Hope as first group pilgrims flies to Mecca.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- CIA Director Michael Hayden on Tuesday faced lawmakers to explain why his agency destroyed videotapes showing agents using harsh interrogation techniques that critics say amount to torture.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden testified on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.

In addition to the hour he spent before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday afternoon, Hayden is also scheduled to appear before a closed-door briefing before the House equivalent on Wednesday.

Hayden welcomed the chance, saying he was "very delighted to come on down and lay out the facts as we know them."

"It was a chance to lay out the narrative of what happened -- who did it, why the tapes were destroyed," Hayden later told reporters. He said lawmakers will also hear from "people with more knowledge of what happened."

The Justice Department and the CIA have launched an investigation.

Hayden disclosed both the existence and destruction of the tapes in a memo to CIA employees last week. U.S. officials said the recordings were made as "an internal check" on the CIA's use of interrogation techniques authorized in 2002 against suspected terrorists.

The interrogation tapes showed the use of the techniques on two al Qaeda suspects in 2002. The tapes were destroyed in 2005, "only after it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries," Hayden wrote.

One of the suspects, Abu Subayda, was "waterboarded" to get him to talk, and he yielded valuable information, a former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, on Tuesday told CNN. Watch Kiriakou discuss how he struggled morally with waterboarding »

Human rights groups consider waterboarding -- in which a prisoner is restrained and water poured over his mouth and nose to produce the sensation of drowning -- a form of torture dating back to the Spanish Inquisition.

Kiriakou, who was waterboarded as part of his CIA training, described the technique as "entirely unpleasant," and while he considered the practice "important" did not want to be associated with it. Kiriakou said participated in Zubayda's interrogation but not his waterboarding.

Sen. Kit Bond, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, said nothing he heard during Hayden's appearance indicated anything "illegal or unlawful" was done. The committee's Democratic chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, told reporters, "We need to get to the bottom of it."

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The House Intelligence Committee's chairman, Silvestre Reyes, and ranking Republican Rep. Peter Hoekstra announced their own investigation of the matter Monday and disputed Hayden's account last week that the committee had been properly notified of the decision to destroy the tapes.

"Our investigation will review issues surrounding the destruction of videos, the CIA's failure to notify Congress of this important matter and related questions concerning the CIA's interrogation program," they wrote.

A U.S. government official said Tuesday the tapes were destroyed in November 2005 on the orders of Jose Rodriguez, the head of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, who retired in September. Lawyers for the NCS gave written approval for the move, the official said.

Government officials have said that CIA General Counsel John Rizzo opposed destroying the tapes and found out only after the fact as did then-CIA Director Porter Goss, a former chairman of the House Intelligence committee.

One former intelligence official told CNN that Rizzo was "not really in the loop" on the decision and was "upset" about that. The official called it "conceivable but unusual" that the tapes would have been destroyed without Rizzo's input on the matter.

The New York Times, also quoting an anonymous former intelligence official, reported Tuesday that the spy agency was never given a direct order not to destroy the tapes. But a senior administration official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, contradicted that assertion.

"They were told not to destroy the tapes," the official said. "It was fairly unequivocal and completely unanimous. Everyone thought destroying the tapes was a bad idea. They got an answer. They're splitting hairs in terms of whether they got an answer or were ordered. Were they told we disagreed with the decision? There's no doubt about that."

The White House has said President Bush does not recall being aware of the tapes until being told last week of the destruction. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino has declined further comment, citing the preliminary investigation.

Bush acknowledged in 2006 that top al Qaeda captives were being held in CIA custody and subjected to "alternative" interrogation techniques, which he insisted had saved American lives and did not amount to torture. His administration refuses to confirm the use of specific techniques.

The revelations about the tapes emerged as Congress is poised to eliminate an exception made in 2006 for the CIA to use interrogation techniques beyond the limits of the Army Field Manual, which prohibits torture or abuse of prisoners.

On Monday Senate Intelligence Committee member Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking the Justice Department to take a fresh look at the CIA program.

And the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sens. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, called on Mukasey to explain the extent of the Justice Department's knowledge of the situation and involvement in the matter.

"When and how did department officials or attorneys first become aware of the existence of videotapes of detainee interrogations?" the senators asked. "Did the department evaluate the legality of the interrogation techniques used in the interrogations that were videotaped?"

Mukasey told reporters Tuesday that the inquiry was in the hands of Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein, who heads the Justice Department's new National Security Division. Despite scattered calls from Congress for appointment of a special prosecutor in the case, Mukasey said it's far too early to consider appointment of an outside investigator.

"I think the Justice Department is capable of doing whatever it appears needs to be done," he said. He called the question "the most hypothetical of hypotheticals" at this point. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Ed Henry, Pam Benson and Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

All About Central Intelligence Agency

::Habari:: Mawasiliano Ileje-Mbeya hatarini kukatika ::: Rushwa chanzo kikubwa cha kushamiri kwa bidhaa feki ::: Kili Stars kutupa karata nyingine leo ::: Naibu Waziri Kabaka kugombea ubunge Tarime ::: Serikali yaokoa mahujaji ::: Sudan yawamwagia sifa Kassim, Chollo ::: Ununuzi wa korosho usimamiwe kuepusha wakulima kunyonywa ::: Wafanyabiashara mihadarati sasa kufilisiwa mali zao ::: SPW Tanzania yazawadiwa milioni 110/- ::: Umbali mrefu wakimbiza wanafunzi Oljoro ::: Wenye gesti, hoteli Singida watakiwa kuboresha huduma ::: Ujambazi warindima Kagera,Kilimanjaro ::: Arusha yakemea wanaume wanaotafuta mapenzi kwa wanafunzi ::: Reli-Saccos yatoa mikopo ya milioni 68/- ::: Mtaji wa Mtanzania masikini ni Saccos’ ::: Mkwasa atamba Twiga Stars kufanya vizuri ::: Wataka madini kuwa mali ya vijiji vyenye migodi ::: Kampuni rafiki ya kukusanya madeni sugu yatinga Dar ::: Tume ya Moi yakabidhi ripoti kwa waziri ::: Katakata ya Dawasco yapingwa Kawe ::: Vodacom yatoa milioni 75/- kwa barabara Dodoma ::: Maofisa waandamizi Polisi kukutana Dodoma leo ::: Waziri ataka mshahara wa chini ujadiliwe upya ::: Biashara ya binadamu yashamiri nchini Na ::: ‘Waathirika wengi wa Ukimwi wana maradhi ya vinywa’ ::: Diwani aomba uchunguzi kama makaburi yamejaa ::: Klabu kumchukulia hatua mwandishi aliyeandika uongo ::: Tutaajiri kocha kwa uwezo wa klabu- Dalali ::: Ataka wanasiasa wawaadhibu watendaji wanaoshindwa wajibu ::: Watanzania watakiwa kuhifadhi utamaduni ::: :: Maskani>habari

Habari za Kitaifa Habari nyingine zaidi! Serikali yaokoa mahujaji Waandishi Wetu HabariLeo; Wednesday,December 12, 2007 SERIKALI jana iliwaokoa mahujaji zaidi ya 1,150 waliokuwa wamekwama Dar es Salaam kwenda Makka na Madina, Saudi Arabia, baada ya kuwakodia ndege kwa ajili ya kwenda huko kuhudhuria ibada hiyo muhimu katika dini ya Kiislamu. Hatua hiyo ilikuja baada ya mahujaji hao, wengi wao wakiwa ni Watanzania na wengine kutoka Comoro na Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasi ya Kongo (DRC), kukwama Dar es Salaam kwa zaidi ya siku 10, baada ya Shirika la Ndege la Tanzania (ATC), kushindwa kupata ndege ya kuwasafirisha kama ambavyo walikubaliana baada ya kulipa dola za Marekani 2,400 (takriban Sh milioni tatu). Awali ndege ya kwanza ya kukodi ya ATC ilitarajiwa kuondoka Dar es Salaam Desemba 3, mwaka huu, lakini ndege hiyo aina ya Boeing 747-200 kutoka Uarabuni, haikuweza kuruka kutokana na hitilafu, na kuanzia siku hiyo zimekuwapo taarifa za kuchanganya kuhusu safari hiyo. Kufikia saa 12:15 jioni, kundi la kwanza la mahujaji 379, lilitakiwa kuingia ndani ya sehemu ya kukaguliwa tayari kwa safari ya Makka ambayo leo usiku ndiyo siku ya mwisho ya kuingia katika miji hiyo mitakatifu kwa ajili ya ibada hiyo ambayo ni nguzo ya tano katika dini ya Kiislamu. Ndege aina ya DC 10, ilikuwa imetua uwanjani hapo tayari kuwachukua mahujaji hao. Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam, Abbas Kandoro, ndiye aliyewatangazia mahujaji hao kwenye Uwanja wa Ndege wa Kimataifa wa Julius Nyerere, kuwa safari hiyo ipo, baada ya awali asubuhi kuwaeleza kuwa serikali ipo pamoja nao, na aliwahakikishia itafanya kila linalowezekana kuhakikisha haiwaangushi. Akifuatana na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya ATC, Balozi Mustafa Nyang’anyi, Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa ATC, David Mattaka na Sheikh Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Lindi na Mjumbe wa Baraza la Ulamaa la Baraza Kuu la Waislamu Tanzania, Sheikh Suleiman Gorogosi, Kandoro alisema mahujaji hao wote wataondoka, hata kama siyo wote kwa jana usiku. “Kundi la kwanza litaondoka sasa (saa 12 jioni) na jingine litaondoka kwa ndege itakayokuja baadaye. Hata kama ndege nyingine haitakuja, ndege hii inayoondoka sasa itakwenda na kurudi kwa sababu marubani tumewapanga kwa makundi. Kwa hiyo hakuna atakayebaki hapa,” alisema Kandoro. Alisema serikali haikuingia awali katika mgogoro huo wa ATC na mawakala wa mahujaji hao, kwa sababu walifahamu suala hilo lingemalizwa kati yao, na ndiyo maana iliamua kuingilia kati baada ya kuona tatizo hilo linashindwa kupata ufumbuzi. Kandoro alitangaza utaratibu huo muda mchache kabla ya Waziri Mkuu, Edward Lowassa, kufika uwanjani hapo kuagana na mahujaji hao na kuwatakia safari njema. Awali, juzi kulikuwapo na kikao kirefu kati ya viongozi wa ATC na wawakilishi wa mahujaji, na baada ya kikao hicho, mahujaji waliarifiwa kuwa kundi la kwanza la mahujaji hao lingeondoka jana na ndege aina ya TC- 8000 ambayo ilitarajiwa kufika majira ya saa 3:30 asubuhi na kuondoka jana majira ya saa 5:00 asubuhi. Lakini mpaka kufikia saa 9:00 alasiri, hakuna ndege yoyote iliwasili. Waziri wa Miundombinu, Andrew Chenge, ambaye ATC iko chini ya Wizara yake, alifika uwanja wa ndege jana asubuhi, lakini hakuzungumza lolote kuhusiana na suala hilo, ingawa taarifa zilieleza kwamba ndiye aliyekuwa akihangaika kuhakikisha mahujaji hao wanaondoka jana usiku. Hata hivyo, jana saa nne asubuhi, mahujaji walifanya mkutano na kuamua kwamba endapo hawatasafiri kwa jana hiyo wangefanya maandamano makubwa ya kupinga na kulaani kitendo hicho. “Tutaandamana ili kukomesha taratibu zote za uongo na tunataka iwe funzo, wajue kuwa tumeumia na tunapinga kitendo hicho”, alisema Seif Llah, mmoja kati ya viongozi watatu wanaowakilisha makundi yote ya mahujaji, walioteuliwa juzi usiku baada ya mahujaji kukosa imani na viongozi wao waliokuwamo kwenye mkutano na viongozi wa ATC pamoja na serikali. Katika hatua nyingine, mahujaji hao waliochelewa kwenda Makka na Madina, wana haki ya kuidai ATC fidia isiyozidi dola 5,000 za Marekani kila mmoja kwa kucheleweshewa safari yao. Makamu Mwenyekiti wa Baraza la Watumiaji wa Huduma za Usafiri wa Anga, Mustapha Akonay, alilieleza gazeti hili Dar es Salaam jana kuwa hata kama wamesafiri, walicheleweshwa, hivyo wana haki ya kudai fidia hiyo. Akonay alisema kwa kuwa mahujaji walikuwa wanakwenda nje ya nchi, Mkataba wa Montreal wa mwaka 1999 ulioridhiwa na Serikali ya Tanzania, Februari 2003 unawatambua kuwa ni abiria wa kimataifa, hivyo wana haki kisheria kudai fidia hiyo kwa mujibu wa kifungu cha 19 cha mkataba huo. Katibu wa baraza hilo, Hamza Johari, alisema jana kuwa, hakuna muda maalumu kwa watumiaji wa huduma za usafiri wa anga kudai fidia hivyo wanaweza kudai fidia wakirudi. Alisema mahujaji wakihitaji kulipwa fidia watapaswa kuidai ATC moja kwa moja na wawasilishe nakala za madai yao katika baraza ili liwe na taarifa za kuwapo kwa madai hayo. Kwa mujibu wa taratibu, anayedai fidia anapaswa kuwasilisha madai kwa maandishi, waeleze kilichotokea, waeleze mdaiwa afanye nini sambamba na kutaja kiasi cha fidia anachotarajia kulipwa. Akonay alisema baraza limewasiliana na uongozi wa juu wa ATC hivyo wanasubiri maelezo ya shirika hilo kuhusu namna walivyoshughulikia tatizo hilo. Kwa mujibu wa Akonay, Jumatatu mchana alimpigia simu Ofisa Mtendaji Mkuu wa ATC, David Mattaka, kumuuliza kuwa shirika linafanya nini kutatua tatizo hilo. “Yeye alisema tunashughulikia, tutawajulisha matokeo,” alisema Akonay. Copyright @TSN 2006 All Rights Reserved

Tembelea bloguez hii www.sweetmelody.bloguez.com

NDOTO IMEKAMILIKA KWANI KILA MTU AMEZALIWA NA CHAKE MKONONI. RIZIKI NI RIZIKI BWANA

Jamaa akipokea ufunguo wa Gari la nguvu baada ya kuibuka mshindi wa Shinda ndoto yako na celtel
Ni furaha katka familia yake kwani mtoto macho kama siyake Baba leo mabmbo safi

ATC aibu!

ATC aibu! 2007-12-10 17:16:36 Na Mwandishi wa Alasiri Jijini Shirika la Ndege nchini, ATC limelaumiwa kwa kufanya kitendo cha aibu ya mwaka kwa kuwasotesha kwa wiki nzima mahujaji zaidi ya 300 ambao wameshakamilisha taratibu zote za safari. Aidha, Shirika hilo limetakiwa kuwalipa fidia mahujaji hao kutokana na gharama walizoingia mara kadhaa wakati wakifika uwanjani hapo ili wasafiri, na kisha kuishiwa kupewa kauli za ‘njooni kesho, rudini kesho kutwa. Aliyetoa kauli hiyo ya kulaani kitendo cha ATC na kukiita kuwa ni cha aibu ni Kiongozi wa Kamati ya Kutetea Haki za Waislamu nchini, Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda. Ni aibu na fedheha... Serikali inapaswa kuwajibika kwa sababu, kama ndege iliyotegemewa imeharibika, ni yenyewe ndiyo inayopaswa kuingilia kati na kuokoa adha wanayoipata waisilam hawa ambao wameshalipia kila kitu, akasema Sheikh Ponda. Kama si Serikali kuingilia, nani sasa atakayewezesha mahujaji hawa kulipia gharama kubwa walizoingia kwa kukaa jijini zaidi ya wiki sasa, wakiishia kila siku kusoteshwa Airport kwa kuahidiwa safari? Ni vyema gharama hizi zikafidiwa na wahusika wanaotoa taarifa zisizokuwa na ukweli, tena zaidi ya mara moja, wawajibishwe, akaongeza Sheikh Ponda. Aidha, katika orodha ya mahujaji waliosoteshwa zaidi ya wiki moja sasa pale katika Uwanja wa Ndege wa Kimataifa wa Julius Nyerere, inaelezwa yumo baba mkwe wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Bw. Jakaya Kikwete na mashemeji zake kadhaa. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa hizo, ni kwamba, kama walivyo mahujaji wengine, ba`mkwe huyo mzaa chema wa Rais Kikwete aitwaye Mzee Rashid Yusuph Mkwachu, ametaabika mno na njoo kesho ya ATC. Pia waliokumbwa na adha hiyo inayodaiwa kusababishwa na ubovu wa ndege iliyotegemewa kusafirisha mahujaji hao huku zikitolewa ahadi hewa za kila mara ni shemejie Rais Kikwete aitwaye Mwanakombo Bakari na ndugu wengine ambao ni Hassan Mohamed na Jamillah Omar. Imedaiwa kuwa mahujaji hao walikuwa wasafirishwe wiki iliyopita na ATC, lakini wakaishia kurudishwa na kuahidiwa kila mara kuwa watasafirishwa, lakini bila ya mafanikio. Jana usiku, imeelezwa na Sheikh Ponda kuwa taarifa walizopelekewa na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya ATC ni kwamba sasa, safari hiyo iliyoahirishwa tena jana, itakuwa leo jioni. SOURCE: Alasiri

Tuma Maoni Yako

Launch Teams Evaluate Atlantis Sensors
Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis stands on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA
View Hi-res Image

Dec. 10 -12:15 p.m. EST
Mission managers and engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are evaluating an issue with fuel sensors in the liquid hydrogen tank before determining what step to take next. The team is finalizing a plan to present to space shuttle program management on Tuesday. Space shuttle Atlantis is targeted for launch no earlier than Jan. 2, 2008, on mission STS-122.

The seven astronauts who are to fly aboard Atlantis returned to Houston and will continue training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in preparation for the mission to the International Space Station.

The main objective of Atlantis' 11-day mission is to install and activate the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, which will provide scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments.

Media Resources
› STS-122 Press Kit (15 Mb PDF)
› STS-122 Fact Sheet (7.6 Mb PDF)
› STS-122 TV Schedule
› ECO Sensor's Morning Press Briefing (Real Player Video)

Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors graphics:
› LH₂ ECO Sensor Locations
› Overall Schematic of ECO and Liquid Level (Point) Sensors
› Orbiter Avionics Bays
› Orbiter Aft Avionics Bays
› Functional Block Diagram of Point Sensor Box
› Exploded View of Point Sensor Box

How Vodafone earns millions of dollars in fees from Safaricom

By STAFF WRITER

New details have emerged showing how the UK’s Vodafone Plc, which owns 40 per cent of mobile telephone company Safaricom Ltd, reaps millions of shillings every year in fees over and above what the transnational earns in dividends from the profitable business.

According to disclosures contained in the draft prospectus that has been prepared for the initial public offer of Safaricom, in which the government will be offloading 25 per cent of the company’s shares to the public, the fees are paid to Vodafone Marketing Sarl in Luxembourg.

The fees are pegged on the company’s revenues, implying that they are payable whether Safaricom makes profits or not.

The current agreement was signed on October 1, 2006 and runs for three years. It stipulates that the company must pay a “participation fee” of 0.8 per cent of total revenues to Vodafone Marketing of Luxembourg in the year beginning April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.

The money is payable every six months. According to the financial data presented in the prospectus, the company’s total revenues in the first six months of this year were Ksh28.65 billion ($447,656,250).

At 0.8 per cent of total revenues, this works out at a participation fee of Ksh229.2 million ($3,581,250).

In the second year of the contract — the period October 1, 2007 to March 3, 2008 — the participation fee is set at 0.5 per cent of revenue and capped at euro 1.05 million — Ksh97.5 million at current rates.

For all other financial years during the term of the agreement, the company must pay Vodafone a participation fee of 0.5 per cent of total revenue as long as the amount does not go beyond euro 2.1 million (Ksh197,400,000).

Under the agreement, total annual revenue is described as the total annual consolidation sales generated by the mobile operations of Safaricom and its subsidiaries.

Apparently, the agreement has since been amended to stretch up to the year 2010.

In addition to participation fees, Vodafone is to be paid a fee when it procures equipment on behalf of Safaricom.

The fee is calculated at 6 per cent of the aggregate gross amount payable by the company to vendors in consideration of the procured products.

Vodafone also has a five-year agreement to provide the mobile payment solution known by the name M-Pesa that enables users to complete simple financial transactions by mobile phones.

As of September 30, M-Pesa had 635,761 total active customers, 712,000 total registered users and an average 6,774 new customers per day.

Under the agreement, the service fee is computed as 32.5 per cent of the annual M-Pesa revenue payable in quarterly instalments in arrears.

Safaricom was incorporated in Kenya on April 3, 1997 as a joint venture between Vodafone and state-owned Telkom Kenya, which has a 60 per cent stake, rendering it a state corporation whose books must be audited by Kenya National Audit Office and consequently presented to parliament.

After the offer of sale of 25 per cent of the issued shares of the company, Safaricom will cease to be a state corporation.