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Romania: African diplomat suspected of involvement in Serbian cigarette smuggling ring 

Prosecutors found 1,800 cartons of smuggled cigarettes on Monday in the car of an African diplomat's wife, who claimed diplomatic immunity and only left the vehicle when police smashed its windows.

The woman and her husband, the second counsellor at the Congolese embassy in Belgrade, are suspected of working with a Serbian crime ring that smuggled tax-free cigarettes from Montenegro to Romania.

Congolese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Patrick Mutombo said if the accusations are true, the counsellor and his wife will be recalled to the Congo to face disciplinary measures.

After a two-hour standoff, officers smashed the windows and discovered the cigarettes stashed in the car, which had been specially altered to transport the contraband. Some cartons were stacked where the back seat had been and covered with a black cloth to avoid detection. There was no estimate of the value of the cigarettes.

The woman, identified as Esther Pascaline, and her Serbian driver were detained. Two Serb citizens, who were in another car, were also detained. Eleven Romanians who are suspected of being part of the smuggling ring are currently being questioned, said Mircea Andres, a regional prosecutor responsible for combatting organized crime and terrorism by telephone.

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Congo diplomat's wife 'smuggled cigarettes' in Romania 

The wife of a diplomat from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been arrested in Romania on suspicion of cigarette smuggling, Romanian prosecutors say.

Police found more than 18,000 cigarette packets hidden in her car.

Esther Pascaline Bombeto, whose husband is accredited in Serbia, reportedly claimed diplomatic immunity before police forcibly searched the car.

She was arrested while returning from Serbia.

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• DRCongo diplomat's wife detained in Romania over contraband 

The wife of a Congolese diplomat in Serbia has been detained in neighbouring Romania for alleged cigarette smuggling, prosecutors said Monday.

Esther Pascaline Bombeto was arrested during the night soon after crossing the Serbian border.

Police found some 18,500 cigarette packages concealed in her car.

According to local media, the woman and her driver refused to leave the car or open the doors, arguing they benefited from diplomatic immunity.

The police had to break the window in order to search the vehicle bearing diplomatic licence plates.

The husband, Marc Marius Itela Elombola, second counselor of the Democratic Republic of Congo's embassy in Belgrade, has also been charged with smuggling. He is currently in Serbia.

"The authorities did what they had to, detaining a person suspected of contraband," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office told AFP. . . .

Andres added that the Congolese couple had been monitored for three months.

They used to cross into Romania once or twice a week, and, availing themselves of their diplomatic passports in order to avoid customs controls, smuggled large amounts of Albanian cigarettes into the country, he said.

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African Health Ministers adopt Brazzaville Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases 

The first Africa Regional Ministerial Consultation on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) ended in the Congolese capital on Wednesday (6 April) with the adoption of the Brazzaville Declaration on NCDs.

The Declaration urged urgent action by various stakeholders to address major NCDs and priority conditions which represent “a significant challenge” to people in the African region: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, diseases of blood disorder (in particular sickle cell disease), mental health, violence and injuries.

Highlights of the Declaration include commitment by the Ministers to: . . .

develop and implement NCD prevention and control strategies, guidelines, policies, legislations and regulatory frameworks including the WHO FCTC to protect individuals, families and communities from unhealthy diets, harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke and unsafe food; and from violence and injuries, advertising of unhealthy products;

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THE BRAZZAVILLE DECLARATION ON NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN THE WHO AFRICAN REGION (PDF) 

We, the Ministers of Health and Heads of Delegation of the WHO African Region, having convened at a Regional Consultation on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) in Brazzaville, Congo, from 4-6 April 2011 in preparation for the 28-29 April 2011 Moscow Ministerial Meeting on Healthy Lifestyles and NCDs; and the United Nations High-Level Summit on NCDs, to be held in New York, USA, in September 2011;

COGNIZANT of the ever increasing double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the WHO African Region and the associated disabilities and premature deaths; . . .

Hereby declare that:

1. In the WHO African Region, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, haemoglobinopathies (in particular sickle cell disease), mental disorders, violence and injuries represent a significant development challenge;

2. Although not currently specified in the MDGs, NCDs form an essential part of the global, regional and national health and development agendas; . . .

6. NCDs prevention and control strategies, guidelines, policies, legislations, regulatory frameworks including the WHO FCTC, should be developed and implemented to protect individuals, families and communities from unhealthy diets; harmful use of alcohol; tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke; unsafe food; violence and injuries; advertising of unhealthy products; and infections responsible for certain types of cancers;

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WHO African Regional Consultation on the preparation for the Moscow Ministerial Meeting and the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs 

Date: 4-6 April 2011 Place: Brazzaville, Congo

The WHO Regional Office for Africa has organized this regional consultation of Member States to prepare for the Global Ministerial Conference in Moscow, and the UN High-level Meeting in New York on noncommunicable diseases being held later in 2011.

The WHO AFRO regional consultation aims to sensitize government ministers on the range of issues concering NCDs, including their health and development impact, and develop a common position on actions needed to control and prevent NCDs in the African region. Such agreed positions will become the African Region's position during the Moscow and the New York meetings. . . .

Meeting outcome - The Brazzaville declaration on NCDs prevention and control in the WHO African Region

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Congo Oil Tanker Explosion Kills More Than 200 – Smoking Cigarette Ignites Spilled Oil 

Congo Oil Tanker Explosion: Around 230 people were killed and almost 190 injured, when an oil tanker flipped and exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa on Saturday. More bad news followed, after reports stated that five of the victims belonged to U.N.’s Peacekeeping force.

Reports state that the accident took place in Sange, the South Kivu Province of Congo, when the tanker was trying to overtake a bus and it lost control and flipped over. As the overturned tanker started to leak oil, the local residents ran towards the tanker to collect the leaking oil and at that very moment someone’s smoking cigarette ignited the place making it a live inferno.

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Congo fuel truck explosion kills at least 230 people 

More than 230 people were killed when a fuel tanker overturned and ignited in the centre of a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. More than a quarter of the victims were children who had rushed to scoop up leaking oil after the crash.

Witnesses reported that a crowd of football fans, who had gathered at a bar to watch the Holland versus Brazil World Cup match, were closest to the explosion, which happened at around 6pm on Friday. Burning fuel flowed into dozens of mud-and-grass houses up to 100 metres away, setting fire to properties and trapping people inside.

Mende Omalanga, the minister of communications, said that the tanker had overturned as it was trying to overtake a bus on a dirt road through the village of Sange, in South Kivu province, 60 miles south of the city of Bukavu.

He said that the driver survived the accident, and that the initial spill was ignited by the cigarette of a man trying to salvage some of the fuel in a tin can.

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• VIDEO: Hundreds killed in Congo after oil tanker truck explodes  

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* NEW: UN official says no members killed in blast

* 230 killed, 190 injured in oil tanker explosion

* Explosion happened Friday, fire continued through Saturday

* Fire sparked by cigarette near leaked tanker fuel . . .

At least 230 people were killed and 190 injured when an oil tanker flipped over and exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a government spokesman said Saturday.

While the spokesman, Mende Omalanga, said five of the dead were United Nations peacekeepers, an official with the U.N. mission in the capital of Kinshasa contradicted the report.

"No U.N. members were killed" in the explosion, said Madnodje Mounoubai.

The tanker flipped over Friday afternoon, said Omalanga, the country's minister of communications. It was attempting to overtake a bus in Sange, in South Kivu province, on the country's eastern border.

When oil began to spill from the overturned tanker, local residents attempted to collect the oil. One was smoking a cigarette, causing the tanker to explode, Omalanga said.

The largest group of victims had been sitting in a bar near the accident site watching the World Cup

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Smuggled cigarettes flood Arua 

CIGARETTE smugglers taking advantage of the porous southern Sudan and northeastern DR Congo borders are reaping big from the large number of consumers in the West Nile region.

This is threatening to push the largest local producer, British American Tobacco (BATU) out of market.

Such is a reason that prompted the trade state minister, Nabeta Igeme to travel to Arua and Koboko on spot assessment of the problem.

In company of BATU’s top managers, the minister randomly visited kiosks, which he found selling smuggled cigarettes.

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Anti-smoking treaty tops 100 signatures 

Earlier this week Ecuador become the 100th country to sign the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The following day Congo lifted the number to 101.

"With their signatures, 100 governments which represent 4.5 billion people have underscored their intention to become a party to the convention and thus protect their populations from tobacco-related diseases," said WHO Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook. "I commend these countries, urge the remaining ones to sign and encourage all signatories who have not yet ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to do so."

The treaty comes into forces when 40 countries have ratified the deal. At the moment only nine have done so but as India is one of them, they represent one billion people...

The important name missing from for the treaty is that of the United States of America.

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A Black Mud From Africa Helps Power the New Economy 

Like several miners I interviewed in the reserve, a territory controlled by the Ugandan military and its rebel allies, Bangazuna was compelled to give up a slice of his coltan diggings to an extortion racket run by Ugandan soldiers.

''In the morning, when you get up, the Ugandans hand you a pack of cigarettes, and they give you two bottles of beer,'' said Bangazuna, explaining his daily routine. ''In the evening, when you finish digging, you have to pay them back with coltan. It was very expensive. One bottle of beer cost me two spoons of coltan'' -- about $8 -- and cigarettes were one spoon. If you refuse to pay or if you don't have coltan, they beat you and threaten to shoot you.''

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