FETTY WAP BEAMING WITH PRIDE AT BABY'S 1ST DOCTOR VISIT …

Fetty Wap's come a long way in just four months -- from denying he even fathered a child with Masika to totally proud papa cradling his little girl in a doctor's office.

Fetty and Masika were together for baby Khari's scheduled one-week doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Check out the video ... Fetty couldn't look happier.

We're told the checkup went great because Khari is in perfect health. Also doing really well are Fetty and Masika .... the two are embracing co-parenting, and it shows.

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Filed Under: Local News Tuesday, December 24, 2013 No Comments

Why women have sharper memory than men

If you are a man, perhaps you have wondered why your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister and even a female friend remembers everything you said to her or promised. You also may have been surprised why women are better than men when it comes to memory tests.

If you are female, chances are you have also wondered why men tend to outperform women in spatial tasks and motor skills—such as map reading or driving. Wonder no more.  Scientists have found the answer.

A pioneering study has shown, for the first time, that the brains of men and women are wired differently—which could explain some of the stereotypical differences in male and female behaviour, the United Kingdom’s The Independent newspaper reported yesterday, quoting research by scientists.

According to the newspaper, researchers found that many of the connections in a typical male brain run between the front and the back of the same side of the brain, whereas in women the connections are more likely to run from side to side between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

This difference in the way the nerve connections in the brain are “hardwired” occurs during adolescence when many of the secondary sexual characteristics such as facial hair in men and breasts in women develop under the influence of sex hormones, the study found.

The researchers believe the physical differences between the two sexes in the way the brain is hardwired could play an important role in understanding why men are in general better at spatial tasks involving muscle control while women are better at verbal tasks involving memory and intuition.

Psychological testing has consistently indicated a significant difference between the sexes in the ability to perform various mental tasks, with men outperforming women in some tests and women outperforming men in others. Now there seems to be a physical explanation, according to scientists.

The UK newspaper said, quoting Ragini Verma, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia: “These maps show us a stark difference—and complementarity—in  the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks and women at others.

“What we’ve identified is that, when looked at in groups, there are connections in the brain that are hardwired differently in men and women. Functional tests have already shown than when they carry out certain tasks, men and women engage different parts of the brain.”

The research was carried out on 949 individuals—521 females and 428 males—aged between eight and 22. The brain differences between the sexes became apparent only after adolescence, the study found.

A special brain-scanning technique called diffusion tensor imaging, which can measure the flow of water along a nerve pathway, established the level of connectivity between nearly 100 regions of the brain, creating a neural map of the brain called the “connectome”, Prof Verma said.

“It tells you whether one region of the brain is physically connected to another part of the brain and you can get significant differences between two populations,” Prof Verma said. “In women, most of the connections go between left and right across the two hemispheres while in men most of the connections go between the front and the back of the brain.”

Because the female connections link the left hemisphere, which is associated with logical thinking, with the right, which is linked with intuition, this could help to explain why women tend to do better than men at intuitive tasks.

Prof Verma added: “Intuition is thinking without thinking. It’s what people call gut feelings. Women tend to be better than men at these kinds of skill which are linked with being good mothers.”

Many previous psychological studies have revealed significant differences between the sexes in the ability to perform various cognitive tests.

Men tend to outperform women in tasks involving spatial tasks and motor skills—such as map reading—while women tend to do better in memory tests, such as remembering words and faces, and social cognition tests, which try to measure empathy and “emotional intelligence”.

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HomeNewsEast Africa News EAST AFRICA NEWS S.Sudan bid to join EAC in jeopardy

The ongoing civil unrest in South Sudan may shatter the country’s dream of joining the East African Community (EAC),The Citizen has learnt.

Right from the outset, the newly independent South Sudan cultivated warm relations with its southern neighbours within the EAC.

Motivated by economic pragmatism, and perhaps seeking a sense of belonging, South Sudan, Africa’s youngest nation, submitted an application to join the regional economic bloc in November 2012, just months after gaining independence.

The five partner states – Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi – were more than eager to bring the oil-rich country into the fold of the EAC. A verification team was sent to Juba in July 2012 and a timetable for negotiations has since been drawn up.

However, the ongoing political chaos in South Sudan may see these plans crumble swiftly. The Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC sets out stability and good governance as one of the requirements for membership. An attempted coup and political chaos mean that South Sudan is now far from meeting this prerequisite.

“The current internal crisis in South Sudan does not augur well with its bid for membership in the Community,” noted EAC Secretary-General Richard Sezibera in a statement.

The EAC Charter, Dr Sezibera observes, requires that a country meet standards on “universally accepted principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice.”

Clashes broke out in Juba on December 15, following what the presidency claims was an attempted coup. They have since escalated, with reports indicating that violence has spread to other cities. The United Nations has put the death toll so far at about 500 people.

Following a meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers in November, the secretariat had scheduled the first round of negotiations with South Sudan for January 13 to January 22, 2014.

A decision on South Sudan’s membership in the Community was expected from the heads of state in April 2014.

With Juba in a shambles, it is doubtful whether President Salva Kiir’s government will make this date with the EAC, let alone meet the standards required set out by partner states.

“We pray that this programme will not be jeopardised by the ongoing internal conflict in the country,” reads part of Dr Sezibera’s statement.

Prof Macharia Munene, an international relations scholar at the United States International University, noted in a telephone interview that the current crisis in Juba should not have come as a surprise to the EAC partner states since South Sudan has struggled for stability since independence.

President Salva Kiir has blamed soldiers loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar, whom he sacked with the rest of the Cabinet in July.

Prof Munene reckons that the speed with which the conflict is resolved could be key in determining whether the timeline for South Sudan’s integration into the EAC will be interrupted.

“The question now is how the government will handle the situation. If it is resolved quickly and is seen as no more than a hiccup, then the schedule might not be dramatically interrupted. If it is a prolonged crisis, then there might be problem,” he said.

Even in the early stages of verification of South Sudan’s EAC membership application, there were cracks. A team sent to Juba last year noted that the government was divided over what the timetable would be for joining the EAC.

The verification committee also raised concerns about the “highly militarised society.”

“Proliferation of illicit arms and light weapons is a threat to national and regional security and stability,” read the team’s report.

Was it an attempted coup d’état? That is neither fully established nor highly important, pretty much like the question as to whether this is a Nuer-Dinka clash.

There has been incessant violence in different parts of South Sudan, but not to the military, humanitarian and political scales of the clashes between factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) last Sunday and the civilian killings that followed.

The arrest of ten or more senior figures of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the search for others is also unprecedented.

The violence has extended from Juba to Jonglei State and could spread further.

It has retained the form of clashes within the military with civilian casualties. Similarly, government clamp down on suspected dissidents has also gone beyond the capital city.

There are reports that local SPLM officials in Warrap State have been arrested for questioning over their roles in the alleged coup attempt. These developments are unfortunate but not surprising.

Signs of growing disunity in SPLM and the possibility of a potentially violent conflict between two rival groups under President Kiir and Dr Machar Teny have only been getting clearer by the day.

Historical antecedents to the current crisis, especially the more recent ‘catalysts’ are fairly well known.

The dismissal of Dr Machar as vice-president, coupled with the sacking of several ministers following dissolution of the Cabinet and the suspension of SPLM secretary-general Pagan Amum in July this year, gave the strongest indication that SPLM was at war with itself.

Before then, the president had issued decrees sacking the governors of Lake and Unity states at different times this year and appointing office holders in interim capacities.

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TZ woman changing lives abroad

She has come a long way. Her experience around gender sent her on a journalistic and diplomatic journey to South Africa where she settled until today. A life coach and author, Ms Scholastic Kimaryo, told her story to The Citizen on Sunday in Pretoria recently

Tell me about yourself

I was born in Kibosho, Moshi Rural, in 1949 in a family of three girls and three boys. In my community, I was the first girl to go beyond primary school.

My father did not want to waste his money from coffee by sending a girl child to school, it was only after the local parish priest intervened that I was allowed to continue with standard five.

I was lucky in secondary school in that the government shouldered the burden. Fortunately, I was very good in class and excelled at a missionary school.

I later joined Tabora Girls High School which was under Barbro Johansson. Madam Johansson helped us so much, she wanted the girl child to do well, and we did not disappoint. 

Afterwards, I joined the then University of East Africa in Nairobi in 1969, where I did a degree in home economics. During my studies, I wrote articles for various publications and it was not surprising that I would soon land atUhuru, Mzalendo and Nationalist newspapers. I was later told to go and work for Daily News and Sunday News where I also ran a column on home economics issues. As a journalist, I rose to become secretary general of the Tanzania Journalists Association (Taja). In October 1977, the United Nations General Assembly declared that 1979 would be an international year of the child.  

The aim was to remind and ask all governments to put structures that would improve the wellbeing of every child. Working for newspapers and also under the public service, I was sent to write about the year and, among other things, I interviewed the Unicef head, Mr Alex Tosh. That changed everything and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, that set off your next phase as a UN worker. How was the experience?

In 1977, I was appointed the first executive secretary of the Tanzanian Commission for children funded by Unicef. 

Although I had written many articles prior to that appointment, this was the first organisation where my writing would make a difference. We proposed and implemented a number of child-related projects, found foreign donors; we translated a book-‘Mahali Pasipo na Daktari’-which was distributed all over the country. We were so successful that Mwalimu Nyerere declared that 1980 would be the national year of the child. I stayed on and progressed to be head of Unicef in the country and thereafter I was seconded to UN where I worked for various UN agencies, mainly in Southern Africa. After 23 years, I was promoted to be the UNDP Representative to SA, effectively responsible for the UN agencies in the country. I had wanted to join politics in the 1980’s but then UN policies did not allow us to participate.

So, I worked for Unicef for 23 years and UNDP for eight years in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, where I was the first Unicef representative after the country attained its independence, Liberia during Charles Taylor’s reign, Kenya and New York.

But after all those years of service delivery, I realised that somehow there was a disconnection. All what we were doing was not sustainable because of policy issues. That is how I found my way back to school to study social policy, planning and participation in developing countries at the London School of Economics & Political Science. When I returned, I decided to work with UNDP for its core mandate is governance.

What were the highlights of your career?

There are several in every country that I worked. In Tanzania, Unicef helped to significantly reduce child mortality so much so that it was common to find children named ‘Unicef’. In Botswana, we highlighted the plight of the pastoral communities. In SA, our work focused on supporting the emerging democracy in incorporating the rights of children into the new Constitution. Also during my time as the Unicef representative here, our office managed to bring the Duchess of Kent for a tour which resulted in her raising five million dollars for the local cause. Similarly, in Liberia which happened to have been during its civil war, we facilitated a tour by ‘the Oprah of Japan’ Tetsuko Kuroyanagi who raised a million dollars to help our programmes.

What was the secret behind your success?

First of all, up-bringing is very important. Parents should nurture their children to work hard, to be independent while also ensure they grow with good manners. But secondly, we should know that hard work pays… I worked hard that is why I succeeded.

I also knew that I was educated using tax payers’ money so, I had to work hard for my country as a way of saying thank you. Thirdly, discipline; we have to be disciplined at home, at school, everywhere. If you are disciplined you will do well at work as well.

And what were the challenges that you faced?

I must admit that UN is a very difficult place to work. It is a club of different governments. What is accepted at the UN is moral minimum but the problem was with implementation; you work under a certain host government. Everywhere you go has its working environment and does and don’ts. You have to make sure that you convince the host government to help you reach the people you are supposed to serve. Because the target is the people, governments can sometimes send you to serve the areas which are not necessarily the UN’s priority.  Another challenge is that of family.

I was always traveling and I could be moved from one country to the other. I had problems keeping tabs on my children. At the end we decided to send them to boarding schools. Yes, I got a very good income but it was sometimes painful living away from my family. 

How did you finally end up staying in South Africa?

I retired from the UN after I reached the mandatory age of 60 years, but I was still energetic. So, I took my pension and went back to school, this time at the Chopra Centre University in California where I got an International Certification as an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Coach and Primordial Sound Meditation Instructor.

South Africa is the only country where I served for two different periods. I really believe that God brought me here for a reason.

After independence, Mwalimu Nyerere said that the continent would not be free unless the other countries including SA were freed. Similarly, I think that in the success or failure of SA lies the hopes and aspirations of the African people. Here, I find vibrancy, a democratic space and a hunger for success. It is the last hope that we have to get our act together and provide a platform for a dynamic Africa.

I currently serve on the boards of many international organisations and about a decade ago I founded the Tanzanian Women in Gauteng (Twiga), which is essentially aimed at bringing together Tanzanian women living here. We support each other on different fronts

After witnessing the toll that stress in the workplace takes on individuals, I made a promise to God that when I retire I would learn to be a principle-centred leader who promotes balanced living for people to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.

I retired in 2009 and went to the Chopra Centre University in California to learn about spiritual health. I subsequently founded the Maadili Conscious Leadership & Healthy Lifestyles Coaching Institute. Using Ayurvedic techniques, I help individuals in the work place and elsewhere identify their natural mind body constitution and to understand their behaviour patterns when they are in and out of balance. On this basis, I share with them knowledge that enables them to access their potential towards the attainment of mind body balance through mindful awareness and conscious choice making. This helps tap into the healer within all of us and supports the fulfilment of our purpose in life.

For me, it is important to unlock the potential that is in most African people, individually and collectively.

What do you see as Tanzania’s development challenges?

Well, first, we have to work on our education system. I think the current curricula don’t prepare our people to get out of school and be competitive.

In the past we were taught to work hard, not only for ourselves but the country at large, may be because of the policy of socialism, but I now see everyone rushing to enrich themselves by any means. Selfishness won’t make us develop as a nation.

During our days you could hardly hear of corruption scandals, today it is normal. Moreover, our leaders need to be selfless and patriotic.

They need to put plans that will see the nation benefit from its natural resources. Our country has almost every natural resource but we are still poor. We have to put in place plans so that we prosper using our God-given heritage.

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Tanesco debts pose risk to Tanzania’s economy: World Bank

The state power utility firm, Tanzania Electric Company (Tanesco), which has accumulated huge debts is mounting risks to the government, in terms of managing the rising national debt stock and subsequent debt payments’ demand.

Reading the fourth Economic Update prepared by the World Bank, lead Economist of Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, Mr Jacques Morisset, said that  Tanesco has already accumulated $260 million (Sh416 billion) that has to be shouldered by the government.

Mr Morisset said, the government has to rethink incurring more debts because it has big commitment to pay debts incurred by Tanesco apart from the debts arising from financing infrastructure development.

He also said the government will have to decide between either increasing the power tariff or budget reallocation involving expenditure cuts in other economic sectors.

“Decisive actions will be needed to close Tanesco’s projected financial gap, which will grow in approximately $250 million in 2013. The required actions will involve politically contentious measures such as tariffs increase or budget reallocations involving significant expenditure cuts in other areas,” reads part of the report circulated in the World Bank’s meeting held in Dar es Salaam recently. 

According to the World Bank’s lead economist, alternatively these actions may involve non-concessional borrowing at high future cost, which needs government rethinking.  “The size of Tanesco deficit is itself sensitive to a number of factors outside government control, including hydrology conditions and world oil prices. A combination of bad luck or delay in the implementation of Tanesco action plan would add significant risk to the government’s fiscal accounts,” World Bank report further reads.

Apart from Tanesco’s huge debt, the World Bank report has shown other risks associated with rising debt services’ payments as short term risk relating to implementation of projects under Big Results Now (BRN) and shortfalls in revenue collection.

The World Bank has also enlisted the third risk as accumulation of government payment arrears relating to the pension sector and the management of contingent liabilities from the parastatals.

The manager for World Bank projects in Africa, Mr Albert Zeufact also cautioned that the tendency of most African countries in continuing to meet the cost of running inefficient parastatals  leads to unnecessary debts.

 “What is important is to make sure that when government borrows for huge public investment it targets the most productive ventures that can give positive returns,” said Mr Zeufack.

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Deployed Ugandan troops evacuate over 100 from Juba

The UPDF on Friday evacuated 105 people from Juba, 88 of who are Ugandans.

Two Ugandans were critically injured and were rescued by Chief of Defence Forces Katumba Wamala who visited Juba in a fixed-wing aircraft, while 103 were evacuated by a Uganda Air Cargo aircraft under the ministry of Defence.

Capt Anthony Tabaro Kiconco, the acting UPDF Air force spokesperson, said: “Fifteen of the rescued people were Chinese and 88 Ugandans, 16 of whom are children; 95 per cent of the evacuated people are women…”

He said they brought the Chinese along since they were near their embassy so “there is no way we would leave them behind”. He said the evacuated Ugandans would be taken to Central Police Station in Kampala from where they will find their way back home as the army continues the evacuation exercise.

Ms Jane Namalwa, who works at the customs unit in Juba, said men in uniform stormed their home at night and called out names of people and killed them instantly. She said she was saved because she had a baby. Ms Namalwa said they have Ugandan leadership in South Sudan who helped in mobilizing them and the embassy which kept contacting Ugandans they knew.

“We have left over 10,000 Ugandans stranded at the embassy and some were not registered and have no documents which is making it hard for them to be evacuated,” she said.

Uganda sent soldiers to South Sudan following the week-long fighting between the government army and mutineers loyal to sacked vice president Riek Machar.

Military sources said the government sent soldiers from the elite presidential guard with fighter planes. The sources said the Ugandan soldiers first secured Juba Airport before starting the evacuations. “Uganda has deployed troops in Juba to facilitate the evacuation mission of stranded Ugandans and Kenyans, most of who are injured,” UPDF spokesperson Paddy Ankunda said. He said the deployment of UPDF soldiers at Juba Airport was authorised by the South Sudan government.

However, he denied that the soldiers had been deployed to stop advancing mutinying forces loyal to Machar.

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Ethiopian Boeing 767 crash-lands in Arusha

A Boeing 767 ferrying more than 200 passengers and crew had to make an emergency landing yesterday at Arusha Airport, which normally handles light aircraft. The Ethiopian-registered jet cruised the entire length of the runway before skidding and coming to a stop on the grass.

The mid-day drama raised questions about safety at the busy airport, which was thrown off balance last week when the tyres of a PrecisionAir plane that had just landed burst.

No one was injured in yesterday’s drama, which saw the plane skid into the rain-soaked grass at the end of the runway. It took hours, though, for the passengers to leave as the airport did not have the stairs normally used for disembarking and boarding.

Aviation officials were hard put to explain the circumstances in which the plane landed at Kisongo along the Dodoma-Arusha highway instead of Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), some 50 kilometres away. “It probably landed here by mistake,” said airport Manager Esther Dede. “The pilot was not supposed to land here because this is not an airport its size.”

Operations at the airport, which is used by scheduled and charter flights, came to a halt as rescue and fire teams and security officials rushed to the scene.

Arusha Regional Commissioner Magesa Mulongo arrived at around 3pm and took charge of the frantic efforts to free passengers stuck in the plane for lack of appropriate elevators. “What is being done now is to have people out of the aircraft and then reduce the cargo so that the plane can take off easily for another airport,” he told The Citizen on the phone.

The regional administrator, who is also the chairman of the Defence and Security Committee, confirmed that the plane “landed safely” and that nobody had been injured. Teams of security officials, including armed police, were at the scene to ensure law and order.

The doctor in charge of Mt Meru Regional Hospital, Dr Josiah Mlay, said doctors and nurses had been rushed in though nobody had been brought to the medical centre.

An aviation official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft may have been destined for KIA or any other major airport in the East African region. He hinted that the mishap could have been caused by human error or little knowledge of the area by the pilot.

Mr Bakari Murusuri, a senior official at Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company, which manages KIA, was unable to confirm whether or not the plane was headed to KIA but said the airport handles at least three Ethiopian Airlines flights a day.

He was also puzzled as to why the big aircraft landed at the Arusha airport. “In case of such emergencies, the plane could have been diverted to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar or Nairobi,” he said. “We have not seen such a thing before.”

Immigration, customs and health services are not available at the airport because it does not handle passengers flying directly into the country. Arrangements were being made yesterday to transfer the passengers to KIA.

A local Arusha radio station reported late yesterday that it took hours for the doors of the plane to open. They did so only after special equipment was brought in. The plane made the emergency landing around noon.

Sources in Arusha said the plane approached from the east, leading to speculation as to why an aircraft that size was heading to the small airport. Said a source who did not want to be named: “We sensed something was wrong because of the way it was flying. It looked like it would crash.”

Hundreds of Arusha residents dashed to the scene, many of them watching the unfolding events from the safety of the main road as access to the airport was restricted.

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Dar resident wins Samsung’s grand prize

Samsung’s promotion dubbed ‘Pambika na Samsung’ reached was concluded yesterday with a Dar es Salaam-based businessman, Mr Juma Ramadhan (46), driving home a brand new Mitsubishi Double Cabin.

The vehicle was also loaded with Samsung products including a laptop, washing machine, fridge, Galaxy Tab 10.1, microwave, 32’ LED TV, DVD player and a home theatre system, according to a statement availed to the press in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Mr Ramadhani was overwhelmed with joy upon receiving the phone call – informing him about the development.

“To be frank, I was not convinced that I had won a brand new Mitsubishi Double Cabin pickup. I am so grateful, it is hard to accept the truth that I have won a car I never thought of something like this! I am so happy,” said the delighted winner, a Tabata Segerea resident.

The final draw was held at Mlimani City also rewarded individual gifts to another 15 lucky customers. So far, the seven-week long promotion has brought smiles to over 90 individuals since its inception.

Pambika na Samsung was launched in November – targeting to reward customers for purchasing genuine Samsung products. The campaigns message was not only to enable customers to enjoy support from authorized Samsung dealers but also sought to promote the culture of buying authentic products in the country.

Earlier, Samsung Tanzania Sales and Distribution manager Sylvester Manyara said, “The promotion has seen success in the campaign to eliminate counterfeit goods in the Tanzanian market and raising awareness of the benefits of purchasing genuine goods. It is our hope that this the culture of buying original products will continue even after the end of the promotion.”

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Gays, lesbians to spend life in jail as new Bill passed

Kampala. You engage in homosexuality, you rot in jail, according to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed by Parliament on Friday.

An excited Parliament debated and overwhelmingly passed the Bill which criminalises sexual intercourse between same-sex partners.

The legislation provides for a sentence of life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality, which covers gays and lesbians. A proposal to put the punishment to 14 years in jail was rejected by the House.

According to the new law, a person commits homosexuality if he penetrates the anus or mouth of another person of the same sex with his penis or any other sexual device.

The offence is also deemed to have been committed if he or she uses any object or sex device to penetrate or stimulate sexual organs of a person of the same sex or if he or she touches another person with intent to commit the act of homosexuality.

“A person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life,” the passed Bill reads in part.

The MPs say legislation is to protect the traditional family setting by prohibiting sexual relations by persons of the same sex and to strengthen the nation’s capacity to check emerging threats to traditional family values.

However, the law was passed without quorum despite Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi’s plea that Parliament was not sufficiently constituted to vote on the Bill. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on October 31, 2011.

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Maheeda releases more raunchy Christmas photos. 18+

I just can't with this lady anymore. See the uncensored photos after the cut...

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Filed Under: International Gossip News Tuesday, December 17, 2013 No Comments

Tanzania population rise ‘alarming’

Tanzania’s population growth is among the highest in the East and central African region  and the world and could worsen food security which is already severe, a new book, published this week by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says.

Released on Monday by three research organizations, the book says that arable areas in the region are under severe pressure to increase their productivity to feed a rapidly increasing human population.

It however predicts that climate change could exacerbate the situation.

The book is the result of collaboration among IFPRI, the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), and scientists from each of the countries studied. 

“Adaptation is essential for sustained economic growth in East Africa. This is the challenge facing policy makers, who must plan for the future without available information and analysis,” it reads in part.

East African Agriculture and Climate Change examines the food security threats facing 11 of the countries that make up East and Central Africa—Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda—and explores how climate change will increase the requirements for achieving sustainable food security throughout the region.

According to IFPRI, agriculture drives these countries’ economies and accounts for 43 per cent of their annual gross domestic product.

Using sophisticated modelling and available data to develop future scenarios and explore a range of climate change consequences for agriculture, food security, and resource management, the book offers recommendations to national governments and regional agencies.

Without adaptation, the book reports, climate change will have negative effects on wheat, soybean, sorghum, and irrigated rice yields.

Yield declines for each crop are different, but they range between five and 20 per cent, with irrigated rice being the crop most negatively impacted.

Rain-fed maize and rainfed rice yields might increase slightly because of climate change, generally because of projected higher rainfall in some areas.

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Ruto denies rift in Jubilee

URP leaders have denied that there is a rift in the Jubilee Coalition and termed such reports as propaganda.

Speaking on Sunday at the Africa Inland Church Pioneer in Eldoret at an event attended by Deputy President William Ruto, they said that the aim of the coalition was to unite all Kenyans and not divide them.

Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen criticised leaders attacking the Jubilee Coalition, saying they do not understand how the government works.

Mr Murkomen called upon the Deputy President to ignore such utterances saying that such leaders were not present when the Jubilee coalition was being formed.

“It is so sad to see some leaders criticise the Deputy President yet they were not there when they were signing the agreement binding the Jubilee Coalition,” Murkomen said.

Mr Ruto advised the leaders to emulate how President Kenyatta and him were leading the nation.

“We believe God will always be there to ensure that we lead the country well. Those leaders who want to cause mayhem in the Jubilee coalition should stop,” said the deputy president.

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Ex-spy agency boss launches political party

Renegade UPDF General David Sejusa aka Tinyefuza over the weekend launched an opposition political party in London and cautioned President Museveni that his 28-year reign could come to an end soon.

The former spy chief who launched his party on Saturday, named his party the ‘Freedom and Unity Front’. “He’s had enough time,” Gen Sejusa said on the sidelines of a meeting to launch his party. “He can leave and go, and we start a new process of national healing. And we are organising ourselves, we are establishing a constitutional rule which he destroyed,” Sejusa told Reuters at the launch.

When contacted, Defence and Military spokesperson Paddy Ankunda laughed off before saying that he does not want to waste time on such news. “He (Sejusa) very well knows that he is breaking the law since he has not officially retired from the army,” Lt Col Ankunda said yesterday. Adding: “That is justkajoogo (literally meaning familiarity).”

When Gen Sejusa was asked at the launch of his party if he would use force to bring change, he said: “It’s not so much that we want to do so. But if he (Museveni) continues to unleash terror on the population ours will be self-defence.”

The fall out

Early this year, the five-star general fled the country to the UK after he wrote a dossier to the internal security boss asking him to investigate assassination claims on top government and military officials opposed to the First Son Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba being groomed to take over from his father.

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Tonto Dikeh Shares Private Bedroom Pic

Tonto Charity Dikeh, also known as Tonto Dike (born June 9, 1985) is a Nigerian actress and singer from Rivers State and is of the Igbo nation. Dikeh, is from a family of seven.
In 2005 she competed against other contestants on a reality TV show called The Next Movie Star; she was the first runner up. Dikeh's appearance on the show was as a means of getting closer to the "big time", she says, and her start in the Nigerian movie industry came soon after.
Dikeh says that after her second movie Holy Cross, more movie directors and producers were willing to cast her, and she has appeared in scores of movies since. Dikeh's role in the movie Dirty Secret has generated controversy amongst Nigerians, because the movie contains nude scenes. While some criticize her role of being untraditional and un-African, others say that Dikeh is merely being professional.
In January 2011 Dikeh took part in a charity fashion show in Lagos with Banky W., Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and others.


Tonto was known in Nollywood as a chain smoker and had started smoking since the age of 14 but she recently testified that she stopped smoking after prayers with Pastor T.B. Joshua via his Christian television station Emmanuel TV
Tonto Dikeh has been living a happier life ever since she met her new boo, thereby dropping all the garbages that used to depress the #PokoBaby in the past. Check out a very crazy photo below...

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Ex-spy agency boss launches political party

Renegade UPDF General David Sejusa aka Tinyefuza over the weekend launched an opposition political party in London and cautioned President Museveni that his 28-year reign could come to an end soon.

The former spy chief who launched his party on Saturday, named his party the ‘Freedom and Unity Front’. “He’s had enough time,” Gen Sejusa said on the sidelines of a meeting to launch his party. “He can leave and go, and we start a new process of national healing. And we are organising ourselves, we are establishing a constitutional rule which he destroyed,” Sejusa told Reuters at the launch.

When contacted, Defence and Military spokesperson Paddy Ankunda laughed off before saying that he does not want to waste time on such news. “He (Sejusa) very well knows that he is breaking the law since he has not officially retired from the army,” Lt Col Ankunda said yesterday. Adding: “That is justkajoogo (literally meaning familiarity).”

When Gen Sejusa was asked at the launch of his party if he would use force to bring change, he said: “It’s not so much that we want to do so. But if he (Museveni) continues to unleash terror on the population ours will be self-defence.”

The fall out

Early this year, the five-star general fled the country to the UK after he wrote a dossier to the internal security boss asking him to investigate assassination claims on top government and military officials opposed to the First Son Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba being groomed to take over from his father.

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