NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- Talks are underway for the release of a Saudi-owned oil supertanker hijacked by Somali pirates last weekend, a regional maritime official confirmed on Friday.
Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa's Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), however, said he does not know the levels of the negotiations which are aimed at seeking the release of the vessel.
"Negotiations are underway but I don't know the levels they have reached," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone on Friday.
Media reports said the pirates are asking for 25 million U.S. dollars in ransom for the Saudi supertanker seized off the East African coast, and have called on its owners to pay up "soon".
"What we want for this ship is only 25 million dollars because we always charge according to the quality of the ship and the value of the product," a man who identified himself as Abdi Salan, a member of the hijacking gang, reportedly said from Harardhare, in Somalia's semi-autonomous northern Puntland region close to where the ship is anchored.
The ransom demands came as officials from the Arab League held a meeting in Cairo on Thursday to discuss how to better protect vital shipping lanes and condemned the hijacking, stating that piracy by Somalis was a result of the deteriorating political and humanitarian situation in the country.
Egypt has been particularly threatened by the increase in attacks, as fees collected for travel through the Suez Canal are an important source of national revenue. One of Europe's largest shipping companies already has said it will reroute some oil tankers around the Gulf of Aden and the canal to reduce the piracy risk.
The Sirius Star, which belongs to Saudi Arabia's state-owned shipping line, Vela International Marine Limited, was seized along with its crew of 25 last week.
The 25 captive crew on the Sirius Star include 19 Filipinos, two British citizens, two Poles, one Croatian, and one Saudi national.
Analysts said the ransom may be the highest sum demanded by pirates from war-torn Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991.
The analysts say the pirates who seized the tanker are a sophisticated group with contacts in Dubai and neighboring countries.
Much of their ransom money from previous hijackings has been used to buy new boats and weapons as well as develop a network across the Horn of Africa.
The pan African body, the African Union (AU), has urgently called on the United Nations to send peacekeepers to Somalia to stop the strife which it says is fuelling piracy and is aggravated by feuding politicians.
Reports said the escalated attacks in Somali waters this year have sharply driven up insurance costs for shipping companies, and even made some companies divert cargo around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
Since January, at least 91 vessels have been attacked in the Gulf of Aden, an area almost twice the size of Alaska flanked by Yemen and Somalia.
The hijacking of the Saudi ship was the most brazen assault yet, as it was the largest seized and was the farthest from the coast when attacked.


     Red Sea Arab countries call for more cooperation to combat piracy

CAIRO, (Xinhua) -- Arab countries overlooking the Red Sea promised here on Thursday to coordinate efforts in the fight against piracy near the Red Sea region.
During an extraordinary meeting co-chaired by Egypt and Yemen, representatives from Jordan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Djibouti and the Arab League (AL) discussed means of fighting against the growing threat of piracy, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.
Noting the meeting "came at the right time," AL Assistant Secretary General Ahmed ben Helli said it is important to have political, legal and security coordination among Arab and African states overlooking the Red Sea in a bid to uproot piracy.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the delegates condemned the growing threat of piracy in the Red Sea that is not far away from the Somalis coasts, an area seeing rampant piracy.
The delegates expressed their concern over the phenomenon of piracy off the Somalia coasts, Gulf of Aden and the western part of Indian Ocean.
They voiced their desire to enhance further cooperation and consultation to prevent the piracy from spreading into the Red Sea waters, saying the Red Sea Arab countries are responsible for the security in the region.
The Arab countries support regional and international efforts to fight against piracy so long as they abide by international law and respect the sovereignty of related countries, said the statement.
On Wednesday, Egypt said it will take all necessary measures in fighting against piracy in and near the Red Sea.
All options are on the table for Egypt since piracy is threatening navigation in the Red Sea and forcing some ships to take other routes, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki.
The waters off the Somali coasts are considered to be some of the world's most dangerous areas as pirates have hijacked and attacked dozens of ships this year.
Most attacks have been in the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and north Somalia, a major route leading to Egypt's Suez Canal, one of the most important international waterways linking Europe and Asia.

     Indian Navy to pursue pirates into Somali waters

NEW DELHI, (Xinhua) -- The Indian Navy has been authorized for "hot pursuit" of pirates into Somali waters, the local media reported Friday.
An official said the navy had been given the permission by the Defence Ministry of India to chase Somali pirates across the country's maritime boundary under certain circumstances. " Different laws apply when it comes to chasing pirates in territorial waters of another country. In the case of Somalia, we now have this permission. It will go a long way in checking piracy, " he said, the Hindustan Times reported.
The navy is also planning to strengthen its presence in the Gulf of Aden, the report said. INS Tabar, an Indian frigate with marine commandos sank a pirate vessel in international waters south-west of Oman on Wednesday, which has been patrolling the waters off the Gulf of Aden since October 23. The navy said a destroyer will soon be deployed there to secure maritime trade and protect Indian assets.
"We are considering a proposal to increase the number of warships in the Gulf of Aden," a navy official said.
The mandate to take on pirates in Somali waters is being seen as a major step forward that will enable the navy to protect Indian vessels more effectively.
The navy said that India would be looking at an international effort, under the U.N. banner, to protect merchant traffic on the crucial trade route, the Indian Express said.
According to the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1816, only states cooperating with Somalia's transitional government can enter its waters, the report said.

     UN Security Council votes to freeze Somali funds

UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday voted unanimously to immediately freeze the assets of those individuals designated as engaging in or supporting actions that threaten peace and security in Somalia.
In a open meeting of the Security Council, Haile Menkerios, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said the ceasefire agreement signed last month between the Somali transitional government and Islamic rebels has given the peace process renewed impetus in the strife-torn country. Somalia has been troubled by factional fighting and absent of a functioning central government since 1991.
Menkerios also noted the continuing tensions between the country’s president and prime minister. He said the situation in Somali remains volatile.The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) signed two accords on Oct. 25 in neighbouring Djibouti to end the deadly conflict, establish a unity government and military forces and arrange for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.

     U.S. imposes sanctions against Somali terrorist leaders

WASHINGTON, (Xinhua) -- The United States imposed on Thursday financial sanctions against three alleged leaders of an extremist Islamic militia in Somalia.
The three targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department are Mukhtar Robow, spokesman for al-Shabaab and a military commander with the group; Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohamed, alleged founder and leader of al- Shabaab; and Issa Osman Issa who served as a commander in al- Shabaab.
Washington accuses al-Shabaab of having links to the al-Qaida terrorist group and using intimidation and violence to undermine the Somali government and threaten activists working for peace.
Under U.S. law, any banks accounts or other financial assets belonging to the alleged leaders found in the United States must be frozen. Americans also are forbidden from doing business with them.
The U.S. sanctions comes as calls mount to the United Nations to send peacekeepers to Somalia, as well-organized piracy off the east African nation's sprawling coast is rising dramatically in past few weeks.
Eight vessels have been seized in last two weeks, including a massive Saudi supertanker loaded with 100 million U.S. dollars worth of crude oil.

     UN approves extra peacekeepers for DR Congo

UNITED STATES, (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday approved increase by more than 3,000 the number of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The move was adopted in reaction to the surging violence in the country's east part that has uprooted an estimated 250,000 civilians in recent months.
The additional 2,785 troops and 300 police officers, whose mission will last till Dec. 31, will buttress the 17,000 uniformed personnel already serving with the UN mission, known as MONUC in the African state.
MONUC is especially active in DR Congo's North Kivu province, which borders Rwanda and has been the scene of recent fighting between government troops and a rebel militia known as the CNDP.
MONUC reported Thursday that the security situation in North Kivu is relatively calm with CNDP forces withdrawing from previously held positions. The calm came through mediation by the UN special envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.


     European Parliament calls for urgent action on DRC

BRUSSELS, (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to take urgent action to address the deteriorating situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The European Parliament, in a resolution, asked for measures to prevent any further attacks on the civilian population of the eastern provinces of the DRC and expressed extreme concern at the increase in clashes in North Kivu and the consequences for the population in the region.
The European Parliament expressed deep outrage at the massacres, crimes against humanity and acts of sexual violence against women and girls in the eastern provinces of the DRC and called on all relevant national and international authorities systematically to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The parliament reaffirmed its support for the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) and called for every effort to be made to allow it to carry out its mandate in full and use the force of arms to protect those under threat.
The parliament called on Belgium, Britain, France and Italy -- EU member states currently on the UN Security Council -- to play a leading role in ensuring that the Security Council supports MONUC by strengthening its operational capacities in terms of appropriate equipment and manpower, and especially by contributing European special forces.
The European Parliament called on the African Union, the UN Security Council and key international players, including the EU, United States and China, to increase pressure on all parties to push forward with the peace process.
The European Parliament called on the European Commission and the EU member states to ensure that EU companies do not trade in, handle or import products derived from minerals that have been sourced in a manner that benefits armed groups in the DRC, and hold accountable any that persist in such practices.
The European Parliament called for zero tolerance of the sexual violence against girls and women which is used as a weapon of war and for severe criminal penalties to be imposed on the perpetrators of these crimes.


     MSF warns of deteriorating crisis in eastern DRC

NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- The international medical charity, the Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF), on Thursday decried the deteriorating security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which it said is hampering humanitarian efforts in the area.
Addressing a news conference in Nairobi, MSF field coordinator for DRC Romain Gitenet, said the humanitarian crisis was worsening by day despite the on-going international effort to restore peace.
"We have been operating under very difficult circumstances because we have to offer medical services to all parts of Congo including the areas that are in the controls of rebels," he said, adding that hundreds had been injured in the crisis.
The remarks came as the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to send some 3,000 additional U.N. peacekeepers to the DRC to help prevent a new war in the vast country.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUC, is the world's biggest U.N. peacekeeping operation and will be increased temporarily to just over 20,000 troops and police once the reinforcements are deployed.
Gitenet said rape was the most serious problem, noting that MSF had treated up to 5,700 rape victims since January and yet there were still more who fear to go to hospitals.
"The victims we have been treating appear to be harmed by very heavy weapons. There are very critical injuries suffered. And many people are really suffering," he said at a press conference. And there are many people displaced too," Gitenet added.
"The figure represents women treated by MSF alone, and it means there are many more rape victims treated by other humanitarian organizations," he said, speaking of some women as old as 50 who had been raped by boys as young as 16.
"And there are children raped too. Some have developed a very bad attitude towards adults and have even refused to talk to them, " he said.
Aid organizations have criticized UN mission in the country MONUC for allowing a humanitarian disaster to develop in eastern Congo, an area the size of France, where around a quarter of a million people have fled recent fighting between the Congolese army and Tutsi rebels.
Gitenet said MSF personnel face new security challenges every day, especially when they can not access some of the affected parts.
"Everyday is a headache to us, many NGOs don't get access to most parts and it is a crisis because there are people suffering and they can not access treatment," he added.
"When there is too much security there are places we can not go for a temporary period when it gets better we go to those places and treat people. It is a very sad situation and it needs to be handled to save lives of people," he said.
For instance, he said, there is a small girl who is admitted and she does not talk to adults. She sees them as enemies because of what she underwent.
"She only talked recently to some young girl who is admitted in the same ward. We put them together because they are traumatized but they undergo counseling," he said.
"And women are not only raped, there are those who are taken as sex slaves and they stay for long time," said Gitenet.
"It is a situation almost like the one experienced in Kenya earlier in the year when we have people who can not move from one part of the country to the other," he said.
"Even our team sometimes can not move to other ends but because we are doctors without borders, we negotiate even with the commanders of the controlled regions and we treat people. It is that serious," he added.
The top UN envoy to the vast African nation said Thursday that MONUC has stepped up its military presence in North Kivu, with troops being reconfigured to reinforce the roughly 6,000 forces already on the ground.
Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of MONUC, said the mission has bolstered its security operations in the provincial capital Goma and is ensuring the safety of local officials.


     No transfer of genocide trial to Kigali: ICTR chamber

DAR ES SALAAM, (Xinhua) -- The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has rejected an application to transfer a case of genocide trial to Kigali for fear of unfair court procedures.
Reports reaching here on Friday quoted Presiding Judge Erik Mose from Norway as saying that the (appeals) chamber was not satisfied that Jean Baptiste Gatete would receive a fair trial if he was transferred to the Rwandan capital.
The transfer application was filed by the prosecution chamber of the ICTR court.
Though Rwanda abolished death penalty last year, the country's life imprisonment in isolation still did not meet internationally- recognized standards.
The UN court, seating in Arusha of northern Tanzania, has earlier rejected several other applications to move trials to Kigali so as to speed up the court procedures.
The ICTR court previously had a mandate that ends in December this year but the United Nations Security Council has recently extended the court's mandate by an extra year to allow it to hear all pending cases of genocide suspects.
There are now 18 pending cases with 37 detainees awaiting trials while the ICTR court has completed 38 cases. The court has so far handed down 32 convictions and five acquittals while one case is on appeal.
The tribunal was established in 1995 to prosecute suspects of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Thirteen people suspected of genocide- related crimes in Rwanda are still at large.


     UN urges political parties in Guinea-Bissau to respect election result

UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed last Sunday’s legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau and called on the political parties in the West African country to respect the results.The Security Council said in a statement that the elections were held on schedule "in an orderly and peaceful manner."
"The members of the Security Council expressed their appreciation for the dedicated efforts of the National Electoral Commission in organizing these elections, and the contribution of the UN Peace building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau and other multilateral and bilateral partners to the process," said Jorge Urbina, the permanent representative to the UN for Costa Rica and president of the Security Council for November.
Urbina said the major political parties and leaders must respect the election results and peacefully resolve any related concerns in a way that conforms with the rule of law.
The statement called on the international community to "continue to support Guinea-Bissau on its path to peace and security, particularly through the implementation of the Peacebuilding Commission’s integrated peacebuilding strategy."Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest countries in the world, is ranked 175th out of 177 nations in the UN Development Program's Human Development Index. The country's average life expectancy is less than 46 years.


     UN helps former rebels in Cote d'Ivoire return to civilian life

UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua) -- The United Nations mission in Cote d' Ivoire has provided tools and cash to about 400 former rebels in a bid to help them return to civilian life, according to a statement on the UN website Thursday.
It was the second group of former rebels to complete the UN-backed disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion program. Earlier this month, about 200 former fighters completed the program in Seguela, a town near the Ivorian border with Mali.
The West African country has been divided since a civil war erupted in September 2002. President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro reached a peace accord in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on March 4, 2007, under which Soro was named prime minister.


     Kenya interdicts five prison warders over jail beating

NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government on Thursday interdicted five senior prisons officers following the incident in which an inmate died and scores injured during an operation by prison warders at the country's largest prison, Kamiti.
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said the move was part of the action being taken in a bid to get to the bottom of the incident.
Musyoka, who also heads the Home Affairs Ministry which oversees the prisons department, added that the government was also in the process of taking a decisive action on the fate of all death row convicts, saying that some had overstayed in prisons.
"We will take action one way or the other on the death convicts who are currently over 3,600," he said.
The incident, shown on a Kenyan TV program, was filmed secretly on a mobile phone and shows naked inmates at a Nairobi jail on the ground as warders beat them.
Musyoka said the footage would be studied and ordered the prisons commissioner to take action. It is alleged one prisoner died of his wounds during an operation by warders to confiscate inmates' mobile phones.
The government has launched investigations on Wednesday into the alleged torture-to-death of a condemned prisoner.
Commissioner of Prisons Isaiah Osugo and a team of police officers interrogated death row inmates on circumstances that led to their colleague's demise.
"I am equally disturbed by the images shown on television. I have instituted investigations to establish the true position on this matter because I am receiving many contradicting reports," Osugo said.
He added that they had recovered a mobile phone used by the inmates to take a video clips during the raid.
Kenyan prisoners are not allowed to possess or use mobile phones. Prison authorities at the Kamiti Maximum Prison denied that the inmate's death was caused by the assault, saying he had been sick.
The country's prison warders around the country staged a strike in April this year over their pay and allowances and threatened to release prisoners.
The government agreed to increase their allowances and set up a taskforce to probe conditions in the country's prisons.
The team recommended an overhaul of the service, and as a result, a new prisons commissioner and deputy were appointed.
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     EGYPT - CHINA SOROUR AND ISMAIL TILIWALDI MEETING IN CAIRO

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     Nigeria, Uganda urge AU to address economic concerns

LAGOS, (Xinhua) -- Nigeria and Uganda on Thursday in Abuja asked the African Union (AU) to emulate other blocs in addressing the global economic situation as it affected Africa, reported the News of Agency of Nigeria earlier Friday.
Addressing a joint news conference after bilateral talks, the leaders of the two countries, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, said the AU should summon a meeting to discuss the impacts of the crisis on Africa.
They said other blocs like those in Europe, America and Asia were making concerted efforts, to address the crisis, adding that Africa should not lag behind.
Museveni is in Abuja on a three-day state visit, which will take him to Jos on Friday to deliver a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.
Responding to a question, Yar'Adua said discussions at the bilateral talks centered on ways to resuscitate the Nigeria-Uganda Bi-national Commission, the peace in Sudan and the Zimbabwean crisis.
According to him, Nigeria had not reneged on its promise to send troops to Somalia, explaining that a reconnaissance team had just returned from the war-torn country.
He said the team had recommended that the troops should be well- equipped with arms and equipment to withstand possible attacks.
On his part, Museveni said Nigeria and Uganda agreed to restore direct air link to make earlier agreements operational, while his country also requested for Nigeria's expertise in developing Uganda 's oil findings.
He commended his Nigerian counterpart on his seven-point agenda, especially in the area of human capital development and wealth creation, saying it was a good step toward Africa's ownership of development programs.


     Kenya urges Africa to seek homegrown development agenda

By Daniel Ooko, NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government has urged Africans to defined their destiny and steer their homegrown development agenda by using local resources rather than relying on funding from foreign countries.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the widespread notion that tangible development Africa could only be realized through funding from Western countries and the Bretton Woods Institutions was misplaced, adding that it was time the continent sought an alternative source of capital from local resources.
"We have two categories of people in this continent, those who are Afro-optimist and think that nothing is impossible to achieve and others who are Afro-pessimists who perceive to the contrary," he said on Thursday night.
Odinga cited a recent case earlier in the year in which the World Bank suspended the funding of major road projects in the country on learning that a former Finance Minister had resigned from the government to pave way for investigations.
He regretted that the continent was endowed with untapped resources but was unfortunately the poorest one and only attracted negative publicity from the international media.
Odinga told the launch of a local monthly magazine The African Mirror that the foreign press had developed a culture of painting the continent in bad light, hence to correct the anomaly.
He decried that the international press had influenced the perception of policy-makers and influence decision-making process in western nations who take advantage of any slight negative publicity to withhold assistance to the continent.
"The perception of policy makers and of the general public in those countries is rightfully reflected in their national decisions," he said.
Odinga said Africans had the ability to shape their future and challenged Kenyans to fight the ethnic fault lines that polarized the nation and forge a united front towards the development of the nation.


     Africa's first cybersecurity conference ends in Cote d'Ivoire

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Cote d'Ivoire, (Xinhua) -- Africa's first cybersecurity conference has concluded her with a plan for actions of priority.
The three-day conference which ended on Thursday proposed the continent adopt a mechanism against cybercrime which has constituted a new form of threat to African countries.
Participants called for joint efforts to secure African cyberspace to ensure essential services of information technology and communications.
Among the proposed actions of priority is a technical and judicial training program, in which trainees will receive identification and programming education to improve their ability to fight cybercrime.
The cybersecurity plan also includes an appeal for global and regional cooperation in establishing the rule of law and necessary procedures to ensure users' rights.
Cote d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo on Wednesday urged West African countries to prepare "a text of law on cybercrime in order to punish the criminals making negative use of SMS and Internet."
He hoped the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union would launch anti-cybercrime projects at their meetings to be held respectively in December and January.
Officials said the on-line crime causes millions of dollars of losses in Cote d'Ivoire alone every year.
The conference, titled "Build a Number Space of Confidence in Africa", is a follow-up to the Anti-cybercrime Forum held in June. The rally attracts officials and experts from the telecommunications sector, as well as police officers in charge of cyber security.
During the meeting, participants discussed measures such as a national agency to license on-line services and a surveillance code to bring criminal activities under control.


     Nigeria government yet to negotiate World Bank loan

LAGOS, (Xinhua) -- Abraham Nwankwo, the Director- General of Debt Management Office (DMO), has said that the Nigerian federal government had not negotiated to accept the three- billion-U.S. dollar World Bank loan.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Nwankwo was reacting to report alleging that the World Bank, through its International Development Assistance unit, granted Nigeria the loan.
The Bank quoted the director general as saying that the report emanated from an interview with Simeon Ehue, the Sustainable Development Sector Manager of the World Bank, on the proposed intervention loans.
He said any of such loan from the World Bank would be on concessional terms, meaning that the loan would have a tenor of between 35 to 40 years moratorium, with interest charges of not more than 1.25 percent per annum.
He explained that the statement from the World Bank official only conveys the World Bank's willingness to support the funding of Nigeria's development in recognition of the focused program of government to transform Nigeria.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Government remains committed to ensuring that the public debt profile remains sustainable," he said.
Nwankwo said every precaution is being taken to ensure that the country does not incur any debt, which does not unambiguously contribute to growth and development.
He disclosed that the DMO had started conducting an annual Debt Sustainability Analysis as one of the methods of keeping a close watch on the debt portfolio and ensuring its effective management.
The DMO boss said the office had produced the Debt Management Framework (2008-2012), which included the guidelines for external and domestic borrowing by governments and their agencies.
"But more importantly, the Nigerian government has not yet considered taking the loan offer and can only do so within due process," he added.


     Ghanaian president says $ U.S. eight billion debt cancelled

LAGOS, (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President John Kufuor said the debt of over 8 billion U.S. dollars owed by the nation had been cancelled during his administration, the Ghana News Agency reported on Friday.
The president disclosed this when he cut a sod for work to start the construction of a fishing harbor at Mumford in the Gomoa west district of the country.
He said apart from debt cancellation, many countries had been supporting Ghana in diverse ways due to the prudent economic measures the government adopted.
"Due to how well we are managing the economy every country is prepared to help Ghana," he also said.
The sod cutting was the third to be performed by the president within 10 days for similar projects, at James Town in Accra and Elmina in the Central Region.
Kufuor said the nation imported 200 million U.S dollars worth of fish this year and that if the fishing industry was improved, such an amount could be used for other things. He added he detached fisheries from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to enable special attention to be paid to the industry.


     EC grants Angola $ U.S. 297 million on socioeconomic development

LUANDA, (Xinhua) -- The European Commission (EC) and the Angolan government here on Thursday signed a financial accord for granting Angola 228 million euros (about 297 million U.S. dollars) on national socioeconomic development projects.
Under the accord, EC will grant Angola the funds in two installments to support Angola's new socioeconomic development program called the "Strategy for the National Indicative Program for 2008-2013."
The first installment is estimated at 214 million euros (about 279 million dollars) and the second corresponds to 13.9 million euros (about 18 million dollars).
After the signing, Joao Gabriel Ferreira, head of the European Commission Angola Representative Office, told reporters that the financial accord covers priority sectors like governance, economic and institutional growth, human resource development, rural development, agricultural production and food security.
He added that the cooperation will also cover non-focal sectors as the private, civil society, regional cooperation, and matters related to environment.
According to Angolan Vice Minister of Planning Pedro Luis da Fonseca who signed for Angola, the accord will help speed up the country's development process and improve the funding of priority areas such as governance and institutional reform.
The new financial accord signed between the EC and Angola represents a 20 percent increase compared to the amount granted by EC for the 2002-2007 period estimated at 177 million euros (about 230 million dollars).


     Venezuela announces key areas for cooperation with Angola

LUANDA, (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government here on Thursday announced oil, culture and education as the key areas for cooperation with Angola.
Jesus Alberto Garcia, new counselor of the Venezuelan Embassy to Angola, told reporters that his mission in Angola is to further strengthen cooperation with Angola, especially in the areas of oil, culture and education.
He said it is very important to cooperate with Angola in oil sector, stressing that the Venezuelan government is preparing cooperation agreements in oil exploration and technical assistance with Angola.
Referring to cooperation in culture and education sectors, the diplomat said the Venezuelan government has made greater efforts towards the creation of a university to offer Africans to receive higher education, particularly in public health.


     Nigerian anti-drug agency arrests 13 hemp cultivators

LAGOS, (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Nigeria's southwest Ekiti State Command said 13 persons suspected to be involved in the cultivation of Indian hemp plantation had been arrested.
Speaking with newsmen on Thursday, Prince Ben Ikani, the state Commander, said the suspects were arrested at different hemp farms areas located in the state, according to the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
He said the suspects cultivated about 22 acres of hemp on the mountain in order to escape possible arrest by the agency's personnel.
The commander said the agency, with the assistance of the officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, had destroyed 14 acres of hemp farmland in Odo-Owa area, while another seven acres were destroyed in Aramoko-Ekiti.


     UN agencies to provide emergency aid to flood-hit Ethiopian region

UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua) -- United Nations humanitarian agencies are preparing to send emergency supplies to flood-hit regions of Ethiopia, according to a news release on the UN website Thursday.
Flash floods caused by heavy rains have displaced many people and damaged about 2,000 hectares of cropland.
Food, water, health care and other non-food items are needed to help the inhabitants in both the Somali region and the highlands of the neighbouring Oromiya region, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
A multi-agency UN mission is being dispatched to the affected areas to identify the biggest emergency and recovery needs, according to the OCHA.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is also finalizing preparations to send emergency health kits after discussions with national health authorities.


      Kenyan runners to take part in Singapore marathon

NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- World champion Luke Kibet and three time World Cross Country Champion Edith Masai will compete in next month's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
The 25-year-old Kibet, who became the first Kenyan in 20 years to win the world title in Osaka last year, set his personal best time of 2:08:52 in Eindhoven in 2006.
Douglas Wakihuri and Eric Wainaina had tried earlier but finished second and third respectively despite the dominance the country has in the 42km event worldwide.
Kibet finished 11th in London this year with his season's best of 2:12:25, and will have a lot to prove in Singapore as his last marathon, at the Beijing Olympic Games, ended in a "did not finish".
However, he will not be part of Kenya's delegation in the Asian city for the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) marathon series. In the GROE series, runners compete in a relay marathon in four cities -- Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong.
Kenya's Amos Tirop Matui will carry the country's baton in the GROE race as he seeks to extend Kenya grip in the hunt for the 1 million US dollars jackpot. Kenya has taken the top prize every year since the series' inauguration five years ago.
Kibet's personal best time of 2:08:52 was two years earlier in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He has switched from his original event, the 3,000m steeplechase. Singapore is the second leg of the GROE after Nairobi.
Kibet, the former footballer turned athlete will be hoping to end a tumultuous year on a high. Kibet was a victim of post election violence when he was attacked twice.
The first time he was hit on the head suffering a concussion, while the second attack happened on his way to Nairobi.
"We were coming to (Kenya Prisons) training camp in Nairobi when we were attacked," he recounted. "I drew my official gun that scared away the youths, who were armed with pangas (machetes). I cannot say that they were targeting me and it was just bad luck."
Masai will be looking to better her second place finish in last year's race. The 41 year old placed eight in last year's World Championships. The mother of one set her personal best in 2005 Hamburg marathon which she won in 2:27:06.
Masai who started running in her mid thirties became the first woman ever to win three short course titles before turning her sights on road running.
The Kenyan men team has John Ekiru Kelai (Mumbai), Cyprian Kiogora Mwobi (Hong Kong) and Philemon Lisoreng Yarasia, who ran in last months Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon.
Masai returns to Singapore after a year to try and improve on her second finish position last year, where she competed under Group 'B' of the Kenyan GROE team.
Organizers of the GROE have cut down the number of Kenyan teams to just two -- one women and men's team. Masai has not competed in any top marathon this year. After an eighth place in the World championships in Osaka last year, she returns to Singapore to enhance her team's chances in the relay-marathon hunt.
Masai was the Hamburg marathon champion of 2005 where she set her personal best time of 2:27:06.
Over 50,000 applied to enter one the three events in the revamped race's seventh year. Over 15,000 of them will run the full marathon.
Singapore marathon will be the second race of the Greatest Run on Earth Series. The first leg was held in Nairobi in October. Other legs include Mumbai and Hong Kong.
Singapore's location, with permanently warm temperatures and high humidity, similar in fact to Osaka in summer, means that Area let alone world records are pretty much out of the question.

     African wrestling champion eyes world title

LAGOS, (Xinhua) -- African wrestling champion Stephen Nesabageiyi has declared that he is ready to contest a world title.
Nesabageiyi told Xinhua on Thursday that he would embark on a four-month training tour in the United States, citing lack of facilities in home country.
Last April, the Nigerian defeated Usa Bin of Congo Republic in Lagos to become the African champion.
Nesabageiyi, who's also the vice president of the Nigeria Professional Wrestling Federation, expressed the body's readiness to further promote wrestling in Nigeria and the world.