Celebs Vibe

Three Words You Should Say to Yourself Every Day

2013-09-27T02:09:00.001-07:00

Today’s guest blog is from author and psychologist Dr. Lynda Klau, who brings up something I am certain many of us don’t think about doing — but really should! I will certainly add it to my personal mantra list.

When was the last time you said “I love you” to yourself? Now that’s an unusual question, isn’t it? When is the last time you served as your own personal development coach? I’m curious about your answer. Embrace your answer without judging yourself; whatever it is, accept it solely as information.
An Exercise for You:
Here’s an exercise that may help. Sit down in a place where you won’t be disturbed. Breathe in and out three times. Close your eyes and see yourself standing in front of a mirror. Now, be there in front of that mirror. Say to yourself, either silently or out loud, “(Your name), I Love You.” How does it feel to the part of you who is saying it? Why are you saying it? And for the part of you who is hearing and receiving it, can you let it in? Does it feel good or not? What are you feeling in your body? Do you feel worthy of such self-love? Do you deserve it? If you do really feel loved — wonderful.
If you can’t say it, or if it’s too hard to let the love in, then you may want to start saying “I love you” to others more often and see what happens. By doing so, you’re working on strengthening your love for yourself. It’s impossible to not feel positive when you’re actively engaging in loving behaviors!
What did you discover in this exercise? When was the last time you said “I love you” to yourself? Before going to sleep last evening? A month ago? You can’t remember? Ever? Or are you much more accustomed to hear yourself saying, “I hate this wrinkle,” or “Look at those extra five pounds!”?
It was Carl Rogers, the psychologist, who said the hardest thing for people to say to each other are the very positive things. That is true for ourselves as well. In fact, I’m remembering both loving and hating myself. They are two different worlds. I recall one morning, years ago, around Halloween when I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and felt such hatred for myself and the way I looked — even with makeup on. I was devastated. At the time, I had no voice to respond to this hateful voice to say something like, “Excuse me, but you don’t get to talk to me that. For any reason!” So I too know what it feels like to not love yourself.
After awakening to and transcending my early inner world, I now know love in addition to hate. I hear a voice from within say ”I so love you” many times a day. And I hear another voice say, “I love you, too.” This happens when I feel sad, lonely, when I’m trying something new, and sometimes just because. That kind of unconditional love is good for all of us. It is our birthright.
You don’t actually have to say the words out loud or even silently; what’s important is having the feeling of self-love.
If you say ”I love you” to yourself several times a day or a week, then I dance with you. But before we get too celebratory, I wonder if you know where your “I love you” comes from. You see, we can feel pride for achievement, accomplishment, or what we might call conditional “love” — which is not really love at all. Do you love yourself today because the number on your scale is low enough? Or did you just get engaged and are proving you are lovable? These are external factors. My dear friends, those are accomplishments or achievements. I wouldn’t call those unconditional love. Those are examples of truly good things — don’t get me wrong, but they are based on external factors: “Self, if you achieve this or that, then I will love you.” I’m sorry to say, but that is not real love. It’s not the love you deserve.
I’ve watched many clients be gravely disappointed because they finished a degree, had a huge business success and they still don’t feel lovable. They held the belief that an outside success would create an inside feeling. They were caught in the “conditional love hope world.”
Happily there is also unconditional love. Unconditional love is not about being worthy or deserving. It is a love without condition: “I love you because I love you — no need to prove it. I love you because you are. Not because of any condition, and even without accomplishment. I love you for being you.” You still may not like that wrinkle or extra 5 pounds, but that doesn’t destroy your love for yourself.
If you feel such a love without condition for yourself, you are there. Don’t take it for granted. Whether you grew up this way or you’ve worked to arrive at this place, let it guide you to the life you were meant to live. Did you know that the more we love ourselves, the more we can love others — and they, in turn, us? And if we don’t love ourselves, it doesn’t matter how loving your partner or family may be; you won’t be able to receive the love.
Self-love leads to self-care. Loving yourself inspires you to care for yourself the way you would care for anyone you deeply love. Self-love and self-care lead to a well being. This is interesting because self-love and self-care also lead to a life you love entirely. Are you afraid that if you love yourself then you’ll be alone because no one else will love you? Hogwash!
The world of unconditional self-love helps us go forward into the unknown, fail and feel loved, experiment, and follow our passion not knowing where that will lead us. There is a power to unconditional self-love that you don’t want to miss. It’s life changing!

The Biggest Reasons Men Stay in Bad Relationships

2013-09-27T02:08:00.001-07:00

It is the uncomfortable question that your close friends and family usually will have no problem answering: “Why does he stay with her when it’s obvious they aren’t happy?”
That’s because they know you better than you know yourself — and your psyche is a master of disguise and camouflage, deflecting the kind of self-scrutiny you need to break free of the gravitational pull of a dead-end relationship. To help you uncover your own excuses and blind spots, here are six common reasons men stay stuck when they want to (and need to) move on:
1. Inertia. When stripped of its scientific veneer, this fancy word simply means: laziness. Or apathy, if you prefer. Technically, inertia is the state of motion — or lack thereof — that Newton described in his first law: all other influences being equal, an object (man) is either at rest (on the couch after a long day) or moves with a constant velocity (goes through the motions) unless acted on by an external force.
The problem is, the force required to start over isn’t external at all — it comes from within. This involves deciding what you can and can’t live with, setting boundaries and defending them. It means breaking habits that have kept you frozen in place too long. All of that adds up to work, compared to the relative ease of just making do. If you’ve been settling for second best, accept that it will cost you some effort to change that fact.
2. Fear of conflict. Few things in life are more conflict-filled — and painful and tumultuous — than breaking up with someone you’ve been dating for a while. Usually, the longer you’ve been with someone, the more conflicted the process is. It is a sad reality that many men (and women) stay in unfulfilling relationships month after month, year after year, because they fear the pain involved in breaking up and moving on. There are lots of reasons to stay in a relationship, but fear of conflict is not one of them.
3. Fear of change. No one enjoys throwing their lives into chaos and uncertainty. But the truth is, nothing ever stands still — not galaxies or mountains or seasons. The “status quo” as a tenable way of life is a fiction that always sets us at odds with the way the world really works. And it is a lousy foundation for a romantic relationship. Don’t let the anxiety that comes with change keep you from moving on when you know it is time.
4. Fear of dating. For most men, dating is stressful, especially if they have been off the market for a while. Sure, it can be exciting to meet new people, but dating also means putting yourself at the mercy of a stranger’s expectations — and running the risk that she won’t meet yours either. Playing out the possible scenarios in your head is often frightening enough to convince you to stay put rather than step out.
True, when dating, anything can happen — but that includes the possibility of finding the relationship that is right for you. You’ll never know unless you find the courage to try.
5. Fear of being alone. If you decide to leave a less-than-fulfilling relationship, then having a less-than-thrilling new dating experience is not the only possible outcome. For a period of time at least, you may simply be on your own. For some men that may sound like a welcome respite — but many are frightened at the prospect of going back to evenings alone in front of the TV. Spending time with the wrong person can seem preferable to having no one to spend time with at all.
There may be a season of solitude ahead when you choose to make a romantic change. Do it anyway, and believe that’s not the end of the road.
6. Secret payoffs. Sadly, some men will stay in an unhealthy relationship because they derive hidden emotional or psychological benefit by doing so. Perhaps you enjoy playing a caretaker role with her or being a martyr. Maybe you don’t believe you deserve better. If you want to move on but can never seem to take the necessary steps, examine what you secretly stand to lose.
Only you can know for sure when it is time to change romantic course and start over. If you’ve arrived there, don’t let inertia or fear keep you from moving on to better prospects.
Guys, have you ever stayed in the wrong relationship for too long? What was your reason?

Westgate's #WeAreOne Campaign Raised Sh 90 Million in 4 Days... Bring Zack Back Home Sh 70 Million in 60 Days

27 Sep 2013

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Kenyans just have a certain way of thinking.
In the past 4 or so days, almost Sh100 million has been raised for the Westgate victims. This is through the various mobile money platforms.

Safaricom yesterday announced the official closure of We Are One Mpesa paybill number 848484. Over Sh92 million was raised on its platform.

Airtel and Orange also had their own paybill numbers.

Last year, the Kenya Paraplegic Organization, in conjunction with Safaricom, had the Bring Zack Back Home campaign.
According to the official website, the campaign raised Sh73 million, against the required Sh250 million. The construction of the spinal injury rehabilitation centre has since begun.

Bring Zack Back home campaign took over two months, while the Westgate campaign took less than a week. Kenyans really have a certain way of doing things..

We can only hope that the money collected this week will be used to treat those injured, and help families of those who lost their lives.
Perhaps a more lasting solution would be sensitizing the public on the value of health insurance.

- See more at: http://www.nairobiwire.com/2013/09/westgates-weareone-campaign-raised-sh.html#sthash.qCu0vpfT.dpuf

Westgate's #WeAreOne Campaign Raised Sh 90 Million in 4 Days... Bring Zack Back Home Sh 70 Million in 60 Days

27 Sep 2013

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- See more at: http://www.nairobiwire.com/2013/09/westgates-weareone-campaign-raised-sh.html#sthash.qCu0vpfT.dpuf

The Biggest Reasons Men Stay in Bad Relationships

By eHarmony Staff

Dating Tips For Men, Relationship Advice, Relationship Problems, Relationships

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The Biggest Reasons Men Stay in Bad Relationships

2013-09-27T02:07:00.001-07:00

Westgate's #WeAreOne Campaign Raised Sh 90 Million in 4 Days... Bring Zack Back Home Sh 70 Million in 60 Days

27 Sep 2013

SHARE THIS STORY

- See more at: http://www.nairobiwire.com/2013/09/westgates-weareone-campaign-raised-sh.html#sthash.qCu0vpfT.dpuf

Westgate's #WeAreOne Campaign Raised Sh 90 Million in 4 Days... Bring Zack Back Home Sh 70 Million in 60 Days

27 Sep 2013

SHARE THIS STORY

- See more at: http://www.nairobiwire.com/2013/09/westgates-weareone-campaign-raised-sh.html#sthash.qCu0vpfT.dpuf

The Biggest Reasons Men Stay in Bad Relationships

By eHarmony Staff

Dating Tips For Men, Relationship Advice, Relationship Problems, Relationships

Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services

About Gout

2013-09-27T02:03:00.001-07:00

In Summary

Gout is a type of arthritis, which causes inflammation of your joints. It causes pain and swelling, usually in one joint in your body – commonly your big toe.
Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in your affected joints.

Gout is a type of arthritis, which cause
s inflammation of your joints. It causes pain and swelling, usually in one joint in your body – commonly your big toe. However, it can affect any of your joints, including those found in your:

• feet and ankles
• knees
• hands, fingers and wrists
• elbows

Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in your affected joints.

Gout affects about one to two in every 100 people in developed countries. It's more common in men, particularly older men.

Symptoms of gout

You may only ever have gout once in your life and it may go away without any treatment.

The first symptoms of gout in your affected joint include:

• severe pain
• swelling and warmth around the area
• red and shiny skin around the area, which may peel later on

You may also have a mild fever.

If you have gout that reoccurs over many years, you may have further symptoms. This can include firm, white lumps developing beneath your skin – these are made of uric acid crystals and are called tophi. Tophi usually take up to 10 years to develop from your first episode of gout. Having tophi can lead to a range of problems, including:

• the tophi becoming inflamed, which can cause discomfort
• tophi breaking down and leaking out a white, paste-like substance

You may want to discuss treatments to ease discomfort from having tophi with a doctor. However, taking antibiotics for inflamed or leaking tophi won’t help because tophi aren’t caused by bacteria.

These symptoms may be caused by problems other than gout. If you have any of these symptoms, see a doctor for advice.

Complications of gout

Having gout won’t always lead to further problems, but you can reduce your risk of having complications by having treatment and making changes to your lifestyle and diet.

The most common complication of gout is progressive joint damage, which leads to long-term pain, deformed joints and eventually, disability. This may be prevented by changes to your diet and by taking medicines that lower your uric acid levels. There is also some evidence that prolonged high levels of uric acid in your body can increase your risk of vascular diseases, which may lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Other complications that you may have are as follows.

• Gout affecting several of your joints (called polyarticular gout).
• Getting kidney stones (if uric acid crystals collect in your urinary tract). This happens to between one and four in 10 people who have gout.
• Damage to your kidneys (if uric acid crystals collect in your kidney tissue).

Causes of gout

You can develop gout if you have too much uric acid in your body. Uric acid is a chemical that everyone has in their blood. It's a waste product formed from substances called purines, which are found in every cell in your body and certain foods. Uric acid is formed in your body when the purines in foods you eat are broken down. It’s also formed when old cells in your body are broken down and replaced by new cells. Excess uric acid is passed through your kidneys and out of your body in your urine. However, the level of uric acid in your blood can rise if:

• your kidneys don't pass uric acid quickly enough
• your body produces too much uric acid

If the level of uric acid in your body is too high, it can form tiny crystals that collect in your tissues, particularly in and around your joints. This is what may cause your swelling and pain. These crystals tend to form at a cooler body temperature, which is why gout is more common in your fingers and toes.

You may have high levels of uric acid, but not get gout, or you may get gout, but not have high levels of uric acid. It's not known why some people develop gout and others don't. However, there are certain factors that can increase your likelihood of getting gout. You're more likely to get gout if you:

• are a man aged 30 to 60
• are a woman who has been through the menopause
• eat a diet that contains high levels of purines, which are found in red meat, seafood and some other foods
• drink too much alcohol, especially beer
• don’t drink enough fluids daily and become dehydrated
• take certain medicines, such as diuretics (water tablets), which increase the flow of urine from your body
• have a family history of gout
• have kidney disease meaning that your kidneys don't pass enough uric acid out in your urine
• are overweight, have diabetes or high blood pressure
• have psoriasis (itchy, dry and flaky skin), which can sometimes cause your body to produce too much uric acid
• are taking certain types of cancer medicines

Diagnosis of gout

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and examine you. He or she will also ask you about your medical history and that of your family. Your doctor may take a sample of your blood, which will be sent to a laboratory to measure the levels of uric acid. Your blood sample may also be tested to find out whether there may be another reason for your symptoms.

You may need to see a rheumatologist (a doctor specialising in conditions that affect the joints) for further tests.

Your doctor may remove some fluid from your swollen joint with a needle. This usually causes no more discomfort than a blood test. If uric acid crystals can be seen in the fluid under a microscope, you have gout. If calcium crystals are seen, you have a similar condition called pseudogout. The crystals formed when you have pseudogout are made of a calcium salt called calcium pyrophosphate.

You may need to have an X-ray of your joint in order to rule out other conditions and to find out if any damage has occurred, but this isn’t used to diagnose gout.

Please note that availability and use of specific tests may vary from country to country.

Treatment of gout

You will usually have symptoms of gout for up to two weeks and then they will go away, even without treatment. You may only have one episode of gout in your lifetime, but it might return. Your symptoms of gout may also be more frequent and last for longer.

Self-help

There are a number of steps you can take to reduce the pain and swelling from having gout.

• Raise and rest your joint. Don’t do any vigorous physical activity. Rarely, your doctor may give you a splint to wear to stop you moving your joint.
• Keep your joint cool and don't cover it. Ice the affected joint using an ice pack or ice wrapped in a towel for about 20 minutes at a time to reduce swelling and bruising. Don’t apply ice directly to your skin as it can damage it. If you need to repeat this, let your joint return to its normal temperature first.
• Drink enough water.

Medicines

There are medicines your doctor can prescribe to help to ease your pain and swelling from gout.

Your doctor may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, which may relieve pain and inflammation. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, kidney or lung disease, or if you're over 65, these medicines may be harmful, so you need to talk to your doctor before taking them. Don’t take aspirin because this medicine can affect your uric acid levels and make your gout last longer.

If NSAIDs aren't suitable for you, your doctor may prescribe a medicine called colchicine instead. Colchicine also reduces inflammation, but in a different way to NSAIDs. You may have side-effects from this medicine including diarrhoea, but this can be reduced by taking lower doses.

Occasionally, your doctor may prescribe steroid tablets if you can't take NSAIDs or colchicine. Alternatively, he or she may recommend a steroid joint injection if you have gout in a large joint (such as your knee).

Availability and use of different treatments may vary from country to country. Ask your doctor for advice on your treatment options.

Prevention of gout

Identifying things that cause you to have gout symptoms can help you to eliminate these triggers and reduce your chances of having it again. Gout can be prevented from reoccurring so often and so severely by making changes to your diet and taking medicines if needed.

Diet

What you choose to eat and drink can have an impact on gout. There are some foods that are very high in purines, which can increase the amount of uric acid in your blood. It’s best not to eat much of these foods very often. These include:

• liver and kidneys
• oily fish, such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies
• shellfish, including mussels, crab and shrimp
• certain vegetables, such as asparagus, cauliflower, lentils, mushrooms and spinach
• oats and oatmeal

If you’re planning to make changes to your diet, ask your doctor or a dietitian for advice to ensure you still get all the nutrients you need. Eating a well-balanced diet will help you to manage your symptoms.

Aim to drink less alcohol – especially cutting out beer, stout, port and fortified wines because these can have the greatest effect on causing gout symptoms. Drinking enough water every day will help to dilute your blood and urine, lowering the uric acid levels in your body.

If you need to lose excess weight, doing regular exercise will help you towards your goal. The World Health Organization recommends a healthy level of physical activity is 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate exercise over a week in bouts of 10 minutes or more. You can do this by carrying out 30 minutes on at least five days each week.

Medicines

In addition to changing your diet, you may need medicines to prevent gout. These help control the levels of uric acid in your blood. The aim is to prevent you getting gout again and if you do, make it last for a shorter time and be less severe. These medicines aren't used to treat symptoms of gout and are usually prescribed several weeks after your last gout symptoms have gone.

Your doctor may prescribe you a medicine called allopurinol to take daily. An alternative is febuxostat if there is a reason why you can’t take allopurinol. Both of these medicines prevent gout by stopping the formation of uric acid. Both allopurinol and febuxostat may actually cause more symptoms of gout when you first start taking them. To help prevent this happening, your doctor may prescribe NSAIDs, colchicine or steroid tablets for you to take alongside allopurinol or febuxostat for up to three months. Make sure you drink enough fluids when taking these medicines.

Your doctor may prescribe you other medicines, such as probenecid, to increase the amount of uric acid that is removed from your body in your urine.

Always ask your doctor for advice and read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine.

Availability and use of different preventative treatments may vary from country to country. Ask your doctor for advice on your treatment options.

Afghan doctors remove extra head from baby girl

2013-09-27T01:59:00.001-07:00

This photograph taken on September 18, 2013, shows three month old Asree Gul (L) and her twin sister as they lie on a bed at a hospital in the eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad. Doctors in an eastern Afghanistan city have saved a baby girl who was born with an extra head attached to her, doctors and relatives said on September 26.The girl named Asree Gul (new flower), one of a twin, was admitted to a local hospital in Jalalabad city by her parents carrying an extra head attached to her scalp. AFP/PHOTO

In Summary

The girl -- named Asree Gul (new flower) and one of a pair of twins -- was admitted to a hospital in the eastern city of Jalalabad with an extra head attached to her scalp, chief surgeon Ahmad Obaid Mojadidi told AFP.

By AFP

JALALABAD,

Surgeons in Afghanistan have carried out a life-saving operation on a baby girl born with an extra head, doctors and relatives said Thursday.

The girl -- named Asree Gul (new flower) and one of a pair of twins -- was admitted to a hospital in the eastern city of Jalalabad with an extra head attached to her scalp, chief surgeon Ahmad Obaid Mojadidi told AFP.

"Her mother gave birth to twins, two girls. One girl was in good health but the other had an abnormality. She had an extra head attached to her head," Mojadidi told AFP.

"We separated the extra head from her body," he said, a week after the operation which he described as the most sophisticated ever carried out in the impoverished city.

He said, however, that the baby was not in good condition after the operation.

Nematullah, the father of the infant who like many Afghans uses only one name, said he had not expected his baby to survive the operation.

"The doctors saved her life. I thank them," the emotional father told AFP.

Afghanistan, plagued by more than 30 years of war and still fighting a decade-long Taliban insurgency, lacks modern healthcare.

But facilities have improved thanks to billions of dollars pumped in by the international community since the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.

Kenyan scientists to use maggots to heal wounds

2013-09-27T01:57:00.001-07:00

Maggots on a cupcake. Kenyan scientists want to use maggots to heal chronic wounds. PHOTO/AFP

In Summary

The study that will establish the efficacy of using maggots to clean wounds in three months
Maggots could therefore emerge as one of the most effective method of removing dead tissue from the wounds
The method cannot be used on wounds that are close to major blood vessels

By XINHUA

Researchers in Kenya on Thursday said that they are currently conducting studies on how to use insect larvae to treat chronic wounds.

Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Researcher Phoebe Mukiria told journalists in Nairobi that they have identified the larvae of the green bottle fly as the best vehicle.

"We will complete the proof of principle study that will establish the efficacy of using maggots to clean wounds in three months," Mukiria said during the Kenya Science Congress.

The three-day event brought over 200 participants to discuss ways of integrating into daily lives. "Live maggots are introduced into the raw wound to feed on the dead tissue and so as to enable surgeons to conduct further medical procedures," she said.

She noted that the maggots take on average 10 days to clean the wounds. "On the other hand, the period for conventional methods vary but could take over four weeks to do the same," she said.

"The maggots could therefore emerge as one of the most effective method of removing dead tissue from the wounds. We have so far used the larvae on five patients who have shown positive results," she said.

The research is joint collaboration of the University of Nairobi, KARI, Slovakia based Comenius University and Tenwek Mission Hospital in Kenya.

The Research team attained government approval to conduct the investigations for one year. The insects could be used on patients with chronic disease such as diabetes and cancer. She added that wound care is expensive.

"By using the biological method, the only investment is the production of maggot, " she said. "However, the eggs which take a short time to hatch, have to be maintained in cool temperature for optimum results," she said.

According to Mukiria, the method cannot be used on wounds that are close to major blood vessels. She said that the procedure has already being successfully applied in other parts of the world. "In Europe, it is commonly used to treating animal pets," she said.

"Once the method is approved in Kenya, we will also extend the technology to animals," the KARI official said.

Panasonic to abandon consumer smartphones

2013-09-27T01:56:00.001-07:00

Japanese electronic giant Panasonic said Thursday it will abandon research into new smartphones for retail consumers at home as it struggles to make inroads in a sector dominated by Apple and Samsung. Photo/FILE

In Summary

NEC said in July it plans to exit its smartphone business, with chief financial officer Isamu Kawashima saying "we were late to enter the smartphone market, and we were unable to develop attractive products".

The move comes two months after competitor NEC said it was pulling out of the market citing tough competition.

"We will suspend developing new smartphones for the business-to-consumer market in Japan, and instead will pour our business resources into smartphones for the business-to-business market that is expected to grow," Panasonic said in a statement.

Corporate smartphones are devices used in businesses such as warehouses and hospitals where a number of people have to share up-to-date information across a large area.

Japanese electronics makers have struggled to compete since the rise of smartphones, and have been left behind by US giant Apple and South Korea's Samsung. The two companies' flagship phones have a large share of Japan's smartphone market.

NEC said in July it plans to exit its smartphone business, with chief financial officer Isamu Kawashima saying "we were late to enter the smartphone market, and we were unable to develop attractive products".

In the three months to June, Panasonic booked a net profit of 107.8 billion yen ($1.08 billion), up 742 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit stood at 64.2 billion yen, up 66.3 percent.

However its mobile phone unit Panasonic Mobile Communications booked an operating loss of 5.4 billion yen, despite a 86 percent rise in sales.

Panasonic and its domestic rivals, including Sony and Sharp, have been undergoing painful restructuring aimed at stemming years of record losses largely tied to their electronics units.

Interpol launches global hunt for British 'White Widow'

2013-09-27T01:54:00.001-07:00

Samantha Lewthwaite, who is suspected to be among the attackers who shot dead dozens of people at a Nairobi shopping mall. PHOTO | FILE

The British woman dubbed the "White Widow" was at the centre of a worldwide hunt on Thursday after Interpol issued an international arrest notice in the wake of the Kenya shopping mall attack.

Samantha Lewthwaite, a 29-year-old Muslim convert, was married to Germaine Lindsay, one of four Islamist suicide bombers who attacked the London transport network in July 7, 2005, killing 52 people.

The Interpol red notice, issued at Kenya's request, says the mother-of-three is "wanted by Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011."

But while it did not specifically mention the bloody four-day mall siege in Nairobi by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shebab movement -- which ended Tuesday -- it follows widespread media speculation over Lewthwaite's possible role in the massacre.

Kenya's foreign minister said a British woman was among the Westgate Mall attackers although President Uhuru Kenyatta later said the reports could not be confirmed.

Interpol issued four colour photographs of Lewthwaite along with the arrest notice. One shows her with long dark hair and pouting at the camera, while the other three show her wearing the Islamic headscarf in various poses.

The notice said Kenyan authorities wanted other member nations to be "aware of this danger posed by this woman, not just across the region but also worldwide."

It said Lewthwaite had previously only been wanted "at the national level for alleged possession of a fraudulently obtained South African passport."

The Interpol notice requires member states to detain the suspect pending extradition procedures.

An 'average, ordinary' girl

The daughter of a British soldier, Samantha Louise Lewthwaite professed herself appalled when her Jamaican-born husband detonated a rucksack full of explosives and blew himself up on a London Underground train at Russell Square station on July 7, 2005, killing 26 people.

She was pregnant with their second child at the time.

"I totally condemn and am horrified by the atrocities which occurred in London," she said, describing Lindsay as "a good and loving husband and a brilliant father, who showed absolutely no sign of doing this atrocious crime".

Lewthwaite had met Lindsay in an Internet chat forum when she was 17, having converted to Islam two years earlier.

Described as a bubbly teenager, schoolfriends said she had an ordinary upbringing, first in Northern Ireland and then in the market town of Aylesbury, northwest of London.

"She was an average British, young ordinary girl," said Raj Khan, a local councillor who knew the family. "She didn't have very good confidence."

Investigations have begun to lift the veil on Lewthwaite's shadowy movements since the London bombings.

South Africa said on Thursday that Lewthwaite had gained a South African passport using the assumed identity Natalie Faye Webb and the document was cancelled in 2011.

She had first entered the country in 2008.

She was accompanied by her three children, a girl and two boys, who would be now roughly aged between seven and 12.

Media reports this week quoted credit records as showing that "Natalie Faye Webb" had at least three addresses in the South African city of Johannesburg and ran up debts of $8,600 (6,400 euros).

Earlier this month Kenyan authorities accused her of working with another suspected British Islamist, Jermaine Grant, who is on trial accused of links to Al-Shebab and of plotting attacks.

Grant was arrested in December 2011 in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa with various chemicals, batteries and switches, which prosecutors say he planned to use to make explosives.

It is believed Lewthwaite escaped when they arrested Grant although she was never seen.

There is no suggestion she is romantically linked to Grant.

Raffaello Pantucci, a terror expert at Britain's Royal United Services Institute, said Lewthwaite had acquired a "semi-mythical status".

"I don't think we've had any concrete evidence of her being involved in this incident," he said. "But the fact of her being mentioned in this context is not surprising because of her connections."

Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper quoted security sources saying that extremists on the Kenyan coast call her "Dada Muzungu" - "white sister" in Swahili - and that she had slipped through a Kenyan dragnet in Mombasa in January 2012, when forces raided villas where she was believed to have been hiding.

Rumours abound that Lewthwaite is behind the Twitter handle @MYC_Press -- Kenya's radical Muslim Youth Centre -- which regularly comments on Kenyan extremism, as well as entering into a war of words with rival Islamists.

It has been silent since Saturday, when the Nairobi attacks began.

Jihadists torch statues, crosses in Syria churches:

2013-09-27T01:53:00.001-07:00

In this handout from IntelCenter obtained from the Internet January 14, 2009 shows a screen grab of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden called for jihad (holy struggle) over the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Photo/REUTERS

In Summary

Not only have there been attacks on Christian places of worship in Syria, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country wracked by more than two years of civil war, but also on Shiite Muslim mosques.

By AFP

Jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses inside churches in northern Syria on Thursday and destroyed a cross on a church clock tower, a watchdog said.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters entered the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the northern city of Raqa and torched the religious furnishings inside, the Syria Observatory for Human Rights said.

They did the same at the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs, and also destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, replacing it with the ISIL flag, the Observatory said.

Most of Raqa, located on the banks of the Euphrates River and capital of the province of the same name, fell to anti-regime fighters in March.

Where the ISIL dominates in the city, it imposes a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on the populace.

The London-based Observatory denounced these attacks "against the freedom of religion, which are an assault on the Syrian revolution."

Not only have there been attacks on Christian places of worship in Syria, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country wracked by more than two years of civil war, but also on Shiite Muslim mosques.

Additionally, Christians clerics have been kidnapped, and some brutally murdered, by jihadists.

In January, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, Sarah Leah Whitson, said: "The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country.

"Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed groups do not respect places of worship."

The New York-based group said that "while some opposition leaders have pledged to protect all Syrians, in practice the opposition has failed to properly address the unjustified attacks against minority places of worship."

At the outset of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, rebels welcomed the support of jihadist groups, largely made up of foreign fighters.

But the jihadists, where they have reached a position of dominance in specific parts of the country, are increasingly alienating the native population.

On Thursday, an ISIL commander from the United Arab Emirates was killed in fighting with Kurds in the north of Syria, the Observatory said.

UN court upholds Charles Taylor’s 50-year sentence for arming rebels

2013-09-27T01:51:00.001-07:00

Former President Charles Taylor. Photo/REUTERS

In Summary

As Liberia’s president from 1997 to 2003, Taylor aided and abetted neighbouring Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels by supplying guns and ammunition during the conflict — known for its mutilations, drugged child soldiers and sex slaves, trial judges found.

By AFP

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands, Thursday
A UN-backed appeals court today upheld Liberian ex-president and warlord Charles Taylor’s 50-year sentence for arming rebels during Sierra Leone’s brutal 1990s civil war.

“The appeals chamber ... affirms the sentence of 50 years in prison and orders that the sentence be imposed immediately,” judge George King told the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague.

The landmark ruling marks the end of the road for the former west African strongman’s marathon case spanning seven years.

Taylor listened impassively as the judgment was read out, wearing a dark suit, golden tie, gold cufflinks and gold-rimmed glasses.

He will now most likely spend the rest of his life in a foreign prison, possibly in Britain.

Blood diamonds

His historic sentence on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity was the first handed down by an international court against a former head of state since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg in 1946.

“The defence failed to demonstrate any discernible errors in the trial chamber’s sentencing,” said King.

Taylor, 65, was found guilty in 2012 of supporting rebels from neighbouring Sierra Leone who waged a campaign of terror during a civil war that claimed 120,000 lives between 1991 and 2002, in exchange for “blood diamonds” mined by slave labour.

Arrested and transferred to The Hague in mid-2006, where his case was moved for fear of stirring up divisions at home, Taylor was sentenced in May last year for “some of the most heinous crimes in human history”.

As Liberia’s president from 1997 to 2003, Taylor aided and abetted neighbouring Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels by supplying guns and ammunition during the conflict — known for its mutilations, drugged child soldiers and sex slaves, trial judges found.

Appeals judges confirmed that RUF rebels and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) sought “to achieve military gain at any civilian costs.”

The rebels “used acts of terror as their primary modus operandi” and “there is a sufficient causality link between the accused and the commission of the crimes”.

“Taylor’s acts and conducts did not only hurt the victims ... but fuelled the conflict that became a threat to peace and security in the west African sub-region,” said King.

Sierra Leone Government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay told AFP that “as a government, we believe that justice has been done and impunity is over”.

Around 100 people, including human rights activists and survivors of the Sierra Leone civil war, watched a live broadcast of the ruling in the capital Freetown.

“Let Taylor rot in jail,” said Freetown taxi driver Andrew Lebbie, adding that he wished Taylor would serve his time in an African prison.

Throughout the trial, Taylor maintained his innocence.

Both defence and prosecution lawyers had appealed the initial sentence.

“It’s a very good decision. We feel good about it,” said Memanatu Kumara, 28, who had her left hand amputated by the RUF in 1999 in Freetown and who came to court for the verdict.

Judge King said he was “not persuaded” by a recent controversial ruling before the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal (ICTY), also based in the Netherlands.

The ICTY acquitted Yugoslav ex-army chief Momcilo Perisic on appeal, saying they required “specific direction” in the commission of crimes for a conviction. (AFP)

British Somalis fear backlash after Westgate attack

2013-09-27T01:50:00.001-07:00

British Somalis fear there could be repercussions after the Westgate mall attack. PHOTO/AFP

In Summary

Many British Somalis have seen their own families devastated by the Islamist group's domestic campaign of violence
Britons are believed to make up one of the largest foreign contingents in Al Shabaab ranks
Britain was one of the first EU countries to re-open its embassy in Mogadishu, in April

By AFP

LONDON

The bloody events at Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall unfolded thousands of miles away -- but in Britain, Europe's biggest Somali community fears there could be repercussions much closer to home.

Britain's 100,000 Somalis reacted with horror when Somalia's Al Shabaab Islamists claimed responsibility for the carnage -- and dismay that, once again, their homeland is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In the run-down northwest London suburb of Harlesden, a hub for the city's large Somali community, men spoke with bitter contempt for the Al-Qaeda-linked militants as they milled around the shabby Somali-owned cafes, grocers and Internet cafes on Wednesday.

"We hate the Al Shabaab," said Ali Ali as he leaned against a battered car.

"They are not Somali, and they are not Muslim either," the 27-year-old told AFP.

"There's nothing in Islam that justifies the killing of innocent people. We feel so much anger about what has happened in Kenya."

Like many of the men who stood chatting on this street, Ali arrived in Britain in the 1990s in a huge wave of refugees fleeing the chaos of Somalia's civil war.

But the Somali community has roots going back to the 19th century, when Somali merchant seamen first made Britain their home. Census figures suggest there are some 100,000 Somalis in Britain, although by some estimates the real figure is at least twice that.

Ali and his friends fear their British neighbours will assume there is strong support for the Al Shabaab in his community following the attack -- which has left at least 67 people dead including five Britons -- when nothing could be further from the truth.

Many British Somalis have seen their own families devastated by the Islamist group's domestic campaign of violence, he pointed out.

"We want to make it clear that Al Shabaab is not so much the enemy of Kenya, but the enemy of all of us," said Adam Matan, director of the Anti-Tribalism Movement, a charity with offices in London and Mogadishu.

"Somalis in Somalia are the greatest victims of Al Shabaab and their criminality. Look at how many explosions take place in Mogadishu.

"Whether you're a Muslim or a non-Muslim, as long as you don't agree with their beliefs you are treated as an infidel."

TERRORIST BREEDING GROUND

But British Somalis feel their reputation is not helped by tales of Britons travelling to Somalia to join the Al Shabaab fighters, which have caught the headlines in recent years.

Britons are believed to make up one of the largest foreign contingents in Al Shabaab ranks. The Royal United Services Institute think-tank estimates that around 50 Britons have joined the militants in Somalia.

Prime Minister David Cameron stressed the danger of poverty-stricken Somalia as a terrorist breeding ground when he addressed a conference last year, saying "these problems in Somalia don't just affect Somalia. They affect us all."

Britain was one of the first EU countries to re-open its embassy in Mogadishu, in April.

But Matan said there was zero tolerance for extremism amongst most British Somalis.

"If there was anyone sympathetic to Al-Shabaab here in the UK, I think the Somali community would be the first to report them," he told AFP.

Hussein Hersi, who runs another Somali community group, agreed. "You can't rule out someone living here, going back to Somalia and becoming brainwashed.

"But I haven't heard anything about that from the Somali community," he said.

He told AFP that many British Somalis felt there was ill-will towards them since a Somali-born suspect was arrested after attempting a copycat attack two week after the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London.

"It happened before with 7/7, this feeling that all Somalis were involved," said the former civil engineer.

"There are fears that people will think, 'You've seen one, you've seen them all.'

"But a lot of Somalis are very proud to be British, and they don't want to be associated with anything like that."

The US embassy in London has also identified the risk of radicalisation within the Somali community. It reportedly works closely with Elays, an organisation whose name means "light" in Somalia, which encourages young Somalis to make films about fighting stereotypes.

Blame game over Westgate attack

2013-09-27T01:48:00.001-07:00

A section of the Westgate Mall that collapsed during the final assault on suspected Al-Shabaab attackers by the Kenya security forces. PHOTO | KDF

In Summary

Inquiries by the Nation indicate that a coordinated rescue mission was badly delayed because of disputes between the Kenya Police and KDF officers commanding their units on the ground.
It took prolonged consultations that also involved State House before President Kenyatta publicly announced that Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo was in charge.

By NATION TEAM

Rivalry among security agencies and lack of clear command lines badly affected the response to the terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall, the Nation has established.

Jurisdictional differences appear to have extended to blame games among security agencies, as Kenya recovers from its worst terror attack since the 1998 bombing of the Embassy of the United States of America in Nairobi.

Various units of the Kenya Police and the Kenya Defence Forces played key roles in the rescue operation after a band of terrorists linked to Somalia-based Al-Shabaab attacked the shopping mall on Saturday and killed dozens before holding an unknown number hostage inside the up-market complex.

Inquiries by the Nation indicate that a coordinated rescue mission was badly delayed because of disputes between the Kenya Police and KDF officers commanding their units on the ground.

A reconstruction of the rescue mission indicates that a team from the Recce General Service Unit of the Kenya Police early in the rescue operation made its way into the mall and secured most of it, pinning down the terrorists at one end around Nakumatt Supermarket and Barclays Bank.

Rooftop parking

However, the team pulled out after its commander was fatally shot in ‘friendly fire’ following the arrival of a KDF unit.

Also pulling out at the same time was a small group of policemen from various units and armed civilians, who were the first to enter the mall from the rooftop parking and the front entrance and led hundreds of shoppers to safety.

The pullout left a vacuum that apparently allowed the terrorists to regroup and move through the mall slaughtering many captives.

It also allowed the terrorists to deploy heavy-calibre machine guns that they had not used in the earlier shootout.

It took prolonged consultations that also involved State House before President Kenyatta publicly announced that Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo was in charge.

However, it was also decided that KDF Special Forces would be the ones to conduct the actual assault on the terrorists, while the GSU and other police units ringed the mall.

The soldiers and their commanders on the ground only answered to KDF chief General Julius Karangi rather than to the police boss, which also complicated the operation.
The teams also appeared to have had different aims. One officer involved said that some units had a priority to locate and rescue a specific group of VIPs.

Barely an hour after the attack, the GSU squad had taken control of almost 70 per cent of the building after moving in to reinforce the small group of policemen, who were the first to enter the building.

The KDF Special Forces came in later to spearhead the operation, with the GSU forming the second inner cordon in the mall behind the army units from the 20 Para Battalion and Maroon Commandos.

The rivalry is understood to have extended to communication on how the public would be informed of the progress of the operation.

As Parliament promised to demand answers from all units involved, it also emerged on Wednesday that the police had been given advance intelligence on the planned terrorist attack, but failed to act.

The Parliamentary Defence Committee Thursday summoned all security chiefs — including National Intelligence Service boss Michael Gichangi—to appear before it next week. The sessions are expected to be dominated by buck-passing.

“The time for responsibility and accountability has come,” Defence Committee chairman Ndung’u Gethenji said.

Likely targets

A local newspaper Thursday quoted an intelligence source claiming Maj-Gen Gichangi had passed information to Mr Kimaiyo and CID director Ndegwa Muhoro on the impending attack on Westgate.

Speaking to the Nation Thursday, however, a highly-placed source within the police denied that such information was ever passed on.

He said all the communication logs and situation reports had been cross-checked in the wake of the attack and confirmed that no such report was ever made.

What was on record in the recent past, he insisted, were the regular alerts on terrorist plots and likely targets such as government buildings, city landmarks and high-rise buildings, tourist hotels, up-market shopping malls frequented by diplomats and expatriates, and western embassies.

From the debate in Parliament in the wake of the attack, it also appears some MPs have already decided who to blame for the security lapse.

Meanwhile, intelligence officers are pursuing leads indicating that a terrorist who is already serving a 59-year jail term was in contact from behind prison walls with the group that planned and carried out the Westgate attack.

Abdimajid Yassin Mohammed was last year jailed after pleading guilty to the charges of terrorism. It is believed that some warders at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison allowed him to communicate with the conspirators outside.

Suicide mission
Mr Mohammed, 26, and a colleague reportedly bought a Peugeot 505 car for Sh180,000 and did not bother to ask for the log book.
They had planned to use it for a suicide mission on Parliament, but the car broke down on September 13 as they set out on their operation.
They were arrested with four suicide bomb belts, 12 hand grenades, four AK 47 rifles, 481 bullets and two home-made bombs. They led police to a flat in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area where some of the arsenal was recovered.

They also confessed that they were sent to Kenya by Jafra Hussein, an Al-Shabaab commander in Mogadishu.

I alerted the NIS about this attack, claims Sonko

2013-09-27T01:46:00.001-07:00

Nairobi Senator Gidion Mbuvi Sonko has sensationally alleged he has information about the Westgate Shopping Mall attackers.
Further, he said, he informed the National Intelligence Service about the impending attack but the agency did not act.
He, however, did not specify the person he reported to at NIS.
Addressing a sombre Senate yesterday, Mr Mbuvi (below) told the House he alerted the NIS two months ago after a tip-off.
He claimed two women came to his office and informed him of some foreigners who were planning to attack shopping malls and key buildings in Nairobi.
He said he was told the National Assembly, the KICC where the Senate sits, and Village Market in Gigiri were also targets.
“The women told me the terrorists were living with them in Parklands and Westlands,” Mr Mbuvi said.
“The women told me they were being mistreated and threatened with grenades and guns. They said the foreigners had been in Nairobi for three months,” he said.
He claimed he took the women to intelligence officials, but nothing was done.
The Senator spoke when the House adjourned to discuss the Westgate Shopping Mall terror attack that began on Saturday.
President Kenyatta yesterday said 67 people were killed in the attack. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility.
airobi Senator Gidion Mbuvi Sonko has sensationally alleged he has information about the Westgate Shopping Mall attackers.

Abdul Haji’s mission to rescue brother blessing for Westgate hostages

2013-09-27T01:40:00.001-07:00

In Summary

He grew up shooting at the Athi River range and describes himself as “very good with pistols”.
He teamed up with a vigilante group of about 10 people from Parklands neighbourhood who had pistols, two-way radios and bulletproof vests.
Mr Haji caught a glimpse of two attackers. One of them taunted them in Kiswahili to come closer if they dared.

By NATION TEAM
More by this Author

Abdul Haji, 38, was in a meeting at Yaya Centre when he received an SMS from his elder brother.

“Stuck in Westgate. I think it’s a terrorist attack. Pray for me,” it read.

It was a moment he had been dreading for two weeks after a local television station exposed his brother, an undercover counter-terrorism officer, in an investigative programme.

Since then, the family of Senator Yusuf Haji has been receiving threats and warnings from people believed to represent the Somali-based Al-Shabaab Islamist group.

Mr Haji quickly excused himself from the meeting and dashed to Westgate. It was almost 1pm on Saturday, September 21.

Al-Shabaab gunmen had stormed the mall a few minutes earlier and started shooting indiscriminately.

Mr Haji, a businessman and a father of four daughters, believed the feared attack had come.

“My instinct was that they had come for my brother and that they would later come for the whole family,” he told Daily Nation Wednesday. “I was motivated to go in and fight to save my brother and my family.”

LICENSED GUN HOLDER

A licensed gun holder and gun enthusiast, Mr Haji was introduced to guns by his father, the Garissa senator who is also a former defence minister and long-serving provincial administrator.

He grew up shooting at the Athi River range and describes himself as “very good with pistols”.

He had packed an SSK heavy blaster pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition. When he arrived at Westgate, sounds of gunfire and screams could be heard.

He teamed up with a vigilante group of about 10 people from Parklands neighbourhood who had pistols, two-way radios and bulletproof vests.

They then saw movements in the mall basement parking. Many people had been shot inside or outside their cars. Some were still alive.

“We must go in there and see if we can rescue some people,” Abbas Gullet of the Kenyan Red Cross said.

With some of the vigilantes offering cover, they crept into the basement and pulled out bodies and some injured people.

Then, together with two plainclothes policemen, they headed to the rooftop via the ramp using the wall for cover.

They ran into a scene straight from hell.

“I have seen bodies but I have never seen so many bodies of children and helpless women,” Mr Haji said. “It was a massacre.”

The people at the rooftop had been attending a children’s cooking competition. The floor was covered in blood, cooking oil and food. There was no gunman in sight.

Covering the entrance to the mall against attack, they summoned the Red Cross team to take away the dead and the injured.

It was now close to an hour since the shootings had started and the anti-terror unit had not yet arrived.

Mr Haji’s unarmed brother was hiding in a first floor toilet.

Mr Haji, another man and three policemen, one of them armed with an Ak-47 rifle, entered the mall and rescued some terrified people hiding in Java Restaurant.

Using the staircase, they crept down to the second floor, rescuing people as they went along, before reaching the first floor where they could hear gunshots.

The assailants were waiting for them at the entrance to Nakumatt and let off a volley of heavy gunfire. The plainclothes policeman with the Ak-47 was shot in the stomach. He hid behind a pillar and was later dragged outside over the Art Café railing.

Mr Haji caught a glimpse of two attackers. One of them taunted them in Kiswahili to come closer if they dared. Realising that there were two women and three children hiding behind a flimsy table in the line of fire, Mr Haji and his colleagues skirted around instead.

They went from shop by shop rescuing hidden people, some of them playing dead, until they came close to the Nakumatt entrance.

Police officers lobbed teargas towards the attackers in Nakumatt and used the lull to rescue the women and children.

The women were reluctant to risk the dash across the line of fire but Mr Haji told them to carry one child each and beckoned the older girl to run across. A widely circulated picture of the girl running towards Mr Haji is a portrait in trust and bravery.

It was now almost 6pm and KDF soldiers and tactical team officers started sweeping across the first floor. Mr Haji and his team of civilians retraced their steps to the second floor.

Here, they found more people hiding in the Burger Place restaurant. Many had been shot and some were dead.

At Barclays, they found customers hiding in the banking hall. The bank staff and managers had locked themselves in the vault. Mr Haji and his team rescued them too.

They also rescued “about 40 people” who had crammed into the tiny mall management office and were beginning to suffocate.

“There was a wave of heat when we opened the door,” Mr Haji said yesterday. After rescuing more people from the CCTV control room, he headed back to the top of the mall.

It was then that he learnt the teargas had helped his brother and others escape from the first floor. It was also when the enormity of it all hit him.

“The magnitude of it hit me when I got out. I had been operating on adrenaline and survival instinct,” he said. “Then I realised that what had happened was a terrible thing.”

Mr Haji has been having nightmares since Saturday. His wife tells him he weeps in his sleep and Wednesday was the first time he went to work.

“I am angry at what I saw, what those people did, and the claim that they did it in the name of Islam,” he said yesterday, insisting on being interviewed in a public place in what he said was a sign of defiance to terror. “I am a Kenyan-Somali and I am Muslim; Islam does not advocate violence. They are doing the opposite of what Islam teaches,” he said.

He, however, is a reluctant hero. “I don’t feel like a hero at all. That girl who ran towards me is brave. That’s bravery. I don’t think I was that brave at her age but if I could save lives, I could do it again.”

BY NJERI RUGENE nrugene@ke.nationmedia.com AND DANIEL K. KALINAKI dkalinaki@ke.nationmedia.com

Tuju daughters say mother mentally ill

2013-09-27T01:38:00.001-07:00

Mrs Ruth Akinyi , Raphael Tuju's estranged wife leave Kilimani police on July04, 2013 after recording statement in regard with the death of late Tony Ogunda . PHOTO/William Oeri

In Summary

The twins are seeking a court order for their mother to be placed under psychiatric care by a doctor chosen by the immediate family, their mother’s uncle David Wanjare, her cousin Joseph Wanjare and sisters Sabina Achieng’, Rita Aluoch, Pamela Akeyo and Mary Ochieng’.

By PAUL OGEMBA

Two daughters have filed an urgent suit to save their mother from criminal prosecution over allegations of assault.

Ms Alma Tuju and Ms Yma Tuju, who are former Cabinet minister Raphael Tuju’s twin daughters, claim their mother, Ms Ruth Akinyi, is not in her right senses and needs psychiatric help.

It is, therefore, a violation of her rights to bring criminal charges against her on matters over which she has no control, they say.

Through lawyer Khayega Chivai, the twins said that their mother is a danger to herself by informing people close to her that she is considering ending her life.

“She is also a danger to the public as she is prone to fits of rage and has attacked her servants. As a result of her uncontrolled anger, she has been charged in court when in reality she may not be responsible for her actions,” the lawyer said.

The twins are seeking a court order for their mother to be placed under psychiatric care by a doctor chosen by the immediate family, their mother’s uncle David Wanjare, her cousin Joseph Wanjare and sisters Sabina Achieng’, Rita Aluoch, Pamela Akeyo and Mary Ochieng’.

They also want an order that managers of their mother’s estate as well as her guardian be appointed from the listed family members.

The application was supported by the affidavit of Ms Alma Tuju, who swore that their mother brought them up well until recently when they noticed her behaviour and actions were erratic.

“Our mother deserves help, not condemnation since we believe the mother we grew up with is a good, morally upright woman, and the image of her we have seen recently cannot be reconciled with the mother who brought us up,” swore Alma.

According to Alma, they have been on the receiving end of their mother’s abnormal actions, which are unlike her, and which make them believe she is not responsible for the actions and requires psychiatric intervention.

She said that in November 2012, their mother took her clothes in a suitcase and hid it for two months and poured water on her twin sister, Yma’s computer.

“In the same period, she ordered both of us to leave home and go search for husbands and tried to harass us so that we could leave the residence,” she said.

Officer denies stealing from Westgate victims

2013-09-27T01:37:00.001-07:00

Police Constable Benson Gachuhi Kihenjo attached to Spring Valley Police Station who was charged before the Kibera Law Courts for being in possession of stolen property from victims of the Westgate terrorism attack on September 23, 2013. Photo/SALATON NJAU NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

Constable Benson Gachuhi Kihenjo of Spring Valley Police Station was allegedly caught with a blood-stained wallet, credit cards, cheque books and identifications documents belonging to a victim of the Saturday attack.

By Nation Reporter

A police officer has been charged with having goods suspected to have been stolen from victims of the Westgate terror attack.

Constable Benson Gachuhi Kihenjo of Spring Valley Police Station was allegedly caught with a blood-stained wallet, credit cards, cheque books and identifications documents belonging to a victim of the Saturday attack.

Stolen ID and photos

He allegedly committed the offence on Monday.

Kibera principal magistrate, Bernard Ochoi heard that the policeman was also found with an identity card, three passport size photographs, belonging to the victim and his two children and an iPhone.

He was also charged with having 115 fake American dollars in his house.

He denied the charges and was remanded in custody until September 30 when his bail application will be determined.

Off-duty British soldier saved 100

2013-09-27T01:34:00.001-07:00

A man rescues a child from the Westgate Mall. Photo/FILE

In Summary

The Daily Mail said the soldier’s picture was taken at the scene but that he cannot be named for security reasons.

By PAUL REDFERN

A British off-duty SAS soldier has emerged as one of the many heroes in connection with the attack on the Westlands shopping mall over the weekend.

The armed soldier was having coffee at the Westgate mall when it was attacked by terrorists on Saturday.

He quickly helped two women escape from the complex and then returned to the building on a dozen occasions, despite intense gunfire, according to the Daily Mail.

A friend in Nairobi said: ‘‘What he did was so heroic. He was having coffee with friends when it happened.

“He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside.”

The Daily Mail said the soldier’s picture was taken at the scene but that he cannot be named for security reasons.

British Special Forces regularly train and operate out of Kenya, and have been involved in tracking UK citizens involved with hardline Islamists in Somalia and Yemen.

It is also known that former members work with both the UK and Kenyan governments and security firms across East Africa.

SAS specialists were in Nairobi on Sunday night, and on standby to assist in any rescue mission if requested, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said.

Army retakes mall after two-hour fight

2013-09-27T01:32:00.001-07:00

A millitary tank is seen moving out of the Westgate mall on September 24, 2013. Photo/ JEFF ANGOTE NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

He gave a death toll of 61 civilians killed killed by the terrorists as well as six members of the security forces.
Westgate Mall was retaken by 20 Special Forces troopers from the Kenyan Army after a two-hour fire-fight on Monday afternoon, the Nation sources said.
The shooter was said to be among the seven terrorists who were left standing after storming the mall on Saturday at around noon, mowing down 62 people in a horrific massacre and injuring close to 175 others.

By ANDREW TEYIE
More by this Author

Bloodied but unbowed. That was the verdict last night after President Kenyatta declared victory at the end of a four-day siege at the Westgate Shopping Mall captured by Al Shabbab terrorists over the weekend.

The President lauded the security forces for an exemplary performance, but conceded that Kenya had suffered immense losses.

“I report with great sadness that 61 civilians lost their lives. Six security officers also made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the criminals,” Mr Kenyatta said.

He gave a death toll of 61 civilians killed killed by the terrorists as well as six members of the security forces.

Five of the terrorists were killed in the firefight inside Westgate, while 11 suspected accomplices arrested elsewhere were in police custody.

On the issue of the hostages held during the four-day ordeal, the President’s statement was silent on any freed during the rescue operation.

He, however, revealed that three floors at the mall had caved in towards the tail end of the mission, trapping an unknown number in the rubble.

President Kenyatta saluted Kenyans for the great sacrifice they made to help those affected by the attack. “Your response has been nothing short of wonderful. We could not in all fairness ask more of you,” said the President, who was flanked by Deputy President William Ruto.

“I am deeply moved and proud to be your President,” he went on.

The official end to the siege came as the Nation got details of how the rescue operation unfolded.

Westgate Mall was retaken by 20 Special Forces troopers from the Kenyan Army after a two-hour fire-fight on Monday afternoon, the Nation sources said.

The special team took advantage of a diversion created by their compatriots outside the mall to distact the terrorists. giving them the slight edge they needed to launch the final assault.

A gunman sniper on the third floor of the staircase had kept the assault team at bay for nearly 24 hours.

An elaborate show involving lots of smoke and shooting by solders and police officers diverted the attention of the terrorist shooter, who appeared to be in command, for the few crucial seconds a Kenya Defense Force sniper needed to take position and shoot him, according to officers privy to the operation.

But even as victory was declared, many important questions remained unanswered about the fate of hostages, who were believed to be still in the building.

There were also questions about what was really burning, though the Nation obtained photographs of burnt out vehicles in the mall compound.

It was also not clear what level of coordination there was between the military and police, particularly the Recce Company of the General Service Unit, which is trained specifically to deal with hostage situations.

The killing of the shooter, who seemed to be the leader, allowed the soldiers to access the third floor where they fought the rest of the terrorists for the better part of Monday afternoon before they declared victory.

The shooter was said to be among the seven terrorists who were left standing after storming the mall on Saturday at around noon, mowing down 62 people in a horrific massacre and injuring close to 175 others.

The diversion saw police officers and soldiers surrounding the mall open sustained gunfire for nearly 10 minutes. The rapid fire and tear gas outside the mall surprised the terrorists, who had held a combined assault team of engaged for 24 hours.

What is not clear is whether the military was also responsible for bombing one of the columns of the mall, which in turn could have contributed to the collapse of some of the floors. Some international news agencies has earlier reported the floor of the upstairs parking lot had collapsed after soldiers tried to blast their way in.

'BURNING MATTRESSES’

Curiously after the incident, Security Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku had a press briefing where he attributed the smoke to terrorists burning mattresses at Nakumatt supermarket on the ground floor. However, the alleged mattress fire did not spread to the rest of the building.

During the press conference, KDF chief, Gen Julius Karangi said they were not going back because they knew where the terrorists were in the mall.

“They can surrender because we have no intention of going back. We are aware of their nationalities. We are fighting global terrorism here,” said Gen Karangi.

The soldiers said KDF Special Forces engaged the terrorists for about two hours before killing them. In the fire-fight, 11 soldiers were injured and rushed to hospital where six died.

SECURITY ROOM

The soldiers claimed that the first thing the terrorist did was to capture the security control room where they had a full view of inside and outside the mall through the Westgate CCTV system.

The move put at a disadvantage the advance hostage rescue team and at one time help was sought from specialised Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) experts to hack into the CCTV system to “have eyes” into the mall.

This gave Kenyan forces a full view of where the terrorists were and their formation inside the mall. With “the eyes” inside, assault team studied the floor plan of Westgate and chose the time when they believed the terrorists would be exhausted after hours of vigilance.

The assault team is said to have switched off the lights to the mall which blacked out the CCTV that terrorists were using to run the show from inside the control room.

List of Westgate mall victims - UPDATED

2013-09-27T01:31:00.001-07:00

Westgate shopping mall where at least 61 people were killed by terrorists. PHOTO/JOAN PERERUAN

In Summary

The identities of all the 61 civilians and 6 security officials killed in the Westgate Mall attack are not released yet, we will continue updating this list as the names become known.

The list of victims of the Saturday terrorist attack in a Nairobi mall confirmed Kenya’s credentials as a cosmopolitan African city with inhabitants from all parts of the world.

Here is a list of some of the victims.

KENYA

1. Peter Ldhituachi Simani, a board director at the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and chairman of the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal, also tragically died at the Westgate Mall.

Mr. Simani, a senior partner at Simani and Associates, was serving a three-year term at the regulator’s board. He was appointed in February 2011. The deceased’s law firm provided consultancy and legal services in criminal, civil, and commercial law.

2. Anuj Shah of Sona Shoppe, a photography studio situated in several Nakumatt branches such as the ill-fated Westlands and Ukay, was also killed during the attack. Mr. Shah was the brother-in-law of Atul Shah, Nakumatt Holdings’ managing director.

3. Harun Oyieke, a lecturer at Co-operative University College of Kenya, which is based in Karen. He was the husband to Prof. Florence Awino of University of Nairobi’s School of Biological sciences where she is also the deputy director of the Student Welfare Authority (SWA).
4. Ruhila Adatia-Sood, a popular TV and radio personality, was in the rooftop car park of the Westgate shopping centre where she was part of a team hosting a cooking competition for children at the time of the attack.
She was married to Ketan Sood, who worked for USAid in Nairobi, in January 2012 in what has been described as Swahili-themed wedding. She was six months’ pregnant with their first child when she died.
According to reports, Ms Adatia-Sood was rushed to Aga Khan Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
5 &6. Mbugua Mwangi and Rosemary Wahito: President Uhuru Kenyatta’s nephew Mbugua Mwangi and his fiancee Rosemary Wahito are among the many Kenyans killed in the attack on the Westgate shopping centre.
According to the Irish Independent newspaper, Mr Mwangi’s mother, Catherine Muigai Mwangi, had recently returned home from Dublin following a six-year posting as Kenya’s ambassador to Ireland.
Mr Kenyatta’s elder sister, Christine Wambui Pratt, had also been at Westgate at the time of the attack, but managed to escape. The family was planning a wedding for the deceased couple.
7. Mitul Shah: A sales and marketing director of Bidco, a company that primarily makes cooking oil, Mitul Shah was also up in the rooftop car park at the cooking competition.
“He died trying to save stranded children. He died as a hero,” Half Jadhe Half Kyuk wrote on the KenyaList.com message board.
Nehal Vekaria: A 16-year-old student. On Sunday, her family held her funeral where she was cremated.

8. Martin Munene Kithinji: A police officer attached to GSU Recce company.

9. Wilkista Vizengwa Angoro: She used to work with AMREF

10. Crispal Gaitung'u Ng'ang'a: He worked for Genesis Office Solutions

11. Kennedy Mogaka Mochere: He was a Nakumatt employee

12. Veronicah Wairimu Kamau: Also worked at Nakumatt

13. John Mutando Musango: He hails from Machakos County and worked at Nakumatt

CANADA
14. Annemarie Desloges: A 29-year-old Canadian diplomat who served at the country’s high commission in Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency.
Her husband, Robert Munk, was injured in the attack but has since been released from hospital, officials said.
Another Canadian was also killed, but has not been named.

GHANA
15.Kofi Awoonor: The 78-year-old Ghanaian was a renowned poet - regarded as literary royalty at home, where his poetry and novels are considered essential reading at schools. He was in Nairobi as a participant in the Storymoja Hay Festival and was due to perform on Saturday evening.
Ghana’s President John Mahama said he was shocked by such a sad twist of fate.
Mr Awoonor’s son was with him in Nairobi and was shot in the shoulder during the attack.

INDIA
16. Sridhar Natarajan: The 40-year-old who died in Westgate was working for a pharmaceutical firm in Nairobi, Indian external ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said on Twitter. He was from Tamil Nadu, in southern India.
17. Paramshu Jain: The eight-year-old son of a branch manager for the Bank of Baroda also tragically died in the mall, Mr Akbaruddin said.

PERU
18. Juan Jesus Ortiz: A doctor and former deputy head of the Kenyan branch of the UN children’s fund, Juan Jesus Ortiz was at the shopping centre with his 13-year-old daughter Juanita. The 63-year-old died at the scene.
His daughter was shot in the leg and hand and required surgery but is expected to survive, his son, Ricardo Ortiz, told Peru’s RPP radio, the AFP news agency reports.

SOUTH KOREA
19. Kang Moon-hee: The 38-year-old was fatally wounded from gunshot wounds and shrapnel from a grenade, South Korean’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Sources told the agency she died while being treated at a hospital on Sunday. Her husband, a British citizen, has received surgery for a gunshot wound and is reportedly currently in stable condition. According to AFP, the couple had only recently moved to Nairobi from Dubai.

AUSTRALIA AND HOLLAND
20. A 33-year-old Dutch woman died at Westgate. According to AFP, quoting Dutch media reports, she had been living in Tanzania and was married to an Australian, who was also killed in the siege.

21 &22. Ross Langdon and his wife Elif Yavuz: Mr Langdon and his eight and-a-half months pregnant wife were shot inside the mall. Mr Langdon had his own firm, Regional Associates Ltd while his wife was a malaria specialist working for the Vill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

CHINA
23. China’s official news agency reported that a 38-year-old Chinese woman had been killed - her teenage son was injured.
FRANCE
24. A mother and daughter were “executed in the parking lot” of Westgate, a French official said.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

25. Ravindra Ramrattan: He worked for FSD Kenya

SOUTH AFRICA
26. One national has died at Westgate, officials said.

27 & 28. Other victims identified by Daily Telegragh are Simon Belcher, Zahara Bawa and her eight-year-old daughter Jenah.

Shabaab mocks Kenya, threatens more attacks

2013-09-27T01:29:00.001-07:00

Thick smoke billowing from the Westgate Mall after a huge explosion on September 23,2013. Al-Shabaab rebels have threatened more attacks against Kenya September 27, 2013, taking to Twitter to mock the country after Islamist gunmen attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, killing at least 67 people. WILLIAM OERI

In Summary

Al-Shabaab chief Ahmed Abdi Godane said the Nairobi mall carnage was retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

NAIROBI

Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab rebels have threatened more attacks against Kenya, taking to Twitter to mock the country after Islamist gunmen attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, killing at least 67 people.

"The mesmeric performance by the Westgate Warriors was undoubtedly gripping, but despair not folks, that was just the premiere of Act 1," the group said in one of a string of messages posted on Twitter overnight.

The al-Shabaab has said it was responsible for the assault on Westgate, which saw a group of gunmen walk into the part Israeli-owned mall at midday Saturday and gun down shoppers and staff.

Another message said it had been "a great pleasure to have had you completely enthralled for more than 100 hours. What a wonderful audience you've been!".

It also boasted that the "Kenyan government is still in disarray", saying it "won't be until several months when it fully comprehends exactly what took place at Westgate".

Al-Shabaab chief Ahmed Abdi Godane said the Nairobi mall carnage was retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

Kenya invaded southern Somalia to attack al-Shabaab bases two years ago, and later joined the 17,700-strong African Union force deployed there.

Nokia announces an event on October 22, is it the Lumia 1520?

2013-09-27T01:18:00.001-07:00

Nokia has just announced via its Twitter feed that it's preparing for an announcement event on October 22.
While the Finns haven't specified neither a place for the event, nor what they'll be announcing there, we are all anticipating the star of the show to be the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet that has been making the rounds this past month.

As you can see, Nokia's image teaser is quite intriguing as well, with skiers dressed for snow skiing but instead sloping down a sandy desert dune, which is kind of bizarre and mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, Nokia is promising to "reinvent innovation", which sounds exciting.
The innovation in question that Nokia is probably hinting at is the Lumia 1520 phablet, codenamed "Bandit". The Lumia 1520 is rumored to have a 6-inch 1080p screen, presenting a substantial development, with both being firsts in the Windows Phone ecosystem.

The phablet is rumored by evleaks to pack a 20MP PureView camera. It's unclear how big the sensor of the phablet will be but the PureView branding guarantees Optical Image Stabilization and a Carl Zeiss lens as the bare minimum.
And just as the notorious leaker suggested a while ago, Nokia has indeed pushed back its Lumia 1520 announcement event to October 22.
Source

Sony launches the Xperia Z1 smartphone in India

2013-09-27T01:16:00.001-07:00

Sony today announced their flagship Android smartphone - the Xperia Z1 - in the Indian market. The phone is priced at ₹44,990 ($710) and is available starting today in black, white and purple.

The Xperia Z1 has a 5.0-inch, 1920x1080 resolution TFT LCD, 1/2.3”, 20.7 megapixel camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with 2.2GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 3,000mAh battery, dust and water resistant body and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Sony has also launched the SmartWatch 2 in India. Priced at ₹14,990 ($235), the SmartWatch 2 can pair with not just Sony’s smartphones but with any Android smartphone and shows all your notifications as well as lets you control certain functions of your phone.

Also available starting today, are the new QX100 and QX10 camera accessories. Priced at ₹24,990 ($395) and ₹12,990 ($205), respectively, these accessories mount on the back of any smartphone, whether Android or iOS, and let you shoot higher quality images than what would be possible with your phone’s built-in camera. These devices pair with your phone using NFC and transfer data over Wi-Fi.

New HTC One Max photos confirm screen size, chipset

2013-09-27T01:15:00.001-07:00

The HTC One Max is back in the spotlight with new photos and a benchmark. In the photos, the yet unannounced HTC phablet is sized up against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (perhaps its main rival) and the Note II.

HTC One Max • AnTuTu 4 score

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Note III 35180
LG G2 35125
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 27555
HTC One Max (rumored) 26417
HTC One 26238
Nexus 4 17006

The One Max looks bigger but not by much, considering it's rumored to have a 5.9" screen versus the 5.7" screen for the Note 3 (and there are the front-facing BoomSound speakers that add to the size). We measured the One Max's screen using the Note 3 screen as reference and our measurements confirm the rumored 5.9" diagonal.

HTC One Max size comparison with Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Note II
Anyway, the device boasts 4G connectivity and has a removable back cover. The battery is sealed (rumored capacity is 3,300mAh) and there's a microSIM card slot – a single one (unless the thing opposite the slot is another slot?). Previous rumors pointed to a dual-SIM device, just like the Chinese version of the HTC One, which also has a removable back cover (unlike the international version).

HTC One Max has 4G connectivity • only one SIM slot is visible
As for the benchmark, it's AnTuTu 4 and the 2600 or so score confirms the Snapdragon 600 chipset (it's virtually the same score as the HTC One).
By the way, the HTC One Max is referred to as HTC 8088 in China and is scheduled for an October launch, according to rumors.
Thanks goes to Josh for sending this in!
Source (in Chinese, requires login) | Via

New HTC One Max photos confirm screen size, chipset

2013-09-27T01:13:00.001-07:00

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Note III 35180
LG G2 35125
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 27555
HTC One Max (rumored) 26417
HTC One 26238
Nexus 4 17006

New HTC One Max photos confirm screen size, chipset

2013-09-27T01:12:00.003-07:00

18 September, 2013 | Comments (57) | Post your comment

Tags: HTC, Android, Rumors

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Note III 35180
LG G2 35125
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 27555
HTC One Max (rumored) 26417
HTC One 26238
Nexus 4 17006