London — Yesterday, Rwanda’s flag was raised at Marlborough House, the headquarters of the Commonwealth, in London, in a ceremony to officially welcome the country as the 54th member.

President Paul Kagame, who attended the ceremony, expressed Rwanda’s readiness to take advantage of existing opportunities that include trade, education and culture.

Addressing a gathering which included the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning, who is also the chair-in-office and the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, President Paul Kagame thanked the Commonwealth group for accepting Rwanda’s entry and pledged the country’s active and fully integrated role in the club.

“Rwanda recognizes the strengths of these partnerships – this is why we greatly value our membership in the Commonwealth, like we do with other organizations,” Kagame said.

“As the newest member of the Commonwealth, Rwanda is prepared to establish stronger bonds with fellow members in a number of important areas”.

Kagame added that by associating with other countries in several areas, through sharing common values, Rwanda is able to learn from others and build on its own home-grown solutions for a brighter future.

“Firstly, the future of all nations depends on their youth, and so I hope that Rwanda can capitalise on the wide range of education and training programmes that the Commonwealth provides.

“Secondly, we hope to tap into the trade and investment opportunities that the Commonwealth offers, so that Rwanda can expand its economy and effectively participate in the global marketplace,” Kagame observed.

He noted that, at the same time in the context of mutual learning, Rwanda will also play its role in sharing her successful experiences, not only from its recent past, but also its traditions and culture.

“Rwanda is committed to the values of the Commonwealth and will contribute to strengthening the organisation, furthering our mutual development agendas, and working in close partnership with other members to promote prosperity, freedom and rights for all,” Kagame asserted.

Shortly after the flag raising ceremony, President Kagame, alongside Prime Minister Manning and Sharma, addressed a news conference.

Manning defended the idea of countries joining various blocs or organisations, arguing that there are particular interests that may arise.

Secretary General Sharma, formally welcomed Rwanda into the group and pledged the Commonwealth’s commitment to engage with Rwanda in various areas of development.

“I think the gods agreed, Mr President, that this is a very special occasion, and we look forward to installing your membership formally here,” Sharma told President Kagame.

“I just want to say that from now on, we are going to have a very dense roadmap of collaboration with Rwanda, in which I, myself, and the two Deputy Secretaries-General who are present here, will be personally engaged in carrying it forward,” he said.

Kigali — The National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) has urged Kenyan authorities to take more serious action to pursue and arrest Felicien Kabuga, the alleged financier of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The remarks follow reports in Kenyan media on Monday which revealed that the country’s security agencies have renewed the hunt for the Genocide fugitive.

“If they are serious this time, it should be manifested in actions and not just words,” the NPPA Spokesperson, Augustin Nkusi told The New Times yesterday.

The media reports said that international and local investigators in Kenya have found new leads, which they are using to track down the fugitive.

“They (Kenyan government) have the ability to arrest him; it’s only the will that is missing. Let this not end in words because these have been spoken for a long time,” Nkusi said.

When contacted, the Kenya’s High Commissioner to Rwanda, Harriet Ndumo. was tightlipped on the matter, only saying that a joint tracking task force comprising of the Kenyan government and ICTR is doing its work to arrest Kabuga.

“I have not looked at those reports but what we are aware of is that Kabuga is not in Kenya,” she said.

The ICTR Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow declined to give a comment, referring this newspaper to his personal assistant.

Kabuga is the most wanted Genocide suspect sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) still on the run. The United States placed a five-million-dollar bounty on his head.

Kabuga, 75, was expelled from Switzerland in 1994, and spent some time in Democratic Republic of Congo before seeking refuge in Kenya, where he has dodged several attempts to arrest him.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana’s NewsCenter) – Women all over the world bridged out for peace Monday afternoon.

The 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day was celebrated by women and men gathering on bridges around the world to raise awareness of women affected by war.

This is the first time women’s rights groups have met on a bridge to represent building a bridge for peace and development for the future.

Pamela Steinbach with Women For Women International says, “When I hear of the victims that of war that we support and we learn about, they are so resilient and it just encourages me, if they can do what they do, then we can certainly do a lot with our lives and help them and create peace.”

Adan Keynan said regional countries are expressing concern about tensions in Sudan ahead of the general elections scheduled for April.

“This particular meeting is coming at a time when Sudan is gearing up for a referendum and also for an election. Kenya being one of the guarantors actually of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, there are a number of critical issues, which the regional states have been jittery about. One is what is likely to happen with the referendum. Will there be an intra and inter southern Sudan conflict?” he said.

Sudan’s Vice Presidents Ali Osman Mohammed Taha and Salva Kiir (the latter, who is also chairman of semi-autonomous South Sudan) are scheduled to participate in Tuesday’s deliberations in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Lawmaker Keynan said regional leaders will take stock of the 2005 peace accord.

“What the heads of state or heads of government will be attempting to do is to do some sort of formative and summative evaluation on how the implementation has been carried out the issues that have been contentious. Like the issue of wealth sharing. Like the issue of how the election is going to be conducted. So in general, it is going to be a comprehensive review of the entire peace agreement,” Keynan said.

IGAD is reportedly expressing concerns about the implementation of the Southern Sudan peace agreement ahead of the April vote.

Kenya’s media reports that foreign minister Moses Wetangula urged the international community to keep its $4.8 billion pledge to help with the full implementation of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Keynan said the regional bloc has to ensure the success of the peace accord.

“What happens or what is likely to happen in Sudan is going to have a direct effect on all the neighboring states…and because the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was a regional peace initiative, all countries in the region are duty bound to make sure the Comprehensive Peace Agreement succeeds,” Keynan said.

That’s according to Peter Kinuthia, manager: tax at Ernst & Young Kenya.
“In East Africa, countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda are believed to enjoy substantial commercially viable deposits. In an effort to encourage discovery and production, which in turn will contribute to the tax revenue base, the governments of these nations are, through tax breaks, incentivising companies to conduct operations,” says Kinuthia.

It is anticipated that Kenya will strike oil by April 2010, the result of the activities of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation in the country’s northern reaches. The company is licensed to explore other basins in Kenya including the coastal region which is estimated to have a potential of producing around 100 million barrels of crude oil and 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

With some of the world’s most extensive known deposits of methane gas Rwanda has several projects underway for its exploitation and conversion to electricity. This deposit, Kinuthia adds, indicates the possibility of oilfields beneath or adjacent to it.

Classified as ‘underexplored’ but endowed with diverse energy sources including biomass, natural gas, hydropower, coal, geothermal, solar and wind power, Tanzania shows strong hydrocarbon potential in its oil industry sector. “Leaders and experts in the Tanzania energy sector have expressed optimism concerning the potential for discovering oil. Current reports indicate that over 20 international oil companies are concentrating on various inland and deep sea drilling projects,” says Kinuthia.

Meanwhile, oil companies have recently found more than 700 million barrels of commercially viable oil in western Uganda, which may soon put the country among major Africa’s oil producing nations.

Notably, explains Kinuthia, while oil companies prefer to export the oil to recoup investment costs quickly, the Ugandan government is insisting on beneficiation inside the country to ensure a greater share of the profit remains while bringing an end to reliance on imported fuel.

Turning his attention to the taxation structures which are typically in place in these countries, he says in Kenya, incentives for oil and gas companies include levying of the standard resident income tax rate of 30%. “There is no ring-fencing in the determination of corporate tax liability, while depreciation expensing is provided for in terms of wear and tear for plant and machinery necessary for exploration.”

Income tax losses can be carried forward for five years. “However, the Commissioner can extend the period if there are acceptable reasons for recurring losses. Tax losses, however, cannot be carried back,” Kinuthia adds; VAT relief is extended for exploration and prospecting companies.

In terms of taxation, he explains that, as in Kenya, Tanzania resident corporations are subject to income tax on their worldwide income at a rate of 30%. Again, there is no ring-fencing in the determination of corporate tax liability. Expensing of capital exploration costs is executed on a straight line basis at a rate of 20% of capital allowance. “Income tax losses can be carried forward indefinitely while tax losses may not be carried back. The low-royalty regime requires that onshore project royalties are levied at a rate of 12.5%, while offshore project royalties are levied at a rate of 5%,” Kinuthia explains. VAT relief is extended for prospecting companies.

The government of Kenya has given relief aid worth Kenya Shs13.5 million to victims of the March I Bududa landslides. While handing over the aid in Lwakhahha yesterday, the Western Kenya Provincial Commissioner, Mr Samuel Kilele, who represented the Vice President of Kenya, said the Kenya government through Kenya Red Cross had mobilised 60 metric tonnes of maize flour, 30 metric tonnes of rice, 20 metric tonnes of beans and 13 metric tonnes of cooking oil for the landslide victims.

“The Vice President was scheduled to be here but his plane got a mechanical problem forcing him to land at Kabarak. His efforts to get another chopper were futile since it was late. We are sorry and we apologise for this. He has sent me to represent him here to handover the relief for our brothers caught up in the landslides in Bududa,” Mr Kilele said.

While receiving the relief aid, Prime Minster, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, said: “I want to extend appreciation to the government of Kenya for the relief you have given us. We have a reciprocal relationship.”

March 9 (Bloomberg) — Kenya has suspended 13 senior officials from departments including the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Finance because of allegations of corruption, the presidency said.

President Mwai Kibaki ordered the suspensions because of the alleged fraudulent purchase of 120 acres (49 hectares) of cemetery land at Mavoko Township by the City Council of Nairobi at an “exorbitant” price of 283 million shillings ($3.7 million),” he said on his Web site late yesterday.

The 259 million shillings, which was overpaid for purchase of the land, should be recovered from the beneficiaries and “collaborators including lawyers and agents, should be prosecuted for the serious fraud which they have committed against the Kenyan public,” Kibaki said.

Kibaki is being pressured by donors to crack down on corruption. On Feb. 13 he suspended eight officials, including four permanent secretaries, for three months over two corruption cases involving allegations connected to the re- export of corn amid food shortages and over the alleged embezzlement of funds for a free primary-school program.

The officials suspended yesterday include Sammy Kirui, the permanent secretary in the local government ministry, Paul Ngugi, the director of budget in the finance ministry, deputy head of the City Council of Nairobi, Geoffrey Katsolleh and the former head of the council, John Gakuo, Kibaki said.

She said her former husband went into prison as a revolutionary, but had changed.

“Mandela let us down. He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks. Economically we are still on the outside. The economy is very much ‘white’.

“I cannot forgive him for going to receive the Nobel with his jailer de Klerk. Hand in hand they went. Do you think de Klerk released him from the goodness of his heart?

“He had to. The times dictated it, the world had changed.”

The Mandelas were married for 38 years. They divorced in 1996.

Mrs Mandela also hit out at the Truth and Reconciliation Committee – which she appeared before in 1997 and which implicated her in gross violations of human rights.

“Look at this Truth and Reconciliation charade. He should never have agreed to it,” she said.

“What good does the truth do? How does it help anyone to know where and how their loved ones were killed or buried?”

South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index gained for a seventh day, its longest rising streak in more than three months. The measure increased 212.04, or 0.8 percent, to 28,116.69 at the close in Johannesburg.

Ceramic Industries Ltd. (CRM SJ): The tile and sink manufacturer said net income in the six months through December rose 34 percent to 86.7 million rand ($11.7 million). The company’s stock rose 2 rand, or 1.9 percent, to 108 rand.

Digicore Holdings Ltd. (DGC SJ): The maker of vehicle tracking devices said net income in the six months through December fell 60 percent to 22.41 million rand. The stock was unchanged at 3 rand.

FirstRand Ltd. (FSR SJ): South Africa’s second-biggest banking group by value reports fiscal first-half earnings. FirstRand’s stock fell 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 19.55 rand.

Mvelaphanda Resources Ltd. (MVL SJ): The explorer of metals and minerals reports first-half earnings. The company’s stock fell 80 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 49 rand.

Omnia Holdings Ltd. (OMN SJ): South Africa’s largest fertilizer maker said fiscal 2010 profit will be “considerably” more than 20 percent below the earnings it posted for the year through March, 2009. Omnia’s stock was unchanged at 61 rand.

Sephaku Holdings Ltd. (SEP SJ): The mineral explorer hired Nedbank Group Ltd. to arrange 1.8 billion rand in finance for the construction of two cement plants, Business Report said, citing Pieter Fourie, the chief executive officer of Sephaku’s cement unit. The stock was unchanged at 3 rand.

Universal Industries Corp. (UNI SJ): The supplier of ovens said net income fell almost 31 percent to 51.1 million rand in the year through December, according to a stock exchange filing. Universal’s stock was unchanged at 85 cents.

Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:

Anglo American Plc (AAUK US) fell 0.4 percent to $20.13. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) dropped 1.2 percent to $37.86. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) added 0.4 percent to $67.32. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) shed 2.4 percent to $6.19. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) retreated 0.2 percent to $12.29. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) slipped 0.9 percent to $9.81. Impala Platinum Holdings (IMPUY US) climbed 0.7 percent to $26.29. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) fell 1.4 percent to $4.14. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) rose 2.6 percent to $39.54.

Critics accuse South Africa’s leadership of undermining the fight with denialism and hypocrisy. Former president Thabo Mbeki’s unwillingness to act has been blamed for the premature deaths of 300,000 people.

“AIDS is one of the top priorities for South Africa and we will work with development partners and civil society,” said Deputy President Mr Motlanthe.

In its annual budget for 2010-2011, the country has proposed a budget of US$ 1.1 billion for the AIDS response, the biggest domestic investment in a developing country. South Africa has recently taken the responsibility of providing antiretroviral treatment from its own budget and aims to provide access to nearly 2.1 million people living with HIV.

“A successful AIDS response in South Africa can break the trajectory of the global AIDS epidemic,” said Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “South Africa must lead the region in stopping all new infections and providing treatment for everyone who needs it.”

Calls are growing for “lifestyle audits” of public officials to assess their income and spending to help root out corruption.

At a recent, raucous news conference, ANC Youth League spokesman Floyd Shivambu sparred with journalists investigating the group’s president, Julius Malema, on conflict of interest charges, conflicting statements about his business interests and his apparently luxuriant lifestyle.

The dozen or so journalists at the news conference have been working on stories about how Malema could afford what has been widely described as his “lavish lifestyle” on his ANC salary, reportedly some $2,500 a month.

Malema, 29, denies any wrongdoing.

Piet Rampedi, an investigative reporter with City Press, is one of the journalists digging into Malema’s business ties.

He notes that Malema owns luxurious cars and two houses — one in an exclusive Johannesburg suburb — worth approximately $500,000 and $150,000.

“He has bought all these properties since 2007. And according to official records, those houses were not bonded; they were bought for cash. Common sense would tell you there is no way he would have earned enough to buy those houses,” Rampedi says.

“There was always this big question from almost everybody: Where does this guy get all the money to sustain his luxurious lifestyle?” Rampedi says.

“He has always denied having business links, he has always denied having any business interests, and he has always denied having any interest in any company,” he says.

The media, opposition parties and some civil society organizations believe Malema is among some ruling ANC party politicians who have used their political power to enrich themselves and their friends, and ensure that their political allies are rewarded with lucrative business contracts or tenders, while closing the door on others.

During a radio interview as combative as the news conference, host Redi Direko asked Malema about reports that he had used his influence to make money.

“These are all lies. These are just fabrications,” Malema responded.

Although so far he has refused to do so, Malema said he could account for the sources of all his money.

“There’s nothing I got from this government,” he told Direko.

“I’ve got nothing to do with stealing from the poor. There’s nothing wrong I’ve done,” he continued, when Direko brought up the issue of government tenders.

While not naming Malema specifically, the African National Congress’ alliance partner, the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions, has been among the strongest voices calling for lifestyle audits.

Zwelinzima Vavi, secretary general of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, says the offenders are a small minority. Vavi refuses to identify those he suspects of being awarded lucrative contracts. Vavi calls them “tenderpreneurs.”

“People are just sick and tired of the stories that have been written in the newspapers of the tenderpreneurs, of the back-stabbers and crass materialists who want to hijack the ANC and make it an instrument and a vehicle to take forward their narrow interest,” Vavi says.

But South African President Jacob Zuma, who has faced corruption allegations, has come out against lifestyle audits. And during intense parliamentary debate on the issue, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told parliament that there was no need to go beyond the selective lifestyle audits done by the South African Revenue Service.

Asian shares slipped from six-week highs and a fall in commodity prices may limit gains on the resource-heavy Johannesburg bourse.

The JSE’s blue chip Top-40 March futures contract was down 0.23 percent ahead of the market opening at 0700 GMT.

At 0639 GMT, the rand was trading at 7.42 to the dollar, 0.46 percent weaker than its previous close of 7.3860 in New York on Monday. It touched a 7-½ week high of 7.3625 the previous session.

“The rand has taken a little bit of a breather after commodity prices came off and the euro (fell) … we are seeing a bit of rand weakness,” said a Johannesburg-based trader.

“We should be trading in the 7.36/46 range.”

The euro, which the rand traditionally follows, fell on continued concerns about Greece’s fiscal problems.

Government bonds weakened, ahead of a weekly auction, the results of which will be released around 0900 GMT.

The yield on the 2015 bond was up two basis points at 8.24 percent and the 2036 yield increased by the same margin to 9.03 percent.

New menu items, Olympic sponsorships and the company’s introduction of a $1 breakfast value menu in the United States helped the hamburger chain surpass analysts’ average call for overall same-store sales growth of 3.9 per cent, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst David Tarantino said in a client note.

Sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 0.6 per cent in the United States, 5.4 per cent in Europe, and 10.5 per cent in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region.

Togo’s presidential vote is the latest in a string of disputed elections in Africa which risk undermining the trend of the last decade for political power to come through the ballot box. Provisional results showing incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe the comfortable winner of Thursday’s poll were immediately challenged by his main rival, while police used tear gas to quell protests in the capital Lome over the weekend.

While the unrest is not seen matching that of the last poll in 2005, when hundreds were killed in a security crackdown on protests, the row highlighted just how difficult many African countries still find it to stage a credible election. “The principle that you have to seek legitimacy through the ballot box is more entrenched then it was a decade ago,” said Omaru B. Sisay of Exclusive Analysis. “But the real danger with (disputed elections) is they might drive people who would otherwise seek power through
a poll into the bush to try an insurgency,” he said.

With the 2010/11 election calendar due to include tense votes in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, Central African Republic, Liberia, Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo, the potential for further trouble is high. Africa does not have a monopoly on election disputes, as shown by rows over polls last year in Iran and Afghanistan and the likelihood that the outcome of Iraq’s parliamentary vote on Sunday will be contested.

However events around Togo’s vote on Thursday bore all the hallmarks of what is emerging as a typically African experience of elections that have left nagging questions over the outcome, such as recent polls in Gabon, Congo Republic and Equatorial Guinea. As in Gabon last year, the ruling Togolese party had the resources to ensure blanket billboard and campaign coverage of its candidate, ensuring that Gnassingbe was more visible than any rival from a fragmented opposition. Even before official results givi
ng Gnassingbe just over 60 percent of the vote were released on Saturday, rival Jean-Pierre Fabre hailed himself the winner, prompting a counter-claim from Gnassingbe on the government website.

With African and European observers raising concerns about procedural flaws but not questioning the result outright, Togo is now left in an uneasy limbo as it awaits the constitutional court ruling later this week needed to validate the result. Sisay and others believe Gnassingbe, who deployed extra troops to secure the poll, is more able to contain protests than in 2005, when events exploded out of control and the subsequent crackdown killed up to 500, according to UN estimates.

Rolake Akinola of Global Risk Analysis said poll disputes in themselves did not automatically deter hardened investors in the region, who in many cases are able to live with leaderships of all hues as long as their assets are secure. But she argued that they served to highlight how far many countries still have to go in consolidating the reforms which ensure a sense of confidence in elections, such as an independent judiciary and freedom of press and expression. “For example, Nigerians have in general embr
aced democracy but elections there still remain turbulent,” she said.

Increasingly sophisticated African electorates and tighter procedural checks are making it harder to rig elections in the blatant manner of the early post-colonial rulers who often claimed near unanimous backing from voters. But Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s appeal on Sunday for international observers and peacekeepers to ensure a level playing field against President Robert Mugabe’s camp next year demonstrates that fear of meddling remains alive. Akinola said it was vital that foreign pres
sure is kept on coup leaders in Niger and Guinea to stage free elections for a civilian government this year. On Monday, Guinea said it would hold a presidential election on June 27.

Beginning from Saturday March 6, Nigeria joined 19 countries in West and Central Africa in a campaign to immunize over 85 million children under five years old against polio. The four-day exercise ends today.

Nigeria’s effort has been supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO), and other international partners.

A schedule of the programme from the UNICEF office in Nigeria shows that staff at 19,112 fixed immunization posts will immunize babies and children while 32,172 house-to-house vaccination teams and 14,224 special teams carrying vaccine cool are travelling on foot or motorbikes and in cars and boats on the door-to-door vaccination drive.

The other countries involved in this special programme include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone. All these countries are in the March 6 to 9 immunization programme.

Cote d’ Ivoire, Niger and Togo will join at a later date because of transition programmes currently taking place in the three countries.

The campaign is being spearheaded by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a network of partners including national governments, the Rotary International, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the International Federation of the Red Cross, as well as the UNICEF and WHO.

The aim is to reach every child under the age of five. It is considered significant because without a critical mass of children being immunized, the virus will rage on. More than 400,000 volunteers and health workers are involved in the aim to reach the targeted 85 million children.

Part of a statement from UNICEF which relates the incidence of polio in the two subcontinents, reads, “For children in West and Central Africa, the threat of the crippling disease, eradicated in much of the world, still looms. In Nigeria, the virulent polio virus is still endemic. In 2008, it spread from the north of the country to other nations in the region. Many of these countries were on the way to being declared polio-free and had successfully eradicated the virus. Yet with the movement of people across borders, and the inadequate level of routine immunization in many areas, the virus has quickly spread. Now, many of these areas are re-infected, threatening more children with paralysis and even death.”

In the current logistical exercise, vaccination teams are crossing some of the toughest and most challenging terrain in Africa to reach children. The teams, equipped with special carriers that ensure the vaccine remains below the required 8 degrees Celsius, go from door to door in search of every child under five.

Experienced health workers are being deployed to locations known to be the most challenging. A special plan is in place to focus on the border areas between countries with an independent monitoring system developed to track progress.

Count Down, an internet newsletter produced every two weeks by the World Health Organization in Nigeria, provides an update on the effect of polio in Nigeria within the last one year. According to the update which comes under the caption, “Total number of children paralysed by polio 26 February 2009 to 26 February 2010,” Kano State presents the worst case of 70.

Kano is followed by other affected states in this order: Katsina (25), Bauchi (23), Borno (16), Kebbi (14), and Niger (13). Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kaduna states had 10 cases each, while Gombe and Yobe had nine and eight cases respectively. The states of Delta, Kogi, and Nasarawa suffered five polio paralysis each within the recorded year while Benue, Plateau and Bayelsa came down each with four. Three and two cases were recorded against Ogun and Ebonyi States respectively while Abia, Lagos, Edo and Kwara states had one each.

The Count Down newsletter, known fully as Count Down to Polio Eradication in Nigeria, also reports, however, that a more portent vaccine, the bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV)), which was administered for the first time in Africa in Nigeria during the January National Immunization Plus Days (IPDs) would speed up the interruption of the polio viruses troubling Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

It explains in its report that the bOPV “simultaneously targets type 1 and 3 polio viruses and is at least 30 percent more effective than the traditional trivalent polio vaccine, according to a clinical field trial conducted in India.”

A force of around 60 joint U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeepers was ambushed on Friday and held for 24 hours by unidentified armed men in Jabel Marra, which for years has been a rebel-controlled area.

“They were attacked in Jabel Marra and rebels took from them 53 guns, seven cars and seven large artillery,” Sudan’s armed forces spokesman al-Sawarmi Khaled told Reuters.

“We are now completely in control of Jabel Marra,” he added. “There are some small groups of rebels here and there but we are in overall control.”

The army had previously denied it was fighting with Darfur rebels in Jabel Marra, but on Monday Khaled said they had clashed there with “small criminal gangs blocking roads.”

The Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) loyal to founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur denied the army was in control of the area they have claimed since the conflict began in early 2003. They also denied any involvement in the ambush.

“This is the thousandth time (President Omar Hassan al)Bashir has claimed to have won the battle in Darfur and… this is totally untrue,” SLM commander Ibrahim el-Helu told Reuters from Paris, where Nur is based.

Sudan’s army also questioned how UNAMID lost its vehicles, weapons, money and communications equipment without a fight.

“How a 61-man force with 3 vehicles of soldiers — how could they hand over all these things without any battle or any exchange of fire? This contradicts totally with military logic,” the spokesman said.

UNAMID were not immediately able to comment but have previously denied army accusations that they have supported Darfur rebels.

Last month Khartoum signed a ceasefire agremeent with the most militarily powerful of Darfur’s divided rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement. But other rebel groups criticised the deal.

The United Nations estimates some 300,000 people died in Darfur’s humanitarian crisis sparked by a brutal counter-insurgency campaign in 2003 to quell rebels demanding more of a share in wealth and power.

The revelation by the Executive Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and Under Secretary General to the UN, Mr. Mitchel Sidibe, that 70,000 babies are born every year with HIV in Nigeria gives serious cause for concern. A total of 400,000 babies, according to Sidibe, are born with HIV in Africa, with 70 per cent of them unable to reach their first anniversary. This, by inference, means that 70 per cent of the 70,000 HIV-infected babies born yearly in Nigeria die before age one. This figure is alarming and unacceptable.

The continent’s profile on children living with HIV/AIDS has been horrendous in the last three years with a dim hope of reversal. While UNICEF has said that of the 420,000 children newly infected in 2007, over 90 per cent are from Africa, another report revealed that around 390,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa were infected with HIV in 2008. Nigeria contributes a substantial part of the population of this region – one out of every four African is a Nigerian – and will naturally carry the largest chunk of the scourge. This trend may compromise the country’s future and has to be reversed forthwith.

Without doubt, the unacceptable situation stems from the lack of political will on the part of the government and ignorance on the part of the mothers.

While public hospitals, which are unfortunately located in the cities, insist on blood screening to determine the HIV status of pregnant women, many private hospitals have yet to fully embrace this important practice, thus making the nation’s intervention efforts ineffective. Besides, because the nation’s population structure is largely rural (70 per cent of Nigerians reside in the rural areas), most mothers still visit unregistered clinics or no clinics at all.

Government’s attitude to the 2003 UNICEF’s comprehensive four-pronged strategy to prevent HIV among infants and children has been very uninspiring and is largely responsible for the poor record in the area of children born with HIV/AIDS virus. The comprehensive strategy includes delivery of primary intervention within services related to reproductive health such as antenatal care, postpartum/natal care and other health and HIV service delivery points.

This includes working with community structures; provision of counselling and support to women living with HIV to empower them to take informed decisions about their future reproductive life and prevent unwanted pregnancies. It also includes counselling of pregnant women already infected on how to take care of themselves; preventing infection from being passed on to their babies; adopting best feeding option for the baby and integrating HIV care, treatment and support for women found to be positive and their families.

Unfortunately, of the seven countries found to have provided Anti-Retroviral Drugs to more than 40 per cent of HIV-infected pregnant women in 2005, only Botswana made the list in sub-Saharan Africa, which a report says is “more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world.”

Despite the attention the nation gets from international bodies on Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission, the scourge refuses to abate. The first High-Level Global Partners Forum on the prevention of Mother-to-child transmission “that culminated in the ‘call to action’ declaration for an HIV-free generation by eliminating HIV and AIDS in children was convened in Abuja in December 2005.”

Nigeria was also among 13 of the 14 Inter-Agency Task Team joint technical country missions that UNICEF led to review strategies and plans in support of national scale up efforts of both PMTCT and Pediatric HIV care, treatment and support services between 2005 and September 2007.

The time has come for all tiers of government to wake up and give the issue of children born with HIV its deserved attention, especially given the implications of the scourge for the nation. A report by AVERT, a United Kingdom-based international HIV and AIDS charity organisation, says, “Without intervention, there is a 20-45 per cent chance that an HIV-positive mother will pass infection on to her child.” The federal and state ministries of health need to come out with a blueprint on how to achieve an effective PMTCT.

Mother-to-child transmission, according to experts, occurs during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding.

There is an urgent need for massive campaign to sensitise the public in the cities and in the rural areas on health tips during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding, as well as the need for pregnant women to undergo HIV test(s) and go for treatment if they test positive. Mothers need to know that just as it is possible to be HIV positive and still live a normal life, it is also possible for an infected mother to give birth to an uninfected baby if the necessary precautions are taken.

Jingles in local languages are needed to bring about an effective reach. Faith-based organisations and traditional rulers must be involved in winning this life-threatening scourge.

All tiers of government should enjoin the Nigeria Medical Association and its branches across the nation to encourage private hospitals to subject pregnant women to HIV test(s) as part of their antenatal programme. The governments should also regularly monitor compliance.

While the NMA must clamp down on unregistered clinics, mothers should stop patronising quacks.

It is expectant also imperative for all tiers of government to wage a total war on MTCT prevalence as the economic and social burden on the nation is higher when a baby is born with HIV. For a nation that is still struggling with basic needs and development challenges, the best option is prevention.

Out of the estimated 3.4 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS worldwide, 15.7 million are women.

Around 22.4 million people in the Sub-Sahara Africa are suffering from HIV, and it is estimated that three-fifths of people with the virus in the region are women.

Infection among women on the rise
About 30 years ago, very few women were infected by HIV. As a result, this issue was not given priority. But over the years, the disease has started taking a toll on women’s health.

In a statement, Robin Gorna, executive director, International AIDS Society, stated, “We’re nearly three decades into the epidemic and we have the depressing news that AIDS is now the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age across the globe.”

The health of women and girls is adversely affected by other social and economic factors as well, like lack of education, household wealth etc.

As per the latest reported titled ‘No Action: No Progress,’ the women and girls in Canada are increasingly being deprived of human rights.

Apart from the social and economic discrimination adversely effecting women, the lack of integrative care has also magnified their problems.

Difficulties involved in integrative care for women
The anti-viral drugs are available in the market and a lot of women are able to access these drugs but it is yet not clear how to give the best treatment to women.

Though these drugs have proved effective, their overall effects on women have yet not been researched. The reason is that doctors and pharmaceutical companies are concerned about the side effects these drugs may have on women, especially those who are pregnant.

The side effects of these drugs could include severe deformities in children born to HIV-infected women.

A drug called Thalidomide was sold in a number of countries across the world in 1960s and 70s. Since the medication proved effective against morning sickness, thousands of pregnant women took the drug to relieve their symptoms.

They are the dozens of international, national and local groups toiling in the trenches to improve mother and child health, protect the environment and end world poverty.

And as Canada prepares to host the G-8 and G-20 leaders in Huntsville and downtown Toronto in June, they have launched “At the Table,” a global campaign to lever peaceful public pressure to make serious progress on these issues.

Most of the activity will happen in the months leading up to the meetings before security tightens, and at a time when the groups feel they can have a real impact on the leaders’ discussions.

“There will be demonstrations,” said Gerry Barr, chair of Make Poverty History, part of a national coalition of social justice and environmental groups backing the global campaign.

“Many of those demonstrations will be family-friendly,” he said Monday during the campaign kickoff at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre where the G-20 leaders will meet June 26 and 27.

In the coming months, activists here and abroad are being encouraged to invite their public leaders to “At the Table” dinners in private homes and town squares to ensure the voices of the world’s poorest people are heard.

In addition to a global day of action on June 16 to coincide with the Soccer World Cup in South Africa, local groups are staging a Mother’s Day card campaign, a concert at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall on May 13 and a People’s Summit at Ryerson University on June 16.

They are still debating whether to plan anything for the days the leaders are in town when security will be tightest.

In the wake of last week’s federal budget, which capped Canadian foreign aid at 2010 levels until 2014, local activists are focusing on Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

NC2 Global, a joint venture between Caterpillar and Navistar International, has planned to launch Australian operations, with truck sales to begin mid-year.

Headquartered in Illinois, USA, NC2 said that a 2010 business plan has been formalized embracing efficient markets, with initial focus on Australia, Brasil, and South Africa.

According to NC2, it as taken steps to focus on Australian market that include establishing an Australian truck assembly facility in Tullamarine, Victoria, which will incorporate assembly, quality and safety systems, and will be located in a portion of an existing Caterpillar manufacturing facility; appointed Australian personnel, including three key positions in sales and marketing, and manufacturing and finance, that began work in-country on March 1.

In addition, the company has put in place an Australian product and brand strategy, including medium, heavy and vocational vehicles; and it has also applied for membership in the Truck Industry Council (TIC).

HONG KONG, Mar 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Global Sources /quotes/comstock/15*!gsol/quotes/nls/gsol (GSOL 6.42, -0.09, -1.38%) is expanding its China Sourcing Fairs in 2010 with the launch of Garments & Textiles. The show is scheduled to be held in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Johannesburg, South Africa in October, November, and December, respectively.

As perhaps one of the most dynamic launches ever for a new show, suppliers from Greater China will be meeting face-to-face with leading buyers in 3 major trading and sourcing hubs. The Hong Kong event will attract a global audience of importers. Singapore is the key trading center for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China’s fourth-largest export market, while Johannesburg is the primary gateway for China’s fast-growing trade with Africa.

The Fairs aim to showcase finished products ranging from ready-to-wear garments such as casual, bridal, active, beach, lounge, and underwear, to fabrics, fibers, yarns, trimming materials and accessories.

“These new shows build upon and complement our existing Garments & Textiles online marketplace, print and digital magazines, and Private Sourcing Events,” said Tommy Wong, President of Global Sources Exhibitions. “China’s textile and garment exports reached $15.5 billion in January 2010 alone, and as the global economic recovery takes hold, overseas demand for garments and textiles is expected to increase.”

China Sourcing Fair: Garments & Textiles is scheduled for:

— Hong Kong: Oct. 27-30, and thereafter every April and October at the AsiaWorld-Expo. (The event is to be co-located with China Sourcing Fairs: Fashion Accessories and Underwear & Swimwear.)

— Singapore: Nov. 22-24, Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

— South Africa: Dec. 1-3, Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg.

Chairman and CEO Merle A. Hinrichs said: “The aggressive expansion of our China Sourcing Fairs into new categories and new locations is a three-pronged strategy. First and foremost, because import buyers do not place large volume orders through online marketplaces, virtually all suppliers want the face-to-face opportunities at our shows — where they can negotiate with buyers and win orders. Second, the shows heavily leverage the buyer community and the promotional support of our other media. Lastly, with various initiatives underway to further integrate all of our media, the expanded show schedule will provide tremendous additional exposure and sales leads for the advertisers using our online and print media.”

More information about the China Sourcing Fairs is available at: http://www.chinasourcingfair.com.

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business media company and a primary facilitator of trade with Greater China. The core business uses English-language media to facilitate trade from Greater China to the world. The other business segment utilizes Chinese-language media to enable companies to sell to, and within Greater China.

The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 888,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in more than 240 countries.

Global Sources offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. The company delivers information on nearly 4.5 million products and more than 253,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly magazines, over 80 sourcing research reports, and 17 specialized trade shows that run 55 times a year across 10 cities.

Suppliers receive more than 136 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online (http://www.globalsources.com) alone.

Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 39 years. The company’s network covers more than 60 cities worldwide. In mainland China, Global Sources has about 2,500 team members in more than 40 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for its Chinese-language media.

The Johannesburg-based banking concern, the only one of the country’s major lenders to show profit growth this earnings season, said Tuesday it is increasing staffing at its representative office in Nigeria and is investigating opportunities from industry reform currently underway.

FirstRand said it is interested in all areas of the industry in Nigeria–where the central bank last year injected capital and forced out executives at struggling banks–including corporate, investment and retail banking, and insurance. Standard Bank Group Ltd. (SBK.JO), the continent’s largest lender by assets, has also said it would consider acquisition opportunities here.

“Key markets that offer good prospects are Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Angola,” FirstRand said in its first-half earnings statement.

The company plans to leverage its relationship with China Construction Bank Corp. (0939.HK), which signed a cooperation pact with FirstRand in late July that covers advisory and deal structuring services to each others’ clients.

“Given that China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, positioning the group’s franchises to capture the trade and investment flows with China is an important element for its African strategy,” said FirstRand, adding transactional flows with Chinese counterparts have increased since the deal was signed with CCB.

FirstRand’s net profit rose 5% in the six months through December to 4.52 billion rand ($609.2 million) from ZAR4.31 billion a year earlier, helped in part by a series of interest-rate cuts in South Africa that provided some relief to consumers. The company said its banking arm’s profitability recovered with the reversal of bad debts from large retail lending books and losses from certain offshore trading portfolios that dented its results a year ago.

Overall impairments decreased 13% in the latest six months to ZAR3.23 billion, for a credit loss ratio of 1.51% against 1.64% in the same period the year before.

Standard Bank last week posted a 21% fall in net profit for 2009 as credit impairment charges increased 7% after more than doubling in 2008. Absa Group Ltd. (ASA.JO), South Africa’s biggest retail lender, last month said it expects an improvement in bad debts this year after impairments contributed to a 36% drop in its full-year profit.

South Africa surfaced from its first recession in 17 years during the third quarter of 2009, following three consecutive quarterly contractions. FirstRand said modest economic growth is expected, which should benefit its banking franchises.

It cautioned some risks remain in the corporate sector and while significant defaults are unlikely, business volumes overall will remain subdued.

FirstRand declared an interim dividend of 34 cents a share, unchanged on last year.

Company Web site: www.firstrand.co.za

Yingli Green Energy, a leading solar energy company and one of the world’s largest vertically integrated photovoltaic (“PV”) manufacturers, has become the first renewable energy company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup™. By establishing this alliance with FIFA, Yingli Green Energy is working to further its strategic worldwide sponsorship marketing initiatives, in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup™.

SportsMark has been selected to provide Yingli Green Energy with strategic planning and program development services around their new FIFA World Cup™ sponsorship. The scope of services includes initial consultation and sponsorship program activation, recommendations for hospitality program structure and design, ticket management, FIFA commercial display programs and other event activations. SportsMark is also expected to provide all hospitality operations, ticketing management and event management services for Yingli during the FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa.

Dr. Yaocheng Jason Liu, Vice President of Marketing for Yingli Green Energy, commented, “As one of the world’s leading solar companies, we are excited to be joining other world-class brands as an international sponsor of the FIFA World Cup™. This sponsorship links Yingli Green Energy to the world’s most popular and passionately followed sport. We needed an agency that understands the FIFA World Cup™ and has deep knowledge and relationships inside FIFA and MATCH, and SportsMark was that agency. We look forward to leveraging SportsMark’s expertise in the development of our global hospitality, ticketing, and event management programs.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Yingli, and it is an honor to partner with the first China-based and the first renewable energy corporate sponsor of FIFA”, said Keith Bruce, President of SportsMark. “This assignment reinforces SportsMark’s growing global reputation in football sponsorship management and leading agency status in FIFA World Cup™ ticketing and hospitality. We look forward to working with Yingli and maximizing the impact of their sponsorship in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup™, as well as on- site in South Africa.”

SportsMark adds this appointment to its growing global football business, including their current role as the exclusive agent of MATCH Hospitality in the USA for the sale of the Official Hospitality Programme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, their role as the global event management agency for FIFA Partner Visa, the official global FIFA World Cup™ ticketing management agency for FIFA Partner Sony, and hospitality and event management services provider for US broadcaster Univision and Major League Soccer.

About Yingli Green Energy
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), which holds the brand Yingli Solar, is a leading solar energy company and one of the world’s largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy develops, manufactures and sells photovoltaic modules to a wide range of markets, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, South Korea, China and the United States. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 6,000 employees and more than 10 branch offices worldwide. Yingli Green Energy is publicly listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: YGE). For more information, please visit http://www.yinglisolar.com.

“Come heat, come dust, come monsoon rains or Delhi traffic, the Figo was born and bred for India,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India.

As the global auto industry suffers, India has been enjoying an auto boom. An economic rebound, rising incomes and pent-up demand drove car sales to 1,370,659 vehicles from April to February, 25 percent more than during the same period the previous year.

Ford has ramped up investment in China and India, but has been slow to adjust to the proclivities of Indian carbuyers, three quarters of whom buy super-small, super-affordable cars.

The luxurious sedans Americans favor find little room on India’s teeming streets, and they’re priced stratospherically out of reach for a nation where the per capita income is about 43,750 rupees ($960).

The Figo is different.

Ford squeezed the car into a tiny frame — 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) by 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) — to ease its passage through the tide of bullock carts, angry taxis, handcarts, motorbikes and cows that clog city roads.

And they used easy-to-replace components, like bumpers, to handle the unavoidable dents and dings.

“The Figo team went to great lengths to ensure that key components are easily and affordably replaced,” Boneham said.

The car also has extra durable lubricating and cooling systems, to deal with India’s extreme heat and torrential rains.

But its most Indian feature of all is the price.

Like other global auto majors, Ford also hopes to turn India into a small car export hub. Boneham said the Figo would first ship to South Africa.

The World Bank has recently said that the country may have to spend more out of its increasing healthcare budget to cure the AIDS patients. It is estimated that currently the Capital spends almost 5% of its total healthcare budget of $5.4 billion on treating AIDS patients. But with Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the northeast regions catching up fast World Bank has cautioned that the spending may go up to $1.8 billion or 7% of the total healthcare budget.

The experts are of a view that 15% of the more than 200,000 injectible drug users (IDUs) are already HIV positive as against a global average of 10%. It is estimated that in some of the areas this percentage even cross the 50% level mark creating a situation of havoc in the healthcare ministry.

This was revealed in UNDP’s Asia Pacific Human Development Report, released on Monday. South Asia’s lack of gender equality is a cause of great concern as the region accounts for almost a quarter of the world’s population and within the region India accounts for about 73% of the population.

UNDP administrator Helen Clark while releasing the report warned: “High GDP does not automatically deliver human development. That can happen only from more deliberate public policy interventions. The boost to the economy that would result from greater participation of women should result in investment in those specific sectors that will benefit them for gender equality to become a reality.”

The report argues that gender equality is also good economics as equal participation of women boosts a country’s GDP. According to the report, in countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia, conservative estimates show that GDP would increase by up to 2-4% annually if women employment rates were raised to 70% closer to the rate of many developed countries.

In South Asia, the proportion of women in the labour force was just 36% in 2007, much lower than that of even sub-Saharan African at 60%. If you are looking for some comfort, there is one region that does worse on this count and that is the Middle East and North African region.

About 67% East Asian women participate in the labour force, the best rate in the world and well above the global average of 53%.

However, when it comes to equal pay, women in the entire Asia-Pacific region earn considerably less than men with the pay gap ranging from 54 to 90%. More than 41% of the children in South Asia were underweight compared to less than 27% in sub-Saharan Africa. And more women die in childbirth in South Asia, 500 per 100,000 live births than in any part of the world except sub-Saharan Africa.

South Asia barely managed to crawl past sub-Saharan Africa in the last half decade in the ratio of female-to-male life expectancy. Before that, this ratio too was worse than even sub-Saharan Africa. Encouragingly, South Asia’s ratio of female-to-male primary enrolment (93.6) is comparable to the world average of 95. However, this ratio falls drastically by the level of tertiary education to just 71, far below the world average of 106.

Over half the adult women (52%) in South Asia are illiterate — the world’s worst performance — while East Asian and Pacific adult women’s literacy rate, at about 90%, is well above the global average of 79%.

East Asia reveals its feet of clay in birth gender disparity. In the region 119 boys are born for every 100 girls, one of the worst records in the world. China and India together account for nearly a 100 million missing women estimated to have died from discriminatory treatment in health care, nutrition access or neglect or because they were never born as girl fetuses are aborted.

The Somali pirates use “mother ships” — usually loaded with ammunition, fuel and food — that allow them to operate farther out to sea and attack vessels on heavily used shipping routes, such as the Gulf of Aden and Somali basin.

Defense ministers from the European Union had to expand the objective of the EU-led Operation Atalanta, which now gives navies the authority to go after and “disrupt” these pirate supply ships, according to British Cmdr. John Harbour, spokesman for the EU Naval Force Somalia.

“We’re taking the fight to the pirates,” Harbour said. “We know roughly where they’re operating from, and will position our resources to [capture] their mother ships.”

Pirates often use the mother ship as a staging base while one or two smaller skiffs carry out attacks on transiting vessels. If officials feel they have enough evidence against the pirates, the pirates will be taken into custody and typically transferred to Kenya or the Seychelles for prosecution.

If there is not enough evidence, the EU will destroy the mother ship and a skiff but leave the pirates a way to return to Somalia.

“We mean to take them out of the game,” Harbour said. “We’ll disrupt their operations for a few weeks to a month, and even though they’re likely to return, at least for a month, that one group will not be available to attack.”

The EU’s new, more aggressive plan makes sense, said Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa expert with the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House think tank in London.

“I think that considered targeting of mother ships could be a very useful tactic,” Middleton said. “The attacks in the Indian Ocean are reliant on mother ships, so anything that targets these is likely to be more successful than trying to respond to individual attacks.

Mother ships tend to stay in one area, from which multiple attacks can be launched, Middleton said.

“Given the great difficulty of protecting shipping in the Indian Ocean, a strategy to target mother ships seems to be a sensible idea,” he said.

Until this point, Operation Atalanta’s main mission has been to provide escorts to merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program and to ships of the African Union Mission in Somalia. The mission has expanded to include protecting vulnerable ships, such as slow-moving oil tankers, in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

This was a successful weekend for EU naval forces, which disrupted six would-be pirate attacks and detained 35 suspected pirates, all Somali citizens, Harbour said.

Additionally, a French fishing trawler under attack collided with the assaulting pirate skiff, tipping the skiff.

“The pirates were all swimming around and the people who they attacked picked them out of the sea and saved their lives,” Harbour said. The six suspected pirates now are on the fishing trawler.

(RTTNews) – Employers in most major labor markets intend to hire in the second quarter at a pace equal to or stronger than in the same period last year, results of the global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey published by the employment services provider Manpower showed Tuesday.

The survey found that employers in 27 out of 36 countries and territories expect positive hiring activity in the second quarter. At the same time, employers in eight regions registered negative hiring expectations, but it was an improvement in comparison to the 18 countries and territories reporting negative outlooks a year ago.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is carried out quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or reduce the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter.

Job prospects in the Asia Pacific region remained strong, with the exception of Japan. Employers in India and Taiwan reported strongest hiring plans, while Japanese employers alone reported the region’s negative Net Employment Outlook. Hiring expectations are considerably stronger compared to a year ago in all other nations and territories in the region.

Of the 18 countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa or the EMEA region, hiring expectations were mixed with employers in 10 nations reporting positive hiring activity for the next quarter. Hiring activity in the region is expected to be strongest in Poland, South Africa, Norway and Sweden and weakest in Italy and Spain.

In comparison to a year ago, hiring plans were stronger in 10 nations surveyed in the American region for which annual data is available. Regional hiring plans stood strongest in Brazil, Costa Rica and Peru. At the same time, hiring expectations of U.S. employers remained relatively stable from three months ago but were stronger than those reported in the second quarter of 2009.

Jeffrey Joerres, Chairman and CEO of Manpower said, “U.S. employers are still hesitant to hire for permanent positions, but for five consecutive months we have seen positive signals in temporary staffing data and that’s a good sign that demand is slowly picking up.”

Earlier this month, a survey by Monster Worldwide showed that the employment index for the U.S., which is a monthly gauge of the online job demand in the nation, rose to 124 in February from 114 in the previous month. Online job availability increased in 15 of the index’s 20 industrial sectors and in 19 of the 23 occupational categories monitored.