British miner gets approval to prospect in Baringo county

A London-based miner, Red Rock Resources (RRR) PLC, has turned to Baringo in search of minerals as it targets to tap into Kenya’s mining industry.

The company that has been prospecting for gold in Migori since 2009 has applied for a license to prospect for minerals like gold, copper and iron ore in Baringo in what is expected to change the investment profile of the county.

“An application has been made by RRR for a special license to prospect for all minerals over an area described in the schedule hereto and the said application has been accepted,” said the Commissioner of Mines Moses Masibo in the latest gazette notice.

Mr Masibo added that Baringo County has in the recent months attracted increased interest from mining companies seeking base metals and gold because it has volcanic soils and a geological structure normally rich with minerals.

Several other companies have also applied to prospect for Ruby in Baringo, which has the potential for the occurrence of other minerals.

A surge in global commodity prices and investor appetite for new frontier markets have revived interest in Kenya’s mining potential. Investors are interested in gold, coal and mineral earths such as titanium, rutile, zircon and ilmeni.

Red Rock Executive Chairman Andrew Bell said the company will be on the lookout for potential minerals in the country through new prospecting licenses.

The miner is seeking to support its earnings, faced with declining gold revenues in its current mines in Colombia.

Mr Bell said the company also plans to expand its existing exploration license in Migori to cover more ground and check potential for copper, whose concentration is high.

Red Rock is also awaiting a license to extract gold from the Migori mines, which will make it the second to be issued with a commercial gold mining license after Goldplat.

This will allow Kenyans to firm their foothold on the international gold market. Kenya’s total earnings from gold have tripled in the last two years to Sh6 billion.

The government has proposed a new Bill that will see international companies seeking to exploit Kenya’s minerals pay up to three times the current rates.

The new structure will set specific charges for each mineral away from the current policy that levies the fee at the rate of three per cent of a contract’s value for all minerals.
Source:Business Daily

A Visit to Cameroon

           

                           

THE Baka—also known as Pygmies—were likely the first inhabitants of Cameroon. Then, in the 1500’s, the Portuguese arrived. Several hundred years after that, the Fulani—an Islamic people—conquered northern Cameroon. Today, 40 percent of Cameroon’s inhabitants claim to be Christian, 20 percent are Muslim, and the remaining 40 percent practice traditional African religions.

The people who live in the rural areas of Cameroon are particularly hospitable. Visitors are greeted and welcomed inside the home, where they are served water and food. To refuse the householder’s hospitality is considered an insult, while accepting the offer is a compliment.

Conversation begins with greeting the family members and asking about their welfare. It is even customary to ask how the animals are faring! “When a guest leaves a household, it isn’t enough  to say, ‘Good-bye,’” says Joseph, a native of Cameroon. “Often, the host will accompany the guest partway down the road and continue conversing with him. Then, at some point, he will bid the visitor farewell and return home. A guest who does not receive this treatment may feel unappreciated.”

Dugout canoes are a common sight on the Sanaga River. Sails are made from whatever materials are available

When sharing a meal, sometimes a group of friends will eat from the same plate—at times, with their hands. In Cameroon, this custom is a powerful symbol of unity. In fact, on occasion it has been used to bring together people whose friendship has faded for some reason. In a sense, acommunal meal is away
of saying, “We are now at peace.”

 FAST FACTS

The height of most adult Pygmies is between four feet (1.2 m) and four feet eight inches (1.42 m)

• Population: Approximately 20 million
• Capital: Yaoundé
• Climate: Hot and dry in the north, humid in the coastal region
• Exports: cocoa, coffee, cotton, wood, aluminum
• Languages spoken: English and French, along with some 270 other African languages and dialects.

Gulf of Mexico

After an April 2010 accident on an oil platform, huge amounts of oil and gas gushed into the sea for nearly three months. A study by one team of researchers found that two and a half months after that, some of the pollutants had disappeared—devoured, they concluded, by bacteria with a taste for methane. Some experts are skeptical, however. They believe that much of the oil has sunk to the ocean floor.

Russia

According to one survey, 59 percent of Russians aged 18 to 35 believe that “to attain success in life, you sometimes have to go against your moral principles and standards,” reports the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

Peru

Some of the oldest corncobs ever found (such as the one shown above) suggest that the inhabitants of northern Peru were making popcorn and corn flour at least 3,000 years ago.

Italy

Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, the Catholic bishop of Adria-Rovigo, believes that a religious message ought to favor having “direct contact with individuals” where they live. “Our pastoral care should go from ringing church bells to ringing doorbells,” he says.

South Africa

The street value of rhinoceros horn for medical use has risen to as high as $65,000 (U.S.) per kilogram (2.2 lb). In 2011, in South Africa alone, a record 448 rhinos were slaughtered by poachers. Museums and auction rooms in Europe have been broken into by gangs seeking the horns. Even rhinos in European zoos are thought to be at risk.
source:Awake magazine

How CCK will switch off your fake phone

If you are a proud owner of a counterfeit phone, your mobile communication days are numbered – 90 days to be exact. The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) has given a three-month notice to Kenyans who sell and use counterfeit phones.

Close to 3 million mobile phones in the Kenyan market are counterfeit, translating to about 10% of all the active mobile devices in the country, according to CCK.

But how exactly will CCK switch off the fake phones? What is the relationship between a SIM card and a handset? Does the SIM card recognize it is ‘hosted’ in a fake handset?

These are some of the questions Kenyans are asking in regards to the CCK notice. It doesn’t help that the regulator has issued the switch-off threat several times before, without carrying out the threat.

But with the setting-up of a technical committee involving the Government, CCK, mobile operators and hand-set manufacturers, the regulator is now confident that it can switch off fake mobile phones on September 30th.

The four mobile operators are able to identify counterfeit handsets on their networks and this will be instrumental in the carrying out of CCK’s switch-off notice.

“Through the advice of this technical team, we have established an intelligent database that subscribers will be sending inquiries into to verify whether their mobile phones are genuine or not,” said CCK’s Acting Director General, Francis Wangusi.

The enactment of several key laws, including the Finance Act 2012 and the Kenya Information and Communications Act, may have emboldened CCK to issue the notice this time round. Contravention of the laws banning use or selling of counterfeit phones attracts a fine not exceeding Ksh300,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.

As a result of the new laws and rules, CCK has launched the ‘pata ukweli wa mtambo’ awareness campaign to educate Kenyans.

“The campaign aims to educate consumers on the disadvantages of using a counterfeit mobile phone and how to check if a phone is counterfeit. The campaign will also push the benefits of using genuine mobile phones,” says Wangusi.

Apart from infringing on manufacturer’s intellectual property rights, counterfeits also deny the government of revenue in form of tax.

Communications PS, Bitange Ndemo, added that the Government is keen to see all SIM cards registered to avoid a repeat of the 2007/08 post election violence where SMS’s were used to ignite and fan inter-community tensions.

“Law enforcement agencies were unable to bring the culprits to book due to the low number of registered SIM cards, which was aggravated by rampant usage of counterfeit devices,” said Dr. Ndemo.

To find out if your handset is genuine;
1. Dial *#06# to establish your handset’s IMEI. Copy the 15-digit number displayed on your screen.
2. Type the 15-digt number (IMEI) and SMS it to 1555. Once is enough to verify, otherwise you will be charged normal SMS rates if you send the fourth time.
3. If the IMEI is found in the GSMA database, you will receive a confirmation message showing the brand name and model number. If the number is different or not found in the GSMA database, then your mobile phone is not genuine.

Dealers in fake phones risk jail

The Communications Commissions of Kenya (CCK) and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) will arrest and prosecute vendors of counterfeit phones.

CCK Acting Director General Francis Wangusi said mobile phone manufacturers must also seek the commission’s approval to ascertain quality of their gadgets.

Wangusi said they are committed to ensuring consumers are not exposed to social and health threats associated with counterfeit phones.

The commission said it is committed to offering secure Information Communications Technology platforms to Kenyans.

“We are committed to ensuring criminals do not infiltrate the market,” he said. ACA Deputy Director John Akoten said persons found with counterfeits, if held, will be required to pay a fine three times the value of the confiscated product, serve a five-year jail term or the two.

Sources: Capital FM & The Standard Newspaper

Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!

 

BY THE middle of the 20th century, humans seemed to be winning the war on bedbugs. Some people were familiar with bedbugs only because of an old nursery rhyme that instructed: “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” In the 1970’s, however, many countries decided to restrict the use of DDT​—a primary weapon against bedbugs—​because it was toxic and ecologically harmful.

Increasingly, bedbugs became resistant to other chemical treatments. People also began to travel more frequently and unwittingly took bedbugs with them. With what result? “During the past 12 years,” says a 2012 report on bedbug control, “a resurgence of bed bugs has been reported in the U.S., Canada, the Middle East, several European countries, Australia and parts of Africa.”

In Moscow, Russia, complaints about bedbugs grew tenfold in one recent year. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, in Australia, bedbug infestations have increased by some 5,000 percent since 1999!

Some people inadvertently carry bedbugs from stores, theaters, or hotels. “You’re going to get bedbugs,” says one U.S. hotel manager. “Dealing with them is the cost of doing business these days.” Why are bedbugs so difficult to eradicate? How can you protect yourself? If bedbugs do invade your home, what practical steps can you take to eliminate them and prevent them from returning?

iny Survivors

An adult bedbug measures only about one fifth of an inch (0.5 cm) in length

Because they are no bigger than an apple seed and have a flat body, bedbugs can hide almost anywhere. They may find a home in your mattress, your furniture, an electrical outlet, or even your telephone. Bedbugs tend to stay within 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) of beds and seating areas. Why? To keep close to their food source​—you. *

Bedbugs often bite while their victims are asleep. However, most people never feel the bite because the bugs inject an anesthetic that allows them to feed for up to ten minutes without interruption. And although bedbugs may feed every week, they have been known to survive without a meal for many months.

Granted, unlike mosquitoes and some other insects, bedbugs are not known to spread infectious disease. Nevertheless, their bites can become itchy and develop into welts, and many people suffer emotionally. Bedbug victims may endure insomnia, shame, and even “phantom bites” long after the bugs are  gone. A report from Sierra Leone calls bedbugs “a source of great irritation and sleepless nights” and warns of “the social stigma attached to bedbugs.”

Keep Bedbugs Out

Inspect your luggage

Bedbugs can afflict anyone. They are easier to manage if you detect them early. So learn to recognize the signs of bedbugs at home and when you travel. Inspect your furniture, baseboards, and luggage for small eggs the size of poppy seeds and for blood stains. Use a flashlight to improve your chances of spotting them.

Seal crevices and cracks

Give bedbugs fewer places to hide. Seal cracks and crevices in walls and door frames. Although uncleanness does not cause bedbugs, they will be easier to spot and control if you vacuum regularly and reduce clutter. In a hotel room, you may reduce the chance of having bedbugs travel with you if you keep your suitcase off the floor and the bed.

If Bedbugs Invade Your Home

Vacuum regularly

If you find bedbugs in your home or hotel room, you may be anxious and even ashamed. While on vacation, Dave and his wife were bitten by bedbugs. “We were mortified,” says Dave. “What would we tell our friends and family when we got home? Would they think that any itchiness or skin irritation they had was from their visit to our house?” Even though these reactions are normal, do not let embarrassment hold you back from seeking help. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene gives this reassurance: “It is hard, but not impossible to get rid of bed bugs.”

Inspect for bedbugs, and take steps to prevent them from hiding in your home

Do not, however, underestimate the challenge of exterminating bedbugs. If you find bedbugs in your home, a licensed pest controller can likely give you the help you need. Although the chemicals mentioned earlier are no longer used, pest controllers now combine several other effective methods to treat the bugs. Entomologist Dini M. Miller also notes: “Bed bug management requires just as much cooperation from the occupants as from the [building] management and pest control company.” By following the technician’s instructions and taking reasonable precautions, you can do your part and not “let the bedbugs bite”!

 source:Awake magazine

SHAME: KENYA AIRWAYS carrying CORPSES in passenger cabin

Friday November 2, 2012 – It boasts to be the pride of Africa but now it’s shame of Africa.
  Report reaching our news desk indicates that passengers on KQ flight 586 from Nairobi to Lubumbashi on Monday had an uneasy trip with bad smell emanating from corpses aboard, which they endured up to Lubumbashi.

According to one of the passenger, their scheduled flight was late and another plane was brought to the hangar to fly them to Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Minutes into the flight, a foul smell hit the plane making them very uncomfortable.

The flight attendants reassured the passengers, there was nothing wrong, but the passengers insisted something was amiss.

Upon further probe, the passengers spotted 3 wrapped bodies inside the passenger’s cabin!
Apparently this is not the first time the National carrier has transported corpses in passenger’s cabin.

In January, a Swedish journalist was embarrassed by Kenya Airways plane, after she endured a 10-hour flight seated next to a dead man.

Lenna Petterson,who works for Sveriges radio, was forced to sit three inches away from the man believed to be in his 30’s who died shortly after KQ 117 took off from Schipol airport for Nairobi on January 17 this year.

The journalist said it was pathetic for Kenya Airways saying it is a “Pride of Africa” whereas it’s transporting corpses on passenger seats.

She said instead of Kenya Airways marketing Kenya, it is tainting Kenya’s image abroad by employing illiterate and primitive cabin crews.

Peterson was heading for a vacation in Tanzania.

The Kenya DAILY POST
 http://www.kenyan-post.com/2012/11/s...orpses-in.html