Sudanese Parties Sign Pact over Abyei

Khartoum, Sudan

North and south Sudan have reached an agreement to demilitarise the disputed oil-rich Abyei region following series of futile discussions to find everlasting solution on the fate of the region.

The landmark peace agreement comes weeks before south’s independence is legitimately recognised but dispute over the region which both sides claim has led to bloody confrontations in the recent past, leaving thousands displaced.

Former South African leader Thabo Mbeki who mediated the talks held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia told reporters that representatives from the Khartoum government and south’s Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), managed to sign the agreement on Abyei that provides for the demilitarisation of Abyei so that the Sudanese army would withdraw and for the deployment of Ethiopian forces.

He said the deal clears the way for displaced residents to return home and establish solid ground for talks on Abyei’s final status after South’s July 9 independence.

 Mr. Mbeki added that the Sudanese army and SPLM officers would meet with the Ethiopian officials to settle on a mandate that will allow the Ethiopian peacekeepers to buffer the region. Also a police service with the size and composition determined jointly by officials from both sides would be established.

 US envoy to the UN Susan Rice called for immediate implementation of the pact and deployment of the peacekeeping forces that are waiting for the UN approval. In her remarks to the UN Security Council, Rice said that the US would begin to draft a resolution that would authorise deployment of the Ethiopian forces.

Dispute over Abyei and other outstanding issues such as sharing of oil resources and national debt have grappled Sudan’s peace process and implementation of the 2005 peace agreement that ended two decade-long north-south strife.

Tripoli, Libya

NATO Confirms Lost Helicopter

NATO has confirmed that the aircraft it lost in Libya on Tuesday was an unmanned helicopter drone which lost contact while on an intelligence gathering mission.

The statement follows broadcast images by the Libyan state television of wreckages of an Apache, an attack helicopter claimed to have been shot down by forces loyal to embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi near Zlitan, 160km east of the capital, Tripoli.

NATO spokesman Mike Bracken denied claims of loss of any attack helicopter but confirmed of the lost drone on Tuesday.

“This drone helicopter, unmanned, was performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over Libya to monitor pro-Gaddafi forces threatening the civilian population,” he said.

The helicopter lost radar contact with NATO’s command center in Naples, Italy at about 9:20am local time under unknown circumstances.

The US made MQ-88 Fire Scout small pilotless helicopter equipped with cameras and sensors for surveillance is among the two deployed in Libya and is the first aircraft the military alliance has lost since it took over the air campaign.

Residents in the rebel-held city of Misrata are in fear of renewed attacks after rockets from pro-Gaddafi forces hit the city centre for the first time in weeks.

The NATO operation to protect civilians under threats of attack is increasingly coming under pressure over its validity following the recent accidental airstrike in a civilian held area.

NATO took over mandate of the operation from the US in March to implement a UN resolution to impose an air ban over Libyan space and protect civilians.

Nairobi, Kenya

Legislatures Ordered to Pay Taxes

Kenya’s tax authority has demanded that Members of Parliament to pay tax on their full income as laid out in the new constitution recently adopted by the country.

Kenya’s revenue authority said it wanted payments to be back-tracked to last August when the new constitution came into implementation. The arrears which include benefits earned during the period amount to $10,000 for each legislature.

The MPs incomes are tax-free but only pay tax for their benefits worth about $ 2,000 an issue that has attracted much criticism from the general public whose earning is less than a dollar a day.

Last year the MPs voted to increase their annual salaries and allowances to $126,000 after the 2012 general election, an action they said they deserved since they were responsible for the country’s major decision and political well being. The Kenyan MPs are among highly paid, earning about $9,300 a month.

In a letter sent by the Kenya Revenue Authority chief Michael Waweru, it said that the MPs were legally compelled to pay tax on their total income as it would boost the government’s income to avail more money for poverty reduction programmes.

Kenyan coalition government continues to be grappled by corruption, recent scam being that involving misappropriation of free education funds amounting to $ 38.7 million.

The inclusive government was formed in 2008 ending a political spite between the two principles following a disputed presidential poll in December 2007.