Maintain peace, Uganda asks Congo

Major Moses Mwesige, the Second Division Intelligence Officer says that the government of Uganda is committed to maintaining peace along the common border with Democratic Republic of Congo but it would not tolerate any acts of rebellion at its border.

Major. Mwesige was speaking during the official handover of two dissidents of General Laurent Nkunda who were arrested in areas of Butogota in Kanumgu and Kisoro districts in western Uganda in June this Year.

The Function held at Sun City Motel in upper Mpondwe Customs attracted a delegation of Congolese government led by Major Birotso Kossi of the Joint Verification Team (JVT).

Speaking at the same function Major Birotso stressed that the government of Democratic Republic of Congo is willing and ready to wipe out Ugandan rebels operating in their territory in order to maintain peace in the region.The Second Division Public Relation officer, Captain Kiconco disclosed that Uganda has so far handed over 64 Congolese dissidents to DR Congo authorities since 2006.

Somalis pirates hijack two more ships

Somali pirates hijacked two more vessels on Thursday off the coast of Somalia bringing to three the number of vessels seized in as many days. On Tuesday night a Malaysian tanker carrying 39 crew and laden with palm oil was hijacked in the same area.

According to the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (IMBPRC), the two vessels, an Iranian bulk carrier and a Japanese-operated tanker were attacked and hijacked on Thursday morning.

The Japanese tanker had 19 crews on board, but none of them was a Japanese national. Noel King, head of IMBPRC in Kuala Lumpur told the media. No details were given about the Iranian vessel but Kyodo News Agency of Japan said that the Japanese vessel was a chemical tanker named Irene which was registered in Panama but operated by Koyo Kaiun Co. Ltd

A statement issued by Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the country will seek the cooperation of its embassies in Kenya and Yemen to recover the vessel and the crew.

On its part, Malaysian shipping firm MISC, which owns the tanker MT Bunga Melati Dua, said that the tanker was carrying 32,000 tonnes of crude palm oil and it was heading for Rotterdam. The last time it was sighted heading towards Somalia but no contact has been made so far with either the crew or the pirates. MISC has a fleet of 110 ships and it is the first time one of its ships has been hijacked.

Last week, Somali pirates hijacked a Thai cargo ship, the MV Thor Star, and a Nigerian tug boat, the MT Yenegoa Ocean and gunmen are still holding a Japanese-managed bulk vessel, the MV Stella Maris that was hijacked on July 20 this year.

Mobile firm spends US$ 12bn in Africa

Zain, one of the top mobile firms in Africa is said to have invested about US$ 12 billion this month for its re-branding campaign in Africa. The firm is among the fastest growing on the continent. It also changed its name early this month from Celtel to Zain and also adapted new colours.

According to Zain’s chief executive officer, Saad Al Barrack, the firm’s investment in its African operations beats direct aid from United States, China and European Union respectively.According to a report from Malawi’s local daily of the Nation, the rebranding of Zain from Celtel is part of bringing together their African and Middle East operations under a single and unique identity.The chief executive officer further said that the mobile firm had injected in US$ 2.5 billion for networks and infrastructure development in its existing markets.

The report quoted Barrack who was in Kenya recently as saying Kenya was one of the countries where Zain has spent more money and that its operations were expected to consume about US$ 1 billion in the next five years.In the Southern African country of Malawi, the mobile firm will pump in US$ 91 million between this year and next year towards upgrading and other services.Zain according to a media report serves up to 50 million customers in 22 countries of Africa and Middle East.In Malawi Zain has faced competition from another mobile firm TNM. The two recently introduced cheaper cell phones.

Nigerian military chiefs fired

Nigerian president, Musa Y’ardua, has fired some of the country’s top military officers, shortly before leaving for the Islamic Republic of Saudi Arabia. No reason was given for the action according to sources from Abuja.

The military top brass who were sacked include the chief of defense staff, the chief of army staff and the chief of naval staff among others and they have already been replaced.

Sola Odunfa, a Nigerian analyst and former BBC correspondent said in an interview that the president decision did not come as a surprise to him. Sola Odunfa said former heads of states are accustomed to replacing top military brass as soon as they assume power according to him the sacked military chiefs are considered to be loyal servants of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr. Odunfa revealed that the actions of president Y’ardua might in some way be associated with the way the military top brass have been handling the uprising in the oil rich Niger-Delta. He said the Niger-Delta situation has been seriously affecting the Nigeria economy and the president in his wisdom thought it fit to pay more attention to that area.Meanwhile, public reaction from Nigeria took as a normal administrative change by the commander in chief of the armed forces.

It can be recalled that the former Katsina state governor (Y’ardua) succeeded former President Obasanjo in last years Presidential elections which the International Elections Observation Mission says was far below acceptable standards.