. Earth Science News .
AFRICA NEWS
Zambia backs off threat to shut down Internet providers

by Staff Writers
Lusaka (AFP) Oct 6, 2010
Zambia's communications authority on Wednesday reversed its decision to shut down five main Internet service providers, saying they would be allowed another chance to renew their licences.

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority has "withdrawn its earlier statement indicating that five Internet service providers should cease operations effective October 8," spokesman Lotty Kakubo said in a statement.

The firms were ordered Tuesday to shut down by the end of the week, after regulators said they had not renewed their operating licences.

But the order raised fears that Zambia could be cut off from the Internet, and Kakubo said the regulators would now allow the firms five days to renew their licences.

The affected companies are Realtime Zambia, Coppernet Solutions Limited, Microlink Technologies Limited, Pronet Zambia Limited and Zamnet Communications Systems Limited.

The companies are Zambia's main Internet providers. Their closure would have left only three firms providing Internet access is the southern African country.

earlier related report
Canadian lawyer linked to Kabila stoning freed in DR Congo
Kinshasa (AFP) Oct 6, 2010 - Congolese authorities have released a Canadian lawyer detained last week for photographing an incident in which President Joseph Kabila's official convoy was stoned.

Nicole Bondo Muaka, a Canadian of Congolese origin, was released along with two people detained with her following the incident on September 29, government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

"Everyone has been freed," Mende told AFP.

"This lawyer has Canadian nationality," Mende said of Muaka, adding that police had detained her on suspicion of collusion in the attack by Armand Tungulu, who the authorities said killed himself in his cell three days after his arrest.

"She had taken photos of the scene but she explained herself. However, her papers are not in order as she has been irregularly registered with the Kinshasa bar. She is no longer being held and has been given 15 days to regularise her situation," Mende said.

The lawyer is a member of a human rights organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo called the Toges Noires (Black Gowns). She was arrested on September 29 with another woman who was accompanying her and a Belgian national of Congolese origin.

Mende said an autopsy was being held to determine the cause of Tungulu's death in custody. The state prosecutor's office said Tuesday that an inquiry has been opened after an initial statement saying he had "committed suicide".

Non-governmental organisations on Monday denounced "all the ignoble acts committed" against Tungulu and demanded an "objective and impartial commission of inquiry" to determine the exact circumstances of his death.

An African human rights group, Asado, said Tungulu, who normally lived in Belgium and had been in Kinshasa for a short while, had been beaten up by the president's bodyguards following his arrest last Wednesday.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


AFRICA NEWS
UN envoys put spotlight on Sudan conflict fears
Juba, Sudan (AFP) Oct 6, 2010
Chanting crowds greeted UN Security Council envoys on Wednesday in south Sudan which wants to become the world's newest nation while international leaders highlighted the risk of renewed conflict. Even Hollywood star George Clooney is in south Sudan raising his fears of "war" ahead of the January 9 referendum on whether it should break away from the Khartoum-controlled north. A UN Securi ... read more







AFRICA NEWS
Slow return to school for quake-hit Haiti's students

Pakistan stability in play with flood aid: UNHCR official

Bin Laden concerned by climate, Pakistan floods: audiotape

Pakistan flood victims struggle to rebuild alone

AFRICA NEWS
A Step Toward Lead-Free Electronics

A Catalyst Sandwich

An Intelligent System For Maritime Surveillance

Apple faces 625 million-dollar fines over patents: report

AFRICA NEWS
Climate Change Affects Horseshoe Crab Numbers

Ocean Conditions Likely To Reduce Colorado River Flows During This Winter's Drought

Doppler Radars Help Increase Monsoon Rainfall Prediction Accuracy

Danube water quality controls boosted after Hungary spill

AFRICA NEWS
Himalayan climate change action urged

Disappearing Glaciers Enhanced Biodiversity

Argentine Congress votes to restrict mining near glaciers

Putin says Arctic must remain 'zone of peace'

AFRICA NEWS
Saving Tropical Forests By Valuing Their Carbon And Improving Farm Tech

Protecting biodiversity will 'help' ASEAN economies: experts

Anti-GM crop petition tops million signatures

Land Degradation And Recovery On Western Rangelands

AFRICA NEWS
Indonesian flash floods kill 56, dozens missing: official

Vietnam flood death toll at least 26: officials

15 killed, dozens missing in Indonesian floods: officials

Bin Laden repeats call for Pakistan flood aid: monitors

AFRICA NEWS
Zambia backs off threat to shut down Internet providers

UN's Ban decries shortage of troops, supplies in restive DRC

UN envoys put spotlight on Sudan conflict fears

Algeria leader loses ground in power fight

AFRICA NEWS
Canadian helps severely disabled speak through music

Suicide rate rises among China's elderly: state media

China marks 30 years of one-child policy

Critics urge pressure as China one-child policy hits 30


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement