Igihe

Author: b_igi_adm1n

  • Pentagon’s Africa Command Gets New Boss

    President Barack Obama will nominate a new leader for the Pentagon command in charge of Africa.

    Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday the president is picking Gen. David Rodriguez to replace Gen. Carter Ham as head of the U.S. Africa Command.

    Rodriguez is the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command, responsible for the training, equipping and oversight of active duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers.

    The choice comes during a turbulent time across the continent. Political turmoil rages in Libya, fighting continues to engulf the fractious state of Somalia, a militant presence has emerged in Mali, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has made its presence known in northern Africa, and sectarian strife plagues Nigeria.

    The command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of six geographic commands operated by the Pentagon. Djibouti hosts the only U.S. forward operating base the United States has on the continent with 3,000 U.S. service members at Camp Lemonier.

    The command was created by presidential order and officially activated in 2007.

    It became fully operational in 2008. Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward served as its first commander. Ham, a U.S. Army general, became the second commander in 2011.

    The U.S. Africa Command is responsible for all military activities and military relations with 54 African countries, including the islands of Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome and Principe, along with the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles.

    U.S. Central Command maintains a traditional relationship with Egypt. Africom says it works with Egypt “on issues relating to Africa security.”

    “The command has no plans to move its headquarters from Stuttgart and will be located here for the foreseeable future.

    In addition, USAFRICOM is not seeking the establishment of bases in Africa or anywhere else,” the command said on its website.

  • 27 Million People in Slavery

    Today there are more than 27 million people in slavery than anytime in human history.

    The estimated number of people in slavery – 27 million – is more than double the total number believed to have been taken from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

    However, campaigners think that slavery may be abolished in the next 30 years.

    The number of slaves transported from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean, from the 16th Century until the trade was banned in 1808 – and the figure is about 12.5 million people.

    The figure of 27 million slaves today comes from researcher Kevin Bales, of Free the Slaves – who blames the huge figure on rapid population growth, poverty and government corruption.

    Many people still think of slavery as a thing of the past, but it exists in many forms, on every continent – ranging from sex and labour trafficking, to debt bondage where people are forced to work off small loans.

    “I often think about a quarry slave from North India,” says investigative journalist Ben Skinner, who has travelled all over the world documenting cases of slavery.

    “I could go in at night and interview him, so I asked him why he didn’t run away. It was because he feared the extraordinary violence of the quarry contractor who held him to a miniscule debt.

    “In his world, the contractor was god. He was not only the taker of life but also the giver of sustenance. When we look at why slavery has persisted we have to look at breaking those cycles of dependence.”

    Skinner says that many of the slaves he met in India had never known a free life. They came from extremely isolated communities, and were not aware of their basic universal rights.

    But while developing countries have the highest number of slave labourers, developed countries with strong human rights laws “fail to resource the law enforcement to deal with the problem in comparison to virtually any other law”, says Bales.

    Barack Obama recently painted a portrait of contemporary slavery.

    “It’s the migrant worker unable to pay off the debt to his trafficker,” he said. “The man, lured here with the promise of a job, his documents then taken, and forced to work endless hours in a kitchen. The teenage girl, beaten, forced to walk the streets.”

    BBC

  • 27 Million People in Slavery

    Today there are more than 27 million people in slavery than anytime in human history.

    The estimated number of people in slavery – 27 million – is more than double the total number believed to have been taken from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

    However, campaigners think that slavery may be abolished in the next 30 years.

    The number of slaves transported from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean, from the 16th Century until the trade was banned in 1808 – and the figure is about 12.5 million people.

    The figure of 27 million slaves today comes from researcher Kevin Bales, of Free the Slaves – who blames the huge figure on rapid population growth, poverty and government corruption.

    Many people still think of slavery as a thing of the past, but it exists in many forms, on every continent – ranging from sex and labour trafficking, to debt bondage where people are forced to work off small loans.

    “I often think about a quarry slave from North India,” says investigative journalist Ben Skinner, who has travelled all over the world documenting cases of slavery.

    “I could go in at night and interview him, so I asked him why he didn’t run away. It was because he feared the extraordinary violence of the quarry contractor who held him to a miniscule debt.

    “In his world, the contractor was god. He was not only the taker of life but also the giver of sustenance. When we look at why slavery has persisted we have to look at breaking those cycles of dependence.”

    Skinner says that many of the slaves he met in India had never known a free life. They came from extremely isolated communities, and were not aware of their basic universal rights.

    But while developing countries have the highest number of slave labourers, developed countries with strong human rights laws “fail to resource the law enforcement to deal with the problem in comparison to virtually any other law”, says Bales.

    Barack Obama recently painted a portrait of contemporary slavery.

    “It’s the migrant worker unable to pay off the debt to his trafficker,” he said. “The man, lured here with the promise of a job, his documents then taken, and forced to work endless hours in a kitchen. The teenage girl, beaten, forced to walk the streets.”

    BBC

  • 2013:Eurozone to Have Banking Supervisor

    Leaders of the European Union in Brussels have agreed October 18, to a deal for a eurozone-wide banking supervisor in 2013 that is designed to help prevent future catastrophic bank failures that could threaten the monetary union.

    The agreement sets the stage for development of a legal framework to allow the European Central Bank to give emergency funds to ailing banks directly without going through national governments — bailouts which, in turn, have required bailouts for the nations themselves, as was seen in Greece and Ireland.

    The move is necessary to “break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns,” said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in a press conference early Friday.

    “Next hurdle to set up a single supervisory mechanism to prevent banking risks and cross-border contagion from emerging … built with the integrity of the single market in mind.”

    The leaders set a goal of approving the legislative framework by January 1, with the new supervisory mechanism “operational in the course of 2013,” Van Rompuy said.

  • 2013:Eurozone to Have Banking Supervisor

    Leaders of the European Union in Brussels have agreed October 18, to a deal for a eurozone-wide banking supervisor in 2013 that is designed to help prevent future catastrophic bank failures that could threaten the monetary union.

    The agreement sets the stage for development of a legal framework to allow the European Central Bank to give emergency funds to ailing banks directly without going through national governments — bailouts which, in turn, have required bailouts for the nations themselves, as was seen in Greece and Ireland.

    The move is necessary to “break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns,” said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in a press conference early Friday.

    “Next hurdle to set up a single supervisory mechanism to prevent banking risks and cross-border contagion from emerging … built with the integrity of the single market in mind.”

    The leaders set a goal of approving the legislative framework by January 1, with the new supervisory mechanism “operational in the course of 2013,” Van Rompuy said.

  • Euro Crisis: Europeans Migrate to Africa for Better Life

    According to the Portuguese consulate in Maputo, there is a rise in experienced, university-educated Portuguese migrating to Mozambique looking for a brighter future.

    “In the last two or three years, people began to come increasingly,” she says. “Lots of people for small investments, some others working with the companies, some others working contract by other people.”

    According to the African Economic Outlook,Mozambique’s real gross domestic product grew by 7.2%, boosted by the country’s first overseas export of coal, as well as strong performances by the transport, communications, construction and financial services sectors.

    Portugese couple Bruno Gabriel and his girlfriend, relocated to the southeastern African country a few months ago, making a deliberate career move to swap the economic uncertainty of their crisis-hit country for the prospect of a better future abroad.

    They are part of a growing Portuguese community fleeing the severe eurozone crisis in search for jobs and economic opportunities in their country’s former colony.

    “In Europe everybody is a little bit afraid with their own future because (of) the crisis, worldwide crisis, in terms of economics,” says Gabriel, a marketing director who has head-hunted to work in Maputo.

    “Once we start to enter the labor business, once we start to work, we understand that to plan the future is a little bit more difficult than what you expected.”

  • Euro Crisis: Europeans Migrate to Africa for Better Life

    According to the Portuguese consulate in Maputo, there is a rise in experienced, university-educated Portuguese migrating to Mozambique looking for a brighter future.

    “In the last two or three years, people began to come increasingly,” she says. “Lots of people for small investments, some others working with the companies, some others working contract by other people.”

    According to the African Economic Outlook,Mozambique’s real gross domestic product grew by 7.2%, boosted by the country’s first overseas export of coal, as well as strong performances by the transport, communications, construction and financial services sectors.

    Portugese couple Bruno Gabriel and his girlfriend, relocated to the southeastern African country a few months ago, making a deliberate career move to swap the economic uncertainty of their crisis-hit country for the prospect of a better future abroad.

    They are part of a growing Portuguese community fleeing the severe eurozone crisis in search for jobs and economic opportunities in their country’s former colony.

    “In Europe everybody is a little bit afraid with their own future because (of) the crisis, worldwide crisis, in terms of economics,” says Gabriel, a marketing director who has head-hunted to work in Maputo.

    “Once we start to enter the labor business, once we start to work, we understand that to plan the future is a little bit more difficult than what you expected.”

  • Rwanda Elected to UN Security Council

    Rwanda is among five nations elected to the U.N. Security Council.

    Rwanda won a two-year non-permanent seat on the council, starting in 2013.

    Other nations joining the Security Council in 2013 include Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea. Each gained the required two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
    ol.jpg
    Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo thanked UN members for the faith they have shown in Rwanda.

    “We are grateful to have won the support of so many of our fellow member states who responded to our message Rwanda Values Peace, and we are honored to serve. We particularly thank our friends and allies throughout Africa for their overwhelming support,” Mushikiwabo said.

    Rwanda, which enjoyed unanimous backing of the African Union, last served on the Security Council in 1993-94 during which period the country endured a genocide against Tutsis that saw more than one million victims.

    In eighteen years of focused nation-building, Rwanda is an active member of the UN, on track to meet or surpass all the MDGs and the sixth largest contributor to peacekeeping worldwide.

    “The contrast could not be sharper between that previous tenure — when a genocidal government occupied a prized Security Council seat as its agents waged genocide back home — and the Rwanda of today: a nation of peace, unity, progress and optimism,” Mushikiwabo said.

    Mushikiwabo stressed how this troubling recent history allows Rwanda to offer a unique perspective on matters of war and peace at the Security Council.

    “Working with fellow members, Rwanda will draw on its experience to fight for the robust implementation of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine that demands that the world takes notice — and action — when innocent civilians face the threat of atrocities at the hands of their governments, with the understanding that situations have specificities that need to be taken into account.” Mushikiwabo said.

    Mushikiwabo also promised that Rwanda would seek opportunities to work with fellow UNSC members to ensure it is responsive and reflective of the views and aspirations of the developing world, in particular the African continent.

    “The world is undergoing a period of exciting but uncertain change. Africa is not just growing economically, but our vision of ourselves and the contribution we can make to the world is also expanding. Over the next two years, we hope to ensure that this new reality is reflected in the way the UN Security Council conducts itself in the 21st century,” Mushikiwabo said.

  • Rwanda Elected to UN Security Council

    Rwanda is among five nations elected to the U.N. Security Council.

    Rwanda won a two-year non-permanent seat on the council, starting in 2013.

    Other nations joining the Security Council in 2013 include Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea. Each gained the required two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
    ol.jpg
    Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo thanked UN members for the faith they have shown in Rwanda.

    “We are grateful to have won the support of so many of our fellow member states who responded to our message Rwanda Values Peace, and we are honored to serve. We particularly thank our friends and allies throughout Africa for their overwhelming support,” Mushikiwabo said.

    Rwanda, which enjoyed unanimous backing of the African Union, last served on the Security Council in 1993-94 during which period the country endured a genocide against Tutsis that saw more than one million victims.

    In eighteen years of focused nation-building, Rwanda is an active member of the UN, on track to meet or surpass all the MDGs and the sixth largest contributor to peacekeeping worldwide.

    “The contrast could not be sharper between that previous tenure — when a genocidal government occupied a prized Security Council seat as its agents waged genocide back home — and the Rwanda of today: a nation of peace, unity, progress and optimism,” Mushikiwabo said.

    Mushikiwabo stressed how this troubling recent history allows Rwanda to offer a unique perspective on matters of war and peace at the Security Council.

    “Working with fellow members, Rwanda will draw on its experience to fight for the robust implementation of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine that demands that the world takes notice — and action — when innocent civilians face the threat of atrocities at the hands of their governments, with the understanding that situations have specificities that need to be taken into account.” Mushikiwabo said.

    Mushikiwabo also promised that Rwanda would seek opportunities to work with fellow UNSC members to ensure it is responsive and reflective of the views and aspirations of the developing world, in particular the African continent.

    “The world is undergoing a period of exciting but uncertain change. Africa is not just growing economically, but our vision of ourselves and the contribution we can make to the world is also expanding. Over the next two years, we hope to ensure that this new reality is reflected in the way the UN Security Council conducts itself in the 21st century,” Mushikiwabo said.

  • Mahogany Jones-Live to Perform in Rwanda

    The U.S. Embassy in Kigali will be hosting Mahogany Jones – Live, an American Music Abroad program featuring Mahogany Jones (EMCEE/Vocals), Lauren Johnson (Drummer/Percussionist) Rosyln Welch (EMCEE/Vocals) and DJ Sean Blu (DJ) from October 19 – 26, 2012 in Rwanda.

    Concert will be held Friday October 26 at 6:30 at Petit Stade and entrance is free.

    American Music Abroad is a partnership between the Association of American Voices and the U.S. Department of State designed to share America’s unique contribution to the world of music and to promote cross-cultural understanding and exchange among nations worldwide.

    The artists’ activities in Rwanda will include public concerts, master classes, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, jam sessions, media outreach, and collaborations with local musicians.