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Fresh clues on what faced Ethiopia plane

Posted by Unknown Jumat, 20 Desember 2013 0 komentar

“We were taken by surprise and had no stairs to enable the passengers to disembark. We sought some landing ladders from Swissport at KIA but it took too long. Then we opted for the emergency chutes,”.PHOTO|FILE

Arusha/Dar es Salaam. Amid questions on what led to an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300ER landing at Arusha’s tiny airport on Wednesday, experts are weighing the option of extending the runaway to enable the huge jet to fly out.

The airport’s manager, Ms Esther Dede, told The Citizen yesterday that aircraft engineers from Ethiopia and Tanzania were trying to establish whether the plane could take off after it is put back on the runaway from which it skidded as it made an emergency landing.

“If that is not possible then the aircraft will have to be parked and ways sought to extend the runway,” she said as efforts were being made to tow the jet onto the runaway.

The runway at the airport, which is designed to handle light aircraft, is 1,620 metres long. The Boeing 767 needs at least 2,341 metres to take off, according to data on the aviation site www.aircyber.weebly.com.

The largest aircraft currently operating out of the airport is the ATR 42 operated by PrecisionAir.

Ms Dede said special equipment had been brought to the airport to help put the aircraft back on the tarmac.

“We want the aircraft to fly out,” she said, adding that experts were considering removing the fuel and some items on board. The Boeing 767-300ER weighs 81 tonnes when empty. By 4pm yesterday, engineers had put the plane on one end of the runway, but it was not clear when they will attempt to fly it from the airport. A team of six engineers from the aircraft owners in Ethiopia arrived in Arusha yesterday and were joined by others from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA).

The Ethiopians declined to discuss the mishap which happened when the plane landed in Arusha instead of Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), some 50 kilometres away.

“Let’s concentrate on how to solve this problem,” a woman in the Ethiopian delegation told The Citizen as heavy machinery was pulling the aircraft onto the tarmac and turning it in the right direction.

Ms Dede, too, could not explain why the plane, which had 213 passengers and crew on board, was forced to land in Arusha, adding that she was not sure if the crew had sought permission to land from air traffic controllers.

Other sources said the flight originated from Bole Airport in Addis Ababa and was headed to KIA and Mombasa in Kenya with tourists. The transit passengers were taken to some local hotels and were flown to Mombasa and Addis Ababa yesterday.

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Ugandan parliament passes draconian anti-gay bill: activists

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The Ugandan Parliament in session.

Uganda's parliament on Friday passed an anti-homosexuality bill that would see repeat offenders jailed for life, reports and activists said.

"I am officially illegal," Ugandan gay activist Frank Mugisha said after the vote.

The lawmaker behind the bill, David Bahati, said an extremely controversial death penalty clause was dropped from the final version of the bill, which must now go to President Yoweri Museveni for approval.

First proposed in 2009, the bill had been shelved following international condemnation.

US President Barack Obama described its contents as "odious".

The initial proposed bill suggested introducing the death sentence for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for a second time, as well as for gay sex where one partner is a minor or has HIV.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill toughens penalties and also criminalises the public promotion of homosexuality - including discussions by rights groups.

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Man sues doctors over circumcision gone wrong

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Kampala- A man who claims his penis was permanently damaged after undergoing circumcision has dragged two doctors to court over professional negligence and misconduct.

Mr Patrick Izimba is suing Dr Francis Kakooza, Dr Edward Kunonya and Medik Medical Centre in Kawempe where the doctors work.

Mr Izimba is also seeking more than Shs9m in damages that he claims he lost in treatment, transport and feeding.

In his complaint before the High Court in Kampala, the plaintiff claims that on May 20, he sought circumcision services at Medik Medical Center where he was attended to by Dr Kakooza under the supervision of Dr Kunonya, the proprietor of the health facility, after paying Shs20,000 for the drugs.

He alleges that during the operation, the doctors injected a drug directly to his penis which made it stiff for three consecutive days with continuous loss of blood.

Complications
As a result, it turned dry and dark despite repeated visits to the medical centre for treatment.

Mr Izimba claims that due to the misapplication and misdiagnosis of the injected drug, his penis sustained severe damage hence being disabled permanently.

The victim states that upon realising that the situation was unmanageable, the doctors took him to Mulago hospital where he was admitted and underwent treatment for a month.

He was later transferred to Comprehensive Rehabilitation Service Uganda where he spent three months undergoing further treatment, including skin grafting and plastic surgery.

Court has summoned the doctors and the medical centre to file their defence in 15 days before a hearing date can be fixed.

The case file has been allocated to judge Yasin Nyanzi.

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Uganda army on standby over South Sudan situation

Posted by Unknown Kamis, 19 Desember 2013 0 komentar

Vehicles stranded at Oraba border post in Koboko District after the closure of the border.

Kampala. Uganda on Tuesday temporarily closed its border with South Sudan and heightened troop presence as the fighting between rival forces in the South Sudan capital, Juba entered day two.

The army said it was on standby to avoid wrong characters who might want to take advantage of the situation to wreak havoc on the Ugandan side. The UPDF 14th Division in Gulu District, under Col. Emmanuel Kanyesigye, and the 5th Division headquartered in Pader District, commanded by Brig. John Lorot, have been reinforced to monitor and do surveillance of the 435km borderline with S. Sudan.

The border is reportedly being patrolled by more than 2,000 soldiers under the supervision of Col Kanyesigye. The military, however, denied reports that a section of Ugandan Special Forces Group had been deployed in Juba to protect the embattled South Sudan president Salva Kiir, whose army is fighting soldiers loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar, who is said to be on the run. “That’s rumour- mongering. But our border security has been heightened and we are on standby to look out for any wrong characters that may take advantage of the fragile situation in Juba to enter Uganda,” the army spokesperson, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda said.

International Affairs minister Oryem Okello also denied claims that Uganda had sent troops to Juba, describing the current fighting that started on Sunday night as “internal matter for South Sudan to solve”.

“The right institution is the African Union Peace and Security Council. Uganda cannot enter unilaterally but we expect AU to get involve,” Mr Oryem said. Political relations between South Sudan and Uganda are friendly and in 2011, when fighting broke out between Juba and Khartoum, President Kiir, along with six top generals, met President Museveni in Kampala, who assured them of Uganda’s support against Khartoum.

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Police nab man over human trafficking

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Moshi. A person believed to be behind alleged human trafficking has been arrested in Rombo District near the Kenyan border, reliable sources have told this newspaper.

The person (name withheld), reported to be a Burundi national, was seized from a guest house at the Tarakea border town on suspicion of facilitating entry of illegal aliens into the country.

It is believed that the illegal immigrants are later escorted secretly across the country to various exit points for their intended destinations, mainly South Africa and later on to other countries overseas.

Sources said the alleged suspect confessed to being the leader of a syndicate which has over the years facilitated illegal entry and exit of aliens from the Horn of Africa through Tanzania.

Kilimanjaro regional immigration officer Johannes Msumule told The Citizen that the Burundi national was arrested on Monday evening at a guest house within the border town.

He is reported to have been found in the company of 10 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia following a tip off from Good Samaritans. They were nabbed at 7.15 pm near the Kenyan border which is only a few metres from the town. Sources said security officials who stormed the guest house were forced to break the doors of two rooms where the immigrants were locked to conceal their mission.

The owner of the accommodation facility was nowhere to be seen but police later arrested his wife who, according to one official, divulged more information on human trafficking across the border.

“She cooperated and revealed more information on how the syndicate has been operating. We are now working on the information which is invaluable and could help us stamp out the problem”, he added. Another official hinted that it would now be easy to track down human traffickers because of information they continue to receive from members of the public, especially residents living in the border areas.

Other sources said two vehicles used in transporting illegal aliens after entering the country have been seized and three guest houses where the immigrants were being accommodated have been identified.

The regional immigration officer added that his officials and the police were hunting down the owner of the guest house. He said that if he is not arrested, his wife would be arraigned in court for hosting illegal aliens.

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South Sudan civil war fears grow as rebels reject talks

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Civilians walking inside the UNMISS compound in Bor, on December 18, 2013, following the fierce fighting that has killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing to UN bases. South Sudan rebels battling government forces rejected peace efforts on December 19, 2013 as the region scrambled to prevent the world's youngest state from collapsing only two years after its birth.

JUBA

South Sudan rebels battling government forces rejected peace efforts on Thursday as the region scrambled to prevent the world's youngest state from collapsing only two years after its birth.

Troops loyal to fugitive former vice president Riek Machar seized the town of Bor late Wednesday, army spokesman Philip Aguer said, as fighting continued in eastern Jonglei state.

President Salva Kiir has blamed the bloodshed on a coup bid by his perennial rival Machar, who says the alleged overthrow was a fabrication to cover up a regime purge.

Kiir has said he was ready to "sit down" but Machar, who was sacked by the president in July, rejected the offer.

In an interview with RFI radio on Thursday, Machar said he had appealed to the ruling party and army "to remove Salva Kiir from the leadership of the country."

Some 450 people had been killed in the capital Juba since battles broke out on Sunday, including around 100 soldiers, Aguer said.

AFP reporters said the city was calm on Thursday.

Human Rights Watch said witnesses had reported horrific cases of both soldiers and rebels executing people based on their ethnicity, warning it could lead to "revenge attacks and more violence."

The battles have raised concerns of ethnic conflict, with Kiir coming from the majority Dinka people and Machar from the Nuer.

Soldiers in Juba "asked individuals about their ethnicity before killing or releasing them", or identified them from traditional facial scarring, HRW said.

However, the government insists the clashes are over power and politics, noting that both sides include leaders from different tribes.

"We condemn in strongest possible terms attempts to depict (the) coup as ethnic strife," a government statement Thursday read, noting that of the 11 key figures arrested since fighting began -- many former powerful minsters -- only two were Nuer.

'On the cusp of a civil war'

The United Nations peacekeeping mission said it was sheltering civilians in six state capitals, including Juba and Bor, as well as in Bentiu, the main town of the crucial petroleum-producing state of Unity.

At least five oil workers were killed in Unity when attackers stormed their compound late on Wednesday, a company official said.

Oil production forms over 95 percent of South Sudan's fledgling economy.

Foreigners were being evacuated from the troubled country, with the United States and Britain sending in flights for their citizens, and others fleeing overland south to Uganda.

Long lines of aid workers and expatriates began crowding Juba's airport on Wednesday waiting to board the first flight they could out of the country, with delays after an aircraft that crash landed -- with no casualties -- blocked the runway for several hours.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned fighting could spread.

"There is a risk of this violence spreading to other states, and we have already seen some signs of this," Ban said, adding the crisis "urgently needs to be dealt with through political dialogue."

There were fears that the poor and unstable nation, which broke free from Sudan in 2011, could slide back into all-out conflict.

"The scenario many feared but dared not contemplate looks frighteningly possible: South Sudan, the world's newest state, is now arguably on the cusp of a civil war," the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank warned.

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22 killed in Nigeria raid by gunmen

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Three cars have been burnt by unidentified gunmen at atTudunwada district, Mubi in northeastern State of Adamawa on October 5, 2012 . At least 22 persons were feared dead following an attack by gunmen who stormed the business place of some money changers in Mubi area of northeast Nigeria’s Adamawa State, military authority and eyewitness said on December 19, 2013.

LAGOS
At least 22 persons were feared dead following an attack by gunmen who stormed the business place of some money changers in Mubi area of northeast Nigeria’s Adamawa State, military authority and eyewitness said on Thursday.

Military commanding officer of the Special Battalion in Mubi, Lieutenant Colonel Beyidi Martins, told reporters that the special troops killed 12 gunmen who attacked Mubi Central Market on Wednesday.

An eyewitness also told reporters that about 20 gunmen attacked bureau de change shops in the market, killing 10 people while they stole an undisclosed amount of local and foreign currencies.

Martins said the soldiers caught up with the escaping criminals near Digil village in Mubi, where a shootout ensued, leading to the killing of the 12 insurgents.

He said some money and weapons were recovered from them. This is the second time within the year that the market has experienced such attacks on the bureau de change section of the market.

Adamawa State, located in Nigeria’s northeast region, has frequently witnessed attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram since 2009.

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