Kenya: UN Prepares to Feed Drought Victims

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun pre-positioning supplies in eastern Kenya to feed an estimated 3.5 million people who are facing food shortages as a result poor harvest caused by inadequate rainfall.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), trucks have begun rolling out of warehouses, filled with foodstuff in preparation for increased needs.

Last month, WFP delivered food to selected health facilities in eastern Kenya and supported training to district health staff on supplementary feeding for children under the age of five and pregnant and nursing mothers, OCHA said.

An inter-agency group of humanitarian organizations and government ministries is concerned that the delayed onset of the current long rains will affect crop yield in the grain basket areas of the Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza provinces, which produce over 90 per cent of the national food output.

There is also increasing morbidity among livestock in the arid areas that is leading to loss of breeding stock, OCHA added.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is assisting on health issues, including with assessments and the response to cholera outbreaks in northern and western Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200905210002.html

samolia Islam Insurgents

Yesterdal Islam insurgents boomb a Somailian base. The group was sail to have ties to al qaeda. The group has the support of Bin Laden and is thought to have bombeb US enbassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1988.

Spain hands over 13 Somali pirates to Kenya



MOMBASA, Kenya, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Spain on Saturday handed over 13 suspected Somali pirates to Kenyan authorities for prosecution as the war against piracy took a new twist with pirates now targeting European Union naval ships deployed in the Indian Ocean off Somali coast.
The suspects who attacked the Marques De La Ensenada were turned over as part of an agreement between the European Union and Kenya to have captured pirates tried in Kenyan courts.
Speaking to journalists during the handover at the coastal city of Mombasa, Coast Criminal Investigation Department Officer Nyagah Reche said when the suspects attacked the naval ship they knew it was a military vessel.
"They did not mistake the vessel for a commercial ship. They attacked it with rocket launchers and shot at it, shattering one of the window panes," Reche told journalists in Mombasa.
"On May 7, seven pirates attacked the ship and were arrested while the following day six also attacked the same ship and captured," he added.
This was the first time pirates targeted naval ships deployed in the Indian Ocean after three of them were killed by U. S. navy snipers last month to free U.S. captain Richard Philips whom they had been holding for five days.
Two AK 47 rifles, two pistols, several rounds of ammunition, two boats and a rocket launcher were confiscated and would be produced in court as evidence, Reche said.
The arrival of the 11 brings to 77 the number of suspects under trial in Mombasa while 10 whose appeal was struck off by a Mombasa court this week are serving a seven-year jail term.
A Spanish judge ruled Friday the pirates should be released. The judge had previously said proceedings were already taking place in Spain and that it would violate the law to turn them over to Kenya.
But after an inquiry from the Defense Ministry, the judge said his ruling did not prevent the pirates from being released in Kenya.
France is prosecuting 15 piracy suspects in its own courts, though it has transferred others to Kenya, including 11 who were handed over last week.
The European Union and several other foreign navies have established patrols to protect merchant ships in the region.
Despite the patrols, Somali pirates have continued to hijack commercial vessels for ransom.
Editor: Wang Guanqun
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/16/content_11385853.htm

Kenya

Kenya's Patrick Ivuti wins Prague marathon
5/10/2009, 9:41 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press

(AP) — PRAGUE - Patrick Ivuti of Kenya won the Prague International Marathon in a new track record Sunday as his countrymen swept the other two podium spots.
Ivuti pulled away from Stephen Kibiwott in the final stretch to finish in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 48 seconds. Kibiwott was six seconds back in second, and last year's winner Kenneth Mungara was third in 2:10:29.
The old track record of 2:08:52 was set in 1998 by Kenya's Elijah Lagat.
http://article.wn.com/view/2009/05/13/Sudan_leader_denies_Darfur_crimes/

Kenya

Who is in charge here?

The coalition government looks irreparably split but Speaker Kenneth Marende has offered a temporary fix...

The coalition government looks irreparably split but Speaker Kenneth Marende has offered a temporary fix

Kenya's coalition squabbles have spilled over into Parliament (AC Vol 50 No 9). The latest, and worst, row between the coalition partners, President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) and Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), involves a tussle over nominating the Leader of Government Business and the Chairmanship of the House Business Committee. Citing executive authority and 45 years of tradition, President Kibaki wrote to Speaker Kenneth Otiato Marende a week before Parliament was due to reopen on 21 April, nominating his Vice-President, Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, as Leader of Government Business. That nomination would almost automatically give Musyoka the chair of the House Business Committee, which determines Parliament's agenda. However, Odinga too had written to the Speaker, nominating himself as chairman of the Business Committee by virtue of his role as Government Supervisor. It was the first open contest over executive authority since the signing of the National Accord in February 2008.

http://www.africa-confidential.com/index.aspx?pageid=22&countryid=25&categoryid=

Cholera Catasrophe

Cholera is a rather antiquated disease from a first world perspective. Though many parts of the world suffer from outbreaks of this plague, it is preventable and treatable as that it is a bacteria. The last major outbreaks in England occured in the late 1840-1850 time period and in America in the early 1900s. In order to prevent or treat the disease, it must be acknowledged however, which despite the thousands of dead, Zimbabwe's government has refused to do so.

Chronologically the following reputable sources report on the outbreak of Cholera in Zimbabwe. Perhaps one of the clearest demonstrations of Mugabe's power is the inability to get consistant data about what is going on within the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7764200.stm


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5511192.ece

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/02/17/Zimbabwe.cholera.crisis/index.html

Perhaps the most interesting quotes came from the following article, though taken out of the time line, it presents an interesting theory and perspective.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/15/zimbabwe.thousand.deaths/index.html#cnnSTCText

Cholera is a calculated, racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power, which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they can invade the country," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters.

The logic or lack there of is baffling.

For that which we have, be thankful

It is not often that words of appreciation are heard in reference to the American judicial system. As with any system involving an immense amount of power, corruption and scandel take away from the good that is actually accomplished. Still, as Americans, we have faith as a whole that there is always an appellate process, and that even if things are done wrong at one level, the next level will catch it - and we will also make sure that come elections, the judge in the wrong will not be re-elected. We also inherently believe that we have the right to a defense, and our attorneys have the right to review and present evidence.
As citizens, we have an immense amount of weilding power over our government's judicial branch.

The same, so sadly, is not true in many other parts of the world. Particularily in Zimbabwe where 18 civil rights activits have been sent back to jail after being released. They are alleged to have conspired together with a plot to overthrow the current dictator of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/05/05/zimbabwe.activists.jailed/index.html

Tanzania Asks International Monetary Fund to Borrow Money

Tanzania Asks International Monetary Fund to Borrow Money they also agrees to make polocies that would “bolstering the Tanzanian economy,”

Older Americans Continue to Travel Despite Economy

I can't find the rest of what I wanted to post on this story, but apparantly older Americans are still travel inspite of the finacial and world problems.


"More than 12,000 Americans Age 50-Plus Attended Grand Circle Travel Forums in Q1 2009 -- with $20 Million in Bookings
Four Out of 10 Americans Booked Trips Same Day"

was posted under comments

Mkuchika,the Tanzanian Minister of Information, Sports and Culture was commented last week about the genocide of the Tutsi people in 1994. He blamed western colonist for the killings, a memorial is being built in their memory.
April 21, 2009 12:27 PM in 1994.

Lake Victoria Mining Company, Inc. to Exhibit at Upcoming Money Show in Las Vegas, NV

The Lake Victoria Mining Co will be at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV (May 11-14)participating iin the Money Show. This is a world wide attraction for invetors. They also will be holding a workshop (May 13) titled "African Goldrush how will you stake your claim?" The Lake Victoria Mining Company, Inc. mines gold.

Worthless Warrants

At some point in time, we are all reminded that legal documents are just peices of paper, and hold only the power that people give them. Almost any document becomes mute if it is not valued and respected by those to which it pertains, be it a marraige liscense or an arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court.

To general public perception, something as significant as an arrest warrant from an institution that's name alone sounds solid and formidable, would be a frightening and terrifying thing. This is not the case for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The only active leader to have a warrent issused for him by the ICC, he seemingly scoffs at the warrant and is continuing to make public appearances and dignitary trips to other countaries.

He refuses to recognize the ICC as any valid form of leadership, and since ICC really has no power as an organization but must rely on members to enact or enforce any decrees, he may have a point. He has in essence said "Your silly documents have no power over me." The ICC requests for members to arrest him, but since the countries he is visiting are not members, their response is " You have no power over us, or him either. Besides, we think you are wrong. So Nah." It is in this manner that a man that could very well be guilty of ordering vile atrocities against humanity is not being brought forward for accountability for his actions, and the suffering is allowed to continue. If only Sudan had oil......
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/21/sudan.president/index.html

South Africa - Zuma zooming forward into leadership

It is interesting to be studying South Africa at this point. A nation that has long been troubled by apartheid and corrupt government, South Africa still seems unable to shake the corruption and influence of "big government" in order to benefit its people. It was the hope with Nelson Mandela and the arrival of the African National Congress that South Africans would be able to rise above the immense poverty, corruption, and caste system that has been in place for an extensive period of time. Those hopes are becoming more and more dim as Jacob Zuma prepares to take office, already predicted to win by a landslide of 68% on some accounts. His success is due in large part to the mass amount of uneducated poor, that cleave to his campaign promises without being able to analyze even remote feasibility of the implementation. To read more, review the following link :

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/21/southafrica.elections/index.html

Welcome to Sub Saharan Africa

This blog has been established for the purposes of the Sub Saharan Africa regional desk within the Emerging Nations Spring 2009 course at Baker that is instructed by Mr. Robert Jordan, JD.