Egypt Court Orders Release On Bail Of Political Activist

Egypt Court Orders Release On Bail Of Political Activist

Agency Report

— March 23, 2014

An Egyptian court on Sunday ordered the release on bail of a political activist, Alaa Abdel Fattah, on charges of organising an unauthorised protest last November, official news agency MENA reported.
Blogger Abdel Fattah, who spearheaded the massive protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, was arrested last November for taking part in protests outside the Shura Council (the Upper House of the parliament) without police permit.
He faces charges of assaulting security men and inciting people to protest against the military-installed government.
The interim government had issued a controversial protest law that required obtaining permits from authorities before organising protests.
Twenty-four other co-defendants were also released on bail.
The activists were arrested over their demonstrations against the protest law and the military trials of civilians. (Xinhua/NAN)

Pistorius Defence Argues He Loved Steenkamp

Pistorius Defence Argues He Loved Steenkamp

Agency Report

— March 25, 2014

The defence of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday downplayed evidence that there were problems in his relationship with Reeva Steenkamp.
He said that the vast majority of their text messages show they loved each other.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux questioned police cell phone expert Francois Moller, who retrieved more than 1,700 text messages exchanged between the couple.
The murder trial of the double-amputee Olympic sprinter in Pretoria entered its 15th day.
Moller on Monday presented the court with messages depicting Pistorius as a jealous man with a nasty temper, whom Steenkamp was afraid of.
Roux said that only four of the messages were related to arguments, while more than 90 per cent reflected a normal and loving relationship.
Some of the messages deal with the couple’s shared interest in motor vehicles, the lawyer said.
The court was shown a WhatsApp image of Steenkamp blowing a kiss to Pistorius.
Roux said that messages sent in the weeks before Pistorius killed Steenkamp were of a loving nature.
Pistorius and Steenkamp exchanged five phone calls the same day he shot her through the bathroom door in his home in February last year, Moller told the court.
Pistorius says he mistook the model for a burglar.
Immediately after the shooting, Pistorius made phone calls to the manager of the estate where he lived, an ambulance service, security services of the estate.
His friend Justin Divaris, his father and his manager, Moller said.
Divaris had said Pistorius said to him “God take me away, I have killed my baba,” according to broadcaster eNCA.
Prosecution is expected to wrap up its case this week. Defence will then call its own witnesses.
Pistorius will be among the first, unless he invokes his constitutional right not to testify.
The trial is expected to continue until May 16, with a recess scheduled for the week of April 7. (dpa/NAN)
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AU Commission Rejects Calls To Boycott EU-Africa Summit

AU Commission Rejects Calls To Boycott EU-Africa Summit

NAN

— March 28, 2014

The African Union (AU) Commission on Friday defied calls from one of its organs advising member-countries to boycott the 4th EU-Africa Summit scheduled for April 2 and April 3.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AU Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) had on Wednesday resolved to advise the Heads of State and Government to boycott the event.
The event is scheduled for Brussels in Belgium.
The PRC members’ decision was in reaction to European Union’s violation of an AU resolution by determining the composition of Africa’s delegation to the Summit.
The PRC, in its resolutions, recommended to all member-states not to attend the summit as EU cannot determine Africa’s delegation.
Members of the PRC, which comprised Ambassadors and representatives of regional bodies, had urged the EU Commission to extend its invitations to all African Heads of States.
They said the exception should be in the case of those under AU sanction.
The EU Commission, however, ignored the call and barred Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his Sudanese counterpart, Omar El-Bashir, from attending the summit.
It said this was due to travel sanctions placed on them by the international community.
The EU, however, invited Egypt who are currently under AU sanction and Morocco, which withdrew from AU activities in 1984, to attend the summit.
It also declined to invite Eritrea, a member of the African Union with no clear reason.
However, Eratus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the AU commission, on Friday addressed newsmen on the preparations for the summit.
He said the AU Commission had concluded arrangements to attend the summit to address issues of interest to both continents.
Mwencha, who briefed journalists alongside Amb. Gary Quine, EU Head of Delegation to the AU, said the fourth summit would consolidate on the trade co-operation between the two continents.
“The trade relations between the two unions currently stand at 251 billion euros and needed to be promoted to attract more Foreign Direct Investment and address other funding gaps to Africa.
“The summit will also resolve on efforts to tackle the challenges of global warming, environmental issues and technology transfer to fast-track Africa’s development,’’ he said.(NAN)

ECOWAS Leaders Endorse Economic Partnership Agreement With EU

ECOWAS Leaders Endorse Economic Partnership Agreement With EU

Agency Report

— March 31, 2014

The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has endorsed, in principle, the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union (EU).
A statement signed by the ECOWAS spokesperson, Mr Sunny Ugoh, on Monday, said that regional leaders made the endorsement during the 44th ordinary summit in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, on March 28.
It said that the EPA negotiations and the Development Programme (EPADP) were the key issues discussed at the summit.
The statement said that the meeting recommended that the region’s chief negotiators should take appropriate measures to resolve outstanding technical issues within two months before the signing of the agreement.
“The (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government endorse the conclusion of the agreement in principle but notes that there are outstanding technical issues.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the negotiations received a new impetus in October 2013 when regional leaders, after an extraordinary summit in Dakar, urged the parties to demonstrate flexibility.
It said that both parties had been working over 12 years of negotiations to narrow their differences before signing the agreement which would create a World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The statement added that it was a compliant arrangement to replace the previous non-reciprocal regime that had guided trade relations between them.
”The Yamoussoukro summit commended the Senegalese President, Mr Macky Sall, who was earlier designated to lead the process for the resolution of the outstanding issues being negotiated,” it said.
The statement said that it welcomed the “participatory, consensual and constructive approach” that characterised the process and “paved the way for the finalisation” of the negotiations with the EU. (NAN)
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Jonathan Heads To Brussels For EU-Africa Summit

Jonathan Heads To Brussels For EU-Africa Summit

By George Agba

— March 31, 2014

President Goodluck Jonathan will on Tuesday travel to Brussels with Nigeria’s delegation to the Fourth European Union-Africa Summit scheduled to open in the Belgian capital tomorrow.
Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati noted in a statement on Monday evening that the summit with “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace” as its theme will also be attended by the President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, other Heads of State and Government of the European Union and Africa as well as leaders of the European Union and African Union Institutions.
He said they would, among other matters, discuss ways of stimulating further growth and creating more jobs in Nigeria and other African countries.
Abati stated: “Education and training, women and youth, legal and illegal migrant flows between both continents, investments in peace and ways to enhance EU support for African capacities to manage security on the continent are also on the agenda of the summit.
“The Brussels Summit will also provide an opportunity for participants to review EU-Africa relations based on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy which was adopted in Lisbon in 2007 and explore options for greater mutually-beneficial cooperation between Africa and Europe”.
He further noted that Jonathan would hold bilateral talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and some other participating heads of state and government before leaving Brussels for Abuja on Wednesday night.
The president’s entourage, he noted, will include the Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen Aliyu Gusau (rtd.); the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga.

Ekweremadu Congratulates President Mahama On His Election As ECOWAS Chair

Ekweremadu Congratulates President Mahama On His Election As ECOWAS Chair

Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

— April 1, 2014

The speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has congratulated the president of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama on his election as the chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
This was contained in a congratulatory message to the new chairman.
Senator Ekweremadu, who expressed the firm belief that President Mahama’s election would open a fresh era of progress in the sub-region, said the Ghanaian president is the right man for the job.
In a press statement by his special adviser, media, Uche Anichukwu, he said: “Your emergence as the chairman of the Authority is not only providential, but also a wise and highly welcome decision by the Heads of State and Government of the sub-region given your knowledge, wealth of experience, and internationally acclaimed commitment to the protection and promotion of democracy and good governance as the basis and indispensable instruments for integration and development of West Africa.”
“This is therefore an opportunity to work towards the actualisation of your dream and passion for a West African sub-region free from the burdens of poverty, underdevelopment, insurgency, separatism, terrorism, and all the vestiges of military and unconstitutional incursions into politics”.
While pledging the full support of the ECOWAS Parliament to President Mahama, Senator Ekweremadu who also doubles as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, commended the new Chairman for his unwavering commitment to the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament from an advisory to a full legislative institution and urged him to work towards the speedy realisation of the longstanding dream.
“As a former parliamentarian and a leader dedicated to the growth of all arms of the ECOWAS institution, it is my utmost hope that you will consolidate on the great progress made by your predecessor, His Excellency, President Alassane Ouattara, in this regard to bring the enhancement of the powers of the Community Parliament to reality”, he added.

FRSC To Train Ghanaians On Safety Tips

FRSC To Train Ghanaians On Safety Tips

Ejike Ejike

— April 4, 2014

The Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC), is to collaborate with Ghana in the training of Ghanaian road safety agency on road safety tips and measures used in Nigeria that has seen the FRSC ranked high on the global scene.
The FRSC corps marshal and chief executive, Osita Chidoka, who revealed this while addressing stakeholders on the successes recorded by the FRSC stated that after touring the FRSC facilities President John Mahama of Ghana, on his visit to the FRSC headquarters recently decided that it would be in the best interest of his country if they can collaborate with the FRSC on road safety tips.
The corps marshal, who was represented by the principal staff officer to the corps marshal, Corps Commander Julius Asom, noted that the FRSC can boast of the best tracking device because they are capable of tracing a crash scene within a few minutes of the accident with the help of the officers in the monitoring room.
According to him, “The world over, our tracking device in our monitoring room, which you have just seen, will stand out as one of the best.
“When we receive a distress call of a crash, with our officers, who are always on desk 24 hours a day, we can get there in less than 20 minutes. This device has greatly enhanced our job and ensured that more lives are saved on a daily basis,” Asom stated.
Recall that the Ghanaian president was the guest speaker at the FRSC annual lecture earlier in the year, where he expressed his desire to see the FRSC train his country’s road safety corps.
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Chad Withdraws Troops From AU Mission In CAR

Agency Report

— April 3, 2014

Chad’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it planned to withdrawal its troops from an African Union peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Chadian soldiers have been at the heart of African efforts to stabilise CAR but its forces have been accused of siding with the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels whose seizure of power last year sparked tit-for-tat violence with Christian militia.
It said this has become imperative because in spite of its sacrifices, Chad and Chadians have been targeted in a gratuitous and malicious campaign that blamed them for all the suffering in CAR.
It said its troops would remain in place while the practicalities of the withdrawal were confirmed.
There was no official reaction from France or the AU force, known as MISCA.
However, the decision appeared to be a setback for France, which has deployed 2,000 troops, in a bid to restore peace to its former colony, a landlocked nation rich in gold, diamonds and uranium that has seen little but instability since independence in 1960.
The dominant military force in the region, Chad has established itself as a key Afri

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Comedian AY's wife Mabel Makun was a year older recently and her husband threw her a birthday party on Sunday March 30th. 2face and Annie Idibia, D'banj, Timaya and many of their celeb friends attended the shindig. Continue to see more photos...