US President Barack Obama (right) meets with Sudan Special Envoy General Scott Gration in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington March 30, 2009. The State Department said it saw little movement on issues such as voter registration and border delineation between Khartoum and the semi-autonomous South. Photo/ REUTERS

“Addressing these ongoing security concerns is crucial for achieving a lasting peace in Darfur,” the statement said.

source.nation.ke

Landlords need a court order to evict tenants and must notify them before selling their land. Some analysts welcome the new law as a way of modernising Uganda’s system of land tenure, but others see it as a political move ahead of elections due in 2011.

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Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN

MONROVIA, 27 November 2009 (IRIN) – “My first kid died because I breastfed him after my husband had had an affair,” Tina Kollie, mother of a seven-month-old in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, told IRIN. She has not breastfed any children since. “[If I breastfeed], whenever my husband has an affair my child gets sick.”

Rebecca Carter in the Buzzi Quarter neighbourhood said she stopped breastfeeding after a few months because she could not have sexual intercourse while breastfeeding – the semen will mix with breast milk, she said, making it toxic for the child.

“I didn’t want my husband to go with other women so I could not breastfeed,” she told IRIN. “I had to be available for him.”

UNICEF estimates that just 35 percent of Liberian mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding; a survey by NGO Action contre la Faim (ACF) in Monrovia estimated 44 percent in 2008.

ACF staff regularly hear widespread beliefs about breastfeeding perils: It is dangerous to breastfeed while pregnant as it could weaken the unborn infant; women should not breastfeed if a previous child has died while breastfeeding; and breastfeeding over time is dangerous as breast milk can mix with blood.

Instead Kollie, Carter and dozens of other women IRIN spoke to, feed their babies mainly rice and water.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend feeding newborns only breast milk for the first six months to reduce vulnerability life-threatening diseases or malnutrition. Aid agencies in Liberia are trying to re-frame breastfeeding and infant nutrition as a health issue.

“Working with communities on breastfeeding is a long, drawn-out job, because malnutrition is often not seen as a sickness, but is associated with witchcraft-like beliefs,” ACF Liberia head, Massimo Stella, told IRIN.

UNICEF nutrition specialist Kinday Samba agreed, saying aid agencies have to support the Health Ministry over the long term to bolster exclusive breastfeeding. “We won’t see huge changes immediately.”

Men, grandmothers key

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), ACF and others are encouraging women to exclusively breastfeed their babies up to at least six months.

Dispelling breastfeeding myths is not the key to changing women’s behavior, ACF’s Stella said; all staff can do is inform communities of the benefits of breastfeeding and trigger discussion, he said.

Women who have already changed their feeding practices can show that it is not dangerous, encouraging others to attempt change, ACF’s care practices manager, Audrey Gibeaux, told IRIN.

ACF must also target men and grandmothers in the discussion, she said.

“I always try to encourage men to come, as they have so much decision-making power in Liberian households…and grandmothers must be present as the knowledge they pass down is considered very valuable.”

Liberia has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in West Africa and grandmothers often care for babies.

All fronts

Breastfeeding messages must be spread through every channel to be effective, UNICEF’s Samba said, citing radio, posters, community groups and clinic visits as examples.

UNICEF is developing messages to be disseminated on all of these fronts, she said.

Stella agreed: “We found the prevention activities are more effective if they take place simultaneously at country level, community level and school level.”

Monitoring the impact of these efforts is not easy, Stella said. “Immediate evidence of the links among increased knowledge, behavior change and improved health cannot all be measured in medical or statistical terms.”

A UNICEF-supported infant feeding practices survey is due out in late 2009, while ACF will carry out a study of its activities’ impact in February 2010.

More red peppers, more breastfeeding

One village where knowledge has translated to behavior change among some families is Gbarnga-ta, 15km outside of Gbarnga in Bong County, where according to NGO Caritas a third of under-five children are undernourished.

Caritas, supported by CRS, has been working with residents to improve agricultural productivity and infant feeding practices.

Before, women and men thought having sex while still breastfeeding was dangerous, resident Helena Sharif told IRIN.

It was partly the success of the agricultural activities that made villagers more receptive to the NGO’s breastfeeding messages, giving them traction, say villagers.

Residents are now producing surplus aubergines and red hot peppers which they sell to nearby villages, giving them money to pay school fees, said Sharif.

Helena’s husband Tony Sharif is relieved. “We don’t worry so much about [having sex while breastfeeding] now. We do it. Things are much better than they were,” he said, prompting laughter and nods from fellow villagers.

While intensive efforts may work, some aid experts are skeptical that behavior change can be effective on a mass scale.

“It’s very difficult to change people’s behavior,” said European Commission humanitarian aid department (ECHO) representative in Liberia Koen Henckaerts.

“I’m skeptical that you can [do so] in the short term or on a mass scale. It takes a long time, and it is related to wider, entrenched issues such as poverty.”

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He will be in Norway to be paid for his intentions to bring peace to the world. That is impossible to be realised because Obama is now doubling his efforts in the war we all witness in Afghanistan.

Norway is in high gear to foot the bill when the messiah comes visiting the country on the 10th of december to get what he really does not deserve as yet, the Nobel Peace Prize. We think he was simply given the award in order to lure him to visit Norway. By visiting the tiny country in the north, the world media will be there and that is what Norway likes to see so that they are not forgotten by the International community. The Norwegian politicians love attention and will do everything possible to get it, even giving grants to countries around the world in their efforts to be recognised on the world stage. One wonders what Norway would do if they did not have oil to sell and using the proceeds to lure the world to recognise its existence.

In Oslo at the moment, people are being searched in order to eliminate any threat to the messiah – Obama. People who run businesses in central business district of Oslo , the city centre, will be screened and vetted before they are alllowed to open their businesses on the 10th, and the 11th of december – the two days the messiah is expected to technically own the streets of Oslo.

With his wife Michelle Obama, without their two children, the messiah will take over Oslo city. And for what? They say because he wants to bring peace to the world. What a mistake! Do you give a man or a woman a gift because he or she plans to bring peace?

Let us take an example of a woman who wants to get a baby. It is like giving an award to a woman who says I want to get pregnant next year. First, one must wait and see the woman pregnant and wait and see the baby then award the bearer.

The Nobel Peace Prize has lost value after this latest function where one is awarded the prize – using the award to encourage for results that may never come. The intention of the Prize by Mr Nobel was to award achievement not intention to achieve.

By Chief Editor Korir

African Press International.

According to Nigeria’s constitution, the President’s duties are carried out by the Vice President once the Head of State writes a declaration to the heads of the Senate and House of Representatives that he is going on leave or otherwise unable to carry out his official functions. (Reuters)

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Photo: IRIN

NAIROBI,  – A new Ugandan study adds to a growing body of evidence that providing home-based antiretroviral (ARV) care in low-income settings can be as effective as facility-based interventions.

The study, run by The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), a national NGO, recorded the progress of 859 patients receiving home-based care in the district of Jinja in southeastern Uganda, and 594 receiving care at clinics in the town of Jinja, from Feb 2005 till Jan 2009.

“In terms of patient survival, patient retention and virological failure [an increase in viral load after taking ARVs], the patients in both arms of the study had very similar results,” lead author Dr Shabbar Jaffar, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s department of epidemiology and population health, told IRIN/PlusNews.

In home-based care, 16 percent of patients had virological failure, compared with 17 percent in facility care; 11 percent of patients in both arms of the study died during the course of the research; one percent of patients receiving home care were lost to follow-up, and two percent of those receiving clinical care.

“We also found that for patients, the cost of home-based care was significantly lower because they did not have to make as many clinic visits. Costs incurred by the healthcare service were also slightly less for home-based care, but not by much,” Jaffar said. Overall, the median cost of a clinic visit was US$2·30, about 13 percent of the reported monthly cash income for men, and 20 percent for women.

Task-shifting

Trained field officers on motorcycles visited patients in the home-care group every month to deliver drugs and provide adherence support; patients in the facility-based group obtained drugs from the clinic each month and had routine reviews with a medical officer and counsellor every three months.

“The main significance of this study is that it shows that programmes can successfully roll out care, using non-clinical workers,” Jaffar said. “The need to rely on clinical staff is not as great as previously thought.”

According to the UN World Health Organization, Uganda has only one doctor for every 22,000 patients, and an overall health worker deficit of up to 80 percent. Other African countries are not much better off: Tanzania has just 2.3 doctors per 100,000 people, while Malawi has 1.1 doctors for a similar population.

“Systems like South Africa’s, where HIV service delivery is so highly medicalized, are not necessary, and can in fact inhibit wider access to these vital services,” Jaffar noted.

Several southern African countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho – have allowed nurses to initiate and manage ARVs, but South Africa, where the doctor-patient ratio is better than many African countries – 69.2 doctors for every 100,000 people – still largely relies on doctors to manage HIV treatment.

Experts estimate that if this country is to reach its target of providing ARV coverage to 80 percent of people in urgent need of the drugs, it would have to more than double the number of people currently starting treatment annually.

Uganda’s home-based care research programme also allowed health workers to provide HIV counselling and testing to other family members, which would not have been possible in the clinical setting, where a patient is usually seen alone. Jaffar said the additional services were very well received.

“Another thing we thought we might find was stigma; we had been warned that we would find that homes that were visited by these workers would be stigmatized by the community, but this is not what happened at all,” he said. “In the Ugandan case, TASO had a good relationship with the community prior to our arrival; in a different setting, stigma could be an issue.”

A need for training

The field officers used in the study had degree qualifications or college diplomas, and received four weeks of intensive training at the start of the study, with subsequent yearly refresher courses in the principles of ARV therapy and adherence support.

A recent Ugandan study found that many clinical officers, nurses and midwives were prescribing ARVs without sufficient training.

“Rolling out home-based care would mean providing staff with training and support mechanisms; effectively you are creating a new cadre of health worker, one that is easy to get hold of, easy to train and easy to retain,” Jaffar said.

The researchers are exploring the possibility of expanding the same model of home-based care to other chronic health conditions such as tuberculosis and cardiovascular disease.

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Photo: Noorullah Stanikzai/IRIN

Shah Bibi says at nights her children cry from cold

KABUL,  – The onset of winter means freezing nights, cold-related diseases and more problems for the children at an informal settlement of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the western outskirts of Kabul city.

“They lack access to adequate food, shelter, healthcare, safe drinking water and sanitation, education, and are vulnerable to forced labour, sexual exploitation and many other problems,” Paola Retaggi, the coordinator of a Child Rights Consortium (CRC) led by Switzerland’s Terre des Hommes in Kabul, told IRIN.

Many IDP children either beg or work on the streets while some fall prey to the insurgents who have been accused by the UN of using children for military purposes.

“Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born,” Daniel Toole, regional director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for South Asia, was quoted in the media as saying on 19 November.

About a quarter of Afghan children die before their fifth birthday (257 per 1,000) mostly from preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, according to UNICEF. The country also has some of the worst child malnourishment, stunting, underweight and vitamin deficiency figures in the world.

Half the country’s estimated 25 million population is below 15 but millions of Afghan children are deprived of their basic rights and are vulnerable to different forms of violence, aid agencies say.

“Internally displaced children suffer the most among all other children,” said Retaggi of the CRC.

More than 262,000 people are displaced in different parts of Afghanistan, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Conflict, natural disasters, poverty and communal tensions are among the major factors.

Little help

Between 2002 and 2005 more than one million people were internally displaced in Afghanistan, according to aid agencies. Most IDPs were accommodated in camps in Kandahar, Helmand and Herat provinces where UN agencies delivered essential aid.

Photo: Noorullah Stanikzai/IRIN

Aid agencies say IDP children lack access to adequate food, healthcare, education and protection

The UN-backed assistance programme ended in March 2006 and the IDPs were encouraged to return home in a bid to prevent a protracted emergency.

Many IDPs resettled in their original areas mostly in the northern provinces but tens of thousands have remained in camps, saying it is still unsafe for them to move back.

The ongoing conflict and recurrent natural disasters have added to the number of displaced families in the country over the past few years.

However, the UN and government have opposed the establishment of new IDP camps, particularly for conflict-affected families, and little sustainable aid has been provided to them.

“Refugees are assisted and protected by UNHCR but no agency has a clear mandate to assist IDPs,” said CRC’s Retaggi, adding that IDP children were particularly deprived of protection and assistance.

“What we fail to do [for] these children now will with no doubt reflect on the future of the entire country in a couple of years,” Hansjorg Kretschmer, head of the European Commission Delegation to Afghanistan, told a press conference on 22 November in Kabul.

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Photo: Nicholas Reader/IRIN

A woman pounds millet in a Niger village (file photo)

DAKAR, 27 November 2009 (IRIN) – Some communities in the Sahel region could face “extreme food insecurity” after erratic rains this year deeply cut cereal production particularly of the staple millet, food security experts say.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, FEWSNET, in a 25 November alert says 2009 millet production in Burkina Faso, central Chad, northeastern Mali, Niger and northern Nigeria is likely to be 30 percent below average.

Total production for the region should be near average given surpluses in some areas, but how cereals flow through grain markets will be critical. Experts say rain is just one of many factors affecting whether Sahelian families find enough to eat; local markets play a pivotal role.

“If food flows relatively freely from surplus to deficit areas, availability in affected areas will be sufficient to meet needs,” FEWSNET says. “Access to food markets, however, will be constrained by high prices and reduced incomes.”

If governments restrict cereal flows, poor farmers in Niger, Chad and northeastern Mali could face reduced availability, high prices and locally extreme food insecurity, the alert says. “Every effort should be made to encourage the free movement of cereals across borders.”

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Photo: Jefri Aries/IRIN

The remains of a mosque following the 30 September earthquake in West Sumatra (file photo)

JAKARTA, – Predicting earthquakes is an inexact science – which is why disaster preparedness remains key to saving lives, scientists say.

Experts have forecast that a long undersea faultline along Indonesia’s Sumatra Island is due to produce a powerful and devastating earthquake in the next few decades.

Sections of the fault, called the Sunda megathrust, have ruptured a number of times over the past decade, causing several earthquakes in the region.

A major earthquake could trigger a tsunami that could result in casualties and damage equal to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, writes Kerry Sieh, a scientist at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, in an article made available to IRIN.

“To those living in harm’s way [on] the coasts of western Sumatra, it should be useful to know that the next great earthquake and tsunami are likely to occur within the next few decades, well within the lifetimes of children and young adults living there now,” the article states.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake that devastated West Sumatra province and killed more than 1,100 people on 30 September originated near that faultline, according to experts.

“We don’t know when such a great earthquake will happen. It could be tomorrow, next year or the next five years,” said Fauzi, head of the Earthquake Center at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta, who like many Indonesians only uses one name.

“It will be much more beneficial if we focus on preparedness. Earthquakes don’t kill, but collapsed buildings do,” he told IRIN.

Fauzi said between 1991 and 2009, Indonesia was hit by 43 major earthquakes, 15 of which generated tsunamis. The 30 September quake in West Sumatra resulted in a tsunami, though it was very small, he said.

Predicting earthquakes is also a sensitive issue in Indonesia and false rumours could create panic, Fauzi warned. “When scientists say an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 is likely to occur based on scientific findings, people refuse to go to school or work and SMS relatives,” he said. “The public talks about tomorrow, while scientists talk about years.”

Forecasting

Wahyu Triyoso, a geologist with the Bandung Institute of Technology, said the magnitude of an earthquake correlates with the size of the fault.

“If we could measure the amount of slip precisely, probably we could make rough estimates and we can make necessary preparations,” he told IRIN. “Forecasting means little if we don’t know the fault size, the dimension, length and width.”

Triyoso said even though knowledge of a potential earthquake was useful for scientists, it would be hard to communicate to the general public.

Photo: Jefri Aries/IRIN

Earthquake preparedness is key, say experts (file photo)

“If we say a certain place is dangerous and the public panic, it could become a social disaster,” he said. “So at the moment, preparedness is the best course of action,” he said.

In West Sumatra, an NGO called the Tsunami Alert Community (Kogami) has been working to instil a culture of preparedness among the population since 2005.

Kogami has been providing training on disaster preparedness in schools and communities in the provincial capital Padang, teaching them what to do should an earthquake and a tsunami hit.

The group has mapped out evacuation routes, with high-risk areas zoned red, while low-risk areas are zoned yellow.

It is introducing similar programmes in other districts in cooperation with other NGOs.

“Many people [live] in fear because they have received little information about earthquakes and what to do when a disaster happens,” said Patra Rina Dewi, Kogami’s executive director.

“We know we live in an earthquake zone and our job is to equip people with necessary knowledge,” she said.

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ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo addresses a press conference at Windsor Golf Club in Nairobi on November 7, 2009. He has requested judges to open an inquiry into Kenya’s post election violence. Photo/FILE

The indictment of key post-election violence suspects drew closer on Thursday after International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked for the go-ahead to start investigations.

He also signalled that new names could come up for prosecution as his office would compile a list based on evidence from various reports. “I will collect evidence and decide who will be the suspects. There is of course the Waki Commission list but legally the court makes its own conclusion,” he said.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta (left) confers with Agriculture minister William Ruto (right) during a fundraising at the Pan Afric Hotel to raise funds for the Mau Forest evicted settlers residing by the road side. A total of 5 million shillings was raised. Looking on is Special programmes minister Naomi Shaban. PHOTO/ Fredrick Onyango

It was billed as a simple fundraising event for squatters evicted from the Mau Forest, but the loaded political speeches pointed to a new political grouping united by a common antipathy towards Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Mr Ruto questioned why some people did not want the harambee to take place yet similar fundraisers had been held for Sachang’wan, Nakumatt and Faza Island fire victims.

A notable person who sent representation and a donation was President Kibaki’s son Jimmy, who has been trying to cut his political teeth as sponsor of the Simama Kenya initiative.

Mr Ruto said the success of any leadership was measured by how it took care of the weak, the vulnerable and the poor.

“A leadership that calls them criminals and says they are shedding crocodile tears is wanting. Our job is to take care of the weak, the poor and vulnerable. You cannot fight poverty by creating more poor people,” he said.

Dr Kuti called on Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta to organise meetings every Saturday in all parts of the country to assist Kenyans suffering from “oppression like those in Mau”.

Nowhere to go

“We can’t comment on that,” he said.

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Sudan’s vice-president Salva Kiir Mayardit. PHOTO/ FILE

Until Mr Kiir finally flew out of the Gulu Airfield, a swarm of police, army officers and the Presidential Guard Brigade personnel cordoned off the area. Reporters were not allowed anywhere near the accident scene.

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US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama share a moment as they await the arrival of India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur for a state dinner in Washington, November 24, 2009. REUTERS

“The whole birth certificate controversy. From what I’ve read, there’s no proof Obama isn’t a Muslim. And I don’t believe there’s any racism [in the billboard]. I think that should be a question asked to any president who — they have some questionable backgrounds.”Supporters of the birth certificate theory believe the Certification of Live Birth produced by the state of Hawaii is a forgery. (Agencies)

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By Ben Agina and Beauttah Omanga

President Kibaki made a hotline phone call to Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta to ask them not to attend a funds drive in aid of Mau Forest evictees.

But Uhuru defied the President’s request and went on to attend the controversial fund raising, at KICC, Nairobi on Wednesday.

The President intervened following Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s request during their meeting at Harambee House on Tuesday. The meeting came as the Head of State was preparing to fly out to Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago to attend the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government meeting.

Raila is said to have urged Kibaki to call the two, arguing their participation in the fundraising would portray the Government in a bad light. Sources privy to the Harambee House meeting, said the President picked up his hotline and reached his principal assistant, and communicated the message to him.

The President could not reach Uhuru for some time, but when he did, the message was equally clear: “As senior Cabinet ministers it would not look good if they participated in the harambee and yet the Government had its own programme of dealing with the humanitarian crisis.”

“The President was very clear that the two leaders should not go for the event… I cannot tell you how Kalonzo and Uhuru reacted to the President’s call,” the source close to those who attended the meeting confided.

However, last night, Uhuru defied the President and attended the fundraiser. He was received with a great applause as he walked into the Panafric Hotel where the fund raising was being held.

The fundraising, which was aired live by vernacular radio station Kass FM, started with a word of prayer.

The vocal Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny was the Master of Ceremonies in the event that was attended by more than 30 MPs including Cabinet Ministers and Assistant ministers by the time we went to press.

Big things

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka

Cabinet ministers who were in attendance were Najib Balala, Mohammed Elmi, Mohammed Kuti, Franklin Bett, William Ruto and Dr Naomi Shaban.

Assistant Ministers were Charles Keter, Aden Dualle, Beatrice Kones, Kareke Mbiuki and Wakoli Bifwoli.

MPs were Kiema Kilonzo, Prof Kaloki, a close ally of Kalonzo, Silas Ruteere, Cyrus Jirongo and Mithika Linturi.

In his speech, Mbiuki, who is Ruto’s Assistant Minister said the team assembled at the Panafric Hotel was destined for big things and they will be in government come 2013.

Statements were made against the Prime Minister with some leaders talking of a dictator in Government who must be tamed.

Jirongo and Wakoli said the MPs have themselves to blame since they put the wrong people in power.

The MPs said it’s the right to be at the harambee and nobody should dictate to them how to conduct their affairs.

The Harambee House meeting was attended by Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, President’s advisor Nick Wanjohi, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the PM Mohammed Isahakia and Secretary of Administration in the same office Caroli Omondi.

The relationship between Kalonzo and the Prime Minister has been frosty and his earlier intention to attend the fundraising was being seen as meant to spite Raila.

Their cold war started in 2002 after Raila declared “Kibaki Tosha” at the time when Kalonzo thought he would be the Narc presidential candidate.

breach of protocol

The VP has stepped up efforts to shore up his political standing in Rift Valley, against the backdrop of a falling out in ODM over the Mau saga.

A fortnight after the unveiling of the Grand Coalition Cabinet Kibaki, Raila and Kalonzo toured the Rift Valley, their first visit to the region since ceasation of violence following the bungled 2007 presidential election.

That afternoon on April 25, last year, the VP received a hostile reception at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

A section of the crowd heckled and booed when the VP took the microphone, but Kalonzo braved the hostility pleading: “Let those who think that I’m hurting them when I speak forgive me.”

Earlier the PM had spoken, ignored the VP, and invited the President to address the meeting.

But before the President spoke he allowed the VP to speak first, prompting Raila to protest, citing breach of protocol.

One-and-a-half years later, the political wheel has gone full circle and Kalonzo is angling to make inroads into the region believed to be slipping away from Raila’s political grip.

Last weekend the VP held meetings in Eldoret North constituency, represented by Agriculture Minister William Ruto.

Ironically, Raila is now being painted the villain for his stand on the conservation of Mau Forest Complex. The issue, though agreed by the Cabinet and Parliament, has generated heat, as competing political interests play out.

The Mau saga has worsened the frosty relationship between Raila, the ODM leader, and Ruto, one of two deputy party leaders

Factional feuds have raged in the Orange party initially over the dissatisfaction with Cabinet appointments, which has since been shelved.

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The Deya family at Paul’s wedding. Paul is suspected to have stabbed his wife and four-year-old son, who died on Monday. Photo/FILE

UK police on Tuesday arrested a son of embattled London-based Kenyan preacher Gilbert Deya on suspicion of murder. Paul Deya, 31, was arrested after his three-year-old son, Wilson, was found stabbed to death on Monday.

Police in Nairobi say their investigations revolve around the disappearance of babies from Nairobi’s Pumwani Maternity Hospital and involve suspects in Britain, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya. His wife Mary and two other women, Miriam Nyeko and Rose Kiserem, were jailed for two years over the miracle babies saga.

The Daily Mirror, a London tabloid, reported that Paul and his wife were partners in a broke video editing business, J Okendo Ltd. A well-placed source told the Nation that Jacqueline was being looked after by her adopted West Indies family in Peckham, South London.

Paul was adopted by Bishop Deya after his biological father, Wilson Deya died in the 1970s. He arrived in the UK in late 1990s along with Deya’s other children, Amos, Dan, Rebecca, Jane, David and Moses. Moses is now in the custody of social services after DNA paternity results proved he was not Pastor Deya’s son. Paul’s brother, Walter lives in Nairobi with his wife, Annete. Paul studied media studies at Croydon College along with his cousin Dan in 2003.

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(Story: Ekoue Blamé, Lomé)

The systematic modernization of electrification network systems for effective supplies of electricity in some Ghanaian rural communities has formed part of the objective of the Ghana government.

This objective meets the light of the day following  the signature by the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development , EBID of a loan agreement worth 30 million USD with the Ghanaian government at the an impressive ceremony held at the headquarters of the bank in Lomé on the 25^th of November 2009.

Christian Adovelande, President of EBID declared that the access to electricity in the sub-saharian region of the continent is estimated at 5 per cent of the global supplies.

“But we all know that electricity is a vital factor for the creation of wealth , competitivity of our economies and the improvement of the quality standard of living of our people”, Mr Adovelande added.

“The signature of the loan agreement once more illustrates the conviction by EBID to translate into reality the commitment of the highest policy and decision makers of the Ecowas Commission that the overall development of our sub-region passes through the improvement of infrastructures”, Mr Adovelande  said.

“It is for these pertinent motive that the Bank did not vacillate for one moment to be associated with the project by accepting to finance it with a loan of 30 million USD about 94 per cent of the total estimated cost”, he  said.

According to Mr Adovelande this loan agreement brings the total of loans granted so far by the bank to about 580 million USD and represents a total growth rate of 160 per cent since the financial institution started its operations five years ago.

On his side the Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Seth Terkpor has expressed his gratitude to the India government for making available this line of credit which is used today to finance vital project in the sub –region.

“ We take note that this loan facility represents one of the largest packages for a single project granted by the Bank to a member country. The use of the money to provide electricity for the 106 communities in the Brong-Ahafo and Ashanti regions will improve living standards , particularly through entrepreneurship activities”, Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Finance and economic Planning declared.

He also said that the program is based on verifiable criteria such as a community living within 20 kilometres radius of existing 11 KV or 33 KV network , provision of low voltage poles, and wiring of at least one-third of community houses.

According Ghanaian Deputy Minister Seth Terkpor the program which is entitled SHEP will be carried on 6 phases and is targeting to increase the national access rate from 54 per cent to 60 per cent by expanding the MV networks to the rural areas.

It will be recalled that the India government accorded through EXIMbank of India a line of credit valued at 250 million USD to the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development in 2006 to facilitate the financing activities of the bank.

end

By Beatrice Marshall [at The Hague] and James Ratemo [in Nairobi]

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has made plain his action plan for Kenya’s case. In an exclusive interview with KTN a day before he tries to persuade a three-judge bench he has a solid case, Mr Moreno-Ocampo predicted he would have the go-ahead to investigate by mid-December. However, he said he would not make public names in the ‘secret envelope’ on Friday. Instead, he could spill the beans by mid next month.

The prosecutor will file a request to three pre-trial chamber judges to open investigations into the Kenyan situation on Friday. He will visit Kenya next February or March to meet victims of post election violence one on one.

Moreno-Ocampo said the names in the envelope should be made known by the judges if they grant permission to his request for investigations. He said the judges should reach a decision by mid-December and he expects to begin indictments mid-next year.

“When the judges say ‘Yes’, this is just the beginning. I will go to Kenya and meet the victims. Tomorrow (Friday) is just the first formal step,” he said.

Asked if he was already gathering evidence on the Kenyan case, he said: “We cannot collect evidence yet as we have not been given authorisation by the judges. What we will present is the basic information from the Waki Commission and other reports, United Nations reports and others, describing the different problems.”

He said the first step was the meeting in Nairobi with President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Ocampo during his recent visit to Kenya. Photo:File/Standard

He sought to downplay the fact that Kenya did not formally refer the case to the ICC as agreed in a July 3 deal with his office.

Comprehensive solutions

“We are working as a part of the Kenyan system,” he said. “I am a little piece in the search for a comprehensive solution for the Kenyan problem.”

On the victims who wish to make their submissions and witnesses, he said ICC would guarantee their security.

Stressing the need for Kenya to find a solution to violence before the 2012 General Election, Moreno-Ocampo said he was impressed with the way Kibaki and Raila are running the Grand Coalition, saying he was sure Kenya would show the world that they are able to resolve their problems.

“That is why I say Kenya can be an example for the world on how to manage a problem and go ahead.”

Ocampo has already requested victims of post-election violence to make representations within 30 days starting this week.

Excerpts of interview

Beatrice Marshall: Will the names contained in the Waki Commission envelope be made public this Friday when Pre-trial Chamber Two takes on Kenya’s case?

Moreno-Ocampo: The names will not be made known this Friday. They will be made known by the judges when they grant permission to the prosecutor’s request for investigations. The judges should reach a decision by mid-December and the prosecutor expects to begin indictments mid next year.

Question: What should we expect next?

Answer: Tomorrow I will file a request to the pre trial judges to open investigation into the Kenyan situation? We cannot collect evidence yet as we have not been given authorisation by the judges. What we will present is the information from the Waki Commission and other reports… UN and others. When the judges say ‘Yes’, this is just the beginning. I will go to Kenya and meet the victims. Tomorrow is just the first formal step. I am a little piece in the search for a comprehensive solution for Kenya.

Question: Will the names of victims who shall be making representations to the pre-trial judges be made public and is their security assured? Have you received representations so far from victims of post-election violence after your notice on Monday? If so, how many and who is facilitating their coming to the ICC?

Answer: The prosecutor will come to Kenya in February/March and meet with the victims. The names of the victims making representations will not be made public. The victims are to make their representations to the pre trial judges directly.

Question: Has anything changed as concerns the number of key suspects you are eyeing from Kenya? In the recent past, when you visited Kenya, you said ICC would take on two or three chief suspects with the rest being left for a local tribunal. Has that changed?

Answer:No. But it may depend on the investigations to be conducted by the prosecutor. This will come to light only after he begins investigations.

Question: Is the commitment from Kenya’s two principals to co-operate with ICC sufficient to ensure smooth prosecution?

Answer: Yes, there is commitment. It is a work-in-progress. The two principals gave their commitment to co-operate.

Question: What should Kenya do to avoid a repeat of the violence?

Answer: It is necessary for Kenya to find a solution before 2012. People tell me that every time there is an election there is violence, but 2008 was the worst. I am very impressed about how the leaders are managing the coalition. The leaders can show the world that they are managing this problem and there will be no violence in 2012. That can be an example for the world.

source.standard.ke

US First Lady Michelle Obama. Google has apologised over a racially offensive image of Michelle Obama which appears when users search for her images. Photo/REUTERS

But he said it would be a “very slippery slope” if Google were to try to police the limits of free speech.

Interestingly enough, in his book Krekar, who considers himself a true Muslim scholar, is very dismissive of Osama bin Laden and most other ‘leaders’ whom he thinks do not really know Islamic law. And yet, here he suggest Bin Laden as the next Caliph [ie, Mohammed's stand-in]. (By IslamInEuropeBlog)

The entire interview is available on YouTube (in Arabic).

———–

In a new interview Mulla Krekar says that he wishes Osama bin Laden and other radical Islamist leaders will be heads of an Islamic super-state.

“The Muslims will become like the Jews in Europe, right until they establish a caliphate [ed: Islamic state]. Without a state we have no value,” says mulla Krekar in a new interview with the al-Hiwar TV channel.

The interview was broadcast on the Arab satellite channel in October, and is accessible on YouTube. Neither the Norwegian nor the international press mentioned this interview earlier.

In the interview mulla Krekar speaks with the Islamist scholar Azzaz Tamimi. In the long interview conducted in the mulla’s home in Grønland, Oslo, he also deals with the conditions for dialog with the West. In this context Krekar clarifies what he thinks of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

“When we have an Islamic state, lead by one like Osama Bin Ladne, with a foreign minister like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar or Ayman Al-Zawahiri, then we can speak with then [ed: the West], as equal parties,” says Krekar.

Hekmatyar is the leader of the Taliban-allied party Hezb-e Islami in Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri is bin Laden’s deputy in the al-Qaeda terror network.

The interviewer Tamimi, who like Krekar has a background in the Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, confronts the mulla saying his statement will make the Norwegians afraid.

“This, that you hope for an Islamic state led by Osama bin Laden, it makes the Norwegians scared?,” asks Tamimi.

“Yes… even if it scares them – good!”

Krekar doesn’t regret the interview with the Arab TV channel.

“What do I have to lose in this interview? I get attention from south and north regardless. This interview doesn’t hurt me,” Krekar said in commentary to VG Nett.

Q: Do you support Osama bin Laden?

A: I describe him as he is, I compare him. If I supported al-Qaeda, I would say it without fear,” says Krekar and repeats that he has no connections with the terror network.

In the interview Krekar uses the word “Caliphate” to describe the state where he sees the al-Qaeda heads as leaders.

“The Caliphate is the final station for this movement. Jihadists think that all borders are illegitimate. With the exception of the Islamic emirate under the Taliban, no state today is legitimate in their eyes. The Jihadis are engaged in winning territorial control, doesn’t matter where, and establishing emirate they think will expand and overlap each other and then grow together into an over-national unit,” says terrorism expert Brynjar Lia of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment.

“But they’re less clear on what this will be and how it should look.”

Q: Krekar says that when such a Caliphate is founded, it can be relevant to have dialog?

A: This is not so different from what Zawahiri and others have said. If the USA pulls back from the Islamic world and Israel stops to exist, the Jihadists can consider dialog. The West can continue to exits as long as they accept the Caliphate as a dominating power in the world. They have offered a ceasefire several time to the Americans and Europeans, but not to Israel and the Jews.

In the interview Krekar says that he won’t rule out that in 20 years there can be an Islamic state led by Osama bin Laden, and suggest that Muslims should treat the est in the same way the West treats Muslims.

“Which of our enemies aren’t like us? Why are we not proud of those who stand in the middle of the battle and frightens the world’s biggest superpower?” asks Krekar rhetorically and points to the fact that Israeli and American leaders also boast of their own efforts in war.

In the interview he also claims that the Jihadist Islamist group Ansar al-Islam continues to fight against the Americans in Iraq and controls several areas there, though he admits that the resistance has weakened after the Americans allied with the Sunni Muslim tribe leaders in order to limit the uprising.

“Thank God,” says Krekar to VG Nett about Ansar al-Islam’s ongoing activities.

Q: Do you have any connection with them today?

A: “I have nothing to do with them,” says Krekar and end the short telephone interview with VG Nett.

Source: VG (Norwegian) and islamineuropeblog

Marakwet West district children’s officer Peter Kutere said the government had criminalised forced circumcision of girls and warned parents that they risked being jailed if their daughters underwent the rite.

source.nation.ke

Only quick, concerted international action can avert a nationwide war and keep the peace.

By Eric Reeves

Northampton, Mass. – Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is on the verge of plunging into yet another north/south civil war. International failure to guarantee the key provisions of a linchpin peace agreement means that a renewed war could be the most widespread and destructive in the country’s half century of independence.

The 2005 “Comprehensive Peace Agreement” (CPA) between the present National Islamic Front/National Congress Party (NIF/NCP) regime in Khartoum and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) ended one of Africa’s longest civil wars, with nominal agreement on security, wealth sharing, and governance issues.

However, the international community – including the African Union, the US, the European Union, and China – has not taken implementation of the peace agreement seriously enough for oil-rich Sudan. This has enabled Khartoum to renege on key elements of the agreement with little consequence and to manipulate ethnic, political, and military tensions throughout the region.

Without meaningful pressure, the NIF/NCP regime has also delayed the legislation that will guide a referendum in which South Sudan votes on whether to secede or remain part of a unified Sudanese state. The vote is scheduled for January 2011, but referendum legislation is already two years behind schedule. The self-determination vote is critical for all of Sudan, and if compromised, southern Sudanese are likely to consider this the final straw and resort to renewed war to gain the independence the majority seeks. In anticipation, Khartoum may launch a preemptive military campaign.

This is particularly bad news.

Potential war could quickly escalate to include other marginalized regions within Sudan, including the Darfur region of western Sudan. Conflict there over the past seven years has already led to the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced some 3 million people.

Increased tensions throughout Sudan make it probable that if the 2005 north/south peace agreement collapses, Darfur’s massive conflict will be but one component of the first nationwide war in Sudan, The potential of such conflict to destabilize the country and the region can hardly be overstated.

Who else would participate in a war in Sudan?

Tensions are high in the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile regions, as well as in eastern Sudan. Although lying geographically in northern Sudan, all were allied with the SPLM during the civil war that raged from 1983 through the peace agreement of 2005. More than 2 million people died, and as many as 5 million were displaced – and much of the worst fighting occurred in these areas.

That’s why Khartoum’s refusal to demarcate the north/south border, one of its most fundamental obligations under the terms of the 2005 agreement, is of urgent concern. This refusal has led to dangerous military escalation on both sides of a region lying in the midst of Sudan’s very large oil reserves. The regime’s military strategy in the event of war would probably be to control as much of the southern reserves as possible and create a vast defensive perimeter. Southern resistance would almost certainly be fierce and civilian casualties heavy.

Complicating the political situation, national elections for all government offices are also fast approaching. Though scheduled for April 2010, deliberate delays by Khartoum have made them logistically impossible. Signs already indicate that these elections will not be free and fair but rather an occasion for the regime to use its control of the electoral machinery and its vast patronage system in an effort to retain power and to regain international legitimacy.

Indeed, electoral interference has already begun in earnest. The Carter Center, for example, reports that its election monitors have not been accredited to observe the huge voter registration drive now under way.

Although the leadership in South Sudan has made its share of mistakes, it is not guilty of the massive bad faith that we see from Khartoum. Still, the reason Sudan is poised to explode lies in international failure to hold the regime to benchmarks and commitments that are clearly spelled out in the 2005 agreement, and others.

What should the international community do?

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a Sudan policy last month that aims for “a definitive end to conflict, gross human rights abuses, and genocide in Darfur” and “implementation of the CPA that results in a peaceful post-2011 Sudan or an orderly transition to two separate and viable states.” Confidential punitive and encouraging measures targeting Khartoum supposedly provide the leverage for these goals. But while this policy might be fine in the abstract, the notion that the US can fine-tune selective unilateral pressures and incentives in a way that will change the regime’s behavior in time to create a conducive electoral environment and avert war seems dangerously naive.

US pressures and incentives must be accompanied by corresponding diplomatic investment in moving key international actors to demand that Khartoum fulfill its obligations under the peace agreement. An arms embargo on all of Sudan is a key first source of leverage, especially since China is the primary supplier of weapons that clearly violate the current UN arms embargo on Darfur.

The European Union should do more to squeeze commercial and capital investments benefiting only the northern economy, and to end violations of its own arms embargo on Sudan. Britain and Norway were both instrumental in negotiating the 2005 peace agreement, and should be pushed to serve as guarantors for its implementation. Kenya was also a key CPA negotiating partner and has a clear interest in preventing resumption of war to its north. Unfortunately, the African Union Peace and Security Commission has been ineffective in confronting Khartoum over its failures to honor the CPA; it must be made to see how disastrous resumed conflict in Sudan would be for the credibility of the organization.

Only concerted, energetic international action in the near term – ideally coordinated through the United Nations Security Council – can improve the likelihood that the peace agreement will survive and avert a further slide toward war.
_____________________________
Eric Reeves
Smith College
Northampton, MA  01063

By FP Correspondent

Classic cars are all set to crossover into Tanzania today as the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic action enters Day three.

On Monday, crews traversed the sandy Coast region in Vipingo, MacKinnon Road, Mwatate before pulling in to the Taita Hills Lodge for the second day’s night stop.

Organisers had made prior arrangements to have the immigration documentations sorted out at Whitesands well in advance. Crews will only have to present their passports at the Taita Taveta border for stamping before driving into Tanzania which host Day three and four.

In addition, all arrangements are now in place for the hotel accommodation at Ngurdoto Hotel to house the drivers and officials at the two-day night halts in Arusha.

Part of the glamour includes tomorrow’s spectacular stage west of Arusha in Tanzania where the rally cars will first circumnavigate

Lake Manyara— prior to climbing to the top of the Mbulu Escarpment ascending 900 metres (2,950 feet) in a road distance of some 17kms (10.5miles).

“It is one of the most spectacular stages of the event and certainly one affording some of the most amazing views back across Lake Manyara to the Ngorogoro Crater,” Event Director Surinder Thatthi said.

This year, the rally does not stay in Nairobi for a night but concentrates on using Safari lodges for its halts. This enables it to use rally roads that take the crews to less-visited places as well as to the normal tourist sights. The major innovation this year is that no less than three of the night halts are used for two consecutive nights, namely in Arusha (Tuesday and Wednesday), Amboseli (Thursday and Friday) and Naivasha on Saturday and Sunday. With Kenya Airways on board for the third year as the main sponsors of the rally, the East African Safari Classic is able to run an event not only beneficial to the competitors and organisers, but one that can contribute economically to the country.

Surinder was enthusiastic about the commercial aspect of the classic. He said: ” Kenya stands to gain a lot from the Safari Classic in terms of revenue from the competitors, spectators and tourists. The hotels alone will earn US$ 39,5000 (Sh30,810,000) over the period of the rally. In addition to the accommodation, Kenya Wildlife Services will be paid $20,000 (Sh1.5m) plus Sh 350,000 for entering the National Parks. Direct spending by teams and their crews will amount to $2m (Sh15m) and the value to East Africa of worldwide television coverage of the event is estimated at $12 million (Sh90m).’’

source.standard.ke

This is a sign of things to come when Kenya will decide on the next president in 2012. ODM is falling, so it seems, even Kosgey the chairman is now leaving Raila and siding with Ruto. This is when we say blood is thicker than water.

Is Raila losing grip of Rift Valley?

By Biketi Kikechi and Alex Ndegwa

Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s pursuit of clearance of human settlements from Mau Forest and subsequent exchange with Rift Valley leaders Is reshaping the political landscape ahead of 2012 General Election.

Already there are signs his shadow wars with some Rift Valley leaders led by Agriculture Minister William Ruto, a battle fought without mention of names, could have opened a door for the entry into the battle for the vote-rich province by his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.

The momentum of speculation the province, which is as rich in political rifts as it is with geographical features, which give it its rugged topography, is lent credence by Uhuru and Ruto’s earlier litmus test for a Kalenjin-Kikuyu Alliance.

Kalonzo, on the other hand, is associated with the proposal for a Kikuyu-Kalenjin-Kamba Alliance, and his trouble-free public meeting in Ruto’s home turf last week betrayed his renewed interest in what the province has to offer in a presidential race.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga

To cap it all, Uhuru, who was the first to side with Ruto when the Mau evictions were mooted, will on Wednesday lead a fund-raiser for the Mau evictees together with Kalonzo.

The reunion brings together two bitter rivals of Raila who walked out on him in the heat of 2007 cruising campaigns, and Ruto, his latest political rival who has declared his name like the PM’s will be on the 2012 presidential ballot paper.

The sensitivity of the upcoming possible realignment was discernible from the fact that President Kibaki and the PM met with select top Government officials to be briefed on security intelligence report that the fundraiser could precipitate a crisis and excite emotions.

It is reported the two leaders were told the fund-raiser would cast the Cabinet as divided and undermine the Government position that there was no humanitarian crisis in the Mau, and food, shelter and transport for the affected families were guaranteed.

After the meeting at Harambee House, however, it was not clear what was decided but one thing was obvious: the harambee would go on as planned for the organisers were still publicising it on Tuesday night. There was also one other certainty, Raila was not invited to the fundraiser.

The political scenario unravelling in the Rift Valley, where Raila was last week in Bomet, seems to still enjoy grassroots support but could be losing grip of the elected leaders, took an interesting turn on Monday when ODM Chairman Henry Kosgey, also said he disagreed with the PM’s approach on the Mau issue.

Kosgey has hitherto been Raila’s dependable ally in the province, having even directly warned Ruto’s bid for the Presidency if not well thought-out could alienate the community from other Kenyans.

The renewed clamour for a grip of the Rift Valley is triggering questions whether the PM will be a victim of Mau conservation, for which he has said for nationalistic and environmental reasons he is ready to pay the price. It is bound to raise the question how would he plug the hole left in his battleship by the exit of Rift leaders, if it happens. He has already showed signs he would be working with the non-Kalenjin communities in the province such as the Masai and Turkana, as well as directly engaging Kalenjins by bypassing their leaders. The warm reception in Bomet and Pokot last week must have buoyed him as it appeared to show he is still popular at the grassroots among the wider Kalenjin community.

Two local MPs, the Reverend Julius Murgor (Kapenguria) and Wilson Litole (Sigor) attended the Raila meeting last week in West Pokot, that was skipped by Information Minister Samuel Poghisio.

The minister appeared the following day at a meeting with Ruto in Trans Nzoia, the same day his party leader Kalonzo was hosted by Eldoret East MP Margaret Kamar in her constituency in Uasin Gishu, under which Ruto’s falls.

Kalonzo flew to the region in a Kenya Airforce helicopter last week and spent the whole weekend meeting with allies and courting new political friends.

Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny says Kalonzo first reached out to the Rift Valley electorate when he sided with leaders in reconciling communities after the post-elections violence.

“We all wanted people reconciled after post-election violence while some of the leaders we supported during the last elections demanded that our leaders be tried in courts of law when they knew very well that post- election violence was not planned,” said Kutuny.

Kutuny said the Mau issue has further isolated Raila because Ruto, Uhuru and Kalonzo have demanded that alternative land be provided before people are evicted,” said Kutuny.

Kalonzo and Uhuru also helped defeat the vote of no-confidence Motion tabled by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale against Ruto in Parliament.

Kalonzo recently added an extra ‘K’ on the earlier mooted ‘KK’ alliance, indicating he was ready and willing to lead his Kamba community into forging an alliance with Ruto in the Rift Valley and Uhuru in Central Province.

Ruto was expected to meet Kalonzo at Segero AIC Church on Sunday, when Raila moved his tour to Chepalungu in the South Rift. Ruto’s allies Eldoret Mayor William Rono and Wareng County Council chairman Paul Kiprop were with Kalonzo throughout the tour.

Both Rono and Kiprop made veiled attacks on Raila for allegedly pushing “our People out of the forest like wild animals”.

Kalonzo took the opportunity to support the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission led by Betwell Kiplagat instead of threatening to handle post-election violence cases through courts.

During the tour, Raila insisted that the squatters had to be moved out of the forest to pave way for rehabilitation, while Kalonzo complained those being evicted were being “treated like chicken”.

Kalonzo has stepped up efforts to shore up his political standing in Rift Valley against the backdrop of the falling out in ODM over Mau saga.

“He (Kalonzo) has been very consistent in dealing with issues that directly affect people in the North Rift region and other parts of the province,” said Cherangany MP Kutuny.

But the latest storm on Mau, for which Ruto claims Cabinet never agreed on evictions, is seen as a political smoke screen. On Tuesday Ruto said on phone it was not fair for anyone to introduce politics on such a monumental issue like Mau.

“Those who are trying to introduce politics want to subvert the serious humanitarian issues in Mau,” he added. In July Uhuru stepped in the row over compensation of those evicted from the forest, saying he was looking for funds in what was seen as tacit support for the Ruto camp.

Dissenting Rift Mps have also said they would not mind a vote of no confidence against the PM.

source.standard.ke

An oil rig prepares to drill in western Uganda, near the shores of Lake Albert, June 15, 2007. UK-based Tullow Oil found a natural gas field in one of its exploration blocks in western Uganda, but its size is unknown. PHOTO/ REUTERS

Uganda now has nine exploration blocks from its northern border with Sudan through Lake Albert on the western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and south to Lake George. (Reuters)

source.nation.ke

Congolese warlords Germain Katanga sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague November 24, 2009. Photo/REUTERS

Victims may participate in the trial by expressing their views and concerns if it is done in a way consistent with the principle of a fair trial. They can also seek compensation.

Tuesday’s trial is the ICC’s second trial and the first involving charges of murder after the court’s debut case focused on charges alleged Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga enlisted and conscripted child soldiers to the military wing of his UPC. (Reuters)

source.nation.ke

He is the president of the Children’s Parliament, but David Malingi said he was humbled to share a table with Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo and Unicef country representative Olivia Yambi during the launch of the state of the world’s children web site on Friday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi. Photo/ JAMES NJUGUNA

Malingi challenged the Judiciary, adding that delays caused trauma, pain and suffering for the child.

Every child’s rights will be protected should the draft constitution become law. Harmful cultural practices on children are not allowed in the proposed law, as are exploitation, neglect or abuse.

source.nation.ke

An emotional Oprah Winfrey flashes the goodbye sign in Chicago on Friday. She will end her popular TV show in 2011 because it “feels right in her bones” after 25 years. She urged viewers not to believe rumours of why she’s quitting. Photo/ REUTERS

Winfrey, 55, did not divulge her future plans. But her production company Harpo Inc said in a statement that once production ends on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011, she “plans to appear and participate in new programming for OWN”, the Los Angeles-based cable TV venture she formed with Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O).

Additional reporting by agencies

source.nation.ke

Former journalist Lubna Hussein poses for a photograph at the cafe where she was arrested in Khartoum, July 31, 2009. . REUTERS

Hussein said the group that paid her fine had close ties to the Sudanese government, which wanted to end the case quietly.

“I have received a lot of threats. Some were outright death threats. But I have faith, and I believe that I will die the day that I am meant to die,” she said.

source.nation.ke

After long negotiations, ZANU-PF formed a unity government in February with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led by Tsvangirai, who is now Zimbabwe’s prime minister.

source.nation.ke

A pedestrian walks past a painting depicting captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, outside a protest tent calling for his release, near the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem November 23, 2009. REUTERS

Officials who reported that a deal is approaching said Arabs holding Israeli citizenship are among the 160 newly agreed prisoners slated for release. Israel had objected to including Israeli Arabs in an exchange. (Reuters)

source.nation.ke

The tax-free, all-expenses-paid lifestyles of the president, vice-president, prime minister and MPs will be history if the draft constitution becomes law.

Most of those opposed to taxation of their allowances argued the nature of the work, which includes fund-raising for funerals, school fees, hospital bills and development projects, made it difficult to comply with the tax proposal.

MPs earn about Sh850,000 each a month, out of which only the basic salary of Sh200,000 is taxed. The allowances are mainly made up of mileage and entertainment perks, which are tax-free. The president is paid Sh2 million a month and is not taxed.

Mothers who have been camping at Kapkembu in Kuresoi wait for free drugs at a Red Cross tent on Monday. They left their homes in Mau Forest following an order requiring them to vacate the water source. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Agriculture minister William Ruto have disagreed on the eviction. Photo/JOSEPH KIHERI

Agriculture minister William Ruto signalled his determination to defend Mau settlers, describing the leaders behind the evictions as “heartless”.

At the same time, ministers John Michuki (Environment) and Kiraitu Murungi (Energy) supported efforts to eject squatters from water towers.

Mr Murungi showered praise on the Prime Minister for his “relentless war” over the conservation of the Mau “at the expense of his political career.”

Additional reporting by Alphonce Shiundu, Julius Sigei, Tom Matoke, George Sayagie and Oliver Mulanda

source.nation.ke

Belgium’s Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy arrives at a news conference after being elected as EU president during a EU leaders summit in Brussels November 19, 2009. Photo/REUTERS

Ashton, a former member of the House of Lords, Britain’s upper house of parliament, has little foreign affairs experience. But she has made a good impression as trade commissioner.

In backing Ashton, the leaders also answered calls by many EU officials for a woman to have one of the Union’s top posts.

source.nation.ke

By Osinde Obare, Dedan Okanga and Peter Mutai

A plan orchestrated by a section of Rift Valley ODM leaders to have Prime Minister Raila Odinga heckled during his visit to West Pokot District flopped.

Sources claimed the plan failed after a local civic leader disappeared with Sh100,000 meant to hire youths to boo the PM.

Security was tight at Makutano Stadium after the district security team got wind from intelligence agencies of the plot to humiliate the PM.

A contingent of police officers comprising regular, administration and General Service Unit patrolled

Makutano township and the stadium to forestall any attempt to disrupt the rally.

Fuelled tension

The presence of GSU officers, summoned from Chepchoina in Kwanza District, fuelled tension.

The local security team led by West Pokot DC Allan Machari and his Pokot North counterpart Joseph Motari monitored the situation as the public trooped to the stadium to wait for the arrival of the Prime Minister.

Police confirmed they were privy to report on the planned heckling organised by an influential ODM leader in the North Rift.

“It is true there were plans to heckle the PM but we monitored the situation to take action against any person out to disrupt the rally,” West Pokot OCPD David Wambua told The Standard on Sunday.

A source said a Cabinet minister had dished out money for the heckling mission.

But MPs from the region allied to the minister dismissed the claims and instead blamed his rivals for imagining the scheme to tarnish the minister’s

name.

“He has massive support in the entire region and can therefore not waste energy thinking about hiring

hecklers,” said an MP on telephone.

Officers were positioned at every corner of the stadium as other officers in civilian clothes mingled with the crowd.

The source claimed the minister met with 20 civic leaders from Pokot in Eldoret, where the plot was

hatched.

One of the councillors, who attended the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity, said they received cash and their leader was given Sh100,000 to mobilise youth to heckle the PM.

“The scheme to heckle the PM has failed because our leader went underground with the money meant to hire the youth,” he said.

At the stadium, Raila accused some ministers from Rift Valley of being disrespectful to decisions of the

Cabinet and asked them to quit the Government.

“If some of the ministers are dissatisfied with what is resolved by the Cabinet, they should quit because we must observe discipline,” said the PM.

Nominated MP Musa Sirma disclosed a plot by some Rift Valley leaders to use the Mau issue to move out

of ODM.

“We know their greedy plans of wanting to scuttle the party and break out using the Mau issue, but let them know the people support ODM,” said Sirma.

Eldoret ODM politician Jackson Kibor seemed to read from the same script with the PM when he castigated

some disgruntled ministers of undermining the Government.

“Whatever decision agreed by the Cabinet should be respected and there is no need for some ministers

going against such decision,” said Kibor.

Stolen victory

ODM chairman Henry Kosgey urged the Kalenjin community to stay in ODM.

He asked the community to support Raila’s quest for the presidency and avoid listening to leaders misleading them.

“Don’t be cheated that going alone would help the community ascend to power. Though our victory was stolen in the last General Election, let us support Raila and ODM as we did last time,” urged Kosgey.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Kosgey, Regional Development Minister Fred Gumo, Education Assistant Minister Ayiecho Olweny

and MPs Wilson Litole, Julius Murgor, and Sirma.

Earlier, Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny had dismissed Raila’s call for ministers dissatisfied with Cabinet

decisions to quit the Government.

Kutuny hosts Agriculture Minister William Ruto in Kitale today for a fund drive in aid of Anglican Church of Kenya.

Meanwhile, Raila visits the South Rift today for the first time since a row over the Mau Forest evictions erupted.

He will be in Chepalungu constituency, represented in Parliament by one of his fiercest critics Isaac Ruto.

The Prime Minister is expected to preside over the establishment of district headquarters at Siongiroi.

The PM, who has been criticised by a section of Rift Valley MPs since the Mau evictions started last week, is expected to use the ceremony to reach out to residents who overwhelmingly voted for him in the last General Election.

Raila will first preside over a fundraising for Siongiroi Catholic Church before moving to the site to lay the

foundation stone and thereafter address a rally.

His visit to the region comes barely four months after he toured the area and reversed an earlier decision to have the headquarters located at Sigor.

Ruto did not attend the meeting saying he had not been invited by the PM’s office and only learnt about it through Sirma.

Parallel rallies

Raila is expected to be accompanied by Roads Minister Franklin Bett, Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, Lands Minister James Orengo,

Fisheries Minister Paul Otuoma and Sirma.

On Saturday, Ruto said he would not attend the function as he reads mischief on the visit to his constituency.

He was forced to cancel a meeting, which he had called at the same venue, saying this could cause tension.

source.standard.ke

By Judy Ogutu

Agriculture Minister William Ruto now wants a report linking him to post-election violence squashed.

The minister moved to court to challenge the authenticity of the report, saying he was not given a chance to defend himself before the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) report was published.

Ruto says there is no evidence linking him to the violence, and that the allegations against him “are a result of an illegality, irrationality, breach of the rule of law, and disregard of constitutionality and denial of legitimate expectations”.

He further posits that the “conclusions drawn by the respondent in the report are arbitrary, oppressive, violate the applicable laws, offend public policy, and were made in a situation where the respondent became the investigator, prosecutor and judge”. Ruto says he was not notified of the adverse conclusions in the report, and only learnt of them when he bought a copy. He says he has never been involved in violence, stating that he addressed public rallies where he appealed to Kenyans to maintain peace.

Ruto denies ever participating in the violence and says KNCHR findings have seriously dented his reputation, affected his liberty, career, and fundamental rights.

The minister becomes the second politician to challenge the report by KNCHR. Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, has also filed a similar suit, which has been set for hearing in February by two judges, Justice Roselyn Wendoh and Justice Abida Ali Aroni.

The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence chaired by Court of Appeal judge, Justice Philip Waki, relied on the KNCHR’s report, among others, to draw a list of people allegedly behind the violence. The violence that following the disputed December 2007 presidential election claimed about 1,300 lives.

In his application, Kenyatta says he was never given an opportunity to give his side of the story to the KNCHR before it compiled its report.

In response, the commission says Kenyatta and other politicians adversely mentioned in the report, were invited to give their side of the story, but they failed to do so.

Ruto yesterday filed an urgent suit at High Court in Nairobi, saying it ought to be heard urgently given the gravity of the issue and injury to his reputation.

Fair trial

Through his advocate, Katwa Kigen, Ruto says KNCHR claims he is among the people who were involved in planning, inciting, and financing the violence were baseless and ought to be quashed.

Lady Justice Roselyn Wendoh allowed him to apply for orders seeking to quash allegations that he participated or was involved in the violence in KNCHR report, On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya’s Post 2007 Election violence.

She also directed him to file and serve the main suit on KNCHR within 21 days.

Ruto complains he was not informed of the allegations or allowed to meet his accusers. But he admits being informally asked by KNCHR to give accounts of post-election violence a day after it announced its intentions to investigate the chaos.

“I did call on them at a meeting, which was informal. I was asked if I knew anything about the logistics of the violence. I explained all I knew and my understanding of the violence, which was to the effect that it was initially, a protest over elections that had not been transparent and that in most instances it became violent because the police used excessive force to quell the protest. All I knew about post-election violence was in the public domain.”

“The applicant was not given notice with particulars, seeking his response to the allegations made in the report that he participated in the planning, inciting and financing post-election violence,” Katwa says of his client.

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Photo: Jason Gutierrez/IRIN

A policeman tries to control a mob of cold and hungry flood survivors during a relief distribution campaign by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Muntinlupa district, south of Manila

BANGKOK, 18 November 2009 (IRIN) – The UN has warned of serious health risks and food security problems over a lack of funding to assist the Philippines after the country was hit by three major storms and typhoons.

“The emergency response is being hampered by low levels of funding, particularly in areas such as agriculture, protection, shelter and education of children,” Jacqueline Badcock, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Philippines, said in a statement on 18 November.

The UN launched a flash appeal for US$74 million in Manila on 7 October after tropical storm Ketsana flooded the nation’s capital and outlying regions in late September.

Before the country could recover, Typhoon Parma hit on 3 October, and then Typhoon Mirinae on 31 October, bringing widespread damage and misery. The additional devastation, which has affected 10 million people, led to a revised appeal this week of $143.7 million from humanitarian agencies.

Donors have only handed over $26 million in funding to date – about 36 percent of the original $74 million requested, or 18.6 percent of the revised $143.7 million, according to the UN.

If funding levels do not increase substantially, about 1.7 million people living in or displaced from areas that are still flooded face serious health and protection risks, warned Badcock’s office.

Some 350,000 people may not be able to return to or rebuild their homes and more than one million children may not be able to resume their education, it said.

The disasters severely affected the critical planting season in Northern Luzon, the country’s main agricultural region, and preliminary assessments cited in the revised appeal showed some 100,000-120,000 farming households had lost 100 percent of their production and assets.

The emergency response is being hampered by low levels of funding, particularly in areas such as agriculture, protection, shelter and education of children

“The November planting season might be missed, which has longer-term implications for food security,” the statement added.

In a separate interview, Badcock told IRIN that donors had been waiting for more information about the scale of damage caused, and that the first appeal had not fully assessed the extent of the devastation.

“The extent of the appeal and the damage was not really well understood by everybody until all the assessments were done,” she said.

“This revised [appeal] has a lot more analysis … we hope it will provide more clarity and confidence to the donors that these are real needs.”

Early recovery

The total revised amount of $143,774,080 will cover the immediate and early recovery needs of 4.2 million people, including more than 520,000 children under the age of five. This is twice the population covered under the original appeal.

The revised appeal is planned to run until March 2010 and is being presented on 18 November to donors and the government in Manila, UN officials said.

“The urgent needs remain the people who live in evacuation centres, who need continuing assistance with food and shelter,” said Badcock.

“Then there are farms where the water is going down. We need to get those farmers rehabilitated and planting out for the next season, and their families need food for the next three months because they lost their harvest,” she said.

“Water and sanitation remain critical, particularly in the flooded areas, where there are huge Filariasis and Dengue concerns.”

Early recovery efforts are needed to assist people in restoring their livelihoods, as well as fully restoring schools that are damaged or being used as evacuation centres, she said.

The appeal is being made by UN agencies, NGOs, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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SOUTH AFRICA: World Cup to help create HIV awareness

Photo: Tomas de Mul/IRIN

JOHANNESBURG, – In less than seven months South Africa will host the world’s biggest single sporting event – the FIFA World Cup. The chance to reach millions of local and visiting football fans presents a golden opportunity, not only for the country’s business and tourism sectors, but also for its efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

Health officials, activists and civil society organisations met in Johannesburg on 18 November to plan how to make the most of the event, which will span 30 days and take place in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces.

Recent international media reports have suggested that the World Cup could aggravate the country’s already severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, but several speakers saw the event as a chance to address the health crisis, among them former soccer player Ronny Zondi, who represented the Sport and Entertainment Sector of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), the body coordinating HIV activities linked to the World Cup.

Stadiums, fan parks, hotels and bars are all potential venues where HIV prevention messages could be promoted, condoms and pamphlets distributed, and voluntary counselling and HIV testing made available. The need for all the organizations involved to work with each other and FIFA and its local organizing committee (LOC) to avoid duplication of efforts and confused messaging was emphasized.

LOC Chief Medical Officer Dr Victor Ramathesele urged participants to tap into FIFA’s marketing expertise to push HIV/AIDS messages before and during the World Cup.

Noluntu Ntloko, from FIFA’s marketing division, briefed participants on restrictions on the use of registered World Cup trademarks, or branding that could conflict with that of its sponsors and commercial partners, and encouraged organizations to channel any planned HIV activities through the LOC.

Through its Football for Hope Movement, FIFA is already partnering with civil society organizations involved in HIV/AIDS initiatives. One such partner, Grassroots Soccer, works with a local NGO, Sonke Gender Justice, to train soccer coaches to teach young people about HIV and AIDS.

Rather than limiting their efforts to duration of the event, several organizations are planning campaigns that will last the entire year and reach people all over the continent.

Wayne Alexander, of Dance4Life, an international initiative that enlists young people to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, told the meeting about Fair Play for Africa, a campaign to mobilise communities to advocate for quality healthcare for all Africans, and to hold their governments accountable for health provision. So far 200 NGOs have committed to getting involved and activities in 12 African countries are planned for 2010.

“We have come a long way,” commented Dr Robin Petersen, chair of the Johannesburg meeting, who recalled that when South Africa started planning its World Cup bid 10 years ago, there was pressure to downplay the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “We’re now planning to use this event to address one of the most significant crises our country is facing.”

See also: SOUTH AFRICA: Footballers join AIDS fight

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UGANDA: HIV-positive women need family planning services, study shows

Photo: Tiggy Ridley/IRIN

NAIROBI,  – HIV-positive women in western Uganda want fewer children than women not living with the virus, but often do not have access to family planning services, a new study reveals.

The study of 421 women in the district of Kabarole found that the probability of HIV-positive women wanting to stop childbearing was 6.25 times greater than it was for HIV-negative individuals.

“HIV-positive women tended to want fewer children than their HIV-negative counterparts mainly because they are aware of the risks of mother-to-child transmission and do not want to go through the difficulties associated with having an HIV-positive child,” said Walter Kipp, global health professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, and one of the study’s authors.

Statistics from the UN Children’s Fund show that in 2008, only 55 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women received antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission; close to 30,000 Ugandan children are infected with HIV at birth every year.

Kipp noted that the survey’s results highlight the urgent need to integrate family planning into HIV services. “Family planning in Uganda is not well developed, and if women want to stop having children, often they have no access to contraceptive pills or other family planning methods,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Health, 41 percent of Ugandan women who would like to stop having children have no access to family planning services. The country has the third-highest population growth rate in the world; only Yemen and Niger have higher rates.

Kipp noted there was a need to harmonize the messages of family planning groups, which tended to recommend the use of hormonal contraception over condoms for contraception, and HIV groups, which emphasized condom use for prevention.

“For HIV-positive women, we would usually recommend dual protection, which is the use of both a hormonal contraceptive and condoms,” he added.

A recent analysis published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society found that family planning was cost-effective for preventing HIV transmission and unintended pregnancies and would also reduce infant and maternal mortality and result in fewer orphans.

The survey noted there was a need for education to inform the population on the benefits of family planning and end misconceptions around the subject.

“There is a belief that hormonal contraception can affect future fertility, and that it may lead to malformed children in the future,” Kipp said. “However, the main barrier that needs to be overcome is the lack of availability of these services for women who need them.”

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BANGLADESH: Two years after Cyclone Sidr, survivors still seeking shelter

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

BARGUNA, 20 November 2009 (IRIN) – Two years after Cyclone Sidr hit the southern coastal districts of Bangladesh, many of the survivors are still homeless and at severe risk from further disasters, officials say.

Cyclone Sidr lashed the southern coastal regions of Bangladesh on 15 November 2007. Thirty districts were affected, with more than 3,400 deaths. Damage to property, livestock and crops was estimated at US$1.7 billion, with half of that in the housing sector, according to the government.

Despite aid efforts, victims still complain of a lack of assistance to rebuild their homes, while officials say more cyclone shelters are needed to protect communities from future storms.

Meanwhile, crucial work to prevent flooding remains under-funded.

Because of the country’s low-lying deltaic topography, the southern coastal areas are extremely vulnerable to floods, high tides and cyclonic storm surges.

Extensive flood embankment networks provide this region with critical protection from these natural calamities, but Sidr damaged a large part, leaving the inhabitants of six coastal districts vulnerable to tidal waves and storm surges.

According to the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), which maintains these embankments, about 46 percent or 2,341km of the 5,107km of flood embankments protecting the southern regions were partially or completely destroyed by Sidr.

Repair work to the embankments has yet to begin properly, with a lack of funding cited as the primary reason. About $100 million is required, according to BWDB estimates.

“We have yet to receive the funds to start the repair works on the flood embankments. The process is going on and hopefully within a short time we will be able to start repairing the embankments,” Abdur Rab, BWDB’s senior engineer in Barisal district, told IRIN.

Of the six coastal districts affected by Sidr, Barguna was worst hit. Most of its flood embankments were washed away and the people are faced with the daily predicament of tidal seawater inundating their land.

“Every day, during the tides, brackish seawater gets into the croplands, fouling up the fertile topsoil,” Abdul Mazid, BWDB’s executive engineer in Barguna district, told IRIN.

“Soil salinity is increasing alarmingly. Almost 1,400ha of croplands in Barguna are regularly inundated by seawater,” he said. “The entire southern coastal region is now vulnerable because of the damaged embankments.”

Lacking proper shelter

“Nearly half a million people who were displaced by Sidr are still without proper housing and need rehabilitation,” said Abul Kashem, national councillor with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS).

In Bagerhat district, farmer Jainal Abedin, 30, said he lost his father, his home and all his possessions to Sidr.

“I am still living in a hovel made of plastic sheets and debris. I spent the 5,000 taka [$73], given to me by the NGOs for rebuilding my home, on food,” Abedin, who lives in the area of Sharankhola, told IRIN.

“It has been two years since the cyclone, but I still don’t know what the future holds for me and my family,” he said.

The BDRCS is working with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which has built 1,250 cyclone core shelters, sturdier homes that can withstand a cyclone.

According to the government’s Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), the district of Bagerhat is also woefully lacking in proper cyclone protection shelters.

And for the 550,000 people living at risk in Barguna, at least 490 cyclone protection shelters are required, say LGED sources.

At present, there are 113 cyclone protection shelters in the district, which can support only 140,000 people.

“Ours is an extremely disaster-prone area, but the number of cyclone protection centres is minimal,” Kamal Uddin, chairman of Sharankhola sub-district council in Bagerhat, told IRIN. “The number … must be increased to minimize human casualties during natural disasters.”

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