Francois Hollande: I will quit if I fail on unemployment

French President Francois Hollande has said he will not seek re-election in 2017 if he fails to cut unemployment.

In a televised interview, Mr Hollande acknowledged he had made mistakes since taking office in 2012 but vowed to go "to the end" to reform the economy.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris says the interview is widely seen as an attempt by Mr Hollande to revive his flagging popularity.
Earlier on Thursday, a new poll put the president's approval rating at 12%.
Unemployment in France is currently at 11% and economic growth has all but ground to a halt.
With Mr Hollande's popularity at an all-time low, the far-right Front National led by Marine Le Pen has been making steady gains.
"I've got a thick skin. For two-and-a-half years I've been hanging on," said Mr Hollande.
"I have made mistakes. Who hasn't?"

US used Nazis as Cold War spies

Central Intelligence Agency officials are said to have turned to the country's former enemies to help beat the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Academics studying the documents say America used at least 1,000 ex-Nazis.
Some had served at the highest levels of the Nazi Party, and were recruited to work as spies for the US in Europe.
Former SS officer Otto von Bolschwing reportedly wrote policy papers on how to terrorise Jews, but was hired by the CIA to spy in Europe after World War Two.
The agency is said to have relocated him and his family to New York in the 1950s as a reward for loyal service.
Nazi collaborator Aleksandras Lileikis - linked to the massacres of tens of thousands of Jews in Lithuania - was recruited by the US as a spy in East Germany and later brought over to Boston.
There's evidence the CIA even tried to intervene when Mr Lileikis became the subject of a war crimes investigation.
Former FBI Director J Edgar Hoover (left) is said to have approved of the Nazi recruitment practice
The recruitment of Nazi assets occurred against the backdrop of Cold War paranoia and panic.
But records indicate long-time FBI director J Edgar Hoover not only approved of the use of ex-Nazis as spies, he also dismissed the horrific acts they'd been involved in during the war as Soviet propaganda.
The revelations come one week after an Associated Press investigation found the US government had paid dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals millions of dollars in Social Security benefits after forcing them to leave the US.
The payments were made through a legal loophole. The US justice department later said benefits are paid to individuals who renounce US citizenship and leave voluntarily.

UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA AND RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SIGN MOU ON ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

The Dodoma University Vice Chancellor Professor Idris Kikula and Rutgers University Chancellor Richard Edwards.

The signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities on academic partnership during a brief and colorful ceremony held at New Jersey Rutgers University campus yesterday.

 

The signing of M.O.U was after the speech, President Dr.Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete delivers his public lecture on “The role of Academic Partnerships in Finding Solutions to Global Challenges and Advancing Tanzania’s Priorities,” at Rutgers University in New Jersey United States yesterday. 
Kikwete opened up about the problems facing Tanzania, as well as the role of global partnerships in solving the challenges, at the event sponsored by the Center for Global Advancement and International Affairs and Center for African Studies.
“I am happy that the discussion is not whether international partnerships are important or not, but the discussion is how we can create this partnership in a manner that they are effective and efficient in addressing global challenges,” he said.
Kikwete has held his position since 2005, after serving as a Minister for Foreign Affairs for 10 years and as Finance Minister from 1994 to 1995.
One issue that Kikwete has strived to get the ball rolling on is the field of research and development in Tanzania.
“If we want to accelerate the pace of development, we have to do more in areas of science and tech, in areas of research,” he said. “[These are] areas where I found we were not doing well.”
After being elected president, Kikwete visited all the research institutions in the country and was shocked to discover that the institutions had hired no personnel in 10 years.

“This is really a momentous occasion for our University. … It reflects our slogan, ‘Jersey Roots, Global Reach,” Edwards said.

The battle for Africa People and Power investigates the effects of China's increasing influence in Africa.

The battle for Africa

People and Power investigates the effects of China's increasing influence in Africa. People and Power Last updated: 04 Sep 2014 07:57

Over the past decade, China's hunger for Africa's rich natural resources has seen it overtake Europe and America as the continent's largest trading partner. The West - for so long the dominant external force in Africa's affairs - has reacted to this rush of investment with more than a fair degree of unease. Commentators in Washington, London, Paris and elsewhere have openly expressed anxiety that the West's economic and political influence in Africa is waning and that 'unless something is done' this ' Battle for Africa ' as it has become known, will have damaging strategic consequences down the line. Yet they know too that China's often expressed reluctance to interfere in the local politics of other nations - or at least to attach any tiresome conditions about democracy or improving human rights to their investments and aid - is allowing some African politicians to thumb their noses at Western institutions and former colonial powers that have previously tried to make them toe the line. In other words, as seen from outside, it is a narrative about winners and losers, about the big beasts of the global world being rivals in a competition in which China currently has the upper hand. But what does this changing dynamic mean for Africans themselves? The continent is so full of promise and blessed in so many ways with things the world needs - from oil and minerals and land to vast amounts of people capital - yet it has struggled since colonial times to truly realise its potential. A few of its wealthier, better led and more stable nations are now beginning to taste some success, but elsewhere poor governance, ethnic division, corruption and strife - allied to the misbalancing effects of globalisation which have usually been to Africa's disadvantage - are keeping many hundreds of millions of people in poverty and denying them an opportunity to improve their lives. Will the fact that the continent now has an alternative source of external funding and investment and aid really change any of that? Or is the real 'Battle for Africa' about other more fundamental things - leadership, plurality, good government, law and order - which the continent has to achieve itself in order to make the most of the new opportunities that East- West competition for its resources is bringing? In this special two-part People & Power report, veteran African journalist, Sorious Samura, went to find out.

Botswana mounts crackdown on Sunday paper Editor arrested after publishing story saying President Khama was involved in an accident while driving alone at night.

Gaborone, Botswana - The arrest and brief detention of a top newspaper editor in Botswana is raising concern among journalists used to plying their trade without interference from the government. Outsa Mokone, who edits the Sunday Standard, was arrested on September 8 as part of what he calls a government campaign to intimidate the media into submission in the run-up to general elections scheduled for October 24. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=49682732471880327#editor/target=post;postID=1551440270116920928 The warrant for Mokone's arrest, issued by the Chief Magistrate for Gaborone Administrative District on September 2, relates to a possible charge of "seditious intention", which contravenes the Penal Code in the southern African nation, which has hitherto enjoyed a reputation for being a functioning democracy with unfettered press freedom.

Westgate: Kenyan guards on the frontline:: Men paid meagre salaries to secure malls and key installations sometimes pay the highest price when armed groups strike

Nairobi, Kenya - Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, stands empty and surrounded by a high steel fence. A few bullet holes dot the pale orange paintwork, but little else remains of the carnage of the second-worst attack in Kenyan history.    Al-Shabab, the armed group in neighbouring Somalia, quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was their response to the Kenyan military's intervention in their country. Stephen Juma Injusi, 32, formerly stationed at Westgate, survived the attack in 2013 [Juozas Cernius/Al Jazeera] Now through gaps in the fence, gardeners can be seen tending manicured flowerbeds. One year on, the atmosphere is that of quiet refurbishment rather than the horrors of a massacre that killed at least 67 people. Shops and bars in the vicinity of Westgate are full and thriving, and the mall is expected to reopen soon. A world away from the affluence of the Westland neighbourhood, where the shopping centre is located, is a small one-room home in the Kawangware slum in the west of Nairobi. Two children sit on a sofa - Michael, 11, is engrossed in a game on a mobile phone and his eight-year-old sister, Gloria, keeps smiling shyly and hiding behind the curtain that separates the sofa from the sleeping quarters.

Michelle Obama says the "blood of Africa" runs through her veins

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - First lady Michelle Obama embraced her family's African roots in a speech on Wednesday, telling a group of young Africans that the "blood of Africa" runs through her veins as she urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women.
Her husband had shied away from discussing his African heritage in his own remarks to the 500 Africans finishing a six-week Washington leadership fellowship on Monday, referencing his Kenyan father only once and in the question-and-answer session. But Michelle Obama said as an African American woman, her discussion with the African youth was "deeply personal."
"The roots of my family tree are in Africa," the first lady told the cheering crowd. "My husband's father was born and raised in Kenya. Members of our extended family still live there. I have had the pleasure of traveling to Africa many times over the years, including four trips as first lady, and I have brought my mother and my daughters along whenever I can."
"The blood of Africa runs through my veins, and I care deeply," Obama said, addressing her listeners as her "brothers" and "sisters."
Three months before congressional elections that could determine the fate of much of President Obama's platform, Michelle Obama's popularity remains high while her husband's has sunk.
The White House is making women's empowerment a theme in a Washington African leaders summit next week. Michelle Obama said problems with girls' education often stemmed from traditional "attitudes and beliefs" that exist even in the United States and lead to issues such as the gender pay gap and an underrepresentation of women in leadership.
She said men worldwide needed to "look into their hearts and souls and ask if they truly view women as their equals."
"I am who I am today because of the people in my family, particularly the men in my family, who valued me and invested in me from the day I was born," Obama said.
"And as I grew up, the men who raised me set a high bar for the type of men I'd allow into my life - which is why I went on to marry a man who had the good sense to fall in love with a woman who was his equal, to treat me as such - a man who supports and reveres me, and who supports and reveres our daughters as well," Obama said. (Reporting by Annika McGinnis; editing by Andrew Hay)

Kenyans dominated Obama's young leaders summit

WASHINGTON DC

Kenyans account for almost 10 per cent of the 500 young Africans chosen to take part in a leadership summit in Washington to be hosted by President Barack Obama.

A group meeting on Monday with President Obama opens the three-day series of events that includes a discussion with First Lady Michelle Obama on girls' education in Africa.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks, while Vice President Joseph Biden listens, before signing the H.R. 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. during an event in the Eisonhower Executive Building, July 22, 2014 in Washington, DC. PHOTO | AFP 

Secretary of State John Kerry, members of the US Congress and other government officials are also making presentations at an event that caps the six-week-long Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) sponsored by the State Department.

President Obama launched the YALI programme in 2010 as a way of helping groom Africa's future leaders while seeking to ensure they propagate positive views of the United States.

The 500 participants in this year's initiative, including 46 Kenyans, were chosen from 50,000 applicants from all over Africa.

“That says to us that there is a huge, huge need” for the opportunities offered through the programme, observed Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the State Department's top Africa official.

Half of those in the initiative's current cohort are women and all participants are between the ages of 25 and 35. Each of sub-Saharan Africa's 49 countries is represented in the group.

Magdalene Kelel, a project leader in the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya, was chosen for her work on HIV/Aids, youth advocacy and women's self-reliance.

When she returns to Kenya, Ms Kelel plans to work on promoting young persons' involvement in democratic processes, according to the YALI website.

Like each of the other YALI participants, Ms Kelel was awarded a fellowship to study either business development, civic leadership or public management at one of 20 US universities during the past six weeks.

Some of the young Africans will be invited to remain in the US for an additional eight weeks to complete internships at businesses, government agencies or non-governmental organisations.

A total of $10 million will also be made available in the form of grants to help the initiative's alumni start their own businesses or social enterprises in Africa and to build a network of young African leaders.

Former Chief Justice elected new African Human Rights Court head

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) has elected its new leadership body placing Tanzania’s Chief Justice Augustino Ramadhani as the new president of Africa’s continental court.

 

The new governing bureau was approved at the beginning of its 34th Ordinary Session here on Monday where Lady Justice Elsie N. Thompson was honoured the new court’s Vice President.

 

Chief Justice, Augustino Ramadhani

The current bureau replaces Hon. Lady Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo and Hon. Justice Bernard M. Ngoepe, former President and Vice President, respectively, whose terms as Judges of the Court ended this week on September 8.

 

The former Chief Justice won seven votes of the court’s 11 serving judges.

Other judges who are to join the new bureau include Solomy  Balungi Bossa from Uganda, Rafaa Ben Achour from Tunisia and Angelo Vasco Matusse from Mozambique.

Each of the court’s judges, who hail from 11 different African countries are to serve a six year term and can only be re-elected once.

 

Russian strategic bombers near Canada practice cruise missile strikes on US

Two Russian strategic bombers conducted practice cruise missile attacks on the United States during a training mission last week that defense officials say appeared timed to the NATO summit in Wales.
The Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers were tracked flying a route across the northern Atlantic near Iceland, Greenland, and Canada’s northeast.


In this August 7, 2008 photo, a Russian TU-95 bomber, or Bear, lands at a military airbase in Engels, some 559 miles south of Moscow.Reuters
 
Analysis of the flight indicated the aircraft were conducting practice runs to a pre-determined “launch box”—an optimum point for firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles at U.S. targets, said defense officials familiar with intelligence reports.
Disclosure of the nuclear bombing practice comes as a Russian general last week called for Moscow to change its doctrine to include preemptive nuclear strikes on the United States and NATO.
Gen. Yuri Yakubov, a senior Defense Ministry official, was quoted by the state-run Interfax news agency as saying that Russia’s 2010 military doctrine should be revised to identify the United States and the NATO alliance as enemies, and clearly outline the conditions for a preemptive nuclear strike against them.
Yakubov said among other needed doctrinal changes, “it is necessary to hash out the conditions under which Russia could carry out a preemptive strike with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces”—Moscow’s nuclear forces.
The practice bombing runs are the latest in a series of incidents involving threatening Russian bomber flights near the United States. Analysts say the bomber flights are nuclear saber-rattling by Moscow as a result of heightened tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.

Kenyan leader's carjacked motorcade vehicle found

A carjacked vehicle belonging to the Kenyan president's security convoy has been found in Uganda.

The BMW car was taken at gunpoint last Wednesday night in the capital Nairobi.
The director of Interpol in Uganda, Assan Kasingye, told the BBC that the vehicle would now be driven back to Nairobi.
Vehicles that belong to the Kenyan president's security detail are supposed to be highly guarded
The latest Kenyan police figures show that there are at least three carjackings reported in Kenya's capital every day.
The BBC's Paul Nabiswa in Nairobi says the theft received widespread media coverage in Kenya, despite a spokesman for President Uhuru Kenyatta trying to play down its significance.
The spokesman had said it was not part of any motorcade at the time and was only a police vehicle.
But Kenyan newspapers revealed it was being driven by a serving police inspector who is part of presidential security staff, our reporter says.
They add that at least three people have already been arrested in connection with the theft in Nairobi, Nakuru, north-west of the capital, and Bungoma, a town on the border with Uganda.

Ukraine war pulls in foreign fighters

French, Spanish, Swedish or Serb, the foreigners fighting for both sides in east Ukraine's bloody conflict hail from across Europe and come with a bewildering array of agendas. The non-mercenaries among them are motivated by causes which can stretch back to the wars in the former Yugoslavia - and even further still, to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
Russia is the elephant in the room, dwarfing any other foreign nationality, although it is increasingly hard to disentangle Russians fighting as volunteers from regular soldiers allegedly deployed on covert missions.
Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels like to talk up their foreign volunteer fighters, presenting them as latter-day International Brigades fighting "fascism". Meanwhile there has been some debate in Kiev on the wisdom of creating a Ukrainian "Foreign Legion".
Here we look at some of the foreign fighters by country of origin, in a phenomenon which, in a small way, mirrors that of young Muslims from Britain and other parts of Europe travelling to the Middle East to fight in its wars.

Russia Threatening To Drop Nuclear Bomb In Ukraine, Defense Minister Claims

Russia is threatening to use nuclear weapons if Ukrainian forces continue to fight pro-Russia separatists, the Ukrainian Defense Minister is claiming.

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On Monday, Defense Minister Valeriy Heltey wrote on his Facebook page that Russia is making threats of a nuclear attack against the country if the war continues.

“The Russian side has threatened on several occasions across unofficial channels that, in the case of continued resistance they are ready to use a tactical nuclear weapon against us,” Heletey wrote.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated rapidly after more than 1,000 Russian troops poured across the border last week. Fighting has picked up between both sides, and there are reports that Russian troops massacred hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who were trying to retreat.
The alleged mass killing took place outside a besieged city about 22 miles east of Donetsk. Reports say that Russian troops initially agreed to let the Ukrainian troops retreat, but then reneged and opened fire, leaving hundreds of bodies littered along an agreed retreat route.

China Prepares Navy Warships to Fight US Submarines

China has a glaring hole in its military strategy against the United States. Military analysts have pointed out that while China is investing in ballistic and cruise missiles to keep foreign ships away, it has little to counter U.S. submarines which would play a pivotal role in a conflict with China.The Los Angeles-class, fast attack submarine USS Hampton (C) sits moored alongside the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (L) during a visit to Hong Kong on May 17, 2011. China is researching and deploying systems to fight U.S. submarines

The Chinese regime seems to have become privy to this gap. It has been building and deploying systems designed to detect and attack U.S. submarines. Recent photos show China has also begun fitting warships with sonar systems designed for anti-submarine warfare.
Two types of ships in China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are being fitted with what appear to be variable depth sonars (VDSs). Images of the additional systems were posted on cjdby.net (which appears to be offline at the time of writing), and were picked up by IHS Janes, a leading security intelligence company.

Israel seizes most West Bank land in 30 years

Palestinians and US officials condemn move that will connect West Bank settlements to those in south Jerusalem. Dali

Putting Israel's most recent land seizure in perspective Wadi Fukin, occupied West Bank - Residents of Wadi Fukin have grown accustomed to the sounds of construction. This lush village, which sits just west of Bethlehem along the Green Line, is surrounded on three sides by Israeli settlements that are constantly growing. Dotted with olive trees and natural springs, the village of 1,200 people is known for its harvest of organic turnips, cabbage and chili peppers. But this small community has borne the brunt of heavy settlement activity for many years. One of the Jewish settlements surrounding the village, Beitar Illit, is so large that it is one of only four settlements in the West Bank classified by Israel as a "city". Israel seizes most West Bank land in 30 years Sunday brought even more bad news for Palestinians here: Israeli authorities announced that nearly 400 hectares of land nearby - in what they refer to as the Etzion settlement bloc - are now "state land". This means they are no longer privately owned by Palestinians, and therefore can be used for possible settlement construction.

US forces target al-Shabab in Somalia

US military forces conduct operation against armed group that is seeking to topple Somali government. Last updated: 02 Sep 2014 05:31

US military forces have carried out an operation against al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab fighters in Somalia, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby has said. "We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," he added in a statement on Monday. There were no further details immediately available. It come a day after al-Shabab fighters carried out a car bomb and gun attack against an intelligence headquarters in central Mogadishu, leaving at least seven fighters and five others dead. Al-Shabab fighters have targeted key areas of the Somali government or the security forces in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities - who are backed by the African Union's 22,000-strong AMISOM force - that they are winning the war against the armed group. Al-Shabab is fighting to topple Somalia's internationally-backed government, and regularly launch attacks against state targets, as well as in neighbouring countries that contribute to the AU force.

Ukraine crisis: 'Russia has launched a great war'

Ukraine's defence minister has accused Russia of launching a "great war" that could claim tens of thousands of lives.

Russia dismissed the comments, saying they only pulled the Ukrainian people further into a bloody civil conflict.
The pro-Russian rebels have been making gains in recent days
The comments came after Ukrainian troops were forced to flee Luhansk airport in the east of the country amid an offensive by pro-Russian rebels.
Meanwhile, crisis talks between Ukraine officials, rebels and Russian envoys have broken up without agreement.
"A great war has arrived at our doorstep - the likes of which Europe has not seen since World War Two," Ukrainian Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey wrote on Facebook on Monday.
"Unfortunately, the losses in such a war will be measured not in the hundreds but thousands and tens of thousands," he added.

Iraq crisis: Shia and Kurdish forces move against IS

BBC team entered the town on Monday, finding residents who had endured more than two months under siege.
The joint forces have also seized the militant stronghold of Suleiman Beg.
Meanwhile Amnesty International says that it has uncovered new evidence that Islamic State has launched a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the north.

Violence in Iraq has escalated dramatically in recent months

China tells U.S. to reduce or halt 'close surveillance' patrols

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China Tells U.S. To Reduce Or Halt 'close Surveillance' Patrols

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Thursday urged the United States to cut back on, or even stop, its close surveillance of the Asian giant using patrol aircraft, if it seriously seeks to repair damaged bilateral ties.

Ties between the world's two largest economies have been strained by competing territorial claims between China and its neighbors, some of them U.S. allies, in the South China and East China seas.

The two countries have exchanged barbs over a jet intercept of a U.S. navy patrol plane by a Chinese aircraft last week, with the United States saying the Chinese jet came within 10 m. (33 ft) of its plane over the sea.

Ukraine crisis: Nato holds emergency meeting

Nato officials are holding an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine, as the West steps up its accusations of direct Russian involvement in the conflict.

On Thursday Nato released satellite images it said showed Russian forces inside Ukraine. and said more than 1,000 troops were operating there.
Russia denies sending troops.
Pro-Russian rebels have gained ground recently. Nearly 2,600 people have been killed since April, the UN says.
Heavy fighting is continuing near the strategic port of Mariupol, on the Azov Sea. Rebel forces are trying to capture the city but Ukrainian government troops are digging in.
On Thursday the separatists seized the nearby town of Novoazovsk.
The advance has raised fears that the Kremlin might seek to create a land corridor between Russia and Crimea - a territory annexed by Russia from Ukraine in March.
Rebels are also reported to have surrounded government soldiers in several places further north, near the city of Donetsk.
Ukraine forces near the town of Ilovaysk say they are cut off and have been urgently asking for supplies and reinforcements.

Some French nationals have joined the pro-Russian rebels

Shelling has caused widespread damage in the eastern city of Donetsk

Is US Military Using Drones to Spy on North Korea & China?

The U.S. military may soon begin using long-range surveillance drones to spy on North Korea and China.

Over the past week, the U.S. Air Force stationed two unarmed Global Hawk drones at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan. The first drone touched down on May 24, Air Force officials said in a statement.

The drones will be used to gather intelligence data on nuclear sites in the notoriously reclusive country of North Korea, where 24 million people live sealed off from the rest of the world, reported the Associated Press. The Global Hawks also will likely monitor Chinese naval operations. [See photos of the Global Hawks' arrival in Japan]

The two drones are expected to remain in Japan until October, after which they will return to an American military base on the island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean, according to Air Force officials. Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, refused to discuss specific details of the clandestine drone operations in the Pacific, but said the Global Hawk's "capabilities are well known," reported the AP.
Global Hawk drones can fly at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet (18,300 meters), and are considered the Air Force's most advanced surveillance vehicles. The long-distance drones also boast impressive aerial endurance, and can perform flights that last more than 28 hours.
The planes are equipped with a range of instruments, including infrared sensors and satellite communication systems. The robotic flyers, which can provide near real-time imagery, are capable of surveying 40,000 square miles (103,000 square kilometers) of ground in one day.
A Global Hawk drone was previously used in the region to assist with disaster relief efforts in the wake of the 9.0-magnitude Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in 2011
"The Global Hawk was requested to support relief efforts within 48 hours of the disaster, prompting crews to prepare and launch aircraft only nine hours after official notification," Air Force officials said in a statement.
The drone flew over the Tohoku region and identified open roads and emergency landing zones for first responders. The plane's long-range and infrared cameras snapped more than 3,000 images of the earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged area.

NASA uses a version of the Global Hawk drones to peer inside hurricanes and tropical storms. The unmanned aircraft help scientists study the life cycles of extreme weather events, and enable researchers to develop more accurate models of these storms.

Pakistan launches Afghan airstrikes after attack

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Taliban fighters attacked several Pakistani military posts along the Afghan border Saturday, sparking an hourslong gun battle that included Pakistan launching airstrikes into Afghanistan, authorities said. Pakistan said soldiers killed 16 militants, while Afghan officials said the airstrikes killed five civilians.

The fighting was the latest cross-border attack along the volatile and porous Pakistan-Afghanistan boundary and again tests the two countries' already uneasy relations.

Two Pakistani military officers blamed the local Pakistani Taliban for the attack, saying dozens of fighters from the group crossed into Pakistan overnight to stage the attack. A Foreign Ministry statement later said "over 200 terrorists" took part.

The insurgents attacks at least two military checkpoints in the northwestern tribal region of Bajur, killing one soldier and wounding two others, local government official Shah Naseem said. Naseem said the heavily armed attackers also targeted several military posts in the border village of Nao Top, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Khar, the main town in Bajur.

South Korea urges release of its missionary sentenced to life in North Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - The South Korean government urged North Korea on Sunday to release a South Korean missionary, Kim Jong Uk, who was sentenced to life with hard labor by a North Korean court on Friday.

"It is regrettable that North Korea went ahead with perfunctory trial procedures in a unilateral manner and gave our citizen severe punishment. We strongly urge North Korea to release and repatriate our citizen to South Korea as soon as possible," South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement.

North Korea sentenced Kim to life with hard labor on Friday after convicting him of espionage and setting up an underground church. North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported that the missionary had admitted his guilt at the court.

"We have demanded North Korea free and repatriate Kim on several occasions, but it has not responded to our and the international community's legitimate demand. This clearly violates the international norms as well as universal value of humanitarian spirit," the statement added.

In an apparent stage-managed confession, Kim admitted in February to spying for the South Korean intelligence agency as well as trying to topple North Korea's isolated regime.

Pyongyang has rejected calls from Seoul for his release and for his family to visit him.
"We once again urge North Korea to provide him with safety and convenience and allow his family and lawyers to visit him until he is repatriated," the South Korean statement said.
North Korea is still holding Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary sentenced to 15 years of hard labor on charges of trying to use religion to overthrow its political system.

(Reporting by Narae Kim; Editing by Matt Driskill)

NATO to discuss reinforcing troops in Poland-German defense ministry

BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO defense ministers will discuss temporarily reinforcing their forces in Poland when they meet in Brussels this week, a spokesman for the German defense ministry said on Sunday.

It has not been decided whether the 28-member alliance will actually reinforce its Multinational Corps Northeast in Szczecin, the spokesman added.

In April Poland's defense minister said Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula made it vital that NATO station significant numbers of troops in eastern Europe and ignore any objections Russia might have.

Russia says deployment of significant NATO forces close to Russia would violate the 1997 Founding Act, an agreement between Moscow and the alliance.

Eastern European states nervous about Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and massed 40,000 troops on Ukraine's borders. NATO is trying to provide reassurance with temporary deployments of military forces and exercises.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; additional reporting by Adrian Croft in Brussels; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Vietnam and Philippines agree to oppose China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Vietnam and the Philippines will jointly oppose "illegal" Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Vietnam's prime minster said Wednesday in a rare show of public solidarity between two Southeast Asian nations wrestling with Beijing's determination to assert its sovereignty claims in the disputed waters.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, standing beside President Benigno Aquino III after they held talks in Manila, called on the world to condemn China for causing what he called an "extremely dangerous" situation in the South China Sea by deploying an oil rig near an island that both Vietnam and China claim.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, putting it into conflict with Vietnam and the Philippines, which have rival claims.

As Putin looks east, China and Russia sign $400-billion gas deal

By Alexei Anishchuk

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China and Russia signed a $400-billion gas supply deal on Wednesday, securing the world's top energy user a major source of cleaner fuel and opening up a new market for Moscow as it risks losing European customers over the Ukraine crisis.

The long-awaited agreement is a political triumph for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is courting partners in Asia as those in Europe and the United States seek to isolate him over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

                                        Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and China's President Xi Jinping review an honour guard …

Commercially, much depends on the price and other terms of the contract, which has been more than a decade in the making.

China had the upper hand as talks entered the home stretch, aware of Putin's face-off with the West.

But both sides could take positives from a deal that will directly link Russia's huge gas fields to Asia's booming market for the first time - via thousands of miles of new pipeline across Siberia that form part of the package.

Heavy gunfire at Libyan parliament

Smoke was seen rising from the parliament building in Tripoli

There has been heavy fighting outside the Libyan interim parliament in the capital Tripoli.

Syria war: Air defence chief Gen Hussein Ishaq killed

The head of Syria's air defences has died amid fighting near Damascus.

Gen Hussein Ishaq was said to have been wounded as rebels attacked an air defence base near the town of Mleiha on Saturday and later died.
He is one of a handful of high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country's civil war.
Rebels are fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a bloody conflict that began three years ago.
Despite the war, the government plans to hold a presidential election next month in the areas under its control.

No Ukraine accord in US-Russia talks

However Sergei Lavrov called his London meeting with John Kerry "constructive".
Mr Kerry said the US was "deeply concerned" about Russia sending troops to the Ukraine border and in Crimea.

The two foreign ministers met amid tight security at the US ambassador's residence in London

Mr Lavrov said Moscow would respect the result of Sunday's referendum in Crimea on whether to join Russia but Mr Kerry said the US would not recognise it.

Rwanda ex-spy chief Pascal Simbikangwa jailed in France

In a landmark trial, Simbikangwa was found guilty of complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity.
It was not immediately clear whether his lawyers would appeal.
Simbikangwa, 54, who is paraplegic after a car crash, was arrested in 2008 while living under an alias on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.

Pascal Simbikangwa lived under an alias on the French Indian Ocean island

He is the first man to be convicted in France in connection with the genocide in Rwanda 20 years ago.
Some 800,000 people - mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus - were killed over a period of about 100 days.

Devyani Khobragade: Indian diplomat re-indicted in US

Devyani Khobragade is accused of visa fraud and underpaying her housekeeper, lawyers in New York said.

It comes two days after a US judge threw out virtually identical charges on the grounds that Ms Khobragade had diplomatic immunity.

Devyani Khobragade's arrest stirred up strong feelings in India

Govt calls for establishment of mechanisms to fast-track regional integration By Carolyne Madoshi

The government has called for the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress of attaining regional integration targets so as to enable Tanzania benefit from East African Community (EAC).

 

Assistant Director-Productive Sectors in the Ministry of East African Cooperation Dr Abdullah Makame made the appeal at the weekend in Dar es Salaam when presenting a paper on the mainstreaming regional integration in the development of national budget during a pre-budget discussion forum.

EAC

 

The forum was organised by the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF).
 

EAC harmonising human drugs registration to allow free flow By Malela Kassim

East African Community (EAC) member states are in the process of harmonising the registration of human drugs to allow their free movement and increase availability of safe, efficacious and good quality essential medicines in the region.

 

The move comes amid complaints by pharmaceutical importers in the country that the registration process is slow and involves several procedures compared to some neighbouring countries.

 

Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday during the India-Tanzania Pharmaceuticals Buyer Seller meeting, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority, (TFDA) Director of Drugs and Cosmetics, Dr Adam Fimbo said the project’s guidelines are ready and awaiting approval.

 

Belgium extends 40bn/-for Kigoma, Dar projects By Correspondent

Kingdom of Belgium and the Union government of Tanzania have signed a new bilateral development cooperation programme in the tune of Euro 20 million (40bn/-) to support water and agricultural sectors in the country.

 

The agreement was signed yesterday in Dar es Salaam by the Director General of the Belgium Department of Development Cooperation, Peter Moors and the Tanzania Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr Servacius Likwelile.

Tanzania Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Servacius Likwelile.

 

APRM commends Tanzania's President's Delivery Bureau By The guardian reporter

The African Union governance assessment body-the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Tanzania chapter has commended the government of Tanzania for establishing the President's Delivery Bureau (PDB) which will implement highly prioritized projects.

 

The statement was issued over the weekend by APRM Tanzania Executive Secretary, Rehema Twalib when addressing local and international media when marking the APRM Day in Dar es Salaam.

 

She noted that among the governance gaps identified in the APRM review of Tanzania is multiplicity of plans, policies and strategies as well as poor implementation.

President Jakaya Kikwete

 

“We strongly commend the government of Tanzania for filling that gap which the APRM review identified in 2009 report. We now believe that the Big Results Now initiative will stir our socio-economic transformation,” she said.

 

TCCIA invites traders to participate in Seoul fair By Beatrice Philemon

Tanzanian traders dealing in farming, processing and manufacturing of various products have been invited to participate in the International Food Trade Fair scheduled mid May in Seoul.

 

The invitation was made earlier this week in Dar es Salaam by the Business Processes   Coordinator of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), Revocatus Kimario.

 

TCCIA

Dr Mengi to clerics: Help people to debate gas economy soberly

IPP Executive Chairman, Dr Reginald Mengi yesterday appealed to religious leaders to soberly discuss views aired on the need to empower Tanzanians to take part in and own the natural gas economy.

“It is very crucial for clerics to understand well the views aired by people on issues related to natural gas. This will help them to educate others.

As the private sector we don’t want individuals to own natural gas blocks, we want them owned by Tanzanians through groups. This is the only way to empower low income citizens,” said Dr Mengi when addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

IPP Executive Chairman, Dr Reginald Mengi

Appeal made for Tanzania to destroy its ivory stockpile

African Wildlife Foundation CEO, Dr. Patrick Bergin talks to The Guardian Staff Writer Angel Navuri, on the war against poaching currently being wage by many African countries including Tanzania. He says in part that a live elephant is much more valuable in terms of sustaining the tourism industry than a dead one and has asked African countries to make sure that the continent preserves the jumbos…

China's decision to burn more than six tons of confiscated ivory in Guangzhou (Dongguan) has been applauded by many, as China is considered to be major a market for African ivory.

QUESTION: China’s decision to burn more than six tons of confiscated ivory in Guangzhou (Dongguan) has been applauded by many, as China is considered to be major a market for African ivory, claiming the lives of as many as 35,000 African elephants annually. Even our neighbour (Kenya) at one time burnt them. What do we learn from such decision?

ANSWER: I think what we learn is that there is a growing consensus among the international community that the trade in ivory should be discontinued forever. When countries like Kenya and the United States—and now China—destroy their ivory stockpiles, what they are really saying is that they do no foresee any conditions or time in the future when selling ivory will be possible or even desirable.

In light of this growing consensus and trend, Tanzania may also want to consider its policy and practice on ivory stockpiles. It is almost inconceivable given current conditions that CITES will allow international sales of ivory for many years to come. For this reason, Tanzania should consider joining the other countries in destroying their stockpile.

QUESTION: While the government has seriously initiated anti-poaching campaign yet it is planning to sell its stockpiled ivory (137 tons) worth over USD$ 80mn stored in Dar es Salaam’s tight security Ivory Room. What does the move signifY?

ANSWER: Tanzania’s overall policy with regard to protecting elephants must be consistent. It seems counterproductive to invest so much in an anti-poaching campaign to protect elephants while at the same time advocating to sell the very thing—ivory—that is putting them in jeopardy. In 2012, the Tanzania government submitted a proposal to CITES to be allowed to sell its stockpiled ivory.
Part of the problem, in many countries, is that the penalty for committing a wildlife crime is simply too weak. A convicted poacher or trafficker might face a small fine or a couple of days in jail before they’re released. Tough laws and strong penalties are needed to dissuade potential poachers and traffickers from even thinking about killing an elephant or smuggling ivory. We hope that other countries, including Tanzania, will follow Kenya’s lead and strengthen their wildlife laws.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Traders' company all set to help SMEs import goods from China

Tanzanian traders who operate their businesses between China and Tanzania have formed a special company that gives opportunity to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to easily import goods from China.

Justine Luvanda, China World Buz, Executive Director

The firm dubbed ‘China World Buz’ formed by Tanzanian business people is meant to assist SMEs to import goods from China at a reasonable cost, with bigger returns.

Briefing reporters in Arusha over the weekend, the company’s Executive Director, Justine Luvanda said the programme is meant to provide a relief to businessmen and women with limited capital to boost their financial capitals by importing Chinese goods with small amount of money.

“What we are doing now is to educate business people on how to get involved in the platform,” Luvanda said, adding that the new form of business will help the business community excel.

When asked about the security of the arrangement, the official assured the public saying: “This business is very transparent, people should be aware of that and when loss occurs during importation they will be compensated by this company.”

Shafii Swed, the firm’s Executive Officer in Tanzania described the company as the first and very unique in the country, “We are licensed to do this.”

The firm also tries to cement business and bilateral relations between Tanzania and China.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN