Terrorist Activities Kenya: European victims as protracted battle continues at mall and on Twitter - Government reports confusing - by Sudarsan Raghavan

Fighting raged at an upscale mall in Kenya’s capital for a fourth day Tuesday, with Kenyan security forces suffering casualties as they attempted to quell Islamist militants who had seized the shopping center and taken hostages.

Confusion reigned as Kenyan officials asserted they had control over the Westgate Premier Shopping Mall, while the militants — who reportedly come from multiple countries, including the United States, but whose identities remain murky — insisted they had the upper hand.

Sporadic gunfire and smoke appeared to counter statements by Kenyan officials that the bloody standoff was nearing an end. As the shooting continued, a parallel tussle unfolded on Twitter between the militants and the government, as each side tried to counter the other’s version of events.

The Somali-based, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militia tweeted that it was still holding hostages, who were “looking quite disconcerted but nevertheless, alive.” Another Shabab tweet said: “Mujahideen are still holding their ground #westgate.”

But Kenyan officials offered a different account, saying they believe all hostages had been released. “We’re very near the end,” Kenya’s Interior Ministry posted on Twitter at noon.

Note EU-Digest:  It is always amazing how al-Quada, al-Shabad or whatever names these "extremists" call themselves, can believe that their vicious and cruel acts on innocent civilians would ever gain them any respect for "their cause". Unfortunately, therefore, maybe one should classify them as "mentally deranged" individuals and treat them as such?

Read more: Militants, Kenyan security forces locked in protracted battle at mall and on Twitter - The Washington Post

Food exporters to European Union face tougher rules -

Kenyan vegetable exporters to the European Union face tougher mandatory compliance procedures starting this month as new food safety rules take effect.

The Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) said that from January 1, all exporters of key vegetables to the bloc will have to provide details of the safety standards of their produce. “All exporters of beans and peas including French beans, runner beans, sugar snaps, snow peas and garden peas are required to fill the common entry document Annex II in line with new EU requirements,” it said in a notice.

The European Parliament has adopted tough measures on food safety in which all consignments entering the bloc must be subject to thorough scrutiny right from the point of origin.

Under the new regulations, exporters to the EU will be required to fill a Common Entry Document (CED) which would be counter checked by authorities to confirm compliance with all safety controls on harmful elements such as Aflatoxins, pesticide residues and metals such as lead.

“We hope to fit in with the new requirements because a lot of sensitisation is going on. We hope many will comply,” Joseph Ndirangu, a vegetable grower, said on phone. Kenyan fresh produce exports to Europe have in the past two years come under threat as authorities in the target market tightened health controls on items such pesticides.

 Read more: Food exporters to European Union face tougher rules - Politics and policy - businessdailyafrica.com

Obama triumph raises hope of fresh start with Africa - by Njuwa Maina and Ben Makori

Kenyans in Barack Obama's ancestral homeland stayed up all night and danced with joy on Wednesday as America's first black president won a second term in the White House, raising the prospects of a fresh start for his ties with Africa.

Many Africans feel Obama has not responded to their huge enthusiasm when he won the presidency four years ago with an increased U.S. commitment to the world's poorest continent during his first term.

In the tiny western hamlet of Kogelo, men waved tree branches and banged drums at the Obama family home where his grandmother Sarah lives. Women ululated and cried tears of joy, muttering prayers of thanksgiving.

Obama's grandmother joined in the dancing and cheering outside her house after the results were declared.

"He is welcomed home," she told reporters. "I would just like to tell him to give his best to the people who have shown their faith in him by electing him."

Read more: Obama triumph raises hope of fresh start with Africa - chicagotribune.com

Kenyan PM says oil deal with Iran not to affect ties with US and EU

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Thursday stressed oil purchase deal which Kenya signed with Iran is old and will not affect the country’s diplomatic ties with Western countries, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Odinga said the oil deal which Kenya cancelled on Wednesday after the U.S. warned of unspecified sanctions for the dealing with Tehran is older than the recent sanctions and is not an indication that Nairobi is breaking ranks with the global community.

"No oil was procured because Iran never offered any concessions or discounts. There was no likelihood that any Kenyan company or the government was going to import Iranian oil," Odinga said during a meeting in Nairobi with visiting U.S. Congress.

Kenya’s Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike reportedly said on Tuesday that the east African nation will import 4 million tonnes of crude oil from Iranian National Oil Company, which sparked protests from Washington.

An oil embargo by the EU took effect this week, bringing to a halt crude import to 27 countries in the region. The U.S. Congress is also expected to expand sanctions against Tehran on account of the country’s nuclear program.

For more: APA - Kenyan PM says oil deal with Iran not to affect ties with Western countries

Horticulture - EU/Kenya: EAC, EU Trade Pact To Benefit Kenya’s Horticultural Sector

Kenya’s horticultural industry is set to benefit from the soon to be signed trade pact between the East Africa Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU) in terms of market access. Jane Ngige, the CEO of the Kenya Flower Council said in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday that Kenya which exports 1,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every day to Europe is expected to double its exports to EU with the signing of the Economic Partnerships Agreement between the EAC and EU in November.

For more: coastweek.com

TimesOnline: Beatings and abuse made Barack Obama’s grandfather loathe the British - by Ben Macintyre and Paul Orengoh

For the complete report from the Times Online click on this link

Beatings and abuse made Barack Obama’s grandfather loathe the British - by Ben Macintyre and Paul Orengoh

Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect. Hussein Onyango Obama, Mr Obama’s paternal grandfather, became involved in the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British army officer after the war. He was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two years in a high-security prison where, according to his family, he was subjected to horrific violence to extract information about the growing insurgency.

“The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed,” said Sarah Onyango, Hussein Onyango’s third wife, the woman Mr Obama refers to as “Granny Sarah”.

The British responded to the Mau Mau uprising with draconian violence: at least 12,000 rebels were killed, most of them Kikuyu, but some historians believe that the overall death toll may have been more than 50,000. In total, just 32 European settlers were killed. At the height of the rebellion, an estimated 71,000 Kenyans were held in prison camps. The vast majority were never convicted. Letters smuggled out of the camps complained of systematic brutality by warders and guards. According to the Harvard historian Caroline Elkins, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her exposé of British atrocities during the Mau Mau uprising, there were reports of sexual violence and mutilation using “castration pliers”. “This was an instrument devised to crush the men’s testicles,” she writes in Britain’s Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya (2005).

Mr Obama refers briefly to his grandfather’s imprisonment in his best-selling memoir, Dreams from My Father, but states that his grandfather was “found innocent” and held only for “more than six months”.

allAfrica.com: Kenya: EU Trade Deal to Fast-Track Drive for a Regional Common Market - by Allan Odhiambo

For the complete report by allAfrica.com click on this link

Kenya: EU Trade Deal to Fast-Track Drive for a Regional Common Market - by Allan Odhiambo

The interim trade agreement that East African Community (EAC) member states are set to sign with Europe will help fast track economic integration in the region, senior government officials said. Mr David Nalo, Kenya's Trade and Industry permanent secretary, told the Business Daily that pursuit of joint deals with a major player such as the EU should prompt EAC member states to harmonise their operations in key areas such as tariff regime.