Government allocates 1.65bn/- to teachers' colleges countrywide

Wife of the immediate former President, Salma Kikwete

 The government has allocated 1.65bn/- to Block Teaching Practice in the country’s teachers’ training colleges this year, according to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

 

He made the remarks at the weekend in Mtwara Municipality when speaking to teachers and civil servants working in the education sector from all districts in Mtwara Region.  The function was held at the Mtwara Teachers’ Teaching College premises.

 

“The government recognises the importance of teaching practice in teachers’ colleges, that’s why this February it has availed 1.65bn/- for all 35 public institutions across the country to enable student teachers and tutors to effectively take part in the Block Teaching Practice,” the Premier said amid applause.

 

Majaliwa said the amount was to be used for paying subsistence allowances, fares and buying learning and teaching tools and equipment.

 

Earlier, when addressing a public rally at Mashujaa grounds, the Premier said the fifth-phase government was determined to improve education in the country, warning all people who were trying to tamper with girls’ education.

 

“Our interest is to see Tanzanian girls get access to quality education from the lower level to higher levels so that they can become active players in the country’s socio-economic growth. We, therefore, appeal to everyone to be a guard of the girl child,” he said, citing sentiments made by the wife of the immediate former President, Salma Kikwete, who regularly says ‘Mtoto wa Mwenzio ni wako’, meaning your colleague’s child is yours.”

 

He warned people who were behind ruining girls’ education dreams to get prepared as prison was beckoning them.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Indian man kills 14 family members with knife

Mumbai - A 35-year-old man killed 14 members of his family including six children with a butcher's knife before committing suicide in India, with police baffled Sunday about a motive for the attack.
The grisly murders occurred after Hasnin Anwar Warekar and his extended family gathered late on Saturday at a home north of India's financial capital of Mumbai for a family function, police officers said.
"The attacker, Hasnin Anwar Warekar, hung himself after slitting the throats of all other family members including his parents," Gajanan Laxman Kabdule, a police spokesman in Thane, some 32 kilometres from Mumbai, said.
The sole survivor of the attack - Warekar's sister - was taken to hospital after neighbours heard her screaming for help after midnight and alerted police.
Neighbours were forced to open a window to rescue the woman after the assailant allegedly locked all escape routes from the house before carrying out the attacks, according to local media reports.
"We still haven't been able to speak with the attacker's 21-year-old sister, the lone survivor of the attack, who is in deep trauma at a city hospital," Kabdule told AFP.
Warekar, who reportedly worked for a private firm in Mumbai, was able to carry out the attacks after lacing the food at the gathering with a sedative, according to several local media reports.
But the Indian Express newspaper said he stabbed his victims after they went to bed, having all decided to spend the night at the house in Thane.
"Prima facie evidence suggests that the accused bolted all the doors of the house and murdered his family while they were asleep with a knife that we found near his body," Ashutosh Dumbre, joint commissioner of Thane police, was quoted saying.
Kabdule said he could not confirm whether the victims had been sedated, saying investigators were awaiting medical test results.
Footage showed men carrying bodies wrapped in sheets from the house to a waiting ambulance, as crowds and police gathered outside the white-walled home.
Kabdule said details of the attack "are still sketchy" along with the motive.
According to the Press Trust of India news agency, a property dispute was behind the killings, but Dumbre said initial investigations have so far found no trigger for such an "extreme step".
"In our inquiry so far, no one has yet been able to give the reason for this," Dumbre told the ABP news channel.
"He worked with a private company in Mumbai. There were no known financial troubles or disputes and now we are hoping that the lone survivor can tell us something about the trigger," he said. Published in The Nation newspaper on 29-Feb-2016

SEMINAR ON HIV/AIDS AWARENESS TO NACTE EMPLOYEES

Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) conducted a seminar for NACTE employees on HIV/AIDS, The main issues of the seminar included, awareness, prevention, voluntary testing and the importance of understanding one’s health status. The seminar also emphasized on importance of checking health status for HIV&AIDS and other non-communicable diseases like Cancer, diabetes etc... Further, the employees were advised to monitor their body weight regularly and lead healthy life, such as eating healthy diet/meals while avoiding unhealthy life styles.

This initiative has been brought about, as a response towards implementing the revised National HIV&AIDS Management at Workplace Circular No. 2 of 2006, which instructs Employers in Public Service to provide council service and advice, avoidance of stigma and discrimination to civil servants living with HIV and AIDS.

The Circular requires all Employers to adhere to the guideline, and maintain welfare of the employees through provision of regular updates regarding health issues, use of protective measures and provide direct support to employees who disclose their health status.

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PUBLIC RELATION OFFICER

Tourism industry revenue income inches up by 8 pc

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Maj. Gen. Gaudence Milanzi, said this in Dar es Salaam while briefing members of press on the 2014’s tourism survey report.

He said that the survey was conducted by the ministry in collaboration with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Immigration Department and the Zanzibar Commission of Tourism (ZCT).

Maj. Gen. Milanzi noted further that Zanzibar earned 269.3million US dollars in 2014, up from 210.5 million US dollars in 2013. He noted that an average expenditure of a tourist per day in 2014 stood at 221 US dollars down from 284 US dollars reported in 2013.

The PS pointed out that 15 major tourist markets contributed by 82 per cent of all the international tourists, adding that Zimbabwe, China and Holland were new markets of tourists in the group of 15 major markets in 2014 which have taken over from Sweden, Switzerland and India which were in the group in 2013.

He noted that wild animals’ tourism in the Tanzania mainland contributed by 43.5 per cent and most of the tourists in the area in question came from United Kingdom, France and Italy.

PS Milanzi noted that most of the tourists were irritated by the lack of credit card services in most of the destinations whereby 87 per cent of tourists were forced to pay using cash money. “For the tourism sector to grow, it must be advertised vigorously domestically and internationally. These challenges should be keenly dealt with while expanding our focus to cover not only wild animals but all other attractions including our beautiful beaches,” he added

Preparations for Zanzibar re-elections in full swing

THE Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) Director, Mr Salum Kassim Ali.

Mr Ali said here that they were prepared to make sure that the polls would be free and fair and past irregularities would not recur.

"We have been moving on well and doing everything possible to ensure that the elections are free and fair. All the mistakes which led to the nullification of the October 2015 polls will be avoided," he insisted.

ZEC set March 20, 2016 for Zanzibaris to go to fresh elections, following the nullification of the last October polls due to massive irregularities, according to the electoral Commission chairman, Mr Jecha Salim Jecha.

"We are now recruiting returning officers and other staff who must work honestly to the expectation of the electorate. We have made reforms to make sure that there is no room for cheating," explained Mr Ali.

He said since it is fresh-elections held in just a short time, no time has been allocated for the verification of Permanent Voters Register (PVR), which would include cleaning up of the names of the deceased people.

ZEC said people in Zanzibar who registered to vote in the previous elections, should prepare to vote in the fresh polls, and that it is likely the same figures of candidates, will appear on the ballot papers.

Some political parties including the Civic United Front (CUF) have threatened to boycott the elections, saying it is illegal and unnecessary, as the opposition maintain claims that it had won the last October polls and that its candidate Mr Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad should be sworn-in as Zanzibar president.

Three in the dock over jumbo tusks

 

They are Peter Kabi (45), a businessman, Leonidia Loi Kabi (46) a businesswoman and Simoni Malisa (46), a driver.

It is alleged that at the time of their arrest, they had pretended to be transporting a deceased in a coffin covered with the national flag. Before Principal Resident Magistrate Huruma Shaidi, the accused persons denied the charges.

They were remanded until next Monday when they will be joined by another suspect, Charles Wainaina, who could not be brought to answer the charges. Senior State Attorney Paul Kadushi, for the prosecution, informed the court that investigations into the matter have been completed.

The prosecutor alleged that the accused persons committed the offence of leading organized crime on diverse locations on October 27, 2012 in Dar es Salaam and Iringa Regions.

Jointly and together, according to the prosecution, the accused persons willfully organized and managed a criminal racket of accepting, collecting and selling government trophies involving 210 elephant tusks weighing 450.6 kilogrammes and five pieces of elephant bones, all valued at 2,230,338,000/-.

The prosecution claimed that the accused persons engaged in dealing with such government trophies without a permit from the Director of Wildlife.

It is alleged further that on the same day at Kimara in Kinondoni District, within the City of Dar es Salaam, jointly and together, the accused persons were found in unlawful possession of the elephant tusks and elephant bones, property of the United Republic of Tanzania without permit.

Necta Examination Results for Form 4, 2015 Look Here

 

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Former Tanzanian president Mkapa on tour of Zimbabwe

Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa

 Former Tanzanian president   Benjamin Mkapa arrived in Zimbabwe last Sunday for a week-long visit, where he is also expected to meet with President Mugabe.

 

  Mkapa was met at the Harare International Airport by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and the Minister of Defence Dr Sydney Sekeramayi.

 

Foreign Affairs permanent secretary   Joey Bimha said   Mkapa had programmes lined up before he travels back to his country.

 

“I can confirm that  Benjamin Mkapa is in the country after landing at 1am and he has many engagements before he travels back,” he said.

Mkapa was the third president of Tanzania from 1995 to 2005. Today   Mkapa is expected to tour Alpha Omega Dairy and Amai Mugabe School and Children’s Home while tomorrow, he is expected to meet with President Mugabe.

 

On Thursday, he will officiate at the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) renaming ceremony of a block which will be named Julius K. Nyerere House.

 

The Southern African Research and Documentation Centre, (SARDC), is an independent regional information resource centre which seeks to enhance the effectiveness of key development processes in the SADC region through the collection, production and dissemination of information, and enabling the capacity to generate and use information. 

 

SARDC’s objective is to improve the base of knowledge about economic, political, cultural and social developments, and their implications, by making information accessible to governments and policy makers, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, regional and international organisations, development agencies, parliaments, and media.

 

SARDC has five main areas of focus which are pursued by separate specialist departments for environment and water resources, gender, democracy and governance, regional economic development, and human development, in partnership with other institutions including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat and sectors, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and networks of national partners in SADC member states.

 

SARDC has an information resource centre containing over 12,000 subject files on regional issues, a library of books and periodicals, and computerised databases in WIN-ISIS; and is establishing a “virtual library” of internet access to its resources.  

 

 Mkapa is on Friday expected to deliver a lecture at the Zimbabwe Defence College and in the afternoon he will tour some places in Manicaland.

 

The construction of the National Defence College in 2010 was a direct response to national security threats posed by the imposition of illegal sanctions by Western countries and the need to preserve the country’s independence , according to President Mugabe .

 

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has donated $4.2 million to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF). The donation funded various army projects.  

 

Zanu PF’s relations with China date back to the liberation war era when Beijing sponsored the party with military training and equipment. 

The relationship continued after independence but was to intensify under the ‘Look East’ policy, developed in reaction to President Mugabe’s fall-out with the West.

 

In April 1998 Mkapa also visited Zimbabwe for a four-day state visit during which he   officially opened the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo .

Govt releases rare wild dogs into Serengeti to boost population

The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe

 The government has released 17 new wild dogs into the Serengeti National Park in its efforts to replenish the diminishing number of the opportunist predators in the country’s wildlife sanctuaries.

The move brings the number of the endangered carnivores in the country’s second largest National Park to nearly 325.

 

 The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, officially opened the gates for the wild dogs’ sanctuary which were being confined under special care to allow the fierce animals to begin their free life in the vast Serengeti plains.

 

The event marked the last series of six-pack releases from the Serengeti Wild Dog Conservation Project aimed at replenishing the national park with its own indigenous species of the endangered animals. They dogs were initially captured from Loliondo hills where they were constantly in conflict with pastoralists.

 

The wild dogs have been troublesome for members of pastoral communities with their frequent attacks on goats and sheep for their meals, a situation which has earned them a top spot in the livestock keepers’ hate list. Cases of poisoned or speared carnivores in Loliondo Division of Ngorongoro and parts of Monduli District have been common in the past.

 

 “The dogs were going into extinct in the early 90s,” pointed out the Tourism minister, adding that since the species of African wild dogs were facing extinction all over the world, it was upon Tanzania to ensure that the carnivores were protected.

 

Director general of Tanzania National Parks Allan Kijazi described the latest wild dog pack as gypsies, which once travelled from Loliondo through Maasai Mara all the way to Tsavo, before crossing back to Tanzania and ending up in Korogwe and then making their way back to Loliondo.

 

Previously, five other wild dog packs had been released from conservation projects, including the ‘Kikwete Pack,’ ‘Vodacom Pack,’ ‘Serengeti Park,’ ‘Loliondo Pack,’ and ‘Nyasiruri Pack’ all totaling nearly 125 wilddogs.

 

All packs have selected wild dogs that are fitted with GPS devices that help conservators and researchers to track their movements.

 But the entire Serengeti ecosystem - which also encompasses the former Loliondo Game Controlled Area, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), Maswa Game Reserve and Kenya’s Maasai Mara - is reported to have 27 packs of wild dogs with nearly 325 each.

 

The latest (6th) wild dog packs, released from the project was named after Prof Markus Borneran, an expert in Genetic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Glasgow, who has been researching on the carnivores within the Serengeti ecosystem.

 

The Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri) has been implementing the project with support from the State House, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Grumeti Fund (GF), Vodacom Foundation, The University of Glasgow, Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Tanzania Wildlife Authority, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.

 

Emmanuel Masenga and Joseph Kaboya who have been working at the project in Serengeti revealed that Tanzania is one of seven countries in Africa that still have wild dogs, others being Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa.

Microsoft Corporation And The Curious Case Of Hardware

Microsoft has been one of the biggest names in the markets of software technology. The company has been coming out with some of their apex releases in the world of software technology, especially when we take a closer look at the bigger scheme of things, Microsoft has done a splendid job with the world of operating systems. Microsoft’s Windows 10 OS has been a major renovation in the way things work, and the company has been coming out with update after update which has helped their software and OS division grow. Microsoft Corporation has however, faced a really hard time in the hardware business.

 

Every time Microsoft has tried to break through the hardware markets, they are met with a major opposition  from their critics as well as their competitors. Here’s a look at everything that’s gone wrong with the company –

XBOX One – The Microsoft XBOX One could have been the apex gaming console in the markets, but is today outnumbered 40 million to 19 million by the PS4. The biggest problem that the XBOX division faced was the fact that the company never really got the start they wanted as they were limited to a few countries. They are still recovering from that.

Mobile Phones – The Windows Mobile idea never really caught on, and the company has been throwing money down the drain over this, hoping that some day the investments would pay off, but there is an absolute lack of demand and Microsoft must end the business before it has them bleed out more than it already has.

Surface Pro and Surface Book – Microsoft, after a few years of the release of this device, suddenly realized that they had struck gold with the Surface series. However, the company has been doing quite well in the recent times with the surface division, but the devices need more visibility and Microsoft Corporation must focus at spending media on the same.

source: http://www.thenewsindependent.com

Freedom 251 'Cheapest Smartphone' to Launch on Wednesday

Considered a luxury not too long ago, smartphones have reached a point that they can now be considered a commodity. But on Wednesday, things will reach a whole new level.
As part of its attempt to connect every Indian, local smartphone manufacturer Ringing Bells 'with immense support' from the India government will launch an affordable smartphone called the Freedom 251 on Wednesday. The Freedom 251, touted as India's cheapest smartphone -and likely the most affordable smartphone in the world as well - will sport a price tag below Rs. 500 (approximately $7).
The Indian smartphone manufacturer said that it will reveal the exact retail price of the handset and other details like its specifications at the launch event. The manufacturer added the launch event will see the presence of a number of top Indian government officials including Shri Manohar Parrikkar, Union Minister of Defence and Shri Murali Manohar Joshi, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.
Ringing Bells says that the smartphone is in line with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to connect every Indian and enrich their lives. The company also asserts that its smartphone is built to meet the goals of Make In India, the government's project to entice multinational as well as domestic players to manufacturer their products in India.
The purpose behind the Freedom 251 reminds us of Aakash tablet, also known as Datawind Ubislate 7+, which was promoted by the Indian government to provide college students with affordable computing and Internet-browsing machines. The tablet was launched in India in 2011, and was sold at a price point of under Rs. 3,000. The project, before closing last year, further decreased the price of the device and it was being made available to students across the country at a price of under Rs. 2,500.
With making a smartphone available at a price under Rs. 500, the Freedom 251 has the potential to significantly improve the lifestyle of people in the country with a low income. It will be interesting to see whether or not Ringing Bells is able to manufacture and sell this device at a large scale.
Ringing Bells made headlines earlier this month when it launched the Smart101, a 4G capable smartphone at a price point of Rs. 2,999 (approximately $44). It sports a 5-inch display, a 1.3GHz quad-core SoC, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded using a microSD card (32GB).

source:http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Tanzania: Rains Demolish Rukwa School

Sumbawanga — ALL classrooms at Mpona Primary School in Kipeta Ward along the shore of Lake Rukwa Basin, in Rukwa region, have been reduced to debris following the heavy rains that were accompanied by strong, fast winds.

Similarly, the school's latrines have completely been damaged leaving 720 pupils without decent places to relieve themselves. Impeccable reports from the area had it that following the demolition of the public institution several makeshift huts have been built.

But their roofs are prone to leaking during the rainy season. The Sumbawanga District Council 's chairman, Mr Kalolo Ntila, told the 'Daily News' over the phone today that the situation is pathetic for the pupils as they are forced to attend classes in the makeshift huts.

"All classrooms catering for nearly 720 pupils from Class One to Seven, staff room and other buildings have totally been reduced to debris " said Mr Kalolo. He added that school latrines and a house which was accommodating the school teachers has been damaged as well as school property.

Mr Kalolo further said that already 48,000 construction bricks have been made by wananchi in efforts to rebuild the public school.

PPF praised for wider coverage of informal sector

Jenista Mhagama, the minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled

The government has showered praise on Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF) for introducing “Wote Scheme,” a service that specifically targets members from the informal sector as a way of widening social security coverage in the country.

“I understand that the Wote Scheme targets not only members of the informal sector, but acts as additional scheme for members who have joined other social security funds,” Jenista Mhagama, the minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled), stated.

In her speech at the weekend in Dar es Salaam during the closing ceremony of the 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of PPF Pensions Fund’s members and stakeholders, Mhagama said she was optimistic that the scheme would enable more Tanzanians to enroll for social security coverage.

“Among others my ministry is responsible for ensuring that coverage of pension schemes reaches out to as many people as possible. I thus appeal to you to publicise the arrangement and register more members,” the minister remarked.

Mhagama also hailed the pension fund for introducing the Maternity Benefit in which female members receive 1m/- for each birth up to the fourth delivery. The benefit covers four births and has been pegged at that number regardless of the salary of the member.

Ramadhani Khijjah, the chairman of PPF Board of Trustees, meanwhile said the Wote Scheme targeted members from the informal sector such as food vendors, motorcycle riders for hire (bodaboda), artisanal miners as well as artistes and sportsmen and women.

“It was devised for entrepreneurs in self-employment and members who want additional benefits from social security. Members are required to be above 18 years old and can contribute 20,000/- or more per month.

The amount can be paid in instalments of smaller amounts to achieve the 20,000/- target and members can make the payments through mobile phone money services such as M-Pesa, Tigo-Pesa and Airtel Money.

“The members will thus have access to benefits such as healthcare, education and old age loan,” Khijjah remarked.

As of December last year, a total of 12,393 members were registered through the Wote Scheme, said Khijjah, adding that the target was to register more members from both the informal and formal sectors.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Tanzania telecom offers WhatsApp for free

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Tigo Tanzania, last week announced free WhatsApp services for all its users which is a first for a telecom in the country.

Making the announcement in Dar es Salaam, Tigo General Manager Diego Gutierrez said all Tigo customers subscribing to the company’s weekly and monthly packages will be entitled to free WhatsApp service. Tigo has over 10 million subscribers.

WhatsApp, the most popular mobile messaging application has over eight million users in Tanzania and in excess of 900 million globally. The social media service enables users to exchange media, texts, video clips and voice calls.

He said, “From now onwards, all Tigo customers buying any of our weekly or monthly packages will be eligible to enjoy free WhatsApp. This of course, is for customers with data enabled devices.”

Gutierrez said, “Free WhatsApp service to our customers demonstrates our commitment in promoting digital lifestyle transformation and leadership in delivering cutting-edge technology and innovation.”

To enjoy the service, according to the general manager, all a Tigo customer needs to do is to subscribe to a weekly or monthly packages via *148*00#, Tigo-Tigo Xtreme/MiniKabang Weekly or Monthly plus FreeWhatsApp. The service is available on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Nokia Symbian60-phones, he said.

WhatsApp is a sister application to Facebook, the social network that Tigo partnered with in 2014 to become the first telecom in the country to give its customers free Facebook access in Kiswahili.

Tigo Tanzania is the leading innovative telecommunication company in the country, distinguished as a fully-fledged digital lifestyle brand.

Offering a diverse product portfolio in voice, SMS, high-speed internet and mobile financial services, Tigo has pioneered innovations such as Facebook in Kiswahili, TigoPesa to mention a few. In the past three years the company has launched over 500 network sites bring to over 2000 the total of its network sites. It plans to double its investment by 2017 in terms of coverage and additional capacity networks for deeper penetration in rural areas.

With over 10 million registered subscribers, Tigo directly and indirectly employs over 300,000 Tanzanians including an extended network of customer service representatives, mobile money merchants, sales agents and distributors.Tigo is the biggest commercial brand of Millicom, an international company developing the digital lifestyle in 12 countries with commercial operations in Africa and Latin America and corporate offices in Europe and the USA.

TCU decries failure

Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), the national high education overseer has decried its own failure to meet the five-year plan for the nation’s 51 high academic institutions to produce a minimum of 80,000 skilled  graduants to address the demand for skilled personnel.  
But despite the good number of high academic institutions in Tanzania, the current pattern of the programmes they offer is visibly skewed towards general education as opposed to more specialized disciplines, TCU says.
The five-year plan marking its deadline this year required universities to enroll and train into competence some 80,000 nationals in various disciplines, but there were only 218,959 students of all levels and disciplines in all universities and colleges in the country by last year, while only only 65,000 students have been enrolled this year.
“This calls for enormous additional investments in the higher education sub-sector,” said TCU Executive Secretary Prof Yunus Mgaya in Dar es Salaam yesterday while lauding the Aga Khan University (AKU) for its significant commitment to an ambitious expansion plan in Tanzania and East Africa to recruit future intellectuals.
“We need to have a strong skilled human resource base as projected in the Tanzania first Five Year Development Plan (2011/12 – 2015/16), that among others, focuses on employment of more than 90,000 qualified teachers by the year 2025,” he said during the 11th convocation ceremony of the University.
AKU has awarded degrees to 84 graduands from the Institute for Educational Development, the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Postgraduate Medical Education programme this year, including 61 with M.Sc in Education, 22 post-RN B.Sc in Nursing and one with Master of Family Medicines, marking the alumni of 552 in the university Tanzania’s chapter.

In spite of the success story, AKU is working out plans to establish principal East African campus in Arusha, a campus for the Institute for Educational Development in Dar es Salaam, a new Aga Khan University Hospital in Kampala and to launch new medical and nursing education programmes in line with expansion of the existing programmes.

Wenger: TV cash should fund player deals

The Gunners have the most expensive season tickets in the top flight, while also offering the dearest single matchday admission.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger Photo: PA

And the club have further angered a number of supporters by informing them they face an additional supplement on their season ticket renewals as they face Barcelona at home in their Champions League last-16 tie later this month.

It is believed fans could be charged between £7 to £30 as Barcelona is the seventh home cup game of the season following the Champions League group stages and three home draws in their defence of the FA Cup.

Reports also suggested yesterday that Arsenal were one of a number of clubs to vote against capping the cost of tickets for away fans to Premier League games.

With new television deals bringing in excess of £8billion into the league, clubs are now under pressure to pass some of their extended wealth on to their loyal fans.

But Wenger, speaking ahead of his side's vital trip to Bournemouth tomorrow, said the boosted revenue must be invested into improving squads - rather than capping tickets - if they are to achieve their respective goals.

"We are a company who on one side want you (the fans) to buy more players," he said.

Prices

"What will happen is the prices of the players will go up and you will need this supplement of money coming in to buy new players.

"I believe that the pressure on spending the money will become bigger and you cannot necessarily distribute the money to other people.

"What we do, we stabilise our prices to give access to other players and we have stabilised now for many years."

Wenger pointed to the vast amounts of money now being spent on players in China as evidence that the Premier League could fall behind if it does not continue to bring in new talent.

Ramires last month joined Jiangsu Suning for a reported fee of around £25million, with Liverpool target Alex Teixeira following suit for a fee believed to be in the region of £38million soon after Colombia striker Jackson Martinez had signed for Guangzhou Evergrande in a £31.7million transfer as the league spent almost £200million. China's transfer window remains open until February 26.

Chelsea midfielder Oscar was another reported target for Jiangsu, supposedly attracting a huge bid, and Wenger admits the new trend of spending in the Far East could be a concern and drive up the cost of players across the globe.

Asked if the amount Chinese clubs are able to spend on transfers is a worry to the Premier League, the Frenchman replied: "Yes, of course, because China looks to have the financial power to move a whole league of Europe to China.

"We are long enough in this job to know that it's just a consequence of economic power, and they have that.

"I don't know how deep the desire in China is, but if there's a very strong political desire, we should worry."

Zimbabwe declares 'state of disaster'

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday declared a "state of disaster" in many rural areas hit by a severe drought, with 26 percent of the population facing food shortages.

A regional drought worsened by the El Nino weather phenomenon has affected South Africa and Zambia as well as Zimbabwe, leaving tens of thousands of cattle dead, dams depleted and crops written off.

A recent development

Formerly known as the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe has suffered perennial shortages in recent years and has resorted to importing grain from neighbouring countries to meet its needs.

"Initial indications were that 1.5 million people were food insecure with all the 60 rural districts being affected," public works minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a statement.

"Overall, the food insecure population has since risen to 2.44 million - 26 percent of the population.

"(With) the continued threat of the El Nino-induced drought, His Excellency the President has declared a state of disaster in regard to severely affected areas."

Mugabe has blamed low farm yields on erratic rains due to climate change, as well as sanctions imposed by Western countries over the government's tainted human rights record.

Critics say the food shortages have been partially caused by the president's land reforms enacted since 2000 when the government oversaw the often violent eviction of white farmers.

Many farms are underutilised, and the government has vowed to hold an audit to ensure agriculture land is put to use.

Kasukuwere said at least 16,500 cattle have died countrywide, while as much as 75 percent of crops have been abandoned in the worse-hit areas.

He said the government would take measures to minimise the impact of the drought on both humans and livestock.AFP

Government's version

Mugabe has blamed low farm yields on erratic rains due to climate change, as well as sanctions imposed by Western countries over the government's tainted human rights record.

What critics say?

Critics say the food shortages have been partially caused by the president's land reforms enacted since 2000 when the government oversaw the often violent eviction of white farmers.

How Facebook Is Driving Users To Watch More Sports On TV

As the world gets ready to watch Super Bowl coming Sunday, a new Facebook study has revealed that the volume of Facebook shares and posts from its users 15 minutes prior to Super Bowl kickoff helped increase more first-minute TV viewership.

"We believe that fan engagement and content sharing at this scale, distributed to millions more via friend networks on Facebook, drives awareness and tune-in for live sports broadcasts," Dan Reed, Facebook's head of global sports partnerships, was quoted as saying in a variety.com report.

An increase of one Post within the 15-minute period before the game correlated to nearly 250 additional TV viewers in the first minute while an additional Share correlated to 1,000 viewers in the same time frame, the study noted.

In addition, Facebook shares and posts correlated with subsequent increases in TV viewership.

The findings of the Facebook-funded Nielsen study comes as the social networking giant has launched Sports Stadium -- a dedicated place to experience sports in real time with your friends and the world.

In Facebook Sports Stadium, you can see posts from your friends and their comments on plays as well as enjoy commentary from teams, leagues and journalists with easy access to their Facebook Pages.

You can follow the action as the game unfolds with a live play-by-play, and even like, comment on, and share individual plays.

You can also get up to speed quickly with live scores and the most discussed plays.

"With 650 million sports fans, Facebook is the world's largest stadium. People already turn to Facebook to celebrate, commiserate, and talk trash with their friends and other fans," wrote Steve Kafka, product manager, in a Facebook Post.

With Facebook Sports Stadium, it may be tough for Sports Twitter to keep up as Twitter has only 320 million monthly users.

"Now we've built a place devoted to sports so you can get the feeling you're watching the game with your friends even when you are not together," Kafka added.

With Facebook Sports Stadium, all the content on Facebook related to the game is at one place and it comes in real time and appears chronologically.

"It's a second-screen experience that we hope makes watching the broadcast even better," Kafka said.

Nielsen has tied up with Facebook to expand Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings to include Facebook's topic data in the new Nielsen Social Content Ratings measuring activity related to TV and over-the-top video content.

According to Facebook, nearly 65 million unique users shared about last year's Super Bowl, making it one of the most-discussed sporting events in 2015 globally. 

 source: Life Hacker

Facebook Launches Initiative To Combat Zika Virus

 
At a time when the world is bracing itself against the growing Zika virus, social networking giant Facebook has partnered with Brazil's non-profit Abrasco Divulga to help combat the disease that has spread to more than 20 countries.

In a Facebook post, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that as a community, "we can help fight the Zika virus by raising awareness".

"The Zika virus is one of the biggest public health challenges right now. For pregnant women who get the virus, it has been linked to brain damage for their babies," the 31-year-old billionaire posted.

"The virus is carried by mosquitoes. There are no medicines to treat or prevent the virus yet, so right now the most important thing is to try to avoid mosquito bites," he added.

Zuckerberg also posted a video link http://www.who.int/csr/disease/zika/ from their campaign that, he hopes, will provide valuable information to expectant mothers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared an international emergency over the Zika virus.

The mosquito-transmitted Zika virus outbreak in some countries of the Americas, notably Brazil, has been linked to cases of microcephaly, which causes underdeveloped brains in babies.

The casual relation between the Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly is strongly suspected.

Over 1.5 million Brazilians are estimated to have been infected by the virus over the past few months.

WhatsApp hits the billion-user mark

WhatsApp competes with messaging apps like LINE, Viber and Hike in India. —file photo

Mobile messaging app WhatsApp on Tuesday said that it has crossed the billion user milestone globally, with an addition of 100 million users in the last five months.

“As of today, one billion people are using WhatsApp. That’s nearly one in seven people on earth who use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch with their loved ones, friends, and family,” WhatsApp said in a blogpost.

“In India, more photos are sent using WhatsApp than in any other country in the world. As one of WhatsApp’s largest countries, it’s not surprising that the second-highest number of groups is here,” the company said.

WhatsApp competes with messaging apps like LINE, Viber and Hike in India.

In February 2014, WhatsApp was acquired by social networking site Facebook for a whopping $19 billion, the social media platform’s biggest buyout till date.

In a post on Facebook, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said 42 billion messages were sent, 1.6 billion photos and 250 million videos shared every day on the platform., and there were one billion groups on WhatsApp. Recently, the company stopped charging $1 per year subscription fee and is now completely free for its users across the world. It also said it would not introduce any third-party ads for monetisation and is going to experiment with new models to stay ad-free.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg congratulated Mr Koum and his team. “WhatsApp’s community has more than doubled since joining Facebook. We’ve added the ability for you to call loved ones far away. We’ve dropped the subscription fee and made WhatsApp completely free. Next, we’re going to work to connect more people around the world and make it easier to communicate with businesses,” he said. Mr Zuckerberg said there are only a few services that connect more than a billion people and this milestone is an important step towards connecting the entire world.

— PTI

Obama borrows from Bush in first visit to U.S. mosque

President Obama tours the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Gerald Herbert/AP)

President Obama took office in January 2009 eager to speak to Muslims around the world on behalf of Americans, looking to reset a relationship poisoned by the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Seven years later, Obama makes his first visit to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday, eager to speak to America on behalf of its Muslim citizens, looking to counter what the White House describes as poisonous election-year rhetoric from Republicans.


“We have seen an alarming willingness on the part of some Republicans to try to marginalize law-abiding, patriotic Muslim Americans, and it is offensive,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday. “We have seen a willingness on the part of leading Republican presidential candidates to try to appeal to people’s fears and anxieties.”

White House aides say Obama won’t call out any Republicans by name during his visit to the Islamic Center of Baltimore mosque. But they privately say that the spark for the president’s visit was Trump’s call to halt Muslim immigration to the United States, a proposal that drew condemnation from some — but not all — of the bombastic billionaire’s rivals to be the Republican standard-bearer in 2016, and won considerable support in Congress. Obama’s advisers also bristle at charges from some in the GOP that Islam is inherently prone to violence. And administration officials worry that coverage overseas of Trump’s remarks could fuel what one called a “false impression that we are at war with Islam.” Republicans have often countered that Obama’s refusal to brand the enemy “Islamic extremists” is a nod to politically correct sensibilities that shows he does not take the threat seriously.

Public opinion polls in late 2015 found that a majority of Republican voters backed Trump’s idea. Democrats overwhelmingly rejected it, and most independents sided with them.

Among the key audiences for Obama’s remarks is America’s Muslim community, which he needs to have as an ally against home-grown extremists, like those who carried out the deadly attack in San Bernardino, Calif., in December.

“We will have more success in our efforts to prevent that if we work effectively with the Muslim community to confront that threat as opposed to branding everybody who attends a mosque as a potential enemy of the United States of America,” Earnest said Tuesday.

Seven years ago, Obama’s key audience was Muslims around the world, a constituency he described as vital to allied efforts to stamp out the kind of violent extremism that plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Back then, the centerpiece of his outreach was a June 2009 speech at Cairo University in which he pleaded for “a new beginning,” acknowledged “civilization’s debt to Islam” and highlighted the contributions of American Muslims.

“They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they’ve excelled in our sports arenas, they’ve won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic Torch,” he said.

Obama is certain to echo that part of his Cairo message on Wednesday as he visits the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque, holds a round table with key community figures and makes remarks.

Obama has visited mosques in Cairo and Jakarta as president, but never before one on U.S. soil. He has delivered impassioned pleas for religious acceptance before, as recently as his appearance at the House Democrats’ annual retreat and his State of the Union address, and years earlier when he defended plans to build a mosque near ground zero in New York City. He has continued the practice of holding annual dinners at the White House to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Obama officials cite an unlikely model for this latest outreach: George W. Bush. They note with approval Bush’s visit to the Islamic Center of Washington just days after the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes.

Bush had declared a “war on terrorism” not quite 12 hours after the attacks. But he hurried to the Islamic Center of Washington, a mosque and cultural center, less than a week later, quoted the Quran, and warned that Americans unleashing their anger on fellow Americans who follow Islam “represent the worst of humankind.”


“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war,” he said.

Bush worked enormously hard for eight years to tamp down anti-Islam sentiment at home, though policies like the war in Iraq undercut his outreach to Muslims around the world. Aides frequently observed in private that “public diplomacy” messaging efforts to win over Middle Eastern audiences couldn’t compete with the reality of America policies that angered Muslims.

And Bush tried to shape his language to avoid offending followers of Islam overseas. He shied from describing America’s enemies as “Islamic terrorists,” though for a brief time in 2006 he called them “Islamic radicals,” only to drop the expression after Saudi Arabia objected. Early on he dubbed the war on terrorism a “crusade,” a bland term in the West that remains deeply controversial for many Middle Eastern Muslims. Angry with himself over the unnecessary provocation, Bush in June 2004 trimmed Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous D-Day message to leave out a reference to “the great crusade” of defeating Nazi Germany.

Some former Obama aides say this president faces some of the same challenges overseas — that policies like his drone war outweigh earnest diplomatic entreaties for popular support. But many praise Bush’s efforts.

“That was one of the real contributions, despite all the other problems, that George W. Bush made after 9/11, when he basically said, after going to a mosque in Washington, ‘We are not at war with Islam or Muslims,’” former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said at a Democratic debate in November.

At home, it’s unclear what sort of clout Obama’s message will have as his consequential two-term presidency winds down — and with whom. But he’ll avoid picking fights with any Republicans by name on Wednesday, even if his targets are obvious, his spokesman said.

According to Earnest, “I wouldn’t expect any of the candidates tomorrow to enjoy the benefit of being singled out by the president of the United States.”

Candidate Obama inherited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and promised to end them. But his successor will inherit conflicts in both countries — a sobering reality not lost on anyone at the White House. That Obama started his term with outreach to Muslim audiences in Cairo and ends it reaching out to Muslim audiences in Baltimore shows that the next president will also take up a war of words that began shortly after 9/11.

As Zika virus spreads, United States reports sexually transmitted case

Miami: Texas reported a case of the Zika virus being sexually transmitted Tuesday, fueling fears over the rapid spread of the disease blamed for a surge in the number of brain-damaged babies.

With concern growing that an outbreak sweeping Latin America could spread much farther, health authorities in the southern US state said they had confirmation of the virus being transmitted by sexual contact and not just tropical mosquitoes.

That is a troubling prospect for the United States, Canada and Europe, where Zika had so far only appeared in travelers returning from affected areas.

"The patient was infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from a country where Zika virus is present" this year, a Dallas County statement read.

An employee of the Health Secretariat fumigates against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika. AFP

The county subsequently tweeted that the virus was contracted from someone who had traveled to Venezuela, and that a second case of Zika imported from Venezuela has also been documented.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the Zika infection but did not investigate how it was transmitted, a spokesman told AFP.

Last month, the CDC said it was aware of one reported case of sexual transmission of Zika and one case of the virus being present in a man's semen after it disappeared from his blood.

Zika, which was first identified in Uganda in 1947, causes relatively mild flu-like symptoms and a rash.

But there is growing alarm over an apparent link between the current outbreak and both a rise in birth defects and a potentially crippling neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, have reported a surge in cases of microcephaly — which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads — since the Zika outbreak was declared in the region last year.

The virus is spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, whose habitat is concentrated in the tropics — giving temperate countries an apparent reprieve.

But sexual transmission would complicate matters.

"The majority of Zika infections are asymptomatic," said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at Oxford University.

"Is there a risk of sexual transmission from people who had asymptomatic infection? For how long can sperm be infectious? This highlights our ignorance of this virus."

Global risk

A day after declaring the spike in serious birth defects in South America an international emergency, the World Health Organization said it had created a global Zika response unit to contain the virus.

WHO expert Anthony Costello emphasized the urgency of rapid action, stressing there was no reason to believe the crisis would remain limited to Latin America.

"We know that the mosquitoes that carry Zika virus... are present through most of Africa, parts of southern Europe and many parts of Asia, particularly south Asia," he said.

Underlining Costello's point, Thai officials announced a man had contracted the virus in the country.

Cape Verde and Indonesia have also reported domestic Zika cases.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies joined the WHO in declaring an "emergency," and appealed for 2.4 million Swiss francs ($2.36 million) to support its response in the Americas.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi meanwhile announced it had begun research into a vaccine for Zika, for which there is currently no specific treatment.

Developing a vaccine could however take years, experts say.

Free abortion pills

In Brazil, which has been hardest hit, Olympics organizers said they are concerned but downplayed fears -- one day after the government warned pregnant women not to attend the Games.

"We are sure we will win this battle and it will not affect the Games," said Rio 2016 organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada.

The Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21, during the southern hemisphere winter, which means there will be fewer mosquitoes, organizers stressed.

A Dutch women's rights group meanwhile offered to send free pills to trigger an abortion to pregnant women in Latin America, a region known for its restrictive abortion laws.

"We are extremely worried that (the outbreak) might cause increasing unsafe abortions," said Rebecca Gomperts, founder and director of Women on Web.

Since October, Brazil has reported 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly, of which 404 have been confirmed -- up from 147 in 2014.

In all, more than 1.5 million Brazilians are estimated to have been infected with Zika.

Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and Puerto Rico have all warned women not to get pregnant.

Mexico announced it was creating special brigades to address areas likely to have more mosquitoes.

And Peru performed health checks on all Sao Paulo footballers visiting Trujillo for a Copa Libertadores match. They were all clear of Zika, dengue and chikungyuna.

Some health experts urge condom use, while others say abstinence is the only way to avoid Zika.

"Don't have sex with a virus, it's that simple," said Jill Rabin, co-chief of the division of ambulatory care at Women's Health Programs at Northwell Health in New York.

AFP

Haddington student to teach first aid in Tanzania

 

A UNIVERSITY student will for six weeks swap home comforts for teaching first aid to people living in the towns and villages around Africa’s highest mountain.

Abbie Scott heads out to Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro at the start of August as part of a project with First Aid Africa.

The third year adult nursing student at Edinburgh Napier University will be away from home for more than a month.

She said: “It will definitely be a challenge but it will be really good.

“It is something really good to do before I settle down and get a job.”

The 21-year-old will need to raise about £1,500 for the expedition.

To help raise funds, she will host a brunch at Haddington Day Centre, where her mum, Caroline, is the manager, on Saturday.

Hot filled rolls, homemade soup and homemade baking will be for sale on the day between 10am and 1pm, with the chance of winning a homemade cake.

All proceeds from the event will then go towards the trip.

She said: “There was a guy from First Aid Africa who had previously graduated from Napier and did the same course as me.

“He wanted to get Edinburgh Napier students involved with First Aid Africa.

“I went along to a talk at university in September or October and it went from there and I signed up to it.”

Abbie, of Seggarsdean Court, will undergo four training sessions later this year in order to prepare her for the 7,000-mile trip.

She said: “You don’t need to be studying nursing but we will be providing first aid skills to rural communities who have limited access to healthcare and providing them with the skills.”

The charity works to provide, and encourage access to, sustainable first aid equipment and education across sub-Saharan Africa.

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Courses concentrate on providing sustainable training, which does not rely on imported equipment or Western handouts.

A collection will also be held in Haddington’s Tesco store over the weekend of February 20-21 and a special keep fit session will take place in March to help boost funds.