Igihe

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  • Tsvangirai & Lover to settle Out of Court

    Morgan Tsvangirai and his estranged wife Ms Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo have agreed to settle their US$15 000 maintenance case out of court.

    Lawyers representing both parties yesterday told Harare magistrate Mr Rueben

    Mukavhi that they would present to the court an agreed position on the settlement of the case on Thursday.

    Mr Mukavhi postponed the matter to Thursday to allow the parties to reach a settlement.

    The parties’ lawyers appeared before Mr Mukavhi, sitting in his chambers at the civil courts, to apprise him of the latest development.

    Mr Tsvangirai’s lawyers Advocate Thabani Mpofu and Mr Innocent Chagonda indicated that the decision for an out-of-court-settlement was made in the spirit of professionalism.

    “We believe we owe it to the profession, court and the generality of Zimbabwe that we settle the matter,” said Adv Mpofu.

    “We have been able to find each other and we believe there is a way to settle this issue that will not involve the court.”

    Adv Mpofu added: “We have agreed that with the indulgence of the court, this matter will be postponed to allow the process we are carrying out to unfold.

    “We both (lawyers for the two parties) believe we can settle this matter without the involvement of the court.”

    Mr Everson Samukange of Venturas and Samukange confirmed the latest development saying by October 18, the parties would be able to come back to court with an agreed position.

  • Amateur Astronomers Discover Planet with Four Suns

    This week, reality trumped (science) fiction with an image even more enthralling: two amateur astronomers poring through data from deep, distant skies and discovering a planet with four suns.

    NASA’s website calls the phenomenon a circumbinary planet, or a planet that orbits two suns.

    Rare enough on its own — only six other circumbinary planets are known to exist — this planet is orbited by two more distant stars, making it the first known quadruple sun system.

    Researchers presented the finding Monday night at the annual meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Reno, Nevada.

    The discovery of the four-sun planet by amateur scientists takes crowd sourcing to new heights.

    The expression, coined by Wired magazine editor Jeff Howe, describes tasks that are outsourced to a disparate group of people to come up with a solution.

    In this case, the Planet Hunters group made data from NASA’s $600 million Kepler telescope available to the public through its website and coordinates their findings with Yale astronomers.

    In combing through the data, “Citizen scientists” Robert Gagliano and Kian Jek spied anomalies that confirmed the existence of the special planet, now known as PH1 — short for Planet Hunters 1 — the first heavenly body found by the online citizen science project.

    The planet is a little bigger than Neptune, with a radius about six times greater than Earth.

    “I celebrate this discovery for the wow-factor of a planet in a four-star system,” said Natalie Batalha, a Kepler scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California.

    “Most importantly, I celebrate this discovery as the fruit of exemplary human cooperation — cooperation between scientists and citizens who give of themselves for the love of stars, knowledge, and exploration.”

  • Amateur Astronomers Discover Planet with Four Suns

    This week, reality trumped (science) fiction with an image even more enthralling: two amateur astronomers poring through data from deep, distant skies and discovering a planet with four suns.

    NASA’s website calls the phenomenon a circumbinary planet, or a planet that orbits two suns.

    Rare enough on its own — only six other circumbinary planets are known to exist — this planet is orbited by two more distant stars, making it the first known quadruple sun system.

    Researchers presented the finding Monday night at the annual meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Reno, Nevada.

    The discovery of the four-sun planet by amateur scientists takes crowd sourcing to new heights.

    The expression, coined by Wired magazine editor Jeff Howe, describes tasks that are outsourced to a disparate group of people to come up with a solution.

    In this case, the Planet Hunters group made data from NASA’s $600 million Kepler telescope available to the public through its website and coordinates their findings with Yale astronomers.

    In combing through the data, “Citizen scientists” Robert Gagliano and Kian Jek spied anomalies that confirmed the existence of the special planet, now known as PH1 — short for Planet Hunters 1 — the first heavenly body found by the online citizen science project.

    The planet is a little bigger than Neptune, with a radius about six times greater than Earth.

    “I celebrate this discovery for the wow-factor of a planet in a four-star system,” said Natalie Batalha, a Kepler scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California.

    “Most importantly, I celebrate this discovery as the fruit of exemplary human cooperation — cooperation between scientists and citizens who give of themselves for the love of stars, knowledge, and exploration.”

  • Five Aid Workers kidnapped in Niger

    Gunmen have abducted five aid workers and a driver in Niger, a country which borders troubled Mali and Nigeria and where Al-Qaeda’s regional branch has carried out kidnappings in the past.

    The six were nabbed late Sunday in Dakoro, a village in southeastern Niger, halfway between the borders with Mali and Nigeria.

    “Five aid workers, including a Chadian, and a driver were kidnapped at their home around 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) by armed men driving two 4×4 vehicles” in the village of Dakoro, local official Abou Mahamane said.

    The abduction of the Chadian and the five of Niger nationality was confirmed by an aid group and a security source.

    Mahamane, who is secretary general of the Dakoro region, said the abductors “spoke Arabic, Tamasheq (the language of the Tuareg tribes) and Hausa,” a regional language.

    The aid workers were “kidnapped by men with pale skin and one with black skin, speaking Arabic. The Chadian probably tried to resist and was injured but he was still taken away,” said a humanitarian source.

    Four of the six hostages, including a doctor and a nurse, are employed by the local aid group Befen, which fights against malnutrition, and the Chadian health group Alerte-sante.

    In a joint statement, the two aid groups demanded “their release, with a priority for those who might have been wounded during the incident.”

    They also stressed that they “are only medical NGOs with no other goal than to alleviate the most precarious humanitarian situations and completely politically independent.”

    The kidnappers headed straight for the desert region of Agadez, further north, Mahamane said.

    “Security forces lost track of them in the Abala zone, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) south of Agadez, in the Tahoua region,” he added.

    “Reinforcements arrived at Dakoro, African humanitarian workers are still there and the site has been secured by reinforcements from Maradi and Tahoua,” he said.

    A Niger-based humanitarian source later said, “It appears the Niger army in the north has located the kidnappers and it is determined to neutralise the kidnappers. That’s our worry.”

  • Five Aid Workers kidnapped in Niger

    Gunmen have abducted five aid workers and a driver in Niger, a country which borders troubled Mali and Nigeria and where Al-Qaeda’s regional branch has carried out kidnappings in the past.

    The six were nabbed late Sunday in Dakoro, a village in southeastern Niger, halfway between the borders with Mali and Nigeria.

    “Five aid workers, including a Chadian, and a driver were kidnapped at their home around 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) by armed men driving two 4×4 vehicles” in the village of Dakoro, local official Abou Mahamane said.

    The abduction of the Chadian and the five of Niger nationality was confirmed by an aid group and a security source.

    Mahamane, who is secretary general of the Dakoro region, said the abductors “spoke Arabic, Tamasheq (the language of the Tuareg tribes) and Hausa,” a regional language.

    The aid workers were “kidnapped by men with pale skin and one with black skin, speaking Arabic. The Chadian probably tried to resist and was injured but he was still taken away,” said a humanitarian source.

    Four of the six hostages, including a doctor and a nurse, are employed by the local aid group Befen, which fights against malnutrition, and the Chadian health group Alerte-sante.

    In a joint statement, the two aid groups demanded “their release, with a priority for those who might have been wounded during the incident.”

    They also stressed that they “are only medical NGOs with no other goal than to alleviate the most precarious humanitarian situations and completely politically independent.”

    The kidnappers headed straight for the desert region of Agadez, further north, Mahamane said.

    “Security forces lost track of them in the Abala zone, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) south of Agadez, in the Tahoua region,” he added.

    “Reinforcements arrived at Dakoro, African humanitarian workers are still there and the site has been secured by reinforcements from Maradi and Tahoua,” he said.

    A Niger-based humanitarian source later said, “It appears the Niger army in the north has located the kidnappers and it is determined to neutralise the kidnappers. That’s our worry.”

  • Trade Volumes Record Slight Drop

    The Rwanda Stock Exchange market October 16, slightly went down in traded volumes and turnover compared to yesterday’s trading session.

    The total turnover for the day was Rwf 21,702,600 from 115,900 BK shares and 15,100 BRALIRWA shares traded in fifteen deals compared to yesterday’s trading session which recorded a turnover of Rwf 24,504,000 from 136,400 BK shares and 15,400 Bralirwa shares traded in seven deals.

    BK shares traded at Rwf 130 and Rwf 131 and closed at Rwf 131, registering an increase of Rwf 1 compared to yesterday’s closing price while BRALIRWA shares traded between Rwf 435 and Rwf 440 and closed at Rwf 440; unchanged from yesterday’s closing price.

    KCB and NMG shares prices last transacted at Rwf 154 and Rwf 1,200 respectively.

    At the end of formal trading hours, there were outstanding bids of 1,000,000 BK shares at Rwf 130 and outstanding offers of 24,900 shares at Rwf 131 and Rwf 132.

    On Bralirwa counter, there were outstanding bids of 41,700 shares between Rwf 425 and Rwf 435 and no outstanding offers.

  • Trade Volumes Record Slight Drop

    The Rwanda Stock Exchange market October 16, slightly went down in traded volumes and turnover compared to yesterday’s trading session.

    The total turnover for the day was Rwf 21,702,600 from 115,900 BK shares and 15,100 BRALIRWA shares traded in fifteen deals compared to yesterday’s trading session which recorded a turnover of Rwf 24,504,000 from 136,400 BK shares and 15,400 Bralirwa shares traded in seven deals.

    BK shares traded at Rwf 130 and Rwf 131 and closed at Rwf 131, registering an increase of Rwf 1 compared to yesterday’s closing price while BRALIRWA shares traded between Rwf 435 and Rwf 440 and closed at Rwf 440; unchanged from yesterday’s closing price.

    KCB and NMG shares prices last transacted at Rwf 154 and Rwf 1,200 respectively.

    At the end of formal trading hours, there were outstanding bids of 1,000,000 BK shares at Rwf 130 and outstanding offers of 24,900 shares at Rwf 131 and Rwf 132.

    On Bralirwa counter, there were outstanding bids of 41,700 shares between Rwf 425 and Rwf 435 and no outstanding offers.

  • Rwanda Improves in Governance

    According to this year’s Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance released October 16, Rwanda is one of the countries that have recorded improvement in governance.

    This year’s index examined governance with 88 indicators in the four categories of safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and human development. The index showed improvement in governance.

    Out of the total score of 100 points, Uganda got 55.1 in governance and was ranked in position 19.

    Uganda’s score is above the regional average of 47 and the continental average of 51%.

    Rwanda is in the 23rd position after scoring 53.5.

    Kenya scored 52.7% and was ranked 25th. Burundi scored 44.9 and was ranked 36th.

    Tanzania has made tremendous improvements since the launch of the index. It is ranked 10th overall in governance with a score of 58.8.

    The top five included Mauritius which topped with a score of 82.8 out of 100, followed by Cape Verde (78.4), Botswana (77.2), Seychelles (73.4) and South Africa (70.7).

    At the bottom was Somalia (7.2) while Democratic Republic Congo (32.8) was in the 51st position, Chad (32.8) in the 50th position, Eritrea (33) in the 49th and Central African Republic (33.7) in the 48th position.

    A comparison of the continent’s regions in overall governance, safety, rule of law and sustainable economic opportunity categories put East Africa in the fourth position out of the five regions.

    However, in the categories of participation and human rights, and human development, East Africa was the third.

    East Africa’s performance in this year’s index was below the continental average.

  • Rwanda Improves in Governance

    According to this year’s Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance released October 16, Rwanda is one of the countries that have recorded improvement in governance.

    This year’s index examined governance with 88 indicators in the four categories of safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and human development. The index showed improvement in governance.

    Out of the total score of 100 points, Uganda got 55.1 in governance and was ranked in position 19.

    Uganda’s score is above the regional average of 47 and the continental average of 51%.

    Rwanda is in the 23rd position after scoring 53.5.

    Kenya scored 52.7% and was ranked 25th. Burundi scored 44.9 and was ranked 36th.

    Tanzania has made tremendous improvements since the launch of the index. It is ranked 10th overall in governance with a score of 58.8.

    The top five included Mauritius which topped with a score of 82.8 out of 100, followed by Cape Verde (78.4), Botswana (77.2), Seychelles (73.4) and South Africa (70.7).

    At the bottom was Somalia (7.2) while Democratic Republic Congo (32.8) was in the 51st position, Chad (32.8) in the 50th position, Eritrea (33) in the 49th and Central African Republic (33.7) in the 48th position.

    A comparison of the continent’s regions in overall governance, safety, rule of law and sustainable economic opportunity categories put East Africa in the fourth position out of the five regions.

    However, in the categories of participation and human rights, and human development, East Africa was the third.

    East Africa’s performance in this year’s index was below the continental average.

  • Rwanda, Uganda Traders Demand Frw1.6Billion From Kenya

    Rwanda and Uganda business communities are demanding compensation from the Kenyan Government of damage caused following the 2008 Post Election related violence.

    The two landlocked countries are demanding about Frw1.6 Billion as compensation for the destruction of their trucks and goods along the Northern Corridor (Nairobi-Eldoret-Kampala highway).

    They argue that it is four years since Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki promised to compensate them in a meeting held in January at Harambee House.

    The matter is threatening to disrupt harmonious relations between Kenya and the two greatest trade partners of Uganda and Rwanda, according to Kenyan Standard.

    Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) and Rwanda’s Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) have raised concern over the issue. Ugandan business community is planning to hold a peaceful demonstration in Kampala if the matter is not resolved by end of this month.

    “We express concern and fear that our people lost properties during the 2008 election violence in Kenya. It is part of this concern that Ugandan traders are now planning to divert their goods through the Dar es Salaam port for fear of election violence next year,” Kacita spokesman Issa Sekitto, said.

    “We want assurance from the Kenyan Government in the form of a compensatory note that the traders will be compensated by end of this month failure to which we shall mobilise our members to demonstrate at the Kenyan High Commission offices in Kampala.”

    In a letter written to President Kibaki and seen by the Standard, Rwanda’s Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) want the President to intervene and have them compensated before next year’s elections.

    “Your Excellency’s kind attention is drawn to January 29th 2012 at Harambee House where you issued a directive to the Deputy Prime Minister and former minister of Finance Uhuru Kenyatta and Minister of East Africa Community affairs Musa Sirma to settle the claims of the traders affected by the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya,” Bosco Rusagara, the then president of FEAFFA writes.

    “You are issued a two-week deadline to put closure to the long standing saga. The minutes of that meeting were considered and a resolution to the effect passed.”

    But East African Community Minister Musa Sirma said the matter is being looked into and assured the private sectors of both Uganda and Rwanda of an amicable resolution to the matter.

    “The Government under the then Trade Minister Chirau Mwakwere formed a committee which was later handed over to the Permanent Secretaries. The PS’ in turn are expected to prepare a cabinet memo for discussion and action. The matter is expected to be brought before the cabinet for a solution,” Sirma explained.