Kulikoni Ughaibuni

12 Nov 2008

A DRUNK JOURNALIST ADMITS CUTTING AND PASTING NEWS FOR HIS BIRMINGHAM PAPER

A BBC Radio presenter has been sacked following a 'racist' call to a taxi firm, in which she requested a 'non-Asian' driver.

Sam Mason told the operator that 'a guy with a turban would freak her daughter out' insisting they send an English driver instead.

The ex-glamour girl, 40, called the firm to order a taxi for her 14-year-old daughter off-air, while presenting her BBC Bristol radio show.

After the operator branded her request 'racist', Mason insisted, claiming it wasn't the first time she had made the request.

She said: 'A guy with a turban is going to freak her out. She's not used to Asians.'

When the operator said it would not be possible to carry out her wishes, she said: 'You've managed it before.'

Mason, who has previously battled alcohol addiction, claimed she wasn't racist but insisted she was looking out for her daughter's interest.

Mason said: 'If it were me I wouldn't care if it had two heads, but it's my little girl we are talking about.'

After the operator refused to book a car, Mason complained before hanging up.

The operator said: 'We would class that as being racist. We can't just penalise the Asian drivers and just send an English one.'

She later called back before a manager accepted the booking.

Mason said: 'I work at the BBC. I'm far from racist and that uneducated woman has no right to call me one.'

The BBC were alerted to the conversation after it was recorded and sent to the Sun newspaper.

The mother-of-one was subsequently suspended and fired 24 hours later.

A BBC spokesman said: 'Although Sam Mason's remarks were not made on-air, her comments were completely unacceptable and, for that reason, she has been informed that she will no longer be working for the BBC with immediate effect.'

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Serikali imewataka wanafunzi wote wa vyuo vya elimu ya juu nchini kuingia madarasani mara moja ifikapo saa moja asubuhi leo. Akizungumza katika mkutano na waandishi wa habari jana ofisini kwake, Waziri wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi, Profesa Jumanne Maghembe alisema sera ya uchangiaji huduma za jamii ikiwamo elimu, halikwepeki katika mazingira haya ya kiuchumi.

“Sera yoyote ile haiwezi kubadilishwa mara moja bila ya majadiliano ya kina yanahusisha wadau wote,” alisisitiza Profesa Maghembe, katika kujibu madai ya wanafunzi hao wanaopinga sera ya uchangiaji elimu ya juu hasa suala la mikopo wakitaka kulipwa asilimia 100.

Waziri huyo wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi alisema matatizo yote ya kiutendaji katika utekelezaji wa sera ya elimu yatatafutiwa ufumbuzi. “Itaundwa kamati itakayowashirikisha wadau wote mkiwamo wanafunzi,” alisema Profesa Maghembe, ingawa hakufafanua hatua zitakazochukuliwa endapo wanafunzi watakataa kutii agizo hilo la kurejea madarasani leo.

Akiahirisha Bunge mjini Dodoma Ijumaa iliyopita, Waziri Mkuu Mizengo Pinda alisema hivi sasa serikali inabeba gharama za kuchangia elimu ya juu, na haitawezekana kutoa mikopo kwa asilimia 100. “Kwa hali ya kawaida, hii mikopo ilitakiwa ilipiwe riba kwa wanafunzi, lakini kwa sasa serikali inabeba mzigo huo.

Hatuna uchaguzi mwingine, bali kuendelea kuchangia gharama za elimu ili wanafunzi wengi zaidi wapate elimu ya juu,” alisema Pinda bungeni na kuongeza: “Napenda nirudie kusema kwamba serikali wakati wote itakuwa mstari wa mbele kuhakikisha wanafunzi wanapata kile wanachostahili kujiendeleza kielimu.

Naomba nitamke kuwa wanafunzi wale wanaotaka wanafunzi wote kupewa mikopo asilimia 100 haiwezekani.” Awali, jana wanafunzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam sehemu ya Mlimani wameendelea kusisitiza kuendelea na mgomo leo baada ya Mkurugenzi wa Elimu ya Juu kutotokea chuoni hapo.

Akihutubia wanafunzi waliokusanyika kwa shauku katika Ukumbi wa Nkrumah kusubiri tamko la serikali, Rais wa Serikali ya Wanafunzi (DARUSO), Anthony Machibya alidai amepata taarifa kuwa Waziri wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi, Mkurugenzi wa Elimu ya Juu, Makamu Mkuu wa Chuo Kikuu pamoja na wasaidizi wake waliitwa Ikulu na Rais kwenda kujadili matatizo yao.

“Profesa Mukandala ameondoka kimya kimya na wasaidizi wake wameenda Ikulu kujadili mgomo wetu, nimepigiwa simu na Karani wake, kwa hiyo tusikate tamaa tuendelee na msimamo wetu mpaka tuone hatima yetu,” alisema Machibya na kuongeza kuwa mgomo utaendelea kama kawaida hawatarudi nyuma. Aidha, magari matatu yakiwa na askari wa Kikosi cha Kutuliza Ghasia (FFU), yalikuwa yakirandaranda katika maeneo ya chuo hicho tangu juzi na jana kuhakikisha usalama wa mali na watu unakuwapo.

CHANZO: Habari Leo

VIONGOZI wa Nchi za Maziwa Makuu wamesema ipo haja ya kupeleka majeshi kwa ajili ya kurejesha amani eneo la Kivu lililopo Kaskazini Mashariki mwa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo (DRC) ambako kwa sasa hali ya usalama si shwari kutokana na mapigano yanayoendelea.

Kauli hiyo ilitolewa Dar es Salaam jana na Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa, Bw. Bernard Membe ambaye alisema uamuzi huo ulitolewa na viongozi wa nchi hizo na kuungwa mkono na wakuu wa nchi za Jumuiya ya Maendeleo Kusini mwa Afrika.

Alisema hatua hiyo inatokana na hali ya siasa ilivyo Kaskazini Mashariki mwa DRC kuwa mbaya kufuatia mashambulizi yaliyoanzishwa na kundi la waasin wanaoongozwa na Bw. Laurent Nkunda.

"Mashambulizi hayo yamesababisha athari kubwa kwa wananchi, kiasi cha watu wengi kukimbia makazi yao hivi karibuni. Pamoja na kuwepo makubaliano mengi ya awali, Laurent Nkunda na kundi lake bado hawaheshimu makubaliano hayo," alisema Bw.Membe.

Alisisitiza kuwa kwa hali ilivyo sasa nchini DRC viongozi wa Umoja wa Afrika (AU) wakiongozwa na Mwenyekiti wa Umoja huo, Rais Jakaya Kikwete kwa kushirikiana na viongozi wengine kadhaa wamekuwa wamekifanya mikutano ya dharura ili kuona jinsi gani wanaweza kumaliza mapigano yanayoendelea na kurejesha amani.

Pia alisema maamuzi mengine yaliyotolewa na viongozi hao ni SADC kupeleka haraka wataalamu wa jeshi kusaidia kuangalia mipaka ya DRC na nchi jirani.

Vile vile SADC iwe na ujumbe katika timu ya upatanishi iliyoanzishwa na wakuu wa nchi za Maziwa Makuu ambapo Rais Mstaafu wa Naijeria, Jenerali Olesegun Obassanjo na Rais Mstaafu wa Tanzania, Bw. Benjamin Mkapa wa Tanzania wamechaguliwa kuwa wajumbe wa timu hiyo.

Alipoulizwa kuna tofauti gani kati ya Bw. Nkunda na aliyekuwa muasi wa Komoro, Kanali Mohamed Bakar, Bw. Membe alisema hawana tofauti kwa sababu wote ni waasi.

"Hakuna tofauti kati ya hawa wawili kwani Kanali Bakari aliiasi Serikali yake Nkunda naye ni muasi ndio maana tunamtaka asitishe mapigano na tunakoelekea akiendelea kukaidi kuna hatari ya AU kupeleka majeshi ya kumdhibiti," aliongeza.

Kuhusu hali ya kiasa nchini Zimbabwe, Bw.Membe alisema bado juhudi za kutafuta suluhu kuhusiana na muskabali wa nchi hiyo unaendelea.

CHANZO: Majira

NI WAKATI WA VITENDO ZAIDI KULIKO MANENO.

A POTENTIAL CURE FOR AIDS?

The startling case of an AIDS patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia is stirring new hope that gene-therapy strategies on the far edges of AIDS research might someday cure the disease.

The patient, a 42-year-old American living in Berlin, is still recovering from his leukemia therapy, but he appears to have won his battle with AIDS. Doctors have not been able to detect the virus in his blood for more than 600 days, despite his having ceased all conventional AIDS medication. Normally when a patient stops taking AIDS drugs, the virus stampedes through the body within weeks, or days.

"I was very surprised," said the doctor, Gero Hütter.

The breakthrough appears to be that Dr. Hütter, a soft-spoken hematologist who isn't an AIDS specialist, deliberately replaced the patient's bone marrow cells with those from a donor who has a naturally occurring genetic mutation that renders his cells immune to almost all strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The development suggests a potential new therapeutic avenue and comes as the search for a cure has adopted new urgency. Many fear that current AIDS drugs aren't sustainable. Known as antiretrovirals, the medications prevent the virus from replicating but must be taken every day for life and are expensive for poor countries where the disease runs rampant. Last year, AIDS killed two million people; 2.7 million more contracted the virus, so treatment costs will keep ballooning.

While cautioning that the Berlin case could be a fluke, David Baltimore, who won a Nobel prize for his research on tumor viruses, deemed it "a very good sign" and a virtual "proof of principle" for gene-therapy approaches. Dr. Baltimore and his colleague, University of California at Los Angeles researcher Irvin Chen, have developed a gene therapy strategy against HIV that works in a similar way to the Berlin case. Drs. Baltimore and Chen have formed a private company to develop the therapy.

Back in 1996, when "cocktails" of antiretroviral drugs were proved effective, some researchers proposed that all cells harboring HIV might eventually die off, leading to eradication of HIV from the body -- in short, a cure. Those hopes foundered on the discovery that HIV, which integrates itself into a patient's own DNA, hides in so-called "sanctuary cells," where it lies dormant yet remains capable of reigniting an infection.

But that same year, researchers discovered that some gay men astonishingly remained uninfected despite engaging in very risky sex with as many as hundreds of partners. These men had inherited a mutation from both their parents that made them virtually immune to HIV.

The mutation prevents a molecule called CCR5 from appearing on the surface of cells. CCR5 acts as a kind of door for the virus. Since most HIV strains must bind to CCR5 to enter cells, the mutation bars the virus from entering. A new AIDS drug, Selzentry, made by Pfizer Inc., doesn't attack HIV itself but works by blocking CCR5.

About 1% of Europeans, and even more in northern Europe, inherit the CCR5 mutation from both parents. People of African, Asian and South American descent almost never carry it.

Dr. Hütter, 39, remembered this research when his American leukemia patient failed first-line chemotherapy in 2006. He was treating the patient at Berlin's Charité Medical University, the same institution where German physician Robert Koch performed some of his groundbreaking research on infectious diseases in the 19th century. Dr. Hütter scoured research on CCR5 and consulted with his superiors.

Finally, he recommended standard second-line treatment: a bone marrow transplant -- but from a donor who had inherited the CCR5 mutation from both parents. Bone marrow is where immune-system cells are generated, so transplanting mutant bone-marrow cells would render the patient immune to HIV into perpetuity, at least in theory.

There were a total of 80 compatible blood donors living in Germany. Luckily, on the 61st sample he tested, Dr. Hütter's colleague Daniel Nowak found one with the mutation from both parents.

To prepare for the transplant, Dr. Hütter first administered a standard regimen of powerful drugs and radiation to kill the patient's own bone marrow cells and many immune-system cells. This procedure, lethal to many cells that harbor HIV, may have helped the treatment succeed.

The transplant specialists ordered the patient to stop taking his AIDS drugs when they transfused the donor cells, because they feared the powerful drugs might undermine the cells' ability to survive in their new host. They planned to resume the drugs once HIV re-emerged in the blood.

But it never did. Nearly two years later, standard tests haven't detected virus in his blood, or in the brain and rectal tissues where it often hides.

The case was presented to scientists earlier this year at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. In September, the nonprofit Foundation for AIDS Research, or amFAR, convened a small scientific meeting on the case. Most researchers there believed some HIV still lurks in the patient but that it can't ignite a raging infection, most likely because its target cells are invulnerable mutants. The scientists agreed that the patient is "functionally cured."

Caveats are legion. If enough time passes, the extraordinarily protean HIV might evolve to overcome the mutant cells' invulnerability. Blocking CCR5 might have side effects: A study suggests that people with the mutation are more likely to die from West Nile virus. Most worrisome: The transplant treatment itself, given only to late-stage cancer patients, kills up to 30% of patients. While scientists are drawing up research protocols to try this approach on other leukemia and lymphoma patients, they know it will never be widely used to treat AIDS because of the mortality risk.

There is a potentially safer alternative: Re-engineering a patient's own cells through gene therapy. Due to some disastrous failures, gene therapy now "has a bad name," says Dr. Baltimore. In 1999, an 18-year-old patient died in a gene therapy trial. Even one of gene therapy's greatest successes -- curing children of the inherited "bubble boy" disease -- came at the high price of causing some patients to develop leukemia.

Gene therapy also faces daunting technical challenges. For example, the therapeutic genes are carried to cells by re-engineered viruses, and they must be made perfectly safe. Also, most gene therapy currently works by removing cells, genetically modifying them out of the body, then transfusing them back in -- a complicated procedure that would prove too expensive for the developing world. Dr. Baltimore and others are working on therapeutic viruses they could inject into a patient as easily as a flu vaccine. But, he says, "we're a long way from that."

Expecting that gene therapy will eventually play a major role in medicine, several research groups are testing different approaches for AIDS. At City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, Calif., John Rossi and colleagues actually use HIV itself, genetically engineered to be harmless, to deliver to patients' white blood cells three genes: one that inactivates CCR5 and two others that disable HIV. He has already completed the procedure on four patients and may perform it on another.

One big hurdle: doctors can't yet genetically modify all target cells. In theory, HIV would kill off the susceptible ones and, a victim of its own grim success, be left only with the genetically engineered cells that it can't infect. But so far that's just theory. All Dr. Rossi's patients remain on standard AIDS drugs, so it isn't yet known what would happen if they stopped taking them.

In 1989, Dr. Rossi had a case eerily similar to the one in Berlin. A 41-year-old patient with AIDS and lymphoma underwent radiation and drug therapy to ablate his bone marrow and received new cells from a donor. It is not known if those cells had the protective CCR5 mutation, because its relation to HIV hadn't been discovered yet. But after the transplant, HIV disappeared from the patient's blood. The patient died of his cancer 47 days after the procedure. Autopsy tests from eight organs and the tumor revealed no HIV.

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

Msanii wa muziki wa kizazi kipya, Khalid Mohamed maarufu kama TID, amekata rufaa katika Mahakama Kuu Kanda ya Dar es Salaam kupinga adhabu ya kifungo cha mwaka mmoja jela alichohukumiwa mwaka huu.

Rufani hiyo ya msanii huyo ambaye tangu ahukumiwe kifungo hicho amekwishatumikia adhabu hiyo kwa miezi minne, itaanza kusikilizwa leo na Jaji Robert Makaramba; kwa mujibu wa habari zilizotolewa na ofisa mmoja wa mahakama hiyo.

TID alihukumiwa kwenda jela mwaka mmoja kutokana na kutiwa hatiani kwa kosa la kushambulia na kumjeruhi kichwani na mkononi kijana aliyefahamika kwa jina la Ben Mashibe. Msanii huyo alimjeruhi Mashibe kichwani na mkononi kwa kutumia chombo cha kuwekea majivu ya sigara ‘ash tray’ na alisomewa mashtaka hayo mara ya kwanza Julai 10, mwaka huu mbele ya Hakimu Hamisa Kalombola wa Mahakama ya Wilaya ya Kinondoni.

Mwendesha Mashtaka wa kesi hiyo, Inspekta Nyagabona alidai TID alitenda kosa hilo Julai 2, mwaka jana saa sita na nusu usiku katika Hoteli ya Slipway iliyopo Msasani Dar es Salaam. TID mwenye umri wa miaka 26, alitiwa hatiani na Hakimu Kalombola baada ya hakimu huyo kuridhika na ushahidi uliotolewa na mashahidi wanne walioletwa mahakamani na upande wa mashitaka

MKUTANO MKUU WA UVCCM WAFADHILIWA

Na Mwandishi Wetu, Dodoma

MKURUGENZI wa kampuni ya Shivacom Tanzania, Bw. Tamir Sonaiya ametoa jumla ya sh. milioni 400 kwa Umoja wa Vijana ya CCM (UVCCM) kwa ajili ya kugharamia Mkutano Mkuu wa Umoja huo unaotarajiwa kufanyika kabla ya Desemba 15, mwaka huu.

Kati ya fedha hizo sh. milioni 150 zitakuwa ni posho za wajumbe 1,000 wa mkutano huo ambapo kila mmoja atalipwa sh. 50,000 na kiasi cha milioni 250,000 zimetumika katika kutengenezea fulana, mikoba, kofia na bendera za chama kwa ajili ya mkutano huo.

Fedha hizo zilikabidhiwa jana makao makuu ya CCM mjini hapa mbele ya Rais Jakaya Kikwete.

Akikabidhi fedha hizo, Bw. Sonaiya alisema kuwa ameamua kujitolea kusaidia chama chake kwa kuwa yeye ni kada mwaminifu wa CCM na vifaa vyote alivyotoa vimetengenezwa kutoka katika kiwanda chake.

Kwa upande wa Rais Kikwete alimpongeza Mkurugenzi huyo kwa kujitolea fedha hizo na kuwataka makada wengine wa CCM wenye uwezo kusaidia chama hasa kwa wakati huu wa kuelekea uchaguzi Mkuu ambapo fedha nyingi huhitajika ili kugharamia maandalizi ya mikutano hiyo.

“Kinachosumbua sana kwenye mikutano ni namna ya kupata fedha za kuhudumia mikutano hiyo hivyo kwa hatua iliyofanywa na Umoja wa Vijana itasaidia kuondokana na tatizo la fedha lililokuwa likiwakabili katika maandalizi ya mkutano wao,” alisema Rais Kikwete.

Fedha hizo zimepatikana kupitia uhamasishaji uliofanywa na kamati iliyoteuliwa na Baraza Kuu la Umoja huo kwa ajili ya kufanya maandalizi ya mkutano huo ikiwa chini ya Waziri wa Nishati na Madini, Bw. Willium Ngeleja, Waziri wa Mambo ya Ndani, Bw. Laurence Masha na Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dodoma, Bw. Willium Lukuvi.

CHANZO: Majira