The exchange of the final Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and signing of the document was between Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Rilwan Lukman, Algerian Minister of Mines and Energy, Dr Chakib Khelil and Niger Republic’s, Mohammed Abdoulahi.

Mr Lukman told his colleagues that the event was a milestone in the quest of economic development of the three participating countries, especially in terms of collaboration in the commercialization of the huge endowment of natural gas in the spirit of NEPAD.

The agreement is a mark for the actualization of “our joint protocol on sub-regional cooperation and development,” he said.

There is the need to obtain some genuine feasibility studies to establish the techno-economic viability of the project.

Lukman said the implementation of the project would facilitate the development of the economies of the three countries and provide another platform for a sustainable and reliable energy supply to Europe, thus ensuring security of supply.

“In addition, TSGP will enhance on-going efforts of the governments of the sub-region at stopping desertification,” Lukman said.

In his remarks, Mr Khelil said the IGA was the first of its kind in Africa, where countries with the political will and fusion, worked out a development program to better the lots of their citizens.

The 10 billion dollars TSGF was initiated in 2002 and projected to be operational in 2015 and would last for 25 years in the first instance.

Nigeria, which is currently flaring up its gas has not been able to give a deadline against the practice but has a target of between 13 and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas for the project.

Sensing that the gas project will be a money spinner for the country, NNPC has described the project as a veritable vehicle for strengthening the bilateral economic relations of Nigeria, Algeria and Niger.

The project had been integrated into Nigeria’s gas master plan and was expected to deliver its first gas by 2015, with Niger as co-sponsor of the about 4,400km long pipeline.

Source African Press Agency

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The contracts will provide:

* Improved performance and sustainability through proactive obsolescence management;
* Increased quantities of equipment to meet user needs;
* Optimization of Bowman system performance through improvements to planning and system management applications;
* Improved interoperability with other UK and Allied systems;
* Improved synergies with Bowman CIP support solution.

The first contract, known as Capability Release 1.5, is worth £119M and will update and refresh the system’s capabilities over its lifetime to reflect advances in technology. The second contract, valued at £112M, will provide longer term technical support for the Bowman program and will include repair, field services and the provision of spares.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies MP, said:

“Bowman has been used successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan, where secure, faster communications and data exchange is saving lives on the front line. It is a key element of a comprehensive suite of communications systems to provide a robust network that allows commanders to exercise command and control effectively.

“These contracts are testament to our work with industry which allows us to rapidly adapt to technological advances and the evolving operational demands of our front-line troops.”

The work will help sustain several hundred jobs at the General Dynamics’ Oakdale site in South Wales.

Bowman’s secure radio communications, declared in service on time in 2004, have been used on operations since 2005, together with a basic data capability. The Bowman system has been developed and integrated by General Dynamics UK into over 13,000 British Army vehicles, together with headquarters, ships, and helicopters. The MoD recently purchased an additional 2139 radios, with an option for a further 437, in order to meet the demands of current operations and their associated training needs.

Dr Sandy Wilson; President and Managing Director of General Dynamics UK said: “Bowman has allowed General Dynamics UK to grow a valuable engineering capability in communications and vehicle integration. That capability is a good example of the industrial benefit to the UK that comes from the close partnership between MoD and General Dynamics UK, working together on the future of Bowman and vehicle electronic architectures.”

Source: Ministry of Defence

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The fighting which continued for the third consecutive day in areas in the north east of the capital has been raging between Somalia’s national unity government and the allied malitias of Al Shabab and Hezbal Islam.

Hundreds of families have been seen fleeing from their homes in the Shibis, Karan and Abdel Aziz neighborhoods which have been experiencing one of the heaviest battles for the past three days.

Islamist fighters have occupied new key positions in the north east of the city after the government forces were forced to retreat.

Spokesman for the Hezbal Islam millitants Sheik Muse Abdi Arale told APA on Friday that his men and other Mujahideens of AL Shabab have defeated government forces in many areas and will end the fighting in the capital within days.

“I am now in the frontline, the Mujahideens have the upper hand and we will finally succeed if Allah says,” he said as the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard in the background.

At the end of African Union summit in the Libyan town of Sirte, the AU strengthened the mandate of its forces who have been in the Somali capital for the last two and half years.

The none combatant forces who were deployed into Somalia early in 2007 were due to reach 8,000 strong men in number, but at least 4,500 troops from Uganda and Burundi have yet been deployed into the lawless country.

Troops from other countries including : Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Malawi are expected to join the AU Mission in Somalia, while the two troop contributing nations Uganda and Burundi declared they are willing to send other battalions.

The country has been experiencing one of the world’s bloodiest armed confrontations for the last two decades of lack of a functioning central government in the war-ravaged horn of African nation.

Source African Press Agency

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The bank said in a statement that this financial packages negotiated with the World Bank by the Ministry for Industry and Trade, Inhambane Province has access to over $5 million for tour operators to develop their businesses, although they will have put in a percentage of their own funding.

“As well as these activities, the funding also covers the execution of projects for producers of tropical fruits in the province of Nampula to make use of local services and involve business associations,” the statement said.

In the case of small and medium-sized companies in Inhambane, which have a fund of $3 million, access to funding will require the companies to match the World Bank funding, it added.

There is also a $1 million fund for micro companies which, to have access to the financing, will have to provide 70 percent of total funding of their undertaking.

Latest figures published by the economic council of Inhambane Province by a team of technical staff from the Ministries for Tourism and for Industry and Trade showed that the project also involves the creation of technical capacities at public institutions of the two provinces.

Source African Press Agency

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Although the history of mass killing has much to do with economic calculation, memory shuns anything that might seem to make murder appear rational. Both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union followed a path to economic self-sufficiency, Germany wishing to balance industry with an agrarian backwardness with rapid industrialization and urbanization. Both regimes were aiming for economic autarky in a large empire, in which both sought to control Eastern Europe. Both of them saw the Polish state as a historical aberration; both saw Ukraine and its rich soil as indispensable. They defined different groups as the enemies of their designs, although the German plan to kill every Jew is unmatched by any Soviet policy in the totality of its aims. What is crucial is that the ideology that legitimated mass death was also a vision of economic development. In a world of scarcity, particularly of food supplies, both regimes integrated mass murder with economic planning.

They did so in ways that seem appalling and obscene to us today, but which were sufficiently plausible to motivate large numbers of believers at the time. Food is no longer scarce, at least in the West; but other resources are, or will be soon. In the twenty-first century, we will face shortages of potable water, clean air, and affordable energy. Climate change may bring a renewed threat of hunger.

If there is a general political lesson of the history of mass killing, it is the need to be wary of what might be called privileged development: attempts by states to realize a form of economic expansion that designates victims, that motivates prosperity by mortality. The possibility cannot be excluded that the murder of one group can benefit another, or at least can be seen to do so. That is a version of politics that Europe has in fact witnessed and may witness again. The only sufficient answer is an ethical commitment to the individual, such that the individual counts in life rather than in death, and schemes of this sort become unthinkable.

For all my criticism of Tom Friedman’s evangelical approach to globalization, I do not think I would accuse him of fostering “privileged development.” On the other hand it is not difficult to read his evangelism in terms of “economic autarky;” and, from that point of view, I suspect that Friedman can be accused of wearing blinders that block out the connection between economic autarky and privileged development. Thus, we need to turn to Europeans to take that connection into account; and one of those Europeans appears to be Angela Merkel.

I make this assertion on the basis of a statement she made yesterday to the German parliament reported this morning on SPIEGEL ONLINE:

With a week to go before the next G-8 meeting in the Italian city of L’Aquila, Merkel told the German parliament in Berlin on Thursday that the forum was no longer sufficient to deal with the challenges ahead. “We are seeing that the world is growing together and that the problems that we face cannot be solved by the industrialized countries alone,” she said.

Merkel now favors the G-20, a wider group of nations, including the fast-growing nations like China, Brazil and India. “I think the G-20 should be the format that, like an overarching roof, determines the future,” she said.

These are the words of a world leader who recognizes that there will always be a threat of economic autarky and is prepared to counter that threat by avoiding economic planning by elite bodies that lack adequate concern for those countries not already “developed” according to standards set by the industrialized countries. Of course, compared with the membership of the United Nations, the G-20 is also a rather elite body; but she has taken a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, it will be up to leaders whose sense of history is more tragic than that of any American “players” to take further steps to recognize that the economic well-being of the world at large is not necessarily strictly a matter of growth, rapid or otherwise. Well-being also includes security from threats of harm, such as terrorism. Until those with both the potential and the motivation to threaten can engage in meaningful discussion about economic futures, even the G-20 will not be able to address economic well-being from a position that will matter most to the rest of the world.

Posted by Stephen Smoliar

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The IOM program would seek to entice doctors, hospital administrators, dentists, nurses and health technicians to offer their services on a short-term basis, while efforts were being made to recruit permanent staff for Zimbabwe’s medical facilities.

Under the program, the health professionals would be required to spend from two to four weeks at Zimbabwe hospitals, where they would treat patients, conduct joint medical procedures with local personnel, provide administrative services and perform laboratory tests.

The program also targets lecturers who have deserted the country’s main medical schools for other countries.

Zimbabwe’s health sector is one of the industries hardest hit by a nine-year economic and political crisis that has seen some of the country’s major hospitals running without doctors or drugs.

Source African Press Agency

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During her appearance before the TRC last year, President Sirleaf admitted that she gave US$10,000 to then defunct NPFL leader Charles Taylor for “relief purposes”, but the former spokesman of the defunct NPFL, Tom Woewiyu said the President provided over $500,000 to the front and even sponsored the training of some rebel fighters.

This recommendation, if endorsed, will affect the president’s second term bid.

TRC Chairman Counselor Jerome Verdier told a press conference Thursday that in its report submitted to the National Legislature, the TRC also recommended the prosecution of former NPFL leader Charles Taylor, now on trial in the Hague for his role in the Sierra Leone conflict.

Also to face prosecution are defunct Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia leader Senator Prince Y. Johnson, former defunct ULIMO-K leader Alhaji Kromah, , defunct Liberia Peace Council leader Dr. George Boley and defunct MODEL warring faction leader Thomas Yaya Nimely.

Others are the leader of the defunct rebel LURD, Sekou Damate Konneh, Francois Massaquoi of the defunct LDF (now deceased) and the leader of the defunct ULIMO-J faction Roosevelt Johnson (now deceased).

The TRC’s recommendations have to meet legislative approval before they can become binding.

Source African Press Agency

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The police found six-year-old Veronika Tishchenko in a house along with three adults in the town of Vyazemsky, Khabarovsk Territory, several days ago.

The girl was unable to speak and had spent her time playing with dogs in the yard of her home. Two years ago Veronika’s brother was tragically killed by the yard dogs.

The girl has been transferred to a social rehabilitation center, where doctors found her to be in good health, but at the physical development stage of two and a half year old.

Veronika’s mother is reported to have gone berry-picking in nearby forest several days ago, without saying when she would be back.

Earlier in June, police in Chita, East Siberia, brought charges against the parents of another dog girl, five-year-old Natasha. The girl, dubbed Mowgli by the press, is currently being treated in a social-rehabilitation center.

Source RIA Novosti

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The U.S. military says one Marine was killed and several others wounded as they were taking up positions in Taliban strongholds in Helmand province.

Thousands of U.S. Marines and hundreds of Afghan soldiers and police are taking part in the operation, which began with a pre-dawn air and ground assault Thursday.

Military officials said troops only encountered sporadic resistance from militants, and were continuing “clearing operations” in the Helmand River valley region.

The offensive marks the first major operation under U.S. President Barack Obama’s revamped strategy to defeat an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.

Thursday’s operation caused concern in neighboring Pakistan. The Pakistani military said it had re-deployed some of its troops to stop insurgents fleeing the Helmand offensive.

U.S. commanders say Operation Khanjar, Strike of the Sword, differs from previous efforts because of its size and its goal of holding on to captured Taliban territory.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Sergeant Charles Marsh, said the combined U.S. and Afghan offensive is designed to provide security for population centers.

He said it also aims to connect locals with their legitimate government, while establishing stable and secure conditions for upcoming national elections as well as enhancing security for the future.

In a White House interview Thursday, Mr. Obama said the U.S. and its allies need to help Afghanistan build up its security forces and help Pakistan protect its borders against terrorists.

In other violence, Afghan Interior Ministry said security forces killed nine militants in eastern Zabul province and discovered a large cache of explosives.

Originally posted and written for VOA News

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The President launched the drive on Wednesday at Amudat Senior Secondary School in Nakapiripirit district north-west of Kampala.

The function was organized to celebrate the Pokot Culture Day, denouncing FGM as well as promoting education for all children in the area.

The President said that once the law is passed, anybody who breaks it will be arrested and charged in courts of law. He explained to the mammoth gathering that turned up for the occasion that the practice of female circumcision is dangerous not only to women but also to unborn babies who could easily die during child birth because of prolonged labor caused by the destruction of elasticity mechanism. He added that most women have become paralyzed while others have died due to female circumcision.

Mr. Museveni showed the crowd one of the women victims, 44 year-old Judith Nagitare, who was circumcised in 1976 in Kapchorwa and is now confined to a wheel-chair. He pointed out that since the functions of the human body are well known, there is no reason for anyone to cut parts of others in the name of culture. He said that God made every part of a human being for a purpose.

“I use spectacles for cutting my nails, then these old women who have no spectacles cut even other parts causing harm to the victims. See that lady on the wheelchair, she is a victim of the bad practice,” President Museveni told the bewildered gathering.

He added that every part of a human body is a miracle. “The way God made it; there is no part of a human being that is useless. When I injured my figure while doing exercises, I spent weeks without doing my work normally. Now you people interfere with God’s work. Some say it is culture. Yes, I support culture that is why I restored kingdoms that were abolished by Obote. You also see my long horned cows; that is culture. But you must support culture that is useful and based on sufficient scientific information”, he said.

President Museveni further delved into the bad practices of the past like drinking unboiled milk leading to contraction of various diseases, burning of the sides of the heads claiming it cures headaches and tattooing of arms and chests.

“You must grow out of that culture that is not supported by scientific information,” he counseled.

The President pledged to support an alternative source of income for women who were engaged in the practice of circumcising girls for a living.

“I am ready to support them in doing something useful. I was supposed to be in Libya to attend the African Union meeting, but when I heard of this I had to come because it is more important,” the President told the cheering crowd.

He also expressed gratitude for the presence of a delegation of Kenyan officials from the Pokot side of neighboring Kenya led by the Minister of Information and Communications Mr. Samuel-Paghiso. He said it was a good gesture especially at this time when the talk was about the unification of Africa.

Source African Press Agency

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EABL through its flagship brand Tusker Lager is continuing its sponsorship of the show for the third year running with more than 200 million shillings ($2.6 million) investment.

The company’s Regional Marketing Manager for Tusker brand, Mburu Karanja confirmed in Nairobi that the expanded reality show will now cover the four East African countries as part of the firm’s bid to tap and nurture the regional musical talent.

“That we have immense musical talent in the region is not in doubt judging from the previous seasons of this show,” Karanja said.

“East African Breweries is investing over 200 million shillings ($2.6 million) in this initiative aimed to seek and develop the music talent in the region in line with the company’s commitment to nurture and showcase world-class talent and performance from the region,” he said.

At the end of the auditioning phase, a total of 12 contestants representing the four countries will move into the Tusker Academy, a music school where for 8 weeks they will be exposed to the best in music vocal, song-writing and performance coaching to fully nurture their talent.

The show’s fans will be able to participate in choosing East Africa’s next music star through SMS voting once the show starts.

Through weekly evictions, the 12 contestants will be whittled down to 1 talented winner who will, in October, be crowned the Tusker Project Fame 3 winner.

Karanja further stated that “we are maintaining the top prize for the winner comprising of 5,000,000 million shillings ($65,916) in prize money and a recording deal with Gallo Records in South Africa, among a host of other goodies.”

Source African Press Agency

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Nuclear physicist and chemist Marie Curie topped the poll which was created to celebrate 10 years of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science program, with around a quarter (25.1%) of the vote.

Voted for by more than 800 members of the scientific community and visitors to NewScientist.com, the poll highlights the absence of modern role models on the list; Astrophysicist Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (4.7%), responsible for the discovery of radiopulsars, and Jane Goodall, the primatologist (2.7 per cent) were the only scientists in the top ten to have research published in recent years, polled 4th and 10th, respectively.

The poll comes as data from the UK Resource Centre For Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, confirms that women remain under-represented in UK scientific research. Statistics reveal that women comprise less than 30% of those in SET research positions in UK Universities, with lower proportions at later career stages. While girls make up 42.4 per cent of GCE A level students in science, this drops to 33.5 per cent at higher education level. Furthermore, in the workforce, women make up only 18.5 per cent of those working in science and engineering overall.

Roger Highfield, Editor, New Scientist commented: “The poll indicates the vital need to celebrate and raise awareness of the many female scientists who have shaped modern science since Marie Curie, and who are making a bigger contribution than ever.

When we asked respondents to suggest who else should be included in our poll, the name of Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Italian neurologist who is the oldest living Nobel laureate, came up the most, with 1.5 per cent of the vote.”

The results of the poll coincide with the announcement of the winners of the four 2009 L’Oréal UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women In Science Fellowships, at an awards ceremony held at the Royal Institution. The fellowships promote the importance of ensuring greater participation of women in science and are run in partnership with the UK National Commission for UNESCO, the Irish National Commission for UNESCO, the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology.

Grita Loebsack, Country Manager, L’Oréal UK and Ireland commented: “Women are at the forefront of advances in many scientific disciplines, particularly in health and life sciences. L’Oréal’s business is founded on science, making programs like For Women In Science fundamental to our future development.”

She added: “The aim of the poll was to celebrate the contribution women have made to scientific research but also to highlight the lack of modern role models to encourage young women to pursue careers in science. It is through programs such as For Women In Science that we hope to draw more attention to the pioneering scientific research undertaken by women around the world and provide more visible role models for the female scientists of the future.”

Winners of the 2009 L’Oréal-UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women In Science Fellowships are:

Dr Nathalie Seddon, Tutorial Fellow, University of Oxford for her research into the evolution of animal communication

Dr Elizabeth Murchison, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute for her work on understanding the origins and development of transmittable cancers

Dr Jennifer Bizley, Post-Doctoral Research Scientist, University of Oxford for her research into the human perception of pitch, tone, and spatial location of a sound source

Dr Patricia Alireza, Honorary Research Associate, University College London for her research into new electronic transitions under extreme conditions of pressure, magnetic field and temperature.

Top Ten Most Inspirational Female Scientists:

1. Marie Curie 25.1
2. Rosalind Franklin 14.2
3. Hypatia Of Alexandria 9.4
4. Jocelyn Bell Burnell 4.7
5. Ada, Countess Lovelace - 4.5
6. Lise Meitner - 4.4
7. Dorothy Hodgkin - 3.8
8. Sophie Germain - 3.7
9. Rachel Carson - 3.4
10. Jane Goodall - 2.7

Source: The poll was commissioned by L’Oréal and conducted by New Scientist, polling 838 visitors to http://www.newscientist.com in June 2009.

Source: L’Oreal and New Scientist

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The new aircraft builds on the success of its long-serving predecessor, but benefits from significant enhancement to bridge any gap with the latest front line jets entering service, such as Typhoon.  Featuring a “glass” cockpit and the latest advances in radar, weapons and defensive aids simulation, the Hawk T Mk2 is aimed at providing a seamless transition from flying training to operational squadron.

Welcoming the arrival of the first jets at RAF Valley in Wales, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies MP, said: “Delivery of these aircraft is excellent news for the Royal Air Force and for British industry.  Building on the success of the Hawk T Mk1, they will enable our pilots to hone the skills required to fly the latest generation of combat aircraft in a state-of-the-art training environment.”

In addition to the realistic in-flight training environment, the new Hawk benefits from simpler design and construction, leading to lower acquisition and support costs.  Infrastructure to support the new training regime is currently under construction at RAF Valley by the Ascent Flight Services consortium, which was awarded the £600M contract to deliver all military pilot training on an incremental basis last summer.

Air Vice-Marshal Baz North, Air Officer Commanding 22 Group, responsible for all RAF training, sang the praises of this aircraft: “The Hawk has long been the backbone of fast jet training but this new advanced version will be far more representative of the new generation of jets that our trainee pilots will go on to fly on operations.  It will provide real benefits in enabling pilots to move more rapidly to full combat readiness.”

Initial deliveries of 10 aircraft following formal “Release to Service” in April will allow six to be used for development of the full training syllabus, prior to the start of pilot training on the new aircraft in 2011.

The new aircraft are built at the BAe Systems plant at Brough on North Humberside, which employs around 1800 people.  They are then flown to Warton in Lancashire for painting and flight testing prior to delivery to RAF Valley.

Source: Ministry of Defence

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The shelling took place near the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip after a reported attack by Palestinian gunmen on an Israeli patrol at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal.

A 12-year-old Palestinian girl was killed and three men were injured in the incident.

Palestinian militants said they had fired seven rockets at the Israeli military.

Clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters are ongoing.

Source RIA Novosti

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The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) failed to meet Tuesday’s deadline to pay more than $57 million owed to the power utilities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Zambia.

ZESA chief executive Ben Rafemoyo told the official media that his company was struggling to raise the money it owed to the DRC’s Snel, Hidroeletrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) of Mozambique and the Zambian Electricity Supply Commission (ZESCO).

Zimbabwe owes $40.3 million to Hydroelectrica Cahora Bassa (HCB), US$9.8 million to Snel and $1.7 million to ZESCO.

A further $5.7 million is owed to Mozambican electricity distribution company, EDM Power.

Besides the $57 million debt, ZESA is accumulating between $6 million and $7 million in monthly bills from the regional power suppliers who have continued to supply electricity to the country in spite of its outstanding payments.

The regional power suppliers have threatened to switch off Zimbabwe unless it cleared the arrears.

Zimbabwe imports 35 percent of its electricity requirements – between 350 and 500 megawatts –from neighbouring countries.

Source African Press Agency

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