Crowd outside Staples Center before arrival of MJ casket

Michael Jackson's brothers push their brothers casket to the stage.

Yesterday, inside Staples Center arena, it was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. There were songs and tears but little dancing. Instead, Michael Jackson’s memorial was a somber, spiritual ceremony that reached back for the essence of the man.

At last, MJ fans had to agree that their beloved pop star has gone forever.

The ceremonies were aattended by thousands of people and millions watch through out the world. Probably, only John F. Kennedy, the former US president drew bigger population like the one which was observed on MJ Funeral day.

Where do you think Michael Jackson should be buried? At Forest Lawn amongst so many other late celebrities, or at his former home Neverland?

Until my last seconds of publishing this short remark, I had no idea!!

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Repatriation

Ngorongoro crater as seen from its rim.

The Tanzanian government has put up infrastructure at Oldonyo Sambu for more than 60,000 Ngorongoro conservation area residents to be relocated there in response to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) conditions for the site to remain in its heritage listing. This was said by the minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Shamsa Mwangunga.

She said Unesco's concern was that there had been increased human activities in the conservation area topped up with increased population, which were reportedly driving the world's heritage site to the brink of collapse.The Ngorongoro Crater area now has a human population of 64,842, more than twice the required number of 25,000 people that the eco-system can support.There are also 13,650, herds of cattle and 193,056 goats and sheep.

She added that Unesco stipulated that the ecological deterioration within Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) brought about by increased farming activities, infrastructural development and more than doubled number of residents with tripling herds of livestock had placed the area in a very awkward situation.

The international body opposes cultivation within the NCA, traffic congestion into the crater at the rate of 300 vehicles per day on average, major hotel constructions on the crater rim and mass tourism policy. Last year Ngorongoro received 425,000 visitors, previously the number averaged 350,000 per annum.

Experts believe this is unhealthy for the site's ecology."If Unesco axes Ngorongoro from the list of the World Heritage Sites, no tourists will come to visit the place again so it is important to comply with their guidelines," said Mwangunga.

The crater is also home to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25,000 animals living in the caldera.

Personally, I worked in Ngororongoro conservation area for 2 years from Dec. 1999 to Oct. 2001. The population by then was around 35,000 but I could sense the population density increasing from people coming outside Ngorongoro looking for job on booming building activities there. I had a chat by the then conservator about my worries and concern. But it was difficult and very sensitive issue to intervene by then because of electoral processes.

If you have never been in Ngorongoro, I urge you to visit this site at least once in your life time, you will never forget this beauty land of animals.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Paul Kagame: His Iron Palm to Defend Peace and Humanity in Rwanda

I admire President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
He is a visionary man and always learns from others. He applies whatever has been done by other people provided he believes that is good for him and public image.

Last week was a Army week by which the Rwanda defense forces provided various humanitarian services to the community in need including medical care, construction work, animal husbandry etc to the people in need. This is another indicator that the Rwandan society has by far gone past conflicts for which it was originally famous for.

President Kagame, being the former senior military officer, he did not remain behind, instead he went in outskirt and involves himself on community work, I saw him and his wife participating actively in digging a trench for the foundation of house! Of course not a fully involvement, but who will sleep on bed while the president himself works?!!
When I saw him joining the forces on community work, it reminded me our former president, the late Mwalimu Nyerere who was a typical Mjamaa.

On Rwanda’s liberation day, I discovered that President Kagame admires very much the work which was done by Nyerere towards building unity in Tanzania, my calculations eventually got an answer.
Yes indeed, take all good ideas from other people and put into practice and ignore all those which they do not have any benefit to you.

Siku ya Kukumbuka Ukombozi wa Rwanda

Photo above: Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere

Juzi hapa Rwanda ilikuwa ni siku ya kukumbuka ukombozi wa Rwanda kutoka katika mauaji ya kimbari miaka 15 iliyopita.

Kwa kawaida kila mwaka hutolewa zawadi za kijadi kwa mashujaa wa Rwanda katika matukio mbalimbali. Mwaka huu ilikuwa ni tofauti kidogo, kwani mashujaa waliotoa mchango mkubwa katika kumaliza vita hivyo, nao walipewa nishani za heshima za uruti ambayo hupewa mashujaa waliotukuka wa Rwanda, na Umurinzi, ambayo ni kwa wale wanaoshiriki kikamilifu katika kampeni ya kutokomeza mauaji ya kimbari Rwanda.

Mwaka huu watu watatu wamepata nishani hizo akiwemo Waziri mkuu wa Ethiopia Menan Zenawi, Rais wa Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni na Hayati Baba wa Taifa, Julius Kambarage Nyerere ambaye nishani yake ilichukuliwa na mjane wake Mama Maria Nyerere
Kwangu nilijihisi kupata heshima kubwa pamoja na Taifa langu la Tanzania kwa wananchi wa Rwanda kutambua juhudi za Baba wa Taifa katika kwa kuwa mtu wa mwanzo kukemea mauaji yaliyokuwa yakiendealea Rwanda mwaka 1994 ingawa hakuwa kiongozi wa nchi.

Pia katika wasifu wake ambao ulisomwa kwa Kiswahili umeonyesha ni jinsi gani wanyarwanda wanavyomuenzi katika ukombozi wao. Pia waliwasifia sana watanzania kwa moyo wao mkarimu wakati wote walipokuwa katika hali ya ukimbizi, kiasi kwamba walijisikia kama wapo kwao, maana kulikuw hakuna ubaguzi wa aina yoyote katika elimu, matibabu mpaka na kazi.

Naye Yoweri Musevani katika hotuba yake fupi, mbali ya kueleza historia ya mapambano, na mchango wa Uganda, hakusita kuchukua sehemu ya hotuba yake kuishukuru Tanzania kama nchi pekee katika Afrika iliyotoa mazingira ya kiurafiki (non hostile environment) wakati wa tatizo la mauaji. Pia alielezea historia ndefu ya Tanzania katika kupambana ili kuleta Uhuru katika nchi z Afrika ikiwa ni pamoja na Uganda.

Paul Kagame wa Rwanda, naye alichukua nafasi ya hotuba yake kutoa shukrani zake za dhati kwa Nyerere na watanzania kwa ujumla.
Mpaka juzi asubuhi, sikuwa najua ni jinsi gani wanyarwanda wanavyowathamini na kuwaenzi watanzania katika ukombozi wao dhidi ya mauaji ya kimbari.

More Swine flu cases in Kenya and new in Uganda

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There is a great fear at Kisumu’s Alendu Primary School and surrounding areas where the 34 visiting British students from Nottingham University Medical School had toured, as they had played football and attended classes with the visitors.

It has been said (under the carpet) that 8 more Briton students tested positive for H1N1 virus making a total of 9.

Ministry of Public Health officials remained tight-lipped about the tests on Kenyan pupils and British students, but sources at the Kenya Medical Research Institute confirmed more people had tested positive.

Nottingham was declared a swine flu hot spot

At the same time, Uganda health authorities confirmed its first case of the disease. The victim had travelled from London to Kampala via Nairobi. It is not clear whether he had interacted with the public or not because government authority on its statement says he was detected at the Entebbe international airport on arrival and isolated.

However, now there is hoax email going on in Uganda about swine flu making people to panic dearly.

The country becomes the 11th African country to report the disease.

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Honduras. A Coup of its Kind

Last sunday President Manuel Zelaya (Photo above) was detained and sent to Costa Rica in a dispute over his push to allow a Honduran president to stay in power longer than that country's constitution allows.

It has been common for coup to take place while the president is out of country for official mission or detained in custody if is within the country.

Interestingly, The incumbent president Roberto Micheletti said shortly after he was sworn in as Honduran president that it is God's will for him to lead the country for the next 6 months

It is said that public support for Zelaya dropped as low as 30 percent recently and the interim government has said Zelaya has charges pending against him for violating the constitution, drug trafficking and organized crime. Zelaya has vowed to return to Honduras despite threats to arrest him if he does.

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Teenager, survivor of Yemenia crash to Join His Father in France

Bahia Bakari, teenager who survived Yemenia crash in Comoros was due to be flown back to France to join her father

Her father, when interviewed, he recalled and said "When we arrived at the airport, I kissed both, then my wife turned around, she looked at me and she waved," he said. "That was the last time I saw my wife alive. My daughter never turned, and she went ahead...... I will see her again I hope, but for my wife it was the last time."

Doctors consider there is no problem for her to be repatriated" despite a broken collar bone and burns to the knee,

When she was asked what happend, it was difficult for Bahia to remember everything.

She said that, at a point in time, instructions were given to passengers to strap themselves in,".... "She said that afterwards, she felt something like electricity -- that was the term she used.
"And then, very quickly, she found herself in the water hanging on to a piece of the aircraft with which she struggled to stay alive for more than 10 or so hours."

When rescuers emerged in the clear light of day, she was too weak to react.
"We tried to throw a life buoy. She could not grab it. I had to jump in the water to get her," one rescuer told France's Europe 1 radio, saying that she was spotted bobbing in the middle of bodies and debris.

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The first report that the survivor was 5 years old boy was not confirmatory report.