Tuesday, March 31, 2009
UMASIKINI UNAVYOENDELEA KUTUMALIZA !
MALDIVES - NCHI INAYOSHUGHULIKIA TATIZO LA UMEME
Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:57pm EDT
By Olivia LangMALE, March 15 (Reuters) - The Maldives will shift entirely to renewable energy over the next decade to become the first carbon-neutral nation and fight climate change that threatens the low-lying archipelago's existence, the president said on Sunday.President Mohamed Nasheed said the Indian Ocean islands would swap fossil fuels for wind and solar power, and buy and destroy EU carbon credits to offset emissions from tourists flying to visit its luxury vacation resorts."Climate change threatens us all. Countries need to pull together to de-carbonise the world economy," Nasheed said in a statement. "We know cutting greenhouse gas emissions is possible and the Maldives is willing to play its part."The $1.1 billion plan would require 155 wind turbines supplying 1.5 megawatts each and a half a square kilometre of solar panels to meet the needs of the islands' 385,000 people."We aim to become carbon-neutral in a decade," he said.The state-owned electricity monopoly will be privatised, and investors and donors invited to take part in the plan.The programme envisions installing battery backup in case wind and solar sources are inadequate, and a power plant to be run off coconut husks in the capital, Male.The Maldives' economy, based almost entirely on fishing and tourism, is worth about $800 million a year, so it will need outside help.Nasheed last year unseated Asia's longest-serving ruler, 30-year incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in the islands' first multiparty presidential election. Gayoom has become a vocal advocate for mitigating climate change.Nasheed drew global attention shortly after his election when he said the Maldives would start looking to buy land in other countries to resettle people once the seas rose, but later acknowledged the plan was not feasible financially.The new plan could pay for itself in 10 years because of the savings on oil imports, said Mark Lynas, an environmentalist and author of three books on climate change who worked with the Maldivian government on the plan."It's going to cost a lot of money but it will also save a lot of money from not having to import oil," he said.The Maldives imports diesel and fuel oil to power its 200 inhabited islands."The point of doing it is that it is something the Maldives can lead the world in," Lynas told Reuters. "No rich country has the excuse that it is too expensive and we can't do anything."In 2007, a U.N. climate change panel predicted an increase in sea levels of 58cm, which would submerge many of the Maldives' 1,192 islands by 2100. (Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSCOL471188
KUYUMBA KWA UCHUMI NA UTASHI WA WENYE NACHO
The Observer, Sunday 29 March 2009
The small town of Jwaneng - which means "place of small stones" - in the Kalahari desert has helped to make Botswana one of the most stable countries in southern Africa. It is the home of the world's richest diamond mine.But last month the diamond company De Beers shut down production at Jwaneng and at its three other mines in Botswana. Demand for precious stones - which made up 70% of the country's exports - has collapsed in the wake of the recession. Mines also lie mothballed in Namibia, while workers have been laid off in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is a stark illustration of how wealthy westerners tightening their belts can hurt the vulnerable who scrape a living producing their now unwanted luxuries - from the sparkle in an earring to the coffee in a latte. While the recession threatens redundancy and repossession in Britain, in Africa it means life or death. The struggle of the world's poorest to survive a crisis minted by the richest is shooting up the agenda of this week's G20 summit in London, the largest gathering of world leaders here for 46 years. And Lord Malloch Brown, the Foreign Office minister, fears the economic storm buffeting a fragile continent may have violent consequences. "If you look at the Democratic Republic of Congo, 200,000 miners have lost their jobs: in Katanga [the mining province] it is living hand to mouth with a few days' worth of foreign exchange, waiting to get an IMF loan," he said. "The effort to integrate rebels in the national army, all that peacebuilding, is being incredibly affected by the fact they can't afford to pay the army.
There have been four coups in Africa in the past 12 months, not all of them solely as a consequence of this, but I have a sense of a creeping tide of instability coming back."This is not to belittle people here losing their homes and their jobs, but in Africa I heard Bob Zellick, chairman of the World Bank, say that 400,000-500, 000 infant deaths could occur as a result. People are dropping back into poverty, with a real risk to life."Last autumn in Washington, the G20 concluded that the developing world would be largely untouched by the banking crisis.
Ten days ago, African leaders, including Botswana's PM, met Gordon Brown to convince him otherwise. Now ministers are working frantically on a package of aid, credit and trade boosts for Africa to unveil this week. But will that be enough to bridge the dangerous rift opening in the G20 - not between America and Europe, but between the developed countries who wrecked their own economies and the emerging nations suffering as a result? The attack last week by Brazil's president, Luis da Silva, on "white blue-eyed bankers" revealed a new anger among some of the world's most populous countries at being dragged into a mess not of their making - and a determination to hold the west to account.
India's prime minister will use the summit to challenge what it says is creeping protectionism costing Asian jobs. China will exact more influence over the IMF in return for bailing it out. Chile's Michele Bachelet used a joint appearance with Brown to stress how, unlike Britain, her country saved vast revenues "during the good times" - which it is now having to spend.Even George Soros, the currency speculator and major Africa donor, yesterday warned that the G20 must insulate developing countries "against a calamity that is not of their making". So will a new world order emerge from this clash of nations? And if so, will it be one in which Britain - the City neutered, its seats on international institutions from the UN to the IMF under pressure, and its military prowess threatened by tightening budgets - must accept it can no longer be a first-rank power?
In London's Docklands, at the waterfront ExCeL Centre, they have spent the week preparing for war. Volunteers have role-played battles, debated military tactics and scrutinised conflict scenarios. Fortunately, the war-gaming exhibition being staged at the G20 summit venue will have been dismantled by the time Barack Obama arrives on Tuesday night. But the predominant mood swirling around this summit remains one of anger, from the corridors of power to the streets of London where protesters threaten to hang effigies of bankers from the lampposts. The emergence of such hardliners worries Malloch Brown, who hopes the anger "can get channelled towards strong outcomes and not towards an atavistic rage". But will there be a genuine breakthrough?
After weeks of hyping the summit as the answer to Brown's prayers, ministers are now lowering expectations. Asked about it last week, the education secretary, Ed Balls, retorted: "Are they in one weekend going to solve the problems of the world? Of course not."Brown has given up on a worldwide financial stimulus: climate change has dropped off the agenda, although the communiqué will commit to make a success of December's global warming summit in Copenhagen. Ominously, Germany's Angela Merkel predicted yesterday that there would not be a final deal on banking regulation or trade, and the summit "will naturally not solve the economic crisis either", adding they would need a second meeting.
Malloch Brown, however, is upbeat about the chances of a "big package" to boost Africa and a return of confidence to the financial markets. But the sheer logistics of getting agreement from a group that may control 85% of the world's GDP but also spans huge differences of opinion and vested interests are daunting. "There are 20 of them and they are in a room for maybe 10 hours. So they've got 30 minutes each, in effect," says Tony Dolphin, chief economist at the IPPR, a think tank. "Even if there were only six issues, that's five minutes per person per issue: what can they say in that time?"Which is why Brown has spent five days travelling, seeking to nail down a deal before the summit begins. But the risk of last-minute hiccups is still real. "It's a Rubik's cube, and if just one person objects to one piece there's a risk that other pieces get pulled out and the whole thing doesn't hang together," admits Malloch Brown. "This is a much bigger group of people than the typical summit and the final negotiations are much more complex."
As a result, many Labour MPs fear it may not produce results the public understands, thus widening a gulf between ordinary families anxious about their prospects and politicians seen as out of touch. Ministers are now belatedly trying to humanise a potentially dry and technical debate. Harriet Harman, the equalities minister, will tomorrow publish a report to the summit which warns that women losing their jobs may not show up in the unemployment figures, since some will stay at home to raise children. It cites anecdotal evidence that many taking voluntary redundancy are women on maternity leave who cannot face fighting for their jobs.
Ed Miliband, the climate secretary, yesterday entertained a delegation of American steelworkers, international union leaders and development charities for coffee and croissants at the Treasury to insist that their concerns over jobs, aid and climate change were not forgotten. Aides say, however, that the financial system must be fixed before moves to protect homes and livelihoods can succeed. But that does not mean that the conclusions of this summit will not affect the millions of ordinary Britons. Far from it. With Jamie Oliver preparing a summit dinner showcasing "budget British cooking", and world leaders offered a downgraded goodie bag including a tea-towel, the mood of the summit is studiedly austere. But it is not only VIPs who will have to adjust their expectations.
One key issue for debate on Thursday is what role the difference in saving and spending habits between the two economic powerhouses of America and China played in triggering the crisis. While Americans love to shop, often on credit, Chinese households traditionally put money aside. For years, China used those savings to invest abroad, particularly in US bonds - thus pumping billions into the US economy and helping fund more cheap credit. Many economists believe a recovery now requires bursting that artificial bubble and rebalancing the economy so that Chinese consumers are encouraged spend a little more - reducing America's trade deficit - and Americans a little less.
Malloch Brown suggests Britons, too, will need to relearn the art of saving. "There is the recognition that you are not going to go back to the world as it was before, and we must get a new balance between spending and saving and borrowing. You can't have the old model where it was the US consumer who was widely seen as driving growth through his or her spending and borrowing."You are going to see a situation where countries in Asia begin to spend and consume more at home and countries in the west have to move towards a more prudent lifestyle and live within their means." Consumers will also have to learn "within environmental limits", he said, which could also affect standards of living for those wedded to cars and cheap flights. But the toughest set of negotiations this week are likely to centre on trade.
The communiqué is expected to include pledges not to resort to protectionism, but is unlikely to specify what protectionism means - to the anger of emerging nations, who think it should forbid rich countries such as the US and UK forcing their bailed-out banks to prioritise domestic mortgage and business lending over overseas loans. It may not, however, be only the economic world order that shifts this week: the banking crisis is starting to shake the kaleidoscope of foreign policy, too. As MPs debated Iraq last week, three government departments slipped out a short joint statement to Parliament. Buried in it was the news that Britain is cutting its role in world peacekeeping and will be "unable to sustain funding levels to all regions".
The UK will withdraw from the UN mission to Kosovo, reduce activity in the Balkans, shift resources from west Africa and scrap programmes in Latin America. The move was blamed on falls in sterling, making Britain's bills for the UN, EU and other international organisations that charge in dollars more expensive, as well as on new demands. But it underlines the other big question facing Britain this week: how long can it afford to remain a military world power? This week sees the publication of a review of military reservists, which is expected to accept they should be better prepared to meet increasing demands to back up over-stretched regular forces.
And once Thursday's summit is over, many of the same leaders will reassemble at Friday's Nato summit. President Barack Obama's blunt message will be that Washington has shouldered too much of the burden in Afghanistan, and that Nato partners should do more. But amid a recession that threatens EU members' defence budgets, he risks an equally blunt response. Merkel has promised to "explain forcefully" why Germany's contribution to the war effort is already impressive - meaning Britain, which had resisted offering extra troops, may now do so. The summit is expected to agree a strategic review of Nato's future role, but the elephant in the room - particularly given the absence of Obama's defence secretary, Robert Gates, who is finalising US defence spending cuts - will be how much members are prepared to pay for their armed forces in leaner times.
Senior Labour figures are already debating whether to advocate slashing defence spending after the election and joining a common European defence policy instead. "We need to be honest about what we can do," says one former cabinet minister. Such thinking has broad consequences. Amid the pre-summit horse-trading last week, Britain endorsed Brazil's campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, although new members risk diluting British influence. "A crisis forces decisions," notes Malloch Brown, who, as a former UN deputy secretary general, oversaw years of stalled talks on security council reform but who now argues it may be time to act. So will Britain, as one former treasury minister suggests, find itself bumped a few rungs down the international pecking order once the recession is over?
Malloch Brown admits we may take a "cut in our cloth" internationally, but insists Britain still punches above its weight in peacekeeping, overseas aid and institutional reform: similarly, the IPPR's Dolphin suggests Britain's boldness in experimenting with measures such as quantitative easing will ensure that others keep looking to the UK for leadership. For now, however, Brown still faces a troubled few weeks finalising the 22 April budget.
Any dreams of a major package of tax cuts and spending to kickstart the economy died when the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, publicly warned that Britain could not afford it. But the prime minister insisted in Chile that he could still take "targeted actions" to boost cashflow - which could include heeding pleas from Labour MPs to channel more money to the poor, who are most likely to spend it. This week's summit may just be the start of a worldwide redistribution, however small, from the chastened rich towards the angry poor. And if it is not, the G20 leaders may suffer the conse
guardian.co. uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
Tujiulize hivi, (1) Tanzania inapata nini tokana na kuchukuliwa kideo hiki, na (2) Kwa kufanya hivyo, tutaongeza au tutapunguza watalii? Waziri haelekei kujibu maswali haya!
The government has signed a contract with International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) for the international live broadcast of wildebeest migration to be done in the Serengeti National Park (SENAPA). The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Ladislaus Komba, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the event would boost tourism industry in the country. The great wildebeest migration in East Africa normally takes place in Serengeti from December to May every year. “In the course of the migration thousands of wildebeest and zebras migrate through the Serengeti ecosystem, constantly driven by their search for fresh pastures, water and safe places for calving,” Dr Komba said. He said that the decision to broadcast live the migration was due to the fact that Serengeti was among the wonders of the world. Dr Komba said that the broadcast aimed at proving to the World on how great the Serengeti is and shows that it deserves its merit as one of the wonders of the world. He said that the exercise would be done by a team of 12 people. Eight are from the ministry and the remaining four are from the IYPE. “This will bring in the country more tourists and hence contribute much to the economy of the country. Currently the sector’s contribution to GDP is about 17 per cent while 25 per cent of foreign exchange earnings are from the tourism sector,” he said. IYPE’s Media Officer, Mr Dan Molina said that the broadcasting also aims at portraying the science involved in the migration process. He said that the broadcasting would also explain the impact of the migration to the people nearby SENAPA.“We aim at taking the wonders of SENAPA in to the next level,” he said. The PS said that all costs related to the exercise would be covered by IYPE and that the company has been into such kind of activities in several other countries.
IMMOLATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan: International Women's Day celebrated with self-immolation12/03/2009: According to the local officials of Herat province, a 45-year-old woman committed self-immolation due to ‘poverty and mental pressures’. (RAWA) This incident took place two days before the celebration of International Women’s Day in the Oba district in Herat. Including this case, 81 such cases have been recorded in this province’s burn hospital this solar year. Muhammad Arif Jalali, the administrator of the burn hospital in Herat said, “59 people who were admitted for self-immolation have died. Only four of them were men and the others women.” According to him, 80% of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 25. According to experts, poverty, family problems, forced marriages, age differences between spouses and domestic violence result in women committing self-immolation.
Four months back, 20-year-old Anar Gul chose fire to end her life due to her family problems. She said, “I had arguments with my husband for almost a week. Finally, I was very pressurized one night and threw benzene over myself and set myself on fire. Now it has been four months that I am in this burn hospital and my condition is getting better.”
IMECHANGIWA NA: Pauline Wynter (Depelchin)
2009/3/31 Jacques Depelchin <jdepelchin41@gmail.com>
Justice can be swift as one judge demonstrated Tuesday when he leaped from the bench to come to the aid of a woman whose ex-boyfriend attacked her in court.County Court Judge Ian Richards helped law enforcement officers restrain a domestic violence defendant who charged at his alleged victim and began hitting her, said Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella.The incident happened after Richards told John Charles Reasee II, 29, that he was being taken into custody on a domestic violence charge.His ex-girlfriend, Nicole Word, had just testified that he ran her off the road last week in Lauderhill.
A courtroom deputy was coming up behind Reasee to handcuff him when the defendant lunged at Word, chasing her several feet until he cornered her in the courtroom's witness stand.Word told the Sun Sentinel that Reasee hit her twice in the temple and twice in the back of the head.
As she cowered under the blows, Richards jumped over the bench and landed on Reasee, video shows.The judge and courtroom personnel were able to separate Reasee from Word within seconds. Five Lauderhill police officers who were out in the courtroom hallway rushed in to help.Word said she's thankful the judge and others reacted so quickly."I was amazed," Word said. "I've never seen a judge come off [the bench] like that. I'm glad he did."Word said she has some bruising on her arms and legs, but didn't need to be taken to the hospital.
Richards, 33, did not return a phone call Tuesday afternoon. He was elected to the bench in August. Reasee, of Lauderhill, was arrested in November on a misdemeanor battery charge and again on March 19 on an aggravated stalking charge.He now is facing an additional domestic violence charge for the courtroom attack, Moschella said.
Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4491.
M U S A W A H
Last month, Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family was launched at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
By Kathambi Kinoti
In February of this year, about 250 scholars, lawyers, journalists and women’s rights activists from 47 countries met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to launch a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. This global movement initiated by Sisters in Islam is called Musawah, an Arabic word which means “equality.” According to Zainah Anwar one of the protagonists of the movement “there is nothing more powerful that an idea whose time has come.” [1] The demands for women for justice and equality within Muslim laws are gaining momentum all over the world signalling what some are calling a “paradigm shift” in Muslim theological and legal scholarship. [2]
AWID’s Shareen Gokal participated in the Musawah launch. She says: “The dominant theme of the meeting was the assertion that not only are equality and justice possible within Islam, but that women are demanding that Muslim family laws respond to their lived realities and their call for equality and justice. Participants at the meeting emphasized that Musawah is about equality, universality, diversity and dignity – concepts that guarantee full rights for women and not about equity, complimentarity or reciprocity.” [3]
Musawah rests on the assertion that equality, justice, fairness and human dignity are concepts central to Islam. According to Gokal advocates at the meeting made a clear distinction between two elements in Islam: Shariah and Fiqh. Shariah (or “the path”) as derived from the Quran and Sunnah, provides a broad set of values to which Muslims should adhere. Fiqh is the “science of legal jurisprudence,” [4] or “the process by which humans attempt to derive concrete legal rules from the two primary sources of Islamic thought and practice.” Currently, a large part of the body of family laws for Muslims in many parts of the world is based on interpretations made by Muslim jurists in the past, that is to say it is the collective outcome of a male dominated process that was influenced by the power structures of the day. As a result, Muslim laws are largely “laws made by men in the name of God” and must be exposed as such.
Since Fiqh is a man- made and patriarchal process, it is open to challenge by more feminist interpretations without violating Shariah or the Quran. Contemporary knowledge and discourse on human rights can inform interpretations of Shariah that promote women’s rights without digressing from Quranic teachings. The Musawah movement claims that the bases for full citizenship of women and non-discrimination are present in Islam and in the Quran but have been cast aside and not given any emphasis in Muslim jurisprudence.
Laws formulated during colonial periods in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia tended to calcify jurisprudential interpretations and post-colonial regimes often entrenched these laws. [5] This has led to numerous injustices against women that touch on rights to do with labour, property ownership, citizenship and nationality, marriage, mobility, dignity and political participation. Musawah advocates assert that this has to change, and that it is well within the teachings of Islam that it should change.
Challenging the secular/religious divide
According to Gokal, the fact that Musawah acts as an umbrella for advocates from many different traditions and ideological perspectives to call for an end to injustice in the Muslim family is one of its strengths. By giving equal emphasis to human rights principles, national and constitutional guarantees against discrimination, lived realities and Islamic principles that show equality to be necessary and possible, Musawah is able to challenge the secular/religious divide that has long been a backdrop to this debate among feminists. This is not to say that certain ideological tendencies did not manifest as an undercurrent to the meeting. There was an on-going debate about the usefulness of secular approaches, which threw up differences in historical experiences of women’s rights advocates from different countries. In her opening address to the meeting, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Yakin Erturk said that there are two prevailing culturally restrictive interpretations of women rights. One is cultural relativism whose proponents claim that international human rights norms originate from the North and are not necessarily appropriate in Southern contexts. Another, which primarily originates in the North, is cultural essentialism in which ‘other’ women are seen as victims to be saved. Often, discourse on the rights of Muslim women is based on either of the two assumptions. The reality however, is that the basic tenets of Islam mandate equality and the realities of women living in Muslim contexts (like in other contexts) necessitates positive change.
Looking aheadParticipants at the Musawah meeting urged the movement to take collective responsibility to build the feminist knowledge base within Islam that can respond to the challenges that women are experiencing in Muslim contexts and to further disseminate this knowledge. More activists need to consider Islamic texts and alternative jurisprudence as well as documenting the realities of people’s lives as a way to lobby for equality. Women’s knowledge and experiences need to be valued, prioritised and contexualised. [6]
Participants also agreed that Musawah would be located within the broader context of democracy, and they need to address issues such as occupation, conflict and authoritarian rule. Another issue that was raised was the need to recognise that non-Muslims may also be affected by Muslim family law issues – either because of being married to Muslims or as non-Muslim minorities in a Muslim majority context. There was a broad consensus that violence against women needs particular attention and responses from within an Islamic framework as do inheritance and divorce laws. Musawah brings together women from diverse parts of the globe. What they have in common is their demand for equality and justice within the Muslim family and their commitment to the principle that all human beings are equal in rights and dignity. Gokal is emphatic that despite the diverse needs and realities of Muslim women around the globe, there is common ground. She stresses that it is imperative to “preserve the plurality and diversity of the movement and yet find ways to build on the synergies.”
BWANA VIJISENTI ANDREW CHENGE MAHAKAMANI
Mbunge wa Bariadi Magharibi, Andrew Chenge, akiongozwa na Polisi wa Usalama Barabarani (kulia) na wa Mahakama ya Hakimu Mkazi Kinondoni, Dar es Salaam, kuingia mahakamani hapo jana kusomewa mashitaka yanayomkabili ya kusababisha ajali na vifo vya watu wawili hivi karibuni. (Picha na Mroki Mroki).
Akisoma mashitaka hayo mbele ya Hakimu Mfawidhi wa Mahakama hiyo, Emilius Mchauru, Mwendesha Mashitaka, Mrakibu wa Polisi David Mwafimbo, alidai kuwa katika mashitaka ya kwanza na ya pili, Chenge alisababisha kifo kutokana na uendeshaji gari kizembe. Alidai kuwa Machi 27 mwaka huu saa 10.30 alfajiri katika barabara ya Haile Selassie akiwa dereva wa gari namba T 513 ACE Toyota Hilux Pick-up mshitakiwa aliendesha gari kizembe na kushindwa kuchukua tahadhari kwa watumiaji wengine wa barabara hiyo.
Aliendelea kudai kuwa katika mashitaka hayo pia aliendesha kinyume akibana kulia zaidi na matokeo yake kugonga pikipiki ya magurudumu matatu ‘bajaj’ namba T 736 AXC na kusababisha vifo vya abiria wa bajaj hiyo, Victoria George na Beatrice Constantine. Mafwimbo alidai kuwa katika mashitaka ya tatu, mtuhumiwa siku hiyo kwa uendeshaji wake alivunja kifungu namba 50 na 63 (12) (d) cha Sheria za Usalama Barabarani namba 30 ya mwaka 1973 kama ilivyofanyiwa marekebisho mwaka 2002. Alidai kuwa uvunjaji wa kifungu hicho ulibainika kwa kuigonga bajaj na kuharibu pia gari lake.
Chenge alikana mashitaka na Hakimu Mchauru kusema dhamana yake iko wazi kwa Sh milioni mbili ambapo alidhaminiwa na Ezekiel Masanja ambaye ni Mkurugenzi wa Fedha na Utawala katika Kituo cha Sheria na Haki za Binadamu (LHRC) kwa Sh milioni moja huku naye akitoa Sh milioni moja zingine. Katika hali isiyo ya kawaida, mmoja wa wana ndugu hao alisikika akivishutumu vyombo vya habari akidai vinamwandama ndugu yao.
“Nawaambieni mtabakia hivyo hivyo masikini hata mkipiga picha Chenge hamtatajirika.” Katika majibizano na waandishi ilibainika kuwa mtuhumiwa huyo anatarajiwa kutolewa mahakamani kwa mlango wa nyuma, hali iliyowafanya wapiga picha wajipange nyuma na baadhi mbele. Gazeti hili lilimshuhudia akitolewa kwa mlango wa nyuma na kuingia kwenye gari namba T 382 ACP Toyota Harriet na kuondoka mahakamani hapo kwa kasi. “Haoo waandishi wamekosa picha,” baadhi ya ndugu zake walizomea.
Kesi hiyo imepangwa kusikilizwa tena mahakamani hapo Aprili 30 mwaka huu. Na Chenge anatetewa na Wakili Melkizedeck Lutema. Katika kesi hiyo ya aina yake, eneo la Mahakama hiyo liligeuka kichekesho kwa wananchi waliofurika kumshuhudia mbunge huyo akipandishwa kizimbani, kutokana na ndugu na baadhi ya askari kujaribu kumtoa kwa mlango wa nyuma ili waandishi wasiweze kumpiga picha.
Monday, March 30, 2009
AHADI YAKE ILIKUWA BADO
A woman who plunged over a 100ft cliff in her car while not wearing a seatbelt says she cannot believe she's alive. Imetoka ITN
Related photos / videos
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Lucky escape Play video -
Cliff dive motorist stunned to be alive.
Barbara Tyreman, 60, accidentally hit the accelerator of her Mini as she tried to reach for her seatbelt when leaving her home in Eskdaleside, near Whitby, North Yorkshire.
The grandmother, who runs a holiday letting business, then swerved to avoid hitting another car and her Mini "flew" over the edge of the cliff and came to rest 100ft below wedged between two trees.
Mrs Tyreman, who still can't believe how she escaped unhurt, said: "As I was reaching back for my seatbelt, my foot hit the accelerator and I shot right across, quite fast, across the car park and down the drive, which is very long and steep.
"I was hurtling down the drive and I tried to put the brake on but for some reason I kept hitting the accelerator and just carried straight on.
"My daughter and granddaughter were in a car in front of me and I didn't want to hit them so I turned the car to the left and just flew, literally flew, and went over the cliff edge. It went down for about 100ft and the car came to a halt."
She added: "I was sat in my car and realised I hadn't banged my head and my legs and arms and everything were still moving and I couldn't believe it."
Firefighters had to cut Mrs Tyreman from the car and she was airlifted by helicopter to Scarborough Hospital, where she was X-rayed and given blood tests but released later the same day with just a bruise on her arm.
She said: "I just don't know how I'm alive, I'm very lucky, my life flashed before my eyes. I'm just happy that I'm here and I've got my family and everything."
ILI MRADI UWANJA UWE WAZI KWA WANAWAKE WASIO UWT!
| meandikwa na Martha Mtangoo; Tarehe: 30th March 2009 @ 19:00 | |||||
Hali hii imeendelea kwa muda mrefu. Kutokana na hali hiyo mashirika mbalimbali yasiyo ya kiserikali, yalijaribu kuwasaidia wanawake katika kuhakikisha usawa unapatikana na wao wanapewa vipaumbele katika sehemu mbalimbali, ikiwemo nafasi ya kutoa maamuzi. Sophia Simba ni Waziri wa Nchi Ofisi ya Rais (Utawala Bora), pia ni Mwenyekiti wa Umoja wa Wanawake Tanzania (UWT), ambapo kutokana na wadhifa alionao wa kuwaongoza wanawake, anasema atahakikisha wanawake wa wanachama wa umoja huo, wanawezeshwa na UWT inatarajia kufufua miradi yake yote. Sophia anasema kuwa UWT inatarajia kuanzisha miradi mikubwa kama zamani, achilia mbali jengo kubwa la ghorofa kumi, ambalo mkataba wake haukuwa mzuri. Anasema kuwa nia ni kuboresha UWT na kuifanya kuwa kimbilio la wanawake kama awali. Pia, anasema UWT itahakikisha akina mama wote ambao ni wanachama, wanaelekezwa mambo muhimu kuhusu Chama cha Akiba na Mikopo (SACCOS) na namna ya kujiunga na kupata mikopo. “Lengo kubwa la UWT ni kumsaidia mwanamke kumuelekeza, akitaka mkopo anaenda wapi na anafuata taratibu gani ili aweze kupata mkopo, ambao unaweza kumsaidia, pia ni kuhakikisha mwanamke anayeonewa anasaidiwaje,” anasema. Mwenyekiti huyo wa Taifa wa UWT anasema kuwa kwa muda mrefu ofisi za umoja huo, zimekuwa zikiwakutanisha wanawake nyakati za mikutano. Lakini, kutokana na hali ilivyo sasa mpango unafanywa ili kuhakikisha ofisi za UWT wilaya, zinakuwa mahali pa kukutana wanawake na kubadilishana mawazo. Aidha, anasema kuwa ili kuhakikisha hilo linafanikiwa elimu kwa viongozi wa chini, itatolewa ili kuhakikisha kuwa wanachama wa umoja huo, wanakuwa na uelewa wa juu sawa na viongozi wa juu, ambao tayari wanao uelewa wa kutosha. Sophia anasema kuwa changamoto kubwa, anayokabiliana nayo katika umoja huo ni idadi ndogo ya wanachama iliyopo, ikilinganishwa na idadi ya wanawake wote hapa nchini. Anasema wanachama wa UWT waliopo sasa, hawafiki milioni 1.5, jambo ambalo anasema kuwa linasababishwa na kutokuwa na kadi na uelewa mdogo walionao. Anasema ili kukabiliana na changamoto hiyo, viongozi wa UWT kwa ngazi zote, wanatakiwa kuhamasisha wanawake kuchukua kadi ili kuwa wanachama hai na kuongeza idadi kubwa ya wanachama. “Kadi zinauzwa na suala la kuwahamasisha wanawake kununua kadi na kuwa wanachama hai, na suala la dosari kuwepo katika mkusanyiko ni jambo la kawaida, nitajitahidi kuziondoa,” anasema Mwenyekiti huyo. Changamoto nyingine anayoitaja ni kuhusu kuwapata vijana wanawake, ambao ni wanachama ambapo anasema katika kukabiliana nayo, UWT inatarajia kuanzisha klabu za vijana wanawake ili wawe wanakutana katika klabu hizo na kujadili masuala mbalimbali. Anasema UWT inatambua mchango wa vijana na walemavu na katika kuhakikisha hilo linatekelezwa, nafasi za vijana katika umoja huo, zimekuwa nyingi, ambapo pia pamoja na kuwepo kwa nafasi hizo, bado mabadiliko makubwa yanafanyika kuhakikisha vijana wanapewa nafasi zaidi. Katika kuhakikisha umoja huo unafanya kazi 'kidot com' Sophia anasema kuwa UWT inatarajia kufungua Tovuti, ambayo itakuwa ikitumika katika kuwafahamisha makatibu wote wa mikoa wa umoja huo, juu ya utendaji wa kazi. Anasema kuwa utaratibu huo, utawasaidia katika utendaji wao wa kazi na hivyo kutumia teknolojia ya kisasa zaidi katika mawasiliano. Kuhusu vitendea kazi, Sophia anasema kuwa UWT ina lengo la kuhakikisha kila ofisi inakuwa na kompyuta na mashine na kutolea nakala. “Katika wilaya nyingi wabunge wamekuwa wakisaidia vitendea kazi katika ofisi zao; na hali ya ofisi zetu kwa kweli si nzuri, zinatakiwa kuboreshwa ili ziweze kutunza kumbukumbu,” anasema Sophia. Anasema kuwa kwa kuanzia, UWT imeamua kutoa baiskeli 137 katika wilaya zote ili kuwasaidia watendaji kuwafikia wanachama walioko mbali kwa njia hiyo. Anasema kuwa yapo magari machache, ambayo yako katika baadhi ya wilaya hayakidhi mahitaji, kuwa na magari ni gharama, kwa kuwa yanahitaji mafuta na matengenezo ya mara kwa mara. Sophia anatoa mwito kwa makatibu na wenyeviti wa wilaya, kukaa pamoja na kuhamasisha wanawake kujitokeza kwa wingi, kugombea nafasi mbalimbali za uongozi katika uchaguzi wa serikali za mitaa, ambao unafanyika mapema mwaka huu. “Hakuna nafasi ya mtu wasiogope eti huyu mwanaume, akina mama pia wajitokeze kuwapigia kura akina mama wenzao, kwa kuwa ni haki yao ya msingi kupiga kura,” anasisitiza. Katibu Mkuu wa Jumuiya ya Wanawake nchini (UWT), Husna Mwilima, anasema kuwa utaratibu unafanywa ili kuwashirikisha wanawake kutoka katika vyama vya siasa katika utendaji wa jumuiya hiyo. Husna anasema kuwa umoja wa wanawake nchini, haubagui wala kuoneana wivu na hivyo wanawake kutoka katika vyama vya upinzani, watashirikishwa katika shughuli za kiutendaji za UWT. “Kwa mfano kama tunatoa mikopo hapa sisi UWT, au inatolewa mikopo katika saccos za UWT, katika utoaji wa mikopo hiyo hatutaangalia UCHADEMA au UCCM, tutawahudumia wote na kuwashirikisha wote bila kuangalia itikadi zao,” anasisitiza. Anasema UWT itafanya makongamano na warsha, kuhusu masuala mbalimbali ambayo yatawashirikisha wanawake kutoka vyama mbalimbali vya upinzani. Akizungumzia uteuzi wake kutoka ukuu wa wilaya hadi ukatibu mkuu wa UWT, Husna anasema kuwa amepokea kwa mikono miwili uteuzi huo, kwa kuwa anaamini kuwa kazi nzuri aliyoifanya akiwa wa wilaya, ndiyo iliyomfanya ateuliwe kushika wadhifa huo. “Ukiwa mtendaji mzuri, hata kama utakuwa katika kata, ukiwekwa ufanye kazi ya kitaifa, utaweza tu, kwa hiyo mimi naamini naweza na nitafanya vizuri ninachoomba nipewe muda,” anasisitiza Katibu Mkuu huyo. Anasema kuwa hakuwa na sababu ya kukataa uteuzi huo, kwa kuwa aliyemteua katika ukuu wa wilaya, ndiye aliyemchagua kuwa katibu mkuu wa jumuiya hiyo. |
AJALI YA RELI DODOMA INASHUKIWA HUJUMA !
Imetoka BBC
Tanzania train wreck 'deliberate'
 |
Police in Tanzania suspect a train crash that left seven people dead was caused deliberately so that petrol could be stolen from the fuel tanks.
Seven people have been arrested, including the driver of the cargo train and the station master. The initial death toll was thought to have been 15.
In Sunday's incident, a passenger train hit a stationary cargo train near the town of Dodoma, in central Tanzania.
It happened near Pandambili in Dodoma's Mpwapwa District, local media say.
William Lukuvi, Dodoma's regional commissioner, told AP news agency: "Cranes have been ordered to help separate the crumpled wreckage and retrieve bodies."
In 2002, more than 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded when a freight train collided with a passenger train outside Dodoma - the worst rail accident in the country's history.
Correspondents say most of Africa's railways date back to colonial times.
TANZANIA INAVYODHULUMIWA SEKTA YA MADINI
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/553910/-/rj1vapz/-/index.html
Tanzania earned only $17.4 over five-year price boom
By KEVIN KELLEY
Posted Saturday, March 28 2009 at 00:53
Tanzania has collected only $1 million in income tax from foreign mining companies even though they exported nearly $3 billion worth of gold over a four-year period, a new report has revealed.
As at the end of last year, AngloGold Ashanti was the sole mining company operating in Tanzania to have paid any corporate income tax, says the report by Action Aid and other advocacy groups.
The company made a $1 million payment in 2007 on its Geita gold mine operation, which provided Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti with gross profits of $93 million between 2002 and mid 2007.
According to the report, Canada-based Barick Gold, another large mining company doing business in Tanzania, reported a net income of $97 million between 2004 and the first half of 2007 but paid no corporate income tax to the Tanzanian government.
Between 2002 and 2006, mining companies exported around $2.9 billion worth of gold. During that time, the government earned around $17.4 million in royalties, charged at 3 per cent of the market value minus transport and transaction costs.
“If royalties were charged at 5 per cent as it has now been recommended by a presidential commission, the government revenue would have increased to $145 million over the next five years,” says the report titled: “Breaking the Curse: How Transparent Taxation and Fair Taxes can Turn Africa’s Mineral Wealth into Development.”
“Mining companies operating in Africa are granted too many tax subsidies and concessions,” says the report, which also covers Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia. “There is high incidence of tax avoidance by mining companies conditioned by such measures as secret mining contracts, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and various ‘creative’ accounting mechanisms.”
Tanzania negotiates from a position of weakness in its dealings with multinational mining corporations, says Peter Kafumu, the country’s Commissioner for Minerals.
He says: “The companies are holding a panga by the handle and we are getting the sharp end.”
Foreign governments also lobby in Tanzania on behalf of the mining companies, the report says.
It says that in June last year, the staff of the Canadian High Commission in Tanzania tried to influence parliamentarians to reject the recommendations of the Bomani Commission which had been appointed by President Jakaya Kikwete to review the country’s mining contracts and legal framework.
The companies further try to take advantage of weaknesses in Tanzania’s legal structure, the report adds.
It quotes Mr Kafumu as saying: “We have no capacity to look at their books. The companies can write the books so that third world countries cannot regulate. Even the contracts are difficult. I think the mining companies exploit our weaknesses in law and capacity.”
The companies have used their negotiating leverage to gain exemptions from local government taxes and fuel levies, the report adds.
It notes that under negotiated agreements, the mining companies do not pay local government taxes in excess of $200,000 a year. And even that sum, which is much lower than standard tax rates, is not fully collected.
Royalties account for the largest source of revenues that the Tanzanian government is able to collect from the companies.
It earned about $17 million in royalties per year during a five-year period. The figure is the product of a 3 per cent charge on the market value of gold exports, minus the cost of transportation and transactions.
Meanwhile, mining companies in Tanzania are expected to make their formal response to the accusations contained in the report.
Industrial sources told The EastAfrican that think the companies and the chamber for energy and minerals would be making a formal response to what is contained in the report.
“It is not good for the industry or the country,” said the sources.
Additional reporting by Joseph Mwamunyange
UGONJWA WA MIGOMBA UTALETA BALAA
Jamani kama gonjwa hili likitambaa hadi Tanganyika tumeumia. Endapo mvua zenyewe mwaka huu ni haba na hivyo mazao ya msimu ni haba tegemeo lilikuwa ni kwenye ndizi, mihogo na viazi sasa kama na huku kumeambukizwa ni hatari kwa familia zetu.
| News | March 30, 2009 |
| Uganda issues new banana disease alert Uganda has put its national crop disease surveillance network on the alert for a possible outbreak of a new incurable banana virus. The Director for Crop Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Opolot Okasaai, said the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV), is likely to strike Uganda from across Rwanda or DR-Congo, threatening the multi-million annual local banana industry. Already Rwanda, DR Congo, Congo-Brazaville, Gabon and Hawaii have reported the problem. Dr Okasaai said the virus has no known cure so far, and that all available banana cultivars and varieties in the country were vulnerable to the attack. This will be a major blow to the agricultural sector following a recent Banana Bacterial Wilt Disease (BBWD) attack, which has devastated over 50 districts in the country, wiping out up to 90 per cent of farm yields and threatening household food security. Uganda has one of the highest per capita matooke (green bananas) consumption rate in the world at about 500kg. Matooke alone occupies 38 per cent of Uganda’s arable land, accounting for food security to over 12 million Ugandans, according to the National Agricultural Research Laboratories. But in the last five years, production has sharply decreased due to numerous diseases and pest attacks. Following the new threat, the government has sent a scientific team to Rwanda led by the head of Banana Research Programme, Dr Wilberforce Tushemereirwe, to assess the danger. “We are also alerting all farmers and district agricultural officers, especially on the western borders to be on the look out,” Dr Okasaai said. The BBTV virus is transmitted by insects called aphids. Unlike the BBWD, the new virus is not mechanically transmitted through using the same farm tools like pangas, which may have cut an infected crop. Dr David Talengera, a senior banana researcher at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories in Kawanda, said the virus is known to stop the banana from flowering and producing a bunch. The leaves of the banana form a rough, bunchy-like structure pointing upwards, with no bunch forming. He said the disease is also transmitted by planting materials when a parent stock produces a sucker that is transferred across distances for planting. “We are discouraging this. We intend to develop guidelines on handling this disease,” Dr Talengera said. Scientists have also developed national banana virus index to address multi-disciplinary interventions. The viruses that have been identified as pathogens in banana (Musa spp.) are abaca mosaic potyvirus (AbMV), banana bract mosaic potyvirus (BBMV), banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV), and banana streak badnavirus (BSV). Of these five viruses, BSV is reported to be the major virus problem affecting banana production in Uganda. The other four cause yield losses of considerable economic importance in various banana cultivars. Banana production has in the last five years declined significantly, mainly due to pests and diseases attacks. Prof. Mateete Bekunda, a soils scholar at Makerere University said the increament in tempereatures had made most parts of the country’s soils barren, and habitable to numerous pests and parasites. Uganda’s temperatures have increased by between 0.2 and 0.3 degrees centigrade in the last 50 years, giving rise to various crops and animals diseases, according to Prof. David Kabaasa, the Head of Veterinary Medicine at Makerere University. He said more crops and animals pests were likely to occur. On average, many small-scale farmers in Uganda produce about 800kg of grain especially beans and maize per hectare as a result of poor soils compared to 10 tonnes in other parts of the world with chemical fertiliser use. |
HASARA ITOKANAYO NA WIZI WA MAFUTA YA TRANSFOMA TANZANIA
VANDALISM & THEFT
VANDALISM
Vandalism is the act of damaging property that belongs to someone else, which is a criminal offence. In the case of TANESCO, the objective of the perpetrators is to steal components like oil from the transformers or the transformers themselves and other crucial items that are essential to supply of electricity.
Whenever TANESCO’s transformers are vandalized, the company not only incurs heavy losses but its customers are forced to go without electricity until the damaged equipment is replaced. Most common acts of vandalism affecting TANESCO include stealing transformer coolants, felling tower members and stealing distribution cables. Vandalism commonly affects TANESCO’s transmission and distribution lines especially in Dar es Salaam, Coast, Morogoro, Iringa, Mwanza and Shinyanga regions.
VANDALIZED TRANSFORMERS FROM YEAR 2000 – 2006
YEAR | NUMBER OF TRANSFORMER VANDALIZED | TOTAL COST OF THE DAMAGED TRANSFORMERS (cost does not include value of energy loss or impact on economy) |
2000 | 33 | 165 million/= |
2001 | 74 | 368 million/= |
2002 | 98 | 492 million/= |
2003 | 131 | 653 million/= |
2004 | 261 | 1,304 billion/= |
2005 | 199 | 996 million/= |
2006 | 164 | 820 million/= |
| 959 | 4,798 billion/= |
INVESTIGATION TEAM
In November, 2006 the Government decided to form an Investigation Committee which will examine in depth the problem of vandalism of the power infrastructure, and report to the Prime Minister on the cause of the problem and what steps should be taken to curb the menace permanently. The Committee was supposed to hand over its report before the end of December, 2006.
ELECTRICITY THEFT
Tampering with an electricity meter with the objective of stealing electricity is also a criminal offence. Theft of electricity is not only illegal but also dangerous because interference with electrical installations can result in short circuits leading to other hazards, which includes fire outbreak.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSUMERS OF ELECTRICITY
The theft of electricity is a challenge that needs to be eradicated if the electricity distribution industry is to remain sustainable and viable. Interruptions: Illegal connections often tend to overload the system thereby causing tripping which result in power interruptions. The overload could even affect neighbouring areas. Interruptions that are due to this feature are not the fault of the local distributor.
• The overload could also result in overvoltages which could damage appliances of paying customers. These customers would have no way to seek recourse to supplier, as these problems did not result from his side of the network or negligence from his part.
• It results in loss of revenue: The distributors need to get their money’s worth from the electricity bought from generators of electricity. Income from electricity sales boosts the viability and helps the distributor to stay in business. Theft of electricity therefore poses a threat to providing future generations with electricity.
It stalls electrification: Loss of income means less money going to the electrification programme. This means that people without electricity will have to wait a while longer to be electrified.
It is not safe: In the majority of cases illegal connections are dangerous as cables are often exposed and could result in a loss of life.
It affects the price of electricity: Loss of income from loss of sales means that this shortfall has to be recovered somewhere. This implies an increase in the tariff. And who is ultimately affected? Customers who pay for their electricity as these losses are built in tariff increases.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1. Advise your neighbour of the implication of this action;
2. Advise your neighbour on how to apply for a connection;
3. Inform your neighbours perhaps they might advise how best to deal with the matter;
4. Raise the matter in your community/civic structures;
5. Report the matter to the police, if need it be;
6. Notify your distributor if you know that someone is stealing electricity, and you may be handsomely rewarded.
Remember: As a consumer of electricity you have the obligation to pay for the services received. If you have problems keeping up with our account payments, budget for it every month. Theft of electricity affects all consumers not only in your area but in other areas as well, as it has a ripple effect.
Imechangiwa na tovuti ya TANESCO.
HOTLINE CENTRE
TANESCO Informer Reward System was introduced in June, 2004 with the primary objective of combating vandalism and electricity theft. A Hotline Fraud Centre was established at the Dar es Salaam City Centre (George’s Grill) so that ordinary people can walk in and give voluntary information on people they know or suspect steal electricity, steal tower members and distribution cables, and other unethical behaviour which affect the power industry. Tip – offs resulting into recoveries or convictions are being rewarded by TANESCO, and they range from T.shs. 50,000/- to 500,000/= depending on the magnitude and class of offence. Since its inception, the Hotline Centre has borne fruits to the Company. For instance, in 2005 in Dar es Salaam alone, 695 tip-offs (on electricity theft alone) were received and followed up. 331 cases were proved to be true of which 237 cases involved meter tampering, 48 meter bypass, 28 cases were customers loaded with stolen LUKU energy tokens, 10 had un-metered supply and 8 had illegal service lines. Members of the public are invited to use this facility by contacting the Fraud Hotline numbers 022 122788-90.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
AJALI YAUA 15 DODOMA, TANZANIA
Tanzania train crash 'kills 15' | |
At least 15 people have died after a passenger train ploughed into a stationary cargo train in Tanzania. Bodies of other victims may be trapped in the wreckage in the Dodoma region of central Tanzania, officials say. William Lukuvi, Dodoma's regional commissioner, said he feared the number of dead would rise. He said cranes had been ordered to move the wreckage of the trains after the crash, which occurred around midday local time on Sunday. "We are investigating the cause of the accident, which has already claimed at least 15 lives," Mr Lukuvi told the Associated Press news agency. "Cranes have been ordered to help separate the crumpled wreckage and retrieve bodies." Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation said the accident happened in Pandambili, in Dodoma's Mpwapwa District. In 2002, more than 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded when a freight train collided with a passenger train outside Dodoma, the worst rail accident in the country's history. | |
VITA VYA KUBOFYA VINAENDELEA
Hii imetoka BBC. | ||
An electronic spy network, based mainly in China, has infiltrated computers from government offices around the world, Canadian researchers say. They said the network had infiltrated 1,295 computers in 103 countries. They included computers belonging to foreign ministries and embassies and those linked with the Dalai Lama - Tibet's spiritual leader. There is no conclusive evidence China's government was behind it, researchers say. Beijing also denied involvement. The report, Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network, comes after a 10-month investigation by the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), which comprises researchers from Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group and the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies. They were acting on a request from the Tibetan spiritual leader's office to check whether the computers of his Tibetan exile network had been infiltrated. Researchers found that ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan appear to had been targeted. Hacked systems were also discovered in the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan. Analysts say the attacks are in effect industrial espionage, with hackers showing an interest in the activities of lawmakers and major companies. Compromised The researchers said hackers were apparently able to take control of computers belonging to several foreign ministries and embassies across the world using malicious software, or malware. "We uncovered real-time evidence of malware that had penetrated Tibetan computer systems, extracting sensitive documents from the private office of the Dalai Lama," investigator Greg Walton was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
They say they believe the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on governments in Asia. By installing malware on compromised computers, hackers were able to take control of them to send and receive classified data. In this case, the software also gave hackers the ability to use audio and video recording devices to monitor the rooms the computers were in. But investigators said they did not know whether or not this element had been used. According to the New York Times, the spying operation is the largest to have been uncovered in terms of the number of countries affected. In an abstract for a second report released on Sunday by two Cambridge University researchers - entitled The Snooping Dragon: Social Malware Surveillance of the Tibetan Movement - investigators said while such attacks were not new, these particularly stood out for their ability to collect "actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed". CORRECTION: Please note that the BBC News website mistakenly gave the impression in an earlier version of this story that the IWM produced the "Snooping Dragon" report. We wish to stress that this report is entirely separate from the "Tracking GhostNet" report. | ||
DUNIA INAKOKWENDA - VITA VYA TEKINOLOJIA
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5993156.ece
INTELLIGENCE chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities.
They have told ministers of their fears that equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT’s new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies.
The warnings coincide with growing cyberwarfare attacks on Britain by foreign governments, particularly Russia and China.
A confidential document circulating in Whitehall says that while BT has taken steps to reduce the risk of attacks by hackers or organised crime, “we believe that the mitigating measures are not effective against deliberate attack by China”.
MWAKYEMBE ALISTAHILI KUJITOA KAMATI YA RICHMOND
Narudia tena, kujadili kwetu suala ma mwakyembe ni wazi kuwa tunaamka na kutoendelea kufumbia macho mambo kisa ushabiki na mapenzi yetu kwa mtu.
Mfano, pamoja na kuwa mimi ni shabiki wa Nyerere, nakubali wazi kuna mambo aliyoyafanya hayakuwa ya tija wala hayajaleta manufaa kwa Taifa letu. Sasa kama ningekuwa nimekunywa mkorogo wa fenesi na papai, ningesema Nyerere hajawahi kufanya makosa na ni mtakatifu daima.
Sasa Mwakyembe ni ama alifanya kwa makusudi au kujenga mazingira ya kufumbia macho dhamana aliyopewa ya kuchunguza mradi wa umeme uliopewa kwa mshindani mwenzake (yes it is a fellow competitor mtake msitake) huku yeye mwenyewe akiwa anajijengea maslahi na uwanjwa wa kuwa na uwezo wa kupiku na kuuza umeme kwa Taifa. Alichofanya yeye kadai kulia uzalendo na uchungu wa uzawa!
Kama tunataka kujenga jamii na Taifa bora ambalo tunalilia siasa safi, uongozi bora na maadili, basi ni shurti tuachane na kufumbia macho kupindishwa kwa sheria na kanuni kunakofanywa na vipenzi vyetu.
Revolutionary Right Reverend Kishoka
OBAMA AMTUMIA MTAALAM WA TEKINOLOJIA MSWAHILI !
US President Barack Obama named Vivek Kundra, a 34-year-old, as the federal chief information officer at the White House to advance the administration's technology agenda.
In a statement announcing Kundra's appointment, Obama said, "I have directed him to work to ensure that we are using the spirit of American innovation and the power of technology to improve performance and lower the cost of government operations."
In his new job, Kundra will direct policy and planning for federal IT investments, according to the White House. The CIO will also be responsible for the disbursal of $80 billion that US federal government agencies spend annually on technology, as well as ensuring information security and privacy across government.
Incidentally, the appointment of Kundra to the Federal post crowns a recent trend in the US, where CTOs in four states have been of Indian origin. Minnesota, Virginia, Alaska and the District of Columbia, all have had Indian Americans as CTOs.
New Delhi-born Kundra formerly served in Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty's cabinet as the chief technology officer (CTO) for the capital city, responsible for technology operations and strategy for 86 agencies.
Here, Kundra introduced several popular consumer tools to smoothen bureaucratic processes. He is credited of slashing the city's IT costs by shifting government mail and work applications to Google Apps and bringing in transparency by posting online the lists of jobs that government contractors have been hired to perform. His work earned him a place among the top 25 CTOs in the US and bagged him the title of IT Executive of the Year for 2008.
The 34-year-old has also won recognition for his leadership in public safety communications, cyber security and IT portfolio management. His plans include allowing drivers to pay parking tickets and renew driver's licenses on Facebook.
Kundra has also served as vice president of marketing for identity management specialist Evincible Software and as CEO of Creostar, where he advised clients in government and industry on IT governance and strategy.
Kundra spent large part of his childhood in Tanzania and considers Swahili as his first language. He moved to the US with is parents 23 years ago. He did his Master's of Science in information technology from the University of Maryland.