(Press TV)The Somali government has signed a cooperation framework deal with commanders of the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a militia group.
Ahead of an expected military push against militants threatening to topple the government, representatives of the two sides signed a power-sharing deal at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported.
According to the deal, Ahlu Sunnah would be given five as yet undetermined ministries and would appoint deputy commanders of the military, the police, and the intelligence service, Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said.
Welcoming the agreement, he stated, "The peace deal is a part of the open door strategy of the Transitional Federal Government to genuine national reconciliation."
He added that the government aims to politically and militarily integrate Ahlu Sunnah into the Transitional Federal Government in the framework of the Djibouti peace process.
The agreement is an essential step in the strategy to restore peace and stability to the country, the Somali prime minister added.
Delegations from the African Union, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference attended the signing ceremony.
Somalia has had no effective government for 19 years. At least 21,000 Somalis have been killed since the start of 2007, 1.5 million have been uprooted from their homes, and nearly half a million are refugees in other countries in the region.

Voters in the West African state of Togo are going to polls on Thursday amid fresh efforts to prevent the 2005 post-election violence being repeated.

Togo's incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe, who is seeking a second term, will be challenged by six opposition candidates, with the economist, Jean-Pierre Fabre, 58, as the main rival.

The 43-year-old Gnassingbe came to power in a controversial election in 2005 to continue his father's 38 years of ruling. Dozens of civilians were killed in the violence following the allegedly rigged vote.

The voting will begin at 7:00 am and close at 5:00 pm with more than three million people going to polls.

Contrary to the previous electoral race, the campaigns for the polls were finished Tuesday midnight peacefully.

Some 15,000 opponents of Togo's existing government gathered in Lome's stadium late Tuesday calling for an end to the tyrannical regime.

The current president has urged voters to remain calm and to keep the peace on polling day and during the vote-counting period.

The United Nations spokesperson Martin Nesirky also urged all those involved in the elections to ensure that the vote is free and fair.

"The Secretary General calls on all political leaders and institutions and calls on all leaders and institutions to ensure that the election is credible and peaceful and reflects the will of the people of Togo," Nesirky said.

Some 40 international observers from the African Union, 130 from the European Union, 150 civilians and 146 soldiers from the Economic Community of West African States have been deployed to the African state to ensure that Thursday's vote goes smoothly.

Ethiopian officials and an aid agency have denied a BBC report that millions of dollars raised in 1984 for the Ethiopian famine was siphoned off to buy weapons.

According to a senior member of Ethiopia's ruling coalition, Abadi Zemo, the BBC allegations are nonsensical.

The charity Christian Aid announced on Wednesday that its "investigations do not correspond to the BBC's version of events."

On Wednesday, a BBC investigation reported that millions of dollars of international aid intended to buy food for starving Ethiopians during the country's mid-1980s famine was diverted to rebels to buy weapons in the African country.

The report said that the Ethiopian rebel soldiers disguised themselves as grain traders and handed over sacks of sand hidden beneath genuine food aid in return for cash from Western donations.

At least nine Somali pirates have been killed in fresh offensive by the European Union warships against sea hijackers in the Red Sea.

The EU warships' attack was the third against the hijackers' boat within the last 24 hours, Abdi Shirwac, a spokesman for the pirates, told Press TV.

Somali pirates vowed to hunt EU warships and Yemen fishing boats, Shirwac added.

Pirates are hijacking ships commuting near the Gulf of Aden on a daily basis, taking the ships' crews hostage and demanding ransoms.

Last year, Somali pirates were held responsible for 217 piracy attempts, with 47 vessels successfully seized and 867 crew members taken hostage.

Piracy has become a lucrative business in the high seas surrounding the lawless state in the Horn of Africa, with heavily-armed sea robbers spreading their criminal activities to around 1,000 kilometers away from Somali coastlines.

First Vice-President, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said on Sunday that expansion of ties with the African, eastern Asian and Commonwealth countries is among priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Addressing IRI's ambassadors to the African, eastern Asian and Commonwealth countries, Rahimi urged them to do their best for more interaction with the countries.

He said today the diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on boosting ties with all countries except the Zionist regime.

Rahimi added that IRI is fully prepared to expand ties with African, eastern Asia and Commonwealth countries.

IRI Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kenya have common stances toward many international issues.

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Moses Wetangula, Mottaki announced that IRI, Kenya, Somalia and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa) will hold a joint meeting to settle Somalia crisis.

Mottaki also underlined the role of Kenya in resolving regional problems in Africa.

In response to a question about IRI intermediation between Eritrea and Djibouti, he expressed hope that the case would be settled in a realistic way, adding the Islamic Republic of Iran will not spare any aid in this regard.

Talking about IRI efforts to settle differences between Chad and Sudan, Mottaki said Chad's president in a letter to President Ahmadinejad had appreciated the efforts.

Kenyan counterpart Moses Wetangula, for his part referred to the active presence of Iranian firms in his country and said 5 Iranian companies are implementing road construction projects in Kenya.

"Volume of the two countries' trade ties is about 100 million dollars," he said predicting the volume would increase up to one billion dollars in future.

Kenya is in real need of crude oil for progress, Wetangula said adding Kenya is receiving its necessary crude oil from Iran.

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:26:52 GMT
Alalam:
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif temporarily took over the reins of government as President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday underwent surgery in Germany.

Mubarak issued a decree giving Nazif executive power until he returns to Cairo after consulting the constitution, Egyptian media reported.

"President Hosni Mubarak will undergo a surgical operation to extract the gall bladder in Heidelberg University hospital on Saturday," MENA new agency reported, adding that a medical examination on Friday confirmed "chronic infections in the gall bladder."

The agency published the president's decree handing power to Nazif until he returns to work.

"Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Mahmud Mohammed Nazif assumes all the prerogatives of the president of the republic according to Article 82 of the constitution until he resumes his responsibilities," the decree said.

State television announced that Mubarak, 81, had suffered "gall bladder pain" while in Germany for talks on Thursday with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It said the president was accompanied by his wife Suzanne Mubarak and members of his family.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:04:18 GMT
Alalam :At least 80 people died and 400 were missing after a landslide triggered by torrential rain swept away entire villages in eastern Uganda, the Ugandan Red Cross says.

"Eighty bodies have been recovered and the missing are more than 400 now, after 100 people were reported buried in a trading centre where they had taken shelter," said spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde.

Rescue workers began pulling bodies from the mud after the landslide, while the Ugandan Red Cross reported widespread flooding and damage.

Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Tarsis Kabwegyere told parliament that the landslide hit three villages in the eastern district of Bududa.

The landslide happened after days of torrential rain. Uganda is currently experiencing unusually heavy downpours in the annual rainy season.

Local markets were destroyed, schools were forced to close and roads were blocked by heaps of earth that slid from higher ground, the national Red Cross Secretary General Michael Nataka said.

Widespread flooding also affected several other villages in this region near Mount Elgon, which straddles the Uganda-Kenya border, the Red Cross chief said.

However, there were no immediate reports of casualties in the other areas stricken by the disaster, according to the Red Cross.

Tonnes of relief aid and a helicopter carrying rescuers had been dispatched to the region, the minister said.

(press tv)At least four Somali soldiers have been killed when a remote-controlled landmine blasted in Mogadishu' Manabolyo intersection, eyewitnesses say.

The Friday explosion killed four government soldiers on the spot while seriously injuring five others, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The blast targeted a vehicle carrying a Somali government delegation while on a security mission in the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion as yet, but al-Shabab fighters frequently target government soldiers with landmines.

Pretoria, feb.25 (allafrica) -- President Jacob Zuma will in March undertake an official visit to Britain, where he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, among others.

They are expected to discuss bilateral trade and issues of mutual interest when they meet on 2-5 March.

The visit will include a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in honour of Zuma.

Zuma will also hold talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on relations between the two countries.

"South Africa and the UK will also have a chance to share experiences as they are both preparing for major sporting events. South Africa is hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while the UK is hosting the 2012 Olympic Games," Zuma's office said on Thursday.

He will also meet Conservative Party leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg.

Zuma, who is accompanied by12 government ministers and a business delegation, will address the Members of the British Parliament at the Palace of Westminster.

He will also unveil a plaque at Oliver Tambo House, the former residence of the late ANC President in Muswel Hill, and meet with community leaders who have had a long association with South Africa and the struggle for liberation.

The visit highlights the increasingly important economic relationship between Britain and South Africa. Britain is one of South Africa's top three trading partners, with about R74.9 billion in trade passing between the two nations in 2008.

KIGALI, Feb. 25 (Daily Telegraph) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged on Thursday that France made mistakes during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, but stopped short of apologizing during his landmark visit to the country Thursday.
"What happened here is unacceptable, but what happened here compels the international community, including France, to reflect on the mistakes that stopped it from preventing and halting this abominable crime," he said.
Marking the first visit to Rwanda by a French president since the 1994 massacres, Mr Sarkozy spoke at a joint press conference with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has repeatedly accused Paris of aiding the genocide.
The French president, who did not occupy a key post at the time, admitted that his country had "grossly misjudged" the situation that led up to the killing of at least 800,000 people, mainly from Kagame's Tutsi minority.

He said that France, which wielded great influence in pre-genocide Rwanda, and the rest of the world were "blinded" when they "failed to see the genocidal dimension of the government" that orchestrated the killing.

Mr Kagame appeared to accept France's position as a sufficient basis on which to resume constructive relations.

"Rwanda and France have had a difficult past... It is important for the people of France and Rwanda to build a new partnership... We refuse to be hostages of the past," he said.

Mr Kagame, who last year made his country join the Commonwealth, also announced he would attend the France-Africa summit due to take place in May in the southern French city of Nice.

The Rwanda president, who speaks very little French, even introduced his counterpart to the press conference with a few words of welcome in Mr Sarkozy's native tongue.

Mr Sarkozy, whose country Rwanda also routinely accuses of sheltering wanted genocide suspects, stressed he was keen for all those responsible for the massacres to be punished.

But Mr Sarkozy remained silent during a visit to the main memorial to those who died in the massacre when his Rwandan guide tried to elicit an apology. The French president also stopped short of voicing an apology for France's alleged role in the genocide during the press conference.

The guide showed him a portrait of former UN chief Kofi Annan and said pointedly that "he apologized" for the failings of the international community in 1994.

Mr Sarkozy's visit nevertheless formalized a recent thaw in bilateral relations, three months after the official resumption of diplomatic relations between Kigali and Paris following a three-year hiatus.

Kigali broke off relations in late 2006 after a French anti-terrorist judge implicated Mr Kagame's entourage in the assassination of former president Juvenal Habyarimana, the event considered to have triggered the 1994 genocide.

Rwanda responded by releasing a report accusing around 30 senior French political and military figures of complicity in the genocide.

Even if the two countries have reconciled without France apologizing, many Rwandans would still like Mr Sarkozy to recognize France's responsibility.

Two years ago, Mr Sarkozy spoke of "failings or errors" but his entourage predicted before his trip to Kigali that he would not go as far as Belgium and the United States, who have both presented an apology.

"It's not a case of forgetting the past but rather of looking towards the future," is what one official in Paris described as the key message.

More Kenyans are in need of emergency food today than they were 20 years ago and the situation may get worse, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says in a new report.

The report, Global Hunger Index (GHI), that measures levels of malnutrition and hunger was released on Wednesday.

It shows that Kenya's hunger rating has moved from "serious" to "alarming".

Mr Suresh Babu from the Food, Security, Poverty and Nutrition Policy Analysis says that should the trend continue it could push the country to the "extremely alarming" bracket.

"Kenya is a hunger hot spot and the index shows that it has been failing in food security for the last 20 years compared with other countries," the analyst said during the release of the report in Nairobi.

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale, with zero being the best score -- indicating no hunger -- and 100 points being the worst.

A score between 10 and 19.99 is ranked as serious, between 20 and 29.99 such as Kenya's means the situation is alarming, and beyond that means extremely alarming.

Although Kenya is ranked in the alarming tier with an index of 20.2 points, should the index exceed the 30 point mark the country could be plunged into the extremely alarming tier where it would share a podium with countries such as Zimbabwe and the Liberia.

Government figures indicate that nearly 10 million Kenyans face starvation, but the number could be higher according to IFPRI.

Mr Titus Mung'ou of the Kenya Red Cross says that the conflicting data is due to migratory patterns among rural pastoral communities and inaccessibility of data from conflict hit areas.

"When we talk of Kenyans facing hunger we should talk of 10 million plus people," he says.

The country's hunger situation is blamed on poor rains coupled with the global financial crises which has affected the tourism and horticulture industries' earnings resulting in layoffs as firms cut cost.

Concern Worldwide country director, Anne O'Mahony, says the majority of Kenyans facing hunger are the poor based in rural areas and those living in urban slums.

"People in rural areas who depend on subsistence farming and casual workers have mostly been affected, forced to scale down their calorie intake to one meal a day," she says. "People in rural area do not have a strong voice as those in urban areas, so the situation may not get as much attention in those areas," she adds.

The IFPRI report comes in the wake of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reports which say that this year has seen 1.02 billion people, 100 million more than last year, undernourished, the highest number in four decades.

"The rising number of hungry people is intolerable," said FAO director-general, Jacques Diouf, as the new report on world hunger was released.

The situation may get worse with WFP saying that it is cutting food rations and scaling down operations in places like Kenya due to dwindling funds as a result of the global crisis.

Bussiness Daily (Nairobi)

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has invited his Sudanese counterpart Omar el-Bashir to the AU summit on refugees due next week.

Answering questions from journalists at a press conference at State House Entebbe yesterday, Museveni said Bashir had been invited in his capacity as a sitting African president.

Bashir is wanted at The Hague-based International Criminal Court over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Member states are expected to arrest Bashir. African members, including Uganda, have refused to cooperate with the court, saying Bashir's arrest would compromise peace efforts in Darfur.

Museveni said: "Our position in the African security committee was that let us not condemn or condone Bashir."

"We said let us do our own investigations. That's how former South African President Thabo Mbeki was invited to do further research to enable us take our own position," he said.

Museveni said Bashir was free to talk peace with the rebels in his country, at Munyonyo Resort Hotel, where presidents recently launched a symbolic peace hub during the Smart Partnership meeting.

Museveni said the hub means that Uganda can give protection to belligerents to meet and talk.

"The hub means a neutral zone in which we give safe conduit to the belligerents to meet and talk. We cannot turn around and say "you are wanted by the ICC" and we grab you," he said.

In July, the Government had advised Bashir not to attend the Smart Partnership meeting to which he had been invited over his safety.

Museveni at the time explained that the Government had not "locked out" Bahsir, but there were some issues.

"Some people had said in the papers that we invited Gen. Bashir so that he comes and we arrest him. That's not according the culture of the Great Lakes region in Africa here."

"When I want to fight you, I insult you, I don't invite you. I tell you beforehand. We don't believe in surprise attacks," he said.

The court's prosecutor, Moreno Ocampo, was visiting Uganda at about the same time.

At yesterday's press conference, Museveni said he was yet to crosscheck on whether Libyan leader and the chairman of the AU, Muammar Gadaffi, who is expected to open the talks, had confirmed attendance.

The President called the press to explain the the economy.

He said the economy was growing at 7% per annum, despite the global recession.

This, he added, is in spite of the doubling of the population in the last 20 years, from 14.3 million in 1986 to about 31 million.

Exports, including remittances from Ugandans abroad, grew to $4.5b last year, he said.

His priority now, he added, was to "awaken" Ugandan scientists to step up processing as a means to stop Africa from exporting raw materials. He said Makerere University's faculty of food science was doing this.

The exports can increase 10-fold, he added, if all the products are exported in processed form, which would in turn reduce dependence on donor money.

"A new dawn has come for Ugandans in value addition because we have been begging all over the world. But now, our children who have become scientists can do it (processing)."

He said this was the reason the Government sponsors 75% of government students at Makerere to study sciences.

The President also talked about terrorism, which he said had been defeated. He noted that nobody would again destabilise Uganda, and called upon everybody to engage in production.

Commenting on the LRA war, the President said if the rebels fled to Chad, Uganda would work out an arrangement with the Chadian government to pursue them.

He said he was not bothered whether Sudan still supports the group, saying in 1986, Khartoum gave the LRA 11,000 rifles but they were still defeated.

"The safety of Kony is not in fighting but hiding. Whoever gives them guns wants them killed or to use them to kill civilians," he said.

Turning to corruption, Museveni said young people who have finished their masters degrees would sort out the vice.

On Buganda matters, Museveni said he and the Kabaka would soon announce resolutions on the contentious issues.

On the closed radio stations, he said he had given the Kabaka recordings of programmes in which presenters incited masses and promoted sectarianism and genocide.

"You have a duty to enjoy your rights as journalists but also protect the rights of others. Because of our lax way of working, they thought Uganda was a hole of anarchy," he said.

Journalists had expressed concern about the way in which Radio One journalist Kalundi Sserumaga was arrested.

The President said if he was thrown into a car boot, the culprits would be brought to book.

About the stalemate facing the election of a Kyabazinga for Busoga, the President denied supporting any of the factions, saying there were still unresolved issues.

"If we were supporting any, I would have attended the coronation if government is satisfied that one of them has been agreed on.

"We are still studying the situation there because their process needs to be clarified," he said.

On oil, he said it would not be misused to buy champagne and shampoo, but spent on energy, transport infrastructure, education and research to sustain future generations.

On refugees, Museveni said in the Great Lakes region, everybody is a neighbour and should keep one another in times of problems.

"These are our brothers, don't think they are from Spain or France. We just need to regulate their access to resources. They should not start fighting with the indigenous people over land."

The idea of a United States of Africa, he added, was not yet realistic given major differences between Africans, although political federation at regional level was possible.

However, he added, economic integration was desirable.

New Vision (Kampala)

Abuja — The Federal Government has predicted that foreign aid, which is important for a number of African countries, is likely to diminish in the coming years as a result of the global economic crisis.

This is following drastic reduction in the foreign direct investments in Africa as the credit squeese takes hold.

This was made known by the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ongoing annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja.

Represented by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, the Vice President said, "This has also contributed to the problems within our banking sector, which has led to the quick intervention of the Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria to forestall its collapse. This intervention is similar to that of the developed countries such as in the European Countries and the United States of America (USA) that had to bail out some of their banks, insurance companies and even the manufacturing sectors". He contintinued, "I must state here that whilst the full effects of the global slowdown remain uncertain and vary between countries, it is clear that the impact on African countries although, initially limited, had become, in some cases severe".

"We should be wary of any quick turnaround for our continent because even if global recovery of African economies may take longer time. The major challenge therefore, is on how to implement short term responses to the crisis while staying focused on long term sustainability".

According him, the resolution of the London G-20 meeting in addressing the key issues of restoring growth, financial stability and the needs of emerging countries must be commended. "Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded its Article IV Consultation Mission with the Nigerian authorities on July 29, 2009 and noted that Nigeria entered the global financial crisis from a position of strong macroeconomic stability", he added.

He argued that the reforms of recent years paid off, with windfall from oil, high foreign reserves, and a well capitalised banking system preventing the type of economic crisis Nigeria witnessed during the oil price cycles of the early 1980s.

The impact of the crisis, he noted, has nonetheless been significant with economic growth suffering. "Growth in 2009 and 2010 was expected to fall below the impressive rates of recent years.

Leadership (Abuja)

U.N.-supported military operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have had an "unacceptable" cost for the civilian population, said a coalition of rights groups Tuesday.

The call to action by the Congo Advocacy Coalition said 1,000 civilians have been killed, 7,000 women and girls have been raped, and nearly 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since January.

That is when the Congolese army began an operation called Kimia II to disarm and disband the militia group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, an organisation of Rwandan Hutus, some whose leaders participated in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Though most abuses are still committed by the FDLR, the Congolese army has also killed, raped, looted, arbitrarily arrested and forced into labour innocent civilians in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, the coalition says.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, has backed the Congolese army since March, and much of the statement's criticism was directed at the perceived indifference of the U.N. peacekeepers to the civilian costs of the operation.

"U.N. peacekeepers, who have a mandate to protect civilians, urgently need to work with government forces to make sure civilians get the protection they need or discontinue their support," Oxfam's Marcel Stoessel said in the statement.

The U.N. peacekeepers provide tactical expertise, transport and medical support, and food and fuel to the army. The groups said the U.N. should use its influence to demand that the army protect communities and the rights of civilians, in particular by requesting the removal of commanders with "known track records of human rights abuses".

"U.N. officials say that if they were not part of the operations then the threat to civilians would be even worse. Our response to that is that they should have put conditions on their support to such operations," Anneke Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch told IPS Tuesday.

The U.N. Security Council also authorised an additional 3,000 peacekeepers for the region in November 2008, but they are only just arriving now.

Meanwhile, residents are being forced to flee both the retaliatory killings of the FDLR and the advance of their own army, whose soldiers are often underpaid, underfed and under-trained. This has led to broader criticisms of the operation's military offensive approach to the FDLR problem.

"Our recommendation is that there is a multi-pronged approach to the FDLR that does not focus exclusively on the military solution," Van Woudenberg said Tuesday.

"Military pressure may still be needed, but it should be limited in scope and really focus on the FDLR leadership. There is no doubt that a solution to the FDLR problem is required, but this should not come with a price-tag of causing more loss of civilian life," she said.

According to U.N. statistics cited in the statement, 1,071 FDLR rebels have given up their weapons and been repatriated to Rwanda since January. The group was estimated to have 6,000 or 7,000 fighters prior to January, however, and is thought to have recruited new combatants to replace those they have lost.

Eastern Congo has suffered from the rivalries of various militias for about 15 years. In December 2008, the Congolese took on the Lord's Resistance Army, an organisation of Ugandan rebels, in northern Congo, before launching the current operations against the FDLR a month later.

The scale and savageness of the fighting has been spiraling upward since then. FDLR rebels blame the civilian residents for the army's pursuit of them and punish the residents brutally. The army, in turn, conscripts fleeing residents to haul ammunition and supplies across the hilly terrain. There are reports of some being killed when they grow too tired to work.

One well-documented massacre occurred in May in the village of Busurungi, where at least 100 people were killed by the rebels after the army had left the village. Women and children were forced into their huts, which were then set on fire, and several people were decapitated as a threat to deter passers-by from cooperating with the army.

Survivors said it was payback for the army's massacre of rebels and their families in a nearby village. Victimised by both sides in the push and pull of this violence are the civilians.

The FDLR's presence in eastern Congo and their material strength can both be traced back to their control of region's mineral trade. This control is thought to have been somewhat destabilised by the military operations.

Tuesday's statement said disarming the FDLR should remain a top priority for the Congolese government, but that it needs to "act urgently to improve protection of civilians".

It was signed by 84 international and Congolese NGOs, with a steering committee that includes Human Rights Watch and Oxfam. It hoped to influence diplomats and U.N. officials meeting at the Great Lakes Contact Group in Washington this week.

Inter Press Service (JNBG)

African parliamentarians meeting in Nairobi ahead of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen have vowed to voice a common position against the harsh environmental conditions brought by climate change.
The conference, which brings together 15 countries including five speakers, is also expected to rally African countries to demand for an equitable post in the 2012 Climate Change Agreement.

The two-day conference that kicked off Tuesday in Nairobi was officially opened by President Mwai Kibaki under the theme: ‘Towards a Common Position on Climate Justice and Equity.’

Kibaki implored the lawmakers to draft a common position that would act as the bargaining power in challenging the West against producing green house gases. “We need a greater commitment in fighting the green house gases, reducing carbon emissions through our policies and daily actions.”

He reiterated that parliamentarians’ actions should ‘not be a matter of choice but an obligation.’

“As a continent, we should be fully involved in the climate debate and negotiations aimed at agreements to give us a fair and just deal that caters for our interests and needs.”
His government, he said has put in place measures aimed at ensuring sustainable natural resource utilization in order to reduce poverty and abate continued environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources.

Crucial issues deliberated on by the lawmakers, university dons and environmental experts include the role of lawmakers on climate change, legislative approaches, disputes and actions, economic impact of climate change and its implication on development.

Position papers

The participating countries have tabled their position papers on climate change.

Kenyan speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende noted that the path to a greener world is not easy, and urged his counterparts to take aggressive initiatives to provide for the reduction of greenhouse gases and domestication of international and regional convention and protocols on climate change.

“I urge you in your capacity as political leaders to accept more responsibility in combating global problems associated with climate change. Success requires cooperation, networking and participation from all stakeholders,” he said.

The speaker of the Nigerian parliament Dimeji Bankole, noted that a ‘One Africa, One voice and One position is what African MPs need in order to get a clear and fair deal in Copenhagen. “We should remember that Africa bears the heaviest brunt of the climate change. We need to change this, once and for all.”

A report tabled by the conference shows that developing countries accounted for only 20 percent of the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions yet they suffered severe effects of climate change. In this regard, President Kibaki said those responsible for the greatest greenhouse gas emissions should take the issue of equity more seriously.

Africanews

South African demonstrators protesting against poor government services in impoverished townships have clashed with police.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters in the Sakhile township who were calling for the resignation of the mayor and councilors.

In the town of Standerton, southeast of Johannesburg, burnt tires and rubbish filled the streets, and several people were reportedly injured in the protests.

Police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said protesters torched a municipal office in the eastern town of Belfast. Two police officers were hit by stones and injured, he said.

The six-month-old government of President Jacob Zuma is under pressure to deliver on campaign promises and improve basic services such as water and electricity.

Hassan Isilow, a journalist in Cape Town, says the problem is that people want better living conditions regardless of the economic recession the country is grappling with.

Press TV

A senior Hizbul Islam commander, Shuke Abdirahman Odawa, has joined the Somali government after relinquishing his armed opposition.

In a Tuesday meeting with top Somali officials, including National Security Minister Abdullahi Mohammed Ali, at the meeting in the Somali Presidential Palace, Odawa and his armed men denounced the insurgency, pledging support for the government, a Press TV correspondent reported.

"We are highly delighted as a government to have on board people who fought us yesterday and we called on others to emulate the good gesture," Mohammed Ali said.

For his part, Odawa, who commanded Hizbul Islam fighters in Elasha Biyaha in the outskirts of Mogadishu, pledged to defend the people, the religion and the government, adding that his 'wise decision' was not in any way linked to seeking position in power.

Elasha Biyaha, where most of Mogadishu's displaced civilians have fled since 2007, is the headquarters of Hizbul Islam chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.

In the meantime, scores of Hizbul Islam fighters flooded towards Somali government bases and handed over their weapons to government officials at military bases across the country.

More than 270 fighters have reportedly surrendered themselves so far at Somalia government bases throughout the war-torn country.

Press TV

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has presented his son Seif al-Islam as a commanding head of state with powers second only to those of the long-ruling colonel, a report says.

An online newspaper, Korina, reported on Tuesday that Qaddafi has named his son Seif al-Islam as second-in-command, with the authority to supervise the parliament and the government.

The long-time ruler, who recently celebrated 40 years in power, bestowed on his second son the authority equivalent to that of a head of state, designating him as the "general coordinator of social and popular committees," the report said.

Qaddafi had previously asked senior officials to find a position for his son to allow him to implement reforms, AFP reported citing a 'well-informed' source.

Press TV

Tehran, Oct 3, IRNA -- A joint committee of Iran and South Africa will be set up in near future, said caretaker of Iran’s Trade Development Organization.
Babak Afqahai said in a meeting with several officials of South African Trade and Industry Ministry that the committee will seek to identify both sides’ commercial potentials.

Compiling drafts of commercial agreements and following up their implementation are among the duties of the committee, he said, adding that Tehran and Johannesburg will pave the way for developing commercial ties.

So far ten meetings of Iran-South Africa Joint Economic Commission have been held, Afqahi added.

Director of South Africa Trade and Industry Ministry’s Investment Development Office, Younes Hossein, underlined development of economic ties with Iran.

He proposed that each country would select 20 superior domestic goods and expand mutual business on them.

He further announced the imminent visit of South African officials to Iran during which they will discuss trade issues.