Iko Nini Bwana Seed?

EXCHANGE RATE AGAINST THE POUND TODAY IS KSHS. 114.28

London suffered one of its worst days on Wednesday 17/12/08 since the start of the economic downturn.  Woolworths confirmed this afternoon that 27,000 jobs will go when all 807 stores close on 5 January. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit climbed above the one million mark for the first time since 2000. The rate at which jobs are being lost was the fastest for 17 years. In London the total has risen to 308,000, 7.6 per cent of the workforce. More than half of recent job losses have come in middle-class professions such as finance, advertising and consultancy concentrated in the capital. Economists said the figures were the tip of an iceberg that will claim 120,000 well-paid white collar jobs in London by the end of 2010.

News of the job losses at the moribund former high street favourite Woolworths fronts the Daily Express. A youthful Barack Obama fronts The Daily Telegraph. The paper reports public warnings not to call on emergency services unless the situation is extreme, because NHS departments are so overworked. The Daily Mail leads with news of the potential £1bn bailout of Jaguar-Land Rover, which it says could create a "politically explosive precedent". It also features the Duchess of Cornwall caught amid an awkward photo op.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday 17/12/08 signed the agreement which starts the process of establishing a local tribunal to try post-election violence suspects. The Cabinet committee chaired by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga will now draft a law to be taken to Parliament to establish the tribunal. By signing the Bill with just a few hours to the deadline set by the Waki Commission into post-election violence, President Kibaki and Mr Odinga managed to avoid having the suspects in Justice Waki’s secret list tried by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. They now have 45 days to put in place all laws to set up the tribunal. Thereafter, the Government has a further 30 days to make the tribunal operational. In the same pact, President Kibaki and Mr Odinga committed themselves to ensuring that all other reform laws as agreed during the mediation process are enacted. When the tribunal is set up, Cabinet ministers named in Waki’s envelope will be suspended immediately after they are charged.

Farmers are hoarding maize in protest against the Government’s decision to fix the price of the crop, which they say is far much lower than what is paid to their counterparts in other countries. Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers chief executive officer Kanywithia Mutunga told the Nation that farmers were not ready to sell their maize, and asked the Government to let the forces of demand and supply determine the cost. The federation’s chairman, Mr Kariuki Nduati, said farm inputs were expensive, especially early this year, and that farmers cannot afford to sell their produce at a loss. “At least the Government should be ready to pay us the same price at which it imports maize,” said Mr Nduati. Dr Mutunga noted that the available maize cannot satisfy the entire country’s demand and that the Government must import some more to avoid a shortage.

An aircraft was forced to turn back shortly before reaching Paris – because the pilot was not qualified to land in fog. Stunned passengers heard the pilot – with 30 years' experience – tell them they'd have to return home. An hour or so later, the Flybe aircraft touched back down in Cardiff having never made it on to French soil.

Somali pirates have seized four ships, even as the world unites to fight off piracy. Reports indicated that Indonesian tugboat, a Chinese fishing vessel FV Zhenhua-4, general cargo ship MV BOSPHORUS PRODIGY and a yacht boat were the latest victims of assault. The Indonesian tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden heading to Malaysia, according to Seafarers Assistance Program co-ordinator Andrew Mwangura. "With the latest captures, the gunmen are holding 19 foreign vessels with at least 383 crew members of which, 91 are Filipinos," he said.

Users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer are being urged by experts to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed. The flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer could allow criminals to take control of people's computers and steal their passwords, internet experts say. Microsoft urged people to be vigilant while it investigated and prepared an emergency patch to resolve it. Internet Explorer is used by the vast majority of the world's computer users. "Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer," said the firm in a security advisory alert about the flaw. Microsoft says it has detected attacks against IE 7.0 but said the "underlying vulnerability" was present in all versions of the browser. Other browsers, such as Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari, are not vulnerable to the flaw Microsoft has identified.

The interest rate cut is also the lead in the Financial Times. The Independent quotes the judge as he sentenced Mercer and his six gang mates. The Daily Telegraph leads with the jailing of Sean Mercer for murdering schoolboy Rhys Jones.

The US Federal Reserve has slashed its key interest rate from 1% to a range of between zero and 0.25% as it battles the country's recession. In its statement, the Federal Reserve warned that "the outlook for economic activity has weakened further". It predicted that rates would stay at the current exceptionally low levels "for some time". It added that it was considering ways it could spend money on supporting the economy and credit markets. Analysts said that the key rate is now virtually zero. "Whether it's zero or 0.25% actually does not make a huge difference," said Holger Schmieding at Bank of America.

The head of Barclays bank has predicted that economic gloom will deepen, with house prices to fall in total by 30%.  John Varley's warning comes ahead of the latest UK unemployment figures on Wednesday, where the number of jobless is expected to rise sharply. A new survey suggests household debt is on the increase, and the value of sterling has fallen against the euro. But EU governments have been told they cannot break the financial rules in order to boost their economies.

Geothermal energy generation in East Africa could take a leap forward in 2009 after exploratory studies in Kenya exceeded all expectations, it was announced this week. A new enterprise - the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) — is to drive forward the plan to harvest the steam locked among the rocks under East Africa, according to leaders of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). They made their announcement this week at the UN Climate Change Conference, in Poznan, Poland. "Geothermal is 100 percent indigenous, environmentally friendly and a technology that has been underutilised for too long," said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP.

British banks and investors have lost billions in the world's biggest fraud, it was revealed today. City institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland and the Man Group admitted they had invested in Bernard Madoff's "pyramid scheme" operated through his Wall Street hedge fund business. Local authority pension funds and a fund run by Nicola Horlick have also been affected by the $50billion swindle. Spanish bank Santander, which owns Abbey and the savings business of Bradford & Bingley, said its potential exposure was more than £2billion, while HSBC could reportedly lose up to £668million. Royal Bank of Scotland, which was forced to accept a £20billion government bail-out last month, today told the London stock market that it could lose up to £400million. Local authorities in Hampshire and Merseyside said their pension funds had invested in Madoff funds. Man Group, Britain's largest hedge fund manager, admitted that it had $350million invested in two funds that "are directly or indirectly advised by Madoff Securities".

Prime Minister Raila Odinga (right) and Lands Minister James Orengo.

The Orange Democratic Movement on Saturday vowed to take legal action if the President assents the Kenya Communications Amendment Bill, 2008 into law. Lands Minister James Orengo said the bill was unconstitutional and negates section 79 of the constitution that guarantees freedom of expression. “The position of ODM as far as the media bill is concerned is that it is should not have been there. As a party we do not support it because it reduces the democratic space,” he said. Mr Orengo said ODM was not party to the new media bill as it was approved by the cabinet before the formation of the Grand Coalition Government. “If the president assents to the bill, we still have a right to go to court though I do not think we want to go that direction,” said the lands minister.

Just shoe do you think you are ... George W. Bush, inset, reacts after an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at him.
 

A journalist hurled two shoes at US President George W Bush on his farewell visit to Iraq on Sunday, highlighting hostility still felt toward the outgoing US leader who acknowledged that the war is still not won. Muntazer al-Zaidi jumped up as Bush held a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" and threw his footwear. The president lowered his head and the first shoe hit the American and Iraqi flags behind the two leaders. The second was off target. Zaidi, a reporter with the Al-Baghdadia channel which broadcasts from Cairo, was immediately wrestled to the ground by security guards and frogmarched from the room. Soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. After Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad in April 2003, many onlookers beat the statue's face with their soles. Bush laughed off the incident, saying: "It doesn't bother me. If you want the facts, it was a size 10 shoe that he threw." He later played down the incident. "I don't know what the guy's cause is... I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it." .

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki (L) looks on during 45th Jamhuri Day celebrations, the day on which Kenya gained independence. (Right) At Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. Radio presenter and comedian Walter Mong’are, popularly known as Nyambane, is arrested at the Nyayo Stadium as he protested against the new media law.

Nairobi, Friday, 12th December 2008. Protests over attempts to muzzle the media, rising food prices and failure by MPs to pay taxes forced the President to cut short his speech during Friday’s Jamhuri Day celebrations. Four television and radio personalities were among 53 people who were arrested by police in day-long protests in parts of the country. QFM radio morning show presenter Walter Mong’are popularly known as “Nyambane”, Kiss FM’s Carolyne Mutoko, Larry Asego and Felix Odiwuor Kodhe (Jalang’o) were held by police for more than six hours before they were released. Mr Mong’are was wrestled to the ground and kicked by senior police officers as he made his way into the stadium dressed in clothes resembling those worn by prisoners to symbolise impending imprisonment of media if a Bill passed by Parliament on Wednesday is signed into law. Those arrested were first held at Langata, Buruburu, Gigiri and Nyayo Stadium police stations. Mr Mong’are and Mr Frederick Odhiambo of Bunge la Mwananchi lobby were moved to Nairobi area police headquarters. In Mombasa, journalists covering the celebrations had tape strapped around the mouth as a way of protesting the law allowing a government-appointed commission to determine broadcast content, and giving the Minister for Internal Security powers to raid media houses. Ms Mutoko was arrested as she arrived at Nyayo Stadium dressed in a black T-Shirt with the inscription “No Tax, No Tax utado? (What will you do)?”. Presidential security officers descended on Mr Odhiambo after he shot up from his sit and started shouting. He was sitting about 10 metres behind the President and it is not clear how he got entry into the VIP dais. President Kibaki who presided over the ceremony was forced to cut short his speech after Mr Odhiambo caused a stir. The Head of State had just started giving his off the cuff speech in Kiswahili when Mr Odhiambo suddenly started shouting. Shortly before the incident, an angry President who had apparently been appalled by heckles and shouts of ‘njaa, njaa tunaka chakula na MPs walipe ushuru’, (hunger, hunger, we want food and MPs must pay taxes) had said: “Wapigane wale wanataka kupigana.” (Let those who want to fight do so). Nation.

Some of the country's biggest high street names cut prices by 50 per cent on Thursday 11/12/08 in a desperate attempt to lure shoppers. Woolworths announced a half-price closing down sale after last-minute attempts to find a buyer failed. House of Fraser also promised cuts of 50 per cent on many prices. One analyst in the City summed up the wave of panic, saying: "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Even Britain's biggest retailer Tesco signalled that it was not immune from the downturn with an announcement that it would halve prices on 1,000 products. Christmas food, drink, toys and gifts are all included. Department store chain House of Fraser said it was offering reductions of up to half across all sections of its business - from clothes to furniture and homeware.  Among its competitors, both Debenhams and Marks & Spencer have already held a series of 20 per cent discount sales.

The Daily Express also reports on the great Woolies sell-off, saying Britain went bargain crazy. While politicians were arguing, sterling was continuing to tumble on the currency markets. It was joined by the dollar as traders pulled back from the two currencies, the Financial Times reports. A German attack on Gordon Brown has plunged London and Berlin into a bitter diplomatic row, the Daily Mail says. The Prime Minister was publicly slated for his handling of the recession in an extraordinary outburst by a senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Kenyan Cabinet on Thursday 11/12/08approved a major privatisation plan that will see 16 State firms sold to the public, and private companies invest in the energy, roads and water sectors. Among the companies the public will be allowed to buy shares in or that private firms will be allowed to buy into are Kenya Pipeline Company, Chemelil Sugar Company, Nzoia Sugar Company, Miwani Sugar Company and Consolidated Bank. Others are Kenya Meat Commission, New Kenya Co-operative Creameries, Kenya Wine Agencies Ltd, National Bank of Kenya, Development Bank of Kenya, Muhoroni Sugar Company, Sony Sugar Company and Kenya Tourism Development Authority and some of its hotels. The Government will sell more of its Kengen shares. At the Kenya Ports Authority, the private sector will be invited to construct a container terminal at Eldoret and stevedoring services and development of berths 11-14 will be outsourced. A statement issued after the meeting said the Cabinet had approved the policy, legal and institutional framework for Public Private Partnerships ( PPP )

Foreign correspondents working in Kenya have expressed fear and disappointment over the new law. They expressed misgivings about a clause of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill that would make them vulnerable to have their broadcasting stations searched and equipment seized. They also said the Bill could cause foreign news bureaus to abandon Nairobi, where many regional headquarters are presently located. The foreign journalists, many of whom come from prestigious organisations including the BBC, the Associated Press and Reuters, said that by including controversial clauses such as this, the Bill represents a big step in the wrong direction. "This Bill certainly strikes me as more of a step backwards…seizing broadcast equipment is something that is only done in totalitarian societies. It is not something that I would ever expect from Kenya," said Dana Hughes, the chairman of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of East Africa (FCAEA) based in Nairobi.

More than half of leading universities favour students from deprived backgrounds, a report revealed on Friday 12/12/08. The report showed that top institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge, give priority to those from poor-performing schools. It said 53 per cent of universities in the elite Russell Group take students' "family problems" into account while one in five discriminates in favour of those whose parents did not go into higher education. Nottingham University, one of 20 institutions in the group, said students' A-level grades "may be valued more highly" if they were refugees or came from the traveller community, poor homes or a family without a history of going to university. The study, conducted by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, revealed that four out of 10 vice-chancellors and principals said students should be chosen "partly in order to achieve a social mix". Critics said "social engineering" in this way punishes those who attended a good school.

Fears over the value of the pound deepened on Wednesday 10/12/08 as it crashed to a record low against the euro. Growing alarm about the British economy sent sterling trading down to its weakest level since the birth of the single currency in 1999. At its lowest point, one pound bought just  €1.139. City forecasters said that a one-for-one exchange rate between the pound and euro was looking increasingly likely in the coming months. It has already fallen in value by about 20 per cent in the past year. The pound also remained marooned far below its summer peak of $2 against the US dollar at $1.4803. The latest slide in the value of the pound comes as the first skiers of the season head out to France, Italy and Austria to face prices up to 25 per cent higher than last year because of inflation and currency movements. International investors are baling out of the pound because of recent deep cuts in interest rates to two per cent and concerns about the Government's ability to fund high levels of borrowing.

The pound has slumped to a fraction more than one euro, confirming Britain's slide into recession, according to the Daily Express. On the theme of economic woes, The Independent reports on the decision by Woolworths to launch a final closing down sale after the high street chain went into administration  The Times also reports on the fact that the pound is now almost on parity with the euro, raising fresh concerns about the state of the British economy.

Combative MPs defeated a move to pass without amendments a law that would have seen the Electoral Commission of Kenya disbanded, humiliating President Kibaki and PM Raila Odinga who had backed the Bill. The President and PM attended a joint coalition Kamukunji (informal session) to mobilise their MPs’ support to pass the Government-sponsored Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill (2008), but it degenerated into a bitter exchange. This was preceded by intense lobbying that went into the small hours of Wednesday morning, setting the pace for what is turning out to be a struggle for Kibaki succession. Although the future of ECK staff was presented as one of the MPs’ concerns, insiders said the enormous powers vested in the Serena Team — setting up the interim electoral body and hiring new commissioners — could spell trouble as four of them have expressed presidential ambitions. They include ministers Ms Martha Karua, (Justice) Mr Moses Wetangula (Foreign Affairs), Mr William Ruto (Agriculture) and Deputy Prime Minister Mr Musalia Mudavadi.

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Nearly 775 people have died in Zimbabwe from the recent cholera outbreak, an official from the World Health Organization said Wednesday, refuting the government's claim that the situation is under control.  The number of overall cholera cases is also on the rise, hitting 15,141 on Wednesday, said Dr. Eric Laroche, who heads the WHO unit addressing health action during the crisis.  The WHO added that up to 60,000 people in Zimbabwe could be infected if the epidemic worsens. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said the country's widening humanitarian crisis could only be addressed once a "legitimate government" was in place. "It is up to that government to deal with the problems the country is facing, which are quite wide-ranging," Tsvangirai said.

An Essex fireman refused to work a shift at a station after finding two mice in the kitchen. The firefighter, from Harlow, was sent to work at Waltham Abbey fire station but refused to stay following his discovery, Essex Fire Service said. The station was closed for 90 minutes but the man was later sent back to continue his shift. Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gordon Hunter said an internal investigation was now under way. He said: "We can confirm that the station was closed as a result of an issue surrounding two mice. "This matter is now subject of an internal investigation."

A documentary screened on Sky Real Lives showed motor neurone disease sufferer Craig Ewert taking a lethal dose of drugs at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. Mary Ewert told Sky News her husband was not tired of living - but faced a choice between death and suffering, or death. "He at times felt depressed - and who would not, facing that fact that you had an incurable disease and there was absolutely nothing that could be done and, on top of it, the demise could be quite slow and quite uncomfortable? "Many people would react to that with a sense of sadness, but that wasn't pervasive in his approach and, as I said, I think he had the idea all along that he could choose not to do this even when he arrived at Dignitas."

Allowing every illegal immigrant living in the UK to stay would cost the exchequer £2 billion a year, a pressure group said. Migration watch, which campaigns for a cap on migrant numbers, estimated the cost of an immigrant amnesty could rise to £4 billion once newcomers started families. The group also released new polling which found 70% of the population opposed a blanket amnesty for all 700,000 illegal migrants. Only one in 10 was in favour of an amnesty, their survey found. Last month, Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced plans to examine the benefits of an amnesty and said deporting all illegal immigrants was "just not going to happen". He said there were 400,000 people living in the capital illegally and as a result, London councils were being denied the central government funding they needed. Londoners polled were opposed to an amnesty, but by a smaller margin. Some 64% of those questioned were against, and only a sixth were in favour.

The wife of a British man who went to a Swiss clinic where he was legally helped to commit suicide writes in The Independent. The assisted suicide of Craig Ewert will be show on Sky Real Lives tonight. Chancellor Alistair Darling is considering an extension of taxpayer guarantees to cover business lending, according to the Financial Times. The Times covers a related case, that of Daniel James, the paralysed rugby player whose parents took him to the same Dignitas clinic in Zurich to die. The paper says they couple are to escape prosecution in the UK.

The UK economy contracted 1% between September and November, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has estimated. This fall followed after a 0.8% drop in the three months to the end of October, said the think tank. Indicating that the rate of output decline is "accelerating", the NIESR now expects a fall of more than 1% in the last three months of the year. Official data showed that the economy shrank 0.5% from July to September. But it will not be until January that the Office for National Statistics reports on the final quarter's GDP. If it reports a decline for the three months to December, then the UK will be in officially in recession under the generally accepted definition of two consecutive quarters of decline.

The government is putting the British economy and the pound at risk with its £20bn "borrowing binge", Conservative leader David Cameron has said. He called for an election so voters could stop a "fundamentally bad decision" being made which would leave the UK in a "dreadful" situation. He also said he would not match Labour spending plans for 2010 and beyond. The government says there is almost "universal consensus" in favour of a stimulus and dismissed election calls. The prime minister's official spokesman responded to questions about an election by saying: "What the public expects is for the government to govern and that is what we are doing."

Two women were injured during the ODM branch elections in Embakasi, Nairobi on Tuesday as rigging claims marred the party’s grassroots polls in several other constituencies, including Naivasha, Rongai and Eldama Ravine. Police also arrested a man who was carrying an assortment of weapons including an axe. The two women were roughed up by a group of youths manning the entrance of the Tom Mboya Hall, where the elections was going on. Trouble started when the returning officer, Mr Nickson Sabaya, started calling the names of the delegates who were the only people required to enter the hall. The women tried to sneak their way in, provoking the youths who tried to keep them away. Police had a difficult time controlling the rowdy group.

My name is David Kimani from Nairobi. I have a personal situation and i am looking for the help of all friends and well wishers. My son Brian Kiriro  is very ill and required specialised treatment in the USA that is costing about US$30,000 (Kshs.2.2m) for one year and the costs may go up if it extends beyond one year. This is a huge amount and I have no way of raising it through ordinary methods. The treatment is considered unconventional and is not covered by medical insurance.

 I am therefore appealing to well wishers and friends to help me save my son. The full details are on the website www.savebriankiriro.com

Could you please help me raise funds through publicity on this website? I have tried several NGO's in Kenya and no help is forthcoming. I will appreciate all assistance you may offer me for the rest of my life

Thank you

David Kimani Kiriro

P O Box 79117-00400

Tel: +254-722-235468

Nairobi, Kenya

Tuesday 9/12/08. Kaylie Coomber, from Highnam, near Gloucester, could not believe her eyes when she received a letterm Alliance and Leicester informing her of the considerable change in her financial circumstances. Miss Coomber works at the National Star college for severely disabled teenagers and young people near Cheltenham. The 20-year-old said she had previously phoned the bank asking them to extend her overdraft to £250 in the run up to Christmas. She said: "I rang them up three days ago to ask if they could extend my overdraft by £50. "I needed the overdraft because of the time - it's just before Christmas and I have to pay my car tax and MOT. ''But I was totally staggered when they then sent me a letter saying 'We are pleased to confirm that we have arranged an overdraft limit of £84,480,090.00 on your account. A spokesman for Alliance and Leicester apologised for "any inconvenience or upset" caused to Miss Coomber and confirmed it was an "unfortunate" one-off incident.

The governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, was arrested on Tuesday 6/12/08 on "staggering" corruption charges that alleged he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by fellow Democrat, President-elect Barack Obama. The governor also tried to extort the Chicago Tribune, one of the country's leading newspapers, into firing editorial writers who were critical of him, federal prosecutors said.

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Friends, family and well-wishers are all invited to the Harambee of the late Peter Mwangi Chege  to help transport the body back to Kenya. The meeting will be held on Saturday 13th Dec at  Memorial Baptist Church, 395 Barking Road, London E13 8AL as from 6 p.. For more information, please contact: 07754084065 (Mama Linda) or email juliakuria@hotmail.co.uk

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The open display of tobacco in shops is to be banned in England, the government is expected to announce later. But it is understood plans for an outright ban on tobacco vending machines and branding on cigarette packets have been scrapped. Ministers hope the display ban, which Scotland introduced in May, will reduce smoking. Northern Ireland and Wales are yet to decide if they will follow suit. Critics say the moves do not go far enough to stop young people smoking.

The rise of the mobile phone as a bank account substitute in Africa was reinforced on Monday as Vodafone announced the launch of a cross-border mobile money transfer service between the UK and Kenya. The service will allow remittances to be sent from selected Western Union branches in the UK to Safaricom subscribers in Kenya, who can then redeem the money or send it on to another mobile user. The maximum amount that can be transferred internationally is £200 ($296). The service follows the success of M-PESA, a mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Vodafone and Safaricom which has signed up over 4m customers since its launch in March 2007, and has been extended to Tanzania and Afghanistan.

The Independent says that credit card companies are facing an investigation by competition watchdogs after defying Government warnings to improve their lending practices. The Daily Mail reports that the Government is tightening the rules on Home Information Packs - which the paper says could make it even harder to buy a new house. The FT leads on fears that corporate pension funds are facing a mounting shortfall. The paper also says the Financial Services Authority is investigating possible breaches of stock market rules by David Ross, who has resigned as deputy chairman of Carphone Warehouse.

Ghana's two main presidential candidates are running neck-and-neck as votes continue to be counted a day after the country's peaceful elections. It is a public holiday and people are glued to their radios and television sets as the results trickle in. A number of ministers have lost their seats in the parliamentary elections. Poll officials reported a huge voter turnout and monitors hailed the exercise as a shining example of democracy in action for Africa.

Kenya Revenue Authority has began destroying 362 uncollected vehicles at the port of Mombasa.  Only six cars were crushed yesterday because the exercise was called off after the crusher developed mechanical problems. Ten vehicles had been targeted for destruction on Day One. The crushing of vehicles, which is expected to reduce congestion of cargo at the port, follows recommendations by a task force formed in September after acting Finance minister John Michuki visited the port and ordered that the vehicles be destroyed to create space for more goods. Once the vehicles are crushed, they will be sold as scrap metal. Most of the cars to be destroyed were manufactured more than seven years ago and are therefore not eligible to be imported into Kenya.

A rail passenger was set alight by a gang of teenage thugs after falling asleep on a train home. The 21-year-old was taking a nap when four hooded teenagers started the fire which caused serious burns to his face, head and neck. His condition is reported to be stable at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, East Sussex.

Justice Minister Jack Straw plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act to prevent it being exploited by criminals, the Daily Mail says. US President-elect Barack Obama has spelt out plans for the biggest infrastructure investment in half a century, the Financial Times reports. The Daily Express claims the Government is planning to charge people higher council tax if they build a tree house in their garden. The paper calls the plan 'Labour's latest stealth tax'.

Employees of the Electoral Commission of Kenya that is set to be disbanded will on Monday camp outside Parliament to push for their retention. The more than 575 workers on Sunday denied playing a role in the disputed presidential election results and asked the Government not to send them home alongside the commissioners. Reading a statement on their behalf in Nairobi, Ms Joan Mudindi said: “If the Bill is passed as it is, we will be unfairly and unjustifiably dismissed and condemned to uncalled for suffering. "This also violates the Employment Act that spells out the manner of termination of our employment.” But Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua said: “There are going to be reforms to facilitate the referendum and the first entry point is the ECK. No member of staff currently working at the ECK will escape the measure.”

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President Kibaki has backed calls for all Kenyans to pay tax. The President also said the high price of maize flour is caused by unscrupulous traders who hoard the commodity. The President made the taxation plea after several leaders condemned lawmakers. MPs who asked legislators to pay tax were Kieni’s Nemesyus Warugongo, Ephraim Maina (Mathira) Francis Nyammo (Tetu) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Laikipia East.) Others were Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, Lee Kinyanjui of Nakuru Town and Cabinet Minister Esther Murugi. Speaking in Nyeri on Saturday, President Kibaki, said all Kenyans must pay taxes to fund development projects. He warned tax evaders that the Government would soon catch up with them. "There are a few drunk people who don’t pay tax. We’ll get you; you can’t get away," he said in Karatina town. He said road construction and other ongoing projects depended on taxes paid by Kenyans. He said tax collection had increased four times. The President was on the second day of his tour in Nyeri, where he inspected projects and was joined later by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.

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Friday 5/12/08. Gordon Brown has promised to press banks to pass on a cut in costs to borrowers after the Bank of England reduced interest rates to a 57-year low. Mr Brown was speaking after lenders defied him on Thursday by failing to pass on the full one percentage point cut, which left the Bank's rate at two per cent - as low as at any time in its 300-year history. The rate was reduced from 3% to 2%.

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JAMHURI DAY CELEBRATIONS IN BEDFORD

You are cordially invited to Jamhuri Day Celebrations in Bedford on

13th December 2008 at

FARADAY COMMUNITY CENTRE, Kelvin Avenue, Bedford MK42 9ND from 4pm.

Come and listen to some very beneficial and important information.

For further information visit http://www.kenyancommunitybedford.org.uk

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Happiness is contagious, researchers reported. The same team that demonstrated obesity and smoking spread in networks has shown that the more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person's own happiness, they reported in the British Medical Journal. "What we are dealing with is an emotional stampede," Nicholas Christakis, a professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a telephone interview.

Those interest rates could fall to zero soon, predicts the Daily Express. The Independent wonders whether the authorities are running out of ammunition in their fight to avert the worst downturn since the Second World War. The Daily Telegraph says the biggest banks are failing to pass on the lowest interest rates for more than 50 years.

Nairobi, Tuesday 2/12/08. Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) has sued seven Members of Parliament among them a minister for irregularly receiving money from the public coffers. KACC sued Information Minister Samuel Phoghisio, Mwingi South MP David Musila, former MPs Joseph Kamotho, Peter Oloo Aringo, Daniel Khamasi, Justin Muturi and Parliamentary Committee on CDF chair, Ekwe Ethuro. According to papers filed at the High Court on Friday, the seven leaders allegedly received a sum of Sh20.5 million as an allowance for ‘Parliamentary Service Office Holders' between November 2006 and November last year. Mr Poghisio is accused of receiving Sh1.5 million on November 6, 2006 and Sh1.3 million on November 9, 2007. Mr Ethuro, on the other hand, is said to have received Sh700,000 under the same guise but his Mwingi South counterpart reportedly received the largest amount of Sh5.8 million. Former Mathioya MP Joseph Kamotho allegedly received Sh2.8 million; Peter Oloo Aringo (former Alego Usonga MP) Sh2.8 million while former Shinyalu legislator Daniel Khamasi and former Siakago MP Justin Muturi, each received Sh2.8 million KACC argues that the allowances were paid in breach of the provisions governing the remuneration of MPs and Members of Parliamentary Service Commissions.

Stocks tumbled on Monday 1/12/08 as signs of a deepening economic slump around the world erased much of last week's sharp gains, with banks and retailers among Wall Street's biggest casualties. Adding to the market's woeful day, the arbiter of U.S. business cycles declared that the United States entered recession in December 2007 and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy remained under considerable strain. Britain's leading share index slid 5.2 percent on Monday as concerns over demand for raw materials hit heavyweight commodity stocks, while weak data highlighted problems facing the UK economy.

The FTSE 100 closed 222.52 points lower at 4,065.49, after gaining 13.4 percent last week, its best-ever weekly performance. The S&P financial index shed a record 17 percent as Citigroup sank 22.2 percent to $6.45. Bank of America slid 21 percent to $12.85. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 679.95 points, or 7.70 percent, to end at 8,149.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 80.03 points, or 8.93 percent, to 816.21. The NASDAQ Composite Index lost 137.50 points, or 8.95 percent, to 1,398.07.

Following the Baby P report, The Independent warns that thousands more children could be at risk after councils fail to protect them from abuse. Ministers are secretly plotting to force Britain into adopting the Euro, according to the Daily Express. The Guardian leads on the dismissal of the head of children's services in the London borough where Baby P died.

Kenya's annual inflation rose slightly to 29.4 percent in November from 28.4 percent in October due to increasing food prices, the national statistical bureau said on Monday. A statement from the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday that the underlying inflation, which excludes food items, eased to 12.3 percent from 13.0 percent of the previous month. "Month on month overall inflation rate increased from 28.4 percent in October 2008 to 29.4 percent in November. On the other hand, month-on-month underlying inflation rate which excluded items from the Consumer Prices Indices (CPI) basket decreased from13.0 percent in October to 12.3 percent in November," said the bureau in a statement.

A husband woke his wife from a 13-year coma by nibbling her toes. Zhang Kui tried the unusual treatment as a last resort. 'Feet are home to many nerves,' said Mr Zhang, from Shenyang in China.

Kenya and Qatar have opened talks that could lead to the building of a Sh273 billion port in Lamu. News of the deal emerged after President Kibaki held successful talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalif Al Thani, during the President’s three-day official tour to the Middle East country. The Emir said Qatar was keen on the Lamu project as it intends to increase its international investments. If developed, the port will be expected to handle imports for Ethiopia — a land locked country with a population of 80 million — and Southern Sudan with a population of 12 million. Southern Sudan requires huge imports for its ongoing reconstruction after decades of civil war with the North. Lamu’s proximity to Addis Ababa would also necessitate the building of a railway link between the two towns. Importers in Northern Kenyan towns like Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Moyale would also use the port instead of Mombasa, which currently handles all imports including those for regional countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Should it be successfully completed, the Lamu port would help decongest Mombasa port, which experts indicate cannot be developed further as it had reached its full potential.

President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defence secretary in a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership role in the world. Clinton and Gates, who have been at odds with Obama in the past over foreign policy and defence issues, will implement Obama's vision of rebuilding the U.S. image abroad while overseeing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama played down differences with the woman he narrowly beat for the Democratic presidential nomination and said he would welcome vigorous debate among his opinionated team. "I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made," Obama said, calling the former first lady a "dear friend."

The government was on Monday 1/12/08 due to announce new prices for maize and maize flour.  A meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and attended by millers was expected to iron out the new prices following a similar meeting held on Sunday. During the three hour meeting the government had offered to supply maize to millers at Sh1750 per bag and wanted to know by how much the millers would lower the price. The PM said escalating food prices had raised a serious crisis that “has all the makings of a catastrophe.” According to the Prime Minister Press Service (PMPS), the millers were in agreement that if they got a regular supply of maize at cheaper prices, they would have no problem lowering the prices.

The Independent says the attacks in Mumbai are escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, both of whom have nuclear weapons. Motorists are about to be hit by a stealth tax on petrol according to the Daily Express, which claims it would cancel out the reduction in the VAT rate. MPs are threatening to disrupt this week's state opening of parliament in protest at the arrest of frontbencher Damian Green, the Daily Telegraph says.
 

President-elect Barack Obama is planning to nominate at least three key members of his national security team at an event in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, including Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, according to two Democratic officials. Sen. Hillary Clinton will be nominated to be Barack Obama's secretary of state, sources say.

Somali pirates have agreed on a ransom for a Ukrainian freighter carrying tanks and other heavy weapons and it could be released within days, a spokesman said Sunday 31/11/08. Mikhail Voitenko said the MV Faina could be freed with its crew if agreement is reached on how to get the ransom money to the pirates, who seized the ship off the coast of Somalia in late September. He said there were negotiations on Friday. "The owner has confirmed there is every reason to hope that it will be released in the coming week," said Voitenko, editor of Maritime Bulletin-Sovfrakht, a shipping news Web site.

We regret to announce the death of Pastor Ann Wamuitha Irungu, Mother to Bishop Climate (UK) and Pastor Moses (U.K). Funeral/burial at home: Yumbuni village, Mtito Andei, Makindu District Saturday 13th Dec 2008, 11:00 am. Meetings Nairobi-Abbey Hotel opp-Nrb textiles at 5:30pm, Mtito- W.C.C.C church, home-Yumbani village. For more information, contact Dr. Rev. Jennifer Irungu on 07950194751 or Pastor Moses on 07902704307. Family and Friends contributing can use Lloyds TSB Bank Account number 73637960,  sort code 87-70-27.

Politicians named in the Waki list will have to quit their Cabinet posts and those found guilty of election violence offences barred from ever running for public office if proposals tabled before the Cabinet are approved. Sources who have seen the proposals prepared by a team headed by Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua, on Thursday said this was the only way to end impunity and stop politicians from using their communities to cause violence every election year. If adopted, the proposals could spell doom for politicians whose names appear in the Waki list, which was handed over to former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan in a sealed envelope. The list of six Cabinet ministers and five MPs is to be handed over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague if a local tribunal is not set up to try them by March 1.

The Daily Express leads with the story of British shipping tycoon Andreas Liveras, who was killed in the massacre. The Financial Times also muses upon Pakistani involvement in the terror attacks in Mumbai, reporting on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's comments that India's neighbours were involved. undreds of Britons were still trapped in two luxury hotels in Mumbai last night as Indian commandos battled to free hostages, says The Daily Telegraph.

The controversial pastor who claimed he could give infertile couples "miracle babies" is a step closer to extradition on child abduction charges.  Two High Court judges have refused to give Gilbert Deya permission to appeal to the House of Lords against the order to extradite him to Kenya. Mr. Deya, the self-proclaimed bishop of a church in Peckham, South London, claims he faces torture in his native Kenya. The Kenyan government alleges he stole five children between 1999 and 2004. Deya's lawyers argued his case should be certified as one raising issues of general public importance that should be considered by the Law Lords, but this was rejected by Lord Justice Dyson. Mr. Deya has no more avenues of appeal in the UK and his lawyers are considering a last-ditch application to the European Court of Human Rights. Mr Deya, 55, runs Gilbert Deya Ministries, which claims a UK membership of 36,000. The government has ordered brokers involved in the maize marketing chain to stop trading in the commodity with immediate effect. Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the cabinet had resolved that the cartel of middlemen responsible for the fluctuation in maize supply should be kept out of the trade to stabilize the retail price of the staple food. "The cabinet discussed the increasing price of maize and resolved that the brokers who exploit farmers and consumers step aside and let the government agencies streamline the flow of the staple food so that the poor can easily access the foodstuffs at affordable rates," he said. Odinga was speaking at Raila Education Centre in Kibera when he addressed thousands of slum dwellers who raised concerns over the runaway cost of living in the wake of skyrocketing prices of staple foods in the country.

Indian commandos said on Friday 28/11/08 that dislodging terrorists from two Mumbai luxury hotels was proving a difficult task, indicating that the death toll may rise rapidly over the coming hours. As Indian forces continued to fight room-to-room battles with terrorists, the Indian government increased its pressure on Pakistan as the suspected source of the attacks. A senior marine commando officer, dressed in a black balaclava to obscure his identity, said the ”very determined and remorseless” militants were well-armed and had smuggled an arsenal of weapons into the hotels ahead of their attack, including plastic explosives. "There is blood all over, bodies all over. We are not looking at those who have been killed, just looking at who is exchanging fire," he said.

Parents may pay more school fees in January even as high school principals gathered to push for more money from the Government. The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association presented new fees proposals to Education Minister Sam Ongeri on Wednesday, and warned they would shift the burden to parents should the Government fail to pay. The move would be a huge setback in the campaign for free education, which was praised as one of the milestones of the Kibaki administration.  The move would further burden parents strained by escalating food prices, which have shot up by 28 per cent in the past month. The heads association said students in boarding secondary schools would pay up to Sh4,600 more, and those in day schools Sh3,500. Mr Cleophas Tirop, the association chairman, said the proposed fees for boarding schools would be Sh36,423 and for day schools Sh13,739, including Government subsidy. Government fees guidelines are set at Sh26,900 for national schools, Sh22,600 for provincial and district boarding ones and Sh9,000 for district institutions. The fees parents pay was to come down substantially after the Government introduced subsidised secondary education early this year. Each student is allocated Sh10,265 a year. Currently, boarding schools are supposed to charge up to Sh18,627 a year, while day schools should not charge fees at all.  Spending on school fees has been on a steady rise, in spite of Government subsidy, a recent survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Dr Andrew Rasugu, an education expert at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (Ipar), said the Government had no option but to give supplementary funds to education. "Head teachers have expressed their wish and the writing is on the wall for parents. All eyes are now on the Government to see whether a supplementary budget is made available," Rasugu said. "If the funds are not forthcoming, it is likely that the gains made so far could be wiped out or stalled," he said. - The Standard.

When travelling to Kenya you are allowed two bags weighing 23 kgs and 6 kgs hand luggage with KQ, BA and Virgin. From 26 November 2008, a flat fee of GBP 25 will be applied to any checked bag weighing more than 23kg (51lbs). Any item weighing more than 32kg (70lbs) cannot be accepted as checked baggage.

Maintenance for dependants of tier 2 migrants

Home Office, 26 November 2008

Skilled workers can start applying for tier 2 of the points-based system from 27 November. Migrants must meet the maintenance requirement or their application will be refused. Migrants can prove their maintenance either by:

• showing they have personal savings of £800 which they have had for three months; or
• having a written confirmation from their A-rated sponsor that the sponsor will maintain and accommodate the migrant until the end of the first month of their work in the United Kingdom.
•  

We have now extended the provision to include a migrant's dependants. Dependants can prove they meet the maintenance requirement either by:

• showing that they, or the migrant, have held £533 for each dependant for the previous three months; or
• having written confirmation from the migrant's A-rated sponsor that the sponsor will maintain and accommodate the migrant's dependants, if necessary, during their first month in the United Kingdom.
•  

The migrant should attach the letter from their sponsor with their application form. Full guidance will be published on this website on 27 November.

BREAKING NEWS: It has been confirmed on the news this morning (Wednesday 26th November, 2008) on Classic FM that the Kenyan Government will be exchanging immigration data with the UK Government to curb illegal immigration. - Source: Karuga Njuguna in Nairobi.

London, Tuesday 25th November, 2008. A man who fathered nine children by raping his two daughters over many years has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19-and-a half years. The 56-year-old from Sheffield was sentenced to a life term for each of the 25 rapes he had admitted. The attacks led to 19 pregnancies, Sheffield Crown Court heard. The daughters said in a statement: "His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again." The defendant refused to leave his prison cell to attend the sentencing. Nine of the children were born, two of whom died on the day of their birth. The other 10 pregnancies were miscarried or aborted. The daughters' statement through South Yorkshire Police added: "The suffering he caused will continue for many years and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives." The father moved the family from village to village in rural locations to keep them isolated and to avoid detection. Sheffield Crown Court was told that he "took pleasure" in knowing the harm he was doing to his daughters. Judge Alan Goldsack QC said: "Questions will inevitably be asked about what professionals, social and medical workers, have been doing for the last 20 years." Jayne Ludlam, director of children's and young people's services at Sheffield City Council, said the abuse was revealed to social workers in June. Ms Ludlam said: "This is one of the most harrowing cases we have had to deal with and to say we are shocked to find this level of abuse being perpetrated by this person is an understatement. "Due to the seriousness of this case an independent review has already been launched which will look into the circumstances surrounding the case and the contact the agencies had with the victims."

James Baird, representing the defendant, said: "It must be inconceivable to those who have listened to this case that these offences have been carried out, in this day and age in a so-called civilised society, over such a long time and with such consequences, without them being reported or investigated." The court heard that the sexual abuse started when the two sisters reached the age of eight but that they only realised the other was being abused when they became pregnant some years later. The court heard that on a number of occasions doctors advised the women to stop having children by the same father. Nicholas Campbell QC said: "The defendant played Russian roulette as to whether there would be complications in the pregnancies and with the health of his daughters." The defendant threatened his daughters with a "real hiding" if they refused to have sex with him. Mr Campbell said: "All the defendant's children spoke of his domination over their family life. He was tall and strongly built." "All the family were frightened of him. When they heard his car pulling up outside the house, the children and their mother ran to their respective rooms. "His younger daughter told of the frightening habit her father had of putting her head next to the flames of their gas fire and that when she struggled to get away on certain occasions she burnt her eyes."

On one occasion, the women called Childline and asked for a guarantee that they could keep their children, but when one was not offered they ended the call. Mr Campbell said: "When either one of his victims tried to end the sexual abuse, he threatened to kill them and their children, and when they threatened to tell police, he said they would not be believed. "All the time, when the sisters were challenged about the paternity of their children, they would cover it up. "They started taking the pill. He said they should not be taking it and, just as they felt unable to avoid his sexual abuse, they obeyed. "They spoke of his pleasure at fathering their children whilst at the same time they had fears for the welfare of these children and how they would cope." Lib Dem leader and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg, said: "All our thoughts are now with the victims of this most abhorrent crime, who must be given the time and privacy to rebuild their lives." His fellow Sheffield Brightside MP and former Home Secretary David Blunkett said it was difficult to determine who, outside of the family, could have been expected to take steps to intervene. He said: "Those who at least made an effort to do something should not be the ones who are pinpointed - it is those who did not who should examine their conscience." - MORE

First identity cards issued

Home Office 25 November 2008

Foreign nationals will begin applying for identity cards today. Their facial image and fingerprints are taken to securely lock them to one identity and help businesses crack down on illegal working. Later this week stringent new rules to bring in workers to the United Kingdom through Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will also begin. Identity cards will be mandatory for all foreign nationals and provide a simple secure means of proving a foreign national's right to work to businesses. Companies will have to keep records of the migrants they have sponsored - including their contact details and a copy of their identity card. Starting in Croydon, the first identity cards will be issued to people making applications to remain in the United Kingdom as a student or based on marriage. All new foreign nationals and those extending their stay will have a card within three years. It is estimated that by the end of 2014/15 about 90 per cent of all foreign nationals will have been issued with one. This Thursday, 27 November, Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will go live. From this date employers who have registered with the UK Border Agency will be able to bring in migrant workers from outside European Economic Area (EEA) under the scheme. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

"The first identity cards for foreign nationals along with the launch of Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system demonstrate our commitment to preventing immigration abuse and protecting the prosperity of the United Kingdom. "In time identity cards for foreign nationals will replace paper documents and give employers a safe and secure way of checking a migrant's right to work and study in the United Kingdom. "The Australian-style points system will ensure only those we need - and no more - can come here. It is also flexible, allowing us to raise or lower the bar according to the needs of business and taking population trends into account."

Under Tier 2 companies must pass the Resident Labour Market test by proving they cannot fill the post with a resident worker before they can bring in someone from outside the EEA. ID cards for foreign nationals will help secure the United Kingdom's borders by improving immigration control and reduce identity abuses. They will also enable those here legally to prove it and prevent those here illegally from benefiting from the privileges of life in the United Kingdom. Over the next three weeks enrolment identity card centres for foreign nationals will open in Cardiff, Glasgow, Northern Ireland, Sheffield, Solihull and Liverpool.

Tom Hadley, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's Director of External Relations, said:

"Recruitment professionals working in the frontline of the United Kingdom labour market play an increasingly pivotal role in checking the identity, background and status of individual job seekers. "We welcome the extensive communication programme which has accompanied the introduction of this card. We need to ensure that all those verifying ID are aware of the appearance of the new card. "Recruiters take their responsibility to validate an individual's right to work in the United Kingdom extremely seriously and support initiatives that enhance safe and ethical recruitment."

Julian Gravatt, Association of Colleges Director of Funding and Development, said:

"Issuing ID cards to overseas students should assist in the reduction of identity fraud. "Colleges welcome any measure which facilitates the recruitment of genuine students to study in the United Kingdom and the economic benefits this brings." Tim Cowen, Director of Communications for NCP Services said:

"This is good news for employers, and a credit to the work the UK Border Agency has done to help make the hiring of migrant workers more streamlined for United Kingdom organisations. "Employers will, quite rightly, still need to make sure their systems for spotting forgeries are robust, but the biometric cards will cut down on fraud and make it easier for us to do this. "Crucially, it will also help those who genuinely have the right to work in the United Kingdom get employment quickly - since it will be easier to check their identity and get them working." Tiers 2 and 5 will sweep aside around 30 different routes to the United Kingdom, including the old work permit system. Tier 2 of the points system will ensure that British jobseekers get the first shot at jobs and only those foreign workers we need will be able to come to the United Kingdom. Tier 5 covers those travelling temporarily to the United Kingdom for primarily non-economic reasons, such as sportspeople, entertainers and charity workers. To ensure entertainers continue to contribute to British cultural life, those coming to the United Kingdom for permit-free gigs or festivals - such as the Edinburgh Fringe - will be assessed outside of the points system under visitor visa rules. The National Identity Scheme will help protect against identity fraud, illegal working and immigration, crime and terrorism, and those trying to abuse positions of trust and make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are. The first ID cards are being issued to people making applications to remain in the United Kingdom as a student or based on marriage and will be followed by identity cards for British workers in sensitive roles and locations in 2009 and to young people in 2010.

LEFT: The Daily Telegraph says ministers have drawn up secret plans to increase VAT after the next election.  CENTRE: The Daily Express claims the documents reveal covert plans for rises in council tax as well as VAT. RIGHT: The Daily Mail says supermarkets and high street stores are going head-to-head in a savage seasonal price war.

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Come eat drink dance and be entertained by the top DJ's Clem and Collo

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ENTRANCE FEE £10 INCLUDING FREE NYAMA CHOMA BETWEEN 8 P.M. AND MIDNIGHT  

LIVE FOOT BALL

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Let Justice Prevail – Kenyans want assurance.

By topi lyambila

Who is behind the killings targeting young Kikuyu men? This was the big question on Hon. Jeremiah Kioni’s lips as he spoke to KLN in London on Saturday.  He also spoke exclusively on the Waki report and what he thinks is the dilemma.  The sitting MP for Ndaragwa was in London by invitation to attend a workshop organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, on donor funding.   “I came to articulate Kenya’s position and also learn from the other countries on how they are fairing and the difficulties; they face in soliciting and ultimate management of the funds.  Hon Kioni spoke extensively on the need to implement the Waki report and the need for justice.  Justice was quite central in the interview touching on the issue of not only the political reports – namely the Kriegler and Waki Commissions – but the purported killings of young men in and around Nairobi largely from the Kikuyu tribe. The legislator noted, several young Kikuyu men have reportedly taken from their homes on the premise that they are being investigated for their involvement with rogue gangs in the city like Mungiki, and are later found shot dead.  The authorities don’t seem to know who is behind it. The Police have not come clean on the issue and now most young people are running scared. And even the Government appears to be in the dark. On the Waki Report, Hon. Kioni like many others insists it should be followed through. He said contrary to what many believe, the report was merely a pointer as to who was involved and did not particularly criminalize anyone.  What should happen next is for the report to be tabled in parliament, a commission enacted to determine how the hearings can be done, and if anyone has been named, then they can defend themselves there and if found guilty, be charged. If on the other hand they are found innocent they shall be cleared. Hon. Kioni feels the greatest opposition to the Waki Report is from, ODM members in parliament.  “He believes there is real nothing to fear if you believe you are innocent. But failing to follow through the report will be a miscarriage of justice.”  The Ndaragwa MP says “The people that were involved in the 1992 clashes; burning houses and looting in the Rift Valley and Mt. Elgon are the same fellows who were key players in 2008. If we don’t prosecute them now, how do we know they will not be there come 2012?

The Federal Reserve is to inject another $800bn (£526.8bn) into the US economy in a further effort to stabilise the financial system. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the stimulus package aimed to make more lending available to consumers. About $600bn will be used to buy up mortgage-backed securities while $200bn is being targeted at unfreezing the consumer credit market. Financial institutions are reluctant to lend, deepening the economic slowdown. The situation has been exacerbated as the credit crisis has worsened. Meanwhile US President-elect Barack Obama said budget reform was "imperative" with the economy in crisis. "It is not an option. It's a necessity," he said. Key lending such as credit cards, car loans and student loans had essentially come to a halt in October, Mr Paulson said. He added that the new measures were aimed at getting these types of lending back to more normal levels. "It will take time to work through the difficulties in our market and our economy and new challenges will continue to arise," he said. "We are committed to using all the tools at our disposal to preserve the strength of our financial institutions and stabilise our financial markets to minimise the spill-over into the rest of the economy." The announcement came as Commerce Department figures showed US economic output shrank between July and September at a faster pace than initially predicted, which the White House described as "troubling". GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.5% in the third-quarter - from the 0.3% estimated a month ago - as consumers cut spending by the largest amount in 28 years. "This is why we are having to take such bold actions," a White House spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller national home price index slumped by a record 16.6% during the quarter from the same period a year ago - taking prices down to levels not seen since early 2004.

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS INVITES YOU TO A FUNDRAISING

AND THANKSGIVING FOR MR MOSES KIEREINE NJOROGE

WHO RECENTLY DONATED ONE OF HIS KIDNEYS TO HIS

AUNT MS NAOMI NJERI MICHUKI AND HE IS TRAVELLING BACK TO KENYA.

 
WE ARE ALSO PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT BOTH DONOR AND

RECIPIENT ARE STILL IN RECOVERY BUT DOING VERY WELL.
 
 
DATE: 06TH DECEMBER 2008

 
TIME: 06.00PM - 10.00PM

 
VENUE: 524 High Street North, Manor Park, London, E12 5PU.

CONTACT: Daughter Ms Catherine Wanjiru Edwards on Tel No: 0208 554 5673 or Mobile No: 07908 209390.

The UK government considered increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) to 18.5% from 2011, a Treasury document has shown

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Under the latest rescue plan - which is in addition to the already-announced $700bn bank bail-out - the Fed is to buy up to $100bn in debt from the troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The central bank said it would also buy another $500bn in mortgage-backed securities - pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors. The Fed said that the $600bn effort to support the mortgage market was being taken to reduce the cost of home mortgages and increase their availability. It said the purchases of the mortgages and mortgage-backed securities would take place over a number of months. In addition to the $600bn effort on mortgages, the Fed also unveiled a separate programme to help unfreeze the consumer debt market. The central bank said it would lend up to $200bn to the holders of securities backed by various types of consumer loans, such as credit cards and student loans. News of the latest massive financial rescue plan was generally welcomed. "They are getting to the heart of the problem, it's clean, it's quick, it's direct. It's a good way to bring down mortgage rates, because at the end of the day they have to stabilise the housing market," said Todd Abraham of Federated Investors, Pittsburgh. Robert Macintosh, chief economist with Eaton Vance, Boston, said: "If they can pull it off it'll make some people happy, but I don't know how effective it'll actually be." Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James Associates, Florida, said: "Here is the Fed taking a bunch of debt out of the market, which doesn't hurt. I think it should it should help unblock the credit markets." The severe financial crisis that is rocking global markets at the moment began more than a year ago with rising defaults on sub-prime mortgages, loans provided to borrowers with weak credit histories.

Pirates move ship towards hotspot

The Somali pirates holding the Saudi oil tanker Sirius Star and its crew have moved the ship further north. The move puts them only 20 miles (32km) from the MV Faina, a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks. BBC correspondents say while this puts them closer to US Navy ships shadowing the Faina, the area also has a greater concentration of other pirates. It comes a day after one of the pirates told the BBC they had no intention of harming the 25 crew members on board. The man, calling himself Daybad, told the BBC Somali Service via telephone that the pirates had not negotiated with the Sirius Star's owners, but spoken to intermediaries who "cannot be trusted". The ship's Polish captain was also able to speak to the BBC, although under the scrutiny of his captors. He said his crew were in good shape and had been allowed to talk to their families. The ship has been held off the Somali coast for the past 10 days. Also on Monday, a group of tanker owners called on the UN to co-ordinate naval patrols off the coast of Somalia. Peter Swift, head of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) suggested that warships could begin monitoring vessels leaving Somali waters, rather than attempting to patrol the entire Gulf of Aden and a significant part of the Indian Ocean. He said many members of Intertanko - which as a group owns 75% of the world's tanker fleet - were considering re-routing their ships around South Africa to avoid pirates, and that this would raise costs by 30%. Mr Swift said continuing attacks would have a major impact on world trade, but that Intertanko opposed arming merchant ships to defend against pirates. Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday that the alliance was not considering any naval blockade of Somalia. He said that such action had not been endorsed by the UN Security Council and was not on the cards at present. Nato has four warships on duty in the area. In another development, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told a meeting of the European Union in Brussels that EU ships patrolling the area would have "robust" rules of engagement and would use force to deter pirates if necessary.

BBC News website reader Jane Flanagan snapped this sight: old and new side-by-side in Africa – a bushman's hut in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve, wired in for satellite TV

Parliament  Tuesday 25th November, 2008. unanimously passed the finance bill 2008 but minus the clause that would have allowed the taxman to collect money from their fat pay cheques.  Out of the 222 sitting Mps only two Kangundo members, Johnstone Muthama and Ndaragwa Mp Jeremiah Kioni have voluntarily offered to have their allowances taxed. In one of those rare but predictable moments by the honorable members, the Mps came together to pass the finance bill without the clause that allows for the taxation of their allowances.  Acting Finance Minister John Michuki succeeded in having the Finance bill 2008 passed but not after yielding to members' persuasion to amend clause 39 of the bill that would have essentially subjected their allowances to taxation. Michuki tactfully avoided moving the amendment instead letting the chairman of the parliamentary finance committee Chris Okemo to move the controversial amendment that has seen an outpouring of criticisms leveled against Mps for failing to honor their fiscal obligation like the rest of Kenyans. Earlier during the day members resolved to oppose any move to tax their allowances at a speaker's Kamukunji held at parliament Old chambers. Only Kangundo member Johnstone Muthama disowned their resolutions. Muthama and Ndaragwa legislator Jeremiah Kioni have voluntarily written to the clerk and the speaker of the national assembly directing that their allowances be taxed.

President Mwai Kibaki at his Harambee house Tuesday received a title deed for a portion of land donated for the resettlement of internally displaced persons. The President received the title deed for the land measuring 23 acres from Revered Mr & Mrs Christopher Gichuhi. The piece of land is located in Nakuru district. The donors expressed their wish that the land be allocated to deserving and the neediest cases of landless internally displaced persons. President Kibaki thanked the couple for their generosity and compassion. The Head of State assured them that the land will only be allocated to deserving cases. The President noted that the Government will also forward to Rev Mr & Mrs Gichuhi the list and profile of all those who will benefit from the donated land.

South Africa's main opposition has accused the state intelligence services of hiring traditional healers to carry out a spiritual cleansing ceremony. The Democratic Alliance allege the ceremony at an office in the capital, Pretoria, will cost more than $70,000. "While we acknowledge the importance of spirituality in people's lives, these costs seem totally disproportionate," the DA's John Moodey said. There has been no comment so far from the intelligence services. According to the DA, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has asked 25 traditional healers - known as sangomas - to perform the ceremony. Each of the sangomas is to be paid 30,000 rand ($3,000, £2,000), the party said. "One wonders why such heavyweight cleansing ceremonies are necessary and whether this means immoral or illegal acts are being carried out there," Mr Moodey is quoted by South Africa's Times newspaper as saying.  South Africa has more than 200,000 traditional healers and more than half the population is believed to consult them.

The hue and cry from the consumer over the skyrocketing price of maize flour has set the government into action. The government and the association of cereal millers in the country have agreed to maintain the price of a two kilogram packet of maize flour at between 85 and 95 shillings. Agriculture Minister William Ruto said the price is expected to go down further in three weeks after the current shortage has been addressed. The price of a two kilogram packet of maize flour shot up from 85 shillings to 90 plus and in some outlets retailing at 120 shillings in the past week. Due to shortage in supply the retail outlets were also controlling the number of packets a consumer could buy many of them maintaining the number at six packets per consumer. Now the agriculture minister says the supply to the millers who buy directly from farmers has increased and is currently at 2000 and 3000 bags a day. The Cereal millers association has however asked the minister to be allowed to import maize duty free to increase the supply and also buy maize meant for the strategic reserve from the national cereals and produce board. The government is also considering increasing the current price of a 90kg bag of maize from 1700 once the proposal is approved by the cabinet. The government has also imported 700,000 bags of maize to add to the current strategic reserve which is at 5000 bags. But even as the two met in the boardroom, the current price of maize flour remains high to an average Kenyan who lives for less than a dollar a day.  

President Mwai Kibaki has elevated the Kenya College of Communications Technology (KCCT) to a Multimedia University College as a constituent college of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. KCCT, which, is currently owned by the Communications Commission of Kenya, is made up of the Schools of Engineering, Information Technology, Media and Communications, and Business. Prior to the elevation, the Commission for Higher Education had inspected KCCT facilities and concluded that it had the capacity to take an additional 2000 students in the first year of operation as a university college. The college currently admits 2100 students annually. The council of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has undertaken to nurture the newly created Multimedia University. Meanwhile, President Kibaki has appointed Prof. Justin Irina to be the Chairman of the Pwani University College Council for a period of three years.

Chancellor Alistair Darling's 2.5% cut in VAT aims to kick-start the economy by getting Britain spending, but shoppers at Europe's biggest urban retail outlet remain unconvinced. People at newly-opened Westfield in west London gave a lukewarm reaction to the reduction to 15%, with some calling it "vote manure" and "misguided". Retired manufacturing manager Peter Hounsom, 61, said the 2.5% cut would have no real impact on someone who had just lost their job. "It's a meaningless gesture. They're making appropriate noises, but what they're doing is not particularly meaningful. It's vote manure," he said. "I can't see it having an impact. They're just tinkering at the edges." Ilsa Boxer, a 37-year-old mother, said: "At this time of year, you will have to shop anyway. If you get 2.5% off, great, but so many shops are discounting anyway, it won't make much of a difference."

A search to nab illegal possessions at the Naivasha maximum GK prison on Monday turned chaotic as the hardcore inmates protested. The inmates beat on the metal grills with metallic tools chanting anti warden slogans and tossing human feaces and urine angrily at the prison wardens and journalists. The officers who were obviously outnumbered were forced to abandon their mission and seek safety after they were smeared by human waste. The over 1500 prisoners, screamed and sang anti warden songs as they decried the awful conditions they live in. The inmates cited poor food, mistreatment and poor sanitation. However after the three hour operation, over 20 mobile phones, several SIM cards, vandalized wires and other paraphernalia ranging from bhang to tobacco were recovered.  The officer in charge of the facility Patrick Mwenda says the search was mounted to nab contraband goods including mobile phones which inmates in the institution have reportedly been using to extort money from members of the public. A similar exercise at Kamiti Maximum Prison last week ended tragically when one prisoner reportedly died as warders were caught on camera torturing prisoners. Mwenda said the Kamiti incident had annoyed the inmates and that is why they vehemently opposed the operation.  He said though it was lawful to conduct the operation, the inmates remained adamant and boycotted meals to show their disapproval.  The Naivasha GK prison currently holds about 2500 inmates contrary to its capacity of 800 inmates. The inmates who live in a 5 square feet room per six people said they had not eaten anything since last night as they didn't want the operation conducted. Mwenda attributed the congestion at most reform facilities to the thousands of pending cases at law courts country wide.  Some of the appeal cases, Mwenda said, had been pending for close to 15 years as the appellants languished in prison. In April this year, warders country wide boycotted their duties for one week protesting inhumane working conditions and poor pay. A task force led by former legislator Madsen Madoka was instituted and despite having recommended some changes, they are yet to be implemented.

From the Seeds Archives - photo taken in 1966 - From left is the late Mr. Esorom Muracia Njiiri, young Karanja Njiiri, the late Senior Chief Njiiri wa Karanja, Ms Wambui Kariuki a mother of one now living in Cambridge, UK and far right is the late MP for Kigumo and Assistant Minister for Tourism Kariuki Njiiri. Kariuki Njiiri is well remembered because he vacated a Parliamentary Seat for Mzee Jomo Kenyatta when he came from detention. Kariuki graduated from United States in 1956.

London, Tuesday 25th November, 2008. Just when you thought the big freeze was over... another cold snap could hit the country in the coming days. Temperatures are expected to rise toward the middle of the week but then plummet again from Friday, forecasters warn. 'We can expect some wintry showers and eastern parts of the country and eastern Scotland will get cool again and below normal,' said John Hammond from the Met Office. 'At the moment, there looks like there'll be some cloud cover but if it breaks it is possible we will get sub-zero overnight temperatures again. It's certainly not going to be warm.' It was colder in areas of Cumbria and Lincolnshire at the weekend than it was in Russia as temperatures tumbled as low as -6ºC (21ºF) because of icy Arctic winds. 'Last weekend was unusually cold. Daytime temperatures only reached about 3ºC (37ºF) in some parts. That's way below average,' added Mr Hammond. 'It was because of northern winds coming in from Arctic regions but the worst of it has gone. 'Towards the middle of the week, it will get milder with country probably seeing daytime temperatures of about 10ºC (50ºF). 'Some hilly areas and the higher grounds in the north still might see some snow showers, though.'

Christmas shopping in UK will be cheaper this year thanks to a temporary 2.5% cut in VAT announced in the Pre-Budget Report, but purchasers of alcohol, cigarettes and fuel will not share in the savings. A 13-month reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15% announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling will come into effect on December 1 and cost the Treasury an estimated £12.5 billion.

At-a-glance: Pre-Budget report

Here are the key points from Chancellor Alistair Darling's 2009 pre-Budget report:

The chancellor said UK GDP contracted by 0.5% in the three months to September and economic growth this year is forecast to be 0.75% - down from the 2.5% he predicted in March. He slashed economic growth forecasts for 2009 from 2.75% to between minus 0.75% and minus 1.25%. Inflation is forecast to come down sharply, reaching 0.5% by the end of next year. In 2010 growth is forecast at between 1.5% and 2% - Mr Darling said the economy would continue to recover after that. He told MPs the PBR represented a £20bn fiscal stimulus between now and April 2010, 1% of GDP.

Borrowing will be taken to record levels, reaching £78bn this year - up from the £43bn he predicted earlier this year - and up to £118bn next year - equivalent to 8% of GDP. Mr Darling said that was the "right choice for the country". He said borrowing would fall from 2010 to £105bn, then to £87bn, £70bn and then £54bn so by 2016 Britain would once again be borrowing only to invest. UK net debt as a share of GDP will be 41% this year, 48% next year, then 53% and 57% in subsequent years.

£3bn capital spending is to be brought forward from 2010/11. The money will be used to increase motorway capacity, improve and build new social housing, renew primary and secondary schools and invest in energy efficiency measures. But there will be a sharp cut in the rate of growth in public spending, now expected to grow by 1.2% per year, a sharp decrease from the 1.8% previously planned. In addition, the government has pencilled in £5bn in efficiency savings by 2011.

VAT to be cut from 17.5% to 15% from 1 December 2008 until 31 December 2009. The chancellor urges retailers to pass it on as soon as they can. Alcohol and tobacco prices will not fall as duty on them will be increased to match the VAT cut.

A new 45% higher income tax rate is proposed for earnings above £150,000 from April 2011. Mr Darling says it will impact on 1% of people. The £120 rebate for basic rate taxpayers, introduced in the wake of the 10p tax row, is made permanent and increased to £145 from April. Mr Darling says it will benefit 22 million households - an extra 500,000 - "not just this year but for good".

From April 2011 all rates of National Insurance contributions are to be increased by 0.5% for all employees and employers. The starting point is to be raised to that of income tax - Mr Darling says no-one on less than £20,000 will see their NI contributions increase.

The pension credit will be increased in April from £124 to £130 a week for individuals and from £189 to £198 for couples. State pensions to rise in line with highest rate of inflation, from £90.70 to £95.25 for a single person. Pension and child benefit increases will take effect in January, three months early, and every pensioner gets a one-off payment of £60 from January while couples get £120.

The differential first-year rates on new cars will go ahead in April 2010 - but controversial new rates for older cars will be phased in. Duty rates for all cars will only increase by maximum of £5 from next year. In 2010 the maximum rise will be limited to £30 per car, rather than £90. Less polluting cars will see no increase, or a cut of up to £30.

 

While there had been support to reform APD to become a "tax per plane" rather than per person, the chancellor said that could harm the aviation industry which was facing "huge problems". Instead APD is to be reformed so that those who travel the furthest - and who have a bigger environmental impact - meet the cost, he said.

An extra £100m is to be provided, with a further £50m brought forward, to help 60,000 more households insulate their homes. Mr Darling said the government would invest £535m more quickly on energy efficiency, rail transport and environmental protection.

Exemption for foreign dividends for large and medium sized businesses confirmed, introduced in 2009. Small firms to get a temporary increase in threshold for empty property relief - for 2009/10 empty commercial properties with a rateable value below £15,000 exempt from business rates. Also struggling businesses will be able to spread their VAT, corporation tax and NI contribution payments over a longer timetable. Rise in corporation tax for small firms from 21p to 22p - planned for April 2009 - will be deferred. Tax repayment scheme for previously profitable businesses will be extended so up to £50,000 of losses can be offset against profits made over last three years. A £4bn deal has been agreed with the European Investment Bank to provide money to UK banks to pass onto small and medium-sized businesses.

Major mortgage providers have agreed to wait three months after falling into arrears before initiating repossession proceedings. The government will also seek European Commission approval to help the mortgage market by providing for a temporary period guarantees for securities backed by new mortgages.

New initiative to fill 500,000 job vacancies with 20 major employers by speeding up recruitment and improving access to training. A rapid response service will expand to help those thrown out of work in all redundancies. There will also be £15m funding for free debt advice.

Kutoka 26th November 2008, milango yote ya immigration hapa UK inafungwa mji mkuu. Ile njia imembaki ina fungwa 26th november kutoka hapo, kila application itatumwa mji mkuu from 27th November nilazima numerous checks zifanywe including vidole. Kama uko chini ama kesi yako imeisha na unataka kutuma application them inatakiwa uitume mwisho 26th November 2008 na stamp ya post office ionyeshe eti uliituma hiyo date. Kama pia uko na work permit ama any other leave, 26th November is the last date kuenda mji mkuu ndani kurenew visa.  Kutoka hapo ni lazima application zifanywe through post na form mpya from 27th November na zita take from 6 weeks, kwahivyo huwezi safiri mahari. Kama una shinda piga 07887894236.  

Timmy Mallett must have been rueing the day he hung up his famous pink mallet yesterday after being covered by 50,000 jungle bugs.The former children's TV presenter said he had feared his I'm A Celebrity... bushtucker trial would involve 'itsy bitsy teeny weeny' creepy crawlies and he was left with little to defend himself. He was plunged into a casket wearing little more than protective goggles - and a second pair of pants - before the cockroaches, mealworms, crickets and stink bugs were poured in. 'Something's crawling up my pants, oh, get out of my ear,' the 53-year-old squealed before successfully retrieving 12 stars from inside the tank. It was day eight in the jungle and Mallett was performing his first bushtucker trial since his late entry on Thursday. The former Wacaday host was charged with removing all 12 stars from the side of the bug-filled tank in three minutes. He did it with seconds to spare but admitted he had bolstered his chances by borrowing an extra protective underlayer from jungle-mate Brian Paddick. After being rewarded with a boar's leg to take to camp for dinner, he described the trial as 'utterly, utterly brilliant'. Meanwhile, Esther Rantzen told Page 3 girl Nicola McLean she lost her virginity to a Greek doctor on holiday. 'You minx! She turned into a slapper in Greece,' the model replied.

Tax raid on £40,000 earners in UK

Monday 24th November, 2008

A TAX rise of £3 a week for the better off was the sting in the tail of a “spend now, pain later” mini-Budget today. Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a half penny on National Insurance contributions from 2011 plus a new 45p top rate of income tax. Together with other tax measures, the National Insurance and income tax changes mean everyone earning above £40,000 will be worse off by at least £150 a year. It will help repay a massive cash injection of £20 billion over the next two years using borrowed money. Government borrowing will soar by an unprecedented amount — £300 billion over the next five years, including £118 billion next year. Shadow chancellor George Osborne said state debt would hit a new record high of one trillion pounds. The package was welcomed by the stock markets with the FTSE-100 index of shares soaring 9.84 per cent — the biggest one-day rise in history — to close up 372 at 4142.96. Unveiling a series of giveaways to get Britons spending their way out of recession, Mr Darling gave pensioners an extra £4.55 a week, with the rise to £95.25 for a single person being brought forward to January instead of waiting until April.

Pensioners will also get a £60 one-off payment in January to spend as they like, on top of the £10 Christmas bonus and the winter fuel allowance. Also accelerated is a big rise in child benefit — up by £1.20 to £20 a week for the first child. As widely trailed, VAT is cut from next week to 15 per cent to get the tills jingling at Christmas.  The lower rate lasts until 2010 — but petrol, cigarettes and alcohol are conspicuously excluded from the bonanza, as their duties will rise by the equivalent amounts. In another boost, the cut for basic rate taxpayers worth £120 announced earlier this year will be made permanent, at a cost to the Treasury of £3 billion a year. Dozens of spending projects adding up to £3 billion are being accelerated to support jobs during the slump. For the first time, Mr Darling confirmed that the economy is entering recession. Growth will stop next year and the economy will contract by between 0.75 per cent and 1.25 per cent. It will grow again a year from 2010 but Mr Darling said it could be 2016 before the public finances are back in balance. And having turned on the taps to get through the worst, he revealed how he will claw back the money from 2011 onwards — conveniently for Labour, the year after the likely election date.  Even bigger sums will be recouped by imposing an agonisingly tight corset on government spending. With the tax rises, that will crush some £16 billion from the economy in 2012. In effect Mr Darling and Gordon Brown are gambling that the economy will be recovering strongly enough by then to withstand the pain without being slowed down again. Mr Darling made a virtue of being open about the discomfort that will follow the national shopping spree. The halfpenny on National Insurance contributions will be the big earner for the Chancellor, who will be the first in memory to go into a general election openly boasting of his plans to raise tax afterwards. It will rake in £4 billion to £5 billion a year after 2011. By contrast the 45p tax rate on the very rich will raise a token £1.6 billion, hitting only 400,000 people who earn more than £150,000. People earning below £40,000 will be slightly wealthier, the Chancellor promised, because personal allowances will be raised to compensate them.  But anyone earning over £100,000 will be hit much harder than the rest, because their allowances will be tapered away over time. In a confident performance, often interrupted by heckling, Mr Darling told the Commons: “My aim is to provide support and protection for families and businesses when they need it most. “To maintain our commitment to investing in schools, hospitals and the nation's key infrastructure. And to put in place the measures necessary to ensure sound public finances in the medium term so that as a country we live within our means.

“Not one single initiative, but a comprehensive plan, to support families, business and the economy.” But his Tory shadow called it “a huge unexploded tax bombshell timed to go off underneath the future economic recovery”. Mr Osborne went on: “Stability has gone out of the window.  Prudence is dead. Tax giveaways for Christmas paid for by tax rises for life.” Mr Osborne said the Chancellor was giving away £20 billion but would claw back £40 billion. Sipping tap water at the Despatch Box, the Chancellor said public borrowing will rocket to £78 billion this year and £118 billion the following year — huge increases from the forecasts made in the Budget just eight months ago of £43 billion and £38 billion. A freefall in tax revenues from the City (down 35 per cent) and stamp duty (down 40 per cent) drove down the public finances. There were real fears in Government that it will be years before London's financial services are strong enough to deliver the massive tax revenues that Chancellors came to take for granted. From 2010 onwards the borrowing rate will stay at massive levels but will fall each year - to £105 billion, £87 billion, £70 billion, and then £54 billion.  Mr Darling defended his decision to tear up his borrowing rules, saying: “In the current circumstances, to apply the rules in a rigid manner would be perverse and damaging,” he said. “We would have to take money out of the economy, making a difficult situation worse.” He insisted that there was no alternative against a background of “economic uncertainty not seen for generations”. He went on: “I want to take fair and responsible steps to protect and support businesses and people now — while putting the public finances on the right path for the future.” The bitter medicine of tax rises was mainly to soothe nerves in the City, where there were fears that bond markets would be spooked by the scale of the borrowing binge. But it also sets the scene for a bloody political showdown between Mr Brown and David Cameron at the next election.  Among the £3 billion of spending projects originally planned for 2010 and being brought forward are school and hospital refurbishments, new railway carriages, and minor road improvements.  A project to install insulation in council homes and other social housing will create extra jobs. The 2012 Olympics is expected to support thousands of construction jobs to help bridge the slump in London. A package of measures is be aimed at helping small firms. A special loan guarantee scheme will see the Government underwrite 75 per cent of the risk when banks lend to small firms.  A 1p rise in the small companies rate of corporation tax planned for April will be delayed. Revenue and Customs has been ordered to give small firms extra time to pay their tax bills if they seek help.  To stem an exodus of firms, tax relief will be given on dividends paid on earnings overseas.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates holding a Saudi supertanker after the largest hijacking in maritime history have reduced their ransom demand to $15 million, an Islamist leader and regional maritime group both said on Monday. The November 15 capture of the Sirius Star -- with $100 million of oil and 25 crew members from Britain, Poland, Croatia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines -- has focused world attention on rampant piracy off the failed Horn of Africa state. Scores of attacks this year have brought millions of dollars of ransom payments, hiked up shipping insurance costs, sent foreign naval patrols rushing to the area, and left about a dozen boats with more than 200 hostages still in pirate hands. The gang had originally been quoted as wanting $25 million to release the Sirius Star, which was captured far from Somali waters about 450 nautical miles southeast of Kenya.

UK Pre-Budget Report - the documents

Chancellor Alistair Darling has delivered his second pre-Budget Report unveiling his latest tax and economic forecasts and future departmental spending plans.

OTHER DOCUMENTS

Aviation duty: response to consultation 396[KB]

The case for a concerted international fiscal response [854KB]

End of year fiscal report [404KB] The Enterprise Investment Scheme: summary of responses [313KB]

Evidence on the economic cycle [713KB]

Final report on the efficiency programme [613KB]

The government's fiscal framework [516KB]

Meeting the economic challenges in every region [378KB]

Principles based approach to financial products avoidance [803KB]

Public finances and the cycle [445KB]

A report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the Rights Issue Review [3,129KB]

Review of the taxation of foreign profits - part 1 [1,020KB] Review of the taxation of foreign profits - part 2 [1,021KB]

Simplification review: Corporation tax calculations and returns for smaller companies - a discussion document [268KB]

Supporting investment: A consultation on the North Sea fiscal regime [1,111KB]

The UK economy: Addressing long term strategic challenges [595KB] Temporary reduction of the standard rate of VAT [1,845KB]

Pre-Budget Report 2008: Data sources [984KB]

Pre-Budget Report 2008: Supplementary charts and tables [516KB]

Pre-Budget Report 2008: Tax ready reckoner and reliefs [516KB]

Narok leaders threaten to evict Mau inhabitants. Controversy over the Mau forest has deepened with Narok civic leaders threatening to evict inhabitants of the forest if the government does not implement its resettlement programme within seven days. The councilors claim massive destruction is going on in the forest and urged the government to evict the occupants in a week's time failure to which they would mobilize the community to forcibly evict them. They also took issue with some politicians from Rift Valley for politicizing the issue instead of educating their communities on the importance of forest conservation.  The leaders said Mau forest does not belong to one ethnic group and its conservation is for the benefit of the nation.  A section of the Rift Valley MPs has strongly opposed the planned Mau evictions in a matter that at one point seemed to put Prime Minister Raila Odinga who supports the evictions on a collision course with his colleague in ODM, agriculture minister William Ruto. The MPS claim the squatters acquired the land legally and have a right to live there despite the government's declaration that they must move out in order to conserve the forest which is a major water catchment area. National heritage minister William Ntimama is on the record as having castigated his agriculture counterpart saying no one can claim rights to the forest which is a national treasure. Ntimama also ruled out the issue of compensation saying people who encroach on government land should not expect to be compensated once they are kicked out.

The Ministry of Health in Kenya has officially launched voluntary male circumcision as part of its comprehensive national HIV prevention strategy.  One billion shillings has been set aside to facilitate acquisition of materials for the programme over the next two years.  Six districts in Nyanza province have been earmarked to kick start the Programme before it is rolled out to other parts of the country. Years of simultaneous studies carried out in Uganda, South Africa and Kisumu in Kenya proved male circumcision reduces HIV infection in men by 60%.  The findings are endorsed by the World Health Organization. The ministry of health on Monday took the bull by the horns and officially endorsed voluntary male circumcision to be integrated as part of its existing prevention programmes by giving national guidelines as well as a launching a clinical manual. However the ministry is quick to caution against the notion that male circumcision is the answer to the rapid spread of HIV. In addition family health international has received a 1.5 trillion shillings grant from the Bill Gates Foundation to establish a male circumcision consortium over the next 5 years. The consortium will be charged to conduct further research and training activities on the safest and most effective ways to provide voluntary male circumcision as a preventive measure to HIV. Adoption of male circumcision as a preventive measure will see Kenya make great strides in its war against the epidemic.

Nine out of ten hospitals in UK failed to meet hygiene rules put in place to tackle superbugs, according to the results of spot checks published today.  Just five health trusts out of 51 were complying with the guidelines despite fears over the spread of infections such as MRSA and C-difficile.  More than half of the trusts did not keep all areas within their hospitals clean and well maintained.

A mother of three was over the weekend battered to death by her husband over a domestic row in Litein, Bureti. Joyce Cherotich Bett, 33, was beaten to death by her husband when she arrived home on Saturday (22nd November, 2008) morning after spending the night in a disco in Litein town. David Bett Alias ‘Dakibe' is said to have lied to his wife that he was going on a business trip and that he would not be home over the weekend in a bid to catch her at her game.   Upon returning home in the dead of the night, he found his house locked from the outside while the children slept inside.  Litein police Chief Charles Munyoli speaking to KNA in Litein said the suspect who has since been arrested told the police that he decided to discipline his wife for her waywardness with a whip after she arrived home in the morning while drunk. Munyoli said the suspect descended on his wife and beat her senseless. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Litein Mission Hospital. Munyoli said the suspect will appear in court when interrogations are completed. Meanwhile police in Kisumu are investigating an incident where a woman was reportedly murdered and a man found lying unconscious next to her body at Obunga Estate in Kisumu town. The 22 year old woman identified only as Damaris had deep cuts all over the body. Nyanza Provincial Police Boss Anthony Kibuchi said the man is undergoing treatment at the New Nyanza Provincial General Hospital. Elsewhere in Kisii the body of a 66-year-old woman identified as Yusafia Kemunto was found near a stream with deep cuts. Kibuchi said police are investigating the incident. Meanwhile a man stunned villagers when he set his mother's house on fire in Hamisi District, demanding that she gets married elsewhere. The man, Walter Musungu, is said to have picked a quarrel with his brother and when the mother tried to intervene, he collected her clothes and beddings and heaped them in the sitting room where he set them on fire. The man locked the house and started hurling insults at her, prompting her to raise the alarm. Efforts by the villagers to put out the fire were fruitless and the house was reduced to a shell.  

A Kenyan has passed away in the UK.  The late Emmanuel Njenga passed away at a Glasgow hospital on Friday 21 November, 2008 after a long illness. He was a brother to Pastor Lukas Njenga of Glasgow, Scotland.  Sources says that he a suffering from cancer. Friends and family are meeting at the house of Rev Dr Lukas Njenga, 1515 Maryhill Rd Glasgow G20 9AB. Funeral will be held in Glasgow, full details to follow. You can call or text 078284551760 or email njengasn@yahoo.co.uk. Contributions can sent Lloyds TSB Sort code 87-37-43 A/c 75474168 A/c title C F Khowa. Please email or call with details of your contribution to record and acknowledge receipt. God bless you for your support.

The late Emmanuel Njenga

The funeral service of the late Macharia Kihoro  will be held on Tuesday, 25/11/08 at 1.00 p.m at the Church of the Holy Family, Vale Lane, London W3 0DY.  Church contact: 0208 992 1308.

The Catholic Church on Sunday warned against attempts to sweep the recommendations of the Waki report under the carpet. Catholic bishop John Cardinal Njue said it would be a sign of worse to come if those implicated were not prosecuted. “We have taken our stand and would like to see measures to have it implemented put in place,” he said. Speaking at an ordination ceremony at the Saint Peters seminary in Kakamega, Cardinal Njue said Kenyans would not accept attempts to trash the report. Kakamega Bishop Phillip Sulumeti read a pastoral letter outlining the Catholic bishops’ stand.  He said reconciliation could only be achieved if Kenyans knew the truth. “We are appealing to Christians to move resolutely towards reconciliation and help heal the ethic divisions,” he said. And PNU secretary general George Nyamweya, said his party would oppose attempts to establish a local tribunal to try the alleged perpetrators.  He said the suspects should face the International Criminal Court. - Daily Nation.

Former president Daniel arap Moi, PM Raila Odinga and deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi during the burial of former Minister Reuben Chesire in Kasoiyo village, Baringo on Saturday 22nd November, 2008 and on right the widow Mrs Chesire during the burial ceremony.  

Kenya Guinness Book of Records is being launched in Kenya on Thursday 27th November, 2008 and later in the UK

Hi-tech thieves who specialise in card fraud have a credit line in excess of $5bn (£3.35bn), research suggests. Symantec calculated the figure to quantify the scale of fraud it found during a year-long look at the internet's underground economy. Credit card numbers were the most popular item on sale and made up 31% of all the goods on offer. Coming in second were bank details which made up 20% of the items being offered on criminal chat channels. The $5.3bn figure was reached by multiplying the average amount of fraud perpetrated on a stolen card, $350 (£234), by the many millions Symantec observed being offered for sale. Similarly, the report said, if hi-tech thieves plundered all the bank accounts it saw being offered for sale they could net up to $1.7bn. Symantec said it was likely that many of the cards offered for sale were invalid or cancelled and bank accounts closed but it added: "These figures are indicative of the value of the underground economy and the potential worth of the market." Credit card numbers were proving so popular among hi-tech thieves because they were easy to obtain and use for fraudulent purposes. Many of the methods favoured by cyber criminals, such as phishing schemes, database attacks and magnetic strip skimmers, are designed to steal credit card information. The existence of a ready market for any stolen data and the growing use of credit cards also helped maintain their popularity, it said. "High frequency use and the range of available methods for capturing credit card data would generate more opportunities for theft and compromise and, thus, lead to an increased supply on underground economy servers," said the report. The year-long look at the underground economy confirmed to Symantec how serious and organised cyber thieves have become. Via the covert chat channels and invitation-only discussion forums hi-tech thieves form loose alliances, contact those who specialise in one technique or find individuals who can extract cash from particular credit cards or financial institutions. Russian and Eastern European gangs seem to be among the most well-organised and, said the report, have the ability to mass-produce credit and debit cards. By contrast thieves in the US are much more loosely aligned. But, it said, all the criminals were happy to work together to steal money from credit cards and bank accounts. "Symantec research indicates that there is a certain amount of collaboration and organisation occurring on these forums, especially at the administrative level," it said. "Moreover, considerable evidence exists that organised crime is involved in many cases."

LEFT: News that those with top salaries will face higher taxes as Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling aim to reduce a borrowing bill that will reach £120bn next year makes the front page of The Times. CENTRE: A crusade against the threat of hundreds of thousands of families losing their homes is launched on The Daily Express' front page. RIGHT: The Guardian says Mr Darling is threatening legislation to stop banks withdrawing cheap mortgages and credit lines as he unveils a package of VAT cuts in his pre-Budget report.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for central and northern England. Heavy rain coming in from the Atlantic turned to turn to snow when it hit the cold Arctic air settled over the country this morning. Although most places have seen flurries of the white stuff, some areas in central and south east England were due to get heavy snow falls. Even the capital has had a dusting. But the white flakes have been turning back to rain and the weather has started to thaw this afternoon as the sun comes out in many places. Weather forecasters warned the rain falling on freezing ground would form black ice, leading to treacherous driving conditions. Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said many regions could see several centimetres of snow. "Western parts of the south should stay quite mild at 6C or 7C but plenty of showers are being brought in," she said. The rest of the week is likely to be on the cool side for much of the country, leading to another chilly weekend, although no more snow is expected.

2008 Redds Africa Fashions Design Awards winner Francis Mwaura with model Emma Wareus rejoice on stage at Gaborone International Convention Centre on Saturday night. He barely says a word and is annoyingly shy. And on Saturday night, that did not prevent Francis Mwaura from being crowned the winner of the Redds Fashion Design Awards at the prestigious continental finals held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre in Botswana. The 22-year-old student of Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts dazzled the adoring audience and won the hearts of the judges with his butterfly outfit. According to him, the butterfly outfit represents the human desire to fly higher and succeed. He floored other young talented designers from seven other African countries. The outfit, which won him a $5,000 (Sh395,000) cash prize, consists of a miniskirt and a vest-like top made of sisal, wool and reeds. It has a pair of wings at the back made of reeds joined together with wire, which is why it’s called butterfly outfit. In design terms, this kind of outfit is referred to as avant-garde, which simply means that it is to showcase the designer’s creativity and inspiration. It is not the kind of outfit that you can expect a person to wear in real life. The argument is that a fashion designer who is able to design and showcase an imaginative avant-garde outfit will almost certainly excel in designing clothes that can be won in real life. “I’m happy with the win, it’s a dream come true for me. It’s yet to sink in, but I’m just so happy,” an emotional Francis told the Nation, tears flowing down his cheeks. He dedicated the win to his ailing mother Rose Njeri Njoroge. He credits his mother for introducing him to fashion design. - Daily Nation

The closure of the giant Milling Corporation of Kenya (MCK) in Nakuru Town a few months ago was a sign that all was not well in the maize meal production sector among other industries. The firm was the manufacturer of Ugali maize meal and a variety of animal feeds before its fortunes came tumbling. The Milling Corporation of Kenya was initially a State parastatal but was sold in the late 1990s to individuals. Sources told the Daily Nation that the management of the milling firm had been negotiating with a Mombasa firm for a joint venture but no deal had been reached by the time of its closure.  The source further said that the management of MCK wanted to retain the animal feed unit while the Mombasa firm was to take over the maize meal unit because it is cheaper to produce the latter than the former thus make reasonable profits. The Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers national assistant secretary general, Mr Dickens Alela, says MCK was among food processing industries that had been hard hit by the high cost of production.  He said that he had been holding meetings with about 80 of the firm’s employees who were sent on compulsory leave in June due to the hard times.   Mr Alela said that Njoro Canners in the neighbourhood of Egerton University had laid off 15 employees owing to the huge electricity bills which had literally crippled the unit that processes French beans for export. According to him, the factory used to pay a monthly bill of Sh800,000 which shot up to Sh1.7 million a month. The factory has been exporting canned beans to France since 1982 and also supplies the same products to the local market.  Despite Njoro Canners having the best freezing plant in East and Central Africa, Mr Alela said, its operations had been greatly hampered by the high power costs. He said that the firm had 85 employees who are members of KUCFAW although it hires about 150 casuals when the business is good.  The Nakuru Rural Water and Sanitation Company has also been hard hit by the high electricity bills and has asked for intervention, as it did with the fertiliser prices, so that the cost of water does not rise to levels that most consumers cannot afford.  Mr Alela said most manufacturing plants were not hiring permanent staff to replace retiring ones as a way of managing skyrocketing costs of production. “Some of the firms are now contracting employees instead of hiring them on permanent terms,” Mr Alela said. He said that the most recent firm to be shut down was the Rift Valley Products which used to manufacture cooking oils. “The management laid off their 64 employees before closing down due to the high production costs,” he said.  - Daily Nation.

Singer Wahu Mathenge who was named the best female artiste at the inaugural MTV Africa Music Awards in Abuja, Nigeria. Kenyan singer Wahu Mathenge won the best female artist prize at the inaugural MTV Africa Music Awards.  Wahu, who was nominated in two categories for her Sweet Love song, fought off stiff competition from Nigerians Asa and Sasha, Dama Do Bling from Mozambique and South African Zonke to claim the award last Saturday night at The Velodrome, in Abuja, Nigeria. The best male award went to Nigerian DJiban, who trounced our own Jua Cali, among others, in the Zain sponsored event. For Wahu, this was probably the sweetest victory in her career, and as expected, she dedicated the award to her musician husband Nameless and their daughter Tamiso, who the song is all about. - Daily Nation.

Police in Kenya have smashed a human trafficking syndicate in Nairobi and rescued 76 women who were being transported to Saudi Arabia. The women, who had been booked in at a lodge in River Road for the past one week, were rescued following a tip off from the public.  They were taken to the Central Police Station where they recorded statements. Central Divisional Police boss Richard Muguai told The Standard on Saturday a businesswoman suspected to have recruited the women was arrested.  "We are interrogating the recruiter. She says she was contacted by a Saudi businessman who asked her to assemble 100 women or more who will be offered jobs in Saudi Arabia," he said.  The police have not established the exact jobs the women were to take up in Saudi Arabia. They say the woman claims to have been given money to cater for medical tests, visa and travel fees. Muguai said investigation had been extended to the Immigration Ministry to establish circumstances in which the women were issued with visas and other documents. "This is a major syndicate and that is why we want to know more. It is not possible for such a large group of women to just get such documents. For them to prepare to leave the country, various Government departments must be aware of how the documents were being issued," he said. Muguai said the women mainly from Coast, Central and Western Provinces had been converted to Islam. There were also Ethiopians and Somalis. "These women have been living in deplorable conditions. They have been sharing a room up to 15 of them at the lodging and that is what concerned those who tipped us off," he said. One of the women told journalists they were being paid a daily allowance of Sh125 besides the meals and accommodation. - The Standard.

The photos was take on 2nd June 1960. The late Senior Chief wa Karanja the grandfather of Mr. Seed posing with some of his family. He had 43 wives and slight less than a hundred children, hundreds of grandchildren and thousands of great-grandchildren. He had a car, several horses and thousands of cows, goats and sheeps. His homestead occupied 5 acres. My Seed's grandmother on right of Chief Njiiri.

Pastor Lukas Njenga has lost his brother Emmanuel Njenga on Glasgow on Friday 21st November, 2008. For more information please contact 07826395849.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson's advisers are to study the potential benefits of an amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Mayor of London has revealed. He moved to reopen the debate over how to deal with hundreds of thousands of people working illegally in the UK, insisting that simply deporting them was "just not going to happen". Mr Johnson's comments risk opening a rift between himself and Tory leader David Cameron, with whom he openly clashed on the issue of an amnesty earlier this year. Speaking to Channel 4 News, the Conservative mayor said that allowing long-term illegal immigrants to earn the right to stay in Britain would see "hugely increased" tax revenues. Of the 700,000 thought to be working illegally in the UK, about 400,000 are in London. "What I want to do is to commission a study by my own economics team here at the Greater London Authority into the possibility," he said. "We want to look in detail at what the economic impact of such an earned amnesty system would be." He acknowledged that illegal immigrants had broken the law and should "in principle" be deported. But he added: "Unfortunately it is just not going to happen." Mr Johnson insisted that he did not want to incentivise illegal immigration but said there were significant legal and financial obstacles to mass deportations. He suggested that those allowed to stay would have to be at least five years resident and able to demonstrate their commitment "to this society and to this economy."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson

Third quarter removals at a six year high

Home Office, 19 November 2008

Quarterly control of immigration and quarterly accession monitoring statistics published today. More people were removed from the country between July and September this year than in any other third quarter since 2002, the Home Office announced today. In the three months to September this year 17, 525 people were removed - a nine per cent increase on the same period the previous year and the highest number of removals in any third quarter for six years. This included a 14 per cent increase in non asylum removals - a group that includes foreign national prisoners - with removals increasing from 12,680 in the third quarter of 2007 to 14,405 in the same period this year. This is further evidence that the Home Office is succeeding in its commitment to remove anyone who has no right to be here - with a focus on targeting the most harmful first. Last year the UK Border Agency removed over 4,200 foreign prisoners and today's figures suggest it is well on track to meet its tough target to remove 5,000 before the end of 2008. In the first six months of this year over 2,500 foreign prisoners were removed - a 23 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

"The huge shake-up we have made to the immigration system is paying off. Our borders are tougher than ever before, asylum applications remain low, and we are removing record numbers of foreign law breakers. "Last year someone was removed every eight minutes - including more than 4,200 foreign national prisoners. Today's figures show that we are well on track to kick out even more this year." To speed up the removal process further still, the Government announced earlier this year that the capacity of the immigration detention estate will be increased by 60 per cent, with an additional 1,300 to 1,500 spaces for immigration offenders within two years. A dramatic drop in the number of Eastern Europeans registering to work in the United Kingdom was recorded by other statistics published by the Home Office today. The Accession Monitoring Report shows that the number of applications from A8 nationals looking for work fell from 59,000 between July and September 2007 to 38,000 in the same period this year - a drop of 36 per cent. Applications are now at their lowest level since the eight accession countries joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Applications for accession worker cards and registration certificates from Bulgaria and Romania - the A2 nations - have also fallen to record lows. There were 6,515 applications from these two nations between July and September this year - a drop of 31 per cent from the same period last year when there were 9,470.

Mr Woolas said:

"Today's figures show a dramatic drop in the number of Poles coming here to work this year - suggesting that regeneration in Poland is encouraging people to stay in their home country. On top of this our new points system means only those from outside Europe with the skills we need will be able to work or study here and no more. "Had the points system been in place last year there would have been a 12 per cent reduction in the number of people coming here to work through the equivalent work permit route." Border security is tougher than ever - nearly 16,000 individual attempts to enter the United Kingdom illegally were prevented between April and October this year - a sixty per cent increase from the same period last year. In 2007 asylum applications were at their lowest level since 1993 and they remain low, with 6,620 applications in this quarter. A performance document published today confirms that the United Kingdom ranked 11th in Europe in terms of asylum seekers per head. It also showed that last year failed asylum seeker removals did not exceed the number of anticipated unfounded asylum claims - this reflects the Government's focus on targeting the most harmful people first. The UK Border Agency's success in this is illustrated by the fact that last year they removed nearly 50,000 non asylum seekers and lawbreakers - the highest level since 2002.These figures are released as the Home Office carries out the biggest shake-up of the immigration system in a generation, including the introduction of:

• a tough new Australian-style points system to allow only the workers Britain needs to come here;
• the fingerprinting of every visa applicant from across the globe - so far more than 3.1 million sets of fingerprints have been taken, detecting over 4,400 cases of identity swaps; and
• civil penalties targeting those employing illegal workers - since February over 1,000 fines worth nearly £10 million pounds have been issued.
•  

Later this month the Government will introduce compulsory ID cards for all foreign nationals. These will lock people to one identity and - in time - help businesses who employ foreign workers to crack down on illegal working.

Postal route for tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system

Home Office, 21 November 2008

Between the 27 November 2008 and 1 April 2009, applicants in the United Kingdom will be able to apply for tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system using the postal route only. There will be no premium service. Our service standard for processing tier 2 and 5 applications is six weeks until April 2009. We realise that it may be difficult for frequent travellers to be without their passport for this length of time. If you need to travel a lot out of the United Kingdom with your work before 26 November and your permission to stay ends between now and April 2009, you can apply for a new work permit using the existing process between now and the 26 November. If your work permit application is successful, you can then apply for the permission to stay using the Premium Service offered at a Public Enquiry Office. If you need to travel a lot after 27 November and permission to stay ends between now and April 2009, you can apply using the premium postal service. Applicants can apply using the premium postal service if they meet the following requirements:

• they are paying by credit or debit card;
• they can show that they need to travel overseas regularly;
• they plan to travel within six weeks of submitting their application;
• they are extending their stay in the United Kingdom doing the same job and working for the same sponsor;
• they are working for an A-rated sponsor.

We aim to make a decision on the application within one week of the payment clearing. This is not a guarantee that we will decide in one week. If your application does not meet the requirements above, we will tell the applicant and aim to make the decision within our normal time of six weeks. Our decision on which applications we will consider to be premium postal service applications is final. We will publish more detailed information about the service before 27 November on this website.

Women who change their names after marriage could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to tell the Government, it was revealed. Anyone holding a biometric passport or ID card will be required to notify the National Identity Register of changes to the personal data it holds. Draft legislation sets out the fines payable by anyone who fails to comply. The Home Office also revealed the £30 fixed fee for the cost of the card is set only until 2010. Most people are likely to pay more when large scale issuing of cards begins in 2011 or 2012, it emerged. The personal details which must be kept up to date include name, address, nationality and even gender. Special provisions have been made for people undergoing sex changes. Transgendered people will have two cards at the same time, one for their old identity and a new one for when they have completed their sex change. Fines will also apply if cardholders fail to report their cards lost or stolen, and will be enforceable by the civil courts. The consultation document states fines are "not intended to be punitive or revenue raising". Officials stress card holders will usually have the fines waived if they agree to have their data updated when the errors emerge. They say the penalties are necessary to ensure the information on the database remains current.

LEFT: The Daily Express says it's going to get colder than Siberia this weekend with daytime temperatures dropping to minus five. CENTRE: The Independent reports that the Government's using the threat of a wholesale nationalisation of banks to force them to lend to struggling small businesses. RIGHT: The FT claims the Citigroup bank's board has been locked in crisis talks after it lost more than half its market value in the past three days.

Points-based system - dates for submission of applications

Home Office 18 November 2008

On 27 November 2008, tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system will open for applications. As these tiers open we will close down the schemes which they replace. These schemes are:

• Work permits
• Sportspeople and entertainers
• Overseas qualified nurses and midwives
• Representatives of overseas media organisations
• Airport ground crew
• Some seafarers including those working on vessels on one-port voyages
• Missionaries and minsters of religion
• China graduate work experience scheme
• Training and work experience scheme
• Overseas government employees
• General agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
• Domestic workers in diplomatic households
• Voluntary workers
• Working holidaymaker scheme
• Au pairs
• Gap year
• Japan: youth exchange scheme

For details of these schemes and the categories which are remaining open you should see the page how changes affect you on our website. If you would like your application for one of the schemes which is closing to be considered you must make your application to us by the following dates:

• postal applications will be considered if they have a postmark of 26 November 2008 or before;
• applications by courier must be received at our commercial partner by 5pm on
  Wednesday 26 November 2008; and
• e-apps will close on midnight 26 November 2008 and no further applications will be accepted.

Any applications received after this point will be rejected and returned. Bulgarian and Romanian nationals and those impacted by the workers registration scheme will be unaffected by the above immigration rule changes. Businesses wishing to employ nationals of these countries do not need to be licensed as a sponsor. If you would like to apply under tiers 2 and 5 you can use the points-based calculator to see if you have enough points before applications open on the 27 November 2008.

Nairobi, Friday 21st November, 2008. There was jubilation at the high courts Friday when the court of appeal ruled in favor of three members of parliament. The high court was filled with a wave of jubilation immediately after the court of appeal ruled in favor of Chirau Ali Makwere, following an election petition challenging his election as Matuga MP. The court of appeal faced out the petition on the grounds that upon serving the minister with the petition papers the returning officer was never served with the papers and hence the judge could not make a ruling on this basis. Meanwhile an appeal by Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru against a ruling made over scrutiny and recount of all the votes to ascertain the valid votes garnered by each of the parliamentary candidates has to wait. Maina Kamanda is challenging the election of Bishop Wanjiru .At the same time, Stanley Livondo lost an appeal against Langata Mp Raila Odinga. Livondo wanted Raila to appear in court in person and testify whether he was served with election petition papers in person or not.However the main application continues. In another case, The hearing of the 5.8 billion shillings Goldenberg case against  former  Central Bank of Kenya  Eric Kotut has been quashed. High court judges ruled that the findings of the Goldenberg commission were irrelevant and could not substantiate for police investigations at the high court. Kotut had argued that the Bosire led inquiry report was flawed and defective and he should not be charged on its basis.

The Kenya government will construct a multi million shillings museum at the Nyang'oma Kogelo home of the United States of America president elect, Barrack Obama's grand parents, tourism minister, Najib Balala has said.

A 35-year-old man jailed for his part in a multi-million pound VAT fraud must repay £26m to the government. The repayment order on Craig Johnson who is serving 12-and-a-half years, was made at a confiscation hearing. Among the assets he must sell are a helicopter, his stately home near Stone in Staffordshire, two Bentleys and an Aston Martin. The fraud is one of the largest thefts from public funds that has been brought to court after a Customs investigation. - CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ASSETS

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Two-month halt for Honda production

London, Friday 21st November, 2008. Car giant Honda is to halt production at its UK plant for two months next year in the wake of the "dramatic change" in the global market. The plant at Swindon will not produce any cars next February and March, although none of the 4,800 workers will be laid off. The Japanese firm is the latest carmaker to scale back production because of the economic downturn, following previous announcements affecting production of cars including the Mini, Nissan and Land Rover models. Honda had already planned to have 13 non-production days at Swindon next February but has decided to extend the cutback and will also scale back carmaking at two plants in Japan and the United States. A company spokesman said there would no redundancies at Swindon and workers would still be paid. The plant produces the Civic and CR-V models and is due to start production of the small car Jazz next autumn. The spokesman said Honda wanted to keep the workforce intact in readiness for the new car. The company said in a statement: "Honda has announced a plan to adjust automobile production at its UK factory in Swindon for the current fiscal year in response to a dramatic change in the global automobile market. "In addition to 32,000 units production adjustment between December 2008 and March 2009 that had previously been announced, production at Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd (HUM) will be further adjusted by 21,000 units. "This will be achieved by suspending production for 29 days during the months of February and March 2009, combined with 13 non-production days previously planned in this period. Therefore HUM will stop all vehicle production in February and March 2009. There are no plans for redundancies." Honda said it was reducing car production at Swindon in the current financial year from an originally announced 228,000 units to 175,000 units.

London, Friday 21st November, 2008. More than 11,000 homes were repossessed during the third quarter of the year, 12% higher than in the second quarter, new figures show. The Council of Mortgage Lenders' data showed 11,300 homes were repossessed in the third quarter of the year. Despite the increase, the CML said it still expected about 45,000 repossessions this year.  However, the CML said the number of households in mortgage arrears by the end of the year was likely to exceed forecasts as its figures showed 168,000 households were in arrears at the end of September, 8% higher than the 155,600 at the end of June. According to Ministry of Justice figures, 29,516 mortgage possession orders have been made in courts in England and Wales by all lenders in the third quarter, 24% higher than in the same period in 2007. However, 47% of orders were suspended and not all of them will lead to a home being repossessed. Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said: "We are determined that households should have access to as much help as possible to cope in the tougher times ahead, and we will do everything we can to ensure repossession is always a last resort.  "The Government is taking action to protect the most vulnerable families from repossession, including a new court protocol to make sure lenders are exploring all avenues before making a claim in the courts, a £200 million mortgage rescue scheme, more free legal representation in county courts, and more free debt advice.  "Lenders need to be doing everything they can to help families facing difficulties. We are continuing to work closely with them to look at what more we can do and plan to make further announcements shortly."

London, Thursday 20th November, 2008. Oil prices have fallen below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2005 amid fears of a recession and expectations that demand will drop. US light sweet crude fell to $49.06, while London-traded Brent crude fell to $48.90 a barrel. The price of oil is around two-thirds cheaper than in July, when it hit a record above $147 a barrel. Members of oil cartel Opec are to meet on November 29, after opting to cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day. "The lack of any positive news on the demand front as well as continued global economic turmoil continues to result in a dearth of bullish news," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director of Hudson Capital Energy. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it expected the US economy to shrink in the first half of next year, adding to fears over lower demand for fuel. Figures from the Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed US stocks of crude oil increased by 1.6 million barrels last week - twice as much as expected. Meanwhile figures from Japan showed the country experienced its second trade deficit in three months in October, with exports 7.7% lower year-on-year. Amid signs of the wider slowdown, investors and hedge funds have been turning to cash, and away from commodities.

Residents view what remained of the Kiambaa Assemblies of God church that was burnt during the post-election violence. The remains of some of those who died in the arson attack are yet to be buried. Nearly one year after they perished, the victims of the Kiambaa church tragedy in Uasin Gishu District are yet to be identified. Meanwhile, the Government maintains an astounding silence over the issue. Sources from the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, said there are 33 uncollected bodies still lying at the hospital’s morgue pending DNA identification.  But Rift Valley provincial commissioner Hassan Noor Hassan and Uasin Gishu district police boss Muinde Kioko declined to  comment on the issue, saying it would undermine an on-going court case. - Daily Nation

ITV News science editor Lawrence McGinty travels to the land of the polar bear with some of the world’s most eminent scientists to discover the truth about the plight of this animal that has become an icon of climate change. - CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Mr. Edward Waweru well known as Rashid of Nottingham, UK has lost his wife back in Kenya the late Mrs. Mary Njeri Waweru on Wednesday 19th November 2008 after long fight with cancer bravely born at Avenue hospital Nairobi. She hailed from Ting’ang’a village Ndumberi location, Kiambu district-Kenya. She was wife to Mr. Edward Waweru (Rashid) of Nottingham UK. She was mother to Stephen Murira of Corby- UK and Alex Kimani Waweru of Ongata Rongai Academy. She was daughter to Stephen Murira Wakayu and Gradys Waceke Murira, of Gathanji village in Githuguri, Kiambu.  Family and friends are meeting at No. 14 Hayling drive, Whitemoor, Nottingham NG8 5EY from 6.00pm for prayers and funeral arrangements. For more information please contact: Rashid Waweru: Tel: 07944627994 or 07886669115, Sam Waweru Gakunga: Tel: 07884107028 or 07961297616, Joseph Njoroge: Tel: 07832389025. For contributions please use the following account: Barclays Bank, Joseph N. Njoroge, AC: 00465070, Sort Code: 20-92-54.

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London, Thursday 20th November, 2008. Singer Michael Jackson is to give evidence at London's High Court to counter allegations that he breached a music contract with an Arab sheikh. The star is due to appear in court next week after his lawyer announced that he had been cleared by his medical advisers to travel from the US. Mr Jackson, 50, is expected to arrive in the UK over the weekend and will give evidence on Monday afternoon. An application for him to appear via video link was withdrawn. "He has been cleared by his medical advisers to travel in two days' time," said the pop star's barrister, Robert Englehart QC. The King of Bahrain's second son, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, claims Mr Jackson reneged on a music deal. He is suing the performer for £4.7 million, claiming that under their agreement, an album, stage play and candid autobiography were to be produced. The Bahraini royal gave evidence on Thursday, and agreed under questioning that Mr Jackson is an "emotionally vulnerable" person. But he added that he was a "delightful" person and always "with it".

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced plans to create 50,000 affordable homes and kickstart the housing market.The Mayor said he wanted to build the ambitious total, including 30,000 social housing units, within three years. The £5 billion scheme will attempt to get middle-income families on the property ladder and ditch previous mayor Ken Livingstone's target that all new schemes are 50 per cent affordable.Mr Johnson said: "These plans aim to put London on a strong footing for the eventual upturn in the housing market."  The scheme will see:

? Stalled developments receiving public money to go ahead, in return for providing affordable homes.

? Unsold new houses being bought and made affordable.

? More flexible schemes for existing social tenants who aspire to own their own home.

? An increase in the number of family-sized homes available to rent or buy.

? £60 million spent on bringing back long-term empty homes into residential use.

? The number in temporary accommodation halved by 2010 and rough sleeping ended by 2012.

The Mayor wants to give a third more Londoners a foot on the property ladder by raising the income threshold for publicly funded ownership schemes.  Households earning up to £72,000 - or a couple paying the basic rate of income tax - will now be able to access help from which they were previously excluded. Many middle-income families missed out on the housing boom as they were considered too wealthy for government subsidies, but not rich enough to profit from the market themselves.  Mr Johnson's strategy represents a shift from the previous administration's focus on providing more social rented housing towards the Thatcherite dream of greater home ownership. Funding will be used to develop subsidised rent and rent-to-buy schemes, which could be sold at a profit or turned into permanent affordable homes when the upturn eventually arrives.  Eligibility for schemes will no longer be based on employment in a bid to support workers from all industries, rather than exclusively key workers such as nurses and teachers. "The strategy focuses not only on the issues facing the housing market in these difficult times but the historic problems of affordability, homelessness and overcrowding," the Mayor said. "It is designed to meet the needs of Londoners aspiring to get a foot on the housing ladder. By enabling ordinary Londoners to move from being subsidisers to being investors in new homes, we will provide timely support to a struggling development sector."

The Mayor's director of housing, Richard Blakeway, added: "What Londoners overwhelmingly want is to own their own home and it certainly isn't for us to decide what they should do, it's for us to respond.  "If we become a shareholder, rather than a subsidiser, we're getting money back we can then invest in housing in the future."  However, Mr Johnson's First Steps proposals are certain to raise concerns that financially vulnerable families could be encouraged to invest in the housing market when prices are still plummeting.  The London Assembly's housing committee has called on the Mayor to "shift away" from home ownership and instead focus on boosting the rented sector, at least until confidence returns to the market. Mr Johnson has scrapped Ken Livingstone's 50 per cent affordable housing target and plans to negotiate with the boroughs to provide 50,000 affordable homes during the next three years, of which 30,000 will be social rented. But housing experts have warned - and Mr Johnson has already conceded - that his ambitious target will be extremely difficult to deliver in the current economic climate. As a result, he plans to support the struggling construction sector by helping developers financially kick-start stalled developments, buying up unsold market homes for affordable housing and providing public sector land - owned by Transport for London, the London Development Agency and councils - for new housing schemes. The Mayor's draft housing strategy also includes plans to:

?Ensure higher environmental standards, better accessibility and more beautiful design in new homes.

?Support regeneration schemes to "design out" crime by designing footpaths so they don't provide hiding places for attackers, adequate street lighting and clearly defined public and private spaces.

A photo taken by Mr. Seed on top of Cable Car flying over a city in Switzerland last year

Two senior officers and five warders at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison have been sent on compulsory leave following a brutal assault on prisoners that was captured on camera. One inmate died and 11 others were injured. The officer-in-charge of the prison, Assistant Commissioner Joseph Ngaira Mutevesi, and Superintendent Stephen K. Kiplagat were sent home to pave way for investigations into Monday’s assault on prisoners during a routine search for mobile phones and other contraband.  Five prison officers have been interdicted pending the outcome of the investigations. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka told a news conference that the Prisons Department had decided not to involve the police but to handle the matter internally. The VP, whose Home Affairs ministry is in charge of prisons, announced that the Government will soon start decongesting jails following the tragedy. Prisons Commissioner Isaiah Osugo launched investigations into the beatings after they were captured on a mobile phone by the inmates. In the video clip, warders can be seen stripping the inmates and mercilessly beating them. Mr Osugo assured inmates that investigations were in progress and those implicated would be punished. Ibrahim Ngacha died in G block’s cell 26, while several others in cell 36 in the same block were scalded with hot water by a warder.  One hundred and two mobile phones, bhang, cigarettes, electric cookers, knives and iron rods were seized in the crackdown. Meanwhile, authorities at Naivasha Maximum Prison have reinforced security by replacing mesh wire with iron bars in windows. The decision was taken after it was discovered that some inmates were ripping off the wire mesh to make weapons to attack fellow prisoners. - Daily Nation.

London, Friday 21st November, 2008. Major retailers are slashing prices in a pre-Christmas bid to breathe life into the ailing high street by tempting in shoppers. It comes as official sales figures continue to defy expectations, according to the Office for National Statistics. Retail sales declined by 0.1 per cent in October, much better than expected by economists, who had predicted a fall of 0.5 per cent or more. Marks & Spencer is cutting prices by 20 per cent in its clothing and homewares departments in its biggest one-day promotion for four years. Retail giants Debenhams and Bhs were also discounting stock this week. The high street fears the economic downturn will stop people hitting the shops ahead of this year's festive season, with Debenhams saying next month is set to be "the worst Christmas we have ever had". Analysts say consumers appear to be delaying their Christmas shopping, hoping to catch bargains as shops increase their sales. M&S began the 24-hour sale online at midnight and will keep a number of large stores open until midnight tonight to allow customers to take full advantage of the offers. M&S spokeswoman Clare Wilkes said: "M&S customers are telling us they are feeling the pinch more than ever and they need some support to help make Christmas extra special." Asked about speculation that the event would dilute sales leading up to Christmas, she said: "These are really unusual times and it's a very volatile and competitive environment and we need to trade through it. "We need to compete for every share of the pound that is available to be spent." Debenhams is in the middle of a three-day £200 million price-cutting campaign across every trading area in all its stores and online. A Debenhams spokesman said sale customers had queued outside the stores, which were "packed".

Mortgage lending increases by 7%

London, Thursday 20th November, 2008

Mortgage lending rose by nearly 7% during October but it remained well down on 12 months ago, figures show. A total of £18.7 billion was advanced during the month, compared with just £17.5 billion during a "weak" September, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said. But the figure was still 44% lower than the £33.38 billion lent in October 2007, and it was also down on August's advances of £19.66 billion. Despite the increase in lending during October, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned that demand was likely to remain subdued due to falling house prices and the deteriorating economy. Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: "While lending in October ticked up from a low figure in the preceding month, the outlook is one of continuing weakness for housing and mortgage markets in the coming months, despite the Bank rate cuts in October and November. "Consumer confidence is now being affected by the worsening economic outlook. However, any recovery in lending is also being held back by the continuing shortage of mortgage funding. The Government should therefore publish the delayed Crosby Review as part of the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report and announce concrete steps that will enable and encourage firms to increase mortgage loans." Mortgage lending is continuing to be constrained by the problems in the wholesale money markets, leaving banks struggling to raise the funds they need to lend to consumers. The Government is due to respond to a review on mortgage finance, carried out by former head of Halifax Bank of Scotland Sir James Crosby, in the Pre-Budget Report on Monday. The report's recommendations, which have not yet been made public, may include some form of Government support to get the mortgage-backed securities market working again. But in his interim report published in July, Sir James said the Government and the Bank of England should steer clear of propping up the mortgage market, and any intervention he suggests is likely to be only on a temporary basis.

An airliner co-pilot who suffered a mental breakdown mid-flight had to be wrestled out of the cockpit before a stewardess helped make an emergency landing. The Air Canada co-pilot was then restrained and sedated during the trip to London from Toronto, a probe found. An Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit report said the airman initially started talking in a "rambling and disjointed" manner then refused to observe safety procedures. The pilot concluded that his colleague was so "belligerent and uncooperative" that he could not do his job. He called several flight attendants to remove the co-pilot before two doctors on board sedated him. The pilot then asked if any passenger was a qualified pilot. When no-one was found, one stewardess admitted she held a current commercial pilot's licence but her qualifications for reading cockpit instruments had expired. She helped land the aircraft safely at Shannon Airport in western Ireland. Almost 150 passengers and nine crew members were on board the Boeing 767 during the incident in January. The report did not identify any of the Air Canada crew by name. Nor did it specify the psychiatric diagnosis for the co-pilot, who stayed at Irish mental wards for 11 days before being flown by air ambulance back to Canada. But it said he was a licensed veteran with more than 6,500 hours' flying time and had recently passed a medical examination.

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The prosecutor in Tom Cholmondeley case says the accused had a motive to Kill Robert Njoya. The Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko in continuing to make his final submission Thursday introduced the court to a new twist on the murder case. Keriako Tobiko submitted that the evidence by witnesses who included colleagues of the deceased who had trespassed Soysambu ranch revealed that Cholmondeley had a motive in shooting Robert Njoya. Tobiko, described Cholmondeley's action as driven by vengeance to punish the poachers on his ranch. The director of public prosecutions also dismissed the defense submission implicating Carl Tundo in the murder saga. Tobiko argued that if Carl Tundo was armed on the material day, Cholmondeley would have indicated in his first statement to the police. Tom Cholmondeley is charged with killing Robert Njoya three years' ago at his ranch in Naivasha. Meanwhile, National bank of Kenya clerk Samuel Mirugi Mihindo and Edward Njuki Gitau appeared at the Chief Magistrates court charged with conspiracy to defraud Kenya Roads Board of over 28 million shillings. Mihindo faces another charge of stealing over 28 million shillings from the bank from the Kenya Roads Board bank account. They were released on cash bail of 1 million shillings.

Negotiations between Somali pirates and the owners of a captured Saudi tanker are being conducted by a multinational specialist firm, the BBC has learnt. A reported figure of $25m (£17m) for the MV Sirius Star was denied by the company, which specialises in kidnap and ransom talks, shipping sources say. Shipping industry experts expect the ransom for the tanker, its 25 crew, and $100m cargo of oil to be much higher. Regional leaders at crisis talks have appealed for international help. Senior officials from countries bordering the Red Sea, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, met in Cairo and called for political, humanitarian and economic help from the international community. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister, Wafaa Bassem, said Somalia had to be helped by the international community to stop it becoming a "magnet for pirates". The captured tanker and its crew, which includes two Britons, are being held near the Somali port of Harardhere. The BBC's Frank Gardner says the crew are believed to be being well treated while intensive discussions are being held by their captors over how best to proceed. He says the Somali pirates are said to be stunned at the huge size of their catch and some want it to be treated as being worth the same as 10 ships. Others, he says, are arguing for a quick deal at a reasonable price, aware that they may already be attracting unwanted attention from warships patrolling the area. In a rare victory against the organised gangs, the Indian navy earlier said it had sunk a suspected pirate "mother ship" after it failed to stop for an inspection in the Gulf of Aden, several hundred kilometres north of the location where the hijackers boarded the Sirius Star.

London, Thursday 20th November, 2008. New figures from the Office of National Statistics show, among other things, net immigration to the UK increased by 46,000 last year. But what do these latest figures mean? And what do they tell us about the future population? The headlines are clear - the population is rising largely down to increased immigration - but the details reveals a complex picture of people coming and going. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that a long-term trend of more people coming to live in the UK than leaving to live elsewhere has continued. What this means is that the UK population rose by almost a quarter of a million in 2007 - the second highest recorded annual increase after 2004:  However, the detail shows the reality of migration is quite complex. The number of people who came to live in the UK fell from 591,000 in 2006 to 571,000 in 2007.  But the number of people who left the UK fell further - from 400,000 émigrés to 340,000. The numbers include foreign and British nationals moving in both directions - although eight out of 10 of those arriving were not UK passport holders.  This second graph shows the difference between people coming and going - and how a fall in one affects the net effect of the other:

This is the element that has seen the most dramatic changes since 2004 with the opening of our jobs market to Eastern European nations when they joined the EU.  The largest single group of people who came to the UK were from within the European Union - a net arrival of 128,000. The graph below shows figures for the old "EU15" member states, the eight Eastern nations who joined in 2004 and all current 27 members together.  The EU nationals are people who are taking advantage of the free labour market, a right open to British citizens too. The next largest groups are "new commonwealth" - the former British colonies - and people from other parts of the world. The "old commonwealth" - Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, are a very small part of migration. Migration is not a one-way street. There is also substantial emigration from the UK. For almost 20 years from the early 1960s the UK was losing more people abroad than it was gaining from immigration - many of whom answered a call to start a new life in Australia. British people still leave - and the favoured destinations remain English-speaking destinations, plus Spain and France. But the numbers have now dropped: The reasons for the fall in emigration are unclear - but speculation centres on the global economy. British people bought a lot of property abroad in recent years benefiting from a strong pound and their ability to borrow against rising house prices at home. Those circumstances have significantly changed in the past year. The statistics show a difference in the reasons behind why people come to the UK - and why they leave. The largest number of people who are moving in any direction are naturally doing so for work reasons. The numbers joining another member of the family in the UK or abroad is virtually identical in each group of figures. But the big difference is study:

Very few Britons go abroad to study - but large numbers come to the UK - a quarter of all immigrants in 2007. The British universities have expanded massively in recent years to take in foreign students because they pay full course fees, playing an important role in the economics of higher education. The political debate around immigration has recently shifted focus to the idea of attempting to cap numbers, amid official projections which suggest the population could reach 70m by 2031. This is a hotly disputed figure - with ministers saying it is being quoted out of context. One of the key areas being watched is the number of workers from Eastern Europe who are registering: The figures in the graph above show that the rate of registrations has now dropped for four quarters in a row. Coupled with the main migration figure showing a drop, some experts say this means the trend is already showing a move away from the 70m projection as global economic circumstances change. National Insurance number requests, another key measure, have also fallen in the first half of 2008. Separate research suggests that most Eastern European workers, who are relatively young, don't intend to stay for the long-term in the UK. There's been a slight fall in the number of Eastern European workers bringing dependents to the UK - but it is perhaps too early to draw any conclusions from that alone.  The main measure of which immigrants seek to stay on is the count of people who ask for a "grant of settlement". A successful applicant is legally resident in the UK and no longer subject to immigration control - but it is a status that falls short of being a British citizen. The latest figures show that grants have slowed in the last two quarters: The two principle categories for grants are employment - where someone has a long-term wish to stay in the UK because of their work - and family reasons, such as marriage or reunion. Citizenship applications have correspondingly dropped in the last two quarters after a record high in 2007 shortly before the introduction of new charges.

LEFT: The Independent says the world's struggle to combat global warming has been given a boost after US President-elect Barack Obama made it clear that America would play its full part in renewing the Kyoto Protocol climate-change treaty.  CENTRE: Motorists could be banned from the road after just two speeding tickets, says the Daily Mail, with ministers doubling the penalty for the worst offences, in a crackdown on dangerous drivers. RIGHT: The scale of the crisis facing Britain's high streets was underlined in dramatic fashion as Woolworths revealed it was seeking a rescue takeover of its stores and Marks & Spencer slashed its prices by 20%, says The Guardian.

More than 1,000 Kenyan women are trafficked to Germany every year with the promise of odd jobs. And Kenya is a leading source for transit and destination in the trafficking trade, a new International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report says. Ms Alice Kimani, a programme officer with IOM, said on Wednesday men, women and girls are also trafficked to the Middle East, Europe and North America for domestic work. She said foreign employment agencies facilitated and profited from trafficking the victims mainly to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. "Kenya is a source, transit and destination for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation," she said. Kimani said her organisation and other NGOs had drafted a law to fight trafficking and given it to the Attorney General for debate in Parliament. She was speaking in Naivasha during a workshop on people trafficking.  She said the trade had become very lucrative and cited a UN report indicating that more than $8 billion (about Sh640 billion) is generated through trafficking a year. Meanwhile, another report indicates that sex pests are targeting boys. The document, ‘Broken Trust’ by a local NGO, Cradle, says while girls remain the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, boys were increasingly being sodomised. The survey reviewed cases reported last year. In terms of age, the report shows that vulnerable girls are between 12 and 14 years of age and boys three and five years. Defilement cases have also risen in middle class neighbourhoods. Cradle programme manager Lillian Njeru said: "In the past, the majority of cases reported in Nairobi were concentrated in the informal settlements.  "However, cases were reported in South C, Kilimani, Buruburu, Utalii, Ridgeways and Westlands." Child trafficking continues unabated due to ignorance, another Cradle programme manager, Mr Brian Weke, said. Cradle’s deputy director, Gilbert Onyango said questions are emerging on whether the Sexual Offences Act has failed to protect children. - The Standard.

Rev. Peter Gatimu the General Overseer of Apostolic Faith Church in Kenya had a serious road accident near Naivasha on Monday 18th November, 2008. His car was completely write off but the bishop and his passangers escaped with minor injuries. They were going for a Pastors Council meeting in Nakuru. The lorry which caused the accident had no brake lights for that matter vehicles behind the lorry could not know when stopping. His contact in Kenya 0722364280 or email revpgatimu2002@yahoo.com

Nairobi, Thursday 20th November, 2008. Eight Somali pirates who were arrested by British army in the high seas of the Indian Ocean Wednesday appeared before the Mombasa chief magistrate Catherine Mwangi.The charges are that between 8th and 9th of this month they jointly attacked and detained a machine sailing vessel namely ‘Waadi Omar 2'. Their case will be mentioned next week on Monday. They are:

1. Said Muhamed Ahmed  
2. Abdinasir Mohamed Said  
3. Amin Osman Said  
4. Ahmed Mohamed Omar  
5. Feysal Ahmed Farah  
6. Farah Said Yusuf  
7. Hussein Mohamud Asmail  
8. Abdi Hamud Kassim    

The suspected pirates who were handed over to Kenya Port Police by British Navy officers. They were arrested as they tried to hijack a cargo ship. Photo/GIDEON MAUNDU.

During the handed over on Tuesday, British Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said the pirates had been surrendered to face ‘resolute action.' They were arrested when Royal Marines personnel from HMS Cumberland boarded a foreign flagged fishing vessel which had been spotted taking part in an attack on the Danish Merchant Vessel, Powerful. "Their actions led to the release of the Yemeni vessel and its crew who have since returned to Yemen," Ainsworth said. Upon release of the Yemeni vessel, the Somalis were subsequently transferred to RFA Wave Knight which docked in Mombasa on Tuesday morning to hand over the suspects to Kenyan authorities. "This represents a successful outcome.  An attack on a merchant vessel was deterred and innocent Yemeni victims were rescued. It sends a powerful message to pirates that their activities are unacceptable; and that the global community is united in its efforts to deter and disrupt them," he said. "I am extremely proud of the men and women involved. HMS Cumberland has since resumed her counter-piracy patrol duties." Asked why the Royal Navy decided to hand them over to Kenya for prosecution instead of trying them in London, Ainsworth said: "I don't see the reason of transferring them around the world when we have a regional country that is prepared to prosecute them." Tuesday's hand-over of the suspects followed the weekend seizure in a separate incident of the Sirius Star, a massive oil tanker that is the largest ever vessel to be seized by Somali pirates. The British minister who is in Kenya for official duties said piracy was affecting international trade. "This is a huge problem, it's not only a problem for the regional countries, it's also a problem to world trade. We must do everything we can to ensure that we stop piracy," he said. Mr Ainsworth said he was in the country to advance the close defence relationship between London and Nairobi.

UK POLICE LOOKING FOR THIS MAN

Mr. Lawrence Gitongha was found guilty of a sexual assault in Manchester, UK  and was sentenced in his absence. He's 36, originally from Kenya and has previously worked as a nurse. He has featured in the UK TV programme Crime Watch. If you know his whereabouts please contact: Greater Manchester Police Phone: 0161 856 4518.

Prostitution crackdown unveiled

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has introduced plans for a new offence for those caught paying for sex. It will carry a hefty fine and a criminal record and is designed to crack down on pimps, drug dealers and people traffickers. Ms Smith said that the tough new approach will mean there are "no more excuses" for men who use the country's estimated 18,000 prostitutes. Under the changes, paying for sex with a woman "controlled for another's gain" will become a "strict liability offence" in England and Wales, meaning prosecutors will not have to prove that the man knew a prostitute was being exploited in order to charge him. Ignorance of the woman's circumstances will be no defence and those convicted will get a criminal record and a fine of up to £1,000. In cases where the man knows that the woman is working as a prostitute against her will, he could be charged with rape, which carries a potential life jail sentence. Ms Smith said the Home Office considered banning payment for sex outright - as proposed by women's minister Harriet Harman - but found that there was no public support for it. She said: "I want to do everything we can to protect the thousands of vulnerable women coerced, exploited or trafficked into prostitution in our country and to bring those who take advantage of them to justice. "That is why I am determined to shift the focus onto the sex buyer, the person responsible for creating the demand for prostitution markets which in turn creates demand for the vile trade of women being trafficked for sexual exploitation. "There will be no more excuses for those who pay for sex. This new criminal offence of paying for sex with someone who is trafficked or pimped will apply even if the buyer claims he did not know the woman was being controlled for gain. "I also want to tackle kerb crawling. In my book, once around the block is once too many, and so I'm making kerb-crawling punishable as a first offence. I also want to see more naming and shaming of persistent kerb crawlers."

One of Message Board funs wrote this: "Niko na haemorrhoids and I don't know how to treat it. I am embarrassed to visit my GP, is there a home cure ? Please don't abuse me, Im suffering and its no joke." What is haemorrhoids? Haemorrhoids are swellings that can occur in the anus and lower rectum (back passage). There is a network of small veins (blood vessels) within the inside lining of the anus and lower rectum. These veins sometimes become wider and engorged with more blood than usual. These engorged veins and the overlying tissue may then form into one or more small swellings called haemorrhoids.  The exact reason why these changes occur and lead to haemorrhoids forming is not clear. Some haemorrhoids seem to develop for no apparent reason. However, it is thought that the pressure in and around the anus can be a major factor in many cases. If the pressure in and around the anus is increased, then it is thought that this can lead to haemorrhoids developing. About half the people in the UK develop one or more haemorrhoids at some stage. Certain situations increase the chance of haemorrhoids developing: - MORE

President Kibaki has abolished work permits for Rwandan nationals working in Kenya.  The President also said the Government has stepped up efforts to rehabilitate the Northern Corridor and would remove non-tariff barriers to reduce weighbridges and roadblocks.  "Furthermore, we have introduced a 24-hour operational system at Mombasa Port, which coincides with Rwanda’s extension of opening and closing hours at the Katuna border post.  "This will reduce delays and increase volume of intra-regional trade between the two countries," he said. Kibaki was speaking last evening in Kigali, Rwanda, at a State banquet hosted by President Paul Kagame, at the start of his state visit.  Kibaki also denounced the arrest of the Rwandese Chief of Protocol, Ms Rose Kabuye in Germany, and called for her unconditional release.  "Kenyans are in solidarity with you as you carry on with the remarkable political and socio-economic transformation of your country. It is notable that this transformation is driven by a culture of open political and broad social participation," said Kibaki.  He said Kenya would support Rwanda and the region in the search for peace. The President observed that the two countries were co-operating in various fields including education, agriculture and livestock, water resources and wildlife management, tourism, health and defence.  "Our public educational institutions will be made available to Rwandans on the same terms as our nationals and where possible the Government will provide partial support," he said.  Kibaki also commended the business-friendly policies adopted by the Rwandan Government, which have increased foreign investments.  The President noted that over 2,000 Kenyans work in Rwanda.  He said his Government was also keen on providing a favourable business and working environment to promote regional trade and investment. He also reiterated Kenya’s commitment to regional integration, and the ongoing negotiations on the East African Common Market protocol.  "We are fully committed to the integration process and would like to work more closely with Rwanda," he said.  President Kagame thanked Kibaki and his Government for denouncing the arrest of his chief of protocol. He called on African countries to rise up against the injustices meted on the continent by the West.

US ambassador Michael Ranneberger on Wednesday called on the Government to reopen and expand the Liboi Reception Centre near the Somalia border to meet the needs of new asylum seekers. Despite the border closure, more than 55,000 new refugees had entered Kenya since January, Mr Ranneberger said. A reception centre for orderly registration and medical and security screenings is urgently needed to provide protection to the Kenyan host population and for the refugees in the camp, he added. He was speaking during a visit to Dadaab Refugee Camp to express appreciation for Kenya’s continued role in supporting asylum seekers from Somalia and to review the conditions in the camp.

London, Thursday 20th November, 2008. Wall Street plunged more than 5% on Wednesday to its lowest level in over five years on rising economic worries.  October consumer prices fell 1% on the month before - the biggest such fall in 61 years, which has reinforced fears of rapid slowdown. Adding to the gloom, the US Federal Reserve slashed its economic growth forecasts for 2009. The Fed is expected to cut its key interest rate to 0.5% in December - it cut rates twice in October to 1%. Economists say that this rapid fall in consumer prices has given the US central bank the room it needs to cut interest rates to battle the economic slump. "It's certainly the Fed confirming what the market has realised - that the recession is here," said Bruce Zaro, of Delta Global Advisors in Boston. At the close, the Dow Jones average was down 427 points to close at 7,997.28, below the 8,000-level for the first time since 2003. The reduction in consumer prices also reflected a significant decline in energy prices - fuel costs fell for a third month in a row. There was also uncertainty about the fate of the "Big Three" US carmakers - GM, Ford and Chrysler. Chief executives from the three firms have been on Capitol Hill this week asking for an urgent $25bn (£16.6bn) bail-out package as a "bridge" to help them survive. The car firms say they need the aid quickly, otherwise they risk collapsing - with the loss of millions of jobs throughout America. Republicans and the White House are opposed to aid for the car industry coming out of the $700bn bank bail-out. Politicians are now looking to find a compromise plan to aid the industry. Carmakers were among the biggest fallers, with GM shares down 15% to a 66-year low, while rival Ford slumped to a 26-year low. Investors are worried about the possibility that there will be no quick proposal from Congress to resolve the problems hounding the industry before the current law-making session draws to a close. US car executives have spent two days this week on Capitol Hill pleading their case for the $25bn aid package to both Senate and House committees. Prospects for a bail-out have been uncertain but politicians have begun to talk about crafting some compromise deal. Investors are concerned about how a possible bankruptcy among US carmakers could further hurt an already fragile economy. Meanwhile, financial shares were hit by persistent worries about the impact that the contracting economy will have on banks. Bank of America dropped 14% and JP Morgan Chase was 11% lower. Citigroup shares tumbled 23% to a new 13-year low. This week the firm announced it was shedding 53,000 more jobs. Its shares have lost 53% of their value in November. William Larkin, of Cabot Money Management, Salem, Massachusetts, said of Citi: "People are looking at their business model and wondering how on earth they're going to be able to survive in this."

America's President-Elect Barack Obama has announced new aides to his transition team. Former US Senator Tom Daschle has been chosen for Health Secretary and David Axelrod has been tapped as a senior advisor. Chris Lu will be Cabinet secretary, Lisa Brown, who served as former Vice President Al Gore's counsel, will be staff secretary, and John Craig is to be White House counsel. US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua said Axelrod is the mastermind of Obama's successful run for the White House. "Even through his haltering and sometimes languid speaking voice comes the clear and thoughtful directive... WIN!" "Ax's appointment to Karl Rove's old White House spot demonstrates there will be few political blunders on the road to The White House 2012." Former Democratic Senate majority leader Tom Daschle has been tasked with implementing one of the toughest jobs in the White House when he takes office. His brief is to overhaul the health system in a country where 45 million people have no health insurance. Mr Bua said: "Chosen not only for his intimate knowledge of the legislative process, soft spoken and gentile Tom Daschle is also very close friends with Senator Edward Kennedy, whose life-long Health Care agenda is a top priority for the Obama team." The appointments follow the announcement that lawyer Eric Holder will be the first black attorney general in America's history, as head of the Justice Department.

A Kenyan man has passed away in London. The late Macharia Kihoro, 52 passed away in his bed on Saturday 15th November, 2008. According to sources, Mr. Kihoro who is a cub (taxi) driver in London went to bed in the early hours of Saturday and he was discovered dead by his 12-year-old son in his house in Paddington, West London. He was a brother to the former MP for Nyeri Town Mr. Wanyiri Kihoro. He was the husband to Rosemary Kanario of Meru.  Father to Mugure and Njoki Macharia of Kenya and Wajuma Macharia of London. A great friend to the Woodhouse (nyama choma) fraternity.  Friends are meeting at The Woodhouse, Woodhouse Road, N12.  Contributions towards the transportation of the body can be done through:- Agnes Mathenge, HSBC, A/C 81592645, S/C 400530. Contacts Mathangani Kihoro - 07949387994 or Musa 07886127009. He comes from Wambugu Farm, Nyeri, Kenya.

The late Macharia Kihoro

Nairobi, Wednesday 19th, November, 2008. An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international marine presence off their lawless country.  The pirates have taken a Thai fishing boat, a Greek bulk carrier and a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading to Iran since Saturday's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the biggest ship hijacked in history.  The explosion of piracy off Somalia this year has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies divert around South Africa and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others. "The pirates are sending out a message to the world that 'we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected'," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in Mombasa. The International Maritime Bureau said pirates from the Horn of Africa nation had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 member crew.  That followed the capture of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain bound for Iran. Mwangura's group said a Greek bulk carrier had also been seized, but an official at Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry told Reuters in Athens that no such incident had been recorded. The sharp increase in attacks at sea this year off the poor and chaotic country has been fuelled by a growing Islamist insurgency onshore gun battles broke out again in Mogadishu on Wednesday -- and the lure of multi-million-dollar ransoms.

The Sirius Star was seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, far beyond the gangs' usual area of operations

No ransom has been demanded so far for the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which the pirates seized after dodging international naval patrols in their boldest strike yet. A spokesman for the owners, Saudi Aramco, said the company hoped to hear from the hijackers later on Wednesday. One Somali website said the attackers were demanding $250 million. The Sirius Star was seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, far beyond the gangs' usual area of operations.  It was believed to be anchored near Eyl, a former Somali fishing village that is now a well-defended pirate base. "Eyl residents told me they could see the lights of a big ship far out at sea that seems to be the tanker," Aweys Ali, chairman of Somalia's Galkayo region, told Reuters by telephone. Local officials said it had been sighted further south on Tuesday near Haradheere, in Mudug central region. The Sirius held as much as 2 million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports, and had been heading for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope. More of the world's big shipping firms are diverting their fleets via the Cape, experts say. But there is little evidence that big oil tanker firms carrying most of the world's crude are avoiding the Suez Canal, although many are expressing deep disquiet about Somali pirate activity. Somali gunmen are believed to be holding about a dozen ships in the Eyl area and more than 200 hostages. Among those vessels is a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 tanks and other weapons that was captured in another high-profile strike earlier this year. The Sirius Star was seized despite an international naval effort, including by NATO, to guard one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Warships from the United States, France, Russia and India are stationed off Somalia. Given that the pirates are well armed with grenades, heavy machineguns and rocket-launchers,most foreign navies have steered clear of direct confrontation once ships have been hijacked, for fear of putting hostages at risk.In most cases, the owners of hijacked ships are trying to negotiate ransoms. British Royal Navy Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, said coalition forces could not be everywhere. "The pirates will go somewhere we are not," he told shipping weekly Fairplay, part of Jane's Information Group. "If we patrol the Gulf of Aden then they will go to Mogadishu. If we go to Mogadishu, they will go to the Gulf of Aden." In a show of resolve, Kenyan police paraded eight suspected pirates in a Mombasa court on Wednesday. The Royal Navy captured them, and killed two others, in the Gulf of Aden last week.

LEFT: A Spanish woman who has become the first patient to receive an organ transplant grown using her own cells is the top story in The Independent. CENTRE: News that petrol and food prices are finally falling gets top spot in The Daily Express RIGHT: The Financial Times reports renewed anger from Barclay's shareholders over the bank's plans to raise money through Middle Eastern connections. Also Marks and Spencer is to offer a 20% discount on all stock for a day in a pre-Christmas sales tactic.

A Kenyan blog that claimed to possess a tape of President Barack Obamas wife disclosing his real place of birth has been shut down by an internet provider. The shutdown comes days after the blogs editor, Mr Sammy Kipterer Korir, told of receiving US$500,000 (Kshs39 million) from a source he did not name. More interesting is that, just before the closure, Korir wrote about his shady past spanning the last 30 years.  African Press International (API) was closed by its host, WordPress, for violating the internet providers terms of use. WordPress is among the worlds biggest blogging providers alongside Blogger, LiveJournal and Spaces.  Mr Korir, who fled to Norway in the 1980s, has been writing scandalous internet stories on top Kenyan personalities including ministers and chief executives. Some of the stories turned out to be fake. Korir admitted that he invented stories in order to attract a larger audience to API.  In mid-October, with only a few weeks to the US presidential election, API wrote that Michelle Obama made a telephone call to it through a friend in Nairobi. API says it recorded the conversation.  Michelle allegedly told API of President-elect Barack Obamas actual parentage and place of birth. At the time, Obamas opponents were attempting to use his Kenyan ancestry to disqualify him from the presidential election. The United States Constitution specifies that a presidential candidate must be an American citizen born within the US. Incidentally, Barack Obamas father happened to come from Kenya just like Korir.  API reported of Michelle criticizing the website for being anti-Obama and therefore anti-black. This statement was used by Obamas detractors to portray Michelle as anti-white in view of her earlier remarks of whiteys.

Sammy Kipterer Korir:

Price of food falls as recession starts to bite

London, Tuesday 18th November, 2008

A dramatic  fall in the rate of inflation today fuelled fears of a prolonged recession. The Consumer Prices Index dropped last month much more than expected after some prices, including those for staple foods and fuel, fell as the economy went into reverse. Economists said inflation would plummet to zero next year, ushering in the first period of deflation for 48 years. In a time of deflation consumers stop spending as they wait for better deals - this in turn leads to less economic activity resulting in company failures, rising unemployment and falling wages.  David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Deflation would have appalling consequences for business and the economy." In the City, fears that the recession will be much deeper and longer than in the Nineties sent the FTSE-100 Index down 65.2 at 4066.96.  One City economist said: "The economy is going down rapidly and company bosses have no choice but to cut, cut, cut." Food prices are starting to tumble, with staples such as meat, butter and potatoes dropping last month. The core measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index, fell much more than expected, from 5.2 per cent to 4.5per cent. It was the biggest monthly fall in the rate of inflation since April 1992 and has led to more City economists forecasting a period of falling prices - deflation - by the end of next year.

It also increases the chance of the Bank of England cutting its base rate by at least 0.5 per cent next month. Some forecasters are even pencilling in a full percentage point cut to two per cent, from the current three per cent, equalling the lowest on record. The collapse in the oil price, which peaked at $147 a barrel in July, is the biggest factor in the fall in the CPI rate. Food prices are also starting to come down because of bumper rice and wheat harvests around the world and lower costs of production due to cheaper oil. Supermarkets have also been very aggressive in cutting prices to keep shoppers coming through the door. Although food overall is still 10.1 per cent more expensive than last year, the figures show that many food prices were virtually unchanged last month. But many kitchen essentials, ranging from bacon to sugar, fell in price. Economists said the inflation rate will "drop like a stone" in the next year to well below the Government's target of two per cent. This will pave the way for interest rates falling to as low as one per cent or even zero within a year. The figures point to a bargain Christmas with stores slashing prices and using promotions on an unprecedented scale. Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at forecasters Capital Economics, said: "October's sharp fall in CPI is the first step along a road that is likely to see inflation turn negative next year for the first time in almost half a century. Not only that but deflation is about to be reborn. "Some economists are worried that deflation will usher in a more prolonged slump because consumers will stop spending if they think they can buy goods for less in the future. David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "The declines in inflation were much sharper than the markets were expecting. We predict further sharp falls in CPI inflation towards one per cent in the final months of 2009. Deflation would have appalling consequences for British business and for the economy as a whole so it is imperative that the Government and the Bank of England take forceful action." Chancellor Alistair Darling is widely expected to inject billions of pounds into the economy through tax cuts in next Monday's pre-Budget report. However, that will not stop a full-blown recession - two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth - being confirmed in January.

Pirates have anchored a hijacked Saudi oil tanker off the Somali coast, as the spate of hijackings gathered pace with two more ships seized on Tuesday. Vela International said all 25 crew on the Sirius Star - the biggest tanker ever hijacked - were said to be safe. The vessel is carrying a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m. A cargo ship and a fishing vessel were the latest to join more than 90 vessels attacked by the pirates this year. A Hong Kong cargo vessel was attacked early on Tuesday morning in the Gulf of Aden, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said. Chinese media said the ship, with a crew of 25, was carrying wheat intended for Iran. The other vessel, a fishing boat registered in Kiribati, was carrying a crew of 12, the IMB said. Its owners lost contact with it on Tuesday morning.

An estimated 300,000 visas giving foreigners the right to come to Britain may be wrongly approved every year

London, Tuesday 18th November, 2008. An estimated 300,000 visas giving foreigners the right to come to Britain may be wrongly approved every year, a committee of MPs has been told. Linda Costelloe-Baker, the independent visa monitor, told the Home Affairs Committee it was "reasonable" to assume 15% of short-term approvals were wrong. She also said officials were "under pressure" to issue - rather than reject - visas to meet productivity targets. The Tories said it made a "mockery" of Labour's claims to control immigration. Embassies and consulates examine 2.4 million applications each year from tourists, business people and those visiting relatives - they check applicants intend to leave after their visa expires and have enough money to live in the country and are not looking for a job, Ms Costelloe-Baker told the committee. Rejected applications were checked for accuracy but there was not a similar system in place to check applications that were approved, said Ms Costelloe-Baker. "About 80% of visas are issued and yet there has been no external scrutiny over that 80%." Officials considering visa applications found it much easier to approve visas than reject them, she said because issuing was a "much faster" process than refusal. "I don't think there has been adequate scrutiny of decisions to issue," she said, adding: "I think there is pressure to issue visas because it helps people hit their productivity targets." Conservative MP David Davies asked if it was reasonable to assume that, if 15% of rejections were found to be incorrect, a similar proportion of approvals were "incorrectly approved". "I think that's a reasonable supposition," Ms Costelloe-Baker said, adding that that total would include cases where an applicant rightly got a visa but where there were errors in the way the visa was approved. Mr Davies continued: "I'm trying to make an assumption here which is reasonable based on the evidence and that is that a large number of visa applications have been incorrectly approved in the country where they were requested." Ms Costelloe-Baker said: "I think that's a reasonable assumption."

But she said entry clearance officers were also conscious of the scrutiny their decisions were liable to come under when people applied for leave to remain when their visas expired. She said there was evidence the new points-based system, which comes into effect on 27 November, would be more effective, although it was too early to tell. Based upon a visit to the British embassy in Tehran, she said: "The quality of decision making and refusal notices there was poor but the quality of work on the points-based system was excellent and that is because it's a much clearer, simpler system." But shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said her comments highlighted a major flaw in Labour's immigration system. "This makes a mockery of Labour's claims to have a grip on our immigration system. It is obvious that its operation is neither firm, nor fair. "This error rate not only increases the scope for increased illegal immigration, but is obviously a security threat. "The public will be dismayed that Labour targets are making our border controls more vulnerable." Ms Costelloe-Baker's role as the independent monitor of visa entry is being phased out and she will be replaced by a new chief inspector of the UK Borders Agency, John Vine, former chief constable of Tayside Police. Mark Sedwill, the international director of the UK Border Agency, said: "Our decisions are fair and objective, and last year the Independent Monitor determined they were right and reasonable in 99% of cases. "It is untrue to claim our staff give out visas when people do not meet the criteria set out in the immigration rules. "In fact every application is scrutinised, fingerprints are taken, and the individuals checked against a range of watch-lists. Visas provide the first line of defence against those who seek to abuse the system. Travellers are subject to further tough checks at the border.

London, Tuesday 18th November, 2008. The jobs axe cut deeper into the UK economy, with thousands more posts being slashed as unemployment edged closer to the two million mark. Plumbing and building supplies firm Wolseley announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs and close more than 200 branches in the UK, union leaders said National Express was to trim more than 300 workers from its East Anglia franchise, and Independent News and Media said it was was axing 90 posts, mainly in the editorial departments. The grim news supported predictions of worsening unemployment, with business groups now predicting a jobless total of about two million by Christmas and three million before the current economic downturn ends. Reading-based Wolseley, which trades as Plumb Center and Build Center, said the job losses reflected its expectations of a further decline in trading. The company also shed 5,050 positions between August and the end of October, mainly in North America. The firm, which operates more than 1,900 branches in the UK and Ireland, said the latest job cuts would be phased over the next few months, A total of 314 posts would be cut at East Anglia railways, including 72 vacancies which will now not be filled, said the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. A National Express spokesman said: "We can confirm we are proposing to close our Norwich call centre, which may lead to a reduction of 73 roles in Norwich. We are also planning to make changes to the way we provide food and drink on board the Norwich to London trains in response to changing customer needs." Independent News and Media said a "sizeable number" of its job losses would be voluntary, with savings put at more than £10 million. The company said the cuts at the Independent and Independent on Sunday followed a major review of costs after a downturn in advertising revenue. The changes at the two newspapers, which employ a total of 430 staff, will be implemented by early 2009. Wolseley's headcount reduction is one of the biggest in recent days, after a raft of UK companies including BT, JCB, truckmaker Leyland, Virgin Media, Yell and GlaxoSmithKline all announced plans to shed labour.

Icy weather is on the way with an Arctic chill expected to grip the country at the weekend. Weathermen have warned that temperatures will plunge below zero with parts of the country getting blizzards, icy winds and wintry showers. Forecaster John Hutchinson said: "You will feel a sharp drop in temperature on Friday and by the end of the night there will be sleet and snow in northern Scotland. "Places like the North Yorkshire Moors and Norfolk will see wintry showers, with strong winds all the way down the east coast. "Daytime temperatures on Saturday are likely to be between 3C and 6C, falling to below zero at night."

Dear  friend,

Give thousand chances to ur enemy to become ur friend, But don't give a single chance to ur friend to become ur enemy"

It's 'World Best Friends Week' send this to all Ur good friends. Even me, if I am one of them. See how many u get back.

If u gets more than 3 u r really, a lovable person.............I am waiting

The world's biggest bank is to axe 75,000 jobs worldwide, it was announced on Monday 17th November, 2008. The huge cut in the Citigroup staff comes on top of another 23,000 job cuts already announced by the firm which has been rocked by the global financial crisis. This amounts to one in five of the workforce. Although no details were provided of the number of posts that will go in London, the decision is certain to involve cuts at the UK headquarters in Canary Wharf. Chairman Sir Win Bischoff admitted today that the big banks had all hired too many people in recent years. Citi lost more than $20 billion in the past year and on Friday its share price fell to record lows. The Citigroup cuts are expected in the coming weeks from layoffs and an extension of hiring freezes as the bank attempts to cut its overheads by 20 per cent. Citigroup's cull comes as other Wall Street giants including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley launch swingeing cuts while even Goldman Sachs last month announced almost 3,300 of its workers faced the axe. The news comes as a report by the Local Government Association warned that London will suffer more than the rest of the country in the recession with as many as 370,000 jobs losses. The study for the LGA says the capital is due to bear the brunt of the recession with as many as one in 12 jobs lost by December 2010.  A further 280,000 posts, or 6.3 per cent, are predicted to be lost in the wider South-East. "This report obviously demonstrates the gravity of the situation. London clearly is vulnerable," said Bob Neill MP, Conservative spokesman for London. He called for the Government to focus any extra spending on the capital, given that it pays so much in tax, but also to ensure that the expenditure will not damage the City. "It's very important that London's financial services are not crippled by a future overhang of public debt," he added. JPMorgan is drawing up plans to cut thousands of jobs across its global operations from the beginning of next year.  Last week a string of banks announced job cuts. Morgan Stanley plans to lose nearly 10 per cent of staff across two of its three divisions and Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to cut about 3,000 jobs in its investment banking division. Goldman Sachs said last month that it was cutting almost 3,300 jobs, or about 10 per cent of its staff. According to the study for the LGA, almost two in five jobs that could be at risk across the country over the next two years are in London and the South-East. The number of jobs predicted to go in other regions are 170,000 in Yorkshire & Humberside (6.8 per cent), 230,000 in the North-West (6.7 per cent), 180,000 in the West Midlands (6.6 per cent), 130,000 in the East Midlands (six per cent), 170,000 in the East (six per cent), 70,000 in the North-East (5.7 per cent) and 130,000 in the South-West (5.1 per cent).  Councillor Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, said: "The research shows that the fastest way to get out of recession is for more decisions about the economy to be taken at the local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses." The estimates are of net job losses, meaning that more than 1.7 million jobs will cease to exist since some new posts will be created during the period. Banks are forecast to cut tens of thousands of jobs in London but the construction and manufacturing industries will still be hardest hit by the economic slump, according to the LGA report.

President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) hold talks during a meeting in Obama's transition office in Chicago, November 17, 2008.

The European Union is threatening to withhold aid to Kenya unless a recent report's recommendations on January's post-poll clashes are implemented. The report called for an international tribunal to try the politicians and businessmen implicated in the violence. A list of 10 suspects is to be given to the International Criminal Court by the mediators of Kenya's power-sharing deal if a court is not set up next month. But the cabinet has avoided the topic since the report's release last month. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said he is not at war with Agriculture Minister William Ruto. Raila said he was only airing his views, like anyone else, over national issues. He was speaking at a joint Press conference with visiting Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmossen, who said Europe would take nothing other than the full implementation of the Waki Report. "I do not want to be seen as if I am fighting anyone, I am simply giving my views. Anyone contributing out there is simply giving their views," Raila said. He cautioned the media against inciting what he termed, "non-existing personal political wars between leaders". The Prime Minister also assured the international community that both the Waki and Kriegler reports will be implemented. He added: “In the case of the Waki (report), we are discussing whether to do it (try suspects) in Kenya or the matter goes to The Hague where we will have no say.”

London, Wednesday 19th November, 2008. Surgeons in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant - using a windpipe made with the patient's own stem cells.  The groundbreaking technology also means for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without the need for anti-rejection drugs. Five months on the patient, 30-year-old mother-of-two Claudia Castillo, is in perfect health, The Lancet reports. She needed the transplant to save a lung after contracting tuberculosis. The disease had damaged her airways.

I was a sick woman, now I will be able to live a normal life

Somali pirates struck again yesterday, seizing an Iranian cargo ship holding 30,000 tonnes of grain, as the world’s governments and navies pronounced themselves powerless against this new threat to global trade. Admiral Michael Mullen, the US military chief, pronounced himself stunned by the pirates’ reach after their capture of the super tanker Sirius Star and its $100 million (£70 million) cargo. Commanders from the US Fifth Fleet and from Nato warships in the area said that they would not intervene to retake the vessel. The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the owner of the ship, condemned the hijacking as an “outrageous act” that required international action.

London, Monday 17th November, 2008. Japan's economy has entered its first recession since 2001 after shrinking by 0.1% in the third quarter. The world's second-biggest economy had previous shrunk by 0.9% in the April to June quarter. "The downtrend in the economy will continue for the time being as global growth slows," said Japanese Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano. The eurozone officially slipped into recession last week, and the US is expected to follow. "We need to bear in mind that economic conditions could worsen further as the US and European financial crisis deepens, worries of economic downturn heighten and stock and foreign exchange markets make big swings," Mr Yosano added. The benchmark Nikkei share index fell on opening after the growth data was released, but it later rebounded and closed up 0.7%. The Nikkei has lost a quarter of its value since the beginning of October. Growth in Japan has been hit by the global economic slowdown which has curbed demand for Japanese exports. "The risk of Japan posting a third or fourth straight quarterly contraction is growing, given the fact that we can no longer rely on exports," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. Japan's economy had experienced its longest period of economic growth since World War II until the sub-prime crisis started a year ago.

This is Japan's first recession since 2001

Nairobi, Monday 17th November, 2008. A large, Saudi-owned crude oil carrier has been captured by pirates in the Arabian Sea, according to the US Navy. It is understood that two crew members on board the Sirius Star tanker are British. The ship is the largest vessel to come under attack by pirates in the area, a US Navy spokesman said. The vessel has 25 crew with members from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, the US Navy said in a statement. The tanker was attacked 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. "We are evaluating the situation," said Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet, when asked whether the navy was taking action to rescue the tanker. The ship, which is carrying an unspecified quantity of oil, is the first tanker to have been seized by pirates in the area. Pirates, often based in anarchic Somalia, have made shipping routes off east Africa among the most dangerous in the world.

Nairobi, Monday 17th November, 2008. Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang has disclosed that four East African countries have adopted an agreement that will see its citizens travel freely in the region.  Kajwang said Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda had coined the idea, saying it would go along way in unifying the region both culturally and economically.  Otieno Kajwang who is currently on a tour of the Coast province encouraged Tanzania to embrace the idea, adding that the move would enable east African countries take full advantage of the common market.  The minister who had paid a courtesy call to the coast provincial commissioner at his offices revealed that revealed that plans to have a 3rd generation of Identity cards are underway and could be achieved by early next year. In addition, an agreement has been adopted by the East African Community States in order to monitor environmental management of Lake Victoria.  The 19th meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers held in Zanzibar agreed to establish a system of monitoring water release and major abstractions.  The Council directed the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) Secretariat to finalise the Water Release and Abstraction Policy and develop a legal system to ensure compliance.  The system will also ensure equitable distribution of the abstractions from the basin.  Last week, Water Minister Charity Ngilu accused Uganda of constructing another dam to produce electricity and reducing the water level in Africa's largest water mass. Parties who signed the agreement are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Elesewhere, President Mwai Kibaki will Tuesday 18th November, 2008 make a three-day state visit to Rwanda. During the visit a number of agreements or memoranda of understanding will be signed to strengthen the relations between the two countries in the spirit of the East African Community. With regard to capacity building and human resource development Rwanda has asked Kenya to provide English teachers under a technical assistance and exchange programme after Rwanda adopted English as the official language. On trade, Kenya is the 8th principle trading partner of Rwanda, with the balance of trade being in favour of Kenya. Kenya's exports to Rwanda include petroleum products, assembled trailers, footwear, plastic piping, leather, newsprint and iron sheets among others. In this regard, the President's visit to Rwanda is expected to further strengthen trade ties between the two countries.  Being a landlocked country, Rwanda relies heavily on the Port of Mombasa for its importation and exportation of goods.  With the Kenya Ports Authority operating on a 24-hour basis, the volume of trade with Rwanda is expected to increase and in turn spur activity of the port. Rwanda is also of strategic importance to Kenya.  The proposed extension of the Kenya Pipeline from Mombasa to Rwanda and the proposed railway line will provide easier access and communication to the Great Lakes Region and hinterland. Other agreements that may be signed between the two countries geared towards consolidating Kenya's influence in the East African Region include agreement on Tourism, Wildlife and Forestry to cater for training of Rwandese in the hospitality industry as well as in the field of forestry and wildlife management. An agreement is also expected to be signed in the field of health to provide for the training of medical personnel from Rwanda, revision of the Agreement in Agriculture and Livestock to provide for research and exchange programmes through research institutes like KARI, KEMRI and veterinary institutions. The plane carrying the President and his delegation will depart from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before shortly 2.30 p.m.

Whale sharks are elusive creatures hidden in our vast oceans, so you can imagine how excited a scientist was when he saw one doing a poo. Catching the excrement of the world's biggest fish was 'scientific gold', said Dr Mark Meekan, because it holds many clues to its feeding habits. The messy moment, caught on camera for the first time, has already revealed the filter-feeders visit Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to feast on its brief but vast red crab migration.

Grand coalition to deliver a new constitution, President says

Written By:PPS   , Posted: Mon, Nov 17, 2008

 

The unity of purpose achieved through the formation of the Grand Coalition government has presented the country with a suitable moment to deliver a new constitution, President Mwai Kibaki has declared.  Speaking at Safari Park Hotel Monday while officially opening the National Seminar on the Role of Parliament in the Reconciliation and Institutional Reform Process in Kenya, President Kibaki noted that the Tenth Parliament was uniquely placed to achieve the delivery of a new constitution. The President said that many of the current challenges facing the country particularly those contained in Agenda Four of the Serena talks would be comprehensively addressed through a new constitution. The Head of State noted that the country has taken bold steps towards the achievement of a new constitution citing the passing of the Constitutional of Kenya Review Bill which he will assent to soon.  President Kibaki said that the envisioned constitution must not only address modern day challenges but also provide a frame work for future generations to harness the opportunities that may arise. He said, "I am aware of the urgency members of the public have attached to a new constitutional dispensation. We must also handle the constitutional agenda carefully and soberly." During the occasion President Kibaki challenged the parliamentarians to discuss issues confronting the country freely and frankly as a strong foundation on which to build a stable and prosperous democracy. "I appeal to all participants to ensure that this seminar makes concrete and realistic recommendations in the form of a Parliamentary Action Plan which will assist in addressing the challenges facing Kenya both in terms of reconciling our people and carrying out institutional reforms," said President Kibaki.

The Head of State told the participants that the government was working towards the establishment of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to review past and recent grievances and enquire into human rights violations. He noted, "It is my conviction that these processes will enable Kenyans to discuss and debate the various issues facing our nation." President Kibaki appealed to Kenyans to dedicate themselves to promoting national healing and reconciliation as well as strive to adopt a forward looking mentality. "We must learn from the mistakes of the past, but not to the extent of turning our backs against the future. We must maintain our focus on the future because the younger generation is looking up to us for answers to the challenges they are continuing to face," said the Head of State. The President assured the participants and Kenyans in general of the government's full support of the ongoing reforms as well as all vital recommendations made by the seminar. In this regard, he said that considerable progress had been made through introduction of legal and institutional reforms giving the example of the Political Parties Act which offers a frame work to overcome the challenges in the management and growth of viable political parties. The President said, "This Act will go along way in ensuring that political parties play the role of national integration, and have a national outlook as well as coherent ideological and policy commitments that promote national stability and economic development."  President Kibaki challenged members of parliament to rise above selfish and partisan commitments and focus on an agenda that is good for the country as a whole. He expressed the commitment of his government to strengthen Parliament as the supreme organ of the State which can lead the way in transforming the country for the collective benefit of all Kenyans. The President said, "Parliament must also remain sensitive to the realities in our nation and the hard economic times that the ordinary citizens are facing. We have many competing economic and social demands. This calls for the highest sense of responsibility and patriotism amongst all Parliamentarians." The Head of State termed unemployment and under-employment among the youth as one of the critical challenges facing the country. He observed, "Every year, 800,000 are joining the labour force.

We must give priority to this issue in all our deliberations because we must engage our youth to make them feel proud of this country as a free and just home of opportunity." With regard to electoral reforms, the President said that a committee had been constituted to develop an action plan for implementing recommendations proposed by the Kriegler Commission. "The action plan is presently being developed to pave way for the implementation of appropriate reforms," said the Head of State. The President commended the topics scheduled for discussion terming them relevant and timely particularly coming after the country experienced unprecedented challenges at the beginning of this year. The Head of State observed, "The events that unfolded brought to fore underlying structural and institutional constraints that call for a broad reform agenda involving comprehensive constitutional and electoral reforms." Speaking during the same occasion Prime Minister Raila Odinga urged parliamentarians to desist from making statements that divide Kenyans along ethnic lines for selfish and narrow interests. The Prime Minister called on political leaders not to retreat to their ethnic cocoons while dealing with crucial and crosscutting issues of national and even international interest. He also cited occasions when the Parliament failed to seize opportunities to address sensitive issues that have afflicted the country until the founding fathers left the stage particularly land problems which formed the centre of the struggle for independence. The Prime Minister also cited the turning of the country into a one party State by law by the Parliament in 1980s and the ensuing struggles that led to restoration of multiparty democracy in the country. Other Speakers during the occasion were Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende, Justice, National Reconciliation and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Martha Karua and representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Seminar was attended by several cabinet ministers, assistant ministers, members of the parliament, senior government officials and representatives of the civil society organizations among others.

A group of ODM MPs have asked Agriculture minister William Ruto to stop criticising Prime Minister Raila Odinga after Mr Ruto said he would lead the party’s supporters in Rift Valley to decamp from the party. On Saturday Mr Ruto said he would lead ODM supporters from Rift Valley in ditching the party if their interests were not safeguarded. And for the first time since the December 2007 elections, he publicly criticised Mr Odinga for failing to defend the interests of the Kalenjin community.  It is understood that Rift Valley MPs are considering the option of joining the United Democratic Movement (UDM), a party that fielded candidates in the Ainamoi, Bomet and Sotik by-elections but lost to ODM.  After the Sotik by-elections last September, Mr Ruto said that although he was a founder member of UDM, he was no longer active. And at the weekend, he said Rift Valley residents were concerned with the manner in which the PM was handling the Waki report and the planned eviction of families from the Mau Forest water catchment. - Daily Nation.

Nairobi, Monday 17th November, 2008. Property of unknown value was destroyed when fire gutted down a health facility at the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi. No one was injured in the afternoon inferno which was however contained on time by the Nairobi fire brigade. A huge crowd of curious onlookers looked on in amazement as smoke billowed from the world famous hotel. Efforts to put down the fire using extinguishers were futile and the fire brigade had to be summoned. Unlike in the past when the City Council's fire brigade has been accused of being lax in responding to fire incidents, they arrived in record time and immediately got down to business. And this time they came prepared and there was no case of the all too familiar excuse of lack of water. Within no time, the pipes were out and directed at the burning health spa. Frantic hotel workers joined in to fight the growing fire and with the combined effort they managed to put it out. Investigations are going on to establish the cause of the fire.

Model Heidi Klum wears outrageous angel wings knotted like a Christmas present bow at the climax of the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel.

Close to 3m unemployed' by 2010

The UK's recession will be tougher and longer than first thought, the business group CBI has warned. It estimates that the economy will shrink by 1.7% in 2009, a dramatic downgrade from the forecast of 0.3% growth the CBI gave in September. The group added that unemployment could peak at close to 2.9 million by 2010, up from 1.8 million at present. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has defended government plans to increase borrowing to boost the economy. "We have to take every action we can as a government," he told the BBC. He said the recession was "not made by the government" but that it was the government's job is to make the recession "as short and as painless as possible". "Now people will say but you're resorting to borrowing in order to deliver the stimulus that's needed," added. "My answer to that is what is the alternative?"

'New order'

Meanwhile, the UK's biggest union, Unite, has drawn up a 10-point plan to invigorate the UK economy. It includes an increase in public spending and a halt to house repossessions. It also calls for a million new affordable homes to be built. The union also wants to see support for manufacturing, a windfall tax on energy firms' profits, tighter regulation of the financial sector, and increased worker rights. Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson called for "a new economic order".

Downgrade

The CBI report said it had hoped the recession would be "shallow" but said October's banking sector turmoil now made this unlikely. The UK economy shrank for the first time in 16 years between July and September, confirming that the UK is on the brink of recession. The UK will be technically classed as being in recession if the economy, as expected, contracts in the fourth quarter as well. John Cridland, CBI's deputy director general, said that turmoil in the banking system in September and October had sent consumer and business confidence plummeting. "Given the speed and force at which the downturn has hit the economy, we have reassessed and downgraded our expectations for UK economic growth," he said. "But the fast-moving and global nature of this crisis means it is impossible to look far ahead with any certainty. "What is clear is that the short and shallow recession we had hoped for a matter of months ago is now likely to be deeper and longer lasting."

'Troublesome'

Mr Cridland told the BBC that the slowdown in the economy was the effect of a "double whammy". "First of all the banking crisis had really deep effects on the availability of credit for business - not only credit from the banks, but credit insurance as well - and that is now proving troublesome for an awful lot of businesses small and large," he said. "Alongside that, the impact of relentless bad news every day on the news has caused people to stop spending - companies as well as individuals - so there's a sharp fall in demand for products and services and businesses having to batten down the hatches." The CBI expects the economy to contract by 0.8% in the final quarter of 2008 and says the economy will continue to shrink in the subsequent three quarters before beginning to recover in 2010. The group forecasts that interest rates could possibly fall as low as 1.5%, from 3% currently, as the Bank of England moves to kick-start the economy. It said inflation was likely to ease, with the rate of consumer price rises expected to fall to 1.7% from 4.2%. Mr Cridland told the BBC: "We're predicting something like five quarters of negative growth. "I think we would see the last quarter of 2009 - in other words a year from now - at the point where hopefully we would just begin to get back to steady growth and then a beginning of an upturn in 2010. "So I'm afraid it's quite a long way off."

Former Eldoret North MP Reuben Chesire is dead. The former powerful politician in the KANU government died early Saturday 15th November, 2008 at a Nairobi Hospital. Chesire was Eldoret North between 1988 and 1992 when he lost the seat to the late William arap Saina. His efforts to recapture the seat in 1997 flopped when he lost to the then little known William Ruto who is currently the Agriculture Minister. Analysts claimed Chesire was actually pushed aside at nominations by former president Daniel Arap Moi to give the then unknown young man a chance to enter parliament.  He then vied for the seat on a Narc ticket during but host to Ruto. The acrimony between the two reached its peak in June 2002 when Chesire accused the minister of assaulting him outside Moi's State House office.  Ruto however denied hitting Chesire but admitted having a "heated argument" with him.  The so-called "Rumble at State House" took place when Chesire was waiting to see President Moi, heightening the bad blood that existed at that time between the so-called Young Turks who were said to have the ear of the former president and the old guard. Chesire and Moi were childhood friends, Moi having stayed at the former's home when he was attending school in the 1940's.

The former MP seen here at his farm died early Saturday at a Nairobi hospital

London bankers were facing a new wave of redundancies  as Britain headed for 20,000 job losses in five days. Citigroup is to send redundancy notices to 10,000 workers worldwide, many in Canary Wharf, while Royal Bank of Scotland is to shed 3,000 investment bankers, including hundreds in the City, within a month. In addition, Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks are to axe 350 jobs next year, the union Unite said today. The scale of the cuts means 20,000 jobs have gone across the country since Monday as the economic downturn strengthens its grip and sends unemployment soaring. In just a week some of the country's biggest names — including BT, Virgin Media, GlaxoSmithKline and Taylor Wimpey — have slashed jobs. The cuts have prompted predictions that unemployment will hit two million by Christmas and three million next year. Not since the recessions of the early Eighties and Nineties have so many large-scale job cuts been announced in such a short space of time across such a wide range of industries.  Unemployment in Britain rose to 1.83 million this week, its highest level in the 11 years since Labour came to power. Citigroup will start handing out redundancy notices staff mainly in its investment bank. The Wall Street and Canary Wharf-based bank has lost more than $20 billion in the past year. Managers have been ordered to cut departmental wage bills by at least 25 per cent.

Mzee Stephen Kamau Kiarie and his wife are in London. The former manager with Olympic Airline in Kenya is visiting UK for two weeks. The couple has been in Nottingham where one of their sons lives before coming to London. Mzee Kiarie who speaks fluent Greek started visiting Greece way back in 1970. Several of his children lives in the UK. He comes from Kigumo, Komothai Location, Kiambu, Kenya. His contact in the UK - 07939984010.

Large crowds have flocked to a memorial service in Johannesburg for South African singer Miriam Makeba, who died last weekend after a concert in Italy. Musicians, poets and politicians paid tribute to the 76-year-old performer. Arts minister Pallo Jordan described Makeba as "a woman whose name became synonymous with the worldwide struggle for freedom in South Africa". Her family also attended the service at the Coca Cola Dome concert venue, which followed two days of national mourning. They are expected to hold a smaller service for her cremation on Sunday. The singer, who was known as Mama Africa, spent more than 30 years in exile after lending her support to the campaign against apartheid. Her memorial service drew hundreds of mourners, both black and white and of all ages. South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela, once married to Makeba, performed a solo version of her song Welele to the accompaniment of soft clapping from the crowd. Poet Maishe Maponya spoke of how her "lips touched our hearts with hymns of beauty" and how she had inspired her people with hope for the future. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki and current Deputy President Baleka Mbete were also present. President Kgalema Motlanthe, in Washington for a G20 economic summit, paid tribute to Makeba in a video message. "Let us say it loud and clear. Miriam Makeba was not affectionately called Mama Africa for nothing," he said. "Her music reverberated with consciousness about the real conditions of South Africans." Makeba was the first black singer to win a Grammy award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965. She was one of Africa's best known singers, famed for hits such as Pata Pata and The Click Song. Former president Nelson Mandela said she was the "mother of our struggle" and "South Africa's first lady of song". Her body was flown home to South Africa on Wednesday; the country began a period of national mourning a day later.

Mourners paid their respects to the singer known as Mama Africa

Scotland Yard today warned that hi-tech gangs are raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds a year by cheating in the new British immigration tests. The fraudsters are using sophisticated spy technology to help migrants pass the “Life in the UK” exams which are intended to check whether they can speak the language. Applicants, who do not speak or read English, are equipped with tiny buttonhole cameras and hidden earpieces so they can be passed the correct answers. The racket was highlighted by a court case in which a couple were jailed after being caught outside Wimbledon library in a BMW packed with electronic transmitters, laptops and surveillance gadgets. They were transmitting answers to a Chinese national inside the building who was sitting the multiple choice “Britishness” test even though he could not understand English.  Steven Lee and his girlfriend Rong Yang, both British nationals of Chinese descent, were jailed for eight months at Kingston crown court for three counts of facilitating a breach of immigration law. Two Chinese men who took the test, Ka Hung Pang, 52, of Horsham, and En Zhuang, 38, of Deptford High Street, were sentenced to 180 hours community work for deception. The court heard this week how Lee, 36, and Yang, 28, were sitting in a BMW 3 series outside the library in March this year. A member of the public called police when they saw wires running from under the bonnet to the interior. When officers arrived and searched the vehicle they found laptops, radio transmitters and other surveillance equipment.

US President-elect Barack Obama paid his first visit to President Bush in the White House in Washington since his election victory and on right an official photograph by Hugo Burnand marks the 60th birthday of the Prince of Wales. Princes William and Harry paid tribute to their father, who they said was "an inspiration to us and so many others".

Martha Karua has officially been elected Narc-Kenya party chairperson. In elections held Saturday the party also confirmed Asman Kamama as vice chair and Danson Mungatana as Secretary General. The elections were carried out to comply with the Political Parties Act.The Bomas of Kenya hall was adorned in green Saturday as the party's national delegates gathered by and large to discuss party issues. Top on agenda was elections which were carried out by acclamation. Karua officially garnered her party's full support in her ambition to run for presidency come 2012. In her acceptance speech she warned Kenyans against being misled by tribal politicians, reiterating that it is not too soon to state her ambitions as her detractors have often indicated. Fatuma Mohamed clinched the treasurer seat as the Organizing Secretary's post went to Lee Muchiri. Former Naivasha MP Jane Kihara who lost her petition against MP John Mututho this week was elected the secretary for gender affairs.

Karua reiterated her ambition to vie for the presidency come 2012

Catholic faithful have come out to strongly to oppose the proposal to introduce to parliament the Reproductive Health and Rights bill. The faithful say if passed the bill will promote and allow easy access to abortion on demand, with virtually no safeguards to protect the unborn children. They said that the bill disregards the sanctity of human life. The faithful took to the streets of Nairobi in a peaceful demonstration with a clear message denouncing the bill that if passed will see abortion legalized in the country. The proposed bill gives minors easy access to contraceptives and abortion without any legal requirement of parental knowledge or consent. This the church says will not only break the family tradition as the fibre of the society but also disregards the integrity of the human being.According to the bill, legal action can be taken against parents who fail to assist their children procure contraceptives and abortion.The church is optimistic that their voice will be heard and heard loud enough to reject the passing of the reproductive health and rights bill once tabled in parliament. They cautioned the politicians and those rallying behind the bill to put the nation ahead of their interests. The Church is on a drive to collect a million signatures which will be presented to the government as a sign of their displeasure at the bill.

Cardinal Njue led the Catholic faithful in denouncing the bill

A family’s hopes after sending two daughters to the US for further studies, expecting them to come back with university degrees, have been dashed. Loretta Wavinya, 32, and Lillian Nzongi, 28, were on Friday sent to jail in the US for fraud. The US law came down hard on the sisters who were convicted for multi-million-dollar fraud involving stealing identity documents of residents of a nursing home in the American heartland and making false tax returns. They will serve a joint 20-year jail term for defrauding the tax collecting agent, the Internal Revenue Service (the equivalent to Kenya Revenue Authority) of close to Sh1 billion. Wavinya was sentenced to 14 years, while Nzongi will serve five years and 10 months. The attorney for the western district of Missouri, Mr John Wood, said the women, who went to the US on student visas, conned the government of millions of dollars in Missouri. “Today’s lengthy sentences send a clear message to others who may be considering cheating the tax-payers or using other people’s identities,” he said. But Wavinya’s sentence was even lighter. Under the US law, she could have been liable to a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 27 years in prison, plus a fine of up to Sh4.88 billion ($750,000).  Ther woman who hatched the plot to rob the revenue organisation of a staggering $15 million (Sh975 million), pleaded guilty in June to having a hand in the conspiracy. The Kansas City resident admitted the offence before US judge John Maughmer to the charges contained in a July 18, 2007, prosecution. Wavinya was taken to a Kansas City court last year, along with four other Kenyans, to face various counts of tax fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, identity theft and conspiracy. The prosecution described her at the time as the leader of the racket in which the more than 360 fraudulent tax refund claims were filed. Arraigned in court together with Wavinya were Nzongi, Aaron Mutavi, 28, Moses Ndubai, 33, and 23-year-old Vincent Ogega.  Another seven Kenyans, some of whom are believed to have since returned home, were linked by investigators to the case. Ogega was recently sentenced to 12.5 months’ imprisonment, while Mutavi was sentenced to “time served” — which means that he was released.  Mr Ndubai and Mr Kamau are awaiting sentencing.  The scheme involved stealing the identity information of hundreds of victims, primarily residents of old people’s homes, which were used to seek the more than Sh975 million in federal tax refunds. Wavinya and her accomplices were first charged with the offence in July, last year. She later admitted to having a substantial role in the conspiracy to steal identity information, predominantly from elderly nursing home patients. She then used the information to file at least 365 fraudulent federal tax return forms from February 2005 to July, last year. Together with fellow conspirators, she sought refunds in 27 different states. In addition, Wavinya pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity information theft. She committed the offences while she worked as a tax preparer and as a certified radiology technician in Kansas City. - Daily Nation.

LEFT: Shadow chancellor George Osborne tells The Times that Britain is heading for a “collapse of sterling”, if Gordon Brown persists with trying to borrow his way out of trouble. CENTRE: The Daily Telegraph leads on the first baby to be born as the result of a whole ovary transplant. RIGHT: More than 80% of children who are killed or seriously injured as a result of abuse or neglect are missed by the national child register, The Guardian reveals.

Two mothers in western Tanzania have been attacked by gangs who were after their children who have albinism. The women were hacked with machetes when the attackers failed to find the two children. Albinos have been targeted in a series of killings around the country due to a belief their body parts can make magic potions more effective. At least 30 people with albinism have been killed since March, including a seven-month old baby. On Wednesday, attackers forced a woman to take them to her home, looking for her nine-year-old daughter in Kibondo District, close to the Burundi border. The girl was not in the house and so the men attacked the mother. In the second attack, a gang of four men broke into a house at the Lugufu camp in Kigoma, which hosts refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, looking for a child with albinism. The child, aged two, escaped kidnap after falling under the bed unnoticed. The women are undergoing treatment for their injuries. On Thursday, police in south-western Tanzania arrested a man who was attempting to sell his albino wife to Congolese traders. The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Dar es Salaam says the attacks appear to have spread from north-western Tanzania, where they were first reported. The attacks also suggest that there is interest in albino body parts from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, our correspondent says. The Kigoma regional police commander said the attackers had fled and a manhunt was underway. The attacks on albinos have been linked to witchdoctors who are peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich. President Jakaya Kikwete ordered a police crackdown on those involved in the killings in March, and 170 witchdoctors have since been arrested. But BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such crimes are committed. The prevalence of albinism in Tanzania appears to be high and the Albino Association of Tanzania says the actual number of albinos could be as high as 173,000. A census is now underway to verify the figures.

A multi-million dollar Nigerian satellite launched in May 2007 has been shut down to prevent it spinning out of control and damaging others in orbit. Chinese-built NigComSat-1 cost the African oil producer $340m (£228m). The Nigerian government said insurance would pay for a replacement and Nigerians should still be proud of the country's satellite programme. But telecoms experts told the BBC it was a "white elephant in space" and the whole operation was a "debacle". NigComSat-1 was launched 18 months ago to much fanfare from the government, but it has been mired in controversy ever since. On Tuesday, controllers shut the satellite down because it was having problems with its power supply, the government announced. The satellite was meant to provide communications for government agencies and broadband internet.

Do you know that is Renshenfengwangjiang?

Chinese Ginseng is well-known for its revitalizing properties. The most valuable Ginseng is the wild type which thrives in the remote mountains and dense forests in the Northeast region of China, notably those from the Chang Bai Mountains and Ji Lin Province. These places have just the right amount of moisture, temperature and unique soil quality for the Ginseng's optimum growth. The efficacy of Ginseng improves with age, and the older the root, the more efficacious its effect. It is quite common to hear of those who cherish a 300 - 500-year-old Chinese Ginseng and consume it when necessary. In China's distant past, Wild Ginseng were imperial properties, and those found in possession of Wild Ginseng were severely punished. - MORE

• Stimulation of human energy

• Decreasing the spread of nervous system diseases

• Slowing-down the hardening of the arteries

• Fighting malnutrition

• Treatment of rheumatism

• Prevention of loss of hair

BEIJING -- Chinese fishing boat "Tanyo 8," was seized by force by a group of unidentified persons at around 2 am Beijing time Friday  14th November, (GMT1800 Thursday) when it was fishing off the Kenya coast, a source with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said here. The source said that the abductors demanded the Chinese fishing boat sail towards the coastal area off southern Somalia. Onboard the abducted ship of Tianjin Ocean Fishing Company were 24 fishers. They were 16 Chinese (including one from Taiwan), one Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnamese. According to Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Association, the hijacking was conducted by pirates that armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons. "Tanyo 8" was attacked on the Kenyan waters probably near Lamu in eastern Kenya, Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone, "but we have not established the motive of the attack since it's very rare for Somali pirates to launch attacks on Kenyan waters." This was hours after a Russian-operated cargo ship off the coast of Somalia escaped pirates who attacked it with grenade launchers and machine guns, sparking a fire on board. The MOT source added that the ministry was asking related departments to help deal with the incident in coordination with China's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Agriculture.

London, Friday 14th November, 2008. British pound goes to its lowest ever in a long time as it trades at KShs. 114 against the pound in UK. It trades at 1.48 against the dollar and 1.17 against the euro. This is after the Eurozone countries going into recession.

Approximately 186,000 people in Kenya have been displaced by raging floods following the heavy Rains pounding the country. According to reports released the most affected areas have been around the Tana River, the Turkwel River and River Nzoia and on right  Turkana, 1,262 households have been displaced after the Turkwel River flooded

Pound drops to fresh lows against euro and dollar

By Peter Garnham

Published: November 14 2008 11:00 | Last updated: November 14 2008 11:20

The pound regained some poise on Friday after dropping to a fresh record low against the euro and a six-and-a-half year low against the dollar overnight.  The pound has fallen sharply this week, dropping to its lowest level for thirteen years against a basket of currencies after the Bank of England said the UK economy had fallen into recession and signalled more aggressive cuts in UK interest rates. Adding to the pressure on sterling have been increasing signs that international investors were abandoning UK assets after aggressive selling in gilts since mid-September. Against the dollar the pound has fallen 5.4 per cent this week and 5.3 per cent versus the euro. On a trade-weighted basis the UK currency has fallen 5.3 per cent so far this week.  Simon Derrick at Bank of New York Mellon said the pound’s recent fall was starting to overshadow the events of September 1992, when sterling was ejected from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. He said then, as now, the pound was hit because investors believed that the UK authorities would take drastic action to ease monetary policy in the face of a steepening recession.  Following the Bank of England’s aggressive interest rate cut and subsequent comments, UK interest rates are now below eurozone rates for the first time since the creation of the single currency in 1999.  Meanwhile, the yield spread between German and UK government bonds stands at its highest level in more than a decade.

The pound dropped to a record low of £0.8662 against the euro overnight and fell to a six-and-a-half year trough of $1.4555 against the dollar overnight. However, it regained some poise on Friday, rising 0.6 per cent to £0.8557 against the euro and holding steady at $1.4850 against the dollar.  Mr Derrick said the only question that needed to be asked was whether speculation over the future path of interest rates in the UK had run its course.  “Unfortunately, we suspect not. Talk will undoubtedly continue for at least the remainder of this year about how far and how fast the Bank of England could cut,” he said. “With the UK still seen as the G7 nation with the furthest to go in cutting rates, the downward pressure on the currency is therefore likely to remain in force.” Meanwhile, currency markets continued to track the fortunes of global equity markets. Both the dollar and yen have benefited when stock markets have fallen, with rising risk aversion prompting US and Japanese investors to repatriate assets.  Rising risk aversion has also prompted deleveraging, forcing investors to sell riskier, higher-yielding assets, the purchase of which had previously been funded by selling the low-yielding dollar and yen. Thus when US stocks rallied aggressively on Thursday, both the dollar and the yen suffered. However, with futures pointing to a weaker opening for US equities on Friday, both currencies advanced. The dollar rose 0.6 per cent to $1.2702 against the euro, climbed 0.3 per cent to SFr1.1890 against the Swiss franc and gained 1.8 per cent to $0.6534 against the Australian dollar. The yen fared even better, rising 0.6 per cent to Y97.10 against the dollar, climbing 1.2 per cent to Y123.32 against the euro and gaining 2.2 per cent to Y63.51 against the Australian dollar.

Nairobi, Friday 14th November, 2008. Approximately 186,000 people in the Country have been displaced by raging floods following the heavy Rains pounding the country. According to reports released by the Kenya Red Cross society, the most affected areas have been around the Tana River, the Turkwel River and River Nzoia. The Organization is now appealing to well wishers to donate anything in form of Food, Clothing, and even Funds to address the situation. The organization said their primary focus is Health, Water, Sanitation and Emergency relief for next three months. The Ministry of special Programmes has assured the organization of assistance in terms of providing them with food items for the victims.  Some 36,233 people in Tana River have reportedly been displaced after Tana River burst its banks. In Turkana, 1,262 households have been displaced after the Turkwel River flooded and destroyed Crops and Livestock in Kitilu Division.In Busia 40,679 people have been affected by floods due to heavy down pour in upper catchments areas of Mt Elgon, Cherengani and Kaplagat Hills. River Nzoia broke the Dykes thereby flooding Bunyala central and Budalangi. In Trans Nzoia 29,570 people have been affected by floods and many people in Namanjala Centre have steadily been evacuated to high grounds. River Nzoia broke the Dykes thereby flooding Bunyala central and Budalangi. Landslides have been experienced due to heavy Rains in Murang'a District where 20 families were evacuated after a major landslide occurred in Gikoe Village Njumbi location.  Separately, in Tana River district, the effects of the ongoing heavy rains continue biting with area residents fearing the rains could lead to the outbreak of the Rift valley fever. According to the Tana River veterinary officer Dr. Anthony Kinyua heavy rains experienced in the year 2006 resulted to the outbreak of the disease.  Meanwhile 40 heavy commercial vehicles have been stuck for days along Hola-Garsen road following the ongoing heavy rains that have rendered the roads impassable. 

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, congratulated Obama on his US election victory, saying it took the world into a "new era".

Eurozone enters first ever recession

LONDON (Reuters) - Friday 14th November, 2008. Recession has hit much of Europe, data showed on Friday, confirming a widespread economic downturn that world leaders hope to tackle at a weekend summit in Washington. The worst financial crisis in 80 years has weakened the world's major economies and the euro zone said growth fell 0.2 percent for the second quarter in a row. It was the first time the 15-nation bloc has suffered recession since the common European currency was formed, and analysts said the European Central Bank would probably cut interest rates further to try to spur growth. "Now that the recession has been confirmed, the debate will concentrate on its length and severity," said Martin van Vliet at ING Financial Markets. "A further contraction in euro zone GDP in the current fourth quarter seems virtually assured." With Europe, as well as parts of Asia and North America, suffering, leaders of the G20 developed and emerging countries head to Washington to try to find ways to ensure the crisis, started by a U.S. housing market crash, is not repeated. But agreement among the G20, which represents 85 percent of the world's economy and two-thirds of its population, is unlikely over whether more regulation of markets can protect consumers, savers and companies from the fall-out. Washington says there should be no return to greater state control of financial markets. Much of Europe says without more regulation, a repeat of the last year's turmoil is inevitable.

COORDINATED ACTION

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for more coordinated measures to spur economic growth, a policy area where there may be more consensus. "By acting now we can stimulate growth in all our economies. The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of any action," he told reporters in New York on Thursday. European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso said he hoped to draw more emerging economies into global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, saying Europeans were ready to lower their representation to make more room for countries such as China. "There is an openness to accommodate an increased role of the emerging economies," the International Herald Tribune quoted Barroso as saying. Some in the West say they hope that countries with large reserves, notably in the Gulf, will help fund the IMF, which has offered loans to economies laboring under heavy debts. Pakistan, where its reserves are barely enough to cover nine weeks of imports, said it expected the IMF and other lenders to provide billions of dollars in loans soon, and China to pitch in with $500 million to avert a balance of payments crisis. Shaukat Tarin, the country's top economic adviser, told Reuters late on Thursday the government would soon send a letter of intent to the IMF.  "Hopefully it will be available in the next few weeks," Tarin said.

FRANCE BUCKS TREND

Before the euro zone reported it was in a recession, Germany, Europe's largest economy, Spain and Italy all said their economies shrank in the third quarter. France escaped the clutches of recession, reporting growth of 0.1 percent in the third quarter but analysts said it was a semantic debate. "Whether we're in recession or not is only a technical debate," said Jean-Louis Mourier, economist at Aurel Leven. "Both the surveys and indicators we've seen leave no doubt that in spite of this slight rebound the economy is on quite a bad trajectory." Spanish third quarter gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, its first contraction in 15 years. Italy's economy contracted by 0.5 percent in the third quarter. Emerging economies have also been hit. China, which has enjoyed a booming economy, reported capital spending on Friday that was slightly lower than expected, the latest in a series of indicators pointing to slowdown for the world's fourth-largest economy.

MARKETS

Stock markets bounced after days of falls. Stocks in Asia were broadly higher after U.S. shares gained nearly 7 percent. Oil held onto gains after hitting a 22-month low on Thursday. European shares jumped 2 percent. "You might have seen the initial euphoria, but nothing has really changed from yesterday. The negativity is still about," said Dominic Vaughan, senior dealer at CMC Markets in Sydney. Companies, most notably banks, continued to suffer, with some scrambling to cut costs by axing jobs. British media reported that Royal Bank of Scotland was to cut 3,000 jobs worldwide in the next few weeks. An RBS spokeswoman would not confirm the cuts. The world's largest municipal lender, Dexia, posted a quarterly loss of 1.544 billion euros ($1.93 billion) and said it had agreed to sell its FSA insurance business to Assured Guaranty. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank, said its quarterly profit halved on ballooning bad-loan costs and losses on its stock portfolio, and it stuck to its full-year forecast for a fall of 61 percent.

Nairobi, Friday 14th November, 2008. US ambassador Michael Ranneberger has called for sweeping reforms in the police force as recommended in the Waki report.  The ambassador says, the police force which was heavily criticized over its handling of the post election violence should review its tactics and create a modern code of conduct to stem cases of police brutality and abuse of human rights. The police force was heavily indicted for it's handling of the post election violence as cases of excessive force, extra judicial killings and rape of innocent civilians was leveled against the security agents. The Waki commission probing into the violence recommended reforms in the police force aimed at injecting professionalism and respect for human rights as they undertake their duties and now the US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger has joined in demanding that the government initiates the major reforms. The ambassador said the reforms are long overdue but thanked internal security minister George Saitoti for forming the police oversight board to address cases of police harassment adding that those found guilty must be punished. He said the US is ready to support the reform process to assist the Kenyan security forces to improve their capacity to fight crime.  Ranneberger made the remarks while presiding over the 4th graduation ceremony for the Kenya institute of studies for criminal justice.  The US was among 25 diplomatic missions in the country which yesterday urged politicians to implement recommendations of the Waki report to end impunity.

Citigroup to cut at least 10,000 jobs: report

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is cutting at least 10,000 jobs in its investment bank and other divisions throughout the world, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and his deputies have instructed managers to slash their budgets for employee compensation by at least 25 percent, the paper said citing the people. "We will continue to carefully manage our head count levels as we re-engineer the company in line with our stated goal and market realities," Citigroup spokeswoman Christina Pretto told the paper. Citigroup announced last month it cut 11,000 jobs in the third quarter, bringing the total number of job cuts in 2008 to 23,000. Citigroup aims to shrink its workforce to about 290,000 employees by next year from 352,000 as of Sept 30, the WSJ said, citing another person. The paper also reported that Citigroup is notifying some credit card customers that their interest rates are being raised by an average of three percentage points. A person familiar with the strategy estimated that the rate increases would apply to less than 20 percent of Citigroup's card portfolio, according to the paper. A Citigroup spokeswoman told Reuters that she had nothing further to add to the company's comments reported by the Journal.

Eurozone officially in recession

The eurozone has officially slipped into recession after EU figures showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter. This follows a 0.2% contraction in the 15-nation area in the previous quarter from April to June. Two quarters of negative growth define a technical recession. The news was widely anticipated and follows data showing that Germany and Italy, two of the biggest eurozone economies, are already in recession. The BBC correspondent in Germany, Steve Rosenberg, said the figures were not a surprise. "The Germans had their gloomy economic news [on Thursday] and as Germany is the dynamo of the European economy, when there are problems there, it drags the rest of the region down with it," he said. On Thursday, figures showed the German economy, one of the world's largest, had shrunk 0.5% in the third quarter, following a 0.4% drop in the second quarter. Spain's economy also shrank in the third quarter, the first such drop since 1993. Analysts are now convinced that a slump in household spending and a property crisis are likely to push the Spanish economy into recession as well next quarter. The UK is expected to join the roll call of European countries in recession with a bleak Bank of England forecast suggesting that Britain is already there. France is not faring too much better, but its economy did manage to expand in the third quarter much to the surprise of most analysts. Official data showed that the French economy grew by 0.1% in the June to September period. But analysts forecast worse to come for the countries in the region that use the euro. With inflationary risks retreating, many expect further aggressive cuts in interest rates from the European Central Bank, with some predicting they could go as low as 2% - the same level they stood when the eurozone was formed in 1999. "Looking ahead, we can expect further quarters of negative GDP growth, until the third quarter of 2009, simply because so far we have not had in the GDP figures the full impact of the credit market crisis," said Gilles Moec, senior economist, Bank of America. "We also haven't yet seen the full impact of unemployment on consumer spending," he added, forecasting the eurozone region to shrink by 1% next year.

The member states of the eurozone are France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Irish Republic, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Austria, Finland and Cyprus.

The thorny issue of portfolio balance in diplomatic circles has returned to haunt the Grand Coalition Government nine months after the main political parties agreed to work together. Fresh threats to unity have emerged after PNU and ODM disagreed on sharing jobs in the diplomatic missions. Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s office has now written to Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, pointing out that ODM is yet to get its share of diplomatic appointments. The issue returns to haunt the coalition that is already embroiled in the hot debate over the Waki Report. While the PM’s Principal Administrative Secretary Caroli Omondi said certain principles had to be followed in the planned appointments to diplomatic service, PNU was blaming ODM for asking for too much. In a letter dated October 3 and copied to PS Foreign Affairs Thuita Mwangi, the PM wants the political appointments shared on a 50:50 basis between the two coalition partners — PNU and ODM as enshrined in the National Peace Accord. But when contacted by The Standard on Thursday, the PS said he had not seen the letter from the PM’s office. "Why don’t you ask Muthaura’s office about that communication. I did not receive the letter. Maybe the letter was not sent to me," said Mr Thuita on the phone. ODM is said to be eyeing key diplomatic missions in the ongoing negotiations. The party also wants the appointments balanced between career diplomats and political appointees on a 50:50 basis "The balance should be achieved in the political appointments between ODM and PNU and be done with regard to the relative international significance of concerned stations," said the PM through his principal administrative secretary. Some of these are United Kingdom headed by Mr Joseph Muchemi, South Africa (Mr Thomas Omollo), United Arab Emirates (Mr Bishar Abdirahman Hussein) and Washington DC (Mr Peter Rateng Ogego) whose term ends next month. Kenya’s Ambassador to China Ruth Solitei is also expected to return after completing her tour of duty.

Ms Solitei ought to have returned last month but was asked to stay on until the end of the World Urban Forum, which was attended by a high powered Kenya delegation led by the PM. Although China is not among the stations ODM wants, there are reports that former Internal Security Minister Julius Sunkuli, an official of Kanu, a PNU affiliate, has allegedly received an appointment letter as the new ambassador to China. A PNU source, who did not wish to be named, accused ODM of targeting strategic missions. He named London as one of the important missions they would like to keep. Other missions targeted by ODM are Uganda (Mr Japheth Ratemo Getugi), Zambia (Mr Lazarus Amayo), Malaysia (Mr David Gachoki Njoka), Nigeria (Mr Daniel Mepukori Koikai) and positions of the deputy Permanent Representatives to Los Angeles and Unep. Kenya has 50 missions abroad, and the terms of 15 High Commissioners and ambassadors are said to have come to an end. But there were reports that the terms of the 15, including high profile missions like the US and UK, have been extended. The Foreign Affairs PS said ambassadors and High Commissioners serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority — the President. "I have seen situations where ambassadors serve for more than 10 years. Former Tanzania High Commissioner Sarakikya was here for several years. Why is our situation so unique?" asked Thuita. But the PM’s office insists that diplomats who have completed their tour of duty, or have previously served be recalled to allow injection of fresh talent and political appointees have minimum academic qualifications and experience to serve as ambassadors. The negotiations to balance the appointments to "represent the face of Kenya" has been in the works for more than three months now between Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula, Mr Muthaura, Thuita and Mr Omondi. But Thuita denied ever attending such meetings. Apart from positions of high commissioners and ambassadors, ODM had also identified individuals to take the positions of Foreign Service officers and secretaries, especially in the ministries of Lands, Youth Affairs, Tourism, Labour, Information and Communication, Water and Energy. During the talks between President Kibaki and Raila on the formation of the coalition Government, ODM had demanded that the structure and organisation be agreed upon even as negotiations on the Cabinet went on. - The Standard.

"ONE FOR THE ROAD TURNS OUT TO BE ONE FOR THE FLOOR"

Over 1,000 Kenyans attended Obama victory celebrations in London on Saturday 8th November, 2008. From left is Ms Wanjiru a banker in London, Mrs. Cecilia Muchemi and far right is Catherine Muigai Mwangi, Kenya's ambassador in the Republic of Ireland. Before half way the celebrations several  Kenyans as usual with free beer - were stung by the bee and instead of taking "one for the road" they took "one for the floor". - CLICK FOR FOR ALL THE PHOTOS

Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that Europe's largest economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter. The fall in economic output, driven by falls in exports, was greater than many analysts had expected. Rich countries' think tank the OECD has also forecast a fall in Euro-area economic activity of 0.5% next year. "A negative effect on gross domestic product came from foreign trade, with a strong increase in imports and weakening exports," the Federal Statistics Office said. The last time that the German economy was in recession was the first half of 2003. "This confirms the German economy is in a marked slump," said Klaus Schruefer at SEB. "We will definitely get a further contraction in the fourth quarter, probably of a similar order," he added. That pessimistic outlook was echoed by Sebastian Wanke at Dekabank: "There won't be an improvement in the fourth quarter. The situation will only get worse." Such gloomy predictions are based on the glut of recent indicators showing a slowdown in the German economy. Orders for goods produced by the world's largest exporter fell 8% between August and September, according to the economy ministry in Berlin. Orders from outside Europe fell 11.4%, while domestic orders dropped 4.3%. BBC Berlin correspondent Steve Rosenberg said: "Even if you make the best cars and the best machine tools in the world, if there's a global recession, customers can't afford them." Last week, official figures also showed that German industrial output fell 3.6% in September compared with August. "Anecdotal evidence and leading indicators are scary," said Carsten Brzeski at ING Financial Markets. The European Central Bank also released its quarterly survey of forecasters on Thursday. It showed a cut in the average 2009 growth outlook to just 0.3%, from the 1.3% forecast in the last survey released in August. "In the view of the governing council, a number of the downside risks to economic activity identified earlier have materialised," said the report. The Paris-based OECD, which represents the interests of 30 developed economies, also forecast a fall in economic activity in the US of 0.9% next year, with Japan contracting by 0.1%. More startling, it expects the US economy to contract by 2.8% in the fourth quarter of this year. The Dax index of leading German shares gained 0.6%, closing at 4,649.52, despite confirmation that Europe's biggest economy is officially in recession. The Cac-40 in France was also up 0.65%. The reaction of European markets was encouraging, given the heavy falls in Asian markets overnight. The Nikkei index in Japan closed down 5.3%, while markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia all fell between 3% and 6%. The falls were triggered by a sharp drop in the Dow Jones index of 4.7%, following the US Treasury's announcement on Wednesday that it would be focusing on taking stakes in banks rather than buying up their toxic debt.

LEFT: The Daily Telegraph bears the official portrait of Prince Charles, who celebrates his 60th birthday today. Its lead story is the glut of unsold cars in Britain which is presenting potential buyers with the best deals they have seen in years. CENTRE: The Daily Express says that almost 11,000 jobs were lost in a matter of hours yesterday after BT announced 10,000 redundancies, while British Leyland and Friends Provident also wielded the axe. The paper predicts that two million Britons could be out of work by Christmas. RIGHT: The Scotsman says the first wave of mass job cuts has hit Scotland after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced 3,000 redundancies worldwide. The job losses equate to 15% of the bank's global banking and markets workforce - but the initial cull is not expected to affect staff in Scotland.

London, Friday 14th November, 2008. British  Telecom axed 10,000 jobs and more than 1,000 City bankers were facing unemployment tonight as the full impact of the economic downturn took hold. The communications firm will get rid of 7,000 workers in Britain and another 3,000 across the world, with analysts warning that more will follow throughout the economy. Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland and Morgan Stanley are cutting about 750 and 250 investment banking jobs respectively in the latest round of City redundancies. RBS, owner of NatWest, is cutting 15 per cent of its 20,000-strong global banking and markets division in the next few days while Morgan Stanley is moving to cut 10 per cent of its worldwide investment banking workforce. The dramatic scale of the BT cuts — mostly among agency and contract workers — came in a week which has already seen 5,000 jobs go in big businesses. Hi-tech industries have taken the brunt of the downturn, with Virgin Media, Yell and Vodafone all shedding jobs this week. Analysts said today that mass unemployment is now a serious threat to the economy, with the total number of jobless increasing rapidly.  According to some predictions as many as three million could be out of work by next year. Dr Gerard Lyons, chief economist and head of global research at Standard Chartered bank, said: “Clearly there will be more job losses to come. Our guestimate is that unemployment will rise to about 2.5 million.  “If you're running a company and you've got reduced sales, tighter cashflow and you're pessimistic about the future, of course you are going to shed staff.” The BT move follows an unexpected profits warning last month and yesterday's news that unemployment in Britain had risen to its highest level for 11 years with 1.83 million people out of work. BT said it had already cut 4,000 jobs since April and the remaining 6,000 posts would go by March.  It has a global staff of 160,000 and expects to make most of the cuts in its direct workforce by not replacing staff who leave. Chief executive Ian Livingston said the cuts were part of an ongoing efficiency programme. He said: “This reflects the fact that our prices have been falling every year for several years. But we also anticipated reasonably early on that economic conditions were worsening.” The cuts precede talks between Gordon Brown and world leaders in New York this weekend over the global economy. A spokesman for RBS said the scale of its cuts has not been finalised: “We constantly review our operating model to make sure that it is appropriate to the market condition and take action accordingly.” It is understood that redundancies at RBS are likely to happen within the next four weeks. American banking giant Morgan Stanley said: “The firm is resizing its cost base and headcount to match current opportunities in the marketplace.” An estimated 6,000 people work for Morgan Stanley in London, of which about half are thought to be in investment banking.

The not-so-secret code names used by the US Secret Service for the president-elect and his family have been published. Barack Obama is called Renegade, while his wife Michelle is Renaissance, and their daughters Rosebud and Radiance. They will replace Trailblazer (President George W Bush) and his wife Tempo in the White House on 20 January. The names are chosen to be easily pronounced and understood when agents use radio communications. A list of names starting with R was drawn up by the White House Communications Agency, a branch of the military that serves the White House and Secret Service. When 19-year-old Karenna Gore's father became vice-president in 1993 she had to choose her own name. In 1997, she wrote: "Ever since four years ago, when I was put on the spot and told 'two syllables' and 'It has to start with an s,' I have been cringing in the back seat when identified as 'Smurfette'." Al Gore frequently told people his code name was Al Gore because he was so boring. However, the Washington Post reported that he was initially called Sawhorse but eventually became Sundance for unknown reasons. Vice-President-elect Joe Biden is known as Celtic. The outgoing president retains his code name as he and his family will continue to have Secret Service protection. "There's nothing top secret about them," Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren told Associated Press. "It has no operational security significance any more because of encrypted communication capabilities." The code names have "nothing to do with security" and more to do with ease in radio communication for those agents whispering into microphones up their sleeves. The defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a senator from Arizona, is Phoenix, while his wife Cindy is Parasol. His running mate, Sarah Palin, was Denali - the name of national park in her home state of Alaska, and the natural gas pipeline project there. Her husband, Todd, the North Slope oil worker, was Driller. Previous code names have included: Passkey for President Gerald Ford; Rawhide for President Ronald Reagan; Deacon for President Jimmy Carter; and Angler for Vice-President Dick Cheney.

An HIV-positive man has been left free of the infection, almost two years after undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Doctors in Germany made the breakthrough when they carried out the transplant on an American patient living in Berlin who was also suffering from leukaemia. To treat the man's leukaemia, his cancer-stricken cells were replaced by healthy stem cells from a donor who had a natural genetic resistance to the Aids virus. Doctors Gero Hutter and Thomas Schneider of the Berlin Charite hospital explained their team had sought out a donor with the genetic mutation that is known to help the body resist the Aids virus. The mutation affects a receptor, a cellular doorway - CCR5 - which the Aids virus uses to get into the cells it infects. The CCR5 mutation is found in about 3% of Europeans. "This success has great potential," Sky News' health correspondent Thomas Moore said.  "People with the CCR5 mutation have a natural ability to prevent the virus from infecting healthy cells." Dr Hutter's team said although they had found no trace of the virus in the 42-year-old patient it did not mean it was not there. "We performed all tests, not only with blood but also with other reservoirs," Dr Schneider said, adding: "But we cannot exclude the possibility that it's still there." However, the scientists stressed the dangerous procedure would never become a standard treatment for HIV. The patient first has to have his or her own bone marrow completely destroyed before a transplant can be performed. At this stage, patients risk death from even the most minor infections because they have no immune system until the stem cells are able to grow and replicate. HIV has no cure but cocktails of drugs can keep the virus suppressed, sometimes to undetectable levels. Research shows the virus never disappears but lurks in so-called reservoirs throughout the body

Bone Transplant Offers Aids Hope

The pound has continued to fall against the dollar, hitting its lowest rate in six and a half years against the US currency on fears of a deep recession. It follows comments from the Bank of England on Wednesday that the UK economy had worsened and that it would cut interest rates again if necessary. Sterling fell to $1.467 - its weakest level since 2002. The pound has lost more than a quarter of its value against the dollar since July, when it was worth more than $2.

The Royal Navy has repelled a pirate attack on a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen, shooting dead two men believed to be Somali pirates. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the incident took place on Tuesday, when HMS Cumberland crew members tried to board a traditional wooden dhow. The Yemeni-flagged vessel was identified as having been involved in an earlier attack on the Danish ship An MoD spokesman said the pirates were shot in self-defence. After initial attempts to stop the dhow failed, the Royal Navy launched sea boats to encircle the vessel. The British seamen were fired on and shot back before the dhow was boarded and its crew surrendered. An MoD Spokesman said: "Two foreign nationals, believed to be Somali pirates, were shot and killed in self-defence. "A Yemeni national was also found injured and later died, despite receiving emergency treatment from the ship's doctor. It is unclear whether his injuries were as a result of the fire-fight or a previous incident involving the pirates." A post-shooting investigation is being carried out, the spokesman added.

Envoy backs tax for MPs

In Summary

• German Ambassador says it is wrong for MPs to refuse to pay taxes.
• Kenyan MPs were among the highest paid in the world.
•  

Wannabe record breakers puckered up, cooked up and stripped off across the globe Thursday to celebrate a day of mass attempts to break world records. Superheroes got their kit on while others were taking it off to stand around in their underpants as more than 50 different record attempts were being made across 15 countries. The antics were all in the name of the fourth annual Guinness World Records Day, with hopefuls trying to secure a place in the next edition of the famous book of records. "We are very happy to see that people are still passionate and eager to achieve their goals in the midst of the global market turmoil," said Guinness book editor-in-chief Craig Glenday. In London, the record for the largest gathering of people wearing underpants or knickers was set at St. Pancras station Thursday with 116 people stripping off to give commuters a bit of a shock. A record was achieved in Camden for the longest line of pizzas, with a 285.5-metre long line, while the record for the largest number of people arm wrestling was to be challenged by City Hall. British topless model Ruth Reynolds set a new kissing record on Wednesday, but then was topped by French student Valentin Pasquier who managed 94 kisses in a minute.

This albino grave was sealed to stop people digging up the body. Police in southern Tanzania say they have arrested a man accused of attempting to sell his albino wife. The man was allegedly planning to sell his wife to two Congolese businessmen for around $3,000. Albinos have been living in fear in Tanzania after a series of killings due to a belief their body parts can make magic potions more effective. At least 27 people with albinism have been killed since March, including a seven-month old baby. President Jakaya Kikwete ordered a police crackdown on those involved in the killings, and 170 witchdoctors have since been arrested. But BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such crimes are committed.

Park project: up to 2,700 workers are on the site with the number expected to rise to 9,000 by 2010. Promises of a "skills legacy" from the London Olympics were in doubt today as it emerged that 20,000 migrant workers had registered for jobs in the main 2012 borough in the past year. The surge in new National Insurance numbers in Newham has prompted concerns over pledges to provide thousands of skilled construction jobs to the local community. About 2,700 workers are on the Olympics site, rising to 9,000 by 2010. Estimates of the number of migrant workers on the site - mostly from Poland and Baltic states within the European Union - range from 10 to 70 per cent. According to the Olympic Delivery Authority's last month employment figures for the Olympic Park, 58 per cent of the 2,700 workforce were resident in London and 24 per cent from the East End. However, the figures do not indicate the worker's nationality - or how long they have lived in Britain. Labour MP Frank Field, who published the National Insurance figures, said: "If I was the Olympics minister I would be getting concerned. It is totally lawful but British taxpayers and lottery players are paying for jobs for foreign workers and it is not what we signed up for." The ODA has promised a skills legacy for east London and is in the forefront of the Government's agenda under which Gordon Brown promised "British jobs for British workers".

Nairobi, Friday 14th November, 2008. Eight suspected gangsters have been shot dead by police in separate incidents around the city. Three of them, who were suspected of having stolen a car, were gunned down near Huruma Flats, off Juja Road, at about 11.30pm on Wednesday night. A revolver was recovered from them. Kasarani police boss Jasper Omabti said they received a report that the suspects were driving along Juja Road in a vehicle said to have been stolen. Police on patrol pursued the vehicle, but the suspects sped off and headed towards Huruma Flats while shooting at the officers. In the second incident on the same night, two were shot on Naivasha Road in Kawangware Estate during a botched carjacking of a Citi Hoppa bus.  The two were part of a gang of five that had boarded the bus in the city centre posing as passengers but turned out to be gangsters and started robbing commuters. The five are said to have commandeered the bus but the driver of another bus who noticed the commotion alerted police at a roadblock. Gigiri police boss David Kerina said officers flagged down the bus near Mau Mau bridge and shot two of the suspects dead as they attempted to escape. Three others escaped with injuries. Police recovered mobile phones and handbags that had been robbed from the passengers. The bus was allowed to proceed to its destination. In Kibera, three suspected muggers were shot after they were found robbing pedestrians along Karanja Road at about 10pm. In Kitengela, residents of New Valley area lynched a man they said was part of a gang that had been terrorising them. The man was cornered at midnight on Wednesday as he tried to break into a house.  Occupants raised the alarm and neighbours who responded beat him to death and set his body ablaze. His accomplice escaped in the night. Elsewhere, police on Wednesday night recovered a vehicle belonging to musician Jackson Makini Ngechi aka CMB Prezzo, which had been carjacked the previous night. It was found abandoned in Buru Buru Estate. - Daily Nation.

The Cabinet skipped discussions on the Waki report on Thursday, fuelling speculation that the coalition Government was still split over the issue. It also failed to discuss recommendations from a committee set up to look into the Kriegler report, which suggested, among other things, disbanding or reforming the Electoral Commission of Kenya. The committee proposed changing the Constitution to replace the ECK with a lean five-member professional interim body in line with Kriegler’s recommendations. Delay in beginning to implement the Waki report puts the Government in a dilemma, with the prospect of the International Criminal Court at The Hague taking over the prosecutions of suspects increasing by the day. The Waki Commission gave a strict timetable of 135 days to start implementing its report by creating an international tribunal to investigate then try suspects locally. Failure to meet that timetable means the ICC will step in and take over the work.

Formation of a homegrown special tribunal became imminent ahead of Thursday’s Cabinet meeting to be chaired by President Kibaki at State House, Nairobi, from 10am. The Cabinet meeting comes hours after Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga held closed door consultations with security chiefs — Commissioner of Police Maj-Gen Hussein Ali and Chief of General Staff Gen Jeremiah Kianga — in what appeared to be an effort to try to get a middle ground on the thorny Waki Report. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, Defence Minister Yusuf Haji and the Attorney-General Amos Wako also attended the four-hour meeting held at the President’s Harambee House office, Nairobi, on Wednesday. The Director of Presidential Press Service Isaiya Kabira said the meeting was a Cabinet committee on security.  "It was a routine meeting chaired by the President," he said. Kabira, however, confirmed that Thursday’s Cabinet meeting would start from 10am. He declined to confirm whether the Waki Report would be on the agenda of the State House meeting. It also emerged last evening that a Cabinet paper had been prepared detailing how to implement the Waki Report that has caused panic among the political and business elite since its release last month. The paper is expected to be tabled before the Cabinet on Thursday morning and would form the basis for discussions. Details of the contents remained scanty but sources said it had, among other things, suggested the formation of a local tribunal to try poll violence suspects. Debate has been raging on whether to try the suspects locally or abroad, but consensus appears to be building on the setting up of a special tribunal. President Kibaki had upon receiving the Waki Report ordered it be made public and promised to have it discussed by the Cabinet. The Cabinet has been divided down the middle, with ministers taking different positions on the implementation of the report. The Government has up to February 28 to form a tribunal to try the suspects of the post-election violence. There were fears that establishing the tribunal to meet deadlines set by the Waki Report may be a tall order as Parliament is set to go on recess on December 7 before it can put in place the requisite legislation to pave way for the setting up of the tribunal. Chief Whip, Jakoyo Midiwo, who is also the Gem MP said: "We are suggesting a recess date of December 7. There is no need to stay here until December 18 as proposed by some MPs. There is panic among members who may want to fast track the process." Sources also hinted to The Standard that a group of ODM MPs are pushing for a special tribunal, including an option for a presidential clemency. Already, a section of ministers have started pushing for the tribunal to be constituted as a better option compared to being taken to the ICC at The Hague, Netherlands. Among those who backed the tribunal are Kalonzo and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta. But even as President Kibaki met the team, pressure continued to mount from civil societies and religious leaders to have the Waki Report implemented in toto. Top clergy meeting under the aegis of the Inter-Religious Forum urged Kibaki and Raila to take charge of the implementation of both Waki and Kriegler reports.

They called upon Parliament to move fast and pass the necessary laws to facilitate the implementation of the two reports. "We call upon President Kibaki and the Prime Minister Raila to be courageous and give leadership in the comprehensive implementation of the two reports," they said in a statement at Ufungamano House, Nairobi. Saying that the Waki Report had its time frame for implementation, the leaders said they would support the handing over of the envelope containing names of perpetrators of the violence if Parliament fails to pass laws establishing the special tribunal. The forum brings together the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem), National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), PCEA, Hindu Council of Kenya and the Seventh Day Adventist, among others. When contacted, John Cardinal Njue, who was represented at the forum by Fr Vincent Wambugu of Catholic Secretariat, said he was in agreement with the statement released at the forum. The leaders who read the statement in turns included Supkem chairman Prof Abdul afar El Busily, NCCK secretary-general Rev Peter Karanja, immediate former Hindu Council of Kenya chairman Rashmin Chitnis, and PCEA moderator Rev Dr David Githii, among others. Meanwhile, the ODM-Kenya Parliamentary Group joined other political parties in calling for the setting up of a special tribunal to try those implicated in the post-election violence. "We need local solutions for local problems. We have the capacity to deal with the issue," said Party Whip and Kibwezi MP Prof Philip Kaloki. Addressing a press conference at Parliament buildings on Wednesday, the MPs however, said there was need to implement the Waki Report through a special tribunal. Kalonzo did not attend the media briefing of the PG, but was said to have endorsed the resolutions. The Waki commission recommended the setting up of a tribunal comprising of Kenyan and international members to try the perpetrators of the violence. Names of the suspects were not made public but were handed over in a sealed envelope to former United Nations chief Kofi Annan. Waki recommended a tribunal be formed within 60 days to try the perpetrators. If the tribunal would not have been formed by then, the report recommends that the names of those in the list be forwarded to the International Criminal court in The Hague. The International Centre for Policy and Conflict’s director Ndungu Wainana said a special tribunal and formation of a credible and effective Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) were vital. Meanwhile, former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume on Wednesday added his voice to demands for full implementation of the Waki Report. Karume said he was ready to appear before any commission if he was among those implicated.n "I am ready to appear before anybody to clear my name if I am there. Let all leaders accept a tribunal to sort this matter out once and for all," Karume told The Standard on Wednesday outside Parliament buildings soon after visiting the more than 500 IDPs camping there.  - The Standard.

LEFT: The Daily Telegraph leads with the Bank of England's warning that Britain faces a "white-collar recession", with the middle classes hit by falling living standards and unemployment as the economy suffers its worst year since 1980. It also carries a picture of Tippi Degré, a girl whose nomadic existence in Africa makes her a "real-life Mowgli". CENTRE: The Guardian says the City is bracing itself for the base rate of interest to be cut to 1% in the new year, after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned yesterday of a deep recession. The newspaper also expects the Government to renew a Post Office contract to deliver benefit payments to more than 4.3 million claimants - thereby saving thousands of branches from closure. RIGHT: The Daily Express carries the allegations against Karen Matthews as its lead, and also features a piece on why the Queen is so proud of Prince Charles, who is celebrating his 60th birthday.

Philip Warutere, Lydia Warutere of (Hayes) and Michelle (Mama-Josh) of (Oxford) are deeply sad to announce the death of their father Mr. Joseph King'e Githiko in Kenya on the 10th. November 2008.  Friends and family are meeting every evening for funeral arrangement from 7.00 pm at 116 High Street Hayes - UB3 5AD. You can send your condolences on- 0788201516,  07949360730 or 07903761571.

If Waki Commission Report is not implemented, a much worse election violence situation will be witnessed in 2012. Mark your dairies. If implemented those committing violence will always be aware that they have no place to hide in their own country or elsewhere. Rwanda is a good example.

Applicants who wish to submit their applications for leave to remain in the UK on marriage/or other categories from abroad should seek legal advice before departing from the UK if their immigration history would affect the success of their applications. Many people left the UK to submit such applications from abroad before the October deadline. However they failed to seek legal advice before departing on whether or not their immigration history would affect their application in line with the new immigration rules for entry clearance to the UK . One of the key issues that applicants must take into account when seeking to travel abroad to submit their applications is their past immigration history as this will play a vital role in the decision of the entry clearance officer. This is because, although  applicants were given a duration of time to travel abroad and submit their applications, the rules only allowed people to submit the applications but did not specify whether or not the applications will be successful or not. In the circumstances, those who have been overstayers in the UK have found themselves in a dilemma as their applications for entry clearance have been refused on the basis of their immigration history in UK . Thus before making arrangements to travel, seek legal advice.

Democratic Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama and his family on election night in Chicago, IL on Wednesday, November 5, 2008.  - CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

MINISTER OTIENO KAJWANG STRUCK OFF THE ROLL OF ADVOCATES

Cabinet Minister Otieno Kajwang and East African Assembly MP Gervarse Akhabi have been struck off the roll of advocates. The Law Society of Kenya expelled the two and other 43 lawyers with disciplinary cases.  LSK published their names in the dailies on Tuesday. According to the notice, they are not allowed to engage in any legal practice. Mr Kajwang’ and his other colleagues can only be reinstated to the bar after they have served a minimum of five years and or through a High Court order.  The Minister had been struck off the Roll of Advocates in 2004 for issuing a bouncing cheque to a client and again in 2006, but was reinstated by a High Court order.  The list also contains 44 other advocates who have been suspended for periods ranging from six months to three years.  The suspended advocates can only be reinstated after they comply with the orders made by the Advocates Disciplinary Committee. The society had only published the names of errant lawyers in an internal gazette.  However, LSK decided to go public with names as a means of deterring any of the lawyers from practising in other towns illegally. - Daily Nation.

Keep your heart free from hate
your mind from worry
live simply, expect little,
give much, sing often,
pray always.
Fill your life with love.
scatter sunshine,
Forget self, think of others
Do as you would like to be done by others.

Mu’allim Yahya Ali Omar, Swahili Scholar  - Obituary

Sheikh Yahya Ali Omar [left] Swahili language scholar and renowned Assistant researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London seen in conversation with the late BBC Swahili Service presenter Nasor Malik.

Mu’allim (“Teacher”) Yahya Ali Omar died on 11th of October aged 84 at his London home near Russell Square, and was buried on the 14th at the Garden of Peace cemetery in East London. Yahya was a familiar figure at SOAS, where for many years he came almost daily to read, talk with colleagues or have lunch at the student cafeteria until his very last days. He will be missed by many at SOAS, by the Swahili community in London, his friends around the world, and above all his family in Kenya, UK, USA and elsewhere. 

Mu’allim Yahya was indeed a teacher of the Swahili Islamic tradition, but also in a western, academic sense. He taught generations of students of Kenya, Britain and USA, and also worked with prominent linguists while at SOAS. He attended Koranic schools in Mombasa at the Anisa mosque and later attended Madrasa Ghazali Muslim School in the same town where he learned from famous religious scholars such as Sheikh al-Amin bin Ali Mazrui — the well known scholar of Islamic Religious Science, and former Chief Kadhi (Muslim judge) of Kenya. After completing his religious education in Mombasa, Yahya started teaching Arabic and the Qur’an at the Arab Boys Primary School in Mombasa. He then worked for the Islamic Foundation in Nairobi where he translated a book by Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi titled in Swahili –‘Mpango wa Maisha katika Uislamu’ (1076) – or The Islamic Way of Life, and edited the Swahili translation of the holy Qur’an done by Sheikh Abdalla Saleh Farsy before coming to work at SOAS in 1969 as a Swahili Assistant to Professor Wilfred Whitely. In the same period, he also worked for the Arab League branch in Nairobi as translator.

Yahya’s work was concerned with preserving Swahili language and literature with emphasis on the Islamic character of its people and culture. He contributed much to Swahili scholarship, and to defending the contested issue of Swahili identity. According to Bwantumu Swaleh, chair of the London based Waswahili Trust, Mu’allim Yahya, signed and presented a petition to the Robertson Commission appointed by the British Government in 1961 before Kenya’s independence. In his petition he demanded respect for Muslim minority rights, including the continuation of the Kadhi (Islamic) Courts, the preservation of Muslim educational Institutions, and protecting Swahili land rights and their cultural heritage after independence. Effectively, a guarantee was given in 1961 at the Lancaster House Agreement by the incoming Kenya Government to respect Muslim minority rights, but alas, according to Yahya, this was never fully implemented. 

          Many publications came out of his collaborations with Swahili scholars such as Jan Knappert, Joan Maw, Torben Anderson, PJL Frankl, and others from the USA, including Carol Eastman, Carol Scotton and Professor Swartz M.J. They and the entire Swahili academic community are indebted to Yahya’s insights, deep and wide ranging knowledge of his native Swahili language and culture; without him many books would not have been written. In his twilight years, Yahya’s played an indispensable role in transcribing the Swahili Manuscripts, a project based at SOAS (http://swahilimanuscripts.soas.ac.uk/), because he was one of the few people literate in the now defunct Arabic based Swahili script. Yahya published a heavily annotated book, Three Prose texts in the Swahili of Mombasa (Dietrich Reimaer Verlag, 1998), written in Kimvita, the Swahili dialect of his native Mombasa. These were written and broadcast earlier in the 1950s by the popular radio service in Mombasa at the time – Sauti ya Mvita (Voice of Mvita), and to which Mu’allim Yahya was also a regular contributor.

Mu’allim Yahya was humble, kind, friendly and hospitable to all those who sought to drink from his fountain of wisdom at his London flat, on the corridors and offices of SOAS or during Swahili cultural events. He lived a simple life, always caring for and supporting his extended family in Kenya. He often made use of my office hours during which I did my best to imbibe the vast knowledge of Swahili culture, history and folklore that he possessed. He also showed great interest in learning about other languages and cultures, in particular Swahili’s Bantu cousins. During our conversations, he rarely failed to question me about Gikuyu language equivalents of significant Swahili words, concepts, grammatical structures or cultural lexicon.  Other times I’d simply lend him an ear while he expounded on Islamic religious philosophy or Swahili cosmology; other times we simply listened to BBC Swahili service on my desktop.

Personally, I’ll greatly miss Mua’llim Yahya who was, to me, the epitome of a good Swahili man: humble, gentle, kind, spiritual, and with a sharp sense of humour. Mungu amlaze pema peponi. May he rest in peace.

By Dr. Chege Githiora, SOAS.

November 13, 2008: US President-elect Barack Obama spoke with President Kibaki on telephone on Tuesday, State House officials said, in what was seen by analysts as ground laying for future engagements by the two countries. Although the substance of the discussion between the two heads of state was not disclosed, Mr Isaiah Kabira, the head of  the Presidential Press Service told Business Daily the conversation lasted for 15 minutes. “Their discussion was on future engagements between Kenya and the US,” he said without giving details.  Mr Obama’s presidency seems certain to intensify US interest, in securing democratic reform in Kenya. The country has been at the centre of US efforts in fighting terrorism. In his campaign manifesto posted on his Website, www.barackobama.com, the President-elect cited fighting corruption in Kenya as one of the agenda in his administration’s foreign policy engagements.  Analysts have predicted that trade relations, better democracy and governance were likely to top the US agenda for Kenya as the Obama administration takes shape in January when he is inaugurated. Throughout the campaigns, the US President-elect has presented himself as a champion of democracy and human rights among developed and developing economies alike. Mr Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white mother from US, marked a milestone in US history, capping the excitement his candidacy had generated around the world, most vividly in Kenya. President Kibaki is said to have extended an invitation to Mr Obama to visit Kenya.  Last Thursday President Kibaki set aside a public holiday to give Kenyans time to celebrate Mr Obama’s triumph. Industry players in various sectors of the economy hope the Obama presidency could change their fortunes in terms of trade and investments, given his roots in Kenya. Kenya’s bilateral ties with the US has been growing with statistics from the US Department of Commerce showing that the value of bilateral trade between the two countries hit the $910 million mark in 2007 compared to $706 million in 2001 in favour of the World’s biggest economy.

US President-elect Barack Obama and President Kibaki

Although it is one of the world’s largest oil producers, Nigeria’s oil income amounts to just 24p per person per day. One in five children dies before their fifth birthday. Many don’t have enough to eat and can’t get treatment when they are ill. Some 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive. Nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

Invitation to Family rebuild fundraising

Family Rebuild is holding a fundraising campaign this Saturday 15th November from 6.00pm at Memorial Baptist Church hall, 387-395 Barking Road, E13 in aid of the family rebuild program. This program addresses various issues touching the family ranging from relationships, education, parenting and individual counseling. Many thanks to all those who have supported us in the past, you have refreshed us and our prayer is that the Lord increases you abundantly.  You can participate in this fundraising from any corner of the world just by letting us know of your intentions via email, familyrebuild@yahoo.co.uk.

Those of you who are able to get to London on Saturday please feel very welcome. We are praying your family and for as many as will be partakers of this noble task. God bless you and see you on Saturday. Remember to watch family rebuild program on sky channel 593 every Thursday at 7.30pm. Courtesy of Pastor & Mrs Wangaruro being the host and also the management Committee.

BLACK HISTORY SEASON CELEBRATION 2008

OBAMA VICTORY CELEBRATION

CELEBRATE CHANGE FOR UNITY AND EQUALITY
SATURDAY 15th NOVEMBER 2008
TIME:12-8PM
 
VENUE: MAIN HALL, OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY, GIPSY LANE, HEADINGTON.OXFORD.0X3 0BP.
 
 

• TALKS REFLECTIONS AND ACTIONS
• WORLD MUISIC AND DANCE
• POETRY READINGS
• TRADITIONAL NATIONAL COSTUMES
• STALLS
• OPEN MIKES SESSION
• FOOD AND DRINKS

 
If you want to volunteer/contribute towards the event please call Junie 0845 8337159/ Jane: 07984267144:
Grace:07950655053

Marriage visa age to rise later this month

04 November 2008

The age at which someone can apply for a marriage visa will increase from 18 to 21 from the end of this month, the Government announced today. From 27 November both parties in a marriage will have to be 21 before a marriage visa can be issued. Raising the age is just one part of the Government's work to crackdown on forced marriage and on those who attempt to abuse the marriage visa route. Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: "It is important that we protect vulnerable young people and this measure will help avoid exploitation". The changes being made to the marriage visa route are part of a package of measures being brought in today to deliver the biggest shake-up to immigration and border security in 45 years. Also today, the Home Office helped businesses to prepare for the go-live of Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system on 27 November by publishing detailed guidance on the two tiers. Under these tiers - which cover skilled and temporary workers - employers will be held accountable for the workers they bring into the country, with a new sponsorship scheme holding businesses responsible for those they employ.
 

Mr Woolas said:

"The points system means only the migrants with the skills Britain needs can come - and no more. It is also flexible, allowing us to raise or lower the bar according to the needs of business and taking population trends into account. "Had the system been in place last year there would have been 12 per cent fewer people coming in to work through the equivalent work permit route."

Tier 2 of the points system will ensure that British jobseekers get the first shot at jobs and only those foreign workers we need will be able to come to the UK. Under this tier companies must pass the Resident Labour Market test by proving they cannot fill the post with a resident worker before they can bring in someone from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

London, Wednesday 12th November, 2008. The Bank of England says the UK has probably entered a recession in the middle of 2008 and is likely to continue to contract well into 2009. In its quarterly inflation report, the Bank warns that the economic landscape has changed dramatically since August. It says that the UK economy could shrink by 2% over the next year, much worse than its previous forecast. Bank governor Mervyn King also said the Bank would be prepared to cut interest rates further if needed. "[It is] very difficult to know precisely how long we'll be in recession," Mr King said. "I think we probably are in recession now." The Bank now also expects inflation to decline to 1% by 2010, below its 2% target, in a dramatic change to its last forecast. This would mean that the Bank had scope for further rate cuts in order to maintain inflation at its target rate in two years' time. "This is a difficult and unprecedented time, but we will come through this," Governor Mervyn King said. "We will come out of recession and get back to a period of low and steady inflation and economic growth." His comments came after unemployment hit an 11-year high, while the pound fell further on international markets. The Bank of England's central projection is for the economy to contract sharply next year - although this may change if the government introduces further fiscal stimulus to the economy. Ross Walker of the Royal Bank of Scotland told the BBC that markets were surprised by how big a fall in inflation the Bank of England had projected, and said he now expected another rate cut in December of at least 0.5%. "Conditions are going to get worse before they get better," he added.

The governor said: "we have seen the biggest banking crisis since World War I", coupled with a dramatic fall in business and consumer confidence, and very sharp drops in commodity prices. Last week, the Bank of England cut UK rates from 4.5% to 3%, a much more dramatic reduction than had been expected. Mr King said that the Bank had acted to cut rates so sharply "because the facts had changed" and rejected criticism that it was caught unawares by the crisis. Markets are now expecting rates to go below 2% within a year, the lowest Bank of England interest rate since it was set up in 1694. And the governor admitted that Retail Price Index inflation, which includes housing costs, could actually become negative as interest rates fell. Prices are expected to fall largely thanks to the steep decline in oil prices. They have already fallen to below $60, a cut of more than half since their peak in the summer. Deputy governor Charles Bean said that the contraction in the UK economy would be broadly similar to the declines seen in Sweden, Finland and Norway in the 1990s, which were deep but relatively short-lived. He pointed out that the early moves to recapitalise the banking sector should help to limit the depth of the recession - in contrast to the situation in Japan, where a slow response from government extended the recession. He also said that the 20% decline in the value of sterling could help boost exports and pull the economy out of recession. The governor, however, pointed out that too great a fall in the pound could lead to further inflation in the future.

Governments around the world have pledged to spend billions to protect their financial systems and boost their economies since the credit crisis took hold. Mr King said that there was a stronger argument for fiscal stimulus than previously, because the banking crisis had meant that monetary policy was less likely to be effective. But he warned that any short-term fiscal stimulus had to be temporary and consistent with the long-term path of fiscal discipline. Otherwise, he warned, long-term interest rates would rise, undoing some of the effects of any economic boost. In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he had to employ "very special means to deal with special circumstances" and said that a worldwide fiscal stimulus was needed to counteract the slowdown. The government is expected to announce its new spending plans on 24 November in the Pre-Budget Report. Mr King said that a new international agreement on regulating the world financial system was important for a long-term resolution of the crisis. He said that he was hopeful that the meeting of world leaders in Washington at the weekend could make a useful start on a "process of reform" that would take some months. The governor said that the objective should be to ensure that countries which had capital surpluses, such as China, also had an obligation to take action to correct financial imbalances. And he added that this was exactly the problem that the economist John Maynard Keynes had identified when the system of international financial rules were set up in 1944 at Bretton Woods.

200,000 fewer jobs available for migrant workers under new rules in UK

11 November 2008

The number of jobs available to foreign workers through the shortage occupation route will be reduced, the Government announced today. The shortage occupation list sets out those jobs for which there are not enough resident workers, and will be used as part of the skilled worker tier (Tier 2) of the Australian-style points system, which will be launched on 27 November. Tier 2 of the points system will ensure that British jobseekers get the first shot at jobs and only those foreign workers we need will be able to come to the United Kingdom. Recent Government work to ensure British workers are skilled and competitive means that many of the previous gaps in the labour market have been filled. As a result, today's list is tighter than ever before and will see a reduction of more than 200,000 positions in occupations with shortages that need be filled by migrant workers. The number of positions available to migrants has been reduced from one million to just under 800,000, ensuring that only those foreign workers we need - and no more - can come here. Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: "The Australian-style points system is flexible, allowing us to raise or lower the bar according to the needs of business and taking population trends into account. "Had the points system been in place last year there would have been 12 per cent fewer people coming in to work through the equivalent work permit route. On top of this, the strict new shortage list means 200,000 fewer jobs are available via the shortage occupation route." Under Tier 2 companies must pass the Resident Labour Market test by proving they cannot fill the post with a resident worker before they can bring in someone from outside the EEA. If the job is on the shortage list the company will not need to pass the test. The Government publishes today's shortage occupation list following advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Their recommended list has been adopted in full - with the addition of social workers, who will remain on the list while further evidence is considered by the MAC. Further Education Minister Sion Simon said: "This Government is making an unprecedented investment in skills and training to ensure that United Kingdom residents do not lose out to overseas workers or see jobs go abroad because of a lack of skills. "We have recently made a number of funding deals with employers, worth £630 million over three years, to give them greater access to flexible, bespoke training aimed at tackling skills shortages in their sectors. "The deals cover sectors such as catering, hospitality and construction."

To get in under Tier 2 skilled foreign workers must have:

• English language skills;
• prospective earnings of more than £24,000, or slightly less if they have a decent qualification - or an offer of a job on the shortage list;
• enough money to support themselves for the first month of their stay.
  

Employers will need to get a sponsor licence to enable them to bring migrant workers into the country from outside the European Economic Area. They will be checked out by the UK Border Agency and will sign up to certain duties. This means that Government will share the responsibility for migrant workers with those who benefit from them. The Home Office last week helped businesses to prepare for the changes by publishing detailed guidance on Tiers 2 and 5 (skilled workers and temporary workers respectively) of the system. The tough points system is just one part of the biggest shake up to immigration and border security in 45 years, along with the fingerprinting of anyone travelling to the UK on a visa and compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals.

New business and special visitor rules published today and going live on 27 November 2008

04 November 2008

On 28 October 2008, Phil Woolas, Minister of State for Borders and Immigration, announced the go live date for the new Business and Special Visitor route. Today we have published the Immigration Rules for Business and Special Visitors. From 27 November if you wish to come to the United Kingdom for a short time to conduct business or to take part in sporting or creative events you will need to come as a business, sports or entertainer visitor. If you are seeking entry as a child visitor, student visitor, parent of a child at school, marriage visitor, prospective student, visitor in transit or a visitor for private medical treatment, you will still need to apply in that category. This group of categories are collectively known as special visitors. If you would like to have further information on what you have to do to qualify to come as a visitor in one of these ways please see the business and special visitors section. Further guidance will be available shortly. We are reviewing the arrangements for general short term visits to the United Kingdom and expect to announce some changes in 2009. The current Rules will remain in place until then. So if you want to come here as a tourist or to visit family see the visitors section.

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians
 

He opened his house to a few homeless waifs he came across, and now he tries his best to look after 131. 'The neighbours were not happy with me and tell me "you are supporting witches". This project was an accident, I saw children being abandoned and it was very worrying. I started with three children, then every day it increased up to 15, so we had to open this new place,' he says. 'For every maybe five children we see on the streets, we believe one has been killed, although it could be more as neighbours turn a blind eye when a witch child disappears. 'It is good we have this shelter, but it is under constant attack.' As he speaks two villagers walk past, at the end of the yard, pulling scarfs across their eyes to hide the 'witches' from their sight. Ikpe-Itauma's wife, Elizabeth, acts as nurse to the injured children and they have called this place the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, a big name for a small refuge. It has found support from a charity running a school in the area, Stepping Stones Nigeria, which is trying to help with money to feed the children, but the numbers turning up here are a huge challenge.  Mary Sudnad, 10, grimaces as her hair is pulled into corn rows by Agnes, 11, but the scalp just above her forehead is bald and blistered. Mary tells her story fast, in staccato, staring fixedly at the ground. 'My youngest brother died. The pastor told my mother it was because I was a witch. Three men came to my house. I didn't know these men. My mother left the house. Left these men. They beat me.' She pushes her fists under her chin to show how her father lay, stretched out on his stomach on the floor of their hut, watching. After the beating there was a trip to the church for 'a deliverance'. A day later there was a walk in the bush with her mother. They picked poisonous 'asiri' berries that were made into a draught and forced down Mary's throat. If that didn't kill her, her mother warned her, then it would be a barbed-wire hanging. Finally her mother threw boiling water and caustic soda over her head and body, and her father dumped his screaming daughter in a field. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she stayed near the house for a long time before finally slinking off into the bush.Mary was seven. She says she still doesn't feel safe. She says: 'My mother doesn't love me.' And, finally, a tear streaks down her beautiful face. Gerry was picked out by a 'prophetess' at a prayer night and named as a witch. His mother cursed him, his father siphoned petrol from his motorbike tank and spat it over his eight-year-old face. Gerry's facial blistering is as visible as the trauma in his dull eyes. He asks every adult he sees if they will take him home to his parents: 'It's not them, it's the prophetess, I am scared of her.' Nwaeka is about 16. She sits by herself in the mud, her eyes rolling, scratching at her stick-thin arms. The other children are surprisingly patient with her. The wound on her head where a nail was driven in looks to be healing well. Nine- year-old Etido had nails, too, five of them across the crown of his downy head. Its hard to tell what damage has been done. Udo, now 12, was beaten and abandoned by his mother.

He nearly lost his arm after villagers, finding him foraging for food by the roadside, saw him as a witch and hacked at him with machetes. Magrose is seven. Her mother dug a pit in the wood and tried to bury her alive. Michael was found by a farmer clearing a ditch, starving and unable to stand on legs that had been flogged raw. Ekemini Abia has the look of someone in a deep state of shock. Both ankles are circled with gruesome wounds and she moves at a painful hobble. Named as a witch, her father and elders from the church tied her to a tree, the rope cutting her to the bone, and left the 13-year-old there alone for more than a week.  There are sibling groups such as Prince, four, and Rita, nine. Rita told her mum she had dreamt of a lovely party where there was lots to eat and to drink. The belief is that a witch flies away to the coven at night while the body sleeps, so Rita's sweet dream was proof enough: she was a witch and because she had shared food with her sibling - the way witchcraft is spread - both were abandoned. Victoria, cheeky and funny, aged four, and her seven-year-old sister Helen, a serene little girl. Left by their parents in the shell of an old shack, the girls didn't dare move from where they had been abandoned and ate leaves and grass. The youngest here is a baby. The older girls take it in turn to sling her on their skinny hips and Ikpe-Itauma has named her Amelia, after his grandmother. He estimates around 5,000 children have been abandoned in this area since 1998 and says many bodies have turned up in the rivers or in the forest. Many more are never found. 'The more children the pastor declares witches, the more famous he gets and the more money he can make,' he says. 'The parents are asked for so much money that they will pay in instalments or perhaps sell their property. This is not what churches should be doing.' Although old tribal beliefs in witch doctors are not so deeply buried in people's memories, and although there had been indigenous Christians in Nigeria since the 19th century, it is American and Scottish Pentecostal and evangelical missionaries of the past 50 years who have shaped these fanatical beliefs. Evil spirits, satanic possessions and miracles can be found aplenty in the Bible, references to killing witches turn up in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Galatians, and literal interpretation of scriptures is a popular crowd-pleaser.

Pastor Joe Ita is the preacher at Liberty Gospel Church in nearby Eket. 'We base our faith on the Bible, we are led by the holy spirit and we have a programme of exposing false religion and sorcery.' Soft of voice and in his smart suit and tie, his church is being painted and he apologises for having to sit outside near his shiny new Audi to talk. There are nearly 60 branches of Liberty Gospel across the Niger Delta. It was started by a local woman, mother-of-two Helen Ukpabio, whose luxurious house and expensive white Humvee are much admired in the city of Calabar where she now lives. Many people in this area credit the popular evangelical DVDs she produces and stars in with helping to spread the child witch belief. Ita denies charging for exorcisms but acknowledges his congregation is poor and has to work hard to scrape up the donations the church expects. 'To give more than you can afford is blessed. We are the only ones who really know the secrets of witches. Parents don't come here with the intention of abandoning their children, but when a child is a witch then you have to say "what is that there? Not your child." The parents come to us when they see manifestations. But the secret is that, even if you abandon your child, the curse is still upon you, even if you kill your child the curse stays. So you have to come here to be delivered afterwards as well,' he explains patiently. 'We know how they operate. A witch will put a spell on its mother's bra and the mother will get breast cancer. But we cannot attribute all things to witches, they work on inclinations too, so they don't create HIV, but if you are promiscuous then the witch will give you HIV.' As the light fades, he presents a pile of Ukpabio's DVDs. Mistakenly thinking they are a gift, I am firmly put right. Later that night, in another part of town, the hands of the clock edge towards midnight. The humidity of the day is sealed into the windowless church and drums pound along with the screeching of the sweat-drenched preacher. 'No witches, oh Lord,' he screams into the microphone. 'As this hour approaches, save us, oh Lord!'

His congregation is dancing, palms aloft, women writhe and yell in tongues. A group moves forward shepherding five children, one a baby, and kneel on the concrete floor and the pastor comes among them, pressing his hands down on each child's head in turn, as they try to hide in the skirts of the woman. This is deliverance night at the Church of the True Redeemer, and while the service will carry on for some hours, the main event - for which the parents will have paid cash - is over.  Walking out into the night, the drums and singing from other churches ring out as such scenes are being repeated across the village.  It is hard to find people to speak out against the brutality. Chief Victor Ikot is one. He not only speaks out against the 'tinpot' churches, but has also done the unthinkable and taken in a witch to his own home. The chief's niece, Mbet, was declared a witch when she was eight. Her mother, Ekaete, made her drink olive oil, then poison berries, then invited local men to beat her with sticks. The pastor padlocked her to a tree but unlocked her when her mother could not find the money for a deliverance. Mbet fled. Mbet, now 11, says she has not seen the woman since, adding: 'My mother is a wicked mother.'  The Observer tracked down Mbet's mother to her roadside clothing stall where she nervously fiddled with her mobile phone and told us how her daughter had given her what sounded very much like all the symptoms of malaria. 'I had internal heat,' she says, indicating her stomach. 'It was my daughter who had caused this, she drew all the water from my body. I could do nothing. She was stubborn, very stubborn.' And if her daughter had died in the bush? She shrugged: 'That is God's will. It is in God's hands.' Chief Victor has no time for his sister-in-law. 'Nowadays when a child becomes stubborn, then everyone calls them witches. But it is usually from the age of 10 down, I have never seen anyone try to throw a macho adult into the street. This child becomes a nuisance, so they give a dog a bad name and they can hang it. 'It is alarming because no household is untouched. But it is the greed of the pastors, driving around in Mercedes, that makes them choose the vulnerable.' In a nearby village The Observer came across five-year-old twins, Itohowo and Kufre. They are still hanging around close to their mother's shack, but are obviously malnourished and in filthy rags. Approaching the boys brings a crowd of villagers who stand around and shout: 'Take them away from us, they are witches.' 'Take them away before they kill us all.' 'Witches'. The woman who gave birth to these sorry scraps of humanity stands slightly apart from the crowd, arms crossed. Iambong Etim Otoyo has no intention of taking any responsibility for her sons. 'They are witches,' she says firmly and walks away. And by nightfall there are 133 children in the chicken coop concrete house at Esit Eket. - The Guardian

Nairobi, Wednesday 12th November, 2008The International Criminal Court has warned that if Kenya does not move fast to act on the Waki report, then it will take over the cases of the names contained in a secret envelope handed to Kofi Annan. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said if Kenya failed to try the suspects of post-election violence, then the court will move in to start investigations and prosecute those involved. He said Kenya had no option but to form a tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects in the Waki secret envelope handed over to Mr Annan, the former UN secretary-general who was chief mediator in the talks that led to the coalition government. Mr Moreno-Ocampo told nominated MP Musa Sirma during a meeting of Parliamentarians for Global Action in the Dominican Republic last week that the ICC was watching what the Government will do. Mr Sirma divulged the candid and yet stern message to powerful individuals in Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement as well as President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity, which threw them into a panic kicking off a flurry of consultations. The panic has led to a change of mind and even strategies on how to implement the Waki report that gives strict timelines. However, some ODM MPs who are incensed by the decision of the party’s National Executive Committee to overrule the MPs, plan to hold another Parliamentary Group meeting this week to reaffirm their earlier decision.

The recession took a firm grip on Britain last night as well over 4,000 jobs were slashed in a day, fuelling fears that the total will be more than two million by early next year. With figures today expected to show the highest number of people out of work since 1998, a roll call of household names in the pharmaceutical, technology and media sectors announced swingeing cuts. The figures heightened fears that employment in all sectors of the economy will be hit. Until now, the bulk of job losses have been among manufacturers, house builders, hotels and restaurants and financial services. The grim outlook emerged as Gordon Brown again called on other countries to follow Britain, China and Germany in giving boosts through tax cuts or spending increases to their economies. However, opposition parties seized on an admission from the Employment Minister, Tony McNulty, that there would have to be tax rises to compensate “in the long term”.

Dear Kenyans, I am grateful for your unwavering support during my entire presidential campaigns, which reached its peak with my victory. During the campaigns, I consistently and fondly spoke of my Kenyan roots. I am an American citizen and, on January 20, 2009, I will be America’s 44th president. As a son of a Kenyan father, I know that Section 90 of your constitution bestows upon me automatic citizenship. In the fullness of time, who knows, Michelle and I may decide to come and retire in the land of my father. CLICK HERE TO READ OBAMA'S FULL MESSAGE TO KENYANS

LEFT: The Guardian leads with the tragic case of Baby P, a 17-month-old boy who died after suffering more than 50 injuries at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and another man. The case has lead to an urgent review of child protection procedures.CENTRE: The Daily Mail has an interview with Hannah Jones, the brave 13-year-old leukaemia sufferer who has made the decision not to have a potentially life-saving heart transplant as she wants to spend her days at home, even if it means her life may be shorter. RIGHT: The Times also looks at the Baby P case, and has a picture of Barack Obama embracing Iraq war veteran Major Tammy Duckworth - mentioned as a possible successor to Mr Obama as Senator for Illinois.

In freezing temperatures 13 teams from across Newham and a couple of visiting teams including a newly formed Kenyan Team, captained by Duncan G. Ngari of Barking, competed in the first Swift Centre Football Festival 2008 at the astro-turf pitches at Brampton Manor School, East Ham, London, on Saturday, 1st November 2008. The teams had a total of 118 participants in the competition that required teams to be mixed in terms of age and gender, every team had to have a player over 40 or under 14 and a female player. The games were 5-a-side with squads ranging in size from five to nine. The aim of the football festival was to raise funds for the Swift Centre Youth Club expedition to work with local communities in Kenya next year

Kamanu in a crucial defence-tackle during one of the football festival mini-leagues.  

The first round consisted of three mini-leagues. The top two teams and the two highest runners up progressed to the knockout round. The teams that progressed to the quarter finals were East Ham Elim, Acorn from Manor Park, Fast Birds (The Swift Team), Community Links (Hudson’s Project), Baptistas, Morden Youth, NRG from Manor Park and the ‘Steve York’ Team. East Ham Elim was the overall winner with Acorn runners-up. The numbers participating were good and the involvement of club members in the work was gratifying. The festival managed to raise over £1100. ''We will definitely consider making this an annual event and hope that the news of the success will spread by word of mouth'', the organisers said. The day was made possible by a Go For It grant from Newham Council. MORE    

Nairobi, Monday 10th November, 2008. Heavily armed bandits from the neighboring war-torn Somalia attacked Elwak town and hijacked two government vehicles belonging to the Ministries of Works, water and Irrigation and a local school. .Mandera central District Commissioner (DC) Ole Tutui, said the over twenty armed bandits attacked a lodge in Elwak town Sunday night and threw a missile bomb at government quarters but no injuries or deaths were reported during the attack, adding that they took away mobiles phones, unknown value of money and one computer from the locals.The administrator said the bandits also abducted two volunteers working in the town.He said the gunmen were using heavy machinegun together with a vehicle from where they sprayed the town with bullets.Confirming the attack, area OCPD Akello Odhiambo, said that a security personnel has been dispatched along the Kenya-Somalia border to control the attacks. On Saturday, the government said it will deploy more security officers, including the army, along the porous borders of Somalia to prevent foreign militia from crossing into the country and inciting clashes among clans in North Eastern province. Internal Security minister, Professor George Saitoti, said the security situation in Mandera, where 20 people had been killed due to clashes between two clans, was caused by individuals within the communities arming militia and then seeking support from the neighbouring war torn country. Speaking to members of the provincial security committee in Garisa, professor Saitoti, who was accompanied by Defence minister, Mr. Yussuf Haji, Northern Kenya minister, Mr. Mohamed Elmi, Deputy Speaker, Mr. Farah Maalim, and area Members of Parliament, defended the use of army in the security operation saying no country would allow foreigners to cross into its soil without taking firm action. He said the situation in Mandera was an old issue and was simmering after a peace agreement brokered in 2005 was ignored by the two clans. He said the government would involve area leaders in seeking solutions to security challenges in the area and appealed to them to assist the government in mopping up small arms and light weapons that cross through the borders and cause strife in the region. He announced that the government had purchased 300 land rovers for the provincial administration and the police and assured District Commissioners and police in the area that they would receive the vehicles to ease burden of travelling and coordinating security in their areas. Defence minister, Yussuf Haji, vowed that any army officer implicated in brutality or misconduct during operation in Mandera would face the court martial. He defended use of army saying their work was to ensure foreign militias operating in the country were driven back to their countries. Professor Saitoti said the government would soon do away with radios for security operations and embrace modern tools such as email, fax and satellite phones. He challenged local leaders to ensure every school going child enrolled for the free education, noting that education was one way of dealing with violence and communal strife. He added that underdevelopment and drought were other issues the government was addressing to deal with security situation in the province.

LEFT: The Guardian's top story looks at how Barack Obama may seek to reverse President Bush's rulings on stem cell research and oil drilling in wilderness areas as soon as possible. CENTRE: The Daily Express reports that a new cholesterol-lowering drug has proved so successful in trials that doctors want to see it fast-tracked on to the market. RIGHT: The Times' top story covers proposals to force council house tenants to face regular reviews of their housing situation - which will require them to have or be looking for a job.

The only survivor of a crashed Cessna 206 on Mount Kilimanjaro late last week has been identified and said to be in stable conditions in a Tanzanian hospital. Martin Lunani, 38, was flying four Italian tourists over the highest mountain in Africa when his six-seater hit the rugged Mawenzi Peak. But Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander Lucas Ng'hoboko said that the pilot still had difficulties narrating how the incident occurred. Eyewitnesses told the police that it was cloudy when the light plane, registered with the Nairobi-based East African Air Charters, hit the mountain on Saturday around noon. The Mawenzi Peak, at 4,330 meters above sea level, is the third highest on Mount Kilimanjaro while Kibo at 5,895 meters is the highest peak. Saturday's crash was the fourth fatal aerial incident this year in the northern part of Tanzania. Crashes of two light planes and a helicopter in February, June and July combined to have claimed the lives of 11 other people. 

South African singing legend Miriam Makeba has died aged 76, after being taken ill in Italy. She had just taken part in a concert near the southern town of Caserta, the Ansa news agency reported. The concert was on behalf of Roberto Saviano, the author of an expose of the Camorra mafia whose life has subsequently been threatened. Ms Makeba appeared on Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1987 and in 1992 had a leading role in the film Sarafina! Ansa said she died of a heart attack. Ms Makeba was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932 and was a leading symbol in the struggle against apartheid. Her singing career started in the 1950s as she mixed jazz with traditional South African songs. She came to international attention in 1959 during a tour of the United States with the South African group the Manhattan Brothers. She was forced into exile soon after when her passport was revoked after starring in an anti-apartheid documentary and did not return to her native country until Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965. She was African music's first world star, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton, blending different styles long before the phrase "world music" was coined. After her divorce from fellow South African musician Hugh Masekela she married American civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael. It was while living in exile in the US that she released her most famous songs, Pata Pata and the Click Song. "You sing about those things that surround you," she said. "Our surrounding has always been that of suffering from apartheid and the racism that exists in our country. So our music has to be affected by all that." It was because of this dedication to her home continent that Miriam Makeba became known as Mama Africa.  - VIDEO

The late Mariam Makeba

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Hundreds of Kenyans living in the UK attended President Obama's victory celebrations in London on  Saturday 8th November, 2008 where the chief guests were Kenya's High Commissioner in the UK HE Joseph Muchemi and the Minister for Tourism Hon. Najib Balala, EGH, MP. Other dignitaries at the ceremony was Uganda's High Commissioner in the UK, Mrs. Cecilia Muchemi the wife of the High Commissioner and Catherine Muigai Mwangi, Kenya's Ambassador in the Republic of Ireland. The celebrations which took place at Cumberland Hotel in Central London was graced with free drinks and snacks and crowning it all with a dance. The DJ was good and he mixed both gospel, leggie and traditional music. The hall was fully packed and as usual there was enough room for everyone because  almost half of the guests arrived after the function was over. The minister was invited to address the guests by the High Commissioner HE Joseph Muchemi. While addressing the guests Minister Balala explained that all Kenyans are excited by Obama's election in USA. "Obama is a symbol of unity and equality irrespective of Kenya. Obama has now united the Kenyans and people all over the world. Obama is unique because he is first generation of the Kenyans abroad. He explained that one-third of Obama's book talks about Kenya and that is why we are celebrating Obama's roots. Obama's election in US will bring alot of good things to Kenya including tourism. He has now fulfilled Martin Luther's dream. He is building the bridges." Minister Balala explained. He took time to introduce a Kenyan lady Miss Marianne Alapini a councilor in Chelsea and Kensington now going for Woking Parliamentary Seat on a Labour ticket. The ministry of tourism gave badges to all the guests which was written "Kenya...Proudly Obama's Roots". As all the communities have got their own characteristics - with free beer at hand several guests were down by the time Mr. Seed left the venue. Other celebrations are scheduled in the UK. Obama's celebrations event will take place on Saturday 15th November, 2008 in Oxford at Brookes University main hall, Gipsy Lane, Oxford as from 12.00 noon to 9.00 p.m. Contact 07931238746. More celebrations was done in Bristol on Sunday 9th November, 2008 at Ceed Hall in Bristol. - CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

LEFT: Minister Najib Balala addressing the guest during Obama's celebrations in London - from left to right - Mrs. Cecilia Muchemi, Uganda High Commissioner, Kenya's High Commissioner HE Joseph Muchemi and Catherine Muigai Mwangi (red) Kenya's Ambassador in the Republic of Ireland. RIGHT PHOTO: Everyone for himself but God for us all as everyone takes to the floor for a dance. Minister Balala (in white shirt) can be seen on the right hand side while the High Commissioner is on right hand right a red tie. Ireland's ambassador in Red.

Pastor Francis Irungu and his wife Mrs. Beth Irungu if Victory Revival Christian Church in Oxford, UK has lost their mother back in Kenya on Saturday 8th November, 2008 at Kenyatta National Hospital. You can send your condolences on 07830200041 or 07876021557.

The ministry of tourism was giving out Obama's badgets and old and young joined the celebrations. - MORE FOR VIDEO

A Kenyan lady in the London is going for councillor seat. The idea has been on her mind for sometime but it has been triggered by Obama's speech that "YES, WE CAN". Who is this lady? Full story coming soon. Keep surfing.

IKO NINI BWANA SEED - NOVEMBER ONE, 2008

IKO NINI BWANA SEED - OCTOBER, 2008

IKO NINI BWANA SEED - SEPTEMBER 2008