Asmara, 3 September 2010 – (Shabait) – The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Estifanos Habte, participated in the 14th COMESA Summit that was held in Lozitha city, Swaziland, from August 31 to September 1.

In the summit conducted under the theme: “Harnessing Science and Technology for Development,” the COMESA member states reached understanding on the need to reinforce efforts and allocate enough budget in research and communication technology, set up joint science and technology parks, as well as utilize biotechnology in the agriculture sector and nano technology in the health sector.

The summit also assessed the developments registered in the tripartite-free-trade among the COMESA, the South Africa Development Community and the East African Community, besides giving work directives as regards the finalization of the process.

Taking note of the significance of the prevalence of peace and security in the COMESA region towards attaining development and facilitating the economic integration process, the summit held extensive discussion and adopted resolutions and recommendations.

Also in a meeting held earlier beginning from August 18, the unilateral governmental committee, the Ministers and Foreign Ministers Council reviewed the tasks accomplished last year, in addition to submitting the proposal of the action plan for next year to the COMESA member states summit for approval.

COMESA is a regional organization comprising 19 countries from Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa.

Belarusian News Agency BelTA reports that the Belarus Education Ministry and the Eritrean Education Ministry have signed an agreement on cooperation.

The document was signed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Vasily Dolgolev and Ambassador of Eritrea to the Russian Federation Teklai Menassie Asgedom in Moscow on 31 August.

Afriqiyah

Afriqiyah Airways flight 8U771 crashed during landing at Tripoli international airport early this morning. The flight was on its way from Johannesburg, South Africa to Tripoli. The route is scheduled to operated with an Afriqiyah Airbus A330. Unofficial numbers report that 104 people were killed during the air crash.

According to the website of Afriqiyah 93 passengers and 11 crew members were on board.

Yusuf Al Harthy, who already runs a website on deciphering the meaning of dreams, intends the institute to offer bachelors and masters degrees and even a PhD in interpreting visions and dreams.

“Dream interpretation is by nature a way of counseling a person,” Al Harthy told Al-Hayat newspaper, adding that his academy will be accredited by an unnamed Arab university.

Al Harthy is a regular on Saudi radio and television shows and believes dream interpretation to be a teachable science. The kingdom’s Islamic Affair’s Ministry categorises it as “something born of inspiration,” Al-Hayat reported.

Islam has a long history of dream interpretation, with the seventh century-born scholar Muhammad Ibn Sirin, a native of Basra in present-day Iraq, credited with authoring a classic Islamic catalogue on dream interpretation. Source: (AB)

Asuncion, 29 Apr. ABN .- Paraguay signed a joint communique to establish diplomatic relations with Senegal, Georgia and Eritrea, planning to extend diplomatic relations also to Burkina Faso and Uganda in the near future, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South American country.

The permanent ambassador of Paraguay to the United Nations, Jose Antonio Dos Santos, signed the documents with representatives of these States, which formalizes the decision of governments to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level.

These agreements are signed under the terms of the Vienna Convention of April 18, 1961 and reflect the desire to promote mutual understanding, strengthening friendship and cooperation between nations.

Particularly, aiming to respect and promote international peace and security, equality among states, national sovereignty and independence as well as international treaties, territorial integrity and noninterference in the internal affairs of States.

In the near future the government of Paraguay will enter into similar agreements with Burkina Faso and Uganda in Africa. Source: (ABN)

(African Union) – On 25th April, the African Union (AU) commemorated World Malaria Day. Statistics collected by the AU for the year 2010, show some advances in controlling malaria in Africa. At the same time, the AU acknowledges the urgency in meeting critical milestones in order to eliminate and eventually eradicate the disease on the continent.

The year 2010 is the end of the Roll Back Malaria decade and it coincides with the 5 year review of the Abuja Call. The preliminary results of the review of the Abuja call show that there is increasing coverage of initiatives against malaria and which is leading to substantial reductions in the malaria burden in a number of countries in Africa.

The AU statistics show that in an effort to increase access to malaria services and attain MDGs by 2015, 74% of African nations have waived taxes on anti-malarial drugs, 64% have removed taxes or introduced waivers on Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) while about half have waived taxes and tariffs on nets, netting materials and insecticides.

Significant strides have been made toward malaria control and the elimination of the disease from many regions, continental eradication is a long-term goal that will require a sustained commitment.

Ten African countries namely: Eritrea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia, Botswana, Cape Verde, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zanzibar in Tanzania have documented at least a 50 per cent reduction in malaria cases in 2008, compared to the status of 2000.

In prevention of malaria, an increased focus on distribution of ITNs, Indoor Residue Spraying (IRS), and Intermittent Presumptive Treatment (IPT) programs has produced impressive results: ten countries in Africa documented reductions in malaria cases of more than 50% in 2008 compared to 2000.

The AU says, that in efforts of Counting Malaria Out in Africa, national and local governments, parliaments, health and development partners, the private sector and NGO/CBO/CSOs, need to engage in resources mobilization for malaria control and elimination.

However, in spite of the progress made in malaria prevention and control in Africa, the AU notes that Member States still face several challenges. These include issues of delivery of key interventions such as ACTs (Artemisinin Combination Therapy), intermittent presumptive therapy for pregnant women, and enhanced capacity for Indoor Residual Spraying.

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This article has been removed until further notice from the investigating research team and capitaleritrea news. This measure has been taken in order to protect the research and not to undermine the publication of the results by the scientists when the study is complete.

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Asmara: President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea held talks with the African Union Liaison Office Sudan representatives headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki and former President of Burundi Pierre Buyoya.

In the meeting, the delegation briefed President Isaias on the tasks the Liaison Office accomplished in Sudan and the implementation process of the comprehensive Sudanese peace agreement.

Further, the officials highlighted the various activities being carried out towards promoting peace in Darfur.

The President on his part expressed appreciation to the AU Liaison Office in Sudan for visiting Eritrea to hear the views of neighboring countries.

He further underlined the need for neighboring countries and parties keen to promote peace and stability in Sudan to make due contribution in reinforcing Sudanese endeavors, although the entire Sudanese people and the two concerned partners bear the main responsibility to this end.

Afwerki called on all concerned parties to work closely with the two main partners namely the National Congress Party and the SPLM so that the forthcoming referendum in South Sudan could lead to peace and stability in Sudan in general and South Sudan in particular.

Eritrean president, in an exclusive interview, says refusal to obey is cause for US anger. By Abdul Nabi Shaheen, Correspondent,
Gulf News.

Massawa: Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has disclosed for the first time that the US asked him in the past to provide military and intelligence facilities in the Assab area on the Red Sea coast, south of Eritrea, but his government refused.

This was before the US headed to Djibouti to use it as a headquarters of the central command of the Western forces in the Horn of Africa.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News in the port city of Massawa, President Afewerki said that Washington also asked him about 2002 or 2003 to deploy Eritrean officers to work under the central command in Djibouti but his country rejected the request.

The President categorically denied that Israel asked for any military or security facilities in his country.

Afewerki scoffed at the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on his country, noting that these sanctions were not new and that they had already been applied for more than ten years.

“What is new in these sanctions is that they were only issued officially from the UN Security Council which is run by Washington as it wants,” he said.

He said Eritrea was able, by the will of its people, to overcome all kinds of economic and military sanctions.

On the other hand, Afewerki denied the press reports that his country signed an agreement with Tehran under which Iran was awarded an exclusive right to develop an old oil refinery in the Assab area.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Gulf News: What is your strategy to face the repercussions of the Security Council Resolution 1907, which imposes economic and military sanctions, on your government?

Isaias Afewerki: There is nothing new in the international sanctions, except for the fact that they were issued formally in the name of the UN Security Council, which is driven by the United States of America as it will. Arms embargo was imposed on our country more than 10 years ago, specifically since the outbreak of the border crisis with Ethiopia.

We have been prevented from importing spare parts for training aircraft and helicopters that we had already purchased from European countries due pressures from Washington on these countries and on the arms companies.

Even more, when we bought light weapons from Russia three years ago Washington contacted Russia and claimed that they seized the weapons in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, and they told Russia that we gave these weapons to Islamic extremists in Somalia.

Generally, the issue of the arms embargo on our country is not new, but who believes that this can weaken the defence capabilities Eritrea is dreaming. “To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is a scientific theory known to those who study chemistry and physics.

Since the era of the administration of former US President Bill Clinton, Washington tried to impose an economic blockade and used every possible way, the latest attempt was to block money transfers of the Eritreans working abroad after they realised that such transfers of hard currency would strengthen the revenues of the state treasury.

They tried to stop these transfers by what I would call the “piracy banks” overseas and in some of our neighbouring countries, but the Eritrean people were able to invent a new means to overcome this hurdle. This enabled the Eritrean expatriates to deliver their money remittances to their families at home.

It was our right as a member of the United Nations to get assistance from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions, but we are prevented from this by a US decision adopted several years ago. But our people were able to overcome these challenges by relying on their own resources. Despite the drought that hit the Horn of Africa, we were able with God’s help alone to produce enough food.

Has Washington ever asked you to play any role or provide specific military or intelligence facilities, and you refused it, a matter which made the US take a hostile stand against you?

Maybe.

What do you mean by “maybe”?. This question is likely to have only two answers, either yes or no.

Yes, yes, but we totally rejected the idea of foreign camps in the region and refused to use Djibouti land as a location for Western military and intelligence work in the region.

We were asked around the year 2002 or 2003, I do not remember the exact date, to deploy army officers in the Central Command, currently in Djibouti, as part of regional troops from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti, but Sudan was not invited to this operation.

Why did you refuse to contribute troops to the Central Command in Djibouti as long as it is outside your territory?

If we participated in this operation, we would turn into mere tools in the hands of the Western military command and this is what happened to the countries that participated, especially after the events of September 11, when special units in the name of combating terrorism were established in these countries. These are intelligence units operating under the Central Command in Djibouti.

We said if the required thing is to combat terrorism, it is in our interest to fight it by ourselves, and not by proxy. If there are American or Western aids in this field, there is no objection, provided that the basis of terrorism combating should be African and should be carried out by the countries of the region itself.

You spoke before about the facilities requested by Washington to deploy troops in Djibouti. Has Washington asked you for military or intelligence facilities inside the Eritrean territories?

Yes, there was talk about giving them facilities in the area of Assab. Though this was rejected by us, in principle, but our conviction increased after we consulted independent American and European international experts, who advised us to refuse giving them these facilities.

Ethiopia has given them the region of Debre Zeyit and other locations in the territory of Ogaden under the pretext of conducting joint military exercises and training of peacekeeping forces heading to Darfur.

But I personally, do not think that this rejection is the reason for the American anger against us. It may be a part of a number of other reasons, most notably that the State of Eritrea is not obedient to the Super State.

Mr President – it is certain that Israel has strategic interests in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. Has it ever courted you as it did with some Arab countries? What did Israel ask you and what is your response?

I tell you quite frankly that Israelis are not stupid and cannot ask any country for military or intelligence facilities, because they have other means that enable them to deal with this region. They have no security or military base in any place in the whole region operating in the daylight.

Why didn’t you announce a clear and formal stance on violation of the territory of Saudi Arabia by Al Houthi rebels in Yemen, despite your good relations with Riyadh?

We cannot be asked to announce this, because there is an agreed principle that any attempt to destabilise the region, whether in Yemen, Saudi Arabia or the Gulf region, is unacceptable. Eritrea is part of the stability of the region and a part of the stability of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and any attempt to undermine the stability of these two countries affects the security of the Red Sea and the entire region.

But if the announcement was just for showing signs of solidarity, then Saudi Arabia and Yemen know our rejection of this aggression and they were not waiting for confirmation from our side.

Some media reported in 2008 that you signed in September of that year during your visit to Iran a deal with Tehran giving them an exclusive right to develop the old oil laboratories in the city of Assab, but when I visited the refinery two days ago I did not find any maintenance and it is completely abandoned?

[Laughs] We do not have any agreement with Iran to develop the refinery. What was reported in this regard was a part of a wide spread misleading campaign. Thanks to God, you visited the refinery and took photos without finding any such a thing, although we are in 2010 and the misleading media stated that the agreement was signed in 2008 as you said.

There are Gulf, Arab and Western fears from Iranian influence on Bab Al Mandab Strait in the Red Sea through facilities provided by Eritrea, which shares with Iran a hostile stance against the US. Some believe that you can give these facilities just to spite Washington.

Dealing with Iran just to spite America at the expense of the governments and peoples of this region is madness and cannot be done by anyone. I believe that the alleged Iranian bogeyman is one of the mechanisms of the US to intimidate countries in the region to achieve its own agenda. If there is a danger from Iran, or from any other foreign source, Arab countries should cooperate to protect the area from any external risks.

The World Bank released its World Development Indicators 2010 publication. The millennium development goal of reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 is one of the goals to reduce world wide poverty.

Since 1990 deaths of children under age 5 have been declining and in 2006, for the first time, the number of children who died before their fifth birthday fell below 10 million. In developing countries child mortality declined about 25 percent, from 101 per 1,000 in 1990 to 73 in 2008.

There are still many countries in Sub Saharan Africa showing little progress in fighting child mortality — one child in seven dies before the fifth birthday according to the report. The odds are slightly better in South Asia, where one child in thirteen dies before the fifth birthday.

These two regions remain overriding priorities for child survival interventions such as immunizations, exclusive breastfeeding, and insecticide-treated nets.

Thirty-nine countries have achieved or are now on track to achieve the target of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality rates. Two of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eritrea and Malawi, have made remarkable progress.

Eritrea has reduced the under-five years mortality rate per 1000 from 150 in 1990 to 58 in 2008. Successful countries now account for half the population of low- and middle-income economies.

The latest World Development Indicators publication also includes a new data query format with the option to organize and extract data by topic or country. Eritrea Country Data New Format.

This evening [20 April] BBCM monitored the Eritrean state radio, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Tigrinya Service, from 1700 GMT, on its usual frequency of 7210 kHz and found out that the station was still being jammed.

From 1700-1715 GMT there was deafening noise. From 1715-1745 GMT one could hear Eritrean songs and some programmes in Tigrinya in the background, overridden by some static. From 1745 GMT, the station started getting clearer, and the various programmes and songs could now be heard without hindrance.

BBCM was unable to monitor the news bulletin at 1700 GMT due to the interference. Source (Radio Netherlands Worldwide, quoting: Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara, in Tigrinya 1700 gmt 20 Apr 10 via BBC Monitoring)

Asmara: Eritrea insists that there is no truth in the allegations by Western countries that the country is a launchpad for Iranian military adventures.

Gulf News was given exclusive access to the military facilities and this correspondent toured the war-torn country and did not find any evidence of training for foreign fighters.

In pictures: Military camp in Eritrea

The strategic importance of this Horn of Africa nation and its turbulent political history have prompted many Western states and the Eritrean opposition to allege that the country is a training ground for foreign fighters.

They say Eritrean army camps were being used to train foreign fighters, including Somali militants and Al Houthi rebels of Yemen.

On December 23 last year, the United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea for “endangering the stability in the Horn of Africa.” The sanctions include an arms embargo, freezing of the assets and travel restrictions on political and military leaders.

Eritrean officials said that Gulf News was the first foreign newspaper to be allowed access to its military camps and permitted to take photographs since its independence.

A visit to an oil installation in Assab where Iran is alleged to have helped develop its facilities, Gulf News discovered only an old and abandoned refinery with two Eritrean guards.

The Israeli daily Maariv published a report on April 2, last year, saying: “Iran has already finished building a naval base at a desert area near the Eritrean port of Assab.

Tehran had transferred to this base — by ships and submarines — troops, military equipment and long-range-ballistic missiles… that can strike Israel.”

After Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki visited Iran last year, the West launched a campaign militarily linking the two countries.

Gulf News visited the Ras Doumeira military camp near the border with Djibouti, where the UN inpectors were denied access, which officials said was in protest at the adoption of the UN resolution condemning Eritrea. Source: (Gulfnews)