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Amla not surprised at Kirstens decision to step down as coach

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:50:01 -0400

South African batsman Hashim Amla said that he is not surprised by the decision of Gary Kirsten to step down from the position of head coach of the team. Amla, who is currently the premier batsmen in world cricket and is ranked number one in both one-day internationals and Test cricket, has won over fans and critics alike with his runs, languid style and professional attitude, www.PakPassion.net ...

Proteas icon Ntini not planning to retire despite cut from first class Warriors

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:30:04 -0400

Former South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini has said that he has no plans to retire at the moment, despite being notably omitted from the contracted squad of the first class side Chevrolet Warriors for the 2013/14 season. Ntini, who spent 18 years playing for Border and the Warriors, was not offered a contract for the new season along with fellow senior players Arno Jacobs, Justin Kreusch and ...

US First Lady laments culture of African Americans aspiring to be baller or rapper

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:20:03 -0400

Michelle Obama urged graduates of Bowie State University to encourage more young African Americans to follow in their footsteps and focus on education. On Friday, she asked the graduates at commencement ceremonies held at the nearby University of Maryland, College Park, campus, just north of Washington to become an example of excellence to the next generation. The First Lady said that more ...

Indian Nigerian teams win Africa business contest

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:50:02 -0400

An Indian team comprising IITians and a Nigerian team promoting low-cost farm products have triumphed at an India-Africa business competition held here. India's Life Catalyst Technologies and Nigeria's Jorsey Ashbel Farms won the 2nd Indiafrica Business Venture Competition held as part of the ongoing IndiAfrica Festival here, a statement from the organisers said Saturday. Four teams from India, ...

At least 30 countries in Africa at risk of yellow fever WHO

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:20:01 -0400

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Nigerian rebels could face war crimes charges for population cleansing - UN rights office

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:18:28 -0400

17 May 2013 150 Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ethnic and religious cleansing, the top United Nations human rights official said today. In a press briefing in Geneva, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, reiterated calls on Boko Haram and ...

Chad Arrests Accused Ex-Presidents Police Chief

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:15 -0400

DAKAR Chadian justice officials are questioning and arresting associates of ex-Chadian president Hissene Habre who are accused of torturing and killing political opponents during Habre's eight years in power. Habre fled to Dakar in 1990 after being ousted in a military coup. The flurry of activity in Chad comes just months after Senegal launched a long-awaited special tribunal to try the ...

Zimbabwes Tsvangirai says Mugabes Party is Dead

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:03 -0400

HARARE Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday declared President Robert Mugabe's party "dead.rdquo; Tsvangirai said the African country's next elections will be a "formalityrdquo; and predicted a landslide victory. The lead vocalist is Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai. The backing vocals are from the leadership of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ...

Armed robbers kill Indian in Ghana

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:30:02 -0400

Armed robbers have killed a 27-year-old Indian in western Ghana, the police said here Friday. Two people have been arrested. The victim, R.M. Dhalan was killed at Anyinabreim near Techiman, in the Brong-Ahafo region. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Christopher Tawiah said two men - Aturuge Apele and Abuga Anamo - have been arrested. Tawiah said on May 9, one Sudahkur, 25, an Indian ...

Indian envoys chartered jet landing at South Africa base debate moved forward

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:50:03 -0400

A Parliamentary debate on the unauthorised landing of a chartered plane at the Waterkloof Air Force Base by Indian High Commissioner in South Africa Virendra Gupta has been moved forward. The plane was carrying guests for Gupta's niece's wedding. Gupta, however, said that special permission to land a chartered jet at Waterkloof - a national key point - was obtained for security reasons. ...

Obama Focuses on Middle-Class Jobs

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:39:41 -0400

U.S. President Barack Obama says he is focusing on ways to help the American middle class make economic gains, to bring them in line with the economic recovery of big ...

Gunmen Kill Iraqi Police Officer and Family

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:39:41 -0400

Officials say the gunmen gunned down an administrator for the al-Rasheed district Saturday, and also killed the police captain's wife and their two children. The attackers also killed at least one security officer nearby. On Friday, a series of bomb attacks targeted Sunnis in Iraq, including in Baquba, just north of Baghdad, killing 70 people and increasing fears of renewed sectarian ...

South Africa Gupta family President Zuma could face embarrassment

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:31:29 -0400

NRI News: The never-ending saga of the Gupta family continues in South Africa. President Zuma, including his children who are all closely associated with the Gupta family including business ventures could face a wave of embarrassment from the proposed charges ...

Five held for explosives in Tanzania

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:30:31 -0400

Arusha, Tanzania - Tanzanian police said Saturday they have arrested five people in possession of explosives in the economic capital Dar es ...

Africa At AU Summit Kerry Should Speak Out for a Free Press

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:05:53 -0400

May 16 - Honorable John Kerry U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to bring to your attention the deteriorating state of press freedom in Ethiopia, where you will attend this year's African Union Summit. A vibrant press and civil society is fundamental to hold governments accountable and to ensure long-term development and ...

Microfinance in Madagascar helps small businesses buck the system

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:10:02 -0400

Madagascar 's southern Atsimo-Andrefana region. The work is hard, but in the past year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hopes for the future."Before, I used to make 10,000 to 20,000 ariary ($4.50-9.00, about 3) a day. Now, with the credit, I can make double that amount," she told IRIN. "I can put my four [grand]children in school, buy some livestock ...

Africa AU Must Promote Justice for International Crimes

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:33 -0400

In an impressive show of strength, civil society groups from more than 30 African countries have called on African Union (AU) member countries to ensure that the AU promotes justice for grave international crimes In a letter to the foreign ministers of African Union member states which was sent in advance of the AU's 21st summit, the groups noted that recent strain in the African ...

Zimbabwe Election Date Will Only Be Decided After Voter Registration

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:33 -0400

The date for an election will only be decided when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission completes its voter registration and inspection exercise, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said. The MDC-T leader said when the new constitution comes into effect, ZEC will have to roll out a 30 day voter registration exercise followed by another month of voter inspection. 'Once these are done, there ...

Africa Funding Nutrition - a Moral Imperative an Effective Investment

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:33 -0400

Paris - An international conference to fight child malnutrition called by UNICEF ended today in Paris with a call to hasten world progress on child nutrition and the funding for it. "The Paris conference produced a very strong consensus on responses to be made. It also marked an important step in expressing the political will to attack this scourge by governments, both in the South and the ...

Africa Pastoralisms Economic Contributions Are Significant but Overlooked

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:32 -0400

Nairobi - Pastoralism is often regarded as an antiquated practice ill-suited to the modern economy, yet trade between pastoral communities in Africa - much of it informal and illegal - generated an estimated US$1 billion each year, according to a new book published by the Futures Agriculture Consortium,. "If we shift our gaze from the capital cities, where the development and policy elite ...

Africa French Senators Take Back Message of Africas Road Map

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:32 -0400

A visiting delegation of French Senators is taking back a message to France and other European partners to align with Africa's road map for the next fifty years. The delegation was received in audience by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.They came with great interest to understand what the future holds for France-Africa ...

Africa UNDP Chief Hails Crucial Role of Local Government in Fight Against Poverty

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:32 -0400

Kampala - Maximising the power of local government will be crucial to realizing the ambitions of a post-2015 global development agenda which can lead to eradicating extreme poverty, tackling inequalities and putting the world on a sustainable path. That was the message from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark during a keynote address at the 2013 Commonwealth ...

Afghan Police Chief Assassinated

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:34:24 -0400

Officials say Police Chief Abdul Ghani was near his home late Friday when gunmen shot him. No one has been detained in the case. The Associated Press quotes a local official as saying Ghani had led a crackdown on insurgents in his district of Khaki Safad that resulted in the killing and capture of several Taliban leaders. The spokesman said that made him a target for Taliban ...

US Train Crash Injures 60 Suspends Service

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:34:24 -0400

Officials say the crash took place around 6 p.m. local time Friday near Bridgeport, Connecticut, about 100 kilometers northeast of New York. Connecticut state governor Dannel Malloy told reporters that five people were critically injured in the crash, including one person with very serious injuries. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Malloy said there is "no reason to believe ...

North Korea launches short-range missiles

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:02:37 -0400

North Korea has launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast, according to South Korea's Ministry of Defence quoted by Yonhap news agency. The ministry said it detected two missiles fired on Saturday morning, followed by another in the afternoon. It said the country had reinforced monitoring on North Korea and was maintaining a ...

Earthquake Hits Northern Japan No Reports of Damage

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:30:36 -0400

Seismologists say a strong earthquake has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan's main Honshu island, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of ...

Kenya Swiss national decries high bail terms in porn case

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:27:08 -0400

court in Mombasa with luring 11 Kenyan women into prostitution has moved to the High Court to challenge the Sh1 million bond slapped on him on ...

Kenya Kidero promises to work with Government

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:27:07 -0400

Speaking in his office at City Hall, Mr Kidero said he is prepared and anxious to co-operate with Jubilee's central administration despite being popularly elected on the opposition's Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) ...

French President Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:19:32 -0400

the BBC reports , after the Senate and National Assembly approved the bill, it "was quickly challenged on constitutional grounds by the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy." Friday, a ruling by the Constitutional Council cleared the way for the president's signature. The council found the bill in accordance with constitution, ...

UN condemns Papua New Guineas plans to resume death penalty

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:19:22 -0400

New York, May 18 : The United Nations human rights office Friday expressed serious concern over Papua New Guinea's announcement that it will resume the death penalty more than half a century since it last carried out an execution, stressing this would represent "a major setback" for the ...

Clashes at Cairo protest calling for Morsi to resign

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:18:31 -0400

The demonstrators, most of them teenagers, threw molotov cocktails at the police who replied with volleys of tear gas cannisters, but there were no reports of casualties. The clashes took place near Cairo's Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the opposition movement that brought down President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Earlier Friday, marches had begun in various parts of the ...

Census finds Christianity in Britain losing ground

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:49:12 -0400

Almost 10 percent of young people in the United Kingdom now identify themselves as Muslim and fewer than half as Christian, 2011 Census figures show. The new analysis of the 2011 data released Friday shows Christianity has been losing ground even faster than thought among those born in the country, The Daily Telegraph reported. A report last year said the Census found 4.1 million Christians, ...

US Criticizes Russian Missiles Sale to Syria

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:20:39 -0400

The remarks by General Martin Dempsey were the first U.S. confirmation that Russia made the sale of so-called ship-killer cruise missiles to Syria. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday the missiles will embolden President Bashar al-Assad and prolong the suffering in Syria. The New York Times says the Russian anti-ship cruise missiles are more advanced than previous ...

Murder probe after 23 youths die in South African initiation ceremonies

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:10:48 -0400

Wandoo Makurdi Johannesburg - 18 May 2013 Twenty-three youths have died in the past nine days at initiation ceremonies that include circumcisions and survival ...

Scientists Race to Contain Malaria New Discoveries More Resistance

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:15:26 -0400

Two new medical discoveries are raising hopes of containing malaria - the mosquito-borne parasitic disease that each year infects more than 200 million people and claims an estimated 660 thousand lives. Meantime, the World Health Organization is warning about dire consequences if a drug-resistant form of malaria spreads beyond southeast Asia. Artemisinin has helped cut global malaria deaths by ...

Bob Marleys call to contemporary Africa

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:10:26 -0400

Gregory Mandizvidza is an illustrator in Zimbabwe. This is his tribute to the Jamaican reggae singer and guitarist Bob Marley on the occasion of his death anniversary. The musician died on 11 May ...

Key al-Qaida militant killed in Algeria

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:31:52 -0400

A key militant responsible for " external relations" between al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the parent organization al-Qaida had been killed last Friday by Algeria's National People's Army (ANP), local APS news agency reported Sunday, citing security sources. Bekai Boualem, alias "El Khaled Mig" and aged 45, was shot in an ambush on Friday by ANP forces ...

Obama Burmese President to Discuss Reform Progress Challenges

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:09:21 -0400

WHITE HOUSE -- Obama, Burmese President to Discuss Reform Progress, Challenges Burma's President Thein Sein holds talks on Monday with President Obama at the White House. The discussions will focus on progress in reforms, barriers toward greater democratization and next steps in the changing U.S. - Burma relationship. November 2012. Barack Obama becomes the first serving U.S. president ...

Kerry to visit Middle East Africa in late May

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:57:51 -0400

US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to visit the Middle East and Africa later this month, the State Department announced on Friday.On May 21, Kerry will visit Muscat, the capital of Oman, and meet with senior Omani officials on a range of bilateral and regional issues, the department said in a statement.On May 22, the top US diplomat will visit Amman, the capital of Jordan, to meet with ...

Chinese vice premier to attend AU special summit in Zimbabwe

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:57:47 -0400

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang will pay an official visit to Zimbabwe and attend a special summit of the African Union from May 21 to 25.Wang will attend a special summit of the African Union to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization for African Unity, the predecessor to the African Union. He will attend the event, to be held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis ...

South America contraception up to 79 Middle Africa 19

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:22:11 -0400

Between 2003 and 2012, the total number of women worldwide wanting to avoid pregnancy and in need of contraception increased from 716 million to 867 million, with growth concentrated among women in the 69 poorest countries where modern method use was already very low. A young Chinese boy walks past a neighborhood 'sex shop', full of contraceptive suggestions, in central Beijing. (UPI ...

Midwest Tea Party Activists Not Surprised by IRS Scrutiny

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:52:28 -0400

PEORIA, ILLINOIS -- Tea Party-affiliated activists in the Midwestern United States say they are outraged, but not surprised, by revelations that the tax-collecting arm of the U.S. government has been unfairly scrutinizing applications by conservative groups for tax-exempt status. The scandal forced the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] to step down this week, and is prompting ...

Liberias Johnson-Sirleaf defends governance record

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:22:00 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Friday defended her government's record on good governance and transparency, following an independent audit that cast doubt on her anti-corruption ...

Kerry Meets Bangladeshi Counterpart

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:43:07 -0400

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States wants to see Bangladesh move forward on improving labor standards after a building collapse that killed hundreds of garment ...

South Sudan The Army Accused of Looting and Attacking its Own People

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:41:26 -0400

South Sudan is not quite two years old. The world’s newest country was created in July 2011, after decades of fighting a civil war against the north. But it is now facing its own internal rebellion. The army there is being accused of terrorizing its own people in the eastern state of Jonglei. Caelin Briggs is with Refugees International in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. She’s ...

Europe investors bow to Africa Asia in U.S. real estate deals

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:38:53 -0400

The panel analyzing capital investment in U.S. real estate, from left, were: John R. Miller, Charles H. Fedalen Jr., Christopher R. Ludeman, J. Michael Stedman and Jon H. ...

We’re not planning to ‘punish’ Eagles – Kenya

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:38:07 -0400

Kenya have denied they will retaliate against Nigeria for the alleged mistreatment of the Harambee Stars by the Nigeria Football Federation when they visited the country for their first leg 2014 World Cup ...

Angola to sell 33 firms to boost economy

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:38:06 -0400

Angola, Africa's largest crude oil producer behind Nigeria, plans to sell about 33 state-owned companies over the next five years to increase efficiency and cut costs, its Economy Minister Mr. Abrahao Gourgel, ...

Will Kenyas new president respect international court

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:03:44 -0400

At his inauguration on April 9, Kenya's new president, Uhuru Kenyatta, promised to uphold "international obligations". This was most likely a reference to the International Criminal Court. Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, are to stand trial before the ICC for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the country's election-related violence in 2007 and 2008. ...

US Russian Missile Shipments to Syria Very Unfortunate

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:33:08 -0400

The top U.S. military officer says Russian missile shipments to Syria are "ill-timed" and "very unfortunate." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, said Friday the missiles will embolden President Bashar al-Assad and prolong the suffering in Syria. He said Mr. Assad could think the missiles somehow will make him safer and more prone to a ...

Militants Turn Nigeria into Christian Killing Field

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:18:55 -0400

Last year more Christians were killed in Nigeria than any other country. The onslaught of bombings gave Nigeria the sad distinction of being the nation with the highest Christian death toll. More than 900 Christians reportedly were killed in Nigeria in 2012, all victims of the Boko Haram group and other Islamic militants. "They are so radical they don't even spare Muslims. If Muslims ...

Nigeria Police Repel Hoodlums Attack In Daura Katsina State

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:10 -0400

By SaharaReporters, New York There are conflicting reports emanating from Daura, Katsina State, about the overnight confrontation there between security forces and Boko Haram sect members, with the latest saying that, following an "exceptional display of courage and gallantry," repelled the armed militants, killing five of them. In an earlier report today, SaharaReporters learned ...

Fighting to save Africas rhinos

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:14:28 -0400

Wildlife Rangers are on the frontline of the battle to save elephants and rhinos from poaching gangs. The illegal trade in rhino horn, highlighted by Prince William earlier this year, is threatening the very existence of the creatures. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports on the work of the round-the-clock patrols at Lewa National ...

Nigeria bombs Islamists U.S. sounds alarm

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:04:49 -0400

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian warplanes struck militant camps in the northeast on Friday in a major push against an Islamist insurgency, drawing a sharp warning from the United States to respect human rights and not harm ...

UN chief appoints veteran diplomat Haile Menkerios as the new UN envoy to the African Union

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:03:17 -0400

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed veteran diplomat Haile Menkerios as the new U.N. representative to the African Union. U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Friday that Menkerios will also continue his current assignment as the secretary-general's special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He will have the rank of undersecretary-general. Menkerios, a longtime Eritrean ...

Medical student brings healthcare to rural Ghana

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:56:03 -0400

Medical school graduates often have their pick of job opportunities in well-outfitted urban hospitals in Ghana. Meanwhile, the ratio of doctors serving the population of the rural Upper East region is just one for every 35,010 citizens. One student is defying trends of urban migration to bring much-needed care to these remote ...

Divided Europe veers between urgent growth and bleak austerity

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:56:03 -0400

Angela Merkel 's pro-austerity policies soon after becoming president in May last year, blamed the tough cutbacks regime imposed on troubled economies for much of Europe's economic problems. "What is hitting Europe is a recession ... provoked by the austerity policy," Hollande said at a Paris news conference. The president was especially keen to pin the blame on European ...

$600 Million Lottery Fever Grips US

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:24:11 -0400

The jackpot for Saturday's multi-state lottery has grown to $600 million for a single winning ticket. With millions of tickets being sold each hour at $2 each, Powerball officials say the jackpot is likely go even higher before the numbers are drawn. Winners must match five numbers and a special Powerball to claim the entire prize. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 175 ...

Secretary-General Appoints Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil Force Commander for UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:22:44 -0400

-moon announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Kenya Teen battles heart defect

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:20:26 -0400

And this is why she was shocked to discover she was born with an abnormal condition. A congenital heart disorder that threatened to tear her life apart. The Form Four student at Mahiga Girls High School was busy doing her cleaning on a Saturday in October last year when she suffered chest pains. The chest pains, she narrates, worsened and she started wheezing. Within an hour, she was bleeding ...

Kenya Crisis as Bungoma hospitals are overstretched

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:20:25 -0400

Bungoma town is another facility that has been receiving victims of the recent atrocities and it is here where the wife of a slain businessman and her daughter were admitted. ...

More Than 22 Killed in Democratic Republic of Congo Mine Collapse

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:18:19 -0400

Kinshasa, 17 May (Prensa Latina) The government of D.R. of Congo says more than 22 people have died in a collapse at a bush mine in the region of Masisi in North Kivu province in the far eastern part of the country. The statement sent to reporters late Friday and signed by government spokesman Lambert Mende says the mine near the village of Rubaye collapsed Friday evening. The statement says a ...

Political change on Algeria horizon as old guard succumbs to old age

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:10:53 -0400

North Africa and the Sahel and is an important bulwark against terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda. Any further instability in North Africa, where Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are already struggling, could embolden the armed militants. So far Algeria has been buoyed by high oil prices and, with almost $200 billion in foreign reserves, it has spent lavishly to try to buy off the discontent. But ...

Nigeria states of emergency | Editorial

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:54:31 -0400

Nigeria , has made little secret of the fact that it regards itself not only at war with the Nigerian state, and its security forces, but its people too. It has bombed churches, mosques, carried out assassinations, kidnapping, and mass assaults. On a single day in January last year, it killed 185 people across Kano. As the years have gone by, the ferocity, ambition and scale of its attacks have ...

Tunisia hardline Islamists in standoff over Sunday gathering

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:53:46 -0400

But the group, under fugitive leader Saif-Allah Benahssine, has said it would defy the order and go ahead with its annual gathering on Sunday, which it expects to attract some 40,000 ...

US Strengthening Trade with The Rising Continent Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:53:21 -0400

Hailing Africa's economic resurgence in the 21st century, the United States of America today talked about America's vision for global trade and opportunities for Africa. In his remarks in Pretoria in South Africa, Under Secretary Robert D. Hormats says the US is committed to supporting Africa's integration into the global trading ...

Proflight Zambia’s B737 makes maiden flight to Livingstone

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:52:57 -0400

Proflight Zambia's 105-seat Boeing 737-200 aircraft made its maiden flight to Livingstone on May 15, with VIP and celebrity passengers helping the airline celebrate the introduction of its new aircraft. Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing Hon. Nicolas Banda was among those on board the plane from Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, along with celebrities including JK, Cactus, ...

American missionary priest in Kenya suspended in dispute over control of hospitals

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:52:39 -0400

An American missionary priest in Kenya who became embroiled in a legal dispute over the ownership of hospitals has been suspended from the priesthood. The Maryknoll Society suspended Father William Charles Fryda after he refused to drop a lawsuit he filed three years ago against Cardinal John Njue and Sister Marie Therese Gachamab, superior of the Assumption Sisters in Nairobi. He charges that ...

Official Nigeria military attacks suspected Islamic extremist camps in northeast killing 21

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:52:27 -0400

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Soldiers in Nigeria launched their first raid against suspected Islamic extremists in a campaign to take back control of the nation's northeast, killing at least 21 people, a security official said Friday. The fighting happened Thursday in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, just south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, which soldiers previously targeted hunting for ...

Ex-warlord Prince Johnson quits his own party in Liberia

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:52:07 -0400

MONROVIA, Liberia - Prince Johnson, a former warlord-turned-politician who is best known for having videotaped himself overseeing the torture of Liberia's ex-president, announced Friday he is quitting the political party he founded. For years since the end of Liberia's civil war, Johnson has tried to erase his violent past, first becoming an evangelical pastor, and later running for ...

Tunisia Salafi conference threat to public order setting up weekend confrontation

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:52:03 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - Tunisia's Interior Ministry on Friday banned a conference by the North African country's most prominent ultraconservative Islamic group, setting up the possibility of a confrontation over the weekend. The ministry statement, which appeared on their Facebook site, said Ansar al-Shariah's annual conference to be held in Tunisia's holy city of Kairouan was not ...

Africa Study Finds Little Progress in Meeting Demand for Contraception

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:47:13 -0400

A new study by the Guttmacher Institute finds that within the developing world, the poorest countries are lagging far behind higher-income developing countries in meeting the demand for modern contraception. Between 2003 and 2012, the total number of women wanting to avoid pregnancy and in need of contraception increased from 716 million to 867 million, with growth concentrated among women in the ...

Africa Global Land Forum Forges International Agreement On Territorial Development

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:47:13 -0400

ROME, ITALY (17 May 2013) - As the global population continues to grow and the demand for food and the land to produce it on increase in lock step, the International Land Coalition brought together 273 people from 47 countries in Antigua, Guatemala from April 23-27 to discuss territorial governance and food security in the context of rapid urbanisation and shifting patterns of land use throughout ...

Arab Parliament seeks support for Comoros

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:40:47 -0400

WAM MORONI, MAY 17th, 2013 (WAM): The Arab Parliament will hold a session in Moroni, the capital of Comoros, in the near future in presence of all its members, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Ahmed Mohammed Al Jarwan, has announced. "The Arab Parliament will also launch an initiative to build a new Moroni with modern hospitals and universities. The Parliament will seek to find supporters ...

Nigeria launches assault on Islamists

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:16:20 -0400

NIGERIA'S military has attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching air strikes on insurgent camps, with dozens of militants killed in the fighting, the military says. Several thousand soldiers have spread across three northeastern states where President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency after Boko Haram seized territory and declared war against the ...

Moon Hit By Largest Meteoroid Impact in 8 Years

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:12:22 -0400

The U.S. space agency, NASA, has just spotted the biggest explosion on the Moon in the eight years since the agency has been monitoring lunar impacts caused by meteoroids. "On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as ...

Dozens Killed in Bombings Outside Baghdad

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:12:21 -0400

Dozens of people have been killed in twin bombings targeting Sunni worshippers in Iraq -- bringing the death toll from several days of violence to nearly 100 and increasing fears of renewed sectarian ...

Violence in South Sudan Town Shuts Down Hospital

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:12:21 -0400

WASHINGTON -- The humanitarian situation in a rural area of eastern South Sudan appears to be worsening after a hosptial run by an international medical group was heavily damaged in violence last week. Residents are fleeing Pibor town, which is in Jonglei state, near the border with Ethiopia, and some NGO's are evacuating staff from the area. The local hospital, which was run by the ...

Finding Skywalker’s House Photos of Old Movie Sets in North Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:10:31 -0400

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you might be looking at the photo above and wondering — ';Hey, isn’t that one of those moisture vaporators from the Skywalker farm there by that man who is begging?'; And you’d be right. Star Wars is only one of the many big budget films that have gone to various North African locations over the years to create a certain feel, a ...

Kenya Senate told of plot to derail devolution

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:10 -0400

Devolution could be crippled by lack of common understanding on its implementation and rival interpretation of laws guiding it, a Senators' retreat ...

Kenya Balala pledges strict mining policies

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:08 -0400

Balala said no person or agency shall be licensed unless they prove they are competent and able to deliver. He promised to ensure transparency in management of natural resources and to promote Kenya as a mining destination. "We shall not give licenses to speculators. To explore any mineral the investors must prove their resource base to complete the job and deliver on the deal," he ...

Kenya Row over plan to hire county police chiefs

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:06 -0400

Divisions are growing among senior officers over whether to apply for the Assistant Inspector General positions before the May 28 deadline. Potential applicants feel under pressure to "take sides" in the power struggle between the ...

Kenya Bungoma residents recount losses

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:04 -0400

Bungoma . After all, I was born and raised here. Most of my schooling was also in this County. But it does not take more than five minutes to realise that this is not the same town I grew up in. Something has changed in the years since I was here ...

Kenya Anger over slow police probe on Bungoma killings

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:01 -0400

Bungoma 's Kware village in early April. No other charges have been brought over the dozens of other attacks, including those that ended in ten murders. In an exclusive interview with The Standard On Saturday at ...

Opinion Kenya needs laws against torture

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:08:46 -0400

One of the key reforms introduced in 2010 with the adoption of the new Constitution was the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading ...

Tunisia bans conservative Islamist conference

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:08:06 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia -; Tunisia's Interior Ministry on Friday banned a conference by the North African country's most prominent ultraconservative Islamic group, setting up the possibility of a confrontation over the ...

Nigeria Military Kills Extremists in New Offensive

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:06:31 -0400

Abuja, 17 May (Prensa Latina) Soldiers in northeast Nigeria shelled suspected camps of Islamic extremists in the first military action of a new offensive against the insurgents, killing several people, a security official said Friday. The fighting was happening in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, just south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, which soldiers previously raided on the hunt for ...

Michelle Obama Encourages African-American Students To Stop Aspiring To Be “A Baller Or A Rapper”

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:54:07 -0400

Because this is apparently a week that involves a lot of me lowering my head slowly and deliberately to my desk a la Peggy Olson, First Lady Michelle ...

Christians Suffering in Central African Republic Islamists Targeting Churches Says Bishop

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:41:08 -0400

Reports from Africa indicate that militia soldiers under the control of the Central African Republic's government are looting and destroying Christian churches and mission ...

Nigerian security troubles United Nations

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:33:03 -0400

Goodluck Jonathan this week declared a state of emergency for three northern states in response to threats from Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Militants suspected to be from Boko Haram killed more than 40 people in attacks on a village in northern Nigeria last week. At least 200 people died and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed in a recent military raid seen as a response to a Boko Haram ...

Nigeria Steps Up Assaults on Militants in Northeast

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:06:10 -0400

DAKAR, Senegal ...

In Nigeria More Attacks On Militants

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:06:10 -0400

DAKAR, Senegal ...

Study Finds Marijuana Helps Control Blood Sugar Waistlines

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:00:37 -0400

Marijuana has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood and increase appetite. A new study suggests that the herb also has a positive effect on blood sugar levels, suggesting it could be helpful in diabetes ...

UN agency prepositions for Darfur refugees in Chad ahead of rainy season

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:59:09 -0400

Print 17 May 2013 &#150 With tens of thousands of Darfur refugees in eastern Chad, the United Nations refugee agency today said it is ';in a race against time'; to deliver aid before heavy rains cut off access to the group escaping violence linked to tribal conflicts. The UN Refugee Agency ...

School Year Blog Six Things that South African Teenagers Learn in China

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:58:43 -0400

Anders Kelto is The World's Africa Correspondent. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa, and reports on health and development issues. Prior to joining The World, he worked with NPR, the CBC, and National ...

Tsvangirai confident hell oust Mugabe in election

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:52:15 -0400

He said he hoped to return the nation to the world community after years of isolation. "We are going to be new brooms" for change, he told about 500 party leaders and activists at a party conference to finalise a platform. He will be pitted against long-time ruler President Robert Mugabe (89) in elections. No date has been set but it is expected to be held around September. ...

South African doctor flies home after nine-month limbo over UAE death

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:30:41 -0400

South African doctor Cyril Karabus, 78, greets well-wishers at Cape Town airport. He was acquitted in March. Photograph: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty ...

Kenya Ruto Denies ICC Shuttle Diplomacy

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22:58 -0400

DEPUTY president William Ruto yesterday clarified that he is on "an official bilateral trip" to four African countries, as the Senate saw heated debate on the issue. Ruto denied claims he is on a shuttle diplomacy to gain support against the International Criminal Court where he and President Uhuru Kenyatta, together with radio journalist Joshua arap Sang are standing trial for crimes ...

Kenya Uasin Gishu Reps Snub NCIC Peace Meeting

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22:58 -0400

Uasin Gishu county assembly members yesterday boycotted a key meeting of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which had been called to discuss peace, reconciliation and operations of counties. NCIC commissioner Fatuma Muhammed said the boycott did not augur well for the planned peace activities in the region. "Even if they have complaints, it would have been better to attend the ...

Kenya Counties to Maintain Class D and E Roads

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22:57 -0400

The Kenya Roads Board has said it will restructure its operations and devolve part of its mandate to county governments in line with the new dispensation. Speaking in Bomet yetsrday, the board's chairman Joel Wanyoike said the county government will be in charge of the class D and E roads. He said Kenya Rural roads Authority and Kenya Urban Roads authority, which are the board's ...

Kenya Kenyan Traders Told to Increase AGOA Exports

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22:57 -0400

Kenya' small scale entrepreneurs have been challenged to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Growth and Opportunity Act to access the American market. African Cotton and Textiles Industries Federation chief executive Officer Rajeev Arora said since Kenya currently exports less than thirty products yet the trade deal offers a market for more than 6,400 products from ...

Kenya reviewed on torture reforms

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:20:33 -0400

There are two sides to the human rights story in Kenya and one of them deals with reports of torture and cruel treatment, the United Nations was told. Kenyan Attorney General Githu Muigai briefed a U.N. committee against torture from Geneva. He said there have been major improvements in Kenya's human rights record in terms of how it applies U.N. conventions on torture and ill-treatment. ...

U.S. warns of violence in Ivory Coast

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:20:32 -0400

Ivory Coast could quickly deteriorate despite recent security gains, the U.S. State Department warned. Ivory Coast was pushed to the brink of civil following contested elections in 2010. Former Ivorian ...

Venezuelas ties with Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:13:44 -0400

At the third Summit Africa - South America (ASA)held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 63 countries participated, including Venezuela, which was represented by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Elas Jaua. He read a letter written by President Hugo Chvez to the ASA members in Malaba. The Venezuelan President highlighted the ties between both ...

Asteroid Sampling Mission Gets Green Light

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:28 -0400

Artist concept of OSIRIS-REx. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is to launch in 2016, reach asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 in 2019, examine it up close during a 505-day rendezvous, then return at least 60 grams of it to Earth in 2023. (Credit: ...

Free Press Security Concerns Clash in AP Case

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:27 -0400

Revelations that the U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained phone records from the Associated Press in connection with a leak investigation continue to spark strong reactions. They are coming both from journalist organizations concerned with freedom of the press and government officials focused on national security. The story involving the government secretly accessing phone records of ...

Aid Group Condemns Attack on Civilians in Eastern DRC

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:27 -0400

NAIROBI -- The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, has condemned a brutal attack on civilians living in Mpeti village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. MSF says frequent attacks by armed groups in the villages and towns of North Kivu province have made it difficult for the group to provide medical assistance. The village in North Kivu province ...

Air Strikes Hit Nigerias Militant Camps

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:26 -0400

Nigerian forces have launched air strikes against suspected Islamist militant camps in the country's northeast. A military spokesman said all known militant camps in three northeastern states are being attacked and that several camps in Borno state have been destroyed or taken over. The spokesman, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, said earlier Friday that the attacks killed an ...

Cleaning Vietnam Memorial Proves Healing for Veterans

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:26 -0400

Vietnam Veterans Memorial , which bears the names of 58,286 U.S. service members who were killed or declared missing in action during the two-decade-long conflict, which ended in ...

Nigerian Troops Move North as Attacks Continue

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:26 -0400

ABUJA -- As Nigerian armed forces move into three northern states that are under emergency rule, the army says Boko Haram militants have attacked a town outside the emergency area. At a press conference Friday in the Nigerian capital, Major General Mobolaji Koleoso, chief of civil military affairs, said he won’t talk about what’s been called a "massive" movement of troops ...

Civil Society Under Attack Around the World

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:36:38 -0400

In this column, Mandeep Tiwana, policy and advocacy manager of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, writes that civil society organisations around the globe face grave threats to their efficacy and existence. In violation of international commitments to foster increased participation of the NGO sector, governments everywhere continue to crack down on civil society actvists in harsh ...

Nigeria - Nigerian reporter slapped detained for photographing policeman

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:35:48 -0400

newspaper, was assaulted and detained by police officers after trying to photograph a brawl between a police officer and a commercial tricycle operator. Police also seized Folarin's reporting ...

Chatter Nigeria launches offensive against Boko Haram militants

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:33:07 -0400

Nigeria's army fights back against militant Islamists in the restive northeast, the IRS mess continues, and a new study that will make you think twice before you go jump in the ...

Congo Does Not Have The Worlds Largest Deposits Of Tin and Coltan

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:32:49 -0400

At least 20 people were killed when a mine collapsed in mineral-rich but conflict-plagued eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following heavy rains, the government said on ...

Ghana Will Stand By Supreme Court’s Decision – Asantehene

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:28:05 -0400

The Asantehene further called on government appointees to collaborate with their superiors in an attempt to secure the social-economic development of the ...

Restaurant roundup South African fare crispy pork salad and chicharrones

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:25:29 -0400

Amaweles South African Kitchen' cinnamon vegetable curry dish. This week's Bay Area restaurant scene saw a slew of new openings with some new concepts. San Francisco got its first taste of South African food while the Mission got a new perspective with a restaurant that gives a birds-eye view of the neighborhood and its place in the city. Heres this weeks restaurant roundup: Notable ...

Oxford Universitys business school faces protests over visit by Rwanda president Paul Kagame

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:17:06 -0400

Cahal Milmo is the chief reporter of The Independent and has been with the paper since 2000. He was born in London and previously worked at the Press Association news agency. He has reported on assignment at home and abroad, including Rwanda, Sudan and Burkina Faso, the phone hacking scandal and the London Olympics. In his spare time he is a keen runner and cyclist, and keeps an ...

23 young men dead in initiation rites in South Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:10:30 -0400

July 7, 2006 - FILE photo of an unidentified initiate, with his face caked in white lime clay, eating rice from his blanket during his rite of transformation from a boy to manhood near Port St. John's, South ...

Zimbabwes PM says his is poised to win elections sweep in change to end years of isolation

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:22 -0400

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Friday he is poised to sweep to victory in upcoming presidential elections and return the nation to the world community after years of isolation. "We are going to be new brooms" for change, he told about 500 party leaders and activists at a party conference to finalize a platform. He will be pitted against long-time ...

Sudan minister visits South Sudan to say it has evidence the south is supporting Sudan rebels

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:18 -0400

Sudan's foreign affairs minister says Sudan has evidence that South Sudan provided military assistance to rebels inside Sudan. Ali Ahmed Karti and the head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services met South Sudan President Salva Kiir in South Sudan's capital on Friday. Karti told reporters that South Sudan is assisting armed groups in Sudan's South Kordofan ...

Algerias aging regime restive youth makes for a volatile political mix in North Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:06 -0400

FOR STORY ALGERIA GENERATION'S END - Tahar Belabes, one of the few activists in Algeria that has succeeded in mobilizing the youth, during a meeting in Algiers on April 29, 2013, Belabes denies being a revolutionary "I am a simple activist demanding his rights." he said. The generation of aging politicians and generals that has run Algeria for the last half-century is reaching its ...

Kenya Uhuru in Closed-Door Meeting With Top Cops

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:30 -0400

Police chiefs have told President Uhuru Kenyatta that they are losing command of the police following overlaps and contradictions in two key police Acts -The National Police Service Act and the National Police Acts. Provincial Police commanders, Provincial CID chiefs and Provincial AP commanders, who attended a meeting at State House Nairobi yesterday, told Uhuru they have problems deploying ...

Ghana Two New Steel Firms Start Operations

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:29 -0400

Two new steel manufacturing companies, with a combined capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes, are expected to commence operations in Ghana by the end of next month. They are Rider Steel, Jordanian-owned, with a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes, and United Steel Limited, Lebanese-owned, which has a capacity of 25,000 metric tonnes, and are expected to employ about 500 workers. This brings to seven, ...

Ghana Publicise Oil Mining Contracts Now

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:29 -0400

Ghana is reportedly ranked 15th on the latest World Mining Index. The index is said to list 58 mining countries across the globe, and rates the level of transparency in each country's mining sector. At 5th position, Ghana emerges as the best country in sub-Saharan Africa to have undertaken major reforms to enthrone transparency in the mining industry. However, according to the African ...

Africa President Warned - About Bodyguards Threat

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:29 -0400

The West African Journalists Association (WAJA) has warned President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to be mindful of the lives and security of Liberian journalists following threats made against them by the Director of the Executive Protection Service (EPS) during the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day in Buchana, Grand Bassa. WAJA also said Mr. Warrick's threats signal "a worrying ...

Kenya Kenolkobil Has Rallied 17.29 Per Cent Over Two Sessions

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:28 -0400

The Nairobi All Share rallied 1.0866% to close at 126.52 and has closed at an all time high for the 2nd consecutive session. The Nairobi All Share has rallied 2.958% over the last 2 sessions. The Nairobi All Share is +33.375% in 2013. The Nairobi NSE20 Index rallied 37.34 points to close at 4955.61. The NSE20 sits 1.51% below its July 2008 closing high of 5,031 from last month. The equity ...

Liberia Water Prices Hiked

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:28 -0400

Barely few days after the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) announced that it has begun pumping water to central Monrovia, the corporation has increased tariff to meet the new demands. But the Corporation is beset with new challenges of water theft and water undermining by unscrupulous individuals while it strives to pump water to central Monrovia and its surrounding communities. ...

Ghana Ministry Google Introduce Innovative Ghana

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:03:28 -0400

The Ministry of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with Google, has introduced an initiative known as "Innovation Ghana" to get Ghanaians to appreciate the use of the internet, and its impact on the Ghanaian economy. According to the collaborators, Innovation Ghana aims at strengthening and encouraging local products and services created by Ghanaians for Ghanaians. Innovation Ghana ...

PLATINUM WEEK-South African mines cannot afford pay rises -Impala

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:43:08 -0400

Fri May 17, 2013 12:43pm EDT * Tough talks to start in next couple of weeks * New AMCU union has poached members from established NUM * Anglo Platinum plans to cut 6,000 jobs By Clara Denina LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - South Africa's mining industry can ill afford to offer wage rises during talks that are about to start with a new and unpredictable union, so it may well face fresh strikes, ...

Burma President to Lead Town Hall Meeting at VOA

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:38 -0400

Burmese President Thein Sein will join a town hall meeting at the Voice of America Sunday as he begins the first U.S. visit by a Burmese head of state in nearly 50 years. VOA's Burmese service will broadcast the session on Sunday evening [Washington time] to Burma. Thein Sein is expected to discuss his program of political and economic reforms for Burma as well as deadly sectarian ...

Survey Europes Gays Fear Violence Discrimination

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:38 -0400

PARIS -- The European Union is calling for action following an alarming survey released Friday showing most gays and transgender people in Europe live in fear of discrimination and violence. The new European Union survey is the most far-reaching to date on discrimination and violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people in Europe - and its release coincides with the ...

Malaria-Infected Mosquitoes More Attracted to Humans

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:37 -0400

Mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite are significantly more attracted to human odors than uninfected mosquitoes. Researchers already knew that the microscopic parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - can alter the behavior of the mosquitoes it infects, causing them to consume larger and more frequent blood meals. That increases the rate of malaria transmission. But now James Logan and ...

WHO Yellow Fever Booster Unnecessary

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:37 -0400

LONDON -- The yellow fever ‘booster’ vaccination given 10 years after the initial vaccination is not necessary, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO's group of experts on immunization believes one dose of vaccination is enough to provide life-long immunity against yellow fever. "This is very important because it will allow endemic countries ...

US Tax Chief Foolish Mistakes Made

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:37 -0400

Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller, right, accompanied by J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration, testifies on Capitol Hill, Washington, May 17, ...

Kenya Golf weekend for President Uhuru

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:22:40 -0400

Golf Club on Saturday at 4.00 p.m. Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts Dr. Hassan Wario, County Governor Nderitu Gachagua and the chairman ...

Zimbabwe PM We are new broom set to win polls

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:22:24 -0400

HARARE, Zimbabwe -; Zimbabwe's prime minister says he is poised to win the presidency in upcoming elections and return the nation to the world community after years of ...

South Africa Highlights its Relations with China

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:20:36 -0400

Pretoria, May 17 (Prensa Latina) Relations between South Africa and China are beneficial to both countries, said the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ebrahim Ebrahim, in a speech published here today. Agreements between those countries are being constantly reviewed and renegotiated to make them convenient for both sides, said Ebrahim during the speech at Witwatersrand ...

Briefing Restive northern Kenya sees shifting power risks

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:15:38 -0400

Keeping vigil: Residents in the north have taken up arms to protect themselves GARISSA-NAIROBI, 17 May 2013 (IRIN) - The presence of foreign militias in parts of northeastern Kenya, and their collusion with security officials and business people there, may be to blame for a rise in insecurity in the region, where multiple gun and grenade attacks have been reported over the past two years. But ...

Ghana – Forget It We Can Never Make It. Period

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:10:08 -0400

Ghana Flag "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" – which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Mathew 27:46 "A crisis that reoccurs a second time is a crisis that must not occur again. A well-managed plant, I soon learned is a quiet place. A well-managed factory is boring. Nothing exciting happens in it because the crises have been anticipated and have ...

Six Arrests Made in Tanzania Church Attack

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:08:51 -0400

Tanzanian police have arrested six people, including four Saudi Arabians, in the investigation of a church bombing in Arusha. At least two people died and nearly 60 were wounded when a motorcyclist tossed a bomb into St. Joseph's Catholic Church Sunday. The town is popular with tourists going on safari near Mount Kilimanjaro. Militant Islamists have attacked at least 30 Tanzania churches ...

Warrant issued for Chad Johnsons arrest in Fla.

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:02:37 -0400

Chad Johnson in South Florida. The state attorney's office confirmed Thursday that a Broward circuit judge issued a warrant May 7 against Johnson for failing to report to his probation officer. Johnson received a year of probation last September after pleading no contest to a domestic violence charge involving his former wife, reality TV star Evelyn Lozada. The six-time Pro Bowl player ...

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla dies in prison age 87

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:59:03 -0400

Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age ...

Chad to arrest ex-presidents allies

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:58:35 -0400

N'DJAMENA - Chad has charged four allies of the country's former president with human rights abuses and issued warrants for their arrest, a senior government source said on ...

Kidnapped Brit killed in Nigeria inquest

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:58:31 -0400

London - A British construction worker taken hostage in Nigeria was shot dead by his Islamist kidnappers minutes after the start of a joint UK and Nigerian rescue operation at the compound where they were held, his inquest heard on ...

Chad seeks arrest of exiled presidents allies

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:51:53 -0400

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad has charged four allies of the country's former president with human rights abuses and issued warrants for their arrest, a senior government source said on ...

Liberia House Invites PUL Warrick

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:18 -0400

The House of Representatives has invited the leadership of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Director of the Executive Protection Service (EPS) Othello Warrick over 'terror threat' against the Liberian Media. The House's decision was based on two separate communications from Representatives Richmond Anderson and Munah Pelham-Youngblood of Montserrado County. The two ...

Uganda Commonwealth Delegates for Tourism Campaign

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:17 -0400

Commonwealth delegates head to Jinja tomorrow, Saturday, for the 'Paint the City Bright' campaign. The campaign coordinated by Yudaya Babirye, a managing partner with Metro Green, working in partnership with Jinja Municipal Council (JMC) and the Private Sector will see over seventy buildings painted. Babirye said over 200 delegates from the Commonwealth for Local Governments forum are ...

Liberia LACC Britain to Collaborate

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:17 -0400

Britain's Ambassador to Liberia, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet says the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) prioritizes the fight against corruption in Liberia and would therefore collaborate with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) in enhancing its work. Speaking recently when he paid a courtesy call on the Executive Chairperson and Members of the LACC, Ambassador Dyet expressed ...

Zimbabwe Mugabe to Summon Military Generals

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:17 -0400

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has tacitly agreed to summon service chiefs over their recent inflammatory political statements in which they threw afresh their weight behind Zanu PF, as pressure mounts on him to rein in military commanders ahead of watershed elections later this year. Mugabe is under pressure from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a victim of vicious military verbal attacks, and Sadc ...

Liberia PYJ Undeterred About Resignation

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:17 -0400

Senator Prince Yormie Johnson of Nimba County says he cares less about what people say concerning his recent resignation as the flag-bearer of the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP). "Whether they have accepted it (resignation) or not, I care less," the senator told reporters in a rather angry mood apparently referring to the feelings of NUDP party stalwarts over his ...

Africa Gambia Observes Africa Vaccination Week

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:16 -0400

The Ministry of Health and its partners yesterday held a press briefing for journalists, coinciding with the commemoration of Africa Vaccination Week 2013. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other partners, will from 24 to 27 May 2013 hold National Immunisation Days (NIDs) against poliomyelitis. The four-day exercise, which ...

Africa Shooting From the Hip - African Stars Black Africa Clash an African Affair

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:16 -0400

SO, the race for the coveted MTC Namibia Premier League title will be statistics in the next 48 hours or so. At a time like this, jealousy, envy, bias, adoration and of course the usual unjustified sentiments put aside - yours truly I suppose is qualified and privileged to have the nation's ear through this often poisonous pen, while fully conscious that my judgment and well meant analysis ...

Liberia Sime Darby Begs Citizens

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:16 -0400

Sime Darby Plantation Liberia has apologized and presented several items to the people of Senjeh-District for traditional rituals. Sime Darby head of Upstream Project, Roslin Azmy Hassan, said the presentation of the items was a result of previous meeting held with chiefs, elders and traditional leaders as well as other members of the district in which the people requested for the items to carry ...

Liberia Ban On Sand Mining Intensifies

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:44:16 -0400

In continuation of its ban on beach and sand mining, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy on Thursday confiscated a 15-ton truck load of blocks in the 11th Street and Watanga communities in Monrovia. The Special Assistant to the Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy for Communication and Priority Initiatives, Arthur S. Massaquoi, told journalists that since the ban were placed on beach sand ...

UAE Mozambique sign air transport accord

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:37:43 -0400

Dubai, 17 May (WAM) - Mozambique and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday in Dubai signed a bilateral accord covering air transport. The agreement will pave the way for airlines to launch services for the movement of passengers and cargo, and will serve as a basis for the growth of trade and investment and the development of partnerships in sectors such as tourism. The accord was ...

Hints of political change on horizon in Algeria

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:07:23 -0400

FOR STORY ALGERIA GENERATION'S END - Algerian youth in Algiers on April 30, 2013 as they celebrate the imminent soccer championship match that the country's president will be too sick to attend. With the president in a French hospital recovering from a stroke, the generation of aging politicians and generals that has run Algeria for the last half-century is reaching its end and the ...

Developing World Investment to Rise

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:07:16 -0400

The developing world is poised to become a major player in global investment. The World Bank says in fewer than 20 years half the global stock of capital will be in developing countries. That compares to about one-third today. The bank has released the latest edition of its Global Development Horizons report. to De Capua story on Global Development Horizons report The World Bank ...

Secret Life of Egyptian Pigs

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:07:15 -0400

Pigs once played an important economic role for Cairo's Coptic Christians and helped keep the Egyptian capital clean. Now, after a controversial culling, they are making a ...

Dissident Artist Draws Inspiration from Milk Fears

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:07:15 -0400

BEIJING -- Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has taken inspiration from fears in China about milk safety for his latest work of art, a huge map of China made out of milk powder tins appearing at an exhibition in Hong Kong which opens on Friday. Ai, whose 81-day detention in 2011 sparked an international outcry, has regularly criticized the government for what he sees as its flouting of the ...

Chinese Environmental Protesters Demand Transparency

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:07:14 -0400

Chinese demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against a planned refinery project in downtown Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province, May 16, ...

Nigeria First Bank targets 10 pct loan growth this year - CEO

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:01:39 -0400

LAGOS | Fri May 17, 2013 11:01am EDT LAGOS May 17 (Reuters) - Nigeria's FBN Holdings Plc aims to grow loans 10 percent this year for its banking unit, down from 23 percent growth in 2012, as it tries to balance its capital needs with creating risk assets, the head of the banking unit said on Friday. The CEO of First Bank, Bisi Onasanya, told a conference call the lender had a capital ...

Steinmetz seeks Tony Blair’s help to free detained Guinea staff

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:58:20 -0400

Beny Steinmetz's mining company, BSG Resources, has called on former British PM Tony Blair to help secure the release of two employees arrested in ...

Pressure Mounting on U.S. over Congo Violence

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:55:39 -0400

- With casualties in the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now surpassing every conflict since World War II, U.S. policymakers and advocates are stepping up campaigns to raise awareness and push legislation aimed at encouraging new negotiations, assisting in government reforms, and pressuring the neighbouring countries that have propped up the DRC's ...

Brazils Vale cuts Mozambique coal export

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:55:36 -0400

Moatize, Mozambique - Brazil's Vale has cut the 2013 export target for its Mozambique coal mine by nearly a third, a company official said on Friday, after heavy floods temporarily shut a railway ...

At least 20 killed after Congo mine collapse

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:55:11 -0400

The accident occurred on Thursday at the mine near the village of Rubaye in the country's North Kivu province. Local officials were attempting to recover bodies still believed buried on Friday."We're still digging at the site, so the death toll could rise. The provincial government is handling the rescue," government spokesman Lambert Mende told ...

Warrant issued for former Bengal Chad Johnson

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:40:30 -0400

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — A warrant has been issued for the arrest of former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson in South Florida. The state attorney's office confirmed Thursday that a Broward circuit judge issued a warrant May 7 against Johnson for failing to report to his probation ...

Nigeria interbank rates rise on cash shortage

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:31:18 -0400

LAGOS | Fri May 17, 2013 10:31am EDT LAGOS May 17 (Reuters) - Nigerian interbank lending rates rose 1.25 percentage points on Friday to an average of 14.5 percent, compared with 13.25 percent last week as payment for foreign exchange and bonds purchases drained liquidity, traders said. "The market opened with a very minimal cash balance on Friday, while the payment for foreign ...

West Africa Concerns About Growing Acts of Intolerance Against Journalists Media in Liberia

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:25:43 -0400

Your Excellency, The West African Journalists Association (WAJA) and the undersigned media partners and freedom of expression groups wish to express our grave concern over recent threats against media freedom in Liberia by senior state officials, which we strongly condemn. We are also worried about the reported stance of the Office of the President on the matter, which unfortunately is apparently ...

South Africa Cape Towns Asylum Seekers Struggle to Get Documented

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:25:41 -0400

Cape Town - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town. He has since approached the city's Refugee Reception ...

Zimbabwe Zanu-PF Infighting Now Vicious Cycle

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:25:41 -0400

ZANU PF factionalism is now increasingly becoming a vicious cycle - those recently appointed to investigate renewed infighting have become entangled in the problem as they now also stand accused of fanning the internal strife. Following the eruption of fresh clashes in Bulawayo and Manicaland, the Zanu PF politburo appointed a team comprising party national chairperson Simon Khaya Moyo, national ...

Uganda Health Service Providers Warned

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:25:41 -0400

State minister for primary health care, Sarah Opendi, has asked health service providers to make their messages clear to the public to reduce risks of health infections in society. "We need to provide the population with the right and accurate information during these outreach programmes because everyone has a right to make an informed decision as regards to reproductive health." ...

Liberia Court Halts Extradition Proceedings