fashion deals

Home / All posts

Africa to celebrate progress and 50 years of 'unity'

Posted by Unknown Sabtu, 25 Mei 2013 0 komentar

President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre) confers with Deputy President William Ruto (right) and Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia (left) at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before leaving for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend a regional summit May 3, 2013.

In Summary

Kadhafi's death also stripped the AU of a major source of funding. Leaders will discuss finding backers for the cash-strapped body at a two-day summit following Saturday's anniversary celebrations.

Addis Ababa

African leaders gathered Saturday ahead of extravagant celebrations for the 50th jubilee of the continental bloc, with Africa's myriad problems set aside for a day to mark the progress that has been made.

Mass dancing troupes are set to perform musical dramas to some 10,000 guests in a giant hall in the Ethiopian capital, home to the African Union (AU).

Today's 54-member AU is the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established amid the heady days as independence from colonial rule swept the continent in 1963.

African leaders are expected to be joined by French President Francois Hollande, China's Vice Premier Wang Yang and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the "celebration of all Africa" was "historic", and that it was a time to both look back at the past and consider how the continent can tackle the many challenges ahead.

"The future is in our hands, its bright.. the opportunities are great for the continent to be prosperous," Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement late Friday.

South African choreographer Somzi Mhlongo, who organised the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup as well as this year's Africa Cup of Nations, said the celebrations he had organised would be "an extravaganza".

Musicians playing include Congolese music legend Papa Wemba, Mali's Salif Keita and British-based reggae band Steel Pulse, with giant screens set up across Addis Ababa also showing the festival.

The AU has budgeted $1.27 million for Saturday's celebrations, according to official documents seen by South Africa's Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

AU Commission deputy chief Erastus Mwencha said he did not have the exact figure but that some $3 million would be spent on Saturday's festivities and on other events over the coming year.

The AU took over from the OAU in 2002, switching its name in a bid to shrug off its troubled past.

OAU non-interference in member states' affairs allowed leaders to shirk democratic elections and abuse human rights without criticism from their neighbours.

In recent years, the AU's role in combat -- such as its mission in Somalia to battle Al-Qaeda linked Islamists -- has shown it can take concrete action, even if the funding for that mission comes mainly from Western backers.

But at the same time, the splits revealed by the 2011 conflict in Libya -- when members squabbled between those wanting to recognise rebels and those backing Moamer Kadhafi -- showed its disunity and lack of global clout.

Kadhafi's death also stripped the AU of a major source of funding. Leaders will discuss finding backers for the cash-strapped body at a two-day summit following Saturday's anniversary celebrations.

Development indicators on the continent -- including health, education, infant mortality,economic growth and democracy -- have improved steadily in the past 50 years.

Africa is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world according to the IMF, and has attracted huge amounts of foreign investment in recent years.

Baca Selengkapnya ....

16 children die in Pakistan school bus fire: police

Posted by Unknown 0 komentar

LAHORE

Sixteen children and a teacher were killed when their school bus caught fire in central Pakistan on Saturday, police said.

Seven other children were injured in the blaze which destroyed the vehicle.

The van was carrying 24 children to a private school in Gujrat, about 112 kilometres (70 miles) north of the eastern city on Lahore, when it caught fire, local police chief Dar Ali Khattak told AFP.

"The fire erupted in the vehicle when the children were only a few kilometres from their school," he said.

The blaze was apparently caused by a spark when the driver of the dual-fuel van switched from gas to petrol, he said, adding that the fuel gas cylinder was intact.

The children were aged between five and 15 years old, he said, adding that a female teacher also died.

Another police official, Abid Khan, said the driver fled after the fire.

Five of the injured children were in serious condition, hospital officials said.

Vehicles in Pakistan mostly run on both petrol and natural gas.

Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Baca Selengkapnya ....

Plane 'On Fire' Flying Over Central London

Posted by Unknown Jumat, 24 Mei 2013 0 komentar

A British Airways plane made
an emergency landing at Heathrow
airport with smoke billowing …

A British Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport as eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft "on fire" flying over central London.

A man who only gave his first name as Jamie told Sky News: "As you looked up you could just see the flames being chucked out of the engine ... It was on full fire when we saw it."
BA has cancelled all short-haul flights in and out of the West London airport until 4pm.
Both runways were initially closed as the London Fire Brigade confirmed that they had attended to an "aircraft fire."
Clive Cook, who lives under the flight path, told Sky News: "The actual engine itself was on fire.
"This plane was coming over and suddenly the tone of the engine changed dramatically, and I could almost say it sounded as if it was like a blowout, or an explosion."
What happened on the Oslo bound aeroplane is not thought to be terror related and all passengers are safe and well.
Sky News presenter Jeremy Thompson was on a different flight coming into Heathrow and said that the pilot told them that they were being held up by a "bird strike" on a plane.
A statement from British Airways said: "Flight BA762 departed Heathrow at 8.16am and returned at 8.43am due to an engine technical fault.
"The Airbus A319 aircraft was carrying 75 customers and five crew.
"The aircraft landed safely and cabin crew evacuated customers using emergency slides. Airline colleagues are now caring for customers in the airport terminal.
"The airline has begun a full investigation into the incident and is working with the Air Accident Investigation Bureau to establish the cause."
Sky's Richard Suchet added: "Shortly after it was airborne, somebody in air traffic control spotted a fault with one of the engines and alerted the pilot. The pilot then turned round and came back to the airport."
Captain Mark Searle, chairman of airline pilots' association Balpa, congratulated the crew.
He said: "As pilots we spend our whole career training to manage incidents such as this in order to avoid an incident becoming a disaster."
Images taken from inside the plane show the engine that was not on fire exposed as it is overworked.
Commenting on the damage to the covering around that engine, aviation safety investigator, David Gleave, said: "It's not got much structural strength in it at all so it doesn't affect the ability of the aeroplane to actually hold onto its engine and keep it on the wing."
The plane has been towed away and both runways have reopened.
The fire came at the start of one of the year's busiest travel periods as people head abroad for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Normand Boivin, Heathrow Chief Operating Officer, said: "The temporary closure will result in a number of cancelled flights throughout the day and passengers are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport."

Baca Selengkapnya ....

Swazi albinos plead for protection ahead of vote

Posted by Unknown 0 komentar

A woman with her albino child before registering him at the office of the Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Swaziland's albinos have called on the government for protection ahead of elections expected later this year, fearing their body parts will be harvested by candidates seeking good luck

In Summary

Mndvoti blamed witchdoctors who mislead people into believing that using human body parts will help them win seats to parliament or prosper in business.

Swaziland's albinos have called on the government for protection ahead of elections expected later this year, fearing their body parts will be harvested by candidates seeking good luck.

"Those in authority must make sure that our safety is guaranteed," Skhumbuzo Mndvoti, an albino community leader living in the southern town of Nhlangano told DRIVE HOT

"I can warn both adults and parents of albino children to take extra care during these election days," Mndvoti said.

Ritual killings are common of in Swaziland, and elsewhere in Africa, with "muti" practitioners -- a catch-all for traditional medicine and witchcraft -- using limbs or body parts as amulets.

In the past albinos, who lack the skin pigment melanin, as well as epileptics have been specifically targeted, prompting the police to set up registries.

In 2010 the killing and mutilation of albinos, including in one instance the decapitation of two children in Nhlangano, prompted panic.

Twenty-eight-year-old Sipho Dlamini said such albino killings regularly take place, but in the past were masked by rumours about albino behaviour.

"People were told that when an albino dies, he would go and die far away where he or she would not be found. I think they were killed," he said.

Both men fear there may be a resurgence in attacks in the run up to elections, the date of which has not yet been set.

Mndvoti blamed witchdoctors who mislead people into believing that using human body parts will help them win seats to parliament or prosper in business.

"Children should walk in groups to-and-from schools and they shouldn't be left alone at home."

"Adults should avoid walking at night since many of the ritual murders happen when it's dark."

The local albino community has threatened not to vote if no special security measures are taken.

Aspiring MP from Nhlangano, Mthokozisi Kunene said he sympathises with the albinos' plight.

He admitted that aspiring politicians are prime suspects to commit the ritual acts, but expressed hope "that won't happen this time."

"As Christians we have prayed that no ritual murderer or anyone who uses human body parts in attempt to win votes shall ever go to parliament," he said.

President of the Traditional Healers of Swaziland, Nhlavana Maseko said those who mislead people to use ritual murder to win elections or wealth are witches and wizards but not traditional healers.

"A witch is born and never trained but a traditional healer undergoes intensive training to heal people trough traditional means," said Maseko.

Baca Selengkapnya ....

The P3 dropout who has done Bushenyi proud

Posted by Unknown 0 komentar

Obenowobusingye showing the ironing machine he uses in his

laundry business

Deogratious Obenowobusingye, 57, is regarded as one of the top investors in Bushenyi district, an area that is not devoid of prosperous businessmen among whom is Hassan Basajjabala.

Obenowobusingye owns Western Meridian, arguably the best hotel in western Uganda after Lake View Hotel in Mbarara; a prosperous hardware business and several commercial properties within Bushenyi and beyond. But this kind of success is the last thing Obenowobusingye, a P3 drop out, envisaged as a child.

From peddling crude Waragi across districts on a bicycle as a child, to repairing bicycles, he has done it all, just to survive. He told Chris Mugasha how he has come thus far.

Baca Selengkapnya ....