Friday 30 September 2016

China sends warning to Japan over navy patrol

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China on Friday warned Japan against “playing with fire” in the contested waters of the South China Sea, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the U.S. in the region.
 China also sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan on Monday as part of a group of more than 40 jets headed to train in the West Pacific.
The move followed remarks by Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training with the U.S. Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations. The Chinese defense ministry said the aim of the announcement was “to mess up the South China Sea situation and try to gain interests from the troubled waters.” “If Japan wants to conduct any joint patrol or joint exercises in waters administered by China, it is just like playing with fire, and the Chinese military will not sit and watch,” ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a regular press briefing.

Ghana’s military is politicised - Nunoo Mensah

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A former National Security advisor, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo Mensah, is claiming Ghana’s military has been politicised; something he says is affecting the efficient execution of its mandate. “Unfortunately today in Ghana, every institution has become political.
 Even the military has become political,” he said on 3FM’s Sunrise morning show on Wednesday. He claimed when they were being trained as military personnel, they were told not to mix politics with the military but they eventually “suffered for that”. “I was banned from visiting military institutions for having lunch with former President Rawlings.
That was my crime so I was banned from entering Burma Camp, even if I am dying, I couldn’t visit the 37 Military Hospital for medical attention,” he added.
 He was commenting on the recent criticisms of the Bureau of National Investigations, especially in the wake of the arrest of a Ghanaian-Lebanses, Fadi Dabbousie, which has caused many to accuse it of being an appendage of the government.

BREAKING NEWS:WW2 bomb found in Portsmouth

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The 500kg German device was discovered during dredging works to deepen the harbour for a new aircraft carrier. The whole of Gunwharf Quays shopping and leisure complex and the seafront near the device was evacuated in the expectation of a massive explosion that would send a huge plume of seawater into the air.
The Royal Navy blew up the 1,100lb (500kg) bomb at 7am this morning - but not a ripple was detected on the water's surface.
It left the confused navy crew bobbing in a rigid inflatable craft just over a mile to the east of the Isle of Wight, not knowing whether their efforts had worked.
At 11.30am specialist divers took the plunge to investigate. They found that their mission had been a success, albeit a quiet one.
The bomb had been found after it was dislodged from the seabed during dredging works.
The harbour entrance is being deepened to accept the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, next spring.
It is the second time World War II explosives have been found during the dredging operation.
A torpedo, discovered earlier this month, was also exploded at sea.

Portugal nurses to stage two-day strike in October

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Portugal’s nurses are to stage a two-day strike on 13 and 14 October to hammer home their demands for the reinstatement of a 35-hour working week in state healthcare units.
 In a statement released at the beginning of this week, the nurses union said it was also organising a demonstration by union officials outside the Ministry of Health, pencilled in for 7 October.
The union said it was tired of “inconclusive” meetings with ministry officials and the delays in reducing its members’ working hours, after the 35-hour week was reinstated in the rest of the public sector.
The situation, it argued, is “unfair and unacceptable”, as well as endangering safety and the quality of healthcare services.
The 35-hour week is being restored for public sector workers under agreements between Portugal’s governing Socialist Party and the other groups that provide support for the minority government in parliament, the Communist Party and the Left Bloc, but officials have said that the reform would have to be implemented only gradually in the health sector, for cost reasons.
The working week for public sector workers was increased to 40 hours by the previous, right-of-centre government, as part of reforms that it said were necessary under a Euro Zone bailout.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic launches sportswear brand in Portugal

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  Manchester United footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic has launched his new sportswear brand A-Z in Portugal, allowing anyone living in the country to order from the brand’s website and receive the items at home.
The brand was originally launched in June and is a partnership between the eccentric athlete and Scandinavian clothing giant Varner, designed to show people that is “possible for anyone to play sports”.The site is www.a-z.com

Pregnant German hostage who gave birth in captivity is freed from Syria

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A German woman who was kidnapped in Syria last year has been released alongside the baby she gave birth to in captivity.
The German foreign ministry confirmed the woman and her child were well and being looked after by the federal criminal police officers at the country’s embassy in Ankara, Turkey.
 The woman is identified as a journalist,Janina Findeisen, who travelled to Syria in October 2015 while she was six months pregnant.

Kenyan Businessman bags 80 years imprisonment for........?

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A Narok-based businessman has been jailed for a total of 80 years by a Nairobi court for seven counts of supporting terrorism.
The magistrate jailed Abdirizak Moktar Edow for 20 years for a charge of supporting terrorism activities.
He given another 10 years for each of the other six counts that included being a member of Al-Shabaab and being in possession of materials that promote terrorism.
In another charge, the businessman was accused of convening a meeting to advance terrorism activities at the Masjid Musa Mosque in Mombasa in February 2014.
“The court must support law enforcers who are fighting terrorism, which has left hundreds of Kenyans dead, thousands injured and property worth billions destroyed,” Senior Principal Magistrate Joyce Gandani said in her judgment.

Kenya campaign against America’s trade deal with Asia

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Kenya is lobbying against the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) between the United States and 12 Asian countries for fear of losing its preferential access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Kenyan officials joined trade ministers from African countries at this year’s Agoa forum in Washington to urge the US to reconsider the move, arguing that the proposed pact will make African goods uncompetitive in the US market.
Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo told reporters that the preferences that Kenya enjoys will be eroded once the US enters into trade agreements with other states outside Africa.
“Other trade agreements such as the Transpacific Partnership Agreement that the US is planning will affect the goods that are currently enjoying preferential rates [in] America,” said Dr Kiptoo.

Kenyan Court orders Prof Thairu to resign as CUE chairman

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A Nairobi court has ordered Commission for University Education chairman Henry Thairu to resign from his position in 10 days.
This follows an application lodged by lawyer Felix Mategei, who argued that the educationist was holding two public offices at the same time.
Prof Thairu holds another position as a lecturer and director of a consulting services unit at Kenyatta University, in contravention of the Constitution, since the position is a full-time administrative job.
The petition was heard before Justice Joseph Onguto.