Iraqi forces fire tear gas at protesters(news now)

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Latest on anti-government protests in Iraq

Iraqi security forces have fired tear gas on protesters at one of the entrances to the Green Zone as hundreds of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr continue to stream into the highly fortified government compound.

Associated Press reporters at the scene say thousands of protesters have entered the Green Zone since breaching the walls and storming parliament earlier on Saturday.The heavily guarded area is home to most government ministries and foreign embassies.

The entry of the protesters marks a major escalation after months of demonstrations and sit-ins by al-Sadr's followers, who are calling for wide-ranging political reforms aimed at combatting corruption and waste.

Soma Zaidi

Saturday, April 30, 2016 No Comments

Somalia mosque collapses kills 15 in Mogadishu

A mosque under refurbishment has collapsed in Somalia, killing at least 15 people and injuring 40.

It happened during Friday prayers in the mosque in the capital Mogadishu. Details emerged on Saturday.

Hundreds of people are reported to have been inside the building when it collapsed and some are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

An engineer on the refurbishment project has been arrested on suspicion of negligence, local media report.

Heavy rains have fallen on the area over the past few days.

The Somali government controls Mogadishu and other cities, but militants from the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab dominate many rural areas.

More than 22,000 African Union soldiers and police are deployed in the country to protect the government.

Soma Zaidi

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Seven Dead After Nairobi Building Collapse

At least seven people are reported to have died after a six-storey building collapsed in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, following days of heavy rain and flooding.

Dozens of others are feared trapped beneath the rubble.

TV station KTN said that while 58 people including a baby had been rescued, "most residents" were still inside.

A large crowd surrounded the building as police and rescue workers removed chunks of masonry.

Kenya is in the middle of its rainy season. 

Dozens of people are feared trapped after a six-storey building came down following days of heavy rain and flooding.

Soma Zaidi

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North Korea 'will halt' nuclear tests if US stops S Korea exercises

North Korea has said it will suspend its nuclear tests if the US stops its annual military exercises with South Korea.

Foreign minister Ri Su-yong also told the Associated Press news agency that his country would not be cowed by international sanctions.

A US official has defended the drills as a sign of commitment to South Korea.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang said Saturday's submarine-launched ballistic missile test was a "great success".

"It fully confirmed and reinforced the reliability of the Korean-style underwater launching system and perfectly met all technical requirements for carrying out... underwater attack operation," the North Korean news agency KCNA said.

It added that the test gave the country "one more means for powerful nuclear attack".

North Korea is banned from nuclear tests and activities that use ballistic missile technology under UN sanctions dating back to 2006.

• Can South Korea defend itself?
• Dealing with the North: Carrots or sticks?
• How advanced is North Korea's nuclear programme?
• How potent are the threats?

Earlier, Ri Su-yong defended his country's right to have a nuclear deterrent and said the US drove North Korea to develop such weapons as an act of self-defence.

He suggested that the suspension of the military drills could open the door to talks and reduced tensions.

"If we continue on this path of confrontation, this will lead to very catastrophic results, not only for the two countries but for the whole entire world as well," he told AP.

"Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests."

It was a rare interview by a top North Korean official with a foreign media outlet. The conversation took place in the country's diplomatic mission at the UN, the agency said.

An unnamed US official quoted by AP defended the drills in South Korea as demonstrating Washington's commitment to its alliance with Seoul.

The US has insisted the North give up its nuclear weapons programme first before any negotiations and has ignored similar proposals in the past, according to the agency.

Ri Su-yong also said sanctions would not sway his country: "If they believe they can actually frustrate us with sanctions, they are totally mistaken.

"The more pressure you put on to something, the more emotionally you react to stand up against it. And this is important for the American policymakers to be aware of."

'Hitting the puppet forces'

The interview came hours after North Korea said it launched a ballistic missile from a submarine, a type of missile hard to detect.

Some experts, however, think the North has fired missiles from submerged platforms, rather than from submarines.

The North's official news agency also said the country's leader Kim Jong-un observed from a test facility as the ballistic missile surged from a submarine and spewed out a "massive stream of flames'' as it soared into the sky.

It said the missile met all technical thresholds, but did not specify where the test took place.

South Korean officials, however, said the launch took place near the eastern coastal town of Sinpo.

The report also quoted Kim Jong Un as saying that the North was now capable of "hitting the heads of the South Korean puppet forces and the US imperialists anytime as it pleases".

North Korea has so far conducted four nuclear tests - the first one in October 2006 and the latest in January this year.

The UN Security Council responded to the latter by imposing its strongest sanctions to date over the North's nuclear weapons programme.

Last month North Korea said it had developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles, although experts cast doubt on the claims.

Analysts believe the North may be gearing up for a fifth test as a show of strength ahead of the North Korean Workers' Party Congress in early May, the first such meeting since 1980.

bbc story

Soma Zaidi

Sunday, April 24, 2016 No Comments

Syria conflict: Obama rules out ground troops for Syria

President Barack Obama has ruled out deploying US ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country's problems.

"It would be a mistake for the United States, or Great Britain... to send in ground troops and overthrow the [Bashar al-] Assad regime," he told the BBC.

He also said he did not think so-called Islamic State would be defeated in his last nine months of office.

But he said: "We can slowly shrink the environment in which they operate."

Mr Obama, who has been in the UK for a three-day visit, said Syria was a "heart-breaking situation of enormous complexity".

"I don't think there are any simple solutions," he said.

"In order for us to solve the long-term problems in Syria, a military solution alone - and certainly us deploying ground troops - is not going to bring that about."

Mr Obama said the US-led coalition would continue "to strike ISIL (Islamic State) targets in places like Raqqa, and to try to isolate those portions of the country, and lock down those portions of the country that are sending foreign fighters into Europe".

But he said the international community would have to continue to apply pressure to all parties, including Russia, Iran and moderate opposition groups "to sit down at the table and try to broker a transition".

But he added: "That's difficult."

Mr Obama criticised those countries whose parliaments had not approved actions in Syria but still "want the United States to do something about it".

"You can't have it both ways," he said.

Mr Obama said Syria was one of many issues that are "transnational in nature... and require a transnational response".

He said: "It would be, I think, tempting, for a lot of people, to believe that we can pull up the drawbridge and that we can carve a moat around ourselves and not have to deal with problems around the world."

But without co-operation and alliances "we are far weaker and we won't solve these problems", he said.

On so-called Islamic State he said: "Prosecuting the campaign is critical, and although I don't anticipate that in the next nine months it will be finished, because, unfortunately, even a small pocket of extremists, if they're prepared to die themselves, can still wreak havoc on many of our cities.

"But I do think that we can slowly shrink the environment in which they operate and take on strongholds like Mosul and Raqqa that are the beating heart of their movement."

At least 250,000 people have died in five years of conflict in Syria and millions have fled the fighting.

Mr Obama and the UN fear a fragile truce between the government forces and non-jihadist rebels, in place since February, is in danger of collapse amid renewed clashes.

Current talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and opposition delegations will continue into next week, but there have been bitter exchanges.

The Syrian opposition delegation, known as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), and rebel forces inside Syria have accused the government of repeatedly violating the terms of the truce brokered by the US and Russia.

The HNC said the Syrian government was "not a serious partner" while the government hit back by accusing the HNC of "sulking".

Any peace process would require a transitional government, but the role of Mr Assad is a key sticking point.

bbc report

Soma Zaidi

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Health fund launches special scheme for elderly(Tanzania)

IN a move that aims to minimize personal expenditure on health, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has come up with a new scheme dubbed ‘Wazee Kwanza’ to enable the elderly access both in- and out-patient medical services.

The Fund has also introduced other schemes including ‘Toto Afya Kadi’ for children under 18 years, ‘Mama na Mwana’ for expectant mothers who are not members of the Fund, and KIKOA, which targets special entrepreneur groups such as VICOBA and Savings and Credit Co operative Societies (SACOS).

“Our aim is to ensure universal health coverage. The government wants 85 per cent of the country’s population to be enrolled with insurance health services by financial year 2025/2026”, said NIHF Acting Director General Michael Mhando during a brief meeting with journalists in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

He said the Fund had been able to reach 27 per cent of Tanzanians through NHIF and Community Health Fund (CHF) by end of December, last year, adding that the target was to reach 50 per cent of the population by the year 2020.

Mhando said the institution has been offering medical treatment to retired members. He called on the elderly to grab the opportunity since it was the fund’s priority to serve them.

As of December 2015, NHIF had registered 27,056 retired members whose beneficiaries amounted to 51,598 including their spouses. There are 2, 507, 568 elders in Tanzania which is equivalent to 5.6 percent of the population, according to the national census of 2012.

He said the Fund was also striving to improve its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems to enhance provision of services to its customers and service providers. He said in future the Fund would be able to verify its members electronically as well as receiving/sending services providers’ claims.

“We have established a call centre. It has so far reached 5,257 customers in four months,” said the NHIF boss.

In her presentation titled ‘Retirement and health,’ Dr. Aifena Mramba said the Wazee Kwanza scheme was crucial since retirement was accompanied by many basic lifestyle challenges including economic comfort, loss of social networks.

“We are fulfilling our role in health care, most diseases that afflict the elderly are chronic and costly, afflicting the elderly at a time when they do not have sufficient and sustained income,” she said.

Dr Mramba said most old-age diseases required complex services which were costly and were available in referral facilities. She mentioned some of the medical services that the elderly could access at hospitals as dialysis, immunosuppressant, anticancer, medical and orthopaedic appliances, joint replacement implants, invasive cardiac procedures, MRI and CT-Scan.

Wazee Kwanza scheme was launched early this month in Morogoro by Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu.

The minister said her ministry had prepared an Elderly Bill which would soon be tabled in the National Assembly for endorsement. She said the law was expected to ensure that the elderly got their rights as well as improved their welfare.

Mwalimu directed district executive directors to ensure free medical treatment for the elderly at their respective areas. She mentioned some of the regions with a big number of elderly people as Kilimanjaro (6.4%), Mbeya (6.1%), Dar es Salaam (6.1%), Morogoro (5.6%), Tanga (5.6%), Dododoma (5.6%), Kagera (5%) and Mwanza (4.9%)
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Soma Zaidi

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MPs form Lugumi contract probe subcommittee

The parliamentary oversight committee on public accounts—PAC- has formed a nine-member sub-committee to probe the Sh37billion forensic equipment contract between Lugumi Enterprises Ltd and the police force.

The nine-member team to be headed by Josephat Asunga (Vwawa-CCM) includes Livingstone Lusinde (Mtera), Stanslaus Mabula (Nyamagana), Haji Mponda (Malinyi) and Hafidh Ali Tahir (Dimani) all from CCM.

The other four from the opposition are Ms Naghenjwa Kaboyoka (Same East-Chadema), Musa Mbaruk (Tanga Urban-CUF), Tuza Malapo (Special Seats-Chadema) and Khadija Nassor Ali (Special Seats-CUF).

Aeshi Hilary, the deputy chairman of the Public Accounts Committee made the announcement yesterday in Parliament grounds in Dodoma shortly after the committee held yet again a meeting to discuss the controversial equipment contract.

The team will develop terms of reference from earlier meetings conducted with both the police and Lugumi Enterprise officials, so as to verify the facts involved.

The 2011 contract signed during the tenure of ex-Inspector General of Police (IGP) Said Mwema, involved installing scanners in over 100 district police stations across the country, but as the matter stands only 14 scanners were installed.

This is despite the fact that the government had already made the bulk of payments relating to the total cost of the project.

The modern fingerprint technology was touted as crucial in significantly improving police efficiency in carrying out criminal investigations and positively identifying suspects.

But the PAC recently raised questions over a report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) which affirmed that only about 10 per cent of the agreed number of scanners had been installed.

PAC issued a demand note to Police Force headquarters to present the contract with Lugumi Enterprises for parliamentary scrutiny, only to be rebuffed by incumbent IGP Ernest Mangu who said the police force is not answerable to Parliament and therefore not obliged to respond to all its demands.

Section 117 (18) allows parliamentary committees to form subcommittees for better execution of its responsibilities.

In an unexpected twist, the just formed sub-committee will have to revive investigation into the matter which includes assessing and evaluating a project implementation report submitted by police headquarters to PAC.

The PAC deputy chairman when listing subcommittee members to reporters skipped to say if the police had handed over the contract but insisted the sub-committee will have four weeks to complete the work.

Hilary (Sumbawanga Urban-CCM) said the team will also seek audience with the CAG and several top police officials.

Shortly after the subcommittee submits its report to the full PAC, the report will be submitted to the National Assembly Speaker Job Ndugai for tabling before the House
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Soma Zaidi

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Smallholders’ role in addressing food insecurity in Africa

SMALL-SCALE food producers are collectively the leading investors in agriculture, estimated to produce 70 per cent of the food in Africa.

However, addressing food and nutrition insecurity on the continent requires the full participation of those who are already producing, and promoting an agricultural system based on human rights and food sovereignty through local control over natural resources, seeds, land, water, forests, knowledge and technology.

This is crucial for small-scale women and men farmers, pastoralists, livestock farmers, fisher folks, as well as hunter and gatherer societies. However, African governments’ and international donors’ support to African agriculture increasingly focuses on the extension of corporate-led food and agricultural systems to the detriment of small-scale food producers.

During the 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) held last week with a focus on Innovative Financing and Renewed Partnerships to Accelerate the Implementation of CAADP countries have noted the need to improve access to food and nutrition security information across countries, sectors and actors for enhanced and informed decision making.

Head of Nutrition Department at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Isatou Jallow said regional Platform is expected to foster evidence-based dialogue and a multi-sectorial approach in information and knowledge sharing among countries and regional stakeholders.

“NEPAD agency embarked on consultative processes with the six countries on the establishment of a food and nutrition security knowledge sharing and monitoring platform in Africa,” she said.

She added that the initiative was aimed at improving the strategic use of data and information on food and nutrition security by enhancing knowledge creation and sharing.

“A Food and Nutrition Security Knowledge-Sharing and Monitoring Platform is an important and unifying tool to promote the generation and use of quality data in planning, monitoring and decision making by different stakeholders and sectors working to ensure food and nutrition security in Africa,” said Jallow,.

According to the consultation, the establishment of the platform is a direct response to the Malabo Declaration on accelerated growth and transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods.

The declaration is an African Union recommitment to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) and its results framework for Africa’s agricultural transformation and food security agenda in the 2015-2025 decade.

The Declaration and CAADP further emphasize the need for performing systematic mapping, monitoring and evaluation at national and regional levels to establish targets for enhancing food and nutrition security and agriculture and food insecurity management.

The countries consulted include Tanzania, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho

According to media reports, Tanzania has one of the world’s highest rates of chronic malnutrition. Measured as stunting (when children are too short for their age), malnutrition affects 42 per cent of children under five.

This rate has fallen only two percentage points since 2005. Malnutrition takes a major toll on human health in the country while chronic malnutrition during the first two years of life leaves children permanently vulnerable to ill health throughout their lives, even if they have better access to food as adults.

Over the last four years, Tanzania has seen a growing recognition that addressing undernutrition needs to be a political priority.

One significant response has been a large-scale food fortification programme, which aims to reach 10 million Tanzanians by 2015.

However, the programme faces major challenges in the informal markets, as small businesses are unlikely to comply with the legislation where the majority of poor and undernourished people buy their food
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Soma Zaidi

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Ex-TPA chiefs have case to answer

THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday ruled that the former director general with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Ephraim Ngiza Mgawe and his assistant Hamadi Musa Koshuma, who are charged with abuse of office, have a case to answer.

The accused will therefore embark on their defence testimony from May 6 with Mgawe fielding eight witnesses, while Koshuma will give only his testimony.

Principal Resident Magistrate Cyprian Mkeha said the prosecution, through defence testimonies, has delivered a prima facie case against the defendants, hence the ruling that they have a case to answer.

The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Pius Hila, closed its case last month after calling five witnesses to demonstrate that the charges against the accused can stand in court.

The charges relate to contracts on expansion of the Dar es Salaam Port, in particular construction of berths number 13 and 14 tasked to the China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCCL), billed at about $523m (over Sh800bn at the time the contract was concluded).

According to the charge sheet, the accused committed an offence on December 5, 2011 at the Tanzania Ports Authority, within the city of Dar es Salaam.

On the material day, the accused being employed by the TPA as Director General and Deputy Director General, Mgawe and Koshuma, respectively, abused their positions while discharging their respective functions.

It said that they signed a commercial contract between the TPA and the CCCCL for the construction of berths number 13 and 14 at the Dar es Salaam Port without invitation of tenders.

That was in violation of provisions of Section 31 of the Public Procurement Act, No. 21 of 2004 and was intended to obtain undue advantage for the Chinese construction company.

In another development, the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday failed to give a ruling in the case facing former Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Harry Kitilya and two others, as the magistrate was yet to complete writing the ruling.

They are charged with eight counts including money laundering of over Sh12bn payments which they asked the court to strike off.

Adjourning the session, Resident Magistrate Emilius Mchauru said he was yet to finish writing the ruling, asking for the prosecution and defence to bear with him for taking their time.

The ruling was postponed until April 27, after defence advocates, led by advocate Richard Mgongolwa had last week asked the court to reject the money laundering charge, on grounds that it was fatally defective.

“A money laundering offence must contain four elements, like illicit source, placement, layering and integration” with normal flows of money, the advocate insisted.

That observation came after the court refused to grant bail to the accused persons, including forgery, uttering false documents and obtaining six million US dollars (about 12bn/-) by false pretences.

The magistrate said that the offence of money laundering was not bailable under the law. “Under such circumstances, this court may have no power to entertain an application for bail,” he said.

Other accused persons comprise former Miss Tanzania and head of investment banking at Stanbic Bank, Shose Sinare and Sioi Graham Solomon, the former chief legal counsel to the bank.

The accused persons allegedly engaged themselves directly in a transaction involving six million US dollars by transferring, withdrawing and depositing money relating to that transaction in different bank accounts maintained by EGMA Limited at Stanbic Bank (T) Ltd and KCB Bank Ltd
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Soma Zaidi

Friday, April 22, 2016 No Comments

PCCB in jubilant mood as special anti-graft court is fast-tracked(Tanzania)

• Establishment of court is culmination of JPM’s poll pledge to wage total war on corruption and embezzlement in government
• THE Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Director General Valentino Mlowola was yesterday beside himself with joy after it was announced in the National Assembly in Dodoma

that a special court to try corruption and embezzlement of public funds cases would become operational in July, this year.

“This shows how the government is committed to fighting corruption,” the anti-graft czar said.
In January, this year, PCCB had completed investigations into 36 grand corruption cases.

Mlowola, the former head of the anti-crime unit in the police force, vowed that he would fight grand and petty corruption at a pace the anti-graft body had hitherto never witnessed.

“The president has shown that he is serious when it comes to fighting corruption and we need to embrace his pace,” he said.

The PCCB chief’s elation came following an announcement by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa in the National yesterday that an anti-corruption and economic sabotage special court, a new division of the High Court of Tanzania, was set to begin work by July, this year.

The much-talked-about and awaited special court to try corruption and economic sabotage suspects is in line with the new government’s resolve under President John Magufuli to declare total war against the vice.

Presenting his ministry’s budget estimates in the National Assembly yesterday, Prime Minister Majaliwa, without much elaboration, said already a division on corruption and embezzlement of public funds had been established at the High Court of Tanzania and it would officially become operational in July, 2016.

The new development was announced by the prime minister when tabling his office’s budget estimates for the financial year 2016/17. He outlined the government’s priority areas in the next financial year, insisting that war on corruption would be waged seriously without end.

According to government figures, during fiscal year 2015/16 a total of 3,911 corruption allegations were recorded and investigation into 324 cases were concluded.

Of the investigated cases, 252 were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who approved 156 cases for prosecution.

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) also came up with 329 corruption allegations, 19 of which were probed and forwarded to the DPP, who subsequently approved 12 for prosecution.

The prime minister said that 8 files on grand corruption were forwarded to the DPP, two of which were approved for prosecution and the suspects had already been arraigned in court.

“There are 69 development projects worth Sh8 billion being implemented by local government authorities which were found with gross accounting anomalies,” the PM said, adding: “The government will continue investigating 3,444 corruption allegations and finalise investigation into 10 other grad corruption cases.”

Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice Dr Harrison Mwakyembe was earlier quoted by the media as saying that a taskforce comprising officials from the police force, Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS), Attorney General’s Office (AG) and the Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP) had already met on the matter.

The minister, who is expected to table Bills in the National Assembly to enact laws to fight corruption, said some of the things to be addressed prior to the introduction of the special anti-graft court was operational costs.

The Guardian could not independently verify how the court would operate, but information from the office of the Chief Justice hinted that after a case was filed, there would be no delays as cases would be heard continuously.

In his speech when inaugurating the 11th Parliament last year, President Magufuli reiterated his promise made during his campaign that, if elected, he would form a special court to try graft cases.

However, the oversight parliamentary committee on constitutional affairs and justice expressed concerns over a limited budget for development, saying it would affect implementation of various programmes initiated by the ministry.

The prime minister requested parliament to endorse Sh236.8billion for his office for financial year 2016/17
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Soma Zaidi

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Media freedom in Tanzania now tops Italy, Japan - report

TANZANIA has improved four places on the latest world rankings for freedom of the press (media), beating advanced economies such as Japan, Italy and Israel despite the decision of a United States aid organisation to cancel financial assistance to the country over the Cybercrimes Act.

The World Press Freedom Index complied annually by Reporters Without Borders ranks 180 countries on indicators such as media independence, self-censorship, the rule of law, transparency and abuses.

In its newly-compiled index for 2016, the international media watchdog and advocacy group said Tanzania ranked 71st this year compared to 75th a year earlier.

This puts the country ahead of global powers like Japan (ranked 72nd), Italy (77), Israel (101), Brazil (104), India (133), Russia (148), Turkey (151) and China (176).

Tanzania is also leading the way in the East African Community (EAC) bloc, followed by Kenya (95), Uganda (102), Burundi (156) and Rwanda (161), in that order.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Still, there is more that needs to be done to further enhance press freedom in the country despite the improved ranking, according to the Reporters Without Borders report.

"Tanzania has a history of violence against journalists. Two reporters have been killed since 2012, and dozens more have been attacked or threatened,” the report noted.

It also recalled that last year the country “passed laws making it illegal to publish any official data not approved by the government or any information online that the government deemed deceptive, misleading, or inaccurate."

“(The) introduction of the Access to Information Bill (allows) the government to prosecute journalists if it deems information they (publish) to be not in the public interest,” the report said, citing the “permanent” banning of a local weekly newspaper (Mawio) and detention of some of its editors in January this year.

The Cybercrimes Act was another controversial gagging law passed last year, and it has already been used as leverage to justify the recent suspension of a large chunk of foreign aid to the country.

The US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) cited the Act alongside the disputed Zanzibar election as the main reasons behind its decision to cancel a $473 million (1 trillion/-) financial support package to Tanzania last month.

In light of public arrests made during the elections, the MCC said the Tanzanian government had "not taken measures to ensure freedom of expression and association are respected in the implementation of the Cybercrimes Act."

NEW ERA OF PROPAGANDA

On a global scale, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said all indicators showed that freedom of the press has largely deteriorated, especially in the Americas.

It also warned of "a new era of propaganda" as world leaders have developed “a form of paranoia about legitimate journalism."

"Numerous authorities are trying to regain control of their countries, fearing overly open public debate," said Christophe Deloire, the organization’s secretary general.

He added: "Today, it is increasingly easy for powers to appeal directly to the public through new technologies, and so there is a greater degree of violence against those who represent independent information."

"We are entering a new era of propaganda where new technologies allow the low-cost dissemination of their own communication, their information, as dictated. On the other side, journalists are the ones who get in the way."

The situation was particularly grave in Latin America, the report said, highlighting "institutional violence" in Venezuela and Ecuador, organised crime in Honduras, impunity in Colombia, corruption in Brazil, and media concentration in Argentina as the main obstacles to press freedom.

Among the lowest-ranked countries on the 2016 press freedom index were China (176th out of 180), Syria (177), North Korea (179) and last-placed Eritrea.

Japan slumped to 72nd due to what the report described as local media “self-censorship” when reporting on prime minister Shinzo Abe.

EUROPE

Meanwhile, Finland retained top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by the Netherlands and Norway.

While Europe remained the region with the highest levels of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders warned that the misuse of counter-terrorist and counter-espionage measures and conflicts of interest had put it on "a downhill course".

Poland fell a massive 29 places to 49th due to the country’s government seeking to restore Polish ownership of foreign-owned Polish media.

And France dropped seven places to 45th because "most of the private-sector national media are now owned by a handful of businessmen with interests in areas of the economy unrelated to the media."

Threats to journalists in Europe were linked to rising nationalism which saw death threats in Sweden (which dropped three places to 8th) and attacks on scribes during anti-Muslim rallies in Germany (down four spots to 16th).

"…It was in Paris that the attack on (the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine) took place on 7 January 2015, an attack masterminded from Yemen. So, Europe was also the victim of the world’s demons," read the report.

AFRICA

In Africa, a series of political crises and terrorism continued to erode press freedom.

South Sudan dropped 15 places to 140th due to intimidation of journalists during its civil war.

Efforts by presidents to stay in power in the Republic of Congo (115), Uganda (102) and Djibouti (172) "led to pre-election violence against journalists and harsh, government-orchestrated censorship of the media."

And "as a result of the president’s obstinacy in Burundi (156th), the leading independent media were destroyed, more than 100 journalists fled abroad, and Burundi fell 11 places in the index," said the report.

The terrorism-related menace of jihadist groups in Mali - where one group threatened to behead foreign journalists - and Nigeria led to a decline in press freedom in both countries.

But in at least one glowing example of press freedom on the continent, Namibia emerged as the best-ranking country at number 17.

"(Namibian) journalists are safe, its media landscape is diverse, and no restrictions are placed on the internet," the report noted
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Soma Zaidi

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TANZANIA: Kigamboni residents now demand commuter buses

EXCITED Kigamboni residents who are crossing the state of the art 680m Nyerere Bridge on foot, in droves at peak hours are now demanding commuter bus services.

A Property Watch survey of the area during peak hours during the past 72 hours since inauguration of the US$ 135m (about 297.7bn/-) bridge by President John Magufuli, has established that hundreds are ditching ferry boat rides in favour of commuter buses which unfortunately end hundreds of metres away from the bridge.

In random interviews, residents of the headland said the bridge is a big relief but Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) should license commuter buses to serve across the bridge.

One of the residents, Gabriel Joel said right now the number of vehicles and people using the ferry boat to cross the Indian Ocean stretch separating the headland from mainland Dar es Salaam, has declined significantly.

“People who have cars are better off but most of us who depend on commuters, the burden is only partially addressed until when we have commuter buses serving between Kigamboni and the mainland,” Joel said.

Kigamboni residents were the happiest of the bridge, and more people from different areas across the city are visiting there to witness it and were happy to use such bridge as well as called the government to introduce a new bus route there.

Currently time spend at Kivukoni waiting for ferryboat for both people and vehicles has declined especially during the peak hours especially evening hours because of the new bridge,” he said.

A motorist, Irenei Kiria said the bridge is a big relief to many residents of the headland because waiting time for the ferry boat has significantly been reduced.

"It was about 27km drive this morning from my home to office, which took about an hour thanks to Nyerere Bridge, It used to take about three hours via the ferry," Kiria said. He seconded road foot users claims that commuter buses should be introduced as soon as possible.

Sumatra Corporate Communications Manager, David Mziray said the authority is already undertaking action to introduce commuter bus services across the bridge to ease people’s movement.

“Passenger buses will start soon, we are consulting with other relevant authorities including the bridge’s investors to see how we can decide on fare,” Mziray said while speaking to East Africa Radio’s morning talk show program o Wednesday.

He said because there is an element of motor vehicles paying a toll when crossing the bridge, it is important that Sumatra takes such a aspect into consideration when setting fares.

President John Magufuli urged relevant government agencies to quickly introduce commuter bus services across the bridge so that many people who don’t use private cars can easily travel between Kigamboni and mainland Dar es Salaam.

While pedestrians cross the bridge free of charge, motorists, cyclists and motorcyclists will pay a fee to help National Social Security Fund recoup its investment of 60 percent while government contributed 40 percent of the bill
.

Soma Zaidi

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