East Africa : News

[Capital FM]Nairobi -Seventeen protestors who staged the 'Occupy Parliament' demonstration using 31 live pigs last Tuesday have been charged with cruelty to animals. (AllAfrica)

[IRIN]Garissa-Nairobi -The presence of foreign militias in parts of northeastern Kenya, and their collusion with security officials and business people there, may be to blame for a rise in insecurity in the region, where multiple gun and grenade attacks have been reported over the past two years. (AllAfrica)

[Sudan Tribune]Khartoum -A new report argues that the Sudanese government's struggle for control of Darfur's gold resources, rather than inter-tribal conflicts is behind the recent surge in violence in the war-torn western region. (AllAfrica)

[Addis Fortune]Ethiopia secured close to 2.2 billion dollars from export during the last nine months of the current fiscal year, which only shows a 2.8pc increment compared to the same period last year. (AllAfrica)

[Addis Fortune]Following a year of strong growth in 2012 the near-term outlook for Ethiopia remains broadly positive, with growth projected to accelerate modestly to around 5.5pc in 2014, according to International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook published last week. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]A major event that grabbed headlines this week was the civil society's protest against plans by MPs to have their salaries increased. Different people have reacted differently to the demonstrators' expression of displeasure with the legislators' agitation for higher salaries. (AllAfrica)

[New Vision]A 60-year old pastor of Lukango Church of God in Kammengo, Mpigi district is in police custody over defilement. (AllAfrica)

[New Vision]The Government should come up with a special development programme for the Busoga region to bring it up to the level of other areas, Rebecca Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament has said. (AllAfrica)

[New Vision]Acting Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma has urged freshly appointed members of the Local Government Finance Commission to uphold the qualities the appointing authority saw in them. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]Kenya is like no other country in the world.Everything that happens in this country is uniquely Kenyan. What we do cannot be replicated anywhere else. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]President Uhuru Kenyatta now wants his case on alleged crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court to start in January next year. (AllAfrica)

[Radio Dabanga]Kadugli -Three of the 18 women who embarked on a hunger strike on 13 May are sustaining their protest to draw attention to their situation. (AllAfrica)

[African Union]Welcome Remarks by HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AllAfrica)

[Garowe Online]Mogadishu -The president of Somalia's federal government Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addressed major national issues including Somaliland separatism while speaking at the opening ceremony of a new center for orphans in Mogadihsu, Garowe Online reports. (AllAfrica)

[Shabelle]The city of Kismayu which is located in a strategic location has faced political scramble in the past few days. The Raskamboni militia which administrates the city has been involved in several reported criminal activities such as looting and murder against the residents of the city. (AllAfrica)

[Sabahi]A suspected terrorist and his wife were shot dead and six police officers were injured during a security operation in Nairobi that lasted 12 hours and came to an end Sunday (May 19th), Kenya's Capital FM reported. (AllAfrica)

[Sabahi]Somali government troops killed nine al-Shabaab militants during clashes Saturday (May 18th) in the Bakol region, Somalia's Shabelle Media Network reported. (AllAfrica)

[Sabahi]The European Union's Ambassador to Tanzania Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi urged journalists to be well informed on various human rights issues in order to report on violations and stop the vice from spreading, Tanzania's The Guardian reported Saturday (May 18th). (AllAfrica)

[Daily News]Dodoma -THE Minister for Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, has said the government will open bids for gas and oil exploratory licences on May 9, 2014 at a time when the country will have the Natural Gas Policy and legislation. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]A major security operation is underway at the Kenya-Tanzania border to curb illegal firearms and criminal gangs. This follows recent's killing of five people in Naikarra after bandits believed to be from Sonjos community in Tanzania attacked them. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]Three suspected violent robbers who last Friday hacked an administration police officer to death and cut six residents with axes at Mbeere South have been arrested, (AllAfrica)

[The Star]National Assembly departmental committees are expected to conduct elections for their chairpersons and deputies today. MPs interested in the committee leadership had by yesterday evening intensified their lobbying ahead of today's voting. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]The government has been asked to establish a rehab center for rescuing teenage mothers back to school. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]Waata communities in Isiolo yesterday raised concern that they have been locked out of all elective positions and county appointments in the area. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]A senior AP officer was on Saturday evening shot dead by unknown assailants in Wajir town in another incident of insecurity in Northeastern province. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]A rare species of antelope in the country is facing extinction, a conservation group has warned. The World Wide Fund has warned that the Sable antelope, only found at Shimba Hills National Reserve will be extinct if no action is taken. (AllAfrica)

[State Department]Washington -The sentencing May 15 of two California businessmen in Los Angeles for trafficking in rhino horn will send both to prison and ensure that $800,000 of their illegally acquired "profits" end up helping protect rhinos in Africa. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]WHEAT farmers in Uasin Gishu County have started shifting to other crops due to poor prices of the commodity offered by the government. (AllAfrica)

[The Star]Three more people have been killed in Mandera only hours after President Uhuru read the riot act to his security chiefs to end the run-away crime. (AllAfrica)

[New Vision]Kampala -Free legal aid service providers have urged the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to urgently table the draft Aid Policy Bill before Parliament, so that it is speedily enacted into law. (AllAfrica)

GARISSA-NAIROBI 17 May 2013 (IRIN) - The presence of foreign militias in parts of northeastern Kenya, and their collusion with security officials and business people there, may be to blame for a rise in insecurity in the region, where multiple gun and grenade attacks have been reported over the past two years. (IRIN)