is fierce competition between the two African destinations.

Voting trends have shown that most people who are voting for Mount Kilimanjaro are those residing outside the country and that very few Tanzanian residents are voting for Mt. Kilimanjaro unlike the case for Table Mountain where large numbers of South Africans are taking participation in voting for Table Mountain.

We (TTB) would like to urge Tanzanians (in and out of Tanzania), friends and patrons worldwide to vote for Mount Kilimanjaro so that it becomes one of the New Seven Natural Wonders Of The World.

Votes are being collected at the following website: www.new7wonders.com

Note that the competition is open until November 11^th, 2011.

Health condition of Briton held by Somali pirates is bad: Sources

The health condition of abducted British woman held captive by Somali pirates in central Somalia is bad.

Reliable sources told Shabelle Media Network that Somali pirates removed ear-device from the British captive, Judith Tebbutt, who is believed in her fifties.

The sources added that the Briton demanded to be allowed talking at her relatives in the United Kingdom though it is not known if got permitted to the communication.

However, Iman Omar Moallim Abshir, an elder from central Somalia said it is regrettable the British citizen to held captive inside Somalia by pirates.

He said it is needed more efforts to be done to secure release of the British woman, whose husband was killed by the armed men during kidnap in Somalia-Kenya border last week.

After the abduction, the captive was brought in Jubba regions in soutern Somalia but later taken to pirate lair in country’s center.

High risk terrorist wins fight to stay in UK

LONDON – A high-risk terrorist jailed for helping a 21/7 bomb plotter has won an appeal to stay in Britain on human rights grounds.

Ismail Abdurahman hid would-be bomber Hussain Osman for three days after his plan to repeat the carnage of the 7/7 suicide bombings failed in 2005.

Anti-terror officers and Home Office bosses wanted to kick him out but a judge ruled he could stay as he faced “inhumane ­treatment or punishment” if he was ­returned to his native Somalia.

The judge even granted the 28-year-old bail at the hearing on September 2 – leaving him free on the streets of London. He is staying in a bail hostel.

An Immigration Service source said: “It’s frankly outrageous that he has been allowed to stay here. This is a man who gave sanctuary to a would-be suicide bomber who wanted to kill hundreds of innocent people.”

Abdurahman has been categorised as a Level 3 convict – which means police believe he poses a serious risk to others. The extremist sympathiser was jailed for 10 years in 2008 – reduced to eight on appeal – for aiding and abetting Osman, one of five would-be bombers locked up for trying to set off explosives two weeks after the 7/7 attacks which killed 52. Osman fled the country but was tracked down and jailed.

Abdurahman was due for release in 2010, after five years in custody, but was kept in locked up until the deportation hearing. The UK Border Agency said: “We are extremely disappointed and appealing the decision.”

Source: Sunday Mirror