Nigeria imposes curfew on Abuja nightclubs and pubs

The police HQ attack was an embarrassing strike at the very heart of the security establishment

 

A curfew has been imposed on Nigeria's capital, Abuja, following recent attacks by Islamist militants, meaning nightclubs, beer parlours and cinemas must close early.

They must shut by 2200 local time (2100 GMT) and public parks that admit children should close by 1800.
Two weeks ago, eight people were killed when the Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked the police HQ in Abuja.

On Sunday, its fighters bombed a beer garden in Maiduguri, killing 25.

This is the group's most deadly attack to date - later on Sunday, it killed another 10 people with a car bombing in the city.

The group, which usually targets the north-eastern state of Borno, around Maiduguri, says it is fighting for Islamic rule, and campaigns against all political and social activity associated with the West.

Abuja city's administration said it has also banned parking of vehicles on two roads where most government offices are located.

"These measures are necessitated by the need to ensure adequate security of lives and property in the federal capital territory [in light of] the prevailing security concerns," the city's spokesman said in a statement.

The BBC's Naziru Mikailu in Abuja says beer gardens are busy after work at the weekends and the curfew is likely to prove unpopular.

After a lull, Boko Haram's attacks have intensified in the last nine months.

In May, it staged attacks at the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The group's trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes.

Dozens of people have been killed - mostly security officers and politicians but also a Christian preacher and Muslim clerics who have criticised Boko Haram.

The sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf and several hundred of his supporters were killed by security forces in Maiduguri in 2009 after the group attacked police stations.

Tanzania seeks $700 mln China loan for power plant

Tanzania is seeking a $700 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China to fund a power plant aimed at plugging a chronic power shortage in east Africa's second largest economy, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, David Jairo, said the loan would help state utility Tanzania Electric Supply Company build a 300 megawatt gas-fired power plant in southern Tanzania.

"The estimated cost of the project is $682 million. Depending on the negotiations, other costs may be restructured or dropped," Jairo told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"If all goes according to plan, we expect to start implementation of the project in the 2011/12 financial year."
Jairo said once completed, the project was expected to considerably ease ongoing power shortages.

"The technical details of the project have been worked out and the cost already done. We are making good progress in securing the loan from China's Exim Bank," he said.

He said the plant would be fuelled by natural gas from the Mnazi Bay fields in the Mtwara region. Tanzania has proven natural gas reserves of 7.5 trillion cubic feet.

The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) this month announced daily 12-hour power cuts for an unspecified period due to low water levels at hydropower dams and a shortage of fuel for thermal power generation.

Tanzania, Uganda sign $1.9 bln infrastructure deal

Tanzania and Uganda have signed an agreement to develop infrastructure projects worth $1.9 billion to link the two east African countries.

State-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation television said late on Wednesday the infrastructure project to be jointly carried out by the two neighbouring countries would involve construction of a rail network and expansion of the Tanga port in north east Tanzania.

Landlocked Uganda mostly relies on the Kenyan port of Mombasa to move its imports and exports.

It discovered commercial petroleum deposits in the Albertine Rift basin in the west of the country in 2006 and production is expected to commence early next year.

Tanzania's Transport Minister Omari Nundu and Uganda's Transport and Works Minister Abraham Byandala signed a memorandum of understanding for the project in Dodoma, Tanzania, on Wednesday.
The ministers did not say how the two countries will finance the project.

Zanzibar denies sale of historic building

ZANZIBAR has leased its land at Mambo-Msiige historic building in Forodhani area at the Stone Town for 99 years, at a rent of 10,000 US dollars annually, legislators were told on Wednesday.

The Minister of State (Finance, Economy and Development Planning), Mr Omar Yussuf Mzee, said the rent would be reviewed every three years, dismissing as false reports that the building has been sold.

''The building has no been sold, but we will use the Rent Restriction Act to lease the building after major renovation.

"The company has shown interest to rent the building and has already provided 1.5 million US dollars, costs for shifting and finding a new place for government offices are currently using the building," he said.

Mr Mabarouk Wadi Mussa (Mkwajuni - CCM) and Mr Subeit Khamis Faki (Micheweni - CUF) were among lawmakers who questioned the government about the lease of the building.

Mambo-Msiige land and building was released to Kempiski group of hotels, while Aga Khan complained to have been dubiously denied the chance to rent the building, as members of the stone town conservation association oppose the lease of the building.

Bill Gates ndani ya Bongo

Rais wa Tanzania akiwa na mazungumzo na mwenyekiti wa Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Ikulu jiji Dar



Rais wa Tanzania Mh Jakaya Kikwete na makamu wake Dr Gharibu Bilali wakiwa na wageni wao mwenyekiti wa Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation katika picha ya pamoja muda mfupi tu, baada ya mazungumzo kati yao katika Ikulu kuu jijini Dar es salaam.

Andy Cole ndani ya Bongo katika kuinua vipaji vya wanasoka

Andy Cole amewasili nchini Tanzania jana asubuhi kwa ajili ya kuhamasisha michezo mashuleni kupitia kampeni inayoendeshwa na Kampuni ya Airtel ifahamikayo kwa jina la "AIRTEL RISING STAR".

Andy Cole akizungumza na waandishi wa habari

Mchezaji wa Zamani wa Timu ya Manchester United ya nchini Uingereza,Andy Cole (katikati) akiongozana na baadhi ya Wakuu wa Kampuni ya Simu ya Airtel alipowasili katika uwanja wa Ndege wa J.K. Nyerere.

Andy Cole (pili kulia) akiwa na Naibu Waziri wa Habari,Vijana,Utamaduni na Michezo,Dk. Fenella Mukangara (kushoto), Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Kampuni ya simu ya Airtel Tanzania, Sam Elangallor (kulia) pamoja  na Mkuu wa Shule ya Sekondari ya Makongo,Meja Celestin Mwangasi wakionyesha Jezi na Mipira itakayotumika katika katika mashindano ya AIRTEL RISING STAR yanayotarajiwa kuanza hivi karibuni hapa nchini katika mashule mbalimbali.

Naibu Waziri wa Habari,Vijana,Utamaduni na Michezo,Dk. Fenella Mukangara (kulia) akiagana na Mchezaji wa Zamani wa Timu ya Manchester United ya nchini Uingereza,Andy Cole katika viwanja vya Makongo,mara baada ya kutoa somo kwa wanafunzi wa shule ya Sekondari ya Makongo.

Mkurugenzi wa Mahusiano wa Airtel Tanzania,Beatrice Singano Mallya. akiteta jambo na Andy Cole

Andy Cole akiongozana na Baadhi ya wachezaji wa timu ya Shule ya Sekondari ya Makongo kuelekea katika viwanja vya shule hiyo kwa ajili ya kuwapa somo la mchezo wa mpira wa miguu.

Mwakilishi wa Timu ya Manchester United,Nick Humphrey (pili kulia) akitoa somo kwa wachezaji wa timu ya shule ya Makongo kabla ya kuanza kupewa somo na Andy Cole (kulia)


Andy Cole akizidi kutoa nasaha za mafunzo.


"Hivi ndivyo pasi zinavyopigwa" Andy Cole akionyesha mfano


"Kwenye kona lazima kipa aipate fresh" Cole akifundisha wanafunzi


Amwaga wino wa saini kwa wanafunzi wa shule ya sekondari ya Makongo


Mambo ya autograph

Andy Cole (kulia) akiwa katika Mazungumzo na Balozi wa Kenya Nchini Mh. Mutinda Mutiso (katikati) pindi walipokutana katika chumba cha kusafiria watu maalum (V.I.P Lounge) katika uwanja wa Ndege wa J.K. Nyerere.kushoto ni Mkurugenzi wa Mahusiano wa Airtel Tanzania, Beatrice Singano Mallya.

Chanzo: Michuzi

Fresh clashes erupt in Cairo's Tahrir Square

Clashes continued as dawn broke over Cairo on Wednesday

Egyptian police have clashed with hundreds of anti-government protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, leaving several people injured.

Riot police fired tear gas to try to disperse the protesters, many of whom hurled stones at the police lines.

Tahrir Square was the epicentre of February's revolt that led to President Hosni Mubarak being toppled.
Many of the protesters were calling for the prosecution of former officials to be speeded up.

As dawn broke, stones and broken glass littered the streets around Tahrir Square. Witnesses said it was worst violence in the square for weeks.

The confrontation started on Tuesday when police cleared a sit-in outside the state TV building by families of those killed in February's uprising, activists said.

The protesters later regrouped outside the interior ministry and clashes broke out with police.

Fighting escalated and moved to Tahrir Square where lines of riot police carrying shields sealed off the main streets and dozens of security vehicles parked in side streets.

As volleys of tear gas rained down, injured demonstrators were seen lying on the ground, some dazed and bloodied.

"The people want the fall of the regime," some of the demonstrators chanted.

Ahmed Abdel Hamid, 26, who was among the protesters, said people were angry that court cases against senior officials were being delayed.

Last week, Egypt's former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia for embezzling public funds.

Earlier this month, former Egyptian Finance Minister Yussef Boutros Ghali was sentenced to 30 years in prison in absentia, also on corruption charges.

Former President Mubarak, in custody at a military hospital, is due to go on trial on 3 August alongside his sons, Alaa and Gamal.

Mr Mubarak is charged with the deaths of protesters during Egypt's uprising.

Lightning kills Uganda children

Lightning has struck a junior school in Uganda's western Masindi area, killing 18 children, officials say.

Police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told AFP news agency 15 girls and three boys had died at Runyanya Primary School in Kiryandongo on Tuesday.

Kiryandongo's district commissioner told Uganda's Daily Monitor paper 36 pupils had been admitted to hospital.

Concern about the number of recent deadly lightning strikes has prompted MPs to raise the matter in parliament.

Up to 28 people have been killed by lightning and scores injured in the past week, the private Daily Monitor reports.

According to the AP new agency, meteorologist Ken Kizza Aderi says the lack of lightning conductors on buildings could be partly responsible for the deaths.

Kiryandongo police commander Patrick Byaruhanga told Uganda's state-owned New Vision paper that the lightning struck at about 1630 local time (1330 GMT) as pupils were in their classrooms waiting for a downpour to subside before going home.

Ms Nabakooba said some of the more seriously injured pupils had been taken to Mulago Hospital in the capital, Kampala, more than 200km (125 miles) to the south-east.

Manchester United confirm signing of David de Gea

David de Gea holds up his new Man Utd shirt with boss Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid on a five-year deal.

The Spain Under-21 international, 20, underwent a medical at Old Trafford on Monday and will finalise what is thought to be an £18.9m move on Friday.

"I feel very proud and I can't wait to start playing here," De Gea told MUTV.

"When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you, it obviously makes you very, very happy. I'm keen to do my best and show what I can do."

The deal marks De Gea out as the second most expensive keeper behind Gianluigi Buffon, who cost Juventus £32.6m in 2001.

De Gea, part of the Spain squad that won the European Under-21 Championship on Saturday, is a product of Atletico's youth academy, spending his first professional season with the club's reserves in the Segunda Division B before making his senior debut as a substitute in the Champions League against Porto in September 2009.

Since then he has made nearly 100 senior appearances for the Spanish outfit.

His arrival at Old Trafford follows the departure of Edwin van der Sar, who retired after the Champions League final defeat by Barcelona in May.

In May, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the Red Devils had been working on the De Gea deal for "quite a while".

"He's a young goalkeeper, very quick, good composure, presence and an outstanding replacement for Van der Sar," Ferguson told the club website.

"We were looking for the same type of qualities as Edwin, because the one great quality Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability."
And, upon completion of the deal, De Gea added: "I saw Man Utd's interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability.
"It's a great privilege to be part of a club like United."
Ferguson currently has goalkeepers Tomasz Kuszczak, Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos on his books but De Gea is widely expected to be the Scot's number one in the new season.
The deal takes the Premier League champions' summer spending past the £50m mark after the acquisitions of defender Phil Jones from Blackburn and Ashley Young from Aston Villa

Nato quells Kabul hotel assault

Isaf's Major Tim James: "The Afghan national security forces have responded incredibly well"

Nato helicopters were called in to kill three militants to end a five-hour clash by suicide bombers and gunmen on a hotel in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The attack on the Intercontinental Hotel, frequented by Westerners, left six more attackers, two police and 11 civilians, including a Spaniard dead.

A security official said the militants may have exploited renovation work to gain access to the high-security hotel.

A Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group had carried out the attack.

However, interior and defence ministry officials told the BBC it bore the hallmarks of the Haqqani network, a group closely allied to the Taliban but which operates independently.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying that the insurgents enjoyed spilling innocent blood but that such incidents would not hinder the process of transition of responsibility for security from Nato-led to Afghan security forces.

'Panic'

Smoke and flames could be seen coming from the hotel as the sun rose over Kabul.

Afghan security officials said at least nine militants had stormed the building, and all had been killed.

As well as at least 11 dead civilians and two police, at least eight people were wounded including two New Zealand members of Isaf special forces who were "moderately" injured.

The attack began while many guests were in the dining room late on Tuesday.

Once again there are questions about the effectiveness of Afghan security forces. The fact that a Nato attack helicopter was required to kill gunmen firing from the hotel roof also reinforces this narrative that the Afghan police and army are incapable of operating effectively alone.

A much more detailed analysis of the operation will be required to draw the full lessons.

Beyond the immediate psychological impact of the attack, a curious game of signals is being played here.

Nato is maintaining the military pressure on the Taliban, killing large numbers of middle-ranking commanders, in an effort to persuade the top leadership that negotiations are the only answer. The Taliban, too, are mounting operations like this one to underline that they remain far from defeated and their reach extends to show-case targets in the Afghan capital itself.

Afghan officials told the BBC that one suicide bomber had blown himself up at the front of the hotel and another on the second floor.

Witnesses said panic broke out as guests, including a wedding party, fled for safety.

Afghan troops and police sealed off the building and cut the power, as security forces were using night-vision equipment.

Intense gunfire was heard coming from the hotel and some explosions could be heard up to 5km away, said the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul.

Afghan police said one militant was shot dead as security forces fought their way through.

Three attackers managed to reach the roof and Afghan officials then asked the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) for assistance, security sources told the BBC.

Isaf spokesman Major Tim James said those killed on the roof by Nato helicopters appeared to have been wearing suicide vests.

"We've had reports that there were a number of explosions caused either by the insurgents detonating themselves or the engagement by the helicopter causing [suicide vests] to explode," he told AFP news agency.

Security conference

Kabul police chief Gen Ayub Salangi said that one of the attackers managed to survive the assault by hiding in a hotel room.

He detonated his explosive vest at around 0700 local time (0230 GMT), after the fighting was thought to have ended, killing two policemen and a Spanish guest, and injuring three others, the police chief said.

The Spaniard had tried to return to his room, against the advice of security forces, he added.

Spain's foreign ministry later confirmed that a Spanish citizen had died, saying that he was an airline pilot.

An Afghan official said the attackers had hand-grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s.

Gen Salangi said his own armoured land cruiser had been hit more than 30 times, and its windows were broken.

Officials said a meeting of provincial governors taking place at the hotel might have been the target of the attack

The attack also came the night before the start of a conference about the security transition
Correspondents say the Intercontinental, which is not part of the international hotel chain of the same name, is one of Kabul's most heavily guarded hotels

But a security ministry official told the BBC that the militants could have exploited a loophole in security caused by renovation work.

"The insurgents are using every means to infiltrate into tight security areas. They might have camouflaged themselves as labourers, as technicians or whatever."

The US state department condemned the attack, saying it demonstrated "the terrorists' complete disregard for human life".

Kabul has been relatively stable in recent months, although violence has increased across the country since the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan on 2 May, and the start of the Taliban's "spring offensive".

In January 2008, militants stormed the capital's most popular luxury hotel, the Serena, and killed eight people, including an American, a Norwegian and a Philippine woman.

Somalia fleeing to Kenya in large numbers

One-year-old Hussein and his mother in the giant Dadaab refugee camp

 

War and drought in Somalia are leading an unprecedented number of people to flee across the border into Kenya, an aid agency says.

Save the Children is reporting that every day, about 1,300 people - at least 800 of them children - are arriving at the Dadaab refugee camp.

The monthly number of new arrivals has more than doubled in a year, it says.

Aid workers at the camp say the children are exhausted, malnourished and severely dehydrated.

The situation in Somalia is exacerbated by the conflict between Islamists of al-Shabab and Somalia's transitional government, backed by African Union peacekeepers.

The United Nations refugee agency says there are 117,497 Somalis who have also crossed into Ethiopia - 31,000 in the past five months fleeing from drought and conflict.

Children left behind
Save the Children says some families are walking for more than a month to reach the camp in Kenya.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 2.5 m Somalis are currently affected by drought, with 58% living in the South of the country.

But as many as a million have been beyond the reach of the WFP since January 2010, says WFP's Peter Smerdon in Nairobi.

"We are not working in areas of the South controlled by al-Shabab after our teams were threatened, intimidated and there were demands for payment," Mr Smerdon told the BBC.

The conflict in Somalia forces many to head for the Kenyan border but a severe drought and the unaffordable cost of food has made the situation worse.

Made up of three settlements, Dadaab is often referred to as the largest refugee camp in the world.

"A mother arrived at one of our feeding centres saying she'd actually left her children behind in a village because she couldn't watch them die," Sonia Zambakides, Save the Children's Emergency Manager for Somalia, told the BBC's World Today.

"She had walked away and left her six children in a house.

"Two of them ended up dying and we managed to reach four others.

"Children are arriving into Dadaab barefoot, after walking six weeks," Ms Zambakides said.

"They're covered in sores and wounds, they're acutely malnourished, they're completely dehydrated and that is preferable to the conditions they are living in in south-central Somalia."

Many Somalis have walked for weeks to reach the Dadaab camp in Kenya

The conflict in Somalia forces many to head for the Kenyan border but a severe drought and the unaffordable cost of food has made the situation worse.

Dadaab is home to well over 350,000 people, but was built to hold just 90,000 and is severely overcrowded.

The humanitarian agency Medecins Sans Frontieres says many of the new arrivals are in desperate need of healthcare.
It says almost half of the children arriving there have never had a vaccination.

With the Somali conflict continuing and several more months of drought expected, conditions in the already overcrowded refugee camp are likely to get even worse.

Efforts to decongest the camp and relocate the refugees have so far made little difference.

But the drought is now being felt across a vast region of the Horn of Africa, with areas of northern Kenya and Ethiopia also affected.

Arrest warrant issued for Gaddafi

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, accusing him of crimes against humanity.

The court had grounds to believe he had ordered attacks on civilians during Libya's four-month uprising, it said.

The Hague-based court also issued warrants for two of Col Gaddafi's top aides - his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the conflict.

Anti-Gaddafi forces said on Monday they had launched a new push towards Tripoli, with heavy fighting near the strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam, to the south-west of capital.

The rebel defence minister told the BBC that forces opposed to Col Gaddafi may also make a move on the capital from the east.

'Unquestioned control'

The ICC arrest warrants refer to early weeks of the uprising, from 15 February until "at least 28 February".

The statement, read out by presiding judge Sanji Monageng, said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that the three men were "criminally responsible" for the murder and persecution of civilians.

As the "recognised and undisputed leader of Libya", said the court, Col Gaddafi had "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over the state.

He introduced a state policy "aimed at deterring and quelling by any means, including by the use of force, the demonstrations of civilians against the regime", the court alleged.

The warrant says that while Saif al-Islam Gaddafi holds no official position in Libya, he is "the most influential person" in Col Gaddafi's inner circle.

Mr Sanussi, said the court, had "indirectly instructed the troops to attack civilians demonstrating" in Benghazi, the city that has become the rebels' stronghold.

The BBC's Andrew Harding in Misrata said there was celebratory gunfire on the streets of the besieged city as the news emerged.

"We are extremely happy that the whole world has united in prosecuting Gaddafi for the crimes he has committed," rebel council spokesman Jalal al-Galal told Reuters news agency from the rebel stronghold Benghazi. "The people feel vindicated by such a response."

On the military front, meanwhile, the rebels have advanced some six miles (10km) towards Tripoli in the past 24 hours, says the BBC's Mark Doyle on the front line about 40 miles south-west of the capital.

The fighting is taking place on a plain of rock and sand between Bir al-Ghanem and Bir Ayyad a few miles to the south, with shells whistling overhead in both directions and plumes of smoke and sand rising into the air, he says.

The rebels seem better armed in this strategic area than elsewhere in the country, adds our correspondent, who saw several pick-up trucks full of rebel soldiers - in clean uniforms and new-looking rocket launchers and rifles - heading for the front line.

'No legitimacy'

The warrants had been requested by chief ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in May. He has said Col Gaddafi must be arrested in order to protect civilians.

But the Libyan authorities have previously said they do not recognise the court and are not concerned by the threat of a warrant.

 

On Sunday, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the court was overly preoccupied with pursuing African leaders and had "no legitimacy whatsoever".

The ICC announcement came as the international air operation in Libya, aimed at protecting civilians, enters its 100th day.

It was welcomed by Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who said the court's decision highlighted the increasing isolation of the Libyan regime.

"It reinforces the reason for Nato's mission to protect the Libyan people from Gaddafi's forces," said Mr Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the court's decision further demonstrated "why Gaddafi has lost all legitimacy and why he should go immediately".

Mr Hague called on people within the Libyan regime to abandon the leader and said those responsible for "atrocities" must be held to account.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy echoed those sentiments, saying of the Libyan leader: "After 41 years of dictatorship, it is perhaps time to stop, for him to leave power."

Taarifa ya maziko ya Kaka Dick Leicester UK

Marehemu Edgar Kileke "Kaka Dick"


Watanzania wote popote mlipo hapa duniani tunapenda kuwataarifu ya kwamba mazishi ya ndugu yetu marehemu Edgar Kileke yatafanyika siku ya JUMATANO Tarehe 29 June 2011

Ibada itafanyika:

Leicester  Central Seventh Day Adventist Church.
London Road
LE2 1EF
Leicster
Wakati wa ibada ni saa nne kamili asubuhi (10 am) na marehemu atazikwa katika makaburi ya Gilroes (Gilroes cemetry)

Cambodia: First hearing ex-Khmer Rouge leaders' trial

A UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia is holding its first hearing in the trial of four former top Khmer Rouge leaders.
The defendants include the "number two" in Pol Pot's regime, Nuon Chea. They face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over the deaths of up to two million Cambodians in 1975-79.

They all deny the accusations, and the trial is likely to last for years.

Last July, former Khmer Rouge member Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, was jailed for 35 years.

But because of time already served and compensation for a period of illegal detention, Duch - the former head of a notorious prison where some 15,000 died - will be free in 19 years.

Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Maoist Khmer Rouge regime was ousted from power by Vietnamese forces in 1979.

'Second Nuremberg'

The four defendants appeared at the initial hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh on Monday morning.

Besides Nuon Chea, they include former head of state Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister and international face of the regime Ieng Sary, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.

All four suspects denied the accusations



The four showed no emotion as opening statements were read out before the court and a packed gallery, in proceedings screened on national television.

Moments later, Nuon Chea - who was dressed in a ski hat and sweatshirt - complained he was not well and felt cold and left the courtroom.

 

"I'm ready to come back when the court discusses my requests," he said.

The hearing will run for a maximum of four days, and no evidence will be given. Instead, the hearing is expected to focus on witness and expert lists and preliminary legal objections.

The trial proper is expected to open later this year, possibly in September.

"There hasn't been a case as large and complex as this since Nuremberg," international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley told the AFP news agency in a recent interview, referring to the historic Nazi trials after World War II.

The head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights said the start of the second case was a "cathartic moment".

The crimes "remain ingrained in Cambodia's collective psyche. I hope that this trial... provides all victims with some sense of justice, however delayed that justice may be", Ou Virak said in a statement.

Theary Seng, who lost both her parents to the Khmer Rouge, told the BBC: "This is the heart of the matter - this is the case that we have been anticipating for many years, since the operation of the court in 2006.

"It will allow a lot of information to surface which will help to chip away at the repeatedly-asked questions of why did it happen?"

Theary Seng is one of almost 4,000 civil parties to the case - victims who will have a voice in court alongside the prosecution and defence.

Health concerns

At least one of the defendants - Ieng Sary - is expected to argue that he should not be on trial at all, the BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says.

The former foreign minister received a royal pardon 15 years ago as part of the deal which produced the final surrender of the Khmer Rouge.

The defendants are all in or near their 80s and some have been in bad health, so there is a real danger that not all of them may live to see the end of the trial, our correspondent adds.

The suspects have been kept in detention since their arrests in 2007.

Parts of court proceedings will be broadcast on TV, but hundreds of people from all over Cambodia are still expected to travel to the court to see the accused.

The current Cambodian government has repeatedly opposed efforts to widen the tribunal's inquiries, and insisted that there should be no further trials after that of the four leaders.



Shambulio la bomu laua 25 nchini Nigeria

Shambulio hilo lilitokea muda wa saa kumi na moja jioni watu wakiwa wanastarehe kwenye baa moja mjini Maiduguri.

Kulingana na duru za kiusalama na watu walioshuhudia, watu wanashukiwa kuwa wafuasi wa kundi la boko haram walifika katika ukumbi huo wa starehe wakiwa wamebebwa kwenye pikipiki, kisha wakarusha mabomu kwenye baa hiyo.

Kundi la boko haram linadaiwa kutekeleza shambulio hio mjini Maiduguri

Inasemekana kuwa walirusha mabomu matatu kwenye klabu hicho cha pombe. Milipuko iliotokea imesababisha vifo vya watu 25 na wengine wengi kujeruhiwa.

Kufikia usiku wa manane, wafanyikazi wa idara ya huduma za dharura na wazima moto bado walikuwa kwenye eneo la tukio katika harakati za kuokoa majeruhi na kukabiliana na moto.

Ingawa kundi la boko haram halijakiri kutekeleza shambulio hilo, polisi wanahisi kuwa huenda limehusika.
Kundi hilo lenye itikadi kali za dini ya kiisalmu linalopinga elimu ya kisasa, limekuwa likitekeleza mashambulio ya bomu kaskazini mwa Nigeria, ambako pia ni ngome yake.

Boko haram walikiri kuhusika na shambulio la bomu kwenye makao makuu ya polisi mjini Abuja wiki mbili zilizopita.

Tangu kiongozi wa kundi hilo Mohammed Yusuf afe akiwa chini ya ulinzi wa polisi mwaka wa 2009, Kundi hilo lilitangaza vita dhidi ya kikosi hicho na limekuwa likawashambulia kaskazini mwa Nigeria.

Nia ya boko haram ni kuwa sheria za kiislamu zitumike kote nchini Nigeria.

Wafuasi wake pia wamekuwa wakishambulia viongozi wa kitamaduni na maimamu wenye misimamo ya wastani.

Rais Goodluck Jonathan anataka serikali ifanye mazungumzo na kundi hilo ambalo sasa linatishia kuwa changamoto kubwa kwa utawala wake kando na wapiganaji walioko kwenye jimbo la Niger Delta kunapozalishwa mafuta.

Hata hivyo wadadisi wa masuala ya kiusalama wanasema mazungumzo na kundi hilo yatakuwa magumu kuanzisha kwani, uongozi wa Boko haram hauna mfumo wa kuaminika na kwa sasa haijulikani nani ndiye amiri.

Baada ya ZIFF Zanzibar Shaggy avamia Mwanza

Shaggy akiserebuka na vimwana wa kisukuma katika ngoma zao za jadi



Baada ya kutawazwa na kuwa someone katika kabila la wasukuma jijini Mwanza



Akisomewa risala na mambo ya muhimu ya kikabila



Shaggy akisikiliza kwa makini kutoka kwa mmoja wa viongozi



Akitoa shukrani zake kwa wale waliohudhuria kajisherehe hako



Baadae alisindikizwa na warembo wa kisukuma baada ya kukamilisha shughuli aliyoiendea



Akiongea na wahandishi wa habari na kujibu maswali

Jioni yake makamuzi yaliendelea kama kawa

Akitoa burudani kwa mashabiki waliohudhuria show yake



Makamuzi yakiendalea



Umati ulikuwa umejaa na walifurahia show hiyo ya nguvu



Shukrani kwa wapenzi woote mliohudhuria

Syria send more troops to Turkey and Lebanon borders

So far nearly 12,000 people from the area have fled across the border into Turkey

Syria's military has moved into a village near the border with Turkey and a town near the boundary with Lebanon, activists say.

Hundreds of Syrians, some with gunshot wounds, have fled into Lebanon, according to reports.

At least two civilians were shot dead by security forces at funerals held for people killed in protests on Friday, the activists say.

Dissidents plan a conference on Monday to discuss how to resolve the crisis.

Protests against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have gone on for more than three months.

Activists say more than 1,300 demonstrators have been killed by security forces and government supporters.
The Damascus government says it is tacking armed groups.

The village of Najia, near the border with Turkey, is the latest to have Syrian army troops and tanks move in, activists say.

Najia is near the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where the government sent reinforcements earlier this month after saying 120 security personnel had been killed by gunmen.

'Faked film'

The official Syrian news agency said the troops had completed their sweep of border villages without any shots being fired.

 

 

So far nearly 12,000 people from the region have fled into Turkey.

They show no sign of readiness to come back, despite promises from the Syrian authorities that the situation is stable and there will be no retribution.

Further south, near the border with Lebanon, activists said the town of Qusair was attacked by security forces and pro-regime militiamen after a big demonstration there on Friday.

They said tanks had moved in and many local people had been detained.

At least two civilians were shot dead during Saturday's funerals for victims killed on Friday in Kiswah, south of Damascus, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news agency.

He added that another two civilians were shot dead by security forces in Kassir, near the Lebanese border.

Residents in the Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh say a number of people have been arrested there and a curfew imposed, following unrest after Friday prayers.

A Syrian with relatives in Barzeh told the BBC that one dead protester had been used for propaganda purposes by the Syrian security forces.

They had put a gun in his hand and filmed him so that he could be depicted as a gunman on state television, he said.

President Assad has blamed gunmen for the violence.

Scores of dissidents and intellectuals critical of the regime are planning to hold a conference in Damascus on Monday, for the first time since the uprising began in March.

They say the authorities have not banned the one-day gathering.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says that if the meeting goes ahead, it could be a sign of greater tolerance of dissent from a regime that says it is preparing comprehensive reforms.

President Assad ordered a general amnesty on Tuesday in a bid to quell the unrest, a day after offering a "national dialogue".

Shaggy ndani ya Zanzibar, afanya show ya nguvu ndani ya Ngome Kongwe

MWANAMUZIKI Shaggy akizungumza na waandishi wa habari  katika ukumbi wa Hoteli ya Zanzibar Beach  alipowasili Zanzibar kwa ajili ya kutowa burudani katika Tamasha la 14 la Nchi za Jahazi Zanzibar. 

 

MKURUGENZI wa ZIFF Martin Mhando akitowa maelezo ya ujio wa mwanamuzi kutoka Marekani Shaggy alipokuwa akizungumza na Waandishi katika ukumbi wa Hoteli ya Zanzibar Beach Mazizini nje kidogo ua Mji wa Zanzibar. 

 

MWANAMUZI Shaggy akisaini kitabu cha wageni katika hoteli ya Zanzibar Beach kabla ya kuogea na waandishi kutokana na Onesho lake usiku wa jana.

 

MASHARUBARO wakiwa nia picha kwa ajili ya kumbukumbu alipowasili katika viwanja vya hoteli ya Zanzibar Beach kwa mahojiano na Waandishi.

 

SHAGGY akilishambulia Jukwaa  la ZIFF  akitowa burudani kwa  wapanzi wake waliofika kumuona katika ukumbi wa mambo club, kiingilio cha onesho hilo kilikuwa shillingi 15,000/= 

 

HIVI ndivyo ilivyokuwa katika Ukumbi wa Mambo Club usiku wa jana kwa wapenzi wa Shaggy.

 

WAPENZI wa muziki wakimshangilia Msanii Shaggy akifanya vitu vyake katika Ukumbi wa Mambo Club.

 

KUMEKUCHA Mambo Club Ngome Kongwe jana Usiku wa Wapenzi wa Shaggy ndani ya Zenj. 

 

MAMBO ndani ya NgomeKongwe ilivyokuwa katika Tamasha la 14 la ZIFF Zanzibar.

 

Shaggy akiimba kwa hisia ya hali ya juu

Washabiki walifurahia kila dakika katika ukumbi huo

Wanamuziki wenzake wakishambulia jukwaa kwa pamoja

 

Shaggy alishambulia jukwaa kwa hisia ya juu na wapenzi waliofika ukumbini hapo walifurahia onyesho lake.

Mashabiki wakionesha kufurahishwa  show ya tamasha la Nchi za Jahazi wakati mwanamuziki kutoka Marekani Sheggy akifanya mavitu yake.

 

Wafanyakazi wa makampuni ya televions wakitabasamu baada ya kumaliza kazi yao kwa usalama bila ya kutowa dosari kwa wapenzi wao katika Luninga zao.