News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

France sends probes to #EgyptAir search zone

Posted: 26 May 2016 07:18 PM PDT

A French naval vessel has joined the search for the black boxes from the crashed EgyptAir plane in the Mediterranean.

|||

Cairo/Paris - A French naval vessel was en route to the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday to join the hunt for black boxes from a crashed EgyptAir jet, equipped with three specialist probes from a French company recruited to accelerate the search.

France's BEA air crash investigation agency said French naval survey vessel Laplace had left Corsica earlier on Thursday and was heading toward the search zone north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria, where it would begin operations within days.

Read: #EgyptAir plane had no problems before takeoff

A week after the Airbus A320 crashed with 66 people on board, including 30 Egyptians and 15 from France, investigators have no clear picture of its final moments.

But Egyptian investigators said a radio signal had been received from an emergency distress beacon usually located in the rear of the cabin. This could help narrow the search area for that part of the fuselage, near the tail where “black box” fight recorders are held, to a 5km radius, they said.

The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) sends out a signal that can be picked up by satellites in the international search-and-rescue network when an aircraft is in an accident.

It is separate from the underwater locator beacons (ULB) or “pingers” attached to the “black box” flight recorders, which send out acoustic rather than radio signals and are designed to be more easily detected underwater.

John Cox, a former A320 pilot and chief executive of Washington-based Safety Operating Systems, expressed caution about the reported signal from the sunken wreckage.

“There is a low likelihood the ELT would survive and radio doesn't work as well as acoustic signals underwater,” he said.

Search teams are working against the clock to recover the two flight recorders that will offer vital clues on the fate of flight 804, because the acoustic signals that help locate them in deep water cease transmitting after about 30 days.

The BEA, which is working as part of an Egyptian-led investigation into the crash, said two of its investigators were on board the French naval ship which was carrying equipment from ALSEAMAR, a firm specialising in searching for marine wrecks.

Negotiations are also under way to contract a second firm to search more than one area, French and Egyptian officials said.

ALSEAMAR's equipment includes three of its DETECTOR-6000 systems, designed to pick up black-box pinger signals over long distances up to 5km, according to the company's website.

It works by dipping a slender probe into the water to listen for pings and then retrieving it to download the findings.

ALSEAMAR, a subsidiary of French industrial group Alcen, did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2004, the same company deployed a system of “intelligent buoys” to search for black boxes after a Boeing 737 belonging to Egypt's Flash Air crashed in the Red Sea near Sharm al-Sheikh.

The second firm likely to be involved is Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, with which France and Egypt are finalising a contract, according to French diplomatic sources.

That firm was originally involved in the search for missing Malaysian jet MH370, but it and others voiced complaints about the conduct of the search after being rejected when responsibility shifted from Malaysia to Australia.

It was not immediately available for comment.

Last conversation

The EgyptAir black boxes are believed to be lying in up to 3 000m of Mediterranean water, on the edge of the usual range for picking up signals emitted by the boxes.

Maritime search experts say this means acoustic hydrophones are usually towed in the water at depths of up to 2,000 metres in order to have the best chance of hearing the signals.

Ayman al-Moqadem, Egypt's head of air accident investigations, said the investigating team had received radar imagery and audio recordings from Greece detailing the flight trajectory of the doomed plane and the last conversation between its pilot and Greek air traffic control.

It is expecting France to hand over radar imagery and other data covering the plane's time in French airspace and on the ground in Paris, he added.

Sources in the investigation committee have said the EgyptAir jet did not show technical problems before taking off from Paris. During flight, it sent signals that at first showed the engines were functioning but then detected smoke and suggested an increase in temperature at the co-pilot's window.

The plane kept transmitting messages for the next three minutes before vanishing.

With no flight recorders to check and only fragmentary data from a handful of fault messages including two smoke alarms, investigators are also looking to debris and body parts for clues.

Cox said the fault messages collectively pointed to a possible problem in the avionics bay under the cockpit, but stressed it was too early to rule out any possible cause.

Moqadem said no bodies had been recovered so far, with search teams only able to locate small body parts. DNA tests are underway to identify the remains.

He said a report would be issued by the investigating team one month from the date of the crash.

REUTERS

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

UN lifts Liberia sanctions

Posted: 26 May 2016 06:30 AM PDT

The United Nations Security Council terminated an arms embargo against Liberia.

|||

Kampala - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday terminated an arms embargo against Liberia and dissolved the related mechanisms, namely the sanctions Committee and the expert panel.

The move followed acknowledgement of the sustained progress made on rebuilding Liberia after the 1999-2003 civil war.

The 15-nation body, through a unanimously adopted resolution, further encouraged the Liberian government to establish a necessary framework to combat the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition.

Following the Council’s action to lift the measures, most of which have been in place since 2003, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, welcomed the decision.

According to the statement, the UN chief noted that targeted sanctions measures have accompanied the consolidation of peace and the rebuilding of State institutions in Liberia since 2003, and that these measures have been progressively adjusted as Liberia has met the benchmarks set out by the Council.

“Today’s lifting by the Security Council of the remaining arms embargo on non-State actors further signals the significant progress made by Liberia and the sub-region in maintaining stability,” the statement said.

The Secretary-General echoed the resolution’s call on the Liberian government to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to establish the necessary legal and administrative framework to combat the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition.

– African News Agency

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Museveni’s son denies succession claims

Posted: 26 May 2016 06:28 AM PDT

The son of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has rejected claims that he plans to succeed his father, reports said.

|||

The son of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, has rejected claims that he plans to succeed his father, reports said on Thursday.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, speaking on Wednesday after he was promoted from Brigadier to Major General, heading the Special Forces Command (SFC), said he was “happy with being in the military”, the government-owned New Vision newspaper reported.

He called claims by opposition supporters that Museveni is grooming him to take over as a “red herring” and that he was happy to remain in the army “for some time.”

A former intelligence chief turned government critic David Sejusa fled into exile in Britain in 2013 after a confidential memo he wrote was leaked to the press, causing a political storm.

The memo claimed Museveni was preparing Muhoozi to succeed him and that those in the army opposed to the supposed succession plan risked being assassinated.

Muhoozi, aged 42 and who trained at Britain's military academy Sandhurst, dismissed the reports of a plan to push him into power as “non-existent”, the Daily Monitor reported.

“I do not have the ambition to be president,” Muhoozi said.

The Monitor however reports many have “long-simmering suspicions” he will take over the reins of power once Museveni steps down.

Museveni, 72, in power since 1986, was elected to a fifth term in February elections with 61 percent of the vote. He has rejected claims his victory was won through fraud.

AFP

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Uganda 2010 bombing mastermind found guilty

Posted: 26 May 2016 06:27 AM PDT

The Ugandan ringleader of a 2010 bombing by Shabaab was found guilty of masterminding one of the region's worst attacks in decades.

|||

Kinshasa - The Ugandan ringleader of a 2010 bombing by the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab that killed 76 people in Kinshasa was found guilty on Thursday of masterminding one of the region's worst attacks in decades.

Twin suicide blasts claimed by Somalia's Shabaab targeted football fans watching the World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at a restaurant and a rugby club in the Ugandan capital.

Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said Issa Luyima, a Ugandan, had been shown during the trial to have played a key part in planning the attacks.

“I therefore find Issa Luyima guilty for the offence of terrorism of which he was charged, so I convict him,” Owiny-Dollo said.

Prosecutors said Luyima - one of 13 men receiving their verdicts - had gone to Somalia where he trained with Shabaab.

The judge was reading the verdicts against 12 other suspects also in court.

The 13 men, all who pleaded not guilty, were brought to the High Court in Kampala under heavy security, with roads and shops around the court closed.

Judge Owiny-Dollo, who began to read the verdicts mid-morning, could apply the death sentence to those found guilty.

The 13 men - seven Kenyans, five Ugandans and one Tanzanian - have been tried on a range of charges including terrorism, murder and membership of a terrorist organisation.

Two men were already found in guilty in 2011 for their role in the attacks.

Edris Nsubuga, who admitted terrorism charges, was spared the death penalty because he expressed contrition over the carnage and was jailed for 25 years. Co-accused Muhamoud Mugisha received five years for conspiracy to commit terrorism.

The Kampala trial was delayed after the lead prosecutor was murdered in March 2015. Joan Kagezi, acting assistant director of public prosecution, was shot dead by men on a motorbike as she drove home with three of her children.

Al-Shabaab continues to target countries in the region, carrying out the 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed at least 67 people, and the attack on Kenya's Garissa university in April 2015, killing at least 148 people.

Thousands of Ugandan troops form the backbone of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN-backed force established to fight the Shabaab Islamists and protect the internationally recognised government.

AFP

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

‘New pieces’ of possible MH370 debris found

Posted: 26 May 2016 03:07 AM PDT

Three new pieces of debris have reportedly been found in Mauritius and in Mozambique that could be linked to missing flight MH370.

|||

Sydney - Three new pieces of debris have been found in Mauritius and in Mozambique that could be linked to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australia's transport minister said on Thursday.

The fate of the passenger jet, which is presumed to have crashed at sea after disappearing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board in March 2014, remains a mystery.

Five other fragments have previously been found and identified as definitely or probably from the Boeing 777.

All of them were discovered thousands of kilometres from the current underwater search zone far off Western Australia's coast, where three ships carrying sophisticated equipment are scouring the sea floor for traces of the plane.

Transport Minister Darren Chester said two of the new pieces were found in Mauritius, with the other in Mozambique and were “of interest in connection to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370”.

“The Malaysian government is yet to take custody of the items, however as with previous items, Malaysian officials are arranging collection and it is expected the items will be brought to Australia for examination,” Chester said in a statement.

“These items of debris are of interest and will be examined by experts.”

No other details were given.

The first concrete evidence that MH370 might have met a tragic end was when a two-metre-long wing part known as a flaperon washed up on a beach on the French overseas territory of La Reunion in July last year.

Australian authorities then said in March that two pieces of debris found in Mozambique - a flat grey fragment with the words “No Step” printed on one side, found on a sandbank, and a metre-long piece of metal picked up by a holidaymaker - were “almost certainly from MH370”.

In mid-May, the government agency leading the search for MH370, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said two fragments that washed up on beaches in South Africa and Mauritius in March were also likely to have come from the jet.

One part, which came ashore at Mossel Bay in South Africa, was an aircraft engine cowling, identified from a partial Rolls Royce stencil.

The other, which was found on Rodrigues island in Mauritius, was a decorative laminate from a “work table” in the main cabin.

Australia is leading the hunt for MH370 in the remote Indian Ocean, with more than 105 000 square kilometres of the designated 120 000 square kilometre search zone examined so far without success.

If nothing turns up once the area is fully scoured, the search is likely to be abandoned, Australia, Malaysia and China - the countries that most of the passengers came from - have jointly said.

ATSB's head Martin Dolan said last week the hunt could wrap up in August, prompting an international network of MH370 next-of-kin, Voice370, to call on the three nations to extend and expand the search.

AFP

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

DRC’s opposition defiant despite crackdown

Posted: 26 May 2016 03:05 AM PDT

Tensions are soaring in DRC where President Joseph Kabila is turning up the pressure on an embattled yet defiant opposition.

|||

Tensions are soaring in the Democratic Republic of Congo where veteran President Joseph Kabila is turning up the pressure on an embattled yet defiant opposition ahead of planned protests on Thursday.

With Kabila's powerful rival and football magnate Moise Katumbi all but pushed into exile in South Africa, some dissidents in the vast central African country feel disillusioned.

A key dissident group, the Citizens' Front, has vowed to hold nationwide protests on Thursday in defiance of a government ban.

Opposition groups called for the protests after the Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that Kabila, in power since his father's assassination in 2001, could remain in a caretaker capacity beyond the expiry of his second term in December.

With many dissidents seeing in Katumbi a rightful potential leader for the resource-rich country, the Citizens' Front has defied the ban on protests in restive North Kivu province in the east and the second city of Lubumbashi in the south.

“To publicly protest with strict adherence to the law is an inalienable right granted under our constitution,” the group said.

Political unrest has plagued DR Congo for months over concerns that Kabila intends to extend his rule despite being legally barred from seeking a third term.

There are fears at home and abroad that Kabila will delay elections due to be held late this year.

The strongman's supporters want the election delayed for two to four years due to logistical and financial difficulties, but the opposition accuses Kabila of planning to amend the constitution to extend his rule.

Two other opposition groups - Dynamic and G7 - have also called for protests in the capital Kinshasa and elsewhere.

Despite opposition support for Katumbi, many rank-and-file dissidents are disappointed that he left the country on May 20, ostensibly to undergo treatment at a South African hospital.

His departure came a day after he was charged with “threatening the internal and external security of the state”.

Katumbi's followers say he was injured in clashes between police and thousands of his supporters in Lubumbashi on May 13, with a source saying he was suffering from “respiratory problems” after being teargassed.

But his detractors claim he is feigning medical problems.

“We are disappointed,” said Sangwa Masikini, 30, who lives in the poor Lubumbashi neighbourhood of Kenya where anti-Kabila sentiment runs high. “It's like a good football match being interrupted before the final whistle.”

Criticising the security forces' heavy deployment in the district, a young mechanic told AFP on condition of anonymity: “Who will rescue us from their grip?”

Young men and women gathered at the Catholic church where the opposition leader usually attends mass meanwhile prayed for his return.

Katumbi, 51, draws part of his popularity from his ownership of TP Mazembe, one of Africa's biggest football clubs.

Less than a week into his departure to South Africa, one of his supporters criticised him for leaving them to face police “harassment” alone.

According to Human Rights Watch, “government authorities have sought to silence dissent with threats, violence, and arbitrary arrests.”

On Tuesday, the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed “worry” over the “mounting pressure” faced by the opposition and civil society in DRC since the beginning of the year.

The UN body meanwhile demanded that the Congolese government allow Thursday's planned rallies to take place.

Nonetheless, Julien Paluku, governor of violence-wracked North Kivu, told a press conference that no protests would be permitted in the province.

He said after 20 years of unrest in the region, it was not appropriate for people to take to the streets.

“North Kivu is in mourning”, Paluku said.

He justified the protest ban by claiming that the opposition groups calling for the demonstrations “do not legally exist.”

The mayor of Katumbi's stronghold Lubumbashi insisted that the ban on demonstrations in his municipality must be observed.

“The decision of the constitutional court is unassailable,” mayor Jean Oscar Sanguza told AFP.

AFP

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Shabaab bombing suspects to know fate

Posted: 26 May 2016 03:03 AM PDT

A Ugandan court is due to give its verdict on 13 men tried for masterminding a 2010 bombing by the al-Shabaab that killed 76 people.

|||

Kampala - A Ugandan court is due on Thursday to give its verdict on 13 men tried for masterminding a 2010 bombing by the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab that killed 76 people.

The July 2010 suicide bombings claimed by Somalia's Shabaab targeted football fans watching the World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at a restaurant and a rugby club in Kampala, and were the region's worst attacks in more than a decade.

“There are 13 suspects and the judgement is expected to be delivered today,” judiciary spokesman Solomon Muyita told AFP Thursday.

All have pleaded not guilty.

Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo is expected to deliver his verdict at the High Court in Kampala, and could apply the death sentence if the men are found guilty.

“It has been a long trial, but all will come to end today when the judgement will be delivered,” Muyita said.

The suspects have been tried on a range of charges including terrorism, murder and membership of a terrorist organisation.

Two men were already found in guilty in 2011 for their role in the attacks.

Edris Nsubuga, who admitted terrorism charges, was spared the death penalty because he expressed contrition over the carnage and was jailed for 25 years. Co-accused Muhamoud Mugisha received five years for conspiracy to commit terrorism.

The Kampala trial was delayed after the lead prosecutor was murdered in March 2015. Joan Kagezi, acting assistant director of public prosecution, was shot dead by men on a motorbike as she drove home with three of her children.

Al-Shabaab continues to target countries in the region, carrying out the 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed at least 67 people, and the attack on Kenya's Garissa university in April 2015, killing at least 148 people.

Thousands of Ugandan troops form the backbone of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN-backed force established to fight the Shabaab Islamists and protect the internationally recognised government.

AFP

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now