Hundreds were arrested in downtown Oslo on Thursday evening.  

Several hundred protestors broke through police barriers in downtown Oslo on Thursday evening to demonstrate against NATO’s warfare in Afghanistan.

800 demonstrators moved towards Oslo’s City Hall. PHOTO: PER ANNAR HOLM Police decided to use tear gas on demonstrators. PHOTO: PER ANNAR HOLM

Police field leader Thor Langli said that 260 demonstrators were being held after these broke off from a legal demonstration and tried to breach the barriers.

“They are young, but not so young that they cannot take responsibility for their actions,” Langli said.

Some of the protestors were to be taken to Oslo’s central police station in Grønland, where they could face further custody or fines.

A policeman was injured in the clashes between law enforcement and protestors, but after being taken to an emergency ward his injury was reported not to be serious.

Just before 8 p.m. on Thursday evening protestors tore down police barriers in Oslo’s City Hall square and began throwing stones and eggs after police fired tear gas. A photographer for newspaper Dagbladet was mistakenly arrested during the uproar.

“I was on the way out through the police opening when I was arrested. They twisted my arm and were unnecessarily heavy-handed,” photographer Hans Vedlog told Aftenposten.no.

Vedlog said he was given no opportunity to show his press card and was bound and placed on the street alongside the protestors. He was released after some of his colleagues pointed out the mistake to police.

A peaceful protest demonstration began on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m., with about 800 people and several organizations taking part cooperatively. About 200 of these are believed to be from the radical youth organization Blitz.

After about 15 minutes the demonstrators began to march towards the City Hall, where a gala dinner in connection with the NATO meeting of foreign ministers was to be held later in the evening. The protestors carried banners with slogans like “Stop NATO”, “Norwegian weapons kill children” and “Norway out of Afghanistan”.

More demonstrators joined the march as it approached City Hall, and then the trouble started.

There had been warnings of illegal action on Thursday night and Oslo police were armed with machine guns and had formed a ring around City Hall. Police also boosted security around the US and Israeli embassies.

By Roald Ramsdal, Kjetil Sæter, Heidi Ertzeid, Per Annar Holm and Jonathan Tisdall

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn, source.AftenpostenEng

From Our correspondent

J. Cholo Brooks/Liberia 

The UN backed Special Court in Sierra Leone has written the House of Representatives informing it of the visit of its outreach team to
Liberia.

The Acting Registrar of the Court, the Chief Prosecutor and the Principal Defendant would form part of the team.

Published by African Press in Norway, apn

What’s that? Kuna mtu anajisikia maboom.. Primary school stuff? . We are the burning spear!! Is osewe the Scandinavian raila? Has he lost it as well?..haiya!.

Well the mjamaa needs to keep his ambitions running. That we so well know . Him and his idol party odm-ks needs propaganda falsehoods, or cold war as he likes to call it; the latter sounds sophisticated, huh?. He is a “journalist” you know?.

Osewe is well known in the Stockholm he writes about. As a trickster today. He likes to video tape and document drunk odm-k and odm-ks supporters as an only way to discredit the incumbent government in Kenya.

Now and then, he drops something good and helpful and Kenyan Stockholmares we appreciate that. But his blog also creates the widest gaps between Kenyans.

It has become the wakenya in Stockholm’s own skvaller blog. Intentionally? This same blog is in fact the most disturbing representation; or misrepresentation as most of his fellow party members prefer, in his own odm-ks. He won’t care.

He never does, he wants the ‘dossiers` to keep his blog running coz otherwise what would he write about? You want to chongoa your exfriend or just your friend use Osewe’s blog!!

He has single-handedly turned his blog from a useful source of information for Kenyan Swedes into a joker’s nonsensical blog. Osewe has had the respect of Kenyans in Stockholm for too long.

When he became kesofo’s vice-chairman (his interest was on the chairmanship) we thought that the guy would demonstrate some sort of discipline just for the sake of kesofo.

Some kind of restrain in verbal blog attacks on fellow Kenyans. But the discipline, he lost along time ago. He’s incapable of reporting in accuracy for the sake of credibility.

No Kenyan is yet to show distaste in his deteriorating work in his blog! Whats up!? Mostly we just ignore the nonsense. Kesofo is seen as the latest test in unifying Kenyans in Stockholm but the presence of osewe jeopardises that aim with his more and more frequent rumour mongering.

Rumour as in baseless, untrue, unnecessary, uncalled for, dividing, tribalistic, and useless among Kenyans in Stockholm. He represents the odm-k we know to well. His kind come and go having served no purpose in our world politicaly.

It is the same kind we are tired of as Kenyans. Fake politicians/journalists who’s main aim is to gain ground tribalisticaly. His blog and his kind of political nonsense are of no use to Kenyans anywhere!

By Njoro, Sweden

Published by African Press in Norway, apn

Source: The Herald (Harare)

April 24, 2007

Michael Padera
Nairobi

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Kenya, Mr Kelebert Nkomani, has urged the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to enter into joint marketing with Kenya to allow the country to benefit from the huge inflow of tourists that visit Kenya each day.

“We should tap on the experience of Kenya in tourism,” he said.

He said ZTA could jointly market Zimbabwe’s major tourist attractions such as Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, and the Eastern Highlands together with Kenya’s Masai Mara.

Hundreds of tourists flock into Kenya daily to view the country’s wildlife.

“We can package our attractions together with the Masai Mara of Kenya. Kenya has a buoyant tourism market. They are doing extremely well. ZTA should work with their counterparts here,” he said.

Kenya has a population of over 33 million.

Mr Nkomani noted that Zimbabwe was only two hours away from Nairobi. In addition, Kenya boasted a vibrant middle class comprising the staff of UN agencies, while several multinational companies based in Africa had their headquarters in the bustling Kenyan capital.

The Herald Business crew also observed that the country had many facilities to keep the discerning tourist occupied. These included top-class nightspots, casinos, hotels and lodges. In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Nkomani urged local companies to exploit the vast East African market.

He said the advantage for business was that there were no visa requirements and that Zimbabwe and Kenya are both members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, hence goods from the two countries enjoyed preferential treatment.

“I believe there are good opportunities for the import and export business,” he said.

Mr Nkomani said Zimbabwe used to export steel products to Kenya as well as wines.

Trade in the commodities has taken a downturn but Mr Nkomani believed there was still a huge demand.

“As soon as Zisco’s challenges are solved we should get back in a big way in the Kenya market. We also have opportunities with consumer goods,” he said.

The Kenyan market was currently receiving ox-drawn ploughs, Mazowe crushes, copperware, paper products and agricultural implements from Zimbabwe.

Mr Nkomani said Kenya was an open market, adding that there were no foreign currency restrictions. He said the country was also the nerve centre of East-African countries that include Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, DRC and Burundi.

“So if you establish a presence in Kenya you can access those markets. Our business people should aggressively market their services here,” he said.

Posted to APN by Karuga wa Njuguna, UK

published by African Press in Norway, apn

From Our correspondent

J. Cholo Brooks/Liberia

A visiting delegation of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, headed by its Prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, during the week met with the Liberian leader, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia.

During the meeting with the President, the Special Court delegation informed the President that they were in the country to meet with Liberians to explain the workings of the Special Court ahead of the trial in The Hague of former President Charles Taylor.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues Prosecutor Rapp said it was important that Liberians and Sierra-Leoneans are informed about the proceedings, to ensure that accurate information gets out.

The Special court for Sierra Leone prosecutor said the court was determined to ensure that the trial is  transparent, fair expeditious and accessible to everyone. A successful trial, Mr. Rapp said, will have benefits for the sub-region, Africa and the rest of the world.

The Principle Defender, Vincent Nmehielle, underscored the need to ensure that the trial meets international standards wherein the fundamental rights of the accused are guaranteed. He said his office has appointed a defense team which would administer and coordinate the process to ensure that Mr. Taylor’s legal interests are protected.

Responding, President Johnson Sirleaf welcomed the Special court’s mission to Liberia. She said Liberians are determined to put behind them the era of the bitter past.

The President also welcomed the court’s decision to provide legal defense that would provide the means for Mr. Taylor to have an effective defense. The Liberian leader expressed the hope that the trial of the accused would be free, fair and humane and will end within a reasonable period of time, to allow Liberians move forward to the future and pursue their development goals.

Wednesday’s meeting with the President was attended by Foreign Minister, Ambassador George Wallace; the Acting Registrar of the Court, as well as other officials of the court.

Members of the Sierra Leone Special Court are expected to meet with the civil society and Liberian Law-makers.

Published by African Press in Norway, apn

It is quite disturbing to read the war of words within ODM-KS. I believe that there is some power struggle and a rush to publish information for personal benefit.

Why would the officials give contrasting information? Why do they have to use personal blogs to spread information about ODM-KS? Does ODM-KS have a website? Can this organization solve its own problems internally instead of posting them in public?

I have observed that two committee members (Gerry Midenyo and Jared Odero) resigned from ODM-KS. Odero’s reasons for resignation were recently published on the website of Narc-Kenya Scandinavia. In response, I only saw a lot of character assasination from KSB.

Jamii was busy grappling with the word ‘resignation’, claiming no one resigns from an interim committee. This was laughable because to resign has no other definition other than to resign. From my grasp of the English language, even a volunteer can resign, so I do not see any big deal about the word “resign”.

Munala of Jamii had earlier published Gerry’s departure from ODM-KS as resignation. What makes it different from Odero’s? ODM-KS should deal with the problems behind the resignation of Odero, other than resorting to name calling.

By Muthoni Kabara

Published by African Press in Norway, apn

Looks like the chickens have come home to roost in ODM-KS. The latest on KSB is really tarnishing for Munala who is described as a political green-horn, only “discovered” six months ago from a “Preacher’s” portfolio and into the murky political waters of Stockholm’s politics.

I have been following with interest Munala’s writings on his Jamii blog, and I can say he has been running too fast. I guess his undoing were the salvos he began throwing at the Stockhom Kenya Embassy staff and other Kenyan personalities.

There is a rumour in Stockholm that Munala turned against his original Blog partner, Jared Odero, by blocking him from using the password he gave him to post articles. This was because Odero had expressed his position on what some Kenyans had to say about Mugabe.

It did not matter how much Odero told Munala that the Editor of an article is responsible for his/her work. Munala flexed his muscles to prove to him that he was the true owner of Jamii. He was then protecting his “political colleagues”.

These are the same people he is now meeting in the battlefield to salvage his “small political clout”. He should have remained in the church because he is too emotional. But his church background is too dirty to write here on APN. It is too damaging. He cannot manage politics either.

He even recently wept in front of fellow committee members when his loyalty was questioned. What a weakling! Ain’t it amazing? Let them all fry in their own fat.

By Muthoni Kabara

Published by African Press in Norway, apn