Sudan Tribune
14 November 2009
Ethiopia’s ministry of mines and energy this week announced that it has discovered more than 40 tonns of gold deposit in two sites in the western parts of the country.
According to Ethiopia news agency, A British firm has found 23 tons of gold deposit at a local area known as Tulu-Kapi, some 450 Km west of the capital near the border to Sudan. While a Saudi company discovered 18 tonns of gold deposit at Lege-Dembi locality.
When extraction is began from the new mine sites, Ethiopia’s annual income from the sector is said to jump to 1.7 Billion US dollar a year from what it is now, only USD105 Million.
However this will cost Ethiopia 200 million dollars to extract and process it within a period of 5 to 10 years.
Currently there are some 44 companies engaged in gold exploration. Statistics by the national bank indicates that the nation has earned 450.5 million dollars from exports of some 48 tons of gold over the past 10 years.
Studies indicate that Ethiopia’s mineral resources still remain unexploited. Geological surveys indicate that there is an estimated 500 tonns of gold deposit across the horn of Africa’s nation.
14 November, 2009
Inmates in Rwanda fake testimony at ICTR to get released from jail.
13 November 2009
Arusha: A defence witness claimed before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Thursday that inmates in Rwanda make false statements against accused persons tried in Arusha in order to get released.
Led in his examination in-chief by American defence counsel Peter Robinson, witness code-named ‘’16’’ to protect his identity, alleged that a group of about 40 detainees at Ruhengeri prison, including himself, were advised by the Rwandan officials to falsely accuse the former leaders as part of the condition to get released.
He added that without implicating the former authorities, their confessions would not be accepted.
The witness was testifying in the defence of the former Secretary General of the Rwandan presidential party (MRND), Joseph Nzirorera.
Mr. Nzirorera is jointly tried alongside two other senior MRND leaders, including its ex-president, Mathieu Ngirumpatse and the vice-president, Edouard Karemera whose defence case has already been completed.
He asked the Chamber, presided by Judge Denis Byron, ‘’not to give any credit to these statements I made before the Ruhengeri prison authorities and to the ICTR investigators in 2002 because I made them under duress’’.
He mentioned names of about ten witnesses to have been forced under such circumstances.
The witness, who was convicted in Rwanda for his involvement in genocide and sentenced to 20 years in prison, would continue with his testimony on Monday. He is the tenth defence witness out of the expected 55.
Nzirorera and his two co-defendants are charged mainly with crimes committed by members of their party. The Prosecution has indicted them for their superior responsibility as top officials of the MRND, the party then in power under President Juvenal Habyarimana.
Arusha: A defence witness claimed before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Thursday that inmates in Rwanda make false statements against accused persons tried in Arusha in order to get released.
Led in his examination in-chief by American defence counsel Peter Robinson, witness code-named ‘’16’’ to protect his identity, alleged that a group of about 40 detainees at Ruhengeri prison, including himself, were advised by the Rwandan officials to falsely accuse the former leaders as part of the condition to get released.
He added that without implicating the former authorities, their confessions would not be accepted.
The witness was testifying in the defence of the former Secretary General of the Rwandan presidential party (MRND), Joseph Nzirorera.
Mr. Nzirorera is jointly tried alongside two other senior MRND leaders, including its ex-president, Mathieu Ngirumpatse and the vice-president, Edouard Karemera whose defence case has already been completed.
He asked the Chamber, presided by Judge Denis Byron, ‘’not to give any credit to these statements I made before the Ruhengeri prison authorities and to the ICTR investigators in 2002 because I made them under duress’’.
He mentioned names of about ten witnesses to have been forced under such circumstances.
The witness, who was convicted in Rwanda for his involvement in genocide and sentenced to 20 years in prison, would continue with his testimony on Monday. He is the tenth defence witness out of the expected 55.
Nzirorera and his two co-defendants are charged mainly with crimes committed by members of their party. The Prosecution has indicted them for their superior responsibility as top officials of the MRND, the party then in power under President Juvenal Habyarimana.
DynCorp, not Blackwater, working in Pakistan: Malik.
Daily Times
14 November 2009
By Tahir Niaz
Denying presence of US security agency, Blackwater (Xe Worldwide) in the country, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said a few personnel of US security company DynCorp have been allowed to work in Karachi to provide security to US personnel present in Afghanistan.
Addressing the National Assembly, Malik said DynCorp had been working in Afghanistan for security purposes and was committed to abide by Pakistani laws.
However, he said the company officials travelled under a security cover provided by Pakistani agencies from Pakistan to the Afghan border, adding that they were not allowed to stay in Pakistan.
The interior minister said no foreigner was allowed to carry and display weapons without a licence, adding that security agencies had been instructed to take action against those violating the law.
14 November 2009
By Tahir Niaz
Denying presence of US security agency, Blackwater (Xe Worldwide) in the country, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said a few personnel of US security company DynCorp have been allowed to work in Karachi to provide security to US personnel present in Afghanistan.
Addressing the National Assembly, Malik said DynCorp had been working in Afghanistan for security purposes and was committed to abide by Pakistani laws.
However, he said the company officials travelled under a security cover provided by Pakistani agencies from Pakistan to the Afghan border, adding that they were not allowed to stay in Pakistan.
The interior minister said no foreigner was allowed to carry and display weapons without a licence, adding that security agencies had been instructed to take action against those violating the law.
EU soldiers to help Somali troops in Uganda.
BBC News
13 November 2009
The European Union is expected to endorse plans to send troops to help train up to 2,000 Somali soldiers, according to an EU official.
Under the plan, up to 200 EU troops will train Somali military personnel in Uganda in a bid to broaden engagement in the crisis-hit state.
A decision is expected to be taken at a meeting of EU ministers next week.
The move comes on the heels of a request by the Somali government to help build a 6,000-strong police force.
"Once this is approved, which we expect is going to happen during the (EU) council then we will be launching the real planning," said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"We think that this is a very good contribution to the global approach that the European Union has in order to tackle the Somali problems and all of its impact."
The training plan is expected to last for roughly a year and will be carried out in two or three phases.
The move by the EU is expected to complement efforts made by France, Djibouti and Uganda who have all committed to training Somali troops.
13 November 2009
The European Union is expected to endorse plans to send troops to help train up to 2,000 Somali soldiers, according to an EU official.
Under the plan, up to 200 EU troops will train Somali military personnel in Uganda in a bid to broaden engagement in the crisis-hit state.
A decision is expected to be taken at a meeting of EU ministers next week.
The move comes on the heels of a request by the Somali government to help build a 6,000-strong police force.
"Once this is approved, which we expect is going to happen during the (EU) council then we will be launching the real planning," said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"We think that this is a very good contribution to the global approach that the European Union has in order to tackle the Somali problems and all of its impact."
The training plan is expected to last for roughly a year and will be carried out in two or three phases.
The move by the EU is expected to complement efforts made by France, Djibouti and Uganda who have all committed to training Somali troops.
13 November, 2009
Mbeki: No war in Darfur.
News 24
12 November 2009
There is no war in Darfur, and the people who are saying so, are doing it to justify their own political agendas.
This was how former President Thabo Mbeki expressed his opinion on the situation in Sudan during an address at the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Law on Wednesday evening.
He did acknowledge that there is currently a "low-intensity war" in Western Sudan, the region where Darfur is located.
Darfur is a "refugee camp" spread out over an area larger than Gauteng, and according to the African Union (AU), it houses 2.7 million people who've fled onslaughts by their own government. These people are living in conditions of extreme hardship.
Mbeki is heading up an AU delegation negotiating a peace treaty in Sudan. He is currently doing everything within his power to prevent Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir from being arrested and tried on war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Mbeki, who declared last year that "there is no crisis in Zimbabwe", said he had recently spent 30 days in Darfur, "and there is no war".
He took exception to the fact that the UN Security Council has not accepted the AU's recent report on the current situation in Darfur.
'Own reality'
"They're extremely upset because we didn't deliver a report stating that a bloody war was taking place. There is still a low-intensity war going on, since there has been no peace agreement yet. People who allege otherwise, are creating their own convenient and self-justifying reality," he said.
Mbeki also advised Africa to reconsider its relations with the G8 countries (the US, Britain, Italy, France, Japan, Canada, Germany and Russia), and rather to turn to China.
"Western countries are becoming increasingly concerned about China's growing presence in Africa."
He said China has already established that it is positive towards Africa. In this regard, he referred to the building of the Tanzam railway line between Tanzania and Zambia.
"China isn't the gogga, - I think the English for that is 'monster' - that many would suggest they are," said Mbeki.
12 November 2009
There is no war in Darfur, and the people who are saying so, are doing it to justify their own political agendas.
This was how former President Thabo Mbeki expressed his opinion on the situation in Sudan during an address at the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Law on Wednesday evening.
He did acknowledge that there is currently a "low-intensity war" in Western Sudan, the region where Darfur is located.
Darfur is a "refugee camp" spread out over an area larger than Gauteng, and according to the African Union (AU), it houses 2.7 million people who've fled onslaughts by their own government. These people are living in conditions of extreme hardship.
Mbeki is heading up an AU delegation negotiating a peace treaty in Sudan. He is currently doing everything within his power to prevent Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir from being arrested and tried on war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Mbeki, who declared last year that "there is no crisis in Zimbabwe", said he had recently spent 30 days in Darfur, "and there is no war".
He took exception to the fact that the UN Security Council has not accepted the AU's recent report on the current situation in Darfur.
'Own reality'
"They're extremely upset because we didn't deliver a report stating that a bloody war was taking place. There is still a low-intensity war going on, since there has been no peace agreement yet. People who allege otherwise, are creating their own convenient and self-justifying reality," he said.
Mbeki also advised Africa to reconsider its relations with the G8 countries (the US, Britain, Italy, France, Japan, Canada, Germany and Russia), and rather to turn to China.
"Western countries are becoming increasingly concerned about China's growing presence in Africa."
He said China has already established that it is positive towards Africa. In this regard, he referred to the building of the Tanzam railway line between Tanzania and Zambia.
"China isn't the gogga, - I think the English for that is 'monster' - that many would suggest they are," said Mbeki.
Africa: African Oil, Gas, Minerals Trade and Finance Conference opens.
The Chronicle
Daniel Nonor
10 November 2009
The 13th UNCTAD's African Oil, Gas, Minerals, Trade and Finance Conference, takes off toady in Bamako, Mali with focus on the critical role information can play in the natural-resource sector.
The theme of this year's conference is "Natural resources development: capturing value from information."
The conference ends on the 13th of November.
High-level officials of African governments, investors, executives from small and large petroleum and mining firms, bankers, law firms, and environmentalists participating in the conference will discuss how information helps reduce exploration risks, saves time during new exploration, and can achieve high recovery rates when new technology is applied to formerly abandoned sites.
Owners of resources also can benefit extensively from good information in terms of marketing and in making decisions - more thorough data can prove valuable in negotiations and in strengthening the policy-making capacities of host country governments.
Speakers at the opening session the afternoon of 10 November will include Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali; Fradique de Menezes, President of Sao Tome & Principe; Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD; Chakib Khelil, Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria and President of the Council of African Ministers of Energy (CAMEN); Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union; Ahmed Ibrahim Elham, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission; Gabriel Dansou Lokossou, Executive Secretary of the African Petroleum Producers' Association; Mbaranga Gasarabwe, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mali; and Antonio M.A. Pedro, Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa's Sub-Regional Office for West Africa.
Over 400 participants from more than 30 countries are expected to attend the meeting, including 22 African government ministers for energy and mining.
African countries possess great stores of geosciences data existing from pre-independence times which have often gone unused for lack of knowledge or appreciation of the inherent value of the information.
Other information has gone unused because either governments have not obtained copies of what is available or, when information exists in the archives, it has not been properly catalogued or organized in a usable way.
Among other things, the conference will highlight the potential value of archived information. One expected outcome of the event is an initiative aimed at reinforcing the capacities of host countries to capture untapped value from already existing information can optimize natural resource development and management.
Daniel Nonor
10 November 2009
The 13th UNCTAD's African Oil, Gas, Minerals, Trade and Finance Conference, takes off toady in Bamako, Mali with focus on the critical role information can play in the natural-resource sector.
The theme of this year's conference is "Natural resources development: capturing value from information."
The conference ends on the 13th of November.
High-level officials of African governments, investors, executives from small and large petroleum and mining firms, bankers, law firms, and environmentalists participating in the conference will discuss how information helps reduce exploration risks, saves time during new exploration, and can achieve high recovery rates when new technology is applied to formerly abandoned sites.
Owners of resources also can benefit extensively from good information in terms of marketing and in making decisions - more thorough data can prove valuable in negotiations and in strengthening the policy-making capacities of host country governments.
Speakers at the opening session the afternoon of 10 November will include Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali; Fradique de Menezes, President of Sao Tome & Principe; Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD; Chakib Khelil, Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria and President of the Council of African Ministers of Energy (CAMEN); Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union; Ahmed Ibrahim Elham, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission; Gabriel Dansou Lokossou, Executive Secretary of the African Petroleum Producers' Association; Mbaranga Gasarabwe, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mali; and Antonio M.A. Pedro, Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa's Sub-Regional Office for West Africa.
Over 400 participants from more than 30 countries are expected to attend the meeting, including 22 African government ministers for energy and mining.
African countries possess great stores of geosciences data existing from pre-independence times which have often gone unused for lack of knowledge or appreciation of the inherent value of the information.
Other information has gone unused because either governments have not obtained copies of what is available or, when information exists in the archives, it has not been properly catalogued or organized in a usable way.
Among other things, the conference will highlight the potential value of archived information. One expected outcome of the event is an initiative aimed at reinforcing the capacities of host countries to capture untapped value from already existing information can optimize natural resource development and management.
12 November, 2009
Puntland president held meetings with US officials in Nairobi.
Garowe Online
11 November 2009
The president of Somalia's Puntland State government has held meetings with US foreign Affairs officials led by US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger.
The meeting, which was held in US Ambassador’s residence in Nairobi on Monday, was focused on cooperation between Puntland and US in social welfare, fight against piracy and insecurity in Puntland state.
Several US foreign affairs officials are in Nairobi to assess the security situation in the Horn of African nation and American assistance to the fragile UN-backed Somali government.
Puntland President Abdirahman Mohammed Farole and his delegation have also held talks with US Congressman Donald M. Payne who is the Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Africa and Global Health under the aegis of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Situation in Somalia particularly Puntland was the focal point of the meeting, which was held in Nairobi’s Intercontinental.
Payne praised Puntland state for its efforts to fight the piracy menace in the region and passing the budget, which he termed as important step for realisation of development in the region.
The meeting between Payne and Puntalnd president is a follow up to the Farole’s recent visit to US, which allowed the international community to directly cooperate with Puntland.
President Farole is scheduled to meet with Somali government officials, Diaspora Puntland and Somali Diaspora.
11 November 2009
The president of Somalia's Puntland State government has held meetings with US foreign Affairs officials led by US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger.
The meeting, which was held in US Ambassador’s residence in Nairobi on Monday, was focused on cooperation between Puntland and US in social welfare, fight against piracy and insecurity in Puntland state.
Several US foreign affairs officials are in Nairobi to assess the security situation in the Horn of African nation and American assistance to the fragile UN-backed Somali government.
Puntland President Abdirahman Mohammed Farole and his delegation have also held talks with US Congressman Donald M. Payne who is the Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Africa and Global Health under the aegis of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Situation in Somalia particularly Puntland was the focal point of the meeting, which was held in Nairobi’s Intercontinental.
Payne praised Puntland state for its efforts to fight the piracy menace in the region and passing the budget, which he termed as important step for realisation of development in the region.
The meeting between Payne and Puntalnd president is a follow up to the Farole’s recent visit to US, which allowed the international community to directly cooperate with Puntland.
President Farole is scheduled to meet with Somali government officials, Diaspora Puntland and Somali Diaspora.
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