LUKAZA: MAWAZIRI NA MANAIBU WAZIRI WAAPISHWA IKULU JANA

LUKAZA: MAWAZIRI NA MANAIBU WAZIRI WAAPISHWA IKULU JANA: "Naibu Waziri wa Ujenzi Mh. Harrison Mwakyembe na familia yake baada ya kuapishwa Ikulu jijini Dar Jana..."

Kenya's Odinga named to mediate Ivory Coast political crisis

Kenya's Odinga named to mediate Ivory Coast political crisis

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been named by the African Union to mediate Ivory Coast's political crisis and avert another civil war.

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Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga speaks at a conference, in Nairobi, Kenya, Dec. 2. Odinga has been named to mediate Ivory Coast's political crisis and help avert another civil war.

Khalil Senosi/AP

By Scott Baldauf, Staff writer / December 27, 2010

Nairobi, Kenya

The African Union has named Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga to lead a delegation to mediate the ongoing political crisis in Ivory Coast.

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With two men – incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara – claiming victory in the Ivory Coast’s November runoff presidential elections, the crisis has become bitter and violent, claiming over 200 lives, and sending some 14,000 Ivorians fleeing into neighboring countries. The elections were tightly contested and international observers and the nation’s electoral commission gave the nod to Mr. Ouattara. The West African Economic Community (ECOWAS), the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, and most individual nations have acknowledged him as president-elect, but President Gbagbo has so far refused to cede power.

Jean Ping, the head of the African Union Commission, told reporters he had asked Mr. Odinga to "lead the monitoring of the situation in Ivory Coast and bolster the efforts being undertaken" to end the crisis.

The November elections were supposed to be the final step in bringing peace to Ivory Coast, which experienced a brutal civil war in 2002, divided largely along ethno-religious lines between a mainly Muslim north and a mainly Christian south.

Mr. Ouattara, a northerner, continues to take refuge in the Gulf Hotel in Abidjan, surrounded by UN peacekeepers. Troops loyal to Mr. Gbagbo have attacked the hotel on several occasions.

The selection of Odinga as head of a mediation team is both bold and curious, given that Odinga himself was in a very similar post-election crisis in Kenya. In the Dec. 27, 2007 elections, Odinga challenged incumbent President Mwai Kibaki in elections that international observers said were rife with irregularities and evidence of ballot box manipulation. Kenya’s electoral commission declared Mr. Kibaki the winner, and Odinga’s supporters went on a violent rampage. In total, some 1,200 people were killed and 300,000 displaced from their homes by the violence wreaked by supporters of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Party and Kibaki’s Party of National Unity.

An African Union mediation team led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan finally convinced both sides in 2008 to form a coalition government of national unity, a formula that at least ended the violence and produced a newly-passed constitution that would presumably prevent future electoral crises of this kind.

Odinga may carry valuable experience of power-sharing deals with him as mediator, but he will also be carrying some rhetorical baggage. Last week, the Kenyan prime minister called on the AU to remove Ivorian President Gbagbo by force.

“Gbagbo must be forced, even if it means using military means to get rid of him, because now he is just relying on military power, not the people's power," Iranian news agency Press TV quoted Odinga as saying at a press conference Nairobi. “The AU must start taking seriously the situation in Ivory Coast instead of lamenting. Democracy must be preserved.”

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• Ivory Coast opposition wants President Gbagbo ousted by force
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Prostate Cancer Pictures Slideshow: Guidelines to Symptoms, Tests and Treatment on MedicineNet.com

Prostate Cancer Pictures Slideshow: Guidelines to Symptoms, Tests and Treatment on MedicineNet.com

Prostate Cancer Prevention, Surgery, Stages, Causes, Treatment, Symptoms and Signs by MedicineNet.com

What is the prostate gland?

The prostate gland is an organ that is located at the base or outlet (neck) of the urinary bladder. (See the diagram that follows.) The gland surrounds the first part of the urethra. The urethra is the passage through which urine drains from the bladder to exit from the penis. One function of the prostate gland is to help control urination by pressing directly against the part of the urethra that it surrounds. The main function of the prostate gland is to produce some of the substances that are found in normal semen, such as minerals and sugar. Semen is the fluid that transports the sperm to assist with reproduction. A man can manage quite well, however, without his prostate gland. (See the section on surgical treatment for prostate cancer.)
In a young man, the normal prostate gland is the size of a walnut (<30g). During normal aging, however, the gland usually grows larger. This hormone-related enlargement with aging is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), but this condition is not associated with prostate cancer. Both BPH and prostate cancer, however, can cause similar problems in older men. For example, an enlarged prostate gland can squeeze or impinge on the outlet of the bladder or the urethra, leading to difficulty with urination. The resulting symptoms commonly include slowing of the urinary stream and urinating more frequently, particularly at night. Patients should seek medical advice from their urologist or primary-care physician if these symptoms are present.
Prostate Cancer Prevention, Surgery, Stages, Causes, Treatment, Symptoms and Signs by MedicineNet.com

6 cancer-fighting superfoods

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• by Health.com, on Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:55am PST

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By Leslie Barrie

To reduce your risk of cancer, look no further than your fridge. "All the studies on cancer and nutrition point to eating plant-based foods for their phytonutrients and other special compounds," says Richard Béliveau, PhD, chair in the prevention and treatment of cancer at the University of Québec at Montreal and author of Foods to Fight Cancer.

Aim for five to nine daily servings of all kinds of fruits and vegetables—especially these six superstars.

Broccoli
All cruciferous veggies (think cauliflower, cabbage, kale) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is the only one with a sizable amount of sulforaphane, a particularly potent compound that boosts the body's protective enzymes and flushes out cancer-causing chemicals, says Jed Fahey, ScD. A recent University of Michigan study on mice found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells—those that aid in tumor growth.

Helps fight: breast, liver, lung, prostate, skin, stomach, and bladder cancers

Your Rx: The more broccoli, the better, research suggests—so add it wherever you can, from salads to omelets to the top of your pizza.

Health.com: 13 easy pizza recipes

Berries
All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. But black raspberries, in particular, contain very high concentrations of phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which slow down the growth of premalignant cells and keep new blood vessels from forming (and potentially feeding a cancerous tumor), according to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Helps fight: colon, esophageal, oral, and skin cancers

Your Rx: Stoner uses a concentrated berry powder in his studies but says a half-cup serving of berries a day may help your health, too.

Health.com: Go wild for berries!

Tomatoes
This juicy fruit is the best dietary source of lycopene, a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red hue, Béliveau says. And that's good news, because lycopene was found to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study in Nutrition and Cancer. Endometrial cancer causes nearly 8,000 deaths a year.

Helps fight: endometrial, lung, prostate, and stomach cancers

Your Rx: The biggest benefits come from cooked tomatoes (think pasta sauce!), since the heating process increases the amount of lycopene your body is able to absorb.

Health.com: 10 tasty tomato recipes

Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth, says Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.

Helps fight: breast and prostate cancers

Your Rx: Munching on an ounce of walnuts a day may yield the best benefits, Hardman's research found.

Health.com: 8 super nuts

Garlic
Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to halt the formation of nitrosamines, carcinogens formed in the stomach (and in the intestines, in certain conditions) when you consume nitrates, a common food preservative, Béliveau says. In fact, the Iowa Women's Health Study found that women with the highest amounts of garlic in their diets had a 50 percent lower risk of certain colon cancers than women who ate the least.

Helps fight: breast, colon, esophageal, and stomach cancers

Your Rx: Chop a clove of fresh, crushed garlic (crushing helps release beneficial enzymes), and sprinkle it into that lycopene-rich tomato sauce while it simmers.

Health.com: Surprising health benefits of garlic

Beans
A study out of Michigan State University found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats, in part because a diet rich in the legumes increased levels of the fatty acid butyrate, which in high concentrations has protective effects against cancer growth. Another study, in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans particularly effective in preventing breast cancer in rats.

Helps fight: breast and colon cancers

Your Rx: Add a serving—a half-cup—of legumes a few times a week (either from a can or dry beans that've been soaked and cooked) to your usual rotation of greens or other veggie

Why ICC trial of six prominent Kenyans would be a first

The chief prosecutor of the world's only permanent war-crimes tribunal has accused six leading Kenyans of crimes against humanity in a case that could break Kenya's pattern of impunity.

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International Criminal Court's (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo speaks during a news conference announcing suspects behind Kenya's post-election violence following the 2007 elections, in the Hague on Dec. 15.

Jerry Lampen/Reuters

Why ICC trial of six prominent Kenyans would be a first

Human rights groups fault MPs on plans to raise funds for ICC suspects

Updated 18 hr(s) 52 min(s) ago

BY BEAUTTAH OMANGA
Several human rights groups have opposed plans by some MPs to raise about Sh600million towards the defence of the six Kenyans facing International Crimes charges at The Hague.
The groups and Prof Yash Pal Ghai said it will be immoral to use State resources to boost the battle of the six suspects when the case commences at The Hague.
"Those out to raise funds are confirming that they don’t care about the Kenyans who were killed during the chaos and they want to defend criminality" said Ngujiri Wambugu, Convener Kenyans for Change.
They also criticised Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s pledge to stand by ODM’s members in the list.
Another group comprising of victims of the violence drawn from Nairobi said they were watching keenly on how the ICC process will be handled saying some of the suspects who fuelled their predicament were still left to loam freely in the country.
Set freeThe Prof Ghai team while addressing a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday said the ICC process should run full course and those found guilty jailed while those who will be proved innocent set free.
" As a country, we need reconciliation but we cannot achieve that without first getting the truth of what happened and who did what" said Ghai.
He accused MPs of dragging their feet on the implementation of the new constitution saying some leaders’ conduct and utterances were a confirmation that they wanted to retain impunity in the face of the new constitution.
" We are four months into the operations of the new constitution but it is distressing to see the manner our leaders are conducting themselves. We must have in place the implementation and Revenue Allocation Commissions in place as a matter of urgency’ said Prof Ghai.