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Lib Dem: Tories 'Very Harsh' On Immigration

The Conservatives have "uncharitable instincts" on immigration and their allies in Europe are "quite nutty", the Liberal Democratic Foreign Office minister has said, according to the Daily Telegraph. Jeremy Browne told an undercover reporter some of the Tories' partners in the European Parliament were "an embarrassment". Mr Browne is the latest in a string of Lib Dem ministers to be secretly recorded making disparaging remarks about their Conservative allies in the coalition Government. Speaking to the reporter, who posed as a supporter in his Taunton Deane constituency, Mr Browne said: "The Tories had a very harsh, in my view, immigration policy. "That's not to say I think that there shouldn't be, you know, a level of immigration which can't be assimilated in society - I'm not in favour of letting rip and letting everyone in - I think we need to have a proper, functioning policy. "But the Conservative one I thought was driven by quite a lot of uncharitable instincts. "I think, with the involvement of the Lib Dems plus the more liberal-minded Tories, we'll end up with a policy which is more enlightened." When he was asked about the decision by Mr Cameron to ally his party with some far-right parties in Europe, he said: "They [the parties] are quite nutty and that's an embarrassment to them." The Conservatives left the coalition of centre-right political parties in the European Parliament and went on to join the European Conservatives and Reformists - a coalition of small national parties led by Michal Kaminski, a Polish politician who has been accused of anti-Semitism.

Mr Browne, who has been seen as a rising star in the coalition, described running the country with the Conservatives as "uncomfortable". He added his party was bound to the coalition because if it pulled out, "we'd never be in Government again". Earlier in the week, Business Secretary Vince Cable was stripped of his responsibilities for media regulation after his private comments were reported in the newspaper. He was recorded boasting that he had "declared war" on News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch and was aiming to block his company's bid for ownership of BSkyB, the parent company of Sky News.He also said he would "bring the Government down" if he was pushed too far by Conservative colleagues. Labour leader Ed Miliband this week described the coalition as a "sham" after Lib Dem ministers Scotland Secretary Michael Moore, pensions minister Steve Webb and business minister Ed Davey also had their comments secredly recorded. Mr Moore described the increase in tuition fees to £9,000 as a "train wreck"; Mr Webb said he was worried about the impact of scrapping child benefits for higher-rate taxpayers and Mr Davey said limiting housing benefit would hit the poorest. Transport minister Norman Baker, David Heath, the deputy Leader of the House and local government minister Andrew Stunell were also taped.

The year in review - part one

Mr Hoon and Ms Hewitt (in the picture on the left) who wrote, in January, 2010, to all Labour MPs calling for the leadership issue to be sorted out "once and for all", centre picture, Gordon Brown, Cameron, Clegg and students riots at Parliament Square.

2010 began with an attempted coup against the prime minster and ended with riots in Parliament Square, reports Ian Dunt, on a cataclysmic year in British politics. It was snowing, the sort of snow you want, and rarely get, at Christmas. Lobby hacks were trudging back to the Commons after the festive break. It was January 6th, and the first PMQs of the year was about to take place. It turned out rather well, as it goes. Gordon Brown did his big clunking fists thing, temporarily overpowering David Cameron's chipper abuse. And then, as it was ending, we heard some strange news. Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt had tried to spark a leadership coup. That's how 2010 started. It was a sign of things to come. Even with the financial crisis and MPs' expenses in the rear-view mirror, this was a cataclysmic 12 months in British politics. It began with a startlingly late attempt to get rid of the prime minister. It ended with riots in Parliament Square, damp red smoke rising above Big Ben as the Liberal Democrats voted for a rise in tuition fees. This is the first part of a special two-part feature - Read more...

Queen's Xmas Message On The Good Of Sport

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The Queen's Christmas message this year comes for the first time from Hampton Court Palace

The monarch's annual festive address, recorded in the Palace's Chapel Royal, will focus on sport as a means to build and foster harmony within communities. "In the parks of towns and cities, and on village greens up and down the country, countless thousands every week give up their time to participate in sport and exercise of all sorts or simply encourage others to do so", the Queen will tell the nation. During her television broadcast, to be aired on in full on Christmas Day, the Queen will also allude to her family's role in bringing sport to the day-to-day lives of many around the world.

"These kinds of activity are common throughout the world and play a part in providing a different perspective on life," Her Majesty will add. The Queen's love and unrivalled knowledge of horse racing is well documented, and this year the 84-year-old monarch also made her first trip to Wimbledon since 1977. Her family too are all keen sportsmen and women who take part in a range of sports from polo to golf. Earlier this year Prince Harry invited his elder brother to accompany him to Lesotho to see some of the projects he has become passionate about and where sport plays a key role. The decision to record her message at Hampton Court was based on the Queen's own suggestion.

For the first time since 2007 the Royal Family will gather to watch the Queen's broadcast without Prince William. The second in line to the throne - now engaged to marry Catherine Middleton on April 29 next year - has volunteered to work at RAF Valley where he is stationed on Christmas Day. It is considered gentlemanly for unmarried and newly qualified search and rescue pilots to cover for those colleagues with families during the festive season. Despite the Prince's absence, and with another of the Queen's grandchildren - Zara Phillips - announcing she too is to marry, there is little doubt about the topic of conversation over Christmas lunch at Sandringham. VIDEO

Christmas Day may be the coldest ever

Saturday could be the coldest Christmas ever, according to the Met Office, surpassing a record set 14 years ago. The record daytime temperature for the big day is -5.9C (21F) in 1996 in Glenlivet, Scotland, but the Met Office warned of ‘comparable’ temperatures on Christmas Day in Scotland and north-west England. For the rest of us, the mercury is set to stay below zero. More snow could fall on Friday in northern and eastern parts of Scotland and possibly in some counties in the east of England. Kent was expected to see a dusting on Thursday night. Temperatures on Christmas Eve will struggle to get above freezing, and could fall as low as -20C (-4F) on Friday night in northern parts and the Midlands. But on the plus side, next week it's believed that a warmer Atlantic system may move in to ease the cold.

CHALLENGES OF RAISING OUR CHILDREN IN AMERICA

Wednesday, 22 December 2010 05:16

By Jane Gichane.

In Kenya and perhaps in most of Africa, it is not very challenging, raising a child or children as it is in a foreign land. Back in our home countries, a child belongs to the society, and everybody takes responsibility of not only their own children, but those of relatives, and even those around them. You can be absent in your child's life, but as long as you have aunties, uncles and grandparents, your child may be raised fairly well. (Thus, the saying "It takes a village to raise a child")

There are advantages as well as disadvantages of raising children in America. One of the advantages is the free education, from kindergarten to high school. The disadvantages include the challenges the children above eight years old encounters while trying to assimilate in schools and in society in general.

Like all of us who come to a new country, a young school -age child will be faced with culture shock. Immediately the child enters into the school system, they are termed as different and lacking enough language skills. Children are placed in English language classes where they have to be 'taught English'. I say 'taught English' because most of them already know how to write, read and speak in English, but do not speak with an accent like the Americans. Most schools do not have uniforms and children have to wear their regular clothes, which put pressure especially on teenagers to "fit in" and be perceived as "hip", ' fashionable and stylish.' The behavior of our children is also challenged, especially, when they first arrive here. Whereas at home we teach our children to be quiet and only talk when necessary, especially at school, this behavior is termed as weak and passive. Most of the children during this transition stage are overwhelmed, and get into what is called a "silent period". At this time, a child is trying to comprehend what is happening within and around them.

For a child to fit and be accepted, there are some set down expectations and influences that are unspoken norms. Today children as young as nine years are influenced to have a boy friend or a girl friend like their peers. After a while, if you do not have one, you are considered a social misfit. Within a short time, some children are already talking about their first kiss...their first dance ...and the list continues. The expectation list increases as they move on to higher grade level and the pressure on them goes up a notch or two. Our children learn so much, (good and bad) within a short period of time and parents are unaware of where the children are getting all this info.

You may be familiar with the phrase 'You are what you see and hear constantly.' Who are our children watching? Who are they listening to? Who are their role models? Who are their teachers? Statistics have proved that children spend more time watching television than in any other activity apart from sleep. Dr. John Nelson of the American Medical Association has found that; 'The average child will watch 8,000 murders on TV before finishing elementary school. By age eighteen, the average child has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. 62% of children say that sex on TV shows and movies influences them to have sex when they are too young.' Unfortunately, the television is our children number one teacher. Some parents in an effort to alleviate this problem have tried to use parental control. Nevertheless, even the mildest of our children's programs are not free of these obscenities and especially during commercials.

The Internet has become our children's second teacher. It is available and accessible 24 hours to all including our children. Internet exposes kids to pornography, online harassment, and child predators.

The third teacher to our children is their peers. Unfortunately, they are the faithful students of television and the Internet. Also, they learn from the magazines (including the so called "dirty magazines"), and these are not from credible writers. These magazines contents are not different from what they watch on television, promoting vices like violence, a carefree life style, money, and sex. Unfortunately, parents rank at the bottom of the list, and the term 'getting on my nerves' is constantly used by the children, if they are challenged or questioned by the parent(s). After being exposed to all of these other teachers, parent's wisdom seems outdated and annoying.

Why should the parent be last on the list when they should be the first? This is because when we come to this country, the life-style changes and all the monies that we can make as long as we keep working also mesmerizes us. We get jobs and forget to consider our children in our schedules. We buy good cars, good homes, and good clothes for our children and ourselves and completely forget the job of raising them. We reward our children with cell-phones, iPods, X-box and all other modern gadgets, and we neglect the most important thing of all - ourselves.
All children regardless of age need love and assurance and especially in this society. When they come here our children become lonely, bored and crave for company, interaction, and play. You will notice this when they are in a social gathering (such as the church or a birthday parties), they do not want to leave, when it is time to go home. Our children have a lot of energy, but because of the weather and the different lifestyle, do not get to go out and play with their peers.

If you will be careful to note, at first our children resent our jobs. They cry, wail, and complain when we leave them and work for many hours. But after some time, when we continue to neglect our children and choose our jobs and other things over them, they come up with their own ideas. If you do not give time to your child, someone or something else will and you may end up being very sorry. So is there something that you as a parent can do? Certainly, yes.
Things you can do:

1. Be there; (and I mean physically) Try to spend some time each day with your child. Change your schedule or get another job with a better schedule. Work less hours. Listen to your child. Ask them how their day was, especially at school and did they bring any homework. Listen to what they have to say about their day at school. Know their friends. You will learn so much just by listening to your child, and it will be much easier to help them. Try to be a friend rather than being confrontational with your child. It makes it so much easier for them to open up to you
 

2. Be informed; in this age and time every parent should be familiar with how to operate a computer. You need to be aware of Internet, face book, twitter, blogs, web cam etc. Your child may be using the Internet in your presence, and you are unaware of how vulnerable the child is due to lack of knowledge, and are not able to help or intervene. It is important to know whom your child is talking to over the net.

3. Be alert; Pay close attention to how they express themselves, and or any mood or behavior changes. Bad behavior and attitudes should be addressed before they escalate. Be careful where your children visit or have sleep-overs. Watch out for your children in big occasions like weddings or group gatherings. Do not drop your child and leave. If you have to, have a full time guardian watching your child and knowing their whereabouts. Don't trust everyone. Child predators and abusers are usually people that you interact with everyday. Appear suddenly in places your children do not expect you. Be alert like a hawk!

4. Pray for your children. Pray with your children. Pray silently when alone. Pray loudly when with them. Teach them how to pray for themselves.

5. Limit Television watching at home. Avoid children having television set in their rooms, where you do not know what they are watching. Teach your child what to watch and what not to watch and tell them why. Literally turn off the TV when the shows are inappropriate!

6. Put your Internet and computer in open places where everyone can access it and know what you are doing. Limit time and period for each child according to their age. Teach them never to give their real names, addresses, social-security, phone numbers and or other details to anyone they do not know on the phone or online. For younger children find out more about interactive websites which have good lessons for children.

7. Plan ahead for your children; Plan for summer vacations, outings and other activities that will keep your child both busy, having fun and productive. Once a week try to do something fun with them. Go watch a movie or rent one and watch at home. Go out to eat occasionally. Go bowling, swimming etc. Do something! Be willing to spend money on your child. (It is important to build houses and buy land in your home country) but do not sacrifice your children's life over these things (which unfortunately you may not be the one to enjoy them). The first investment you have is towards your own children.

8. Go places with your child. Begin with what the community has to offer without cost. Drive around and read signs on what is going on in your area. Go read books in the library; walk to the park and ride bikes; go eat dinner in a restaurant that children can play too; take a road trip; go to the circus; go to the museum, and visit a friend where you have to take a plane. Try out new adventure, go horse or camel riding etc.

9. Visit their schools; Go for your child's teacher-parent conferences rather than making a call; go for the end year Christmas concert; go when they invite you to have breakfast with mom /dad. Participate and show interest in their world. Befriend their teachers. Volunteer occasionally to help in the classroom or school activity when needed. (When moving or buying a home, consider good school districts. A good school is an integral part in your child overall development and character.)

10. Identify your child hobby and work on it. If they love piano, pay for piano lessons. If they love basketball take them for tournaments. If they enjoy swimming enroll them at the Y.M.C.A. Introduce them to karate lessons. Take them to ballet class. If they do not have ideas, introduce them to what you know. Ask questions and get information on what your child can do.
11. Get out of the Box; you grew up in Kenya or whatever country you grew up in, but your children are growing up here and may never live in your home country. Let them learn how to mingle with other cultures. Visit a different church and meet with new people. Go to a Hispanic culture night. Let your children take a German class. Let a Mexican teach you a new recipe. Let them be exposed to different cultures, Hispanic, Caucasians, and Indians etc.

12. Do not allow your child to be intimidated and afraid of other races. Let him/her know she can do what they can do; she can be what they can be; there is no limitation. They are all growing up in the same country and they have the same opportunities.

13. Last and the most important: Teach them the Word. Train them to hide it in their hearts. Teach them to memorize and seek refuge in God. Take them to church. Don't drop them and leave. Stay there too. All other things may fail you, but the Word of God will never fail you. Psalm 119: 9-11 says 'How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

By Jane Gichane from St. Louis Missouri.

A Kenyan boy Gabriel Gatu from Hull, UK joins England Junior Rugby team

• Palestine-born teenager plays for West Hull amateur club
• Player joined in squad by Gabriel Gatu from Kenya

Ali Ibrahim, a Hull teenager who was born in Gaza, has been selected in the England Under-16 squad for internationals against Wales and France next year. Ibrahim, a wing or centre who plays for the West Hull amateur club, is joined by his team-mate Gabriel Gatu, whose family are recent arrivals in the city from Kenya. "They are two good young kids," said Mel Harman, the Hull football manager and chief scout. "Gabriel was born in Nairobi and his family have only been in the country for two years or so but he's shown great potential in the 18 months or so that he's been playing the game. "Ali was born in Gaza, Palestine, and his family have been over here for about four years now. His father has a fast-food shop and during the summer they went home for five or six weeks to distribute money and other things to the poorer people where they're from. They're a real good family." The squad includes three young Londoners from Harlequins – Joe Keyes, Alex Abbott-Tavener and Harry Lightfoot-Brown. Only Wigan with eight players, Leeds with seven, and Hull and St Helens (six apiece) provide more, showing that the Rugby Football League's long-term investment in developing the game in the south is starting to bear fruit. Rob Powell, the new Harlequins coach, said Dan Sarginson, an 18-year-old half-back from Hemel Hempstead who has been selected in the England Academy team, will be promoted to their Super League squad before the 2011 season. Powell confirmed that he is keen to sign Mike Burnett, a 22-year-old Hull second-row who may be made available on an extended loan.

England Youth 39-man Squad:

Alex Abbott-Tavener (Harlequins RL)
Jack Anderson (Hull FC)
Jordan Baldwinson (Leeds Rhinos)
Josh Casey (Bradford Bulls)
Oliver Davies (St Helens)
Bradley Day (Leeds Rhinos)
Jake Dehal Clark (Castleford Tigers)
Kyle Dempsey (Wigan Warriors)
Zak Dewhirst (Warrington Wolves)
Kane Ditchfield (St. Helens)
Lewis Galbraith (St. Helens)
Gabriel Gatu (Hull FC)
Oliver Gildart (Wigan Warriors)
Ryan Hampshire (Wigan Warriors)
Jordan Harper (Leeds Rhinos)
Ali Ibrahim (Hull FC)
Joe Keyes (Harlequins RL)
Ryan Langton (Hull FC)
Bradley Lawrence (Wigan Warriors)
Michael Learmonth (Leeds Rhinos)
Scott Lee (Leeds Rhinos)
Arron Lewczenko (Wigan Warriors)
Harry Lightfoot Brown (Harlequins RL)
Jack Logan (Hull FC)
Ryan Maneely (Warrington Wolves)

UK borrowing hits new record as Government spending jumps

Britain's public borrowing hit a shocking new record as Government spending surged in November, sounding alarm bells about the Treasury's ability to hit its targets for reining in the UK's finances.

Public sector net borrowing jumped to £23.3bn in November - excluding bailing out the banks - the highest for any month since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began its records in 1993. The borrowing figure was almost £6bn up on the £17.4bn seen in the previous November, disappointing forecasts for a small improvement. The pound dipped 0.4pc to under 85p against the struggling euro amid fears the Government will miss its chance to sort out the UK's finances. "These figures really are a bolt from the blue," said Andrew Goodwin, senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club. "The November figures pretty much wipe out all of the 2010/11 reduction in borrowing in one fell swoop." By the end of November, the total net debt stood at £836bn, equivalent to 58pc of gross domestic product (GDP), again a new record. Including the cost of the bank rescues, the debt rose to £971bn, or more than 65pc of GDP. The latest deterioration in the public finances was driven by increased government spending on health, defence and contributions to the EU, set by how we perform relative to other nations. The 11pc annual rise in spending far outweighed the subdued 3pc growth in tax revenues, the weakest since last December. The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that forecasts from the independent budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), imply that central government spending will rise just 4.4pc from November to March. "Expenditure seems to be a lot higher than planned and one has to wonder whether some departments will soon be running out of money," said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities.

Local government did not do much better, with its borrowing - which tends to be volatile and may well be revised - more than trebling year-on-year to £2.9bn. For the financial year so far, net borrowing stands at £104.4bn, just off the £105.1bn seen this time last year. The Treasury insisted the figures were "in line" with the OBR's forecasts for borrowing to come in at £148.5bn for the whole financial year. "November's borrowing figures show why the Government has had to take decisive action to take Britain out of the financial danger zone," said a spokesman. However, Jonathan Loynes, an analyst at Capital Economics, was among those forecasting that if the trend continues borrowing is likely to total £155bn, well over the target. Howard Archer, at IHS Global Insight, said the figures were "truly horrible" and there was now a serious risk that the Government will miss the targets it set for the year. The appetite for government debt weakened, with 10-year gilt yields gaining two basis points to 3.51pc as investors demanded higher returns. While the rise in VAT in January to 20pc is intended to boost revenues, there are worries about how demand will hold up as austerity measures bite. Meanwhile, employees face real-term pay cuts across the whole of next year, the OBR warned as it detailed its forecasts. Earnings will grow at a slower rate than the official measure of inflation, the consumer prices index (CPI), until the first quarter of 2012, the independent fiscal watchdog said. The situation looks even worse against the retail prices index (RPI), which includes more housing costs and some see as a better reflection of living costs, with earnings not forecast to outpace inflation until 2013.

Euro plumbs new depths on Swiss franc, Aussie

Reuters) - The euro continued its slow descent on Wednesday as a steady drip of grim ratings news eroded confidence in the single currency, dragging it to record lows on the Swiss franc and Australian dollar. The latest blows came from Moody's, which warned it might cut Portugal, and Fitch, which did the same favor for Greece. "Though one might suppose that the market had become somewhat desensitized to such news, evidence suggests otherwise as periphery-bund spreads widen again and EUR remains under pressure," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Dominion. A dearth of liquidity and talk of bids from Asian central banks helped limit the euro's fall against the U.S. dollar to a trough of $1.3073 and in early Asia the single currency had steadied at $1.3097, right on its 200-day moving average. But it fared less well against the safe-haven Swiss franc and high-yielding Australian dollar. "EUR/CHF is going deeper into uncharted territory having broken 1.26, and continuing to dig deeper," noted Watt, as the euro slid to 1.2548 francs for a loss of almost 4 percent so far this month. "From near A$2.0 in March 2009, EUR/AUD has been under relentless downward pressure," he added. "The recent move suggest an acceleration to the downside, with 1.30 in focus." The euro was down at A$1.3126 after shedding two cents in as many sessions. For the year, it is off 17 percent. The Australian currency was underpinned by further gains in equities and commodities which spoke of improving risk appetite as analysts revised up forecasts for global growth in 2011. The S&P 500 .SPX on Tuesday finally recovered all the ground lost since the Lehman debacle, while the CRB commodities index .CRB claimed a two-year peak. All of which helped the Aussie up on the U.S. dollar to $0.9981, a gain of over 11 percent for the year. The U.S. currency fared better on sterling, which took a swipe from news of a record UK. borrowing requirement and slipped to a near three-month low at $1.5463. The US dollar index .DXY was up a modest 0.07 pct at 80.687, which makes a gain of 3.6 percent for the year but still leaves it far below the June peak of 88.708. While the dollar has gained ground on the euro this year, it has had no such luck on the yen being down almost 10 big figures since the end of 2009. On Wednesday it was going nowhere at 83.74 yen, sandwiched between bids under 83.50 and offers above 84.50. Japanese trade figures due later Wednesday are expected to show a pick up in exports for November, echoing strength seen in other Asian exporters recently.

Poll: 56pc Kenyans unhappy with current Mps

More than half of Kenyans would not re-elect their current members of parliament if elections were to be held today.  An opinion poll released by Infotrak a research group show that only 56 percent of Kenyans were unhappy with their Mps performance. Infotrak poll reveals that more than half of Kenyans are categorical that they would not re-elect their current members or parliament while a further 16 per cent are undecided. Previous statistics have shown that 70 per cent of the sitting Mps are not re-elected to parliament.   While releasing the poll results in Nairobi Thursday, Infotrak Director Angela Ambitho said that Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Mps Martha Karua and William Ruto were the top three politicians who have impressed Kenyans most in the tenth parliament.  "MPs that have greatly impressed the most in 2010 are Raila Odinga 13%, Martha Karua 12% and William Ruto 8%." The poll indicates that Kenyans do not think the naming of the Ocampo six, warrants tensions being created by leaders as they try to defend their political cronies in the Ocampo list.  "Whilst the release of the list has understandably caused discomfort, concern and surprises to some, Kenyans do not think that this in itself warrants the high tension and combative mood that has been precipitated due to pronouncements from certain leaders. Another 5% of Kenyans wish the two principals would exhaustively tackle insecurity issues to ensure that Kenyans can go around their business and daily life crime free and indeed stress free.  Another 1% wish the two leaders would hasten the establishment of a local tribunal which they believe would ensure justice prevails in the country. "All in all Kenyans want to see the two principals  exert their authority to ensure  that no inflammatory statements are made, no criminals are allowed to crisscross the country feely and no citizen is treated like they are above the law and as such any more special than other citizens." A sample of 1500 respondents was interviewed to represent the Kenyan registered voter population of 19 million translation into0 margin of error of -/+ 2.9. The survey was conducted in all provinces of Kenya.  Elsewhere, Constitutional Lawyer Paul Muite says the move by MPs to pass a motion seeking to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute is an exercise in futility since those named by the International Criminal Court-ICC will still face trial at The Hague unless Kenya puts in place a local Tribunal. In an interview with Kenya Broadcasting Corporation-KBC  Muite said that the six individuals named by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo are not off the hook yet adding that the court still has jurisdiction of matters that took place before the date of Kenya's pulling out of the Rome Statute.  Muite said it is now up to the executive to decide whether to implement the move by parliament and then give a twelve months notice to the ICC. On Wednesday evening, MPs fully supported the motion by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto for Kenya to cease being a signatory to the statute which creates the International Criminal Court. Only Gichugu MP Martha Karua disagreed. The Mps resolved that cases arising from the chaos be handled by local judicial systems.

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS UNDER FROZEN BRITAIN

Pastor John Moriasi and his wife Gladys Moriasi of God's Grace Mission Church, Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya are in London. The couple arrived in London a week ago to visit their children. The couple has been excited by the heavy snow which has fallen in London early this week and they had this to say: "We thank God that He has given us a good country where we don't have winters. It is very cold over here. During this Christmas festival, we would like to remind ourselves  not to lose the meaning of Christmas. While it is time to celebrate Christ's birth, it is also very important to remember his return. He is not a baby anymore but our Saviour of the whole  world. I encourage all of us to prepare for his return by accepting Him into our own personal life." the couple concluded. Their contact while in UK 07407282186 or in Kenya 0722261761 or 0722485900.

6 dead, 30 injured in a grisly road accident

Six people among them a one month old baby died Thursday morning 23rd December, 2010  in a grisly road accident at Soysambu a few kilometers from Gil-gil town, along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. Thirty other passengers are admitted in various hospitals sixteen of them in critical condition. The City Shuttle bus with 52 passengers was heading to Busia from Nairobi when it lost control and rammed into a Canter lorry before rolling several times. During the 5am incident, four people including the bus owner died on the spot while the others died while undergoing treatment at St Mary's Mission hospital. Passengers allege that the bus had mechanical problems. Speaking at the scene, Rift Valley Traffic boss Mary Omari confirmed that the bus was experiencing some mechanical problems a move that agitated some travellers. The bus left Nairobi Wednesday night at 11 pm.  Omari added that some drunken passengers started demanding their money back, claiming that the bus was too slow and in the process the driver lost control.  The impact of the accident saw the bus top completely ripped off.  The accident caused a major traffic snarl-up along the highway and police had a hard time trying to control the crowd. The bodies were taken to Gilgil district hospital mortuary while the mangled wrecks were towed to Gilgil police station. The accident happened as the police traffic department decried the rate of accidents on the two main highways in Naivasha. Mr. Oponyo blamed the accidents on the highway on speeding vehicles and reckless driving and urged drivers to observe traffic rules to avoid risks of accidents this Christmas season. Thursday's accident comes four days after yet another road accident along the Nairobi/Nyeri road claimed 15 lives.

Couple make giant 'Christmas pudding tree'

Green-fingered Roger and Valerie Holley have clipped two trees into the shape of a giant Christmas pudding, complete with a giant robin perched on top. It took the Holleys six years to prune the evergreens into the perfectly round shape it is today and just a fortnight to create the huge robin that sits on top of it eating a berry. This year the resourceful couple have even perched a few baby robins on top of their masterpiece. The 'tree' has now become a much-loved local landmark in the front garden of their three-bedroom detached home in Yeovil, Somerset. Grandfather-of-three Roger, 62, said: ‘We are really proud of our Christmas pudding and robin. ‘The robin has had a few babies this year – it has taken a lot of work to make it look this good, but the effort was worth it. ‘The tree is still a real favourite with the neighbours. They kid us about it but I think they really look forward to seeing it every Christmas.’ He says the unusual horticultural creation has ‘become something of a local phenomenon’. All in all, then, a Holley good show.

Mass pile-up on icy US hill

Vehicles lose control on ice Spokane ashington

There's no doubt that owning a 4x4 helps when it comes to tackling snow and ice on the road. But as this video proves, it's not a guarantee. Captured in the city of Spokane, Washington, US, the footage shows an extraordinary pile-up as a number of doomed 4x4s and pickup trucks, unable to brake on the slippery surface, slowly slide into each other. If you wait for it, in the midst of the madness, a Ford saloon (which we suspect is wearing winter tyres) casually negotiates its way down the hill, zipping around the stranded trucks with perfect control. After watching the clip below, we couldn't help but wonder how the heroic "ice driving" Arriva bus driver would have fared on this treacherous road. VIDEO

CAUGHT AT JAMHURI CELEBRATIONS

Caught at the Jamhuri Day Celebrations at Inter-Continental Hotel in London on Thursday 9th December, 2010 is on left Mr. Lawson Kamau who works with British Railway being welcomed at the ceremony by the Kenya High Commissioner in the UK HE Ephraim Ngare and his wife Jane Ngare and Col. Nderitu. On right is from right to left: Betty of Extreme Travel London, Councillor Elizabeth Kangethe, Emma and Carol on far right.

What could have gone wrong?

A Kenyan man living in the UK arrived with Kenya Airways on Tuesday evening 21st December, 2010 where he had gone for holiday. He is one of those granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK recently. After arrival he was questioned and then refused entry into the UK. He was deported back to Kenya Wednesday morning. What could have gone wrong?

Road chaos warning as 14m drivers get set for Christmas getaway

As many as 14m cars will take to the roads today for the big Christmas getaway  as the freezing weather keeps its grip on the country. Motorists heading home and out shopping face one of the busiest driving days of the year. Traffic is expected to peak later this evening as people try and get home before Christmas Eve and out for some last-minute bargains. Paul Watters from the AA said: 'We are building up for a problematic day on the roads.' Hold-ups at airports and on the trains have begun to ease, but critics are rounding on the UK's inability to cope with the cold snap.  Much of Britain saw temperatures fall below zero overnight, prompting widespread warnings for icy roads. Most of the UK should stay dry but cold today, with slight snow showers in northern and eastern parts of the country. The AA responded to 21,000 call-outs yesterday, and Mr Watters said: 'We don't expect today to be any easier.' At Heathrow almost a full schedule of flights are expected to operate after days of cancellations. Owners BAA warned passengers it would not be an immediate return to normality though. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said  BAA had 'very serious lessons' to learn from the chaos. BMI boss Wolfgang Prock-Schauer also claimed the airport 'did not have enough de-icing fluid' - something a Heathrow spokesman denied strenuously. The spokesman said: 'It is categorically untrue that we have either run out of de-icer, failed to order enough de-icer or accepted de-icer supplies from the Government.' Under-fire BAA chief executive Colin Matthews revealed he would forgo his annual bonus. Mr Matthews said: 'I have decided to give up my bonus for the current year. My focus is on keeping people moving and rebuilding confidence in Heathrow.' Weather forecasters predicted relatively mild weather in the run up to Christmas Day.

Parliament pulls Kenya from ICC treaty

MPs on December 22, 2010 voted unanimously ( left-in Parliament) in support of the motion by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto (right) asking the government to withdraw from the Rome Statute. Centre, the current The International Criminal Court (ICC) building at The Hague.

Kenyan MPs on Wednesday night rallied behind a motion seeking to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute. The MPs fully supported the motion by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto for Kenya to cease being a signatory to the statute which creates the International Criminal Court. Only Gichugu MP Martha Karua disagreed. And during the debate on Wednesday night, MPs poured vitriol on the ICC and its chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. They expressed solidarity with the six people named as perpetrators of the post election violence. They resolved that cases arising from the chaos be handled by local judicial systems. The motion had been thrown out on Tuesday by Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim for violating the constitution. However, Mr Ruto amended it to suit constitutional requirements and after giving notice to the House on Wednesday, it was placed for debate. Supporting the motion, Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi dismissed the ICC as a colonial imperialist court. “It is only Africans from former colonies who are being tried at the ICC. No American or British will be tried at the ICC and we should not willingly allow ourselves to return to colonialism,’’ he said, “The fears that we had when we were introducing the international criminal justice system are no longer there. “There is nothing we cannot handle. As a sovereign country, no other Kenyan who will be tried on foreign land. Let the six go but we have now learnt our lessons.’’ And he defended Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura whose name was among those in the Ocampo list saying: “I cannot imagine somebody like Ambassador Mutthaura raping anyone.’’ Ms Karua was the lone voice against the motion, which she described as unfortunate and misguided and pleaded with MPs to think about the interests of poll violence victims The Narc Kenya leader challenged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to accept responsibility for failing to support the establishment of a local tribunal. “The ICC did not come to us. We beckoned it. It is here by virtue of invitation by none other than the two principals and by extension Parliament,’’ she said. If Kenyans were wondering about impunity, this is the face of impunity,’’ she added, saying victims of the violence would be the greatest beneficiary of the ICC process.  Assistant minister Kabando wa Kabando supported the motion defending Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta who has also been named and said “he is now suffering’’ for helping mobilizing resources for victims of the violence. Seconding, Mr Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa) asked: “Are we surrendering our sovereignty to foreigners?’’ Trade minister Chirau Mwakwere asked the rest of Africa to follow Kenya’s example and withdraw from the Hague. Read more..

Why Kenya would regret pulling out of ICC

Kenya’s Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo has termed as “dangerous” the push by MPs to force the government to cut links with the International Criminal Court. “This is the single most dangerous thing, in fact those people who are seeking to withdraw from the Rome Statute are making it so bad (for the suspects). You will regret it for the rest of your life,” the minister warned. In an interview with the Nation, the minister noted that if Kenya withdrew, then the six suspects fingered by the ICC as being behind the post-election violence in late 2007 and early 2008 will be on their own. “In fact, as a citizen, you’ll be picked up like chicken. Sudan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, yet (its President Omar Hassan el) Bashir cannot set foot out of there. The son of (ex-Liberia President Charles) Taylor was arrested in the US and prosecuted for international crimes,” Mr Kilonzo said. Charles McArthur Emmanuel Taylor, a US citizen, was sentenced to 97 years in prison early last year for “crimes of universally condemned torture” committed while he was the head of Liberia’s anti-terrorist services during his father’s 1997-2003 rule. He was arrested in 2006 in the US. That, in itself, the minister said, should be warning enough that Kenya is safer under the Rome Statute than “outside it”. “No country has ever withdrawn from the Rome Statute at all. You’ll be the first. The moment a country withdraws, you’ll be answerable to customary international law whether it’s in your Constitution or not” he added. The Justice minister warned that the six suspects — Cabinet ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Henry Kosgey, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, MP William Ruto, journalist Joshua Sang and ex-top cop Hussein Ali — risked being arrested by even pariah states if MPs succeeded in passing the motion and the government initiates the withdrawal. Mr Kilonzo added: “You can be arrested by Somalia. Without warrant, without safeguards, no judge (Kalpana) Rawal to take statements... hii kitu hatari! (this is very dangerous!)” His statement came ahead of debate on a motion filed by Mr Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu, ODM).

The motion is addressed to the Minister for Internal Security, Prof George Saitoti, under whose docket the operations of the International Crimes Act (2008) falls. Mr Kilonzo has vowed to oppose the bid by MPs terming the motion as unconstitutional. His vow comes against a backdrop of massive push by other lawmakers to have Kenya sever links with the international court. It also comes amidst propositions by the government to write to the ICC at The Hague to defer the cases facing the six. On Tuesday, there were whispers in the corridors of Parliament that MPs would censure House Speaker Kenneth Marende if he attempted to rule the motion as being out-of-order. The MPs were banking on the hope that the Speaker would agree with them and give the motion the green light, then amend it to remove the inconsistency with the Constitution. The government-led House Business Committee, where also the government has the majority of members, had slotted the motion for debate Tuesday afternoon. The government has been keen on shielding the top ministers and key government officers from prosecution. The Justice minister is of the view that even if Parliament succeeds, the government will still remain obligated to the ICC. He cited article 127 of the Rome Statute: “… (the) withdrawal shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.” Still, Kenya will have to wait for a full year for the withdrawal to be effected. The right way for MPs to go about the motion, the minister said, was to first repeal the International Crimes Act, which has the Rome Statute as a schedule, and then, for Kenya to write to the secretary general of the UN giving notice to withdraw. A total of 139 countries are signatories to the ICC, of which 111 have ratified. “Even the US, refused to ratify, but they signed,” said Mr Kilonzo. “I am sorry, I may look harsh, but that’s the law.”  Read more..

Kenyans in US fall prey to credit card swindle

Some Kenyans living abroad planning to travel home for Christmas are the latest victims of a credit card fraudsters. The scandal, which involves the purchase of air tickets from a ‘travel agent’ in Kenya apparently paid for by credit cards stolen in the US, could reinforce the perception Kenya is a hub of international crimes.  It also comes at a time several Kenyans are serving prison sentences in the US over tax evasions and credit card frauds.  A Mr Eric Omollo, whose mobile phone contact is shown by some of those he has conned, is advertised abroad as offering the cheapest airline tickets.  Even though he has no physical contacts, it is believed that thousands of people have used his services. "He doesn’t have an office or a web site. You call him on his cell phone and give him the dates you propose to travel. He tells you the amount for a return ticket, which usually ranges between $1,000 (about Sh80,000) and $1,300 (about Sh104,000). Once you agree, he asks you to wire $300 via Western Union. The rest, he tells you, you will pay as soon as you land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. As soon as you wire the money, he will e-mail you the e-tickets, fully paid for," said Morin Kisia, a Kenyan living in Upper Derby, Pennsylvania.

Checked out

Morin, who returned to the US after travelling to Kenya to attend her son’s graduation, told The Standard that immediately she checked out at JKIA, he was there waiting. Asked whether she had suspected anything, Morin, said she did.  "There were inconsistencies in the ticketing matter. I learnt later the actual price for my ticket was $2,500, but I had only paid $1,000," she said. She added: "My card was listed as a Master Card bearing names that are not even Kenyan, with an address in Seattle. I’ve never had a Master Card since I came to the US 15 years ago." Morin, like many other victims who live in Delaware and who spoke to The Standard, agreed that even though they suspected something was wrong, they couldn’t ‘pass on’ the deal because it was too good. "Where can you get a ticket to Kenya for between $1,000 and 1,300?" said a victim, who sought anonymity.

Expensive airline

The current reasonable price for an airline ticket to Nairobi ranges from between $2,500 and $5,000 especially on British Airways, which is one of the most expensive airlines. Until recently when the British Airways officials at the Philadelphia International Airport noticed discrepancies in the names of the travellers’ tickets and that of the credit cards used to pay, the scandal had gone unnoticed for years. In the recent past, scores of travellers have had to be turned away from boarding flights to Kenya because the information contained on their e-tickets from Kenya, the home contacts and the names and numbers on the credit cards purportedly used to pay for their tickets were at variance. "Before we issue boarding passes to our passengers, it is standard procedure that we verify information contained on their tickets and travel documents like passports. It is true that of late, we have had serious issues with people travelling to Kenya especially those whose tickets originate from there," said a British Airways official at Philadelphia Airport, who requested not to be named. Last week, more than four members of a church in Delaware who had purchased tickets as a group were turned away when they presented their tickets for processing.  "They asked me how much I had paid for the ticket and I said $1,000. They told me the actual amount paid was $2,500 from a Discover Card bearing the names and address of somebody who lived in Oregon. I was shocked!" said a victim. Some victims have made statements at the New Castle County Police and it is believed the officers have sought the assistance of the FBI. It is believed Omollo, who has since disappeared into ‘thin’ air following this discovery, is part of an elaborate syndicate of international cons stealing cards and identities.  Omollo’s number and e-mail address are still listed even though he is not responding to inquiries. - The Standard.

Ladies is this love or what?????

By Prudence Phiri

Stiches cover her once beautiful face, while pus seeps from her severely cut ear. Her beauty has been tattered, and she may never look the same again. Despite all the pain she’s going through, 28-year-old Mercy Ng’uni is a woman in love, ready to forgive the man that almost killed her. Mercy, a Kanyama resident and a mother of three, narrates how her boyfriend severed her ear and sliced face with a bottle. “Nothing really happened for him to beat me up like this. He is my boyfriend and sometimes he spends nights at my place,” says Mercy. Mercy, a hairdresser by profession, narrated that on the fateful day, she knocked off later than her boyfriend name withheld, an issue she suspects may have triggered him to beat her. “On that day he came home at 18:00 hours and I came 30 minutes later. All was okay, we talked just as usual and he told me he was going to watch a soccer match at a nearby bar. 20 minutes later he came back. I wondered why he was back so early but he told me he couldn’t watch the game,” she says.

“He later told me to prepare his clothes for the following morning and told me he wanted to sleep,” narrated Mercy. “He asked if we had locked the door so that we could go to bed. He later asked for water, and I gave him water as he requested.” Mercy said the man kept tossing in bed and woke up around 23:00 hours, wanting to go outside as he claimed he was not feeling too well in the house. “I refused to open the door because it was late. Instead, I opened the window and we started chatting. As we were chatting, we both fell asleep,” says Mercy. Mercy says around midnight, she felt someone hitting her with a bottle and she woke up thinking they had been attacked. “I just felt someone hitting me with a bottle and I immediately woke up and screamed that we had been attacked. At this point the bottle had broken and he told me that no one had attacked us and that he was going to kill me,” she says. Mercy narrates that her boyfriend started cutting her face with the bottle and cut her ear. “He started cutting my face while telling me that he was going to kill me, I screamed for help but the bedroom door was looked. I managed to grab his hand and that’s how he dropped the bottle. My daughter then rushed to open the outer door and our landlord broke the bedroom door to rescue me,” she says. Mercy says the landlord took them to the police station where the man was detained and she was taken to the clinic.

“I went to Kanyama clinic but I was told there were no doctors to attend to me and I was referred to the UTH,” she says. Mercy says after she was attended to at University Teaching Hospital, she returned home only to find her ear on the bed. “I found my ear on the bed and I put it in the fridge so that I could have it stitched the following day,” she says. Mercy says the following day she called a medical personnel from a private clinic, who followed her home to stitch the ear, but it could not hold. “That’s how I lost my ear,” Mercy says. She says this is the second time her boyfriend has beaten her in the two years that they have been together. “The first time he beat me up, he bit me on the cheeks. My phone rang at night and as I was about to answer, the line cut and he got suspicious and started biting me on both cheeks. That was the first time ever he behaved violently,” she says. Mercy says her boyfriend was released from police cell three days after the latest the incident and has been begging for forgiveness.  Despite all she has gone through, Mercy says she is more than willing to forgive him.  “I don’t want him to go to jail; I love him. All I want is for him to assist me financially to acquire good medical attention,” she says.  However, Mercy’s brother Emmanuel just wants her boyfriend to face the law.  “I just want him to face the law. If my sister wants him back, that’s her problem. She should not come running to us next time,” says Emmanuel.  Mercy is just one of the many battered women that suffer silently in the name of love. Many have silently died while protecting ‘criminals’ all in the name of love.

Mama Vic has lost her mother back in Kenya

Mrs. Mary Muthoni Karanja well known as Mama Vicky (centre) of North Woolwich, East London has lost her mother Mrs Grace Njeri Ndua Munjogu (right), of Mitahato village, Githinguri, Kiambu. Grace was a loving mother to Mary Muthoni Karanja (Mama Vicky) and Grandmother to Victoria Njeri Karanja (Vicky - left) of London UK. The death occured through a road accident on Saturday night 18th December, 2010 at Maragwa River near Sagana. Twelve other people perished in the same accident. Family and friends are meeting for prayers and arrangements at 74 Woodman Street, North Woolwich, London E16 2LS.  Those wishing to help can do so through Santander Bank (Abbey National) Account no. 17631640, Sort Code 090127, Account name: Mrs. M.M. Karanja.

For more information please contact Mama Vicky on 0207473264, 07977842535, Vicky on 07984964693, Amos Kamau 07939624765 or Pastor Isaac 07727680989.

Kibaki, Lucy, forego Xmas parties

Nairobi, Wednesday 22nd December, 2010. - Their Excellencies the President and the First Lady would like to announce that there will be no parties this festive season at any of the State Houses. Their Excellencies have therefore instructed that the funds that State House allocates for the parties be directed at providing ready- made hot meals to IDPs still staying in camps on both Christmas Day and New Year. Their Excellencies also instructed that adequate foodstuff be availed to the IDPs until a permanent solution is soon found to address the issue of IDPs in the country.

Saitoti names suspected drug barons

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 22 - Internal Security Minister George Saitoti has named members of Parliament who are suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.   Professor Saitoti sensationally revealed to a charged House that MPs Gidion Mbuvi (Makadara), Hassan Joho (Kisauni), Assistant Minister Harun Mwau (Kilome) and William Kabogo (Juja) were under investigation by the police over the narcotics trade. He also said Mombasa businessman Ali Punjani was under the police spotlight.  The Minister was responding to a personal statement by the Makadara MP who had accused senior police officers of harassing and threatening him at his Continental House parliamentary office.  Juja MP William Kabogo later tabled a dossier containing names of alleged drug barons, reportedly authored by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger. Mr Kabogo said Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and Kamukunji’s Simon Mbugua had been named in the dossier. Mr Wamalwa objected to the dossier, terming it a smear campaign that was aimed at tarnishing his 2012 presidential ambitions. Speaker Kenneth Marende however ruled that he would first need to authenticate Mr Kabogo’s documents before allowing them in the House. Mr Joho, on his part, protested being named in the House in connection with the ongoing probe and asked the Speaker to direct that his name be expunged from the records of Parliament until the investigations are completed. The Kisauni MP said that he was ready to cooperate with police investigations into the matter and sought assurance that those linking him to the trafficking ring should also be prosecuted. Prof Saitoti said that those found maligning others will face the law as they will be deemed to be obstructing investigations. At the same time, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told Parliament that he has formed a task force on the issue. Mr Odinga said that the he had received the report from the US envoy and appealed to the House to give him two months to conclude investigations into the matter. - CapitalFM

SURPRISE YOU FAMILY AND FRIENDS THIS CHRISTMAS

To surprise your loved ones via Mpesa Money Transfer in UK and4 Your Christmas Food, Njahi, Githeri and other Kenyan Foods. Give us a visit at 81 Upton Park, London E7. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Eastend Discount Stores

For further information  please visit or contact us on: 0208 821 0123.

UK snow chaos: some make it home, but thousands still stranded

Both runways at Heathrow open but many flights off, with big freeze set to continue beyond Boxing day

Heathrow airport opened both runways tonight after four days of disruption, bringing some respite to frustrated travellers after another day of travel misery which left 130,000 airline passengers stranded while severe problems blighted the road and rail networks. David Cameron expressed frustration at the Heathrow chaos as it emerged that airport owner BAA had turned down the offer of army assistance to help clear snow.

The chaos was widespread:

• At Heathrow, many passengers were denied entry to terminal buildings and forced to wait in freezing tents outside Terminal One as two-thirds of flights were cancelled.

• Long queues tailed out of St Pancras station for a second day due to severe delays on Eurostar.

• Passengers were forced to abandon trains on the East Coast rail line, halted after overhead lines collapsed.

• Forecasters predicted no let-up in the freezing conditions until Boxing day at the earliest.

• Analysts said British Airways was losing £10m a day.

The Met Office warned that ice would be possible "almost anywhere" in the UK tomorrow after an overnight freeze. Further snow had been expected tonight in Wales and the Midlands and today throughout eastern England, the Midlands and northeast England – up to 25cm in places. The prime minister said he understood the need for Heathrow to close in "exceptional" weather conditions last Saturday. He criticised the speed of the owner's response, after BAA admitted to underestimating the time needed to clear aircraft stands. "We have offered military assistance to BAA. Even BAA's harshest critics have conceded that, given the amount of snow that has fallen, extensive disruption is understandable," Cameron said. "It is understandable that Heathrow had to close briefly. I am frustrated on behalf of all those affected that it is taking so long for the situation to improve." BAA and airlines were thrashing out a revised schedule last tonight that could see an increase in the rate of arrivals and departures today[Wednesday]tomorrow, with BAA chief executive Colin Matthews claiming that up to two-thirds of flights could operate. Today BAA operated about a third of its schedule, cutting off more than 130,000 airline passengers. Despite the opening of the southern runway, BAA said the airport would continue to operate at a "significantly" reduced rate due to airport closures elsewhere in Europe and the displacement of aircraft and crews. A spokesman said it was "extremely important" that passengers checked their flight was still scheduled before travelling to the airport. Around one million passengers have been caught up in the Heathrow disruption so far, with some forced to spend yesterday in a marquee after Terminal One was shut to newcomers. BA was expecting to operate a third of its schedule tomorrow but hoped to operate the "vast majority" of its flights on Thursday. "We will aim to operate the vast majority of flights from Heathrow on Thursday. However, we now have hundreds of crew and more than 40 planes out of position. Consequently, it will take some days to return to normal." Europe's failure to deal with the heavy snow was branded unacceptable by the EU transport commissioner, Siim Kallas of Estonia, who told the continent's airport operators to "get serious" or face legally-imposed consequences. The London-to-Edinburgh east coast line, also buckled today. Passengers were evacuated from six trains between London and Peterborough after severe damage to overhead power lines near Huntingdon, which forced East Coast to suspend services from London King's Cross for much of the day. The company advised customers "to go home and restart their journeys tomorrow".

 Passengers were pictured climbing down from a train outside Huntingdon, near Peterborough, before walking across the tracks. An East Coast spokesman said four trains were halted, with 400 passengers having to evacuate, while about 80 First Capital Connect passengers also had to abandon two trains near Huntingdon. Network Rail said it expected the damage to be repaired by this morning, with some services restored tonight. North-east and Yorkshire stations were crowded with passengers trying to reach London after southbound trains were cancelled. There were also severe delays for London to Glasgow services on the west coast line. The evacuation followed a night when more than 100 passengers were stuck between Kemsing and Otford in Kent after a Southeastern train from London Victoria to Ashford came to a halt following heavy snowfall. At Newark aiport, New York, thousands of passengers desperate to get home to Europe for Christmas were stranded. Flights to Heathrow and European destinations including Paris and Brussels remained severely disrupted after weekend cancellations. Many passengers faced the prospect of spending Christmas in New York. Back in the UK, the row over the case for a multimillion-pound investment in snowploughs, de-icing equipment and salt stocks deepened with publication of a government-backed report by David Quarmby, chairman of the RAC Foundation, which quoted Met Office predictions that successive hard winters are rare. The report said the Met Office remained convinced that harsh winters do not come in clusters. Asked whether there should be concerted investment in snow-clearing equipment, following the third snowbound winter in a row, Quarmby said: "Are you happy to invest more in kit that may sit at the back of the depot and won't be used?" His findings were contradicted by Sir David King, the government's chief science adviser from 2000 to 2007, who said ministers should plan for more cold winters. King, the chief scientific adviser from 2000 to 2007, told Radio 4's Today programme: "My advice would be prepare for it [cold winters]. It may not happen but the risk to our economy is very significant if we are not prepared." Global warming may also be having an effect, he added: "We are likely to get more snow because there is more moisture in the atmosphere due to global warming." In a warning about salt supplies for the road network, Quarmby said the situation could get "challenging" but there were a number of measures in place to deal with low stocks – including a government order for 250,000 tonnes of extra salt for a reserve fund.

THE YOUTH TAKING THE CENTRE STAGE

The youth at the IWRM Church in London entertained the guests at the Christmas Party as they took to the floor with their dot.com style on left. On right the church honoured their Senior Pastor Boniface Mbugua and his wife with Christmas presents. A New Year Celebrations has been organised on 31st December, 2010 to usher the new where Kenya Gospel Singer Mrs. Mary Njau will be a guest singer.

The "crossbow cannibal" killer

Killer (left) Stephen Griffiths and on right his victims Griffiths admitted murdering Shelley Armitage, Susan Rushworth and Suzanne Blamires

A student who called himself the "Crossbow Cannibal" has been jailed for life for the "wicked and monstrous" murders of three women in Bradford. The judge at Leeds Crown Court told 40-year-old Stephen Griffiths he would spend the rest of his life in prison.  Griffiths, from Bradford, had earlier admitted murdering Suzanne Blamires, 36, Shelley Armitage, 31, and 43-year-old Susan Rushworth. After his arrest, he told West Yorkshire Police: "I've killed loads." Griffiths, of Thornton Road, was arrested on 24 May by West Yorkshire Police after CCTV footage of him attacking Ms Blamires at his block of flats was discovered by a caretaker at the complex. Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, said the caretaker had the job of reviewing footage taken from CCTV cameras. The court heard Ms Blamires was later seen being dragged on the floor by her leg by Griffiths, who was seen to have something in his hand. The woman was shot with a crossbow, the court heard, before Griffiths "gestured" by holding a finger up to the CCTV camera. Mr Smith added that Griffiths had told the officers arresting him: "I'm Osama bin Laden." Once in a police station he told officers: "I've killed a lot more than Suzanne Blamires - I've killed loads.

Elderly Kenyan man hit and killed

by vehicle in Richmond, USA

The late Mr Joseph Mungai Gitubia

An elderly Kenyan man was hit and killed by a vehicle in Richmond Virginia on 18th Dec 2010.Mr Joseph Mungai Gitubia father of Jane Kamau was crossing the busy  West Broad near Parham Road in Henrico's West End when the accident occurred at 7.20 pm Saturday night. According to the Police, Mr Gitubia, 82-years old walked out into the middle of the street to cross the westbound lanes when he was hit by a Chevy Trailblazer. Nearby police officers saw the accident and immediately began CPR but Gitubia was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Joseph Gitubia who came to the US with his wife 8 years ago was less than a mile from his house and was coming from the shopping center going back home a thing he has done many times says pastor Eunice Mukuria. He was a loving and kind man, very active and was regarded as a father and Grandfather in the community. He was always seen with his wife, Mary Wamaitha Mungai playing his guitar and singing whenever there was a gathering. The community in Richmond is reaching out to the Kenyans to help repatriate the body back to Kenya for burial. Family and Friends are meeting daily at Jane Kamau's recidence-5720 Eunice Court, Apt D. Richmond VA 23228.Here below is the obituary message. Death has occurred of Joseph Mungai Gitubia in Richmond VA.He was Husband to Mary Wamaitha Mungai, Brother to the late Ben Mwega Gitubia, the late Rebecca Wanjiru Mbugua and Lucy Njeri Mwega-Texas.He was father to Jane Njoki Kamau-Richmond, Ruth Wanjiru-Nairobi, Gladys Mugure -Kahoro Githunguri, Rebecca Ngendo Mwaura, Alice Wairimu, Moses Mbugua and the late Margaret Wambui Ndungu.Father in law to Peter Kamau –Nairobi and John Ndungu Kahoro. For more information, please contact the following: Jane Kamau 804 475 6143, Dennis Kamau 804 366 5550, Pastor Humphrey Muraya 804 397 1753, Pastor Hezron Mukuria 804-332 7063, Pastor Eunice Mukuria 804 276 8854, Pastor Andrew Mweu 443 622 6899, Joseph M. Kariuki 804 982 4258, Charles Thuku 804 520 0021 or  Moses Mungai Gitubia 718 723 434 (Nairobi Kenya). More information will follow. - Diasporamessenger.

IT IS PARTY TIME AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHES

During IWRM Church Christmas Party on Sunday 19th December, 2010 the guests were asked to observe the code of dressing - men with black attire and a bow tie and the ladies with an evening dress. Some ladies went an extra mile to do their homework as they dressed in red hats. Posing on left with Mr. Seed and his wife is Mr. & Mrs. Muthaka and on right is Councillor Elizabeth Kangethe who came dressed like an Asian lady - on far like is Mrs. Beth Kungu a hair dresser in London.

"Hallo, it is Susan Mwangi, I arrived here at Heathrow Airport and the doors are closed, what is happening? I am going to Kenya with the Kenya Airways at 7.00 p.m." - A Kenyan lady calling the booking agent to explain that there is a problem at Heathrow Airport, Monday 20th December, 2010

Audio slideshow: Maasai warriors graduate

Kenya's Masai people hold a ceremony for their warriors to become tribal elders only every 10 to 15 years, when there are enough people of the right age group.  But the tradition is under threat as the population becomes more urban and more exposed to outside influences. BBC East Africa correspondent Peter Greste witnessed one of the ceremonies just outside Nairobi, where two of the men taking part told him how important the ceremony is for them. - VIDEO

CORO FM THANKS GIVING DAY

Coro FM Radio in Kenya held their thanks giving day on Sunday 19th December, 2010 at Thika Stadium. Thousands of people attended the ceremony where Ms Rachel Njeri a gospel singer from UK was one of the guest singers at the ceremony. Seated on 2nd left with hat is the area MP Hon. Kabogo of Juja constituency and on right is Mr. Walter Mongale or Nyambae of Reddyculas who is now the head of KBC.

Dear Sponsor

I am writing to all Tier 2 Sponsors, to let you know that earlier today, the Government laid a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules relating to Tiers 1 and 2 of the Points Based System. 

We have announced that from 00:01hrs (GMT) on the 23 December 2010 the UK Border Agency will stop accepting Tier 1 (General) applications made overseas. Since the Government announced on 23 November that Tier 1 (General) will be closed permanently from April 2011, the route will not reopen overseas. Tier 1 (General) applications made in the UK will remain open until 5 April 2011.

We are taking this action to ensure that we do not exceed the limit set by the UK Government for issued Tier 1 (General) applications between 19 July 2010 and April 2011, which we expect to reach imminently. Applications submitted and paid for overseas up until the end of 22 December 2010 will be processed as normal.  

All potential Tier 1(General) applicants overseas will therefore need to have applied and paid their fee by the end of 22 December (GMT). Any applications received after this time will be rejected. 

The second of these changes, which specifies the level of the Tier 2 (General) interim limit in the Immigration Rules, is being made to take account of the Divisional Court judgement of 17 December 2010. The Court determined that in order for the Government's interim limit policy to have legal effect the level of the limit should be specified in the Immigration Rules. 

The Statement of Changes remedies this matter and the interim limit on Tier 2 (General) will apply from 21 December 2010 until 5 April 2011. The level of the limit is 10,832 and will apply to the number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) available to licensed Tier 2 (General) sponsors. The changes will take effect immediately to ensure that employers and other users of the UK's immigration system have certainty about its operation. 

Any existing Tier 2 (General) CoS allocations will remain unaffected by this change.

Any requests for further CoS should be submitted through the CoS (Additional Request) process outlined in the addendum to the Tier 2 & 5 Sponsor guidance.

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World’s Top 10 Killer Diseases

What are the 10 deadliest diseases of our present time? Check this out!

Diseases are among the major causes of human deaths. Millions are dying of diseases every year. On the average, 57 million people die annually. Large percentage of this figure is caused by diseases.

1. Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular Disease is the world’s number one killing disease. About 29.34% of annual worldwide deaths are cause by this disease. Cardiovascular disease refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. Most countries face high and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease. Each year, heart disease kills more Americans than cancer. It is the number one cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries. Making primary preventions from childhood proves necessary and important. According to world statistics, more than 3 million die of Cardiovascular Disease annually.

2. Infectious and Parasitic Diseases

The second deadliest disease in the world and represents 23.04% of annual deaths worldwide is Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. Common examples of these diseases include Influenza, Yellow Fever, Tuberculosis and many others. An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. There are 4 types of anti-infective drugs that exist: antibacterial, antiviral, antitubercular, and antifungal.

3. Ischemic Heart Disease

Ischemic Heart Disease represents 12.64% of annual worldwide deaths. In the developed countries, there are 3,512,000 deaths annually and 2,484,000 deaths in developing countries. Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) is characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart muscle, usually due to coronary disease. Symptoms include angina and decreased exercise tolerance. It is the most common cause of death in most Western countries, and a major cause of hospital admissions. It is also known as Myocardial Ischaemia.

4. Malignant Neoplasms

Twelve point forty-nine percent of annual worldwide deaths are caused by Malignant Neoplasms. In 2007, 76.6 million people died from cancer. Malignant Neoplasm is the medical term for ‘cancer’. It is a class of disease in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth, invasion and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). Most cancers form a tumor but some do not.

5. Cerebrovascular Disease

Cerebrovascular Disease is the 4th highest caused of human deaths with 9.66% of annual worldwide deaths. In the developed countries, 3,346,000 deaths were recorded while 1,381,000 deaths were recorded in developing countries. This disease is commonly known as ‘stroke’. It is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain. The most important cause of stroke is ‘hypertension’; it damages the blood vessel lining, endothelium, exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process which is not always complete and perfect.

6. Respiratory Infection

Respiratory Infection contributes 6.95% of the annual worldwide deaths. A respiratory system’s function is to allow gas exchange. The space between the alveoli and the capillaries, the anatomy or structure of the exchange system, and the precise physiological uses of the exchanged gases vary depending on the organism.

7. Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

Lower respiratory Tract Infection constitutes 6.81% of the world’s annual causes of death. In the developing countries, about 2,643,000 deaths were recorded and about 1,180,000 deaths were registered in developed countries. This disease is synonymous to pneumonia but can also be applied to other types of infection which includes lung abscess, acute bronchitis and emphysema. Symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, high fever, coughing and fatigue.

8. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

AIDS is the caused of death of 4.87% of annual worldwide deaths. Majority of people who died from AIDS are from developing countries with 2,678,000 deaths. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. The disease can be transmitted through anal, vaginal or oral sex. Contaminated hypodermic needles and blood transfusion can be the means of transmission. In 2007, it is estimated that there about 33.2 million people with AIDS.

9. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease accounts for 4.82% of annual worldwide deaths. Every year, about 1,829,000 deaths are recorded in developed countries and 748,000 deaths in developing countries. This disease is referred to ‘chronic bronchitis’ and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed. The major cause of this disease is smoking.

10. Digestive Diseases

 Digestive Diseases is the caused of death of 3.15% of worldwide deaths every year. All diseases that pertain to the gastrointestinal tract are labeled as Digestive Diseases. Diseases of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum jejunum, ileo-cecal complex, large intestine, sigmoid colon and rectum fall into this category.

Police identify main suspect in bus blast

 Police in Kenyha on Tuesday identified Albert Olando Mulanda, a 35-year-old Tanzanian, as the bus bomber who injured 41 people in a grenade attack on Monday night.  Mulanda, the only person to die in the incident, entered the country through Oloitoktok on October 23, using temporary pass number 0903962, Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere said on Tuesday. Police insist that Mulanda acted alone and not as part of a larger group as earlier thought. Witnesses had described the attack as having been carried out by three people, others by as many as seven men. Mulanda’s fingerprints have been sent to the Tanzanian National Registration Bureau for confirmation of his identity. His body is at the City Mortuary.  The explosive device has been positively identified as a Russian-made F1 hand grenade, believed to have originated from a neighbouring country and similar to another which blew up in the Embakasi District Commissioner’s Land Rover in Eastleigh Section III on December 3.

Explosions

Police are linking the explosion in Nairobi’s River Road targeting Kampala Coach to two other grenade explosions in the city earlier in the month and the discovery of 26 detonators on a bus in Uganda later. Detectives are now trying to trace local and international mobile phone numbers found in a notebook recovered from the suspected bomber’s pockets. “We are in the process of checking the contents of the notebook, but it seems that the grenade was destined for Uganda,” Mr Iteere said.  Investigations into the two grenade attacks in Eastleigh and Kasarani have since established that the two suspects who were shot dead by police after killing two traffic police officers at the Roysambu roundabout had entered the country three days earlier in the company of two others. Information obtained from their seized mobile phones included an SMS message with the registration number of a vehicle. Kenyan police forwarded the registration number to Ugandan police who intercepted the bus in Uganda and recovered 26 detonators destined for Kampala. Mulanda, booked on seat number F4, is now the only person the police are confirming as having died though on Monday night, they had released information that a woman had been declared dead on arrival at the Nairobi Hospital. On Tuesday, police commended the Kampala Coach security personnel for thwarting the terror plot. Mr Iteere expressed concern about the large number of Ethiopian and Somali nationals entering the country illegally and warned that owners of vehicles found sneaking aliens into the country will be paraded and charged in court.  He asked Kenyans to be more vigilant, especially during this festive season and report any suspicious persons to police. – Daily Nation.

Kenya police ramp up patrols after blast

Kenyan police intensified security Tuesday following an explosion at a Nairobi bus station which killed three people and injured dozens of others. Police were patrolling Nairobi's busy streets where many travellers are taking buses to their upcountry homes for end year holidays and festivities, an AFP correspondent said. The explosion on Monday evening went off as passengers were preparing to board a night bus to the Ugandan capital Kampala. "We have beefed up security in all parts of the city, particularly on congested streets and bus terminus. We want to ensure a similar attack does not occur," said Njoroge Ndirangu, the administrative head of Nairobi province. The blast occurred just hours after Uganda's police chief Kale Kayihura warned of possible attacks on Uganda by Islamist militants. Kenyan Police Chief Mathew Iteere did not immediately link the blast to Islamist militants. An official with the bus company, Kampala Coach Ltd, said the would-be attacker was among those wounded or killed by the blast, which went off when he hastily abandoned his bag after realising that all luggage was being searched.

Heathrow reopens second runway

Stranded passengers at Heathrow airport have been warned not to expect normal service to resume immediately after the airport's second runway reopened on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of people have endured uncomfortable nights in the airport's terminals as their travel plans suffer continued disruption due to the snowy weather, but BAA chief executive Colin Matthews warned people not to expect the situation to return to normal immediately just because the second runway has reopened. "It is good news to see aircraft taking off and landing from two runways but it's really important that passengers understand that doesn't mean the full schedule is going to be restored instantly," he told Sky News. "It's not just two runways we need - we need every other link in the chain to be fully up to speed and it's going to take some time to do that." The airport plans to run about two-thirds of the schedule on Wednesday but it is "absolutely vital" passengers check first before going to Heathrow. "It would be wrong for passengers to think that we are going to be back to full schedule tomorrow, because we are not," Mr Matthews added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken of his "frustration" at the length of the disruption at Heathrow. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Mr Cameron said: "If it's understandable that Heathrow had to close briefly, I'm frustrated on behalf of all those affected that it's taking so long for the situation to improve. There have been intensive discussions between (Transport Secretary) Philip Hammond and BAA about how best to ensure that normal flying capacity is resumed as soon as possible." There were also flight disruptions at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as Gatwick, London Luton and London City airports, while rail travellers have also been affected by the freezing conditions, with hundreds of people having to be evacuated from stricken trains. The East Coast line, one of the country's main railway arteries, was suspended between London and Peterborough, although it has reopened with a limited service operating. About 200 people were forced to climb down on to the tracks when an East Coast service came to a halt, and about 80 more passengers from two First Capital Connect services also abandoned carriages.

Gangsters hack pastor to death in night raid

A Seventh Day Adventist pastor was killed by gangsters in Nyamira County at the weekend. Mr Edward Orina Momanyi was slashed several times by armed men who raided his home in Gesore Village, Nyamira Township. His wife was critically injured during the attack. The injured woman was taken to the district hospital where she was admitted while unconscious. Police said she sustained a deep cut on the head when she tried to rescue her husband from the gang. Police said on Monday they have not established the motive of the attack on the elderly couple. Neighbours said that the attackers, who allegedly posed as uniformed security officers, attacked the home at 8pm and killed Mr Orina.

The raiders are said to have also stolen an unknown amount of money from the couple before fleeing.

Airport snow hell will last past weekend

Thousands of passengers endured another day of misery at Heathrow yesterday as airport bosses warned the travel chaos will last into next week. Many spent a third night sleeping at the airport and travellers were told not to make their way there unless they had a booking on a confirmed flight. Foil blankets were given to tired passengers sleeping on floors and chairs in conditions described as ‘hellish’. Heathrow’s operator BAA closed Terminals 1 and 3 to new passengers yesterday afternoon as they had become ‘extremely congested’. Only the northern runway was open as large amounts of snow and ice remained on the airfield. At teatime on Monday, 467 arrivals and 470 departures had been cancelled. Only 40 arrivals and 53 departures went ahead. British Airways scrapped all shorthaul flights out of Heathrow. BAA said most of the disruption was caused by aircraft stands being covered in ice. Planes were also frozen and had to be de-iced.  Usually, 1,300 flights go in and out of Heathrow every day but BAA said a reduced flying schedule until 6am Wednesday meant ‘a maximum one third of flights are likely to operate during this period’. BAA apologised as so many thousands saw there holiday plans in ruins. ‘Passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day,’ it said. Transport secretary Philip Hammond promised an inquiry into how services ground to a halt at the airport and promised night-flight restrictions would be lifted for the next four days.  And London mayor Boris Johnson said: ‘It can’t be beyond the wit of man surely to find the shovels, the diggers, the snow ploughs or whatever it takes to clear the snow out from under the planes, to get the planes moving and to have more than one runway going.’ Meanwhile, at Gatwick Airport all outbound flights were cancelled last night until at least 6am today owing to heavier than expected snow.  It been ‘catching up with the backlog’, although there had been 42 cancellations. Gatwick is investing about £8million before next winter on snow clearing equipment, doubling its fleet from 47 vehicles to 95. BAA, which once ran Gatwick, plans to spend £3million in the next two years at Heathrow.  Elsewhere, air travellers in Scotland, plus Birmingham, Luton, London City, Bristol and Southampton, were warned to expect delays and cancellations.

Two dead, 41 injured in Nairobi bus blast

One of the passengers of the Kampala bound bus that was attacked by grenades thrown by four unknown person in Nairobi's River road.

Two people were killed and 41 injured in an explosion next to a Kampala-bound bus in downtown Nairobi on Monday night. The blast occurred at 7.40pm as passengers were boarding a Kampala Coach bus in the River Road area. Thirty three were being treated at Kenyatta National Hospital, four at MP Shah and four others at the Nairobi Hospital. One man died at Kenyatta and a woman was pronounced dead on arrival at Nairobi Hospital. The man is suspected to have been among those carrying the box with the explosive device. Bomb experts were sent to the scene to determine what kind of device went off. The manager of the bus company, Mr Jamal Hamed Mohammed, said the attack occurred as passengers were queuing to board the bus. Three men carrying a box tried to force their way into the bus without submitting to a security check. “A struggle ensued between our security staff and the three men, which resulted in the box they were carrying to drop down, which was followed by a loud explosion,” Mr Mohammed said. The man who died in the blast was among those who tried to force their way in. Had the bomb gone off inside the bus, the consequences would have been far more serious. Speaking at the scene, Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere said it was too early to say whether the attack was related to earlier terrorism warnings in the region. At the time the device went off, 30 passengers were already in the bus and were unharmed. “The injured are admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital,” Nairobi police commander Antony Kibuchi said. Just before the explosion, Uganda’s police chief had warned yesterday of “strong indications” that al-Qaeda-linked militants were planning an attack during the Christmas period and said security forces would issue an alert for vigilance. The threats came from Islamist groups including al-Shabaab and Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Inspector General Kale Kayihura had said. “Terror threats from al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ADF are the main threats as we go for the festive season and there are strong indications they want to attack,” he had said. Uganda in July suffered East Africa’s worst attacks in 12 years when suicide bombers struck two Kampala bars, killing 76 people. Al-Shabaab militias claimed responsibility for the blast. More than 200 people were killed in August 1998 when al-Qaeda operatives bombed American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. – Daily Nation. - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

"Celebrating 50th Anniversary of their Marriage"

Kenyan gospel singer living in Nottingham but currently in Kenya Ms Rachel Njeri was the guest singer at 50th Anniversary of Mr. & Mrs. Reuben Gichuhi the parents of Rev. Wahenya of PCEA Rungai. The ceremony took place at Matuguta Village, Githunguri where Penniah wa Mbugua (PM) of Kameme FM (in red) also attended. On right is Rachel and Rev. Waihenya at the ceremony.

Fury As £680m Slashed From University Budgets

Ministers have announced cuts of around £680m in university funding next year - just six days after violent student protests over swingeing fee increases. The reduction, which has been described as a "Christmas kick in the teeth" for higher education, will come into effect before the introduction of higher tuition fees. The announcement comes on the day the Prime Minister met union leaders at Downing Street to calm growing anger over public sector spending cuts and thousands of job losses. The university cuts were detailed in a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England by Business Secretary Vince Cable. He said total funding from loans and grants would fall from £9.8bn to £9.2bn in 2011/12. But funding would incease to £9.4bn in 2012/13, when a larger proportion of the cash will be made up of Government loans to cover students' tuition fees, which will be repaid when they reach an annual income of £21,000 after graduation. Mr Cable insisted that universities continue to receive "significant public funding". But the University and College Union (UCU) said that the moves risked undermining Britain's position on the international academic stage. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "The coalition's Christmas message to the sector is funding cuts, higher fees, fewer university places, a pay freeze and attacks on staff pensions. "After weeks of attacks on students and universities through budget cuts and increased tuition fees, the coalition has delivered a real Christmas kick in the teeth to the sector. "The Government seems to think that the sector will be able to deliver more for less and students will be happy to pay three times the price. "Put bluntly, by cutting funding and access to university, attacking staff pay and conditions and charging students record fees, we are going to be left behind." Ms Hunt added that universities were already "reeling" from the announcement of an 80% cut in their teaching budgets from 2012, to be offset by massive increases in tuition fees. Universities minister David Willetts said he believed the cuts were necessary. He said: "2011/12 will be a year of transition, where institutions will be preparing for change. "We are putting much more of the teaching funding in the hands of students, instead of a centrally allocated block grant. "These changes will also support a more diverse sector, where the choices of informed students provide a constant drive towards high quality teaching and efficient use of resources."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE"

Children from CCBC Swahili Church, Barking took to the floor on Sunday 19th December, 2010 to present a Christmas Song. Holding the mike at the age two they caught with the festival season (left) and on right a team from CCBC Swahili Choir presenting a number in a wedding on Saturday 18th December, 2010 - from right is Mrs. Jane Kambo, Ciru and Mrs. Carol Williams.

Mortgage Lending Drops 5% In November

Mortgage lending has fallen 5% in November from the previous month, official figures show. Just over £11bn was loaned out for mortgages in November, down from £11.6bn in October, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). This represents the slowest pace of growth since November 2000 and the fifth consecutive month during which total advances were at the lowest level for a decade. The year-on-year figure for November showed a drop of 10% from £12.3bn in November 2009. The CML explained that the figures showed the end of the distortion to the market last year caused by the end of the Government's stamp duty holiday. The property market saw a surge towards the final months of 2009 as people rushed to buy houses worth up to £175,000. Bob Pannell, chief economist at the CML, said: "The fall in gross mortgage lending in November reflects the usual seasonal slowing of activity at this time of year, and reinforces the picture of a continuing flat market. "Comparisons with the year earlier are somewhat distorted, as some households brought forward house purchase activity into the closing months of 2009 to take advantage of the stamp duty concession." Bank of England figures have shown that only 45,000 mortgages were approved for house purchase during November. While the figure was slightly better than October's figure of 44,000 approvals, it represented a 26% drop from the same period the previous year.

John Githongo azungumza na BBC

John Githongo akizungumza na Josphat Makori wa BBC. - VIDEO

NO FLIGHTS FROM NAIROBI TO LONDON OR LONDON

TO NAIROBI AS FROM FRIDAY DUE TO SNOW

Nightmare before Christmas as snow separates thousands of families

Thousands of families were today warned they will spend Christmas apart because more heavy snow is on the way. The weather continued to disrupt travel across the country. Airports faced a third day of chaos, with hundreds of passengers told they could be stranded in the capital over the holiday. As the blame game over Britain's failure to deal with the big freeze continued:

* Several London boroughs began limiting the spreading of grit amid fears that supplies could run out if the icy conditions continue.

* The AA said thousands of ungritted roads resembled “ski jumps”.

* Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Paris as Eurostar cancelled trains.

* Commuter trains were cancelled, with operators unable to run replacement bus services because of treacherous road conditions.

* Warnings were issued over the health of the elderly, while the National Grid forecast a record demand for gas.

Temperatures fell to -10C overnight and forecasters today said it would stay bitterly cold until the new year. “We will see light snow today, Wednesday will see heavy snow around London and we expect it to remain very cold until after Christmas,” said Stephen Davenport of Meteo Group.  Passengers have been stranded at Heathrow airport for three days in conditions described as “like a refugee camp”. A major inquiry was launched today into how the airport failed to cope with the snow and ice. Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA which runs the airport, said he “couldn't be more sorry” at how Heathrow had let people down. The apology came as transport minister Philip Hammond pledged to investigate the chaos, and to examine how passengers had been treated. “Most of what I am hearing is a sense of outrage about the way they were treated at Heathrow,” he said. Hundreds of passengers there bedded down last night, the third night some had slept on departure lounge floors. Many had unpacked their luggage and were camping out while they waited for news of their flights, while others angrily confronted airport staff. At Terminal 5, airport officials handed out vouchers for food and drink. A group of students from America, who have been in England for four months on a study programme, will not be able to fly back to Chicago until Christmas Eve. Because many will need further onward flights home, they may miss Christmas Day with their families. After arriving at Heathrow in time for a 2.30am flight on Saturday, they face spending nearly a week at the airport. Chelsea DuBose, 19, from Austin, Texas, said: “It will be the first Christmas I have spent without my family and I am not happy. We haven't seen our families since August. “Some of the girls have been washing their hair in the sink because that is all they can do. We spend our time staring at the floor, we try to get a new flight and work out what is going on.” Andy Duthie, 54, who runs a specialist garden business, has been stranded at Heathrow for a week. Mr Duthie, from Northampton, was due to fly to San Francisco to visit friends last Tuesday, but is now set to leave tomorrow. He said: “The way they have treated us is abysmal. We got a voucher for £3.50 which is not even enough for a cup of tea and a sandwich at airport prices.” Chandra Bappanad, 50, the wife of United Nations diplomat Krishna Bappanad, has been stuck at Heathrow since arriving from New York on Friday and has been told she won't get a flight to Rome to see her husband until at least Thursday. The mother-of-one said: “There is no food or water, there is no information. I have asked why they haven't put anything on the computer and they won't tell us.” However, for one couple, who almost missed their own wedding because of the cancellations, there was good news. Hannah Smith and Craig Baldwin, both 25, slept on the floor at Heathrow for two nights after their Sri Lankan flight on Saturday was cancelled. The couple, who have spent 10 years planning their dream wedding were expecting to call it off, but managed to secure a flight when two passengers already booked on failed to arrive. Miss Smith said: “The wedding is on the 27th but if we didn't fly today it would be too late. Hopefully now everything can go ahead as planned.” Eighteen family and friends are flying with them to Sri Lanka and on to the Maldives for the honeymoon.

Police turn away Eurostar passengers as thousands queue in freezing cold

Police were forced to turn away Eurostar passengers trying to get home for Christmas today as thousands queued for up to six hours at St Pancras. Travellers endured freezing temperatures as queues snaked through the main terminal for hundreds of yards down Euston Road. At 12.30pm transport police began turning away new arrivals who had no hope of getting on a train.  Hundreds of thousands of commuters were also forced to give up and return home after the rail network across the country suffered massive disruption.  As the blame game over Britain's failure to deal with the big freeze continued: BA cancelled all short-haul flights from Heathrow and families were warned they will spend Christmas apart with more heavy snow on the way. Several London boroughs began limiting the spreading of grit amid fears that supplies could run out if icy conditions continue. The AA said thousands of ungritted roads resembled “ski jumps”. Commuter trains were cancelled, with operators unable to run replacement bus services because of treacherous road conditions. Warnings were issued over the health of the elderly, while the National Grid forecast record demand for gas. Temperatures fell to -10C overnight and experts today said it would stay bitterly cold until the new year. “We will see light snow today. Wednesday will see heavy snow around London and we expect it to remain very cold until after Christmas,” said Stephen Davenport of the Meteo Group.

At St Pancras, passengers told of long waits and cancelled trains for Eurostar services. Shivering travellers have been told they face a six-hour wait — with no guarantee they will get on a train today. The Salvation Army has set up a tea van outside the main entrance to the station to provide hot drinks to passengers who have been queuing for hours in -3C conditions. “I've been standing outside for hours, it's freezing, there are no blankets and heaters. They knew this would happen,” said Marie Lovecchio, a 25-year-old student returning home to Brussels for Christmas.  Eurostar staff said the service was operating on a “first come, first served” basis, and warned passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary A spokesman said: “We are running and that's what counts. But due to the severe disruption we have experienced today we have a number of trains and crew out of position. We expect ongoing weather conditions to result in speed restrictions and delays on our routes.” Nancy and Juan Ochoa, both teachers from Riverside, California, said their trip had been ruined by cancellations. Ms Ochoa, 25, said: “Having to queue like this all day has ruined our trip. We're not sure what we're going to do if we don't make the train today.”  Onlookers said disabled passengers were being escorted to the trains directly, but many people in their sixties and seventies — mainly parents travelling to spend Christmas with their children — are being left waiting in the queue. David Reece, a 53-year-old financial consultant who lives in Paris, spent three hours at the station last night but was forced to abandon the queue after his train was cancelled. He returned this morning at 8am.  “I've been here an hour and a half and I've been told that I'll be here for another four or five hours,” he said. “ There were a lot of Eurostar staff around but I haven't seen any for a while.” Domestic trains into London were also operating an emergency timetable, and in many areas buses were unable to replace them due to blocked roads. South West Trains operated a reduced timetable while all routes on Southeastern suffered disruption. Seven of the 11 Tube lines suffered disruption during the morning peak due to weather conditions and signal failures. The misery came as Southeastern commuters who suffered the brunt of last week's snow were told they will not receive any compensation for the disruption after train performance for the year beat the 82 per cent threshold by 0.04 per cent.

Further snow travel chaos set to disrupt Christmas week

London, Monday 20th December, 2010. Thousands of people face further disruption to their Christmas travel plans as cold weather conditions continue to grip much of the country.  British Airways is hoping 60 flights will depart Heathrow on Monday morning, but dozens more have been cancelled. BAA has apologised to people who were forced to sleep in the terminal but Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said aviation was a "safety-first business". Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh and Birmingham airports are open. Meanwhile, the Met Office has warned of more snow and ice in many parts of the country. A "bitterly cold" day is forecast, with freezing fog.  Southern England and south Wales were among those in the "firing line" for Monday, said BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts, with 5-10cm of snowfall that could coincide with both the morning and evening rush hours. The Wales Ambulance Service has warned of potential "long delays" in responding to 999 calls. There were also warnings of more heavy snow for much of Scotland and north-east England, with up to 10cm of snow expected in northern Scotland.  The lowest UK temperature overnight, recorded in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was thought to be -19.6C. Northern Ireland had another bitterly cold night, with -18C recorded at Castlederg in County Tyrone. Thousands of people were forced to spend another night at Heathrow with few flights departing on Sunday.  Airport operator BAA said further cancellations and delays at Heathrow would be inevitable. But many passengers were unhappy with their treatment.  Sarah Randall, from Hertfordshire, said she was stranded at the airport with her husband, parents and three children - aged six to 11 - after their Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was cancelled on Saturday morning. She said they slept on the floor on Saturday night and that her children were still traumatised by the experience. She complained: "The weather was beyond their control, I know, but my gripe is the disgraceful way all passengers have been treated and abandoned." She said the family is now back at home after her husband walked through the snow to flag down a taxi on the M4 slip road but they are yet to find out if the £16,000 cost of their "dream trip" to Hong Kong and Bali will be refunded.  Mr Hammond said he was aware of the "outrage" of passengers but he added: "We have had very extreme conditions and aviation is a safety-first business and the conditions at Heathrow have made it difficult for aviation to operate."

12 held in major anti-terror swoop

Twelve men have been arrested in a major national counter-terrorism operation, West Midlands Police said. The men - five from Cardiff, four from Stoke-on-Trent and three from London - were detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK. The suspects, aged between 17 and 28, were detained by unarmed officers at approximately 5am on Monday. West Midlands Police said: "All were arrested at or near their home addresses, with the exception of one suspect from Stoke who was at a domestic property in Birmingham. "Searches are now being conducted at the home addresses, plus the address in Birmingham and another residence in London." The operation is being led by Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, the Senior National Co-ordinator Terrorist Investigations, and is being coordinated from the West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit. It also involves the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, South Wales Police and Staffordshire Police, a spokesman said. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates, national lead for counter-terrorism policing, said: "This is a large scale, pre-planned and intelligence-led operation involving several forces. The operation is in its early stages so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the suspected offences. However, I believe it was necessary at this time to take action in order to ensure public safety. The arrests come after intelligence agencies in Europe, Pakistan and the US intercepted a credible Islamic plot to launch raids on European cities, in a similar style to the attacks in Mumbai, India, two years ago, in which more than 170 people were killed during a 24-hour co-ordinated assault by 10 gunmen in November 2008. It has been blamed on Pakistani militants. The planned attack in September would reportedly have been similar to the deadly commando-style raids in Mumbai, with other European cities, in France and Germany, also targeted. The UK's terror threat rating remains at "severe", the second highest rating, meaning a terrorist attack is highly likely.

Travel Misery Continues Amid Snow Warning

Ice and heavy snow are causing more flight cancellations and delays at Britain's busiest airports amid warnings the current travel chaos will last through the week. Christmas getaway plans for many are on hold with hundreds of people camped out at Gatwick and Heathrow airports after planes were grounded over the weekend. British Airways says 70 of its 130 departures are cancelled at Heathrow while 89 of its 133 arrivals have been suspended - and there are delays at Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports as well. Gatwick Airport is open with operations "returning to normal", but passengers have been warned to contact their airline before travelling. There are also big problems on the motorways - the M4 in London is closed westbound between junctions 1 and 4 due to a crash, which is having a knock-on for commuters coming into London - and there are delays and cancellations on the Eurostar and on rail services right across the country. There were ugly scenes last night at Gare du Nord in Paris when hundreds of passengers were told of delays to Eurostar services. And motoring organisations are warning of "potentially fatal" conditions on the roads this morning. Temperatures plunged overnight, with a record low for Northern Ireland seen in Castlederg, County Tyrone, where the mercury plunged to -17.6C. The lowest UK temperature overnight was thought to be -19.6C, recorded in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, while parts of northeast Scotland were hit by 12in of snow overnight. Further snowfalls of up to 20cm expected today, with the South, including London, Wales and the Midlands all expected to see another covering. Click here for live travel updates for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: "It's going to be a very cold start to the day, with -10C to -15C recorded quite widely in parts of the country, and with patchy freezing fog hindering the morning rush-hour.  "The fog will be slow to clear, and in some places will remain all day, further suppressing the temperatures. Even where skies do clear, daytime temperatures are likely to remain sub-zero. 

"Cloud in the southwest will bring sleet and snow, which could well give some further significant accumulations." Heavy snow meant that only about 20 flights were able to take off or land at Heathrow on Sunday out of the 1,300 flights that usually go through the airport in a day. Mayor of London Boris Johnson has questioned BAA chief executive Colin Matthews over the situation at Heathrow, asking if everything possible had been done to get the airport moving. Shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has hit out at the Government's handling of the situation, saying people felt they had been told to "get a shovel or stay at home". Transport Secretary Philip Hammond defended his approach, saying he had been consulting with the Government's chief scientific office about the need for major long-term investment. Passengers were unforgiving, despite airports saying they were doing all they could. Trevor Taylor, 37, waiting for a flight to Singapore with his wife and two young sons, described the scene at Heathrow's Terminal 5 as "absolute mayhem". Many angry Sky News viewers emailed us their accounts of the delays. Singer Lily Allen was among those caught up in delays at Heathrow. She wrote on Twitter before her flight left: "Terminal 3 carnage. Apparently our flight is going today. Lots of tinfoil blankets all over the place. Departures is a ghost town." Eurostar services have also been affected, with an emergency timetable in operation for the rest of the week. A Eurostar spokesman urged passengers not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary, with refunds or rescheduled tickets available to those who could postpone their journey. Speed restrictions on Eurostar services are also adding up to two hours to journey times. Train operator East Coast has warned passengers there will be longer journey times and cancellations throughout the day following a power cut between Kings Cross in London and Peterborough last night. The knock-on effect is Grand Central Trains and Hull Trains also have cancellations. A number of South West Trains services in and out of London and Scotrail services are also not running. That problem down the East Coast also means First Capital Connect will be running a reduced service, so too will National Express East Anglia, Stansted Express and Chiltern Railways.

Snow travel chaos in UK set to impact on Christmas week

Severe disruption caused by the UK's freezing weather is set to continue into next week, as anger grows over a virtual shutdown at Heathrow airport. Hundreds of Christmas travellers are facing a second night sleeping at the busy London airport, with more delays and cancellations expected on Monday. As knock-on delays hit other airports, the Met Office warned of more snow and ice in many parts of the country. A "bitterly cold" day is forecast on Monday, with freezing fog.  Southern England and South Wales were among those in the "firing line" for Monday, said BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts, with 5-10cm of snowfall that could coincide with both the morning and evening rush hours. "We could have some bedlam once again, it looks absolutely atrocious," she said. There were warnings of more heavy snow for much of Scotland and north-east England on Sunday evening and through into Monday. Northern Ireland, East Sussex and Kent were also forecast to have more snow on Sunday evening. Thousands stayed at Heathrow overnight on Saturday, and few flights departed on Sunday, when some 210,000 people were due to fly. Just three flights had arrived by early Sunday evening.  Hundreds of people slept at Gatwick on Saturday night, where the situation was improving through Sunday. By 2200 GMT, there had been 235 departures and 220 arrivals, out of 704 flights scheduled for Sunday. When asked why there were so many more flights operating than at Heathrow, press officer Sean McKay said that while airline handlers were responsible for the de-icing of planes, the Gatwick team had been helping them. Airport operator BAA said further cancellations and delays at Heathrow would be inevitable. It added that beyond Monday there would be continued problems "as airlines move diverted aircraft and crew back to their normal positions". BAA's Andrew Teacher said staff would work through the night to clear ice from the airfields but they were "fighting against" temperatures expected to drop as low as -9C overnight.  "We are hoping to run a bit more of service tomorrow, but I think we need to be very realistic about the level of disruption over the next few days and the domino effect of the disruption."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM IWRM"

It was Christmas Party at IWRM  Church London on Sunday evening 19th December, 2010 where the dressing code was an issue - black suit for me with a bow tie and ladies to dressing in evening wear. After dinner young and old joined together for the Christmas Dance. And who are those wearing red hats? More later.

German embassy staff suspected in bribes-for-visas

BERLIN, Sunday - German embassy staff in Africa, South America and the former Soviet Union are facing probes for allegedly issuing visas in exchange for bribes, news weekly Der Spiegel reports in its upcoming issue. Local consular employees at German embassies in several countries around the world stand accused of working over the last two years for international people-smuggling rings to secure German visas, for example for sex workers. A foreign ministry spokeswoman declined to say whether a criminal investigation was underway but confirmed Berlin was looking into the matter. “The foreign ministry is working closely with federal police and the public prosecutor’s office in Berlin to fully clear up cases where irregularities, abuse or corruption is suspected,” she said. The spokeswoman added that in cases in which local employees were found to have been involved in illegal activities they were “sacked immediately”. The prosecutor’s office declined to comment. Der Spiegel reports in its issue to appear Monday that the applicants gave patently false information on official forms and then slipped staff several hundred euros (dollars) in cash in exchange for each visa.  “For some of these foreign women who arrived in Germany this way, the trip ended at Hamburg brothels,” the magazine wrote.

11 killed in Sagana accident

At least eleven people were Saturday night 18th December, 2010 killed while 21 others were critically injured when a bus they were travelling in hit a bridge and plunged into Maragwa River near Sagana.  Central provincial traffic police officer Job Magutu said the injured were taken to Thika district hospital.  The victims were returning from a ceremony where they had taken dowry in readiness for a wedding. The bus's driver and the groom to be are among the 21 who are hospitalized.  Officials say some victims admitted to the hospital require specialised treatment. A search is on for two missing people at the River. The bus, which belongs to Kamenjwa Premier Academy and was on hire, was said to be carrying 37 people. The section has been identified by police as an accident black spot. The accident happened barely a week to Christmas, a season often characterised by road carnage.

NO FLIGHTS FROM NAIROBI TO LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT AS THE

HEATHROW AIRPORT IS CLOSED FOR LANDING

Snow travel: Reaction to frozen Britain crisis

The Christmas travel plans of thousands of are in disarray after snow left Heathrow Airport all but shut.  Thousands have been forced to sleep overnight in airports and there is disruption to road and rail travel with the Met Office warning of more snow on the way. Temperatures struggled to get above -5C (23F) overnight and BBC forecaster Matt Taylor said there were lows of -19C (-2F) in parts of Worcestershire and Shropshire.

BAA

"Heathrow Airport will not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday's bad weather and prepares the airport for a full re-opening on Monday. "No flights will operate from Terminals 1 or 4 and a limited number of departures will leave from Terminals 3 and 5. We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates and you can contact your airline here. "This morning, we listened carefully to the advice of our airside operations team and reluctantly judged that while Heathrow's northern runway remains clear, the change in temperature overnight led to a significant build up of ice on parking stands around the planes and this requires the airfield to remain closed until it is safe to move planes around. "We have 200 aircraft parking stands and have a team of several hundred people working to treat these airside areas and to keep passengers in the terminal as warm and as comfortable as possible while we do everything we can to get Heathrow moving. "We are removing 30 tonnes of snow from each stand, but the temperature remains firmly below zero and Heathrow's capacity is limited to the extent that all parking stands are occupied by aircraft, making the job of clearing and treating them more difficult. "Safety is our first priority and we hope this course of action will allow us to offer a fuller service to passengers and airlines using Heathrow tomorrow."

British Airways

"We are aiming to get seven departures away from Heathrow today. At Gatwick we will be flying as many as possible but it will be a reduced operation because yesterday has had an impact and many aircraft and crew are in the wrong place.  "We had to divert flights (from the Far East) to Athens and Spain because Heathrow was closed. There are no arrivals at Heathrow today so they will have to stay where they are but we are looking after all our passengers (in hotels etc). The advice is not to leave home without checking the BA website. Don't go to the airport unless your flight is confirmed. "We are in the hands of the weather. We are doing all that we can for our customers within the restrictions that the airports are functioning under."

BMI

"All BMI flights into and out of Heathrow have been cancelled and will not resume until probably 10am tomorrow. A lot depends on how quickly Heathrow can resume flights. It's one of those unfortunate situations. "Like all the other airlines we will run flights as soon as we can and will try to find room for those whose flights have been cancelled. It's one of the busiest weeks of the year and we need to get Heathrow up and running. Sometimes the weather is not as bad as it's forecast but if the weather gets worse later in the week then it could get quite nasty. "The advice is not to go to Heathrow today. If you have flights tomorrow or later in the week keep checking our website and turn up for your flight unless you hear otherwise."

Shadow home secretary Alan Johnson

"It is a big issue when people believe the government have just left it for them and said 'get a shovel or stay at home'. Governing is about more than that when you hit a crisis. "We commissioned this report by David Quarmby, chair of the RAC, and no-one has heard anything of it. That was specifically to look at the points that Philip Hammond [transport secretary) is now saying we should look at again. He already has a report and nothing has emerged on that. "Secondly the salt supplies, they were supposed to be delivered in time, this is this government's responsibility, not the previous government and we hear they are going to be coming in dribs and drabs right into next year. They should have been here now. "This is one of the big worries for government, what this does in terms of the economy because if people are not getting out to the shops, there is not the demand in the shops then obviously that has an effect.

Foreign Secretary William Hague

"We have got higher salt stocks than at this time last year; we have got higher gas reserves than at this time last year. "So I think there was a heavy snowfall of political opportunism really in his [Mr Johnson's] comments. "As my colleague the Transport Secretary has said, we have not been equipped over the last few decades in this country to cope with every aspect of severe, prolonged cold weather. We may have to look again at that if these things are to recur frequently."

Travel chaos: Your snow stories

Heavy snowfall and icy conditions are causing travel chaos in parts of Europe.  London's two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, were forced to close their runways on what is normally the busiest weekend of travel during the Christmas holiday period, stranding thousands of British travellers.  The snow continues to disrupt transport networks BBC News website readers describe their experiences of the heavy snow and travel disruptions.

Tom: Works at Heathrow airport

I'm an aircraft engineer. I spent 12 hours Saturday night trying to prepare five aircraft for flight. Normally we would have only one overnight aircraft. Each plane has to be cleared of snow prior to de-icing. This takes us about three hours per aircraft. Once the snow had been cleared, the aircraft looked like an ice sculpture draped in icicles.

Once the snow had been cleared, the aircraft looked like an ice sculpture draped in icicles” It is mandatory that no aircraft can fly with any ice on it at all, so de-icing spray has to be used to clear the rest. The de-icer only lasts for half an hour so unless the plane takes off straight away, we have to start again. I was working in snow up to my knees in the freezing cold. Every now and then I had to stop work to get warm again. It was a very long, hard night. I also had to get myself into work. Normally, it takes me forty minutes but it took me two hours instead. Once I had finished my shift, I drove home in the middle of the night through poor conditions. I completely understand why passengers are frustrated but we are doing our best to get planes ready for flights.

Gareth Jones: Waiting at Heathrow for a flight to Havana

Click to pla

Passenger Gareth Jones on his Heathrow experience: "We've been left to fend for ourselves" They're trying to get us off air-side now but we're holding on until we're moved as we've got seats. They're trying to move us all back into arrivals as they've closed the airport. When we were at the gate we were wrongly told that we had to leave the building. It's ridiculous that they're going to kick us out and then make us go all the way back through check-in and security Sunday morning at 0600. I'm travelling with my wife in a party who are all going on a cruise. There are lots of elderly people in the group, how is it right for them to be sleeping on the hard floor? It's not the weather that's the problem, it's the way they've handled the people. Virgin and our tour operator left it late to try and book hotels and the airlines haven't thought ahead to crews who aren't able to fly because they'd go over their time limit. Our flight is meant to be at 1200 Sunday, depending on the weather. The cruise we're meant to be getting on is due to leave Havana Sunday for Mexico. I don't know if it will wait, but there are 300 people here all trying to get on it and we don't know if we'll be flown on to Mexico to meet it.

Christine Williams, Middlesex: Stranded at Heathrow

Hundreds of passengers were forced to sleep on the floor wrapped up in aluminium blankets  I'm stuck at Heathrow airport. We are stranded at Terminal 3. My husband and I have been waiting for our flight to Havana since 2000 Saturday. I cannot believe that I've had to spend the night sleeping on the floor. Hundreds of passengers are wrapped up in aluminium blankets. None of the shops are open.  We've only been given food vouchers for £5, since last night. People are getting impatient. No one is being updated on the situation at all!  Yesterday when we checked-in we were fully expecting to board our flight. However, we were left waiting at the gate and then we were told to pick up our luggage and promptly dumped in the arrivals lounge. I haven't spoken to any Virgin Atlantic representatives. I'm accessing the BBC News website to find out what the latest situation is, this is appalling. Heathrow is totally chaotic, cold and no one knows anything. We heard rumours of a possible flight. We are now waiting in arrivals desk to check in yet again. It's utter chaos. It's ruined my Christmas

Scott Allison, Glasgow: I'm stranded in Amsterdam

Schiphol is one of the busiest airports in Europe. Picture: Scott Allison  It's not only the UK that can't cope with the snow. There are literally thousands of UK residents who have now been stuck at various airports in mainland Europe for two days now.  I was delayed one night at Stockholm and then a second night Friday night at Amsterdam. When will I get home? I have no idea yet and the customer service desk here at Schiphol is very busy.  Apparently, extra personnel have been brought in to cope with the influx of stranded passengers. Schiphol is one of the busiest airports in Europe but flights are still being delayed for up to seven hours.

James Durrant, London: No news from British Airways

James and his family are staying at the Hotel Le Preskil in Mauritius  We're currently stuck at our Hotel Le Preskil in Mauritius and I'm desperately trying to make it back to the UK with my family. So far I've had no constructive news from British Airways for the last 10 hours.  We left the UK on the 6 December and we were supposed to fly out this morning. I was notified by email, text and fax that our flight was cancelled. BA has now offered to reschedule our flights. They have tentatively suggested that our family might be able to fly out tomorrow afternoon. The BA customer service representative has said that we will need to get a flight to Johansburg or Cape Town and then get a connecting flight back to London. But BA hasn't been able to guarantee that we will be able to get a flight tomorrow afternoon. I'm travelling with two small children, both under the age of five. Our children are confused about what is going on much like us.  Last year we had to cancel our Christmas celebrations in France with my wife's parents due to problems with EuroStar and our plans to spend Christmas in London seem unlikely.

I'm paying for a downgraded hotel room which I assume I'll be able to claim back from BA at some point. The hotel has made it clear that while we are welcome they need our rooms because it's their peak season for bookings.  Our Christmas tree delivery was going to be delivered tomorrow, but we have now had to cancel that order. All the presents I bought for my family are still at my office. British Airways cancelled many long-haul flights Friday out of Heathrow. We were bound for Washington and sat on the tarmac with our two small children for four hours with no food before being told that we would not fly because the queue for de-icing was too long. Terminal 5 was absolute chaos.  All our luggage was lost, with no information about how or when it would be returned to us, and we did not get any food, travel, or hotel vouchers.  We were very fortunate that we were able to turn around and go home. Although we were gutted not to be able to travel. We've re-booked our flights for Sunday. The disappointment on my four-year-old son's face when he found out that we we wouldn't get to see his grandparents was heartbreaking.

Mike Marsh, Wigan: Stuck on the M6

J26 of the M6 at around 0100 on Saturday morning  I had to pick up my wife from her work's Christmas party in Leigh. I left Wigan at 2145 and got home at 0315 for a return trip that should take less than hour.  We got stuck getting off the M6 at Junction 26. Eventually some of us had to shovel a path and literally push cars up the slip road at Orrell roundabout one by one.  Luckily I took some food, water, shovel and boots. After five hours we managed to get within ten minutes walk of our house and had to abandon the car.  A lot of people had to abandon their car on Orrell road or try and get in the Premier Inn near the junction.  There wasn't a serious road plan in operation last night as the roads were completely crippled. A gritter was stuck in front of us on the slip road for over an hour due to the traffic.  It took people to get out of their cars and organise themselves to let it through. In five-and-a-half hours, at no point did we see a single police car.  People needed instructions on how to organise themselves. We were near the front when it ground to a halt.  It wouldn't surprise me if people had to sleep in their cars on the M6.

Other comments

It seems that with all this disruption, with people blaming airlines and airports, people are forgetting about the staff who work here. I work for a large UK airline and have been working almost non-stop since Friday doing double shifts of up to 14 hours. We go though all the effort of trying to get to work though the terrible conditions to end up spending the whole day taking abuse from people. Why is it people believe that they have a right to abuse staff? At least we are turning up to work to try to help. Nick, Heathrow airport, UK

I am here at work for British Airways in Terminal 5. BAA took the decision to close the airport for very good health and safety reasons. It is too dangerous to allow aircraft to take off and land at high speeds to use a frozen runway. Up to seven flights are leaving from Terminals 3 and 5. BA as an airline, is looking after its passengers stranded here at the terminal very well. We are advising those who live in London, or within reasonable distance to leave the airport and re-book in the comfort of their own homes. We have no staff at the airport re-booking passengers, a very wise decision as we do not know when the weather will change and can only go on predictions from outside agencies. We are also one of the only airlines who have a presence in the terminals today. As for passenger comfort, we are trying our hardest along with BAA to provide food, water and blankets for passengers. BJ, Heathrow airport, UK

Snow leaves travellers stranded at Heathrow and Gatwick

London, Sunday 19th December, 2010. Thousands of travellers have been stranded at Heathrow airport overnight, and hundreds more at Gatwick, as snow continues to disrupt much of the UK. There will be no flight arrivals at Heathrow on Sunday and only a handful of departures, while many Gatwick flights are affected.  Problems persist at airports UK-wide, while the Met Office is warning of icy roads across much of England and Wales. More heavy snow is expected in eastern Scotland and north-east England. Up to 10cm of snow are expected in these areas, and up to 20cm in hilly areas. Forecasters said the UK was hit by extremely low temperatures overnight, with most parts of the country struggling to get above minus 5C, while fresh snow fell in eastern Scotland and north-east England. Hundreds of thousands of Britons had been due to fly this weekend, according to travel association Abta, which estimated that four million people expected to go abroad. Heathrow airport told the BBC that "a few thousand spent the night in the terminals" but said just four short-haul and three long-haul flights would leave on Sunday morning. It hoped to be operational on Monday. Sue Kerslake spent the night on a terminal floor with her three young grandchildren after their Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was cancelled. Having arrived at the airport at 0800 GMT on Saturday, they sat on a plane for seven hours before being told it was not taking off. "There were thousands of people in departures overnight and it got quite intense at times. The bars were open and some people were drinking and got quite nasty," she said. Stuart Gash, from Swindon, who had been due to fly to New York for a Caribbean cruise with his wife and two children, said UK airports seemed unable to cope at the first sign of snow.

He said: "There was no more than two inches of snow and yet the runway is totally covered. Why aren't they ploughing it, why aren't they gritting it, why aren't they salting it?" Andrew Teacher, from Heathrow operator BAA, said it had invested more than £6m in the last year in technology to move snow and de-ice runways and that staff had been working through the night. But he said: "There comes a point where you cannot do any more; when you're moving snow and it's freezing behind," adding that many planes had been frozen into parking spaces. He apologised for the "miserable" situation but said problems had been caused by "an extreme amount of snow in a very short space of time" and safety had to be prioritised. "Overnight we had hundreds of people drafted in to focus on helping passengers who have remained in terminals. We've given them blankets, water and food and are trying to make people as comfortable as possible." The Independent's travel editor Simon Calder said very few of the 400,000 passengers due to fly out of Heathrow this weekend would get to their destinations. At Gatwick, the BBC's Helen Fawkes said 90,000 people should fly out on Sunday but that there had already been 50 cancellations. A Gatwick spokeswoman said it was doing everything it could to "get passengers on their way". "Passengers must check with their airline before setting out for the airport to reduce congestion and avoid disappointment," she said.  Airports in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands are also suffering cancellations and delays.  Stansted, Luton, Exeter, London City, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton airports said flights would be subject to delays and cancellations throughout Sunday, while the runway at Jersey Airport was closed until at least 0915 GMT.

Ryanair has cancelled 84 flights to or from UK airports, mainly in the London area. In Northern Ireland freezing conditions continue to make travel difficult following some of the heaviest snowfall for 25 years - with more forecast. Belfast International Airport has reopened, although knock-on effects have caused delays. Monarch Airlines managing director Tim Jeans said reassessment of the UK's transport infrastructure was needed. "We have not coped well. The infrastructure - not just at the airports but the road infrastructure - completely seized up. The M25 going towards Heathrow and Gatwick virtually impassable within an hour of the snow starting to fall." On what is one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel and shopping, other problems caused by the weather include:

• The AA said it dealt with 16,000 calls on Saturday, compared with 9,000 on an average pre-Christmas Saturday
• There was some disruption to South West Trains and First Capital Connect services, although most other routes were now operating normally, according to National Rail Enquiries, which has provided a new passenger phone number - 08453 017 641
• Sunday's sporting schedule was again badly affected, after wide postponements of football, rugby union and horse racing fixtures on Saturday
• An urgent appeal is being made for blood donors, particularly those who are O negative, as stocks are running low
• Companies have warned of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas

On Saturday, Jon Caudwell, from the Highways Agency, said they were doing their best to keep major roads in England clear but needed help from motorists who should "really seriously consider" whether they needed to go out. He said he was surprised at the level of traffic on the roads, given the advice not to travel. He said in some areas abandoned vehicles and jack-knifed lorries had blocked access for gritters. A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The weather over the last 24 hours has been exceptionally severe. Government continues to monitor all aspects of the situation."

FROZEN BRITAIN

London, Saturday 18th December, 2010. Heathrow will remain closed tonight and will not reopen until tomorrow, as heavy snow continues to cause chaos across Britain's transport networks. The airport had hoped to reopen this evening but all flights remain grounded. Operator BAA said: "Our airside teams have cleared the Northern runway and taxiways but there remains significant snow and ice on aircraft stands and we have judged that it would not be safe to operate. "We currently have hundreds of staff working to keep the airport safe and are providing blankets and water for passengers as we strive to get Heathrow moving." It is not clear when the airport will reopen on Sunday but BAA says staff are constantly monitoring the situation. Gatwick was forced to close for five hours but reopened this afternoon after a "140-strong snow team worked tirelessly to sweep 10cm of snow and ice from the runway", the airline said. But the airport warned passengers to expect further disruption and advised them to check with their airlines before setting off. He added: "We have got adequate supplies of salt, public transport networks are working with reduced levels of services, which you'd expect in conditions like this. "The priority for transport operators is to get routes cleared and get services back to normal in time for the Monday morning travel to work period." On what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, the record levels of snow have thrown the Christmas getaway - and festive shopping on the last weekend before Xmas - into disarray. The South has been bearing the brunt of the cold weather today, with heavy snow falling across the South East, while 15in of snow fell overnight in northwest England and Northern Ireland.

No flights to Nairobi from London Heathrow Airport on Saturday evening as the airport remained closed until 6.00 a.m. on Sunday 19th Dec. for departure but no arrival allowed until 10.00 a.m.

It is -36C (-32.8F) in Siberia City of Krasnoyarsk, Russia

In the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk members of a winter swimmers club get out of the Yenisei River after a short swim with air temperature measuring about -36C (-32.8F).

Arsenal sign Japanese midfielder Ryo Miyaichi

Arsenal have confirmed that 18-year-old Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi will be joining the club in January.  The player, who has represented Japan at Under-17 level, impressed Gunners manager Arsene Wenger during a trial spell with the club earlier this year.  "He trialled with us in the summer and has raw ability which has attracted many clubs around the world," Wenger told the club's official website.  "I look forward to helping him fulfil his potential here at Arsenal."  Miyaichi is set to take part in the forthcoming All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, where he is representing Chukyodai Chuyko High School.  Once the national championships are concluded, Ryo will join up with his new team-mates in London.

More heavy snow forecast for Sunday. The snow that caused travel chaos across much of the UK on Saturday is set to get worse in some areas on Sunday.

THE COLDEST DECEMBER SINCE RECORD STARTED

Britain is struggling under fresh snowfall as flights were cancelled and Christmas getaway plans were thrown into disarray. Planes were grounded at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, on what is traditionally the busiest weekend for travellers before Christmas. Meanwhile, overnight blizzards and plummeting temperatures buckled a huge chunk of the nation's road and rail networks as the latest blast of wintry weather showed little sign of easing. Easyjet has already cancelled all flights from Gatwick Airport between 6am and 10am, while officials advised all passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport. Meanwhile passengers also faced disruptions at Exeter, London City, Aberdeen and Cardiff. The British Airways announcement came after overnight blizzards and plummeting temperatures buckled a huge chunk of the nation's road and rail networks on what is traditionally the busiest weekend for travellers and retailers before Christmas. The North West of England was hit with reported deluges of up to 10in of snow causing widespread disruption and accidents on major roads and motorways. Police said hundreds of motorists were stranded on the M6 in Greater Manchester. Parts of the south were also blanketed by snow overnight, with the blizzards predicted to dump as much as a foot of snow on parts the South East and the Midlands. Temperatures dropped as low as minus 13C in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, overnight with Gatwick producing a reading of minus 11C. Forecasters expect the mercury will struggle to break freezing over the course of the day. This weekend is expected to be the busiest for retailers and commuters in the run-up to December 25, but many are expected to face misery as airports, rail networks and roads feel the force of the big freeze.

"I have been to Iraq and Afghanstan"

Caught at Jamhuri Celebrations in London last week is on left Ms.. Karen Wanjiru Mbugua a teacher in Clapton, South London and Ms Rose Wangui Mwai of Charities Care. On right is Mr. Koimburi and Mr. Peter Munene (white) a former soldier in the British Army. He has been to Iraq and Afghanistan before coming back to UK. When he met Mr. Seed at the celebrations he had to this say: "It is nice to see in person Mr. Seed, I have been longing to see you. I have heard of you, you have helped me but you don't know. While I was in Iraq and Afghanistan you used to help me transfer my money to Kenya through your Mr. Seed Money Transfer. I was doing it through internet banking immediate I receive my salary. You know Mr. Seed, when you are in Iraq or Afghanistan, you never know of tomorrow and I have to transfer my salary immediate because you never know.... good man....." Mr. Munene explained as he laughed.

Shoppers Brave Big Freeze For Xmas Bargains

Bad weather over the last few weeks has kept some people away from the shops. But customers now clearly realise there are only a few days to go, and have to catch up with their shopping. Today is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year with millions hitting the high street for last-minute items for the festival period.

Oxford Street shops predict bumper day

With savings to be made before a January hike in VAT, and many deliveries for online customers falling victim to the snow, shops are hoping for a bumper day at the checkouts. It is expected that more than £50bn pounds will be spent this Christmas - an 8% increase on last year. Jace Tyrrell, from the New West End Company which represents retailers in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street in London, said: "This weekend will be one of the biggest of the year for West End retailers. "Going back through the data from the last Christmas that fell on a Saturday in 2004, forecasts are for a super Saturday with over 1.2 million shoppers expected this weekend and 130 million going through the tills."

The Grip Of Winter: Time To Fit Snow Chains

In the depths of Britain's really bad winters over 50 years ago - particularly in 1947 and 1965 - the solution to getting moving on the icy roads was tyre chains.

Snow chains are mandatory - and necessary - in mountainous areas of Europe (left) although winter tyres (centre) have high silica content, making them more flexible in cold weather. Unlike chains, winter tyres (right) can also be used on roads that have been cleared of snowmotorway networks.

It was a cold and finger-freezing job to fit them, but the result was well worth it. Apart from an uncomfortable and noisy ride, you could drive with relative ease - and remember this was an era before four wheel drive vehicles and extensive motorway networks. Yet now, apart from in a few of the remoter parts of Wales and Scotland, few drivers prepare their wheels for the frost and snow. It is very rare in this country to see a car going along with the wheels encased in chains or even the more modern sock. This is an easily fitted device, made from a textile, giving a better road grip. Yet the adhesion achieved gave a greater degree of safety, and you could nearly always make your destination. Meanwhile, on the continent it is common practice to change onto higher-grip silica tyres in November, returning to normal summer tread in March. In Germany, a new law has just come into force whereby all heavy goods vehicles rated 3.5 tonnes or above, and coaches that carry more than eight passengers must have 'mud and snow' tyres on their axle wheels during the winter. The British are notorious for using the same set of tyres winter and summer alike. However, David White of Kwik-Fit Tyres, Edinburgh, said he had been inundated with requests for winter tyres due to the prolonged nature of the current cold spell. "Motorists do not realise that rubber does not give the same grip on icy surfaces at temperatures below 7C," he said. "Winter models have a deeper tread, and contain silica to cope with the cold." James Keele of ATS-Euromaster, Birmingham, said car fleets operators were now giving consideration to changing the tyres of all their vehicles due to the temperatures being experienced. "The cost difference is outweighed by efficiency when the fact that the wear factor on ordinary tyres being used during cold weather increases by 15%," he said. For heavy and persistent snow, chains may still be needed. Few tyre outlets sell either chains or socks (for less extreme conditions) at present but plenty of options are available online though, and Kwik-Fit says it may review the situation given the early and vicious start to the winter. A word of warning, some cars do not have sufficient wheel clearance to accommodate chains, so a little checking is required before purchase, and they must be removed before driving on snow-free roads.

Meanwhile Kelly Ostler-Coyle of the Association of British Insurers, advises that drivers check with their insurance firms before fitting chains or socks. "Make sure you are using a reputable garage if having them fitted and work is done in accordance with the manufacturer's handbook," she added. If safety has a high priority, then winter tyres, socks or chains are a must.                                                                                                                                                                                    

Snow batters Britain

Christmas commuters are facing further transport chaos after Britain was battered by fresh blasts of heavy snow that show little sign of easing.

Overnight blizzards and plummeting temperatures buckled a huge chunk of the nation's road, air and rail networks on what is traditionally the busiest weekend for travellers and retailers before Christmas. The North West of England was hit with reported deluges of up to 10in of snow causing widespread disruption and accidents on major roads and motorways. Hundreds of motorists were stranded on the M6 in Greater Manchester. Parts of the south were also blanketed by snow overnight, with the blizzards predicted to dump as much as a foot of snow on parts the South East and the Midlands. Easyjet cancelled all flights from Gatwick Airport between 6am and 10am, while officials advised all passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.

Belfast City Airport was closed last night while all flights were suspended at Belfast International Airport. Air passengers also faced disruptions at Exeter, London City, Aberdeen and Cardiff. Temperatures dropped as low as minus 13C in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, overnight with Gatwick producing a reading of minus 11C. Forecasters expect the mercury will struggle to break freezing over the course of the day. This weekend is expected to be the busiest for retailers and commuters in the run-up to December 25, but many are expected to face misery as airports, rail networks and roads feel the force of the big freeze. Nearly a quarter of all train services have experienced delays and a similar picture is expected with operators in the south, including Southeastern and Southern Railway, running reduced services. Some ommuters took the drastic step of abandoning their cars overnight - hindering the efforts of gritters battling to keep the road networks flowing.

Farmer accidentally shot burglars

A disabled farmer trying to kill a fox accidentally shot and wounded two burglars raiding a cannabis farm he did not know existed.

Edward Tibbs, 62, fired his shotgun three times into the dark from the seat of his mobility scooter after being woken in the early hours. He was aiming at a fox trying to steal geese from an enclosure on his 650-acre arable farm in Crays Hill, Billericay, Essex, but hidden in the darkness were two men trying to break into an outhouse he had rented out and which now contained a secret drugs factory. They suffered gunshot wounds to their backs and legs and suspicious hospital doctors called in police. Several hours later, a team of police marksmen, accompanied by a helicopter, stormed into Mr Tibbs's home and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder. The extraordinary story only came to light after investigators told Mr Tibbs he would face no further action.

Mr Tibbs, who suffers multiple sclerosis and neuralgia, said the "horrendous" three-month Essex Police investigation "devastated" his family and business.

Speaking about the shooting, he said: "They must have been 50 or 60 yards away, probably further. If they had been 30 yards off I would have killed them.

"It was pitch black. Black as your hat. There are no lights here at all. I came out of lights, the house, and saw the fox. I know which way they go and saw movement and fired three times at it and that was that. "I never knew I had hit anyone, no screams or hollering, no nothing. I just came back indoors."

How Ocampo read secret list in State House

President Mwai Kibaki meets ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo at his Harambee House office. Looking on is Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo read out the names of the Hague Six to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a State House meeting two weeks before his public announcement, it was revealed on Friday. Mr Kibaki, who was flanked by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and a few members of the Cabinet, was visibly startled when he heard the name of his close confidant and secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, the Saturday Nation has learnt. Mr Odinga was also reportedly angered by the inclusion of Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey’s name. According to a source who cannot be named because of the oath of secrecy, the December 1 meeting was attended by members of a special Cabinet committee on the International Criminal Court chaired by Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti. The other members are Lands Minister James |Orengo, Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo, Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang, Permanent Secretary in the PM’s Office Mohammed Isahakia, Internal Security Permanent Secretary Amos Kimemia and Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura. Details of that and subsequent meetings between Mr Kibaki, Mr Raila and members of the Cabinet in which attempts were made to postpone Mr Ocampo’s announcement are carried in a special report in The EastAfrican weekly newspaper which goes on sale on Saturday. The picture emerged of a president and prime minister seeking to forestall the political fallout that has split the cabinet and exposed deep political fissures that will have direct bearing on day-to-day management of state affairs and the shifting alliances ahead of the 2012 elections. The president and the prime minister are now, even if indirectly, at the centre of damage-control efforts that are seeing frantic efforts to get Kenya off the ICC spotlight and limit the political reverberations that have shifted the ground under their feet. The government was shaken by the release of Mr Ocampo’s list, and more so in that both the principals were badly hit by the naming of key lieutenants on the respective wings of the coalition. The reaction in Parliament and elsewhere in the wake of the announcement indicated ministers, MPs and other key leaders ignoring the president and the prime minister to come out in defence of colleagues they felt had been unfairly targeted. There were clear signs that the President and the PM were working together to limit the damage in their political camps.

The government statement read by Mr Odinga, in tandem with the president’s statements the previous day, also repeated that public servants in the list would retain their jobs since they had not been indicted but were just suspects under investigation. That is a departure from established norms that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga seem to have agreed on early as part of the damage limitation exercise. Foreign minister Moses Wetang’ula and his PS Thuita Mwangi had not been charged with any offence when they stepped aside over the Tokyo embassy scandal recently. Earlier, under the old constitution, cabinet ministers Kiraitu Murungi, George Saitoti, David Mwiraria and Amos Kimunya all stepped aside over various corruption allegations without waiting to be charged. All were subsequently reinstated after being cleared. Therefore it is clear that there is something about these specific cases that have seen President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga close ranks in an effort to limit the political fallout. If the mood seen in Parliament on various press conferences is anything to go by, it is as if their two principals were being accused by their respective loyalists of abandoning key allies to The Hague mechanism. While there had been a lot of rumours doing the rounds on the identity of those to be named, most of the focus was on William Ruto on Mr Odinga’s ODM side and on Mr Uhuru Kenyatta on the President Kibaki’s PNU side. Both principals were shocked that it turned out also to contain close political allies and confidants who they had no clue were high on Mr Ocampo’s radar — Industrialisation minister and ODM chairman Henry Kosgey and Public Service boss and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura. It is now emerging that the president and the prime minister together with a select number of cabinet ministers had been given a sneak peek at the list a fortnight before Mr Ocampo made his announcement. That was at the beginning of December when Mr Ocampo and former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan visited the country for the review conference on the national dialogue and reconciliation process. Read More..

Freeze shuts schools and airports in UK

Several UK airports are closed and train services have been cancelled due to heavy snowfall in many areas. Police in Northern Ireland - where conditions are said to be the worst in 25 years - and parts of Scotland are warning against non-essential travel. At least 800 schools in Wales, 500 in Scotland and 700 in Northern Ireland closed. More snow is forecast later in western areas and on Saturday, 10in (25cm) is possible in Wales and southern England.  The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for heavy snow - up to 8in - in many places, including Orkney and Shetland, Highlands and Outer Hebrides, Grampian, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Midlands, and the south-east and south-west of England. Forecasters have warned that in parts of Scotland temperatures could drop to -20C (-4F) overnight where snow is lying. Strong winds will cause the snow to drift in some areas and ice could be a problem anywhere in the UK, with temperatures struggling to get above freezing. The BBC Northern Ireland weather centre said the current snow situation was probably the worst widespread fall in about 25 years. In 2000, similar amounts of snow fell in about four hours, but were restricted to eastern counties. Drivers in Londonderry, Antrim and Down are being warned only essential travel should be undertaken. By Saturday, a second band of heavy snow is forecast to affect southern England and Wales, with 2-4in likely in many places and 8-10in possible in some others. Forecasters say there is some uncertainty about how far north it will reach. Problems caused by the weather include:

• Flights are suspended at Exeter, City of Derry, Belfast City and Belfast International airports
• London City, Norwich, Aberdeen, Inverness and Isle of Man airports have reopened after earlier closures, but flights are subject to delays and cancellations. Disruption is possible at other airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow and Cardiff
• Budget airline Easyjet has cancelled all its flights in and out of Gatwick airport between 0600GMT and 1000GMT on Saturday and expects further cancellations and delays throughout the day
• Easyjet passenger Caspar Mahoney said he and 100 other passengers have been stuck on a plane bound for Pisa, Italy, on the runway at Gatwick for seven hours, unable to take off because of ice
• Southern, Southeastern and South West trains have cancelled some services on Saturday in anticipation of more bad weather
• Cardiff's Winter Wonderland attraction featuring an open-air ice rink and a ferris wheel has been closed because of snow up to 6 ins deep
• A cannabis factory in Leicester has been exposed by the wintry weather because heat lamps inside melted the snow on its roof
• An urgent appeal is being made for blood donors, particularly those who are O negative, as stocks are running low
• A number of weekend football fixtures have been cancelled and Friday's race meetings at Uttoxeter and Ascot have been been called off
• Several major roads - including a 50-mile (80km) stretch of the A9 in Scotland - and many minor roads are blocked by snow
• Police say conditions have been "particularly atrocious" in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, and some motorists had to be rescued from their cars after becoming stranded
• Transport secretary Philip Hammond says distributors of heating oil are hoping to clear their delivery backlog in the next few days, following fears it may need to be rationed

Friday was due to be the last day of term in many schools, but hundreds have closed their doors early because of the weather.

'Absolutely awful'

New Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown has insisted Scotland is "very well prepared" and the authorities are doing all they can to keep trunk roads open. Mr Brown's predecessor Stewart Stevenson resigned after his department was criticised for its handling of the problems caused by the previous bout of severe weather. The RAC reported breakdown callouts reached a peak of about 2,000 an hour at 1400 GMT, with the busiest areas being Wales, Northern Ireland and north-east England. And the AA breakdown organisation said it had received 11,000 callouts by 1500 GMT, roughly 1,300 every hour. Spokesman Gavin Hill-Smith said conditions in some areas were the "worst imaginable, even for experienced drivers", with Aberdeenshire worst hit. The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said it would run "ghost trains" to try to stop ice forming on the tracks and had hundreds of ground staff on duty to keep key junctions and points clear of snow.  Energy Minister Charles Hendry warned on Thursday that more bad weather over Christmas could lead to "very serious" shortages of domestic heating oil. But a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron has played down the suggestions, saying: "I don't think that's going to happen at all. "The position at the moment is that there is sufficient fuel. The problem is getting it around the country." Heavy snowfall during the past few weeks has caused huge disruption, especially in Scotland and north-east England. Airports, roads and schools were closed, and companies are now warning of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas. The Royal Mail is putting on 7,000 delivery rounds this Sunday in a bid to ease the problem.

Mechanic shrinks his Mini car to fit inside his motor home

The Mini is known for its pint-sized proportions – but one mechanic has taken tiny to the next dimension by shrinking the classic car to fit inside his motor home. The cherry red version of the 1964 Mini 850, has been shortened from 3m (10ft) long to just 2.4m (7ft 10in) so Lester Atherfold can transport it in his AEC Reliance coach. He also reduced the width to 1.4m (4ft 8in). But despite its size, the little wonder still manages to reach speeds of 75mph with its 1100cc motor and weighs about 600kg (94st). ‘The Mini was the only car in the world that would fit in the motorhome, all the others were too big and tall,’ said the 67-year-old, from Napier, New Zealand. ‘No other car in the world would fit under your bed – and it can sneak into the smallest of car parking spaces. ‘The car gives us our freedom from the motorhome when we are away on holiday. It allows us to see and do things which we would otherwise not be able to do if we just had the motorhome.’ The customisation cost £95, as Mr Atherfold fitted a new motor, transmission, sub-frame, clutch and dashboard from a Mini Clubman. ‘People often laugh at the car, especially young girls for some reason,’ he added. ‘The car makes people happy – it brings a smile to people’s faces. It’s priceless, it belongs to the bus.’ Mr Atherfold claimed he had taken the car to ‘every corner of New Zealand’ and hoped to bring it to Britain soon.

QUEEN TAKES SCHEDULED TRAIN TO SANDRINGHAM

WRAPPED up against the cold in a patterned red headscarf and overcoat, the Queen took a scheduled train to King's Lynn today to begin her Christmas break at Sandringham. She and Prince Philip travelled on the 10.45 service from London King's Cross, sitting in a cordoned-off First Class compartment on £86 return tickets for the hour and 35-minute journey. As Philip, 89, stretched out on one side, reading a newspaper, the Queen, 84, sat sharing a joke with a detective across the aisle, as other passengers joined the train at the London station. To all intents and purposes, they looked like any other ordinary, slightly well-to-do couple travelling on the service. But their arrival at King's Cross in a green Daimler with a police back-up Range Rover behind them 15 minutes before their scheduled departure caused mayhem for other passengers. Police blocked access to three platforms at the busy station, meaning a couple of dozen angry passengers missed their trains while others were told they were too late to get onto the King's Lynn service, only for that decision to be rescinded a few moments later after some had left the station. Businessman Mark Saywell was among those prevented from getting onto the platforms and missed the 10.36 to his hometown station, St Neots, Cambridgeshire. "I am a little bit disappointed, to say the least," he said sarcastically. "I had my Christmas party last night and I just want to get to bed. I've got another hour's wait now."

Migrant worker cap in UK ruled invalid

Two judges said Theresa May had unlawfully attempted to 'sidestep Parliamentary scrutiny' when setting the immigration limits

London, Friday 17th December, 2010. Government caps on migrant workers introduced by the Home Secretary this summer have been ruled invalid by the High Court. Two judges said Theresa May had unlawfully attempted to "sidestep Parliamentary scrutiny" when setting the limits. Lord Justice Sullivan and Mr Justice Burton declared that, as a result, no lawful limits were in place for two tiers of job applicants from abroad. The ruling was a victory for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and English Community Care Association (ECCA), which was concerned over the position of immigrant care workers. The interim cap on visas for Tier 1 (general) highly skilled migrants and the number of certificates of sponsorship allowed for Tier 2 skilled workers were introduced in June-July. The Government plans to introduce a permanent limit on non-EU workers next April. Critics say the ruling is important for British business as the current cap is damaging industry in the UK. The changes were deliberately intended to give the minister flexibility and the ability to change the numbers allowed in to work, without having to go before Parliament for scrutiny. Lord Justice Sullivan said: "The Secretary of State made no secret of her intentions. There can be no doubt that she was attempting to sidestep provisions for Parliamentary scrutiny set up under provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act, and her attempt was for that reason unlawful." The changes introduced were substantive and should have been laid before Parliament, he said. The judge declared: "In my judgment no interim limits were lawfully published or specified by the Secretary of State for either Tier 1 or Tier 2... and there is not, and never has been, a limit on the number of applicants who may be admitted either under Tier 1 or the number of certificates of sponsorship that should be issued to Tier 2 sponsors."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS ROTERY CLUB"

It was Christmas Time for Rotary Club of Barking on Wednesday 15th December, 2010 when they hosted their Christmas Party in London Restaurant. Members and invited guests joined the party which was officiated by the President of the Club Mr. Duncan Ngare (standing left photo). During the dinner the club officials explained about their achievements during the year.

Ngilu faces Anti-Corruption probe

Water Minister Charity Ngilu Friday 17th December, 2010 appeared before the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission-KACC- to answer to graft accusations levelled against her ministry.  Mrs Ngilu, who was grilled for about one hour, has been on the receiving end accused of abetting nepotism through irregular awarding of tenders in her ministry.  KACC is seeking clarification on the conflict of interest in awarding of tenders and contracts to companies associated with her and irregular procurement and tendering procedures in the construction of dams and sinking boreholes. The graft allegations came to the fore after Public Works assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri blew the whistle on massive graft in the ministry accusing Ngilu of nepotism. Kiunjuri wants KACC to investigate how the ministry issued tenders to Kiri Consult Ltd for the construction of Umaa Dam, Samez Consultants Ltd (Kiserian Dam), Otieno Odongo and Partners Consulting Engineers (Chemususa Dam) and Runji Consultants which is building Bandasa Dam in Marsabit. He wants KACC to probe how Ngilu issued contracts for the feasibility study and preliminary design for eight new dams and establish whether there was competitive bidding for the tenders. He claims three consultants were awarded three projects each and singled out Runji Consultants who apart from building the Bandasa Dam was awarded the tender to put up the Nzoia and Koru dams. Kiunjuri said that out of the eight projects, three consultants have more than three other projects each. He said Runji has now been awarded Nzoia Dam in Nzoia and Koru in Nyanza on top of other contracts. Another company, Samezi which is putting up a dam in Kiserian, has been awarded the Mwache and Siyoi dams on top. Otieno Odongo and Partners consulting engineers has been given an additional dam in Kitete, Kiunjuri said. Last month, Prime minister Raila Odinga defended Ngilu and dismissed reports that she was favouring her Ukambani region in the provision of water services and construction of dams and pans.  "Ngilu has done a great job in her docket. I want to assure her that I'll fully defend her against the witch-hunt by her political detractors," said Raila then. She becomes the 3rd minister to appear before the commission, after Moses Wetangula and Henry Kosgey. The Minister has so far denied her involvement. KACC director Lumumba says investigations are still underway and will continue to end the cancer of corruption that is threatening national development and will soon present its evidence and recommendations to the Attorney General for consideration. Lumumba indicated that four ministers will be arraigned in court next week to answer to charges of corruption.

IT'S NOT ONLY US SUFFERING WITH THE WEATHER...

Severe  weather is causing chaos around much of Europe. In Germany 600 planes were grounded, including at least 300 in Frankfurt, after eight inches of snow fell.  On Friday 17th December, 2010  temperatures in Berlin reached -15C, a figure repeated in Prague.  Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport saw more than 100 cancellations. In Denmark, 355 post workers have been injured slipping on ice. A women’s World Cup downhill skiing event in Val d’Isere, France was called off because too much snow fell yesterday.  Parts of the continent have been warned to expect 11in of snow this weekend.

KHRC tells govt to focus on ICC

Kenya Human Rights Commission - KHRC has called on the government to not only focus on the International Criminal Court but the resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons.  Speaking during the launch of the policy brief and status report on IDPs, KHRC Programme officer Tom Kagwe claimed that displaced persons languishing in camps do not receive any support from the government thus exposing them to trauma and stress.  He challenged parliament to put in place a law will protect IDPs and guarantee government assistance.  Meanwhile, Kagwe urged public servants on Ocampo's list to voluntarily step down arguing that some would use their positions to interfere with investigations.  He said the government must push for a Local Tribunal to ensure that all the other suspects are prosecuted complementing the ICC process. Elsewhere, the government has said that it will not be possible to resettle all the remaining IDP's by end of this month as earlier promised. Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi said that lack of funds and land to resettle the IDP's was the greatest hindrance. She however said an extra 2,209 households had been resettled by last month leaving a balance of about 7,000 households in camps who needed to be resettled.

Murugi promised to have all the remaining IDP's in camps resettled by June next year. Elsewhere, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has appealed to Kenyans to exercise restrain and uphold peace and unity despite the recent naming of suspects of post election violence by the International Criminal Court. Mr. Musyoka stressed that an individual is deemed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law and assured that the government will ensure those named are accorded fair hearing and justice done. "Though we are concerned about the plight of   victims of post election violence, as a government we should also ensure the rule of  natural justice is followed to the latter while  trying the suspects named,'' he noted. The Vice President made the remarks Friday at Ongata Naado in Ntulele, Narok country, where he commissioned a multimillion Mosiro  community water project. Mr. Musyoka maintained that Kenya is a sovereign state and is able to address her own affairs without necessarily seeking foreign assistance. He   said that the naming of the six suspects should not disrupt Kenya's pursuit for national healing, peace and reconciliation. The Vice President thanked the sponsors of the project, noting that it would go a long way in   reducing the distance people in the area travel to access clean water. Assistant Minister for Water, Ferdinand Waititu, asked the residents to forward their proposal for the construction of water pans for consideration by the government. Prof. Meitamei Ole Dapash who initiated the project and mobilized sponsors said the Ksh. 10million project will serve five villages   and will soon be extended to reach even larger population. He said the project was sponsored by the rotary clubs in Arizona  IN United States of America, Rotary club International and Operation Eyesight. The event was also attended by Naivasha Member of Parliament, John Mututho, and the Narok North District Commissioner, Mr. Geofrey Gikosi, among other guest

ON SUNDAY the 19TH OF DECEMBER TRIPPLE EM will be hosting KIDS CHRISTMAS PARTY from 2PM TILL LATE. Let’s give the kids something to enjoy with SANTA. Let’s make this FAMILY DAY more fun and memorable for the kids. There will be a KID’S ENTERTAINER to get the kids in a jolly mood and the best thing is, “It IS FREE ENTRANCE”. Kids menu will be available @ £3.50 per kid including the dessert.

Also the Usual Nyama Choma, Ugali, Mukimo, Fish And Kachumbari will be available to order to eat in or take away.

Venue:  TRIPPLE EM

ROMAN WAY PUB 93 TOMLINSON AVENUE LUTON LU4 0QL

For more information please contact

07400020223//07540845930/ 07869754279

Millions facing fuel rationing over Christmas

as heating oil runs low in UK

An estimated two million homes, schools and hospitals face fuel rationing over Christmas after MPs warned that supplies of heating oil would hit ‘crisis’ point during the cold snap. As snow began falling again across the country, the Government confirmed that the situation could become “very serious,” with some households already facing waits of up to four weeks before they can receive supplies. The Office of Fair Trading announced that it was monitoring allegations of price fixing among suppliers, as the average cost of a litre of oil leapt to more than 70p from just over 40p a month ago. Around six per cent of households rely on heating oil, many in remote areas away from mains supplies. Six out 10 families in Northern Ireland, 505,000 homes, are dependent on oil deliveries. There are another 828,000 users in England and 155,000 in Scotland. Figures are unavailable for Wales, but are likely to be significant due to the high levels of households outside of towns and cities. Across the United Kingdom, a number of public bodies, including rural schools and hospitals, also depend on oil for heat. The first snow began to fall yesterday morning as the Briton was gripped by the second big freeze of the winter. Forecasters predicted that the entire country would be covered by the end of the weekend, leading to fears of fresh travel disruption. Heating oil customers have yet to see supplies return to normal following the last white-out, prompting MPs representing rural areas to call for emergency measures to ensure that consumers do not experience a cold Christmas. Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, said that ministers would work with suppliers to ration supplies to make sure that customers could get through the festive period, and confirmed that the outlook was potentially “very serious”. The Government also relaxed the rules on the number of hours lorry drivers are permitted to be on the road, allowing them to continue making deliveries for longer.

With up to 12 inches of snow expected to fall in parts of the country, consumer experts have warned that the Arctic conditions could lead to nearly a 1,000 businesses going bust, as customers stay home and limit their Christmas purchasing. Many will be disappointed after hoping to avoid the bad weather by ordering gifts online, only to find that their presents are unable to get through the snow. Hauliers warned that thousands of deliveries are already languishing in warehouses, and more are likely to build up in the run up to Christmas Day. Britain will shiver in temperatures lower than those in the North Pole, reaching 5F (-15) in parts of the country, with this winter expected to be the worst since the big freeze of 1962/3. Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, promised that no customer would be without oil over Christmas, adding: "The Energy minister has been in constant discussions looking at any way in which those who need heating oil, and are short of heating oil, get it. That is absolutely essential. "We are already in very close contact with the suppliers and we are anticipating that the deliveries will be adequate to ensure that there are supplies everywhere that's needed before Christmas." But Mr Huhne’s assurances will be treated cautiously by many who felt let down by the authorities during the last big freeze. Claims by the Local Government Association last month that the country was well equipped with stocks of grit proved hollow after thousands of motorists were stranded on roads from Scotland to Kent. In parts of the country, food and petrol began to run low, and airports and train lines ground to a halt. Last night, the Met Office issued a fresh nationwide severe weather alert for the entire country, lasting until Monday at least, with treacherous ice on roads and pavements likely to add to the problems caused by the snow. Hospitals are on alert for high levels of patients with fractures and broken bones. Water firms are also preparing for record numbers of burst pipes and boiler call-outs.

JOYCE TURVEY OF BIGLESWADE HAS LOST HER BROTHER IN KENYA

Joyce Turvey of Bigleswade has lost her brother Silas Owiny in Kenya. We need to come together and assist the family in offsetting the funeral costs and other related costs. Prior to his death, Silas was in hospital for more than a month thereby incurring a huge hospital bill.

Fundraising will take place at Aunty Tee's House, 2 Dorchester Road, Northolt, Middlesex, UB5 4PA on Monday 20th December, 2010 starting from 4.00 p.m. For more information please contact Joyce Turvey on 07863182994.

The late Lawrence Wambura Mburu buried in Cameroon

The late Lawrence Wambura Mburu was buried in Cameroon on Thursday 16th December, 2010. The late Mburu and his son Kell Wambura passed away in an accident in Yaoundé Cameroon on Saturday 20th November, 2010. The wife survived.

‘Mysteries of the Unexplained’ 
 A Psychic Rainy Season

 It began one October day in 1963, when the Francis Martin family of Methuen, Massachusetts, noticed a damp patch appearing on the wall of their TV room. They were puzzled, because it was too mild for pipes to freeze and burst. in a few moments they were more astonished than puzzled: there was a popping sound, and suddenly a spout of water burst from the wall.
 
 
 After several days of popping sounds and mysterious fountains of water (the flows usually lasted about 20 seconds and were occurring every 15 minutes or so in various places), the Martins's house was so much awash that they moved into the home of Mr. Martin's mother-in-law in Lawrence, not far from Methuen. Unfortunately, the water gremlin pursued them to Lawrence, and in a short time five rooms in the mother-in-law’s place were drenched too. The deputy fire chief was asked to investigate, and the house was checked for leaky pipes; there were none. One official, Deputy Mains, was present when a jet of water burst through a plaster wall and shot two feet into the room. He also heard the curious popping sound.
 
 
 Rather than inflict their problem on his mother-in-law, Francis Martin decided to return with his wife and daughter to their home in Methuen. This time the water supply was turned off at the main, and the pipes were drained. There was no diminution of the eerie spouts, gushes, and floods of water. Once again the house became unlivable, and once again the Martins returned to Lawrence. Again the water gremlin followed them. In time the watery assaults on the Martin family gradually came to an end. The Martins never did discover how gallons of water could jet from the dry plaster walls of their house or what kind of aqueous spirit had pursued them to Lawrence; nor could they account for the gradual cessation of the phenomena. For a while, it seemed, a kind of psychic rainy season had come upon them and then, as seasons do, had simply passed away. (D. Scott Rogo, The Poltergeist Experience, pp.185 86).
 

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Video: I am innocent says Uhuru Kenyatta

Family Wants Woman’s Mystery Death Probed

Nairobi, Wednesday 16th December, 2010 — A family in Mombasa is mourning a 21-year-old woman reported to have died mysteriously two days ago in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Ms Fatima Masoud is asking the government to help the family unravel the death of her daughter, Hadija Masoud. Ms Masoud said they received the shocking news on Tuesday from the girl’s agent. According to Ms Fatima, her daughter had complained of being mistreated by her employer. “We want the government to find out what happened to our daughter since she died in a different town from where she was supposed to be working,” Ms Masoud. A few months ago, a Kenyan woman was allegedly killed in the Middle East country. Ms Masoud said they had received conflicting reports about the way her daughter died. She said: “Preliminary information I received was that my daughter hanged herself, but another person called me later and informed me that she took poison. We want the Kenyan embassy in Saudi Arabia to give us the right information.” Speaking at her house in Kisauni, the mother said she wants to bury her daughter. “I want to see the body of my child,” she said amid tears. The family also wants to know how their daughter ended up working in Dammam instead of Riyadh where she was supposed to be staying. The woman’s aunt Aisha Ali said: “We suspect foul play. The procedure of taking our daughter to Dammam was not followed to the letter. We want the government to stop human trafficking,” Ms Ali said. - DAILY NATION

"Our Vision is Equipping men for Godly living." - Pastor Wangaruro, London

House votes to repeal ban on gays in military

The US House of Representatives has voted to repeal a ban on openly gay men and women serving in the US military. The Democratic-led House voted 250-175, sending the bill, which is backed by President Barack Obama, to the Senate for approval. The vote comes a week after Senate Republicans blocked a similar measure to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which came into force in 1993. The policy forbids gay soldiers from acknowledging their sexual orientation. The law is "the only law in the country that requires people to be dishonest or be fired if they choose to be honest", said Democratic Representative Jared Polis, of Colorado. Democrats who support repeal say they are committed to getting the 60 votes in the 100-member Senate needed to pass the legislation during the lame duck session of Congress, referring to the time between November's congressional elections and the January start of the new Congress. But Democrats face tough opposition from Republicans on the measure and an already busy agenda before the end of the year, including finishing work on legislation to finance the government and ratification of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia. A Senate aide told Reuters news agency that Democrats were "very confident" the measure would get at least 60 votes in the Senate. Roughly 13,000 men and women have been expelled from the military under the 17-year-old policy implemented under Democratic President Bill Clinton. Mr Obama has made repealing the policy a key part of his agenda since taking office in 2009. Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a report which found that allowing openly gay troops would have little, if any, impact on the readiness and cohesion of America's armed forces.

Several people were honoured with a certificate of appreciation by the PCEA Outreach Church London for the role the have played in the church during the year. Among those honoured was Church Treasurer Mr. Charles on left being presented with the certificate by Pastor Jane Njiiri and on right being presented with a certificate is Pastor Anthony Kimani and his wife. The certificate was presented to them by Mrs. Ndungu of PCEA Fellowship, Scotland.

Royal wedding no lavish repeat of Charles and Diana, says aide

The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be inspired more by the Queen's post-war “austerity wedding” than his parents' lavish ceremony in 1981, royal aides indicated today. The couple are said to be looking to the 1947 union of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten to set the tone for a royal wedding during hard economic times. Then, as now, the Government was faced with huge cutbacks, after borrowing heavily to pay for the war effort.  The then Chancellor Hugh Dalton decreed that only the decorations in Whitehall and outside the palace could be funded by the taxpayer. Even the Queen's £1,200 dress was partly paid for with 300 rationing coupons, with the balance coming from the civil list.  In his address in 1947 the Archbishop of York described her wedding as “in all essentials” the same ceremony as it would be for a commoner “married this afternoon in some small country church”. A royal aide said: “It will be done properly and well, but not in an ostentatious and lavish manner. This time is more analogous with 1947.  “In 1981 a lot more people were invited to the wedding. The route to St Paul's was also longer than it is to the abbey. It was undeniably a bigger wedding.” There is also unlikely to be such a glittering line-up of world leaders as in 1981. If heads of state are invited it will be because they are friends of the family. Even President Obama may not be asked, as the Prince is only second in line to the throne.

DR. CHEGE GITHIORA'S NEW BOOK

Please see copy of new book which is available in scant supplies but available for online purchase at

http://lulubooks.com A new publishing order is expected shortly

Dr. Chege Githiora a senior lecturer at University of London School of Oriental and African Studies - or SOAS, London has written another book. You can ring or email him to get a copy. Dr. Githiora who like to exercise his vernacular talents like Ngugi wa Thiongo wrote this to Mr. Seed: Ni ndirarutire ibuku ria Njuguna Mutonya, Nation journalist and former political detainee, from Gatura) na ni ndirendia o na guuku London. Riguriitwo ta mandathi mahiu Kenya. I was there last week. Andu no metie Cege wa Githiora (07904328866) kana manyandikire jcpressbooks@yahoo.com. £6.99 + s/h kindu £2.

THE WORD OF TODAY

Ezekiel 37:1-10

The Valley of Dry Bones

WANJOHI WA MAKOKHA NEW BOOK IN BERLIN

Kindly bring the news of my book's availability at www.amazon.com to the rest of our brothers and sisters abroad. You can publish a small notice of it and paste the cover attached to this email. The book has 70 powerful and instructive pieces of poetry that speak directly about peace to all Kenyans.

It can be very helpful if our Kenyan Embassy near you buys a copy or several copies from www.amazon.com for its resource centre. As you can see, clearly, at number 22 the book is the best-selling Kenyan book of poems at the moment on the top 100 Best-selling books at www.amazon.com. In the larger East African region, it comes second only after Okot's Song of Lawino which is at number 10. These are the only two books from East Africa in top 50 in the list.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/271622011/ref=pd_ts_pg_2?ie=UTF8&pg=2

It can also be very helpful if the Embassy can spread word around about the availability of this important book that spreads the message of peace among Kenya and memorialises the dark chapter of our First Republic.

The book is available in Nairobi from Bookpoint at Yaya Centre and Bookstop on Moi Avenue.

http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Stones-Kenyan-Narratives-Verse/dp/9956578304/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/nest-of-stones

"Turning Dreams Into Homes"

Cross Over Savings Account 

Have you opened a Crossover Savings Account yet? The Crossover Savings Account is an account that offers you very attractive features that enable you to save for long term projects such as home ownership or any other dreams you have in mind.  These features include earning high interests on the deposit made to the account, earn loyalty points on every deposit made into the account, access to 100% mortgage financing, up to 25% discount on commitment fees, up to 2% discount on mortgage interest when applying for a mortgage loan and much more.
 

Open the Crossover Account today and Stop Dreaming, Start Saving and Crossover!

Milka Wachira   milka.wachira@housing.co.ke  or Alice Ngatia alice.ngatia@housing.co.ke

Asylum children will no longer be held in custody

Failed asylum seekers in UK could avoid being kicked out of the UK under moves today to spare children from deportation centres.  Fears that Britain will be seen as a soft touch for asylum seekers were ignited by the new “family friendly” system being announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. He will confirm that children will no longer be held in custody in order to control immigration. Mr Clegg will also announce that the Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire is closing immediately.  In another move, the Home Office will no longer deal with failed asylum seeker families. Instead, independent experts will rule on cases, with the process administered by charities. The measures are being seen at Westminster as a major concession by David Cameron to the Lib Dems in recognition of the backlash they have suffered over tuition fees. But there is widespread concern among Tory MPs that asylum seekers with children in their care will be able to avoid being detained and vanish. Senior Tory Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, said “What I want to hear is what measures are there going to be to stop failed asylum seekers absconding and disappearing. “If Mr Clegg can give us assurance that no asylum seeker will disappear as a result of these measures, then that will be fine. I suspect he can’t. I fear the Government is prepared to accept losing a few asylum seekers as the price of this initiative.” Fellow Tory backbencher David Nuttall, MP for Bury North, said: “I quite understand the concerns about incarcerating children, but surely the solution is to make sure that anyone turned down for asylum should depart immediately, not hang around for weeks or months.” The concession to the Lib Dems over the asylum system, which currently costs taxpayers £1.5billion a year, is bound to intensify anger among the growing number of Tory critics of the Coalition. Many Tories fear too many Lib Dem manifesto pledges are being implemented while traditional Conservative policies are dumped. Mr Clegg will hail the end of child detention in deportation centres as “compassionate and humane”.  He will say: “We are ending the shameful practice that last year alone saw over 1,000 innocent children imprisoned.” The Lib Dem leader will say the previous Labour government was responsible for children being “literally taken from their homes, without warning, and placed behind bars.

 “Our reforms will deliver an approach to families that is compassionate and humane, while still maintaining the integrity of our immigration system.  “Our starting point is this: there is no greater test of civilised society than how it treats its children.”  And Mr Clegg will hail the announcement as “a big culture shift within our immigration system, one that puts our values – the protection of children – above paranoia over our borders, one that prioritises doing the right thing than looking and sounding tough”. Home Office figures show that 7,075 children have been detained in immigration detention centres over the last five years. The children were in custody for an average of 12.7 days while awaiting deportation. It is thought the overwhelming majority were accompanying adult relatives. Last year, 1,065 children were locked up in the centres, with 173 in custody for more than a month. The Deputy Prime Minister will vow that child detention for immigration purposes will be ended by next May, with family detention ending at Yarl’s Wood and Tinsley House near Gatwick airport. He will also promise that not a single child will spend this Christmas in an asylum centre. Under the shake-up, charities are to take over responsibility for dealing with asylum seekers.  Decisions on families rejected by the application system will be dealt with by a new panel of experts rather than UK Border Agency staff. Asylum seekers who exhaust their appeals will be offered “family conferences” to discuss their return home and any concerns. Most will be offered “assisted voluntary return packages” with flights back home funded by taxpayers. Failed asylum seeker families who refuse voluntary return will be given two weeks to fly home, but will be allowed to remain in their communities during that period. It means there will be little to prevent those determined to stay vanishing into the background. As a last resort, those who still refuse to go – and who can still be traced – will face an “ensured return” to their countries of origin. That could mean up to 72 hours in “independently run, pre-departure accommodation”, likely to be run by a charity. The children will be allowed to leave the accommodation under supervision. Figures show that at least 100 asylum seekers have gone missing after being ordered to leave since last May. Critics fear numbers could increase dramatically if failed asylum seekers with children are no longer detained. Around 25,000 asylum applications are received each year. Last year, 72 per cent of applications – 17,545 cases – were refused.

The wife of Apostle Nganga (Neno) of Nairobi has passed away after along illness and will be buried tomorrow Friday 17th December, 2010 in Naivasha

Obama urges Kenya to work with ICC inquiry

US President Barack Obama Wednesday called on all Kenyans to cooperate with an International Criminal Court investigation into the violence triggered after contested elections there three years ago that left more than 1,500 people dead.  "I urge all of Kenya's leaders, and the people whom they serve, to cooperate fully with the ICC investigation and remain focused on implementation of the reform agenda and the future of your nation," he said. Obama, whose father was from Kenya, noted the progress the country has made since the unrest "moving away from impunity and divisionism toward an era of accountability and equal opportunity." "The path ahead is not easy, but I believe that the Kenyan people have the courage and resolve to reject those who would drag the country back into the past and rob Kenyans of the singular opportunity that is before them to realize the country's vast potential," he said. The International Criminal Court Wednesday accused six Kenyans, among them the son of the nation's founder Jomo Kenyatta, of masterminding the 2007-8 post-election violence. They included senior allies of both President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga, now his prime minister in a power-sharing government brokered to end the unrest. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, sacked education minister William Ruto -- a declared candidate for the 2012 presidential election -- and former police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali were also named. The others are Francis Muthaura, the head of Kenya's public service, Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey and radio executive Joshua arap Sang. The court's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told a press conference the six cited "are the most responsible, but of course there are many others... We concentrate on the most responsible... of course, Kenya can decide to prosecute more."

GIRL'S POWER

Ladies from Watford with Hon. Martha Karua during her recent visit in Luton, UK.

Britain set for fresh Arctic blast

Britain is facing another onslaught of Arctic weather with airports, rail companies and breakdown services putting extra snow teams on standby. Forecasters warned there could be up to 15cm (6in) of snow and bitter temperatures going into next week at least. Julian Mayes, senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "We're basically looking at potential icy conditions spreading down from the north so the emphasis is on icy roads following rain. "Tonight will end up very cold with snow showers that will affect particularly north Scotland and western coasts. "What we're going to find on Friday is these snow showers begin to move eastwards. Going into Saturday morning, a larger area of snow is going to develop and begin to move east. "In the early hours of Saturday morning, it will be snowing over quite a large bit of Britain and we could be seeing some appreciable snow quite widely. "Night-time temperatures will fall to minus 5C (23F) in southern England and minus 10C (14F) in Scotland. Quite a few places may be starting below minus 10C (14F). "Next week, it will stay cold with a further risk of snow in places." The Met Office has issued weather warnings for icy roads across Scotland, the North West and the North East, and heavy snow for almost all of the UK.

HUMAN RIGHT ACTIVIST FROM KENYA IS AROUND

Mrs. Beatrice Gathoni Kamau (right), a human right activist is in London. Gathoni is from Social Form Centre in Nairobi a branch of human rights in Kenya. Her contact in UK is 07949294078, in Kenya is 0722767924 and her email is gakamau@yahoo.com. She is a sister to Mercy Kamau of East London (left) and Aunt to Kimani (centre) son of Mercy Kamau who is student at a high cost school.

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT KIBAKI

I have taken note of the announcement made this afternoon by the ICC Chief Prosecutor Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo in regard to the Kenyan case.

Like other countries, our overriding desire in subscribing to international conventions is to advance our national interest both internally and

internationally.

We do expect, therefore, that the International Criminal Court process will meet our expectations as a nation.

I wish to state that the people who have been mentioned have not yet been fully investigated as the pre-trial process in The Hague has only but began.

They, therefore, cannot be judged as guilty until the charges are confirmed by the court.

Calls for action to be taken against them are, therefore, prejudicial, preemptive and against the rules of natural justice.

In the meantime, I wish to state that the Government is fully committed to the establishment of a local tribunal to deal with those behind the post-election violence, in accordance with stipulations of the new Constitution.

As a nation we must also focus on the need for national healing and reconciliation. This is paramount as we move forward on the path of national peace and unity.

I also wish to assure Kenyans that the Government has intensified security around the country.

The Government is providing full support to our security forces to enable them perform their duties of protecting the lives of all citizens and their property.

 I appeal to Kenyans to remain calm. The Government will remain vigilant and ensure that the rights of its citizens and the dignity of the nation are upheld."

Student Loans Companyin UK took £15m in overpayments

The Student Loans Company took more than £15 million in overpayments last year from graduates who had already paid back all the money they borrowed. The consumer watchdog obtained the figures using Freedom of Information requests after receiving complaints from people who noticed money was still being taken from their pay packets despite the fact they had already paid back their student loans in full. Under the loan system, graduates pay back the debt in monthly instalments docked from their salary. HM Revenue and Customs takes the money and passes it to the SLC until the SLC informs HMRC the total has been paid. Although the overpayments are eventually repaid, Which? said graduates faced "hardship" and "hassle" as a result of the situation.

UK inflation rate rises to 3.3% in November

 The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation rate rose to 3.3% in November, up from 3.2% in October. It followed record price rises for the October to November period in food, clothing and furniture. Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation - which includes mortgage interest payments - rose to 4.7% from 4.5%. One Bank of England interest rate policymaker said he expected CPI to hit 4% next year due to the VAT increase, and that interest rates needed to rise. In an interview with the BBC, Andrew Sentance said he favoured a gradual raising of rates. Mr Sentance is the only member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee to have recently voted for rates to rise from their current record low of 0.5%.  "I think the worry I would have is if we don't begin to move interest rates up gradually now, we will find further down the track that we actually have to move them up more sharply," he told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme.  "And that could deliver a bigger jolt to confidence in the economy in the future."

Credibility risk

He said a lack of movement on rates, when price rises had been above the 2% target for a year, could be "a risk to the Bank's credibility".  The majority of his fellow members still favour taking no action on rates.  On Monday, Charles Bean, the Bank of England's deputy governor, said the Bank's policymakers were watching inflationary pressures "like proverbial hawks".

How prices have risen in the past year

• Food and drink: 5.5%
• Alcohol and tobacco: 6.5%
• Clothes and footwear: 2.1%
• Furniture and household items: 3.5%
• Transport: 5.1%

Source: ONS

• Calculate your personal inflation rate 

However, he also said that if growth weakened it might be necessary to pump more more money into the economy in the form of another bout of quantitative easing (QE), which some economists think could unleash inflation. "There are very significant downside risks, particularly from the eurozone sovereign debt crisis. If that unfolds in an unhappy fashion, I think it is quite plausible that it would have a significant adverse impact on the UK," he said.  "Under those circumstances, we might well want to undertake a further round of quantitative easing."

Ocampo names Kenyan PEV suspects

Written By: ICC-OTP, Posted: Wed, Dec 15, 2010

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has Wednesday requested the International Criminal Court to issue summonses to appear against six Kenyan citizens to face justice for massive crimes committed during the post-election violence (PEV) in Kenya.

The Prosecutor has concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe crimes against humanity were committed, in the first Prosecution case, by:

1. William Samoei Ruto - currently: Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology (suspended), MP for Eldoret North and during the PEV, MP for Eldoret North. The Prosecution considers that he was one of the principal planners and organizers of crimes against PNU supporters;

2. Henry Kiprono Kosgey - currently: Minister of Industrialization, MP for Tinderet Constituency, ODM Chairman and during the PEV: MP for Tinderet. The Prosecution considers that he was one of the principal planners and organizers of crimes against PNU supporters; and

3. Joshua Arap Sang - currently Head of Operations, KASS FM and during the PEV: Radio broadcaster. The Prosecution considers that he was one of the principal planners and organizers of crimes against PNU supporters.
 

And in the second Prosecution case, by:

4. Francis Kirimi Muthaura - during the PEV and to date: Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet and Chairman of the National Security Advisory Committee. The Prosecution considers that he authorized the Police to use excessive force against ODM supporters and to facilitate attacks against ODM supporters.
 

5. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta - currently: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. The Prosecution considers that during the PEV he helped to mobilize the Mungiki criminal organization to attack ODM supporters; and

6. Mohamed Hussein Ali - currently: Chief Executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya and during the PEV he was Commissioner of the Kenya Police. The Prosecution considers that during the PEV he authorized the use of excessive force against ODM supporters and facilitated attacks against ODM supporters.
 

Ruto, Muthaura, Kenyatta among the big Six for the Hague

Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Francis Muthaura, Hussein Ali, Henry Kosgey and  Joshua Sang are headed to the Hague. The six have been named today by ICC Chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo. To set the tone for the big announcement , Moreno-Ocampo on Tuesday not only released a statement bringing forward his announcement, initially set for 5pm East African time, by three hours, but also imposed five conditions those to be named must respect.  The prosecutor also said he would want them to declare they would "surrender voluntarily".

Locked up

The stringent conditions are the tickets for freedom the suspects would enjoy, but if they breach them then ICC’s response would be to arrest and have them locked up in its detention facility. Beside the summonses, which Moreno-Ocampo will be seeking against them, a breach of either or all of the conditions will be met with warrants or arrest.

The conditions, which he wants enforced by the courts to the letter, demand that the suspects must:

• Frequently update ICC on all their personal contact details and whereabouts;

• Not make any personal contact with any of the other suspects, unless through their legal counsel to prepare their defense;

• Not approach any perceived victims or witnesses of crimes;

• Not attempt to influence or interfere with witness testimony;

• Not to tamper with evidence or hinder the investigation; and

• Not to commit new crimes.

Possibly as a mark of his seriousness, as well as sign of the magnitude of the crimes facing the six Kenyans, Moreno-Ocampo said: "In addition, they must respond to all requests by ICC judges; they must attend all hearings when required, and post bond if the judges so instruct them. These conditions are strict. They are in accordance with the Rome Statute and ICC rules."  He added: "Let me be clear. If the suspects do not comply with the conditions set by the Chamber, I will request arrest warrants. If there is any indication of bribes, intimidation or threats, I will request arrest warrants. I expect the suspects to indicate to the Chamber shortly their intention to surrender voluntarily."

Most responsible

He maintained those against whom he will be seeking summonses "are the most responsible for post-election violence."  Coming hours after Cabinet’s belated attempt to set up a local judicial trial mechanism for post-election suspects, whose failure opened Kenya’s door to the ICC in the first place, this would now set the stage for Kenya’s trickiest moment yet. First, that which Moreno-Ocampo’s office styled as, "important announcement concerning the investigation in the Kenya situation" will keep Kenyans riveted on the proceedings of Pre-Trial Chamber II.  The Chamber may grant or reject Moreno-Ocampo’s submission for the prosecution of the suspects named in two separate cases. But even more pressing will be the burden it will thrust on President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to hand over the VIP suspects.  They will also also grapple with the fact that for the duration of the hearing, those in Cabinet and holding other public offices, no matter how close to them, will have to step aside.  Hours to what could be remembered as Kenya’s date with destiny, which could send the careers of some Cabinet members, serving and former top public servants and security chiefs tumbling, Kenyans mulled over the possible ramification of what is coming.  At the heart of the storm is the controversy around President Kibaki’s second term, the cross-party approach taken by ICC, which spreads culpability for the violence across both wings of the Grand Coalition, and the possible implication it may have on the Kibaki Succession in 2012. From State House, Parliament, Government, and Private sector boardrooms, to the homes of ordinary Kenyans and those in Diaspora, as well as the international arena, eyes will be on the Moreno-Ocampo disclosure. KTN will relay the announcement live. Kenyans would also be watching how the Government, which on Monday agreed to form a local tribunal in reaction to the impending ICC cases, would react to the announcement. Political careers could be wrecked by the announcement that Moreno-Ocampo would make today, but this depends on whether he goes ahead to name the suspects or waits for the judges to confirm his case. Today, Kenyan leaders especially MPs, could be left ruing the day they shot down the Bill seeking to establish a local special tribunal. Others claimed The Hague was the better options as it could take years to begin, leave alone conclude its hearings. But apart from human rights groups and civil societies who have been seeking justice for the victims, those who were either displaced, dispossessed, or bereaved during the violence will also be looking out to see if their tormentors would finally face justice.

Source of evidence

Supporters and families of those on Moreno-Ocampo’s list will also be watching to see if they would get a fair hearing, and the source of evidence against them. The road to The Hague has been long and many times tested the patience of Kenyans; especially as the debate was rocked by political overtones and threats of instability should ICC act. It started on July 9, 2008, when former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who mediated Kenya’s peace process, handed over an envelope to Moreno-Ocampo containing the names of suspects. The envelope came from Justice Phillip Waki’s Commission, which investigated post-election violence. The Waki Commission proposed a special tribunal to try persons bearing the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity committed during the violence.

Local process

It was against this backdrop that the push for a local judicial process began with Kibaki and Raila signing an agreement to start the process.On Monday ten MPs, allied to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, claimed the ICC process "has been politically manipulated", and that it would not "ensure justice to the victims". Led by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, the MPs said they would sponsor a Motion in Parliament "to discuss the ICC process", and also explore the possibility of resuscitating a Bill that sought to establish a special local tribunal to try the suspects. Then on Monday also, President Kibaki called a crisis Cabinet meeting that resolved to form a local tribunal to try post-election violence. Though it was not stated in the statement from the Presidential Press Service, analysts believe the move is expected to influence the ICC case. - The Standard.

SIX KENYANS NAMED AT HAGUE

1. WILLIAM RUTO

2. HENRY KOSGEY

3. UHURU KENYATTA

4. FRANCIS MUTHAURA

5. MAJOR HUSSEIN ALI

6. JOSHUA SANG

Kenya tightens security as ICC names chaos suspects

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere has said security is tight hours before key suspects in the 2007 post election violence are named by the International Criminal Court to day December 15, 2010.

Police have tightened security hours before key suspects in the 2007 post election violence are named by the International Criminal Court.

While urging the public to remain calm after the names are revealed at The Hague, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said heavy deployment had been made in areas that were worst affected by the chaos. “Concerns have been made from several quarters that this event will ignite violence in some parts. We assure the public that we have made adequate security arrangements in all areas of the country to forestall any eventuality,” he said. The police chief alluded to intelligence reports saying “criminal elements planned to take the opportunity to break the law". He warned that his officers would deal with perpetrators “firmly and swiftly". Politicians were also asked to handle the outcome of The Hague announcement in the interest of security, stability and rule of law in the country. Notices warning of planned demonstrations was sent to provincial police commands and other formations of the police last week. The reports mention the Rift Valley as a hot spot, but commanders across the country had been ordered to be on the lookout. The briefs further warn in the event demonstrators turn rowdy, officers should be restrained from confronting them with live ammunition. Intelligence officers, police sources said, have for months been gathering information covertly in areas that were hit by the violence with the aim of establishing if there are threats of fresh violence. At the same time, Provincial Security and Intelligence Committees were asked to seek politicians, who would turn reach out to their supporters and advise them against causing chaos. The Nation learnt that besides the regular duty police officers, contingents of the administration police and the General Service Unit have been put on notice for the task. In a pointer that eruption of chaos was not anticipated, massive deployments that include other armed government agencies to boost the police force, have been avoided this time round. Prisons boss Isaiah Osugo said his department is always ready to supply the extra force but the police had not placed the request.

The law mandates the police commissioner to gazette any person to assume police powers and duties, especially to meet a shortfall.

President Kibaki  directed police and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to deal firmly with  individuals engaging in hate speech while addressing Kenyan during Jamhuri Day celebrations.

Kenyan ministers on edge as court prepares

to name election violence suspects

Those set to be named by international criminal court over 2007 fighting expected to include three current or former ministersPanic has gripped Kenya's hitherto untouchable political elite as prosecutors from the international criminal court prepare to name the six main suspects behind the 2007 post-election violence, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. The court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, will tomorrow name six people he wants to indict. According to local media reports, the list includes three current or former cabinet ministers, two security chiefs and a businessman. The six are alleged to have incited ethnic attacks, which saw mobs with machetes turn on their neighbours, or to have ordered a brutal police response to protests and rioting. While he will apply to the court's judges for summonses rather than arrest warrants, Moreno-Ocampo warned today that he expects the suspects swiftly to announce their intention to "surrender voluntarily". At least 1,133 people were killed in the weeks after President Mwai Kibaki's controversial poll win, 405 of them by police, according to the official Waki report inquiry into the violence. Moreno-Ocampo's announcement is awaited with great anticipation in Kenya. Surveys suggest most people support the ICC process, which they hope will at last deliver justice for the victims and shatter the impunity enjoyed by the country's leaders since independence. Among sections of the political elite, however, there is a sense of disbelief. After a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday, Kibaki pledged to establish a local tribunal to try election violence suspects in an apparent and probably doomed attempt to stall the court, which is based in The Hague. The court can usually step in only if a member country is unwilling or unable to dispense justice itself.

Kibaki's move followed a legal filing in The Hague last week by William Ruto, a former cabinet minister linked to the violence by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) to stop Moreno-Ocampo from naming any suspects. Ruto is the most powerful politician in the Rift Valley, where the worst ethnic violence occurred when Kalenjin militias attacked their Kikuyu neighbours. He alleged that witnesses had been bribed to testify against him, and also tried, unsuccessfully, to get the Kenyan courts to expunge his name from the KNHCR report on the chaos, as did the finance minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, who was linked to revenge attacks by Kikuyu gangs. MPs allied to both men claimed yesterday that the ICC process "is no longer judicial but political" and was designed to favour Raila Odinga, the prime minister and Kibaki's 2007 challenger, as nobody from his Luo ethnic group is likely to be among the suspects. Police have been put on alert in case of protests in the suspects' home areas. Opponents of the ICC process say the threat of renewed violence is a good enough reason to shelve it. With the ICC set to name senior politicians from both sides of the Kibaki-Odinga coalition, however, the threat may be being overplayed. Still, in a statement today, Moreno-Ocampo warned the suspects not to contact each other, approach any witnesses or tamper with evidence. There have already been numerous reports of witnesses being intimidated. "Let me be clear," Moreno-Ocampo said: "if the suspects do not comply with the conditions set by the chamber, I will request arrest warrants." It is not lost on Kenyans that many of the parliamentarians now crying foul are responsible for justice taking aim from outside the country. The Waki report stipulated that Kenya should establish a special tribunal to try the people most responsible for crimes relating to the election violence. But parliament overwhelmingly rejected that option. "The guilty ones and their supporters never thought it would come to this so soon," Gitobu Imanyara, a lawyer and MP who tried unsuccessfully to introduce a bill to establish a local tribunal, said. He said the ICC case was likely to proceed despite the government's last-minute attempt to scupper it, and that it could signal the end of impunity. "This case is going to have as far-reaching implications for Kenya as anything since independence. It's the best news for us in long time," he added. - Guardian, London

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In pictures: Ghana's amazing coffins

Burials are seen as part of ancestral worship. The Ga people believe that a spirit cannot join the celestial family until it has undergone the appropriate burial rites.

Now men can make babies without women

Now men may be able to make babies without women, through a technology that could for the first time allow same sex couples to have their own genetic children. In a technology developed to help in preserving endangered species and improving livestock breeds, scientists have, for the first time, developed an offspring from two males. In a way, this renders null and void, the arguments by anti-gay activists that only opposite sexes lead to procreation. But not all will be lost to potential mothers as a female will be required to carry the pregnancy to term. Using cell technology, scientists in the US say it is also possible to develop an offspring from one male, though this will need some time to refine. A statement from the Society for the Study of Reproduction cites the report posted online last Wednesday in the Journal Biology of Reproduction says the development is a major step in advancing human assisted reproductive technology or test tube babies. Currently same sex couples depend on adopting children or donated eggs from a female, but this could dramatically change the equation. The researchers manipulated cells from male mice and produced cells that were implanted into a surrogate female mouse. The surrogate gave birth to males and females and when these babies grew, they mated with normal mice.

“Their offspring, both male and female, showed genetic contributions from the two fathers,” says the statement. The technology could be important for beef breeders as it could upgrade or retain high quality genetic strains without investing much in high maintenance females. Last year the Nairobi based International Livestock Research Institute and the University of Nairobi succeeded in breeding Kenya’s first test-tube calf using a technique called In Vitro Embryo Production (Ivep).  When commercialised, farmers can rent their best cows as donors and their lower-quality cows as surrogates. The Texas team may be hitting back for men. Last year British researchers discovered a way of making an artificial sperm, which may allow women to make babies without men. The technology which the Newcastle University researchers said could be perfected by 2015 similarly used stem cells to attain the feat. The researchers said the development will lead to new ways of assisting couples suffering from infertility so that they can have a child which is genetically theirs. Kenya’s pioneering doctor in test tube baby technology, Dr Joshua Noreh was pessimistic that such technologies could become an every day solution to reproduction. While this may offer an option, he had told the Nation, it could be difficult to guarantee that babies done from such technologies were 100 per cent healthy or that they will not develop complications later in life.

Miss Wanja Michuki daughter of Minister John Michuki (left) charting with Professor George Karani of Cardiff University and on right the Kenya High Commisisoner HE Ephraim Ngare holding a glass of a drink as he prepares to toss for the Her Majesty the Queen during Jamhuri Day celebrations last week. - CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

Four Kenyan ministers could be charged in court next week

Four ministers could be charged in court next week after Kenya anti-graft agency said it had completed investigations against them. Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (Kacc) chief PLO Lumumba further told the Executive to give him a free hand as his organisation plans to rein in more senior officials involved in graft. “Their support should be both in public and private,” Mr Lumumba said during the launch of Kacc’s July 2009 to June 2010 report at Integrity Centre, Nairobi Tuesday. Mr Lumumba, who has attracted donor support for renewing Kacc’s vigour to fight graft, said the agency had done well in its investigations and that it would make appropriate recommendations on their prosecution to the Attorney General Amos Wako next week. Although he did not name the ministers, Prof Lumumba had earlier indicated Kacc was investigating old affairs like Goldenberg, more recent ones such as the Anglo Leasing saga as well as recent cases such as the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons and the importation of old vehicles. Prof Lumumba said Water and Irrigation minister Charity Ngilu, who was to appear before Kacc Tuesday, had requested to do so on Friday. The director said Kacc was undertaking ‘lifestyle audits” of 45 heads of parastatals and had asked them to explain how they had acquired sudden wealth despite having meagre salaries. Former Ethics permanent secretary John Githongo has also been invited to give his dossier on Anglo Leasing scandal to Kacc following fresh investigations. Despite a parliamentary committee recommending the opening of Charterhouse Bank, Prof Lumumba said, Kacc will do its own investigations. - Daily Nation.

Ocampo to name Kenyan suspects on Wednesday at 2pm (11 a.m. UK time)

The much awaited announcement by International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo of names of six post election violence suspects will be made at 2pm local time on Wednesday.  A statement from ICC said that the press conference where he is expected to make public the names of the six Kenyans behind the 2008 chaos will not be held at 5pm as earlier announced. Ocampo will present two cases, both with up to three suspects, and is widely expected to name suspects from Kenya's two main political movements: the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement. Web streaming of the press conference will be available at the following links:

• English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx
• French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc6.asx

The naming of the suspects is already heightening tensions in the country but the government has assured Kenyans of security during the ICC process.  ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo started a formal probe in March 2010 into the 2008 post-election violence in which 1,220 people died and more than 350,000 were displaced.  Coalition leaders, business leaders and security chiefs could be named, and although the prosecutor has said he will request summons for voluntary appearances, judges could still opt to issue arrest warrants "The best-case scenario would be to have ICC prosecutions going forward and complemented at the national level with additional trials of other perpetrators," said Liz Evenson at Human Rights Watch. "At the end of the day, it is up to ICC judges to decide whether there is some national proceeding in place that cuts off ICC jurisdiction, but I think we're still far off from that.". Kenya said on Monday it would set up a local court to try suspects involved in the violence and that it would be established regardless of what the ICC does.

PCEA CHRISTMAS DINNER IN LONDON

PCEA Outreach Church, London hosted a Christmas Dinner for their members on Saturday 11th December, 2010. The colourful occasion was held at Full Gospel Church Hall in Platshet Grove, London. At the party Rev. Kibathi of PCEA Outreach explained to the member the achievements of the church during the year and he presented    certificates appreciation to those who have helped in one way on another during the year. More later.

Pastor Jeff of MK has lost his father back in Kenya

He went to Kenya to do his wedding but his father passed away on Sunday 12th December,

2010 a week before the wedding on Friday 17th December, 2010.

Pastor Jeff Munguy of Milton Keynes has Lost his father Back home. His Beloved Late Father ( Samuel Kariuki Mungai) Went Home to be with the Lord on Sunday 12/12/2010. His promotion to higher Glory come Just 4 Days before Pastor Jeff’s Wedding In Nairobi. Friends of Pastor Jeff, pastors and co-workers in the Vineyard of the Master are holding an Urgent meeting on Sunday 19/12/2010 to assist pastor Jeff with the Funeral expenses. The meeting will be at JCC Sanctuary, Lloyds court, Secklow gate  west, Milton Keynes Central.MK9  3AT at 6pm. ( Behind Lloyds TSB Bank). Friends of pastor Jeff who can’t make it but would like to contribute ,can do so through Account Name: Jeff Munguy, Bank: Lloyds TSB, Account Number: 01934650. Sort cord; 309389. God will make a way even when things appear to be very difficult. Pastor Jeff, family and friends are dealing with the arrangements of the Home Going of his Late father and His Wedding. For with God, nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37). For further details, please contact Pastor Muhoro 07957600035, Mercy Wambui 07904657852 and Joseph Muchai  07956261887. Your prayers and Contributions are Highly appreciated. May the Good lord Richly Bless you now and Always.

Meeting in Milton Keynes on Sunday 19th Dec. 2010

Due to the untimely death of Pastor Jeff's of Milton Keynes father in Kenya, family and friends will be meeting on Sunday 19th December, 2010 as from 6.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. at JCC Sanctuary, Lloyds Court, Secklow Gate West, Milton Keynes, MK9 3AT.

MATCHING FOR THE OCCASION

Caught matching at the Jamhuri Celebrations at Inter-Continental Hotel, London were Peggy (left) and her friend Linda but South African guest on right had a match too but not from Mr. Rwamba's Match Options. - CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

Ocampo imposes tough conditions on six Kenyan suspects

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will make public names of six individuals suspected to be the masterminds of the post election violence at 2pm local time on Wednesday. A statement from ICC said that the press conference where he is expected to make public the names of the six Kenyans behind the 2008 chaos will not be held at 5pm as earlier announced. Ocampo who at the same time issued conditions to be imposed on the suspects said he will file two applications for summons for the six to appear.  The suspects are expected to frequently update the Court on all their personal contact details and whereabouts.  They should not make any personal contact with any of the other suspects unless through their legal counsel to prepare their defence, nor approach any perceived victims or witnesses of crimes.  They should not attempt to influence or interfere with witness testimony. They are also not supposed to tamper with evidence or hinder the investigation or commit new crimes.  "In addition, they must respond to all requests by ICC judges; they must attend all hearings when required, and post bond if the judges so instruct them.These conditions are strict. They are in accordance with the Rome Statute and ICC rules" Ocampo stated. He said he expected the suspects to indicate to the Chamber their intention to surrender voluntarily. Ocampo however warned the suspects that if they do not comply with the conditions set by the court,  he will request arrest warrants against them. "If there is any indication of bribes, intimidation or threats, I will request arrest warrants" announced Ocampo. Ocampo will present two cases, both with up to three suspects, and is widely expected to name suspects from Kenya's two main political movements: the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement. Web streaming of the press conference will be available at the following links:

• English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx

• French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc6.asx

The naming of the suspects is already heightening tensions in the country but the government has assured Kenyans of security during the ICC process.  ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo started a formal probe in March 2010 into the 2008 post-election violence in which 1,220 people died and more than 350,000 were displaced.  Coalition leaders, business leaders and security chiefs could be named, and although the prosecutor has said he will request summons for voluntary appearances, judges could still opt to issue arrest warrants "The best-case scenario would be to have ICC prosecutions going forward and complemented at the national level with additional trials of other perpetrators," said Liz Evenson at Human Rights Watch. "At the end of the day, it is up to ICC judges to decide whether there is some national proceeding in place that cuts off ICC jurisdiction, but I think we're still far off from that.". Kenya said on Monday it would set up a local court to try suspects involved in the violence and that it would be established regardless of what the ICC does.

Chinese chicken lays bowling-pin shaped egg
 

A man in China was amazed when his chicken laid a bowling-pin shaped egg.  Zhang Yunfeng, 75, from Jize in northern China’s Hebei Province, heard one of his ten hens clucking and rushed to the scene.  He explained: ‘When I arrived I saw her produce a bowling-pin shaped egg. It's the first time I saw such a weird shaped egg.’ It might be the first time Mr Yunfeng has such an egg, but here at Metro we’ve seen it all before.  In March last year a mother of three from Northamptonshire, 43-year-old Natalie Wiltshire, was equally shocked when one of her chickens laid an incredibly similar egg.  At the time she said: ‘I’ve done a bit of research and there’s nothing to suggest you should ever get eggs in this shape.’ But with the appearance of another bowling-pin egg, is the phenomenon perhaps more common than we might think? Experts have claimed many things can lead to strange shaped eggs, including ovulation problems, hormonal imbalances and eating the wrong kind of food. So keep your eyes peeled, eight more and we’ve got ourselves a game.

A KENYAN YOUNGSTER IN UK GOING TO RWANDA FOR TOURNAMENT

A Kenyan youngster living in Surrey, UK has again flown to Kenya to represent Kenya in Rwanda in the under 17 football tournament popularly known as Cecafa. He was called up last year while the tournament was in Sudan and become the youngest player to ever represent Kenya when he was only 14 years. Sam Mburu is a soft spoken young talented boy playing for Camberley town FC Academy in  his school with full football colours. This week from the 17th December he will be in Rwanda pulling a shirt written HARAMBEE stars we are proud as diaspora and wish him luck. Another Kenyan son from UK making us proud. He is is the son of Mr. Stephen Mburu of Camberley,   Surrey, UK.

HOUSE AND PLOT FOR SALE IN DIANI, KENYA

5 BEDROOM HOUSE ON THE PLOT

A spacious 5 Bedroom House on a big piece of land in Diani near Ukunda shopping centre near Cooperative Bank, Mombasa sold for KSh. 12m (0.17hec) and on that land also has two bedroom house good for rental purposes, the land can be sub-divided to 0.08 hec. the part with the 5 bedroom house only and also mature garden own water well for 8m. Photos upon request. Very good for living and renting purposes, if interested with this beautiful house please call me  on 07846468534 based in UK  (Liz). - lizwahome75@yahoo.com

Uganda court jails Kenyan student for 45 years

The High Court in Kampala has sentenced a Kenyan student at Makerere University to 45 years imprisonment for the murder of his lover. Duke Mabeya was found guilty of murdering Ruth Nyarangi, also a Kenyan student at Bugema University. Mabeya, who was residing at Douglas Villa Hostel near Makerere, is said to have committed the offence on November 5, 2008, at Umka Guest House in Kawaala Zone B, Rubaga Division. Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi found Mabeya, a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology student, guilty of the murder.

Musician buys sandwich - loses £1.2 million violin

A classical musician had her 300-year-old £1.2 million Stradivarius violin stolen when she stopped at a London sandwich store. It's understood Korean violinist Min-Jin Kym was grabbing a bite to eat at a Pret A Manger cafe outside Euston station when her prized instrument was pinched. Police say it was only as she tucked into her food that the 32-year-old musician noticed her black, rectangular violin case had been taken. Given it contained a 1696 Antonio Stradivarius violin worth £1.2m and a Peccatte bow valued at £62,000 -- it made her sandwich one of the most expensive ever. Even more than this one. A spokesperson for British Transport Police said the violin has a number of additional and unique identifying marks, including visible repair marks underneath the instrument’s bridge. DI Rose added: "These items hold enormous sentimental and professional value for the victim, but although they are extremely valuable, it would be very difficult to sell them on as they are so rare and distinctive that they will be easily recognised as stolen property. "It’s possible the instrument will be offered for sale within the antique or musical trade and we ask anyone who has any knowledge of the violin’s whereabouts to come forward so it can be returned to its rightful owner. A £15,000 reward has also been issued by Lark Insurance Broking Group and certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, representing the victim of the theft, for anyone providing information leading to the violin’s recovery.

Kibaki calls crisis talks over Hague

President Kibaki chairs a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi. Photo/FILE 

The government on Monday grappled to find the right response to Wednesday’s court appearance at The Hague where election violence suspects will be named.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is expected in court on Wednesday afternoon to ask for indictments against six Kenyans. A heated Cabinet meeting resulted in a statement assuring the public of security. It also put the government behind efforts to revive local trials of chaos suspects. Ominously, police said some Members of Parliament had been going round rallying supporters to demonstrate as soon as certain political figures are named as suspected masterminds of the 2007 election bloodbath. Police commanders across the country have been put on alert and asked to prepare for demonstrations. They have also been ordered to be restrained in the use of live bullets. But they will allow peaceful demonstrations, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said. In Cabinet, a minister who attended but did not wish to be named because Cabinet proceedings are secret, said the two sides of the coalition traded blame in what he described as a “stormy” meeting. They resolved to seek the United Nations’ help to form a local tribunal. A Presidential Press Service statement after the meeting noted that Parliament shot down Government efforts to form a local tribunal. At the same time, politicians and other groups were busy discrediting the ICC. A group calling itself the National Council of Elders sought suspension of The Hague proceedings until the ICC gave an understaking that those who appear before it will get a fair trial. President Kibaki seems to have called Monday’s extraordinary session of Cabinet to rally ministers behind the ICC process and assure the country the government will deal with other perpetrators of the violence through a local process. “Irrespective of what transpires at the ICC on Wednesday 15th December, 2010, and in view of the fact that ICC is only a court of last resort, the government will establish a local judicial mechanism in accordance with the Rome Statute within the framework of the new Constitution,” the PPS statement said.

Without a local mechanism, the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga at State House, was unanimous that peace and security, political stability, national reconciliation, and justice for victims will not be achieved. “The Government has on various occasions stated that the cases arising out of the post-election violence should be resolved through an independent and credible local judicial process.  In that respect, the Government published two Bills which were unfortunately rejected by the National Assembly,” said the PPS. The minister who spoke to the Nation said the two sides, PNU and ODM, traded accusations over responsibility for what was described as “premeditated” violence and “retaliatory” chaos that ensued after the presidential election results were disputed in the December 2007 poll. At the end of the meeting that started at noon, the minister said, three Cabinet ministers, Kiraitu Murungi, Njeru Githae and James Orengo, drafted the statement later sent to the media. Earlier, MPs David Koech (Mosop) and Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa), sought to discredit the ICC process, claiming that Mr Moreno-Ocampo held secret talks with a senior ODM minister in Nairobi and Washington. They claimed the ODM bigwig sought to incriminate some individuals and render them ineligible to run for president in 2012. They also criticised ODM leaders for calling for mass action in the aftermath of the election and demanded that they too be prosecuted. “It is known to us that a senior ODM minister some time ago flew all the way to Washington to hold a meeting with Ocampo. The same minister also had a closed door meeting with the prosecutor when he was in the country recently. This has led us to believe that the Hague process is no longer judicial, but political,” Mr Kioni said at the Boulevard Hotel in Nairobi. He accused the ODM of rushing to meet the prosecutor secretly “yet some of their people instigated the youth by calling for nonstop mass action”.

The 'Booze Bus' at Soho drunk tank

It is 10pm and the first patient of the night arrives at the West End's new ''drank tank'' dressed as Father Christmas. The 21-year-old, who has been partying with 2,000 fellow Santas, appears disorientated. “I'd fallen over and my friends called the ambulance,” he says

Sobering up: the buses take patients to the alcohol reception centre

The man is led into the brightly lit room, where eight makeshift beds and medical equipment have been set up. Over the course of Saturday night a steady flow of drinkers pass through the facility. One 23-year-old woman, incapacitated by a mix of champagne cocktails and Sambuca, tells the ambulance workers: “It's my Christmas party. I didn't mean to get this drunk.” Another 21-year-old is so drunk she struggles to recall where she lives. A 16-year-old is found passed out and soaking wet in Soho. This is London Ambulance Service's busiest weekend of the year — when drunken office parties spill out onto the streets — and the Standard is being shown around its new alcohol reception centre in the heart of Soho. In a six-week pilot running until New Year's Eve, ambulances known as “booze buses” will take scores of patients to the centre rather than to A&Es in an attempt to ease pressure on the hospitals. Paramedic Brian Hayes, the man behind both the “booze bus” and the drunk tank, said: “Last night we had 20 people in here.

“There are 24 beds in an A&E unit, which means we saved 24 beds.”

Drivers In 'Morning After' Risk After Booze

This week is predicted to be the busiest for pre-Christmas parties - and research suggests two in five drivers may be over the limit first thing in the morning. The research from road safety charity Brake and Direct Line insurance suggests a lack of understanding about how long alcohol stays in the body. Some 38% of drivers and motorcyclists admit driving after a heavy night of drinking. That is a rise of more than 30% compared with figures out seven years ago. "There are a number of factors to be taken into account after a late night," Brake's Ellen Booth told Sky News Online. "As a guide, you should allow at least an hour to absorb alcohol, plus at least one hour for every unit consumed for your body to get rid of the alcohol. "For example, if you finish three pints of strong lager or one bottle of 12% wine - both nine units - at 11pm, you may not be fit to drive until at least 9am. "And it could take much longer depending on factors such as weight and whether or not you've been drinking on an empty stomach." The old hopefuls such as coffee, sleep and food will not help either; the only thing that makes a person sober up is time, say campaigners. Brake does not know why more people appear to be under the influence in the morning. "One suggestion," said Ms Booth, "is that while the drink-driving message is clearly understood, people do not seem to recognise the potential effects of morning-after drinking. "Drivers need to understand that it is time, not sleep, that makes the difference."

A family puts a Christmas Tree for 74th year

A Family has put up its Christmas Tree - for the 74th running. Valerie Hill, 74, was given the 0.9m (3ft) tree when she was three, by her uncle John Herbert Martin, who was killed soon after World War Two broke out in 1939. The mother of- two and grand-of-four from Norwich said: 'The tree means everything to me.' Metro.

Snow return will put freeze on Christmas gift deliveries

Traffic moves slowly on the M8 in Scotland following a night of severe snow last week

Customers of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Boots and Asda were told yesterday no more orders for non-food items were being taken in Scotland and some parts of northern England. They were warned that, with more heavy snow on the way, delivery could not be guaranteed before December 25. Neil Saunders, of shopping analysts Verdict, said: ‘If we see the same sort of thing over the next couple of weeks that could be quite disastrous for retailers because consumers are running out of time to buy things.’ The icy weather is forecast to return with a vengeance on Thursday – the only doubt is over exactly how much snow it will bring. A Tesco spokesman said: ‘We don’t want to cause disappointment to customers and have taken the decision to suspend new Tesco Direct orders in Scotland. We are working hard to ensure orders already placed are delivered.’ Sainsbury’s said: ‘Despite our best efforts, the adverse weather means we have had to suspend non-food deliveries in Scotland. Our grocery deliveries are continuing as normal.’ And Marks & Spencer is not accepting orders for ‘delivery-to-home’ for Scottish postcodes as it could not guarantee a delivery date.

US In Deep Freeze As Snow Kills Six People

A powerful snow storm has battered the US midwest killing six people and cancelling more than 1,600 flights in and out of Chicago. The weekend blizzard, which has left a blast of cold temperatures, has closed major motorways in several states and caused the roof of the Minnesota Vikings' stadium to collapse. The storm dropped nearly two feet of snow in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin with strong winds blowing snow across Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, severely limiting visibility. US authorities are now frantically searching for a number of motorists who have been trapped in their cars in biting temperatures in northwest Indiana. Officials said they did not know how many people were stranded, but that some had been stuck for as long as 12 hours. The National Weather Service say the storm is now headed northeast towards Canada with more snow possible in Michigan, northern Indiana and parts of Pennsylvania and New York. Temperatures have dipped to -29C in southern Minnesota - the coldest spot in the Midwest. The plunging mercury and winds have made clearing roads more difficult, even in places where the storm has passed. Jim Taggart, National Weather Service meteorologist in Minnesota said: "With the snow, pretty much the worst of it is over, but we're going to get cold temperatures through Tuesday." He said the weather the region is experiencing is what it "normally would get in January" but not December. In Chicago wind gusts of up to nearly 50mph blew the roof off a building at Navy Pier and sent waves from Lake Michigan crashing onto Lake Shore Drive. At least 1,375 flights were cancelled at O'Hare International Airport and more than 300 were cancelled at Midway International Airport. Officials at O'Hare set up about 200 makeshift beds and provided amenity kits containing toothpaste and toothbrushes for stranded travellers. Farmers have also been disrupted by the large snowfall which has slowed grain and livestock movement to markets. The Midwest will remain in the deep freeze until Wednesday with lows of -29C expected in the upper Midwest. - VIDEO

LEFT PHOTO: Kenya Airways Manager in London, Mrs. Mary Ng'ang'a (left), chatting with the Kenya High Commissioner in the UK, HE Ephraim Ngare (right), during Jamhuri Celebrations at Inter-Continental Hotel, London on Thursday 9th December, 2010. The celebrations were hosted by Kenya High Commission. RIGHT PHOTO: Mrs. Jane Ngare, (in yellow), wife of Kenya High Commissioner in London, HE Ephraim Ngare, posing for a picture with Tour Consultant in London Betty. You can make your travel bookings with her. She said that you can contact her to pay your air ticket by instalments. "Ndiyo, tuko na malipo ya pole pole." Betty explained. For anymore information  contact 07958295200 -  info@extreme-travel.co.uk

Kenya to set up local tribunal

The Government said Monday it will establish a local tribunal to ensure justice for all victims of post-election violence. A special cabinet meeting convened barely two days before six key Kenyan suspects are charged at The Hague, said the local courts will be in accordance with the Rome Statute within the framework of the new Constitution.  The cabinet observed that the only reason that the post-election violence cases are being investigated by the International Criminal Court is because there is no appropriate local judicial mechanism which could carry out investigations, prosecutions, and determination of the cases for international crimes.  "Irrespective of what transpires at the ICC on Wednesday 15th December, 2010 and in view of the fact that ICC is only a court of last resort, the Government will establish a local judicial mechanism in accordance with the Rome Statute within the framework of the new Constitution" said a statement from the Presidential Press Service.  The government said Kenya's national interests of peace and security, political stability, national reconciliation, and comprehensive justice for all victims of post-election violence cannot be achieved without a local judicial mechanism. The statement added "The Government has on various occasions stated that the cases arising out of the post-election violence should be resolved through an independent and credible local judicial process. In that respect, the Government published two Bills which were unfortunately rejected by the National Assembly".  The government has at the same time assured Kenyans of their security during the ICC process. "The Government hereby assures all members of the public that their security will be protected, and peace, stability, and the rule of law will be maintained throughout the country," said the statement. There have been fears that naming of the suspected perpetrators of the post-election violence could trigger fresh chaos in the country. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will Wednesday at 5pm  disclose the names of six individuals suspected of being masterminds of the chaos that left 1,133 people dead and 650,000 uprooted from their homes.

Tesco sorry for baby mice in crisps

Retail giant Tesco has apologised to a customer who claimed she found newborn mice in a multipack of crisps.  The mother of one said she was also horrified the store was not shut down straight away, but was still open several hours later as pest control staff arrived. Tesco apologised for the "upsetting" discovery and said it was confident the incident was isolated. A spokesman said: "This was clearly an upsetting discovery for our customer, for which we are very sorry. "Pest control experts have been in the store over the weekend checking it from top to bottom and we're confident this was an isolated incident. "The cleanliness of our stores is a priority for all our staff." Ms Wray told the Birmingham Mail she was with a work colleague when they made the discovery. "Suddenly these tiny pink things appeared from the multipacks and were lying in front of us," she told the paper. "They were repulsive and made me feel revolting. There were half a dozen of them crawling out of different holes in the crisps and we couldn't believe our eyes."

INTERVIEW WITH PASTOR JAMES GITAU

A Kenyan-born Pastor Gitau made history in the UK when he become the first black man to

join BNP but later defected the party to join the Christian Party.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Councils in warning over job cuts

Local authorities in England face cuts in jobs and services after "the toughest local government finance settlement in living memory", councils have warned. Councils will lose up to 17% of their funding from central government grants for 2011/12 and face a total funding shortfall of £6.5 billion over the next year, the Local Government Association said. But Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said no council would suffer a reduction in its total spending power of more than 8.9% next year or 2012/13, once receipts from council tax and NHS support for social care is taken into account. The average reduction in spending power will be 4.4%, he told the House of Commons. Mr Pickles said the local government settlement was "progressive and fair" because steps had been taken to protect the poorest areas which rely most heavily on public sector services. He announced an £85 million transitional grant to help councils deal with changes to their funding, as well as a £650 million fund to reward authorities which freeze their council tax bills. And he said that measures had been taken to ease the "front-loading" of cuts into the first two years of Chancellor George Osborne's four-year spending review period. Mr Pickles said: "By adopting an intelligent and fair approach to the way funding is allocated, we have been able to ensure those parts of the country that are most reliant on central funding continue to get the lion's share of the taxpayers' money that is available. Funding fairness underpins this settlement. "But his claim was challenged by Labour's Caroline Flint, who told the Commons that the coalition Government was imposing "unprecedented cuts on town halls the length and breadth of the country". The Conservative chair of the Local Government Association Baroness Eaton said: "Councils now face incredibly tough choices about the services they continue to provide and those they will have to cut." Lady Eaton added: "This is the toughest local government finance settlement in living memory. "A few councils have seen a reduction in the money they receive from the Government of up to 17% in the first year. As a result councils face a total funding shortfall of £6.5 billion over the next year."

CAUGHT AT THE JAMHURI CELEBRATIONS LONDON

Posing with the Kenya High Commissioner is Ms Mercy Kamau (left) and Ms Margaret Wanjugu where they explained to Mr. Seed "the Wise and the Beautiful are from the East", meaning they are from East London and on right photo is Miss Uganda 2010 and Mss Tanzania 2010 who joined the celebrations with their promoter (centre) - www.justgiving.com/maria-namiiro

Extended student visitor visa for migrants studying English language courses

 Home Office, 13 December 2010

From 10 January 2011, English language students wishing to attend exclusively English language courses will be able to apply for a student visitor visa allowing them to stay for up to 11 months. The extended student visitor visa will only be available to applicants outside the UK. Students wishing to study other courses in the UK for longer than 6 months will still need to apply under Tier 4 of the points-based system. If you are a 'non-visa-national' who does not normally need a visa to study for up to 6 months, you must apply for the extended visa if you wish to take a longer English language course. The extended student visitor visa's other requirements, entitlements and restrictions are the same as those for the current student visitor route. The student visitor route does not allow students to work, take a work placement, bring dependants, extend their stay or switch into other courses at the end of their stay. Our Visa services section contains more information about the student visitor route. The fee for an extended student visitor visa will be the same as for a student visitor visa. We will carry out a review of the extended student visitor visa within the next 12 months, to ensure that it is operating as intended. This change does not affect the ongoing consultation on the main student route to the UK (Tier 4 of the points-based system), which has set out proposals to tackle abuse and make the system more selective and robust. A written ministerial statement about the change is available under 'Related documents' on the right side of this page. - CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Minnesota, USA Vikings roof collapses

A huge snow storm caused the Minneapolis Metrodome's inflated roof to collapse, forcing the relocation of the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings NFL game to Detroit. The game had already been postponed after the Giants were stranded in Kansas City when their charter flight was unable to land in Minneapolis because of the storm. The league was then forced to moved the contest when the blizzard ripped open the Metrodome's roof just hours before kick off, covering the field in snow. Several alternate venues were considered, including the University of Minnesota's outdoor stadium and the Super Dome in New Orleans before settling on Ford Field where the Detroit Lions were taking on the Green Bay Packers. The NFL said ticket holders to the Vikings-Giants game would receive preferred seating and any extra seats would be given away free on a first-come basis. But getting to Detroit will be a major challenge for both teams and fans as a massive winter storm sweeps across the US Midwest disrupting several NFL games.

Toby Ord: Why I'm giving £1m to charity

Toby Ord is a university researcher earning not much more than the average salary. So why is he giving away £1m over his lifetime to help address global poverty? When Facebook founder and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg pledged to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime, some British commentators bemoaned the lack of philanthropy on this side of the Atlantic. But an academic at Oxford University is living off little more than £300 a month in an act of charity-giving that is arguably more impressive than those of Zuckerberg, Gates, Buffett and co. Toby Ord, 31, has in the past year given more than a third of his earnings, £10,000, to charities working in the poorest countries. He also gave away £15,000 of savings, as the start of his pledge to give away £1m over his lifetime.  Given his personal sacrifice, it's difficult not to feel rather intrigued about the kind of lifestyle he can maintain while so much of his earnings is going elsewhere.  And heading to Oxford to find out, there's a fleeting thought that we'll be sharing tea bags in a caravan parked on the banks of the Thames. Instead, the Ord household inhabits a rented one-bedroom flat in a beautiful sandstone house in the heart of the city, provided by his employer, Balliol College.  But the interior is as modest as the exterior is glorious, furnished sparingly in a style reminiscent of student digs. There is no television, through choice rather than hardship, but plenty of books and DVDs.  The only signs of indulgence are the two Mac computers, for Ord and his wife, although as he points out, they are used so much that the cost works out at a few pence per hour. And he has an iPhone, which also helps him work.  Giving away a tenth of one's earnings is something most people in the UK can achieve without having to make much of a sacrifice, says Ord, who was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. "That's probably surprising because if you did a survey of 100 people, 99 would say they couldn't.  "When I was earning £14,000 as a student, I found I was in the richest 4% in the world, even adjusting for how much further money goes in developing countries.  "Giving away 10% of that, I found that I would still be in the top 5%.

Ord lives in a rented flat in Oxford

So while it can seem impossible to live on less, if your employer was to suddenly pay you less, you would get by somehow." Ord gives away much more than a tenth. A year ago, he vowed to give away everything he earned above £20,000 and his wife, Bernadette Young, a medical doctor in the NHS, set a target of £25,000. After his first year, he has lowered his personal allowance to £18,000. Ultimately, there weren't any big sacrifices, he says, and they still maintain a reasonable middle-class existence. "What's really important in our lives is spending time together, chatting with our close friends and reading beautiful books and listening to beautiful music, and we're really lucky to live in a beautiful place and there are lots of stimulating cultural activities around. With all that you can't really ask for much more."  "I've also changed the way I look at the world. I don't want more stuff. If someone said to me 'Here's one thousand pounds' and I had to spend it on myself I would feel anxious about that because I just want to help people more and it would be a very frustrating time." He goes out for dinner about once a fortnight and for coffee about once a week. In the past year he spent £5,000 on rent, kept £4,000 to live on and spent the rest on a week's holiday in France and Italy and putting some away to buy a house. Incidentally, in 10 years, Ord and his wife, who have no children, will have given away a sum that equals the average price of a house in the UK, just at a time when they will hope to have bought one themselves.  "When it began, I would be down in the supermarket agonising about whether to buy a more expensive cereal or not but I realise that's a road to a nervous breakdown and that it was much more sensible to work out at the start what you can live on [give away the rest in a lump sum] and then after a year readjust - can I live on less, am I pushing it too hard - instead of perpetually agonising about it." It was while he was studying for a masters degree in philosophy that Ord came across the idea of sacrificing luxuries in order to save a life. He estimated that over his own lifetime he would need about £500,000 to live comfortably, and would therefore be able to give away £1m to those people in most need. But who are they?

MEET COL. PATRICK NDERITU

The New Kenya's Defence Advisor in London Col. Patrick Nderitu is the new Defence Advisor at the Kenya High Commission, London. Col. Nderitu arrived in UK two months ago replacing Col. Macharia who has gone back to Kenya.

Snow sweeps back to London on Thursday as temperatures plummet

Snow will return to London this week as temperatures plummet again. The capital was plunged into fog this morning, causing severe flight delays and cancellations at London City Airport, and forecasters said conditions will get worse. Julian Mayes of MeteoGroup said: “Last weekend was just a brief respite from what is now a prolonged cold spell for the UK.” Brief but heavy snow is predicted for London on Thursday as bitter cold sweeps in from the North Pole. “The snowstorms won't last long, but will be very intense, so could cause problems,” said Mr Mayes. “At the weekend we get the main event. Although Wales and the West will be worst hit, we expect there to be a significant snowfall in London as well.”

Chaos as Wamalwa, Njenga Kamukunji rally aborts

Police Monday dispersed a group led by Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga, who attempted to lead crowds to Kamukunji grounds for a banned rally. Wamalwa, Njenga and political activist Tony Gachoka arrived at the grounds shortly after 10 a.m. and engaged police in a heated argument. They were however repulsed after police lobbed teargas at them. There was heavy security personnel presence at the grounds to ensure no rally took place. Nairobi Provincial Police Officer Anthony Kibuchi canceled the rally Sunday evening for he termed as security reasons. There were reports that Wamalwa was to launch his presidential bid together with Njenga and thousands of youth who were expected at the meeting. The legislators said he was not aware of the cancellation. "These people think we are still operating under the old constitution. Under the new law we have a right to assembly and we are here to test whether it works" said a furious Wamalwa. The meeting had earlier been planned to coincide with Jamuhuri Day celebrations but postponed on Thursday to Monday. Mr Wamalwa and Mr Njenga later addressed a press conference in Nairobi West where they condemned the police action. They however, assured their supporters that they will organise another rally to announce their new political alliance ahead of 2012. The legislator said he will demand an explanation in Parliament Tuesday.

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German Christmas tree turns out to be cannabis plant, police discover

A German man's plans for a merry spliffmas were scuppered after police discovered a large cannabis plant he had decorated like a Christmas tree, complete with tinsel and twinkling fairy lights. Christmas is often thought of as a time to relax, but this German reveller took things a little too far. In a rather tongue-in-cheek press release entitled ‘All you need is love or how a hippie celebrates Christmas’, police said: ‘When asked, the hashish fan told the perplexed officers that he had intended to add more decorations to the 'tree' and place presents under it, according to tradition.’The two-metre high marijuana plant was seized during a drug raid in Koblenz along with another 150 grams of home-grown pot.  Police said: ‘The marijuana plant had been put in a Christmas tree stand and decorated with a string of lights.’ The man was released but will now face charges of drug possession. Earlier this week German authorities detained a 21-year-old man in Munich over his suspicious home-made advent calendar. It was found that instead of chocolate behind every door there was a little cannabis.

Rachel Njeri from Notts UK, launches her new album in Kenya

Kenya Gospel Singer living in Nottingham, UK Ms Rachel Njeri launched her new album on Sunday 12th December, 2010 in Wida Hotel, Kenya. The ceremony was well attended by gospel singers, friends, family and gospel ministers. On left photo is Rachel Njeri (in green), Njoki wa Mburu of Kameme FM Radio (brown) and Rev. Ruth Wamuyu (2nd right) and the photo on right is from right to left Ms Rachel Njeri, Rev. John Ndungu (Mwitio wa Mwiri) and the officiating Bishop Kibobi. US gospel singer, currently in Kenya, Mrs. Mary Njau also attended the ceremony. The ceremony was sponsored by Nairobi Institute of Business Studies, Nairobi Campus and Ruiru campus. For more information contact email rachel728@hotmail.co.uk

Top 10 richest people in Kenya? - CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Revival house invites you for Christmas dinner, on the 19th of December 2010. The dinner is from 6:00 pm till late. There will be a three course meal in a 5star set up, lots of entertainment and music there after. Last ticket is available on Wednesday. Contact 07904615134, 07400951093,  07401531446,  07575099699 for a ticket.

Continue reading the main story

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NAKURU WIDOW OCCUPYING HER HOUSE IN JULY 2010

Help The Seeds family settle this widowed lady

The construction started on 15th September 2009

The house construction now remains roofing and plastering and this will make a difference to Mrs. Lucy Wanjiru Maina (right) - a mother of six

It all started in a fellowship in London several years ago. A visiting preacher from Nakuru, Kenya was preaching in a Kenyan family house in London where they had lost their parent in Kenya. As the preacher was preaching she narrated the meaning of the word "poverty". "You people, you don't know what poverty is. When I talk about poverty you might not exactly understand but I can narrate what poverty is all about with an example of a widowed lady who was left by the husband with 6 children. The children do not go to school and the family is like nomads. They have been evicted from their rented houses for more than 9 times. They rent house, at the end of the month they cannot afford to pay the rent hence they are evicted. You are evicted until you don't know which estate you belong." the preacher explained. After the fellowship Pastor Jane Njiiri, the wife of Mr. Seed, enquired from the preacher about the woman and her where abouts. She contacted the lady and immediately she started to educate her children. It has been all along the desire of Pastor Njiiri and her family to build a home for this poor widow to make a difference in her life. Whenever Mr. Seed's family are in Kenya they always contact the lady who always join them in their family tour and she has become like a part of their family.

If you would like to help her in any way please contact her through Mrs. Lucy Wanjiru Maina on 0727307672 -  FULL STORY

HOUSEHOLD GOODS NEEDED FOR THE THREE BEDROOMS HOUSE

 You can donate whatever you like AND the Seeds family will buy whatever will not be donated.

1)  4 BEDS  (4 x 6 @ KShs. 7,000 each) -  4 MATTRESS @ KShs. 5,000 each

2) 2 SOFA SETS @ Kshs. 20,000 each

3) Cooker (gas) Cylinder @ KShs. 5,000 – Cooker KShs. 4,000

4) Cooking Sufurias (8)

5) Cups - 1 dozen

6) Plates - 1 dozen

7) Glass (water) - 1 dozen

8) Blankets (10)

(9) Bed sheets (10)

(10) KPLC Power connection from main (KShs. 42,000) we have done all the wiring)

(11) Coffee table (3)

(12) Spoons (table and tea) - 1 dozen of each

(13) Wardrobe (2)

(14) Table and 6 chairs (for children study)

(15) Kettle - one electric and one ordinary one)

(16) Sugar dish, salt holder, knifes,

(17) Radio (1) old or new

(18) Television set (1) Old or new

(19) Stools (6)

(20) Cooking pan (1) Toaster (1) new or used

Whatever someone is touched to donate is highly welcomed. The Bible says in Proverbs 19: 17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Thanks

God Bless.

Mr. Seed  - London

www.misterseed.com - mistereed@hotemail.co.uk - Tel: 07951220695.

IKO NINI BWANA SEED ARCHIVE

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IKO NINI BWANA SEED ARCHIVE

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