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| U.S. Air Force reveals ‘neighborhood watch' spy satellite program Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:12 PM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The United States plans to launch a pair of satellites to keep tabs on spacecraft from other countries orbiting 22,300 miles above the planet, as well as to track space debris, the head of Air Force Space Command said. The previously classified Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) will supplement ground-based radars and optical telescopes in tracking thousands of pieces of debris so orbital collisions can be avoided, General William Shelton said at the Air Force Association meeting in Orlando on Friday. The two-satellite network, built by Orbital Sciences Corp will drift around the orbital corridor housing much of the world's communications satellites and other spacecraft. The Air Force currently tracks about 23,000 pieces of orbiting debris bigger than about 4 inches. Full Story | Top |
| Algeria's Bouteflika to seek fourth term in April Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:54 PM PST  By Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the aging independence veteran who suffered a stroke last year, will run in April's election, the government said on Saturday, in a vote likely to hand him a fourth term in power. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal's announcement appeared to end months of speculation over Bouteflika's future after his trips to Paris for treatment in the last year intensified talk of a succession after his 15 years in office. Sellal said Bouteflika, who opponents believe is still too frail to govern, had decided to run and state news agency reported that he had already formally registered his candidacy. "Bouteflika will be a candidate," Sellal said at event in the city of Oran. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Tymoshenko out of jail, still divisive Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 08:13 AM PST  By Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Yulia Tymoshenko, sprung from jail on Saturday as President Viktor Yanukovich's grip on power crumbled, is a former gas magnate whose ringing rhetoric electrified thousands during Ukraine's 2004-5 Orange Revolution and propelled her to power. Her release sends shockwaves through Ukrainian politics, at a moment of deep turmoil following the worst unrest in the sprawling country since the days of the Soviet Union. The 53-year-old, instantly recognizable for her peasant-style braided blonde hair, shot to fame with her impassioned speeches against a rigged poll won by Yanukovich in 2004. With the post-Soviet establishment turfed out, Tymoshenko became prime minister, but fell out with her fellow Orange revolutionaries. Full Story | Top |
| Algeria's Bouteflika to seek fourth term in April-PM Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 06:48 AM PST  By Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the aging independence veteran who suffered a stroke last year, will run for re-election on April 17, his premier said on Saturday, a vote likely to hand him a fourth term in power. Bouteflika, who opponents say is too frail to govern, is expected to announce his candidacy formally later on Saturday, with Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal running his campaign, a source close to the presidency said. "Bouteflika will be a candidate," Sellal said in the northwestern city of Oran. "Bouteflika's decision to run comes at the insistence of the people and after some deep reflection." State news agency APS said the 76-year-old leader has officially notified the Interior Ministry of his candidacy. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Eskom lifts power emergency, system still tight Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:07 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's power utility Eskom said on Saturday it had lifted an electricity emergency declared on Friday but warned the grid would remain tight in the forseeable future. The state-owned company has battled to meet demand since 2008, when a power crunch forced the closure of mines, factories and smelters for days. Full Story | Top |
| S.Sudan government orders embattled oil state to keep crude flowing Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:05 AM PST  By Carl Odera JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan has reversed a plan by local authorities to partially shut down oil production and evacuate foreign workers in its main oil-producing region after it was hit last week by the worst fighting since a January ceasefire. Thousands have been killed and more than 800,000 have fled their homes since fighting began in South Sudan two months ago, triggered by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, his former deputy whom he sacked in July. Since Tuesday, the capital of the main oil-producing Upper Nile region, Malakal, has been divided between the army and rebels after forces loyal to Machar raided the town and fought against government troops. Local officials on Friday ordered the evacuation of foreign oil workers from the Adar and Gumri oil fields, citing security concerns, but the national government overruled them. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan government orders embattled oil state to keep crude flowing Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 04:14 AM PST By Carl Odera JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan has reversed a plan by local authorities to partially shut down oil production and evacuate foreign workers in its main oil-producing region after it was hit last week by the worst fighting since a January ceasefire. Thousands have been killed and more than 800,000 have fled their homes since fighting began in South Sudan two months ago, triggered by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, his former deputy whom he sacked in July. Since Tuesday, the capital of the main oil-producing Upper Nile region, Malakal, has been divided between the army and rebels after forces loyal to Machar raided the town and fought against government troops. Local officials on Friday ordered the evacuation of foreign oil workers from the Adar and Gumri oil fields, citing security concerns, but the national government overruled them. Full Story | Top |
| Protesters make noise over New York plan to kill off mute swans Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 04:02 AM PST By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - The graceful mute swan, in lore long associated with romance and fidelity, might not meet a fairy tale ending in New York. The state is planning to eliminate by 2025 the entire population of the regal wild mute swans, which its Department of Environmental Conservation calls an aggressive, invasive species and a danger to people and native wildlife populations. "It's a ludicrous plan," said David Karopkin, founder and director of GooseWatch NYC, a wildlife advocacy group that said the state's concerns are overblown. Most of the state's 2,200 mute swans - both wild and in captivity - are found in highly populated areas, in and around New York City and its northern suburbs in the Hudson Valley. Full Story | Top |
| Kenya Power to spend $1 bln over 3 years to upgrade network Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:03 AM PST Kenya Power said it planned to spend 86 billion shillings in the next three years to upgrade its electricity distribution network in order to keep up with growing demand. The cash will go to building new substations and power lines and upgrading existing infrastructure to enhance the stability of the power supply, Ben Chumo, the company's chief executive, said in a statement on Friday. Kenya suffers from frequent blackouts due to supply shortfalls and an aging grid, forcing most businesses and wealthy people to have stand-by generators. Kenya Power, its sole electricity distribution company, already has had to contend with an increasing number of customer connections, particularly in rural areas. Full Story | Top |
| Ghana central bank says $200 mln injected to boost liquidity Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:35 AM PST  Ghana's central bank has injected $200 million to boost interbank liquidity in the last three weeks, compared with an average $80 million a month, its governor said on Friday. Governor Henry Kofi Wampah told Reuters the support was in addition to monetary and fiscal tightening to stabilize the cedi, whose decline he expected to slow in coming weeks. To stem the slide, the central bank hiked its policy interest rate by 200 basis points this month. It also imposed a string of foreign exchange regulations, including a ban on dealing in dollars for domestic transactions. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria's c. bank governor to challenge suspension in court Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:27 AM PST  By Tim Cocks LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's graft-fighting Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Friday he would go to court to challenge his suspension by the president - though he does not want his job back, he wants to show that the move was illegal. President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Sanusi on Thursday, removing an outspoken critic of his government's record on corruption in Africa's top oil producer. Since the suspension, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has accused the central bank of procurement irregularities during Sanusi's tenure, most of them dating back to 2011. Sanusi told Reuters in a phone interview that the bank had followed correct procurement procedures, and he had already answered questions about the allegations by the authorities. Full Story | Top |
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