{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 19 avril 2010 – www.thecrimson.com- April 19, 2010–Acts of civilian sexual violence have become increasingly pervasive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a recent study released on April 15 by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization.
RWANDA
Rwanda: New Reforms Set Up to Boost Doing Business
Edmund Kagire /allafrica.com/The New Times/19 April 2010
Kigali — As part of the government’s wider efforts to promote Rwanda as a leading business and investment destination, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has released an update on the Business reform agenda.
The business reforms are aimed improving the country’s investment climate in order to drive the growth of the private sector and generate wealth.
Further reforms have been implemented in the areas of Doing Business including easing the process to start a business, acquiring construction licences, registering property, access to credit, cross border trade and paying taxes.
According to the CEO of RDB, John Gara, the new reforms are aimed at making Rwanda a more suitable choice of destination for investors. Rwanda was named the Best Reformer worldwide by the 2010 Doing Business World Bank Report.
“We do not carry out all these reforms as an end in themselves but as a foundation for a deeper and more comprehensive agenda that will make it much easier for the business community to operate here.” Gara noted.
Apart from reducing the procedures involved in starting a business to a single procedure, completed in one day, online business registration is set to be operational by the end of this month.
The simplified business registration as well as the online services will encourage more businesses to formalize thus reducing the informal sector and contributing to economic growth and wealth creation.
According to RDB, Prime Minister’s decree enforcing time limits for the delivery of construction permits and instituting sanctions for failure to deliver is in the pipeline, while a one stop centre for construction licenses was adopted by Cabinet and has been launched by Kigali City Council.
The aim is to reduce inefficiencies in the system and minimise the administrative burden/costs of compliance of acquiring construction licenses while encouraging investment in the construction sector that is a key source of growth to the economy.
In the area of registering property, the National Land Centre has abolished the requirement to formulate a separate sale contract at their office in addition to the one concluded between the parties.
The centre now requires the latter contract in order to streamline the processes. This has cut back on the time to formalize title deeds.
In other reforms, experts have been contracted to set up the country’s first private credit bureau that will be operational by early May 2010 and will serve as a critical risk analysis tool that banks can utilize in their loan transactions.
This is being done concurrently with improvements to the public credit reference bureau managed by the Central Bank.
According to RDB, credit information will help banks to lend to businesses that are compliant based on their good track record in financing their loans. This reform will be key in addressing access to finance constraints that Rwanda faces.
RDB is also finalizing the online collateral registry for movable property. The reform is to encourage the use of moveable property in loan acquisition.
Rwanda and Uganda have launched a one stop border post at Gatuna in addition to one at Nemba on the Rwanda and Burundi border to ease cross border trade. An additional one is planned at Rusumo on the Rwanda and Tanzania border.
24 hour operations at Gatuna border post have commenced easing movement of goods and persons across border points and reducing the time taken to do so.
A semi-automated single window at Customs has been put in place (already done at SDV) and to be implemented at Gikondo, Airport, Gatsata and Kabuye oil depots by end May 2010. A fully automated system including outer stations and all border posts is slated for May 2011.
Efforts are also underway to establish an electronic single window which will improve the movement of cargo across borders while boosting trade within the region.
RRA has established a calculator for PAYE while one for VAT is set for later in April 2010 while tax advisory services have been established at the district level.
The reforms in the payment of taxes will lead to a better understanding of tax requirements and reduce compliance costs to businesses.
In the legal framework, Cabinet has approved draft laws as part of the legal reforms to ease doing business in the various sectors while giving the private sector confidence to go about their business backed by law.
UGANDA
TANZANIA:
Bharti Slips in Mumbai on Talks With Tanzania on Zain Stake
By Sam Nagarajan/Bloomberg/April 19
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Bharti Airtel Ltd. fell as much as 2.2 percent in Mumbai trading as it held talks with Tanzania’s government and the African nation’s Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo said April 16 in an interview that the government, which has a 40 percent stake in Zain Tanzania, is keen “to know the future.” Shares declined 1.4 percent to 300.50 rupees as of 9:06 a.m. local time.
Reflections from Tanzania: President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
science.dodlive.mil/ armedwithscience/April 19, 2010
Eda Mutale Lifuka, a resident of Zambia, is a Department of Defense HIV/AIDS program manager. This is the final blog post in a series written from the 2010 International HIV/AIDS Conference in Tanzania.
For me, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has not only provided hope for a new “HIV free” era but also gratitude for an intervention. My only wish is that it would have come earlier because it would have saved, or at least prolonged, the lives of those near and dear to me. In Zambia, we use a term that goes like, “we are all either affected or infected;” no one can say they have not felt the impact of the scourge.
I am extremely passionate about the efforts of PEPFAR and the significant impact that it has had on the lives of Zambians. With more people receiving life-saving drugs, people are able to contribute to building the economy and they live longer, have more time to spend with their families, and are able to contribute to society. When people living with HIV/AIDS become change agents or actors in their society, it really goes a long way and encourages others to not only get tested but to also access services.
Since receiving aid from PEPFAR, we have had many success stories. I love these because they show that progress is being made and that we are moving in the right direction. Some examples of these successes include seeing a man, who was almost dying, standing up and saying, “I would not be here had it not been for the American People,” or seeing an HIV positive mother giving birth to twins who are negative. Both stories give a sense of hope for the future.
Being Zambian and a part of this initiative gives me a sense of pride and lets me know that the situation can be better. The service delivery and infrastructure improvements benefit the military and the surrounding communities that access base health services.
The military-specific program is great because it provides an opportunity for the Department of Defense (DoD) to train host country militaries on how to interact. DoD can relate because they face similar challenges and constraints during deployment. This interaction, collaboration and success can be seen at gatherings such as the 2010 International Military HIV/AIDS Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. This forum brings together countries from all around the globe and provides an opportunity for sharing lessons learned and best practices. Militaries tap into initiatives from other countries to learn new strategies and their efforts are reenergized, which motivates them to do better.
At the conference, there is a sense of camaraderie, the poster presentation is lively and there is energy in the room as people move around to see the displays. As you reach each country station, there is a sense of pride as the representatives’ talk about their programs. There is also an exchange of materials as well as ideas and long lasting contacts are made, which are not only a source of friendship but also a source for technical assistance for the future.
The American people are making a difference in the lives of people all over the world.
CONGO RDC :
Sexual Violence on the Rise in Congo
By Stephanie E. Herwatt, CONTRIBUTING WRITER / www.thecrimson.com/Published: Monday, April 19, 2010
Acts of civilian sexual violence have become increasingly pervasive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a recent study released on April 15 by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization.
The study’s analysis of violence trends over time revealed that although the total number of sexual assaults reported steadily decreased between 2004 and 2008, the number of civilian rapes increased seventeen-fold.
“These findings imply a normalization of rape among the civilian population, suggesting the erosion of all constructive social mechanism that ought to protect civilians from sexual violence,” according to the study.
The study, Now the World is Without Me, reported that women in South Kivu are subject to sexual violence regardless of age, marital status, or ethnicity, and that they are attacked not only in fields and forests but also in their own homes.
“Some of the results were shocking, mostly that the women are really attacked everywhere and that everyone is at risk” said Susan A. Bartels, a researcher at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, emergency room physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and primary author of the report. “I was shocked by the number of women who were attacked in their own home, specifically at night when they were sleeping with their families.”
The study also demonstrates how sexual violence can be used as a tool to ignite terror.
“It’s a very important study and a very disturbing study because it documents how the use of rape in times of war can then spill over into peacetime and devastate a whole community,” said Jaqueline Bhabha, director of the University Committee on Human Rights Studies.
The study offers several key recommendations to help ameliorate the situation in the Congo, including ensuring quality care is available for women, working to reduce sexual violence, and building on the legal and justice initiative taken to date.
“A lot of people wonder what they can do here, in Boston or in the US,” Bartels said, “and to that I would say to help raise awareness and to perhaps consider supporting organizations that are working [in the Congo].”
KENYA :
Kenya Loses $4 Million a Day On Canceled Flights, Nation Reports
By Antony Sguazzin/Bloomberg/April 19
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Kenya is losing 300 million Kenyan shillings ($4 million) a day because of canceled flights to Europe, the Daily Nation reported, citing Kenya Airways Ltd. and horticultural producers.
Kenya Airways is losing 77 million shillings a day while farmers have been blocked from shipping 1,000 metric tons of produce a day to Europe, costing them 231 million shillings, the Nairobi-based newspaper said.
Turks foil piracy bid in Indian Ocean
2010/04/19/ Sapa-AFP
A TURKISH frigate intercepted 13 suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean yesterday, destroying their two boats and seizing their equipment .
The pursuit began when the frigate Gelibolu, part of a Nato force in the region, detected a ship and two skiffs, “considered to be used in piracy”, following the route of a Turkish commercial vessel sailing to Kenya, 250nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles .
Since 2008, an international flotilla of warships has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the globe’s busiest maritime trade routes, to stop Somali pirates from hijacking commercial vessels.
ANGOLA :
Oil Falls a Third Day on Speculation Gains Have Outpaced Demand
April 19, 2010/By Gavin Evans and Yee Kai Pin/Bloomberg
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil fell for a third day on speculation the commodity’s climb to an 18-month high has outpaced a recovery in global demand.
Oil extended losses after tumbling 2.7 percent on April 16, the most in 10 weeks. Prices are being driven by speculation and currency movements and there’s no need for OPEC to review output before its October meeting, Qatar’s oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said yesterday. The dollar strengthened against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities.
“We’ve still got higher-than-average stockpiles in various markets, including the U.S.,” said Toby Hassall, a commodity analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. OPEC “will want to see those stockpiles drawn down further before they consider increasing supply.”
Crude oil for May delivery fell as much as $1.58, or 1.9 percent, to $81.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $81.90 at 1:48 p.m. Singapore time. Prices have declined in eight of the nine trading days after touching $87.09 on April 6, the highest since October 2008.
The May contract, which expires tomorrow, lost $2.27 on April 16 to $83.24 a barrel, the biggest drop since Feb. 5. Prices slumped after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of fraud, triggering a selloff in commodity and equity markets. The more-widely held June futures were down $1.14, or 1.4 percent, at $83.53 today.
Greece Bailout
The euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar after European Union finance ministers told Greece to brace itself for the International Monetary Fund’s conditions on a bailout package. The U.S. currency was at $1.3466 per euro at 1:48 p.m. in Singapore compared with $1.3503 in New York.
“There will be fits and starts to do with the recovery story and I think this Goldman news is another event that seems to have exposed the fragility of market confidence,” said CWA’s Hassall. “Longer term, the global recovery story is going to continue to drive the oil market.”
Oil at $90 a barrel would be harmful and may “jeopardize the market,” according to Angola’s oil minister, Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos. A “good level” is between $70 and $80, he said yesterday at a gas conference in Oran, Algeria.
Angola and Qatar are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps 40 percent of the world’s oil. The group slashed output by a record 4.2 million barrels a day beginning January 2009 to prevent a supply glut as the global economy sank into recession. Ministers voted to maintain official output targets at a March 17 meeting in Vienna.
Speculators
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators trimmed bets on rising oil prices for the first time in three weeks, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.
Speculative net-long positions, or the difference between orders to buy and sell the commodity on the New York Mercantile Exchange, decreased 12 percent to 113,364 contracts on April 13, the commission said last week.
Brent crude oil for June settlement fell as much as $1.36, or 1.6 percent, to $84.63 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract was at $84.93 at 1:48 p.m. Singapore time.
–Editors: John Viljoen, Ryan Woo.
SOUTH AFRICA:
Poverty ravages Zimbabwe, Christian students report
www.christiancentury.org/19042010
Poverty is so bad in Zimbabwe that students sometimes resort to prostitution to survive, says a new report by women in the country’s Student Christian Movement. A power-sharing government of Zimbabwe’s two main political parties and a small splinter group in 2009 brought scant relief for young people who battle to survive economically, Christian students have documented in a booklet.
President Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, but his ruling ZANU-PF party lost parliamentary elections in 2008 to Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change. Mugabe also lost the first round of a presidential poll, but later convincingly won a second-round presidential election after Tsvangirai refused to take part due to intimidation of his supporters.
Under Mugabe, what was once a strong African economy has descended into an economic crisis, where many are starving and millions are fleeing to South Africa and other countries in the wake of skyrocketing inflation that hit 231 million percent at one point.
Many in Zimbabwe say they have yet to enjoy the fruits of the government of national unity brokered by South Africa and other African nations.
“The only thing I can say is that there is food on the shelves and we can have our workshops as the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe without being intimidated,” says Matsiliso Moyo, who recently graduated from teacher training college. “But to those students who are still at college, things are not so rosy. They are expected to pay tuition fees which are six times their parents’ salaries.”
Moyo’s testimony is part of a collection published recently by the SCMZ. The booklet titled Students’ Experiences in Times of Governance Crisis contains descriptions of arrests by state security agents and stories of students struggling through their studies on a meager budget.
Melissa Green describes how she and her peers turned to sex for money with older men in order to supplement their limited funds. “It’s quite a painful experience to see beautiful girls selling their bodies as a means of survival,” Green laments in her contribution.
“That’s the only way we can survive because most of us come from disadvantaged backgrounds. I used to do it myself, but thank God for SCMZ and my Christian background, I can’t do that anymore,” she said.
Another student describes how she was detained together with her five-month-old son after attending a workshop organized by the SCMZ, while another tells of her escape from her home after a raid by militant members of Mugabe’s party. -Ecumenical News International
AFRICA / AU :
Worldwide PC Market Spikes 27 Percent in Q1, Researcher Says
Forecasts 5 percent uptick in global IT spending for 2010
www.itchannelplanet.com/By D.H. Kass/April 19, 2010
Resuscitation of the worldwide market for personal computers received an unexpected boost in Q1 2010 as shipments spiked some 27 percent to 84.3 million units when compared to results for the same period last year, according to researcher Gartner Inc.
The researcher also forecast a 5.3 percent uptick in worldwide IT spending to $3.4 trillion in 2010, and a ensuing 4.2 increase to more than $3.5 trillion in 2011.
Gartner attributed the better-than-expected Q1 2010 performance to PC replacements in mature markets, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which together outpaced the Americas, collectively posting 24.8 percent growth.
Hewlett-Packard Co. led worldwide market PC makers with 15.3 million units shipped for 19.9 percent growth and an 18.2 percent share of the market during the period. HP’s share of the PC market stood at 19.3 percent for the similar quarter last year.
HP’s unit shipment growth rate for the period trailed far behind that of Acer at 54.3 percent, Lenovo at 59.2 percent and Toshiba at 35.8 percent, and lagged the segment’s average quarterly growth of 27.4 percent.
For the first quarter of 2010, Acer shipped about 12 million PC’s worldwide, Dell moved some 10.2 million unit units, Lenovo recorded about 6.9 million units shipped and Toshiba recorded about 4.6 million units globally.
Upstart ASUSTek Computer Inc. joined the worldwide top five ranking for the first time with 4.6 million units shipped for the period, more than doubling its performance for the same period in 2009.
“These first quarter results indicated that the professional PC market is gradually picking up, driven by PC replacements in mature markets,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst.
“With a relatively positive macroeconomic outlook, business demand was more forthcoming,” Kitagawa said.
She said that Gartner is predicting that the worldwide demand for PCs will continue to gain momentum later this year and next.
“Major PC replacement demand driven by Window 7 will become more apparent in the second half of 2010 and the beginning of 2011,” Kitagawa said.
Strong growth in U.S. PC Shipments
In the U.S. market, PC shipments totaled some 17.4 million units for Q1 2010 for a 20.2 percent increase from the first quarter last year. The U.S. market has now posted two consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in unit shipments.
HP is the market leader for PC shipments in the U.S. with 4.3 million units and a 25 percent share of the market for the quarter but, similar to its global performance, the computer maker’s growth rate for the period lagged that of some of its rivals, in this case Acer, Toshiba, and Apple Computer Inc.
Gartner set that the market was ripe for increased IT spending, following strong fourth quarter sales, a solid supply chain for the first quarter of 2010 and an improving global economy.
Hardware spending is expected to grow at 5.7 percent to $353 billion in 2010, followed by a 5.1 percent jump in software spending to $232 billion, the researcher said. The hottest software segments through 2014 are expected to include virtualization, security, data integration and business intelligence.
Gartner said that spending on IT services is forecast to increase by 5.7 percent to $821 billion. Telecom spending is predicted to approach $2 trillion in 2010, the researcher said.
“We continue to see a long-term recession hangover as a more cautious mind set continues as the norm among a lot of buyers who keep looking for safe deals where cost take-out is a key factor,” said Kathryn Hale, Gartner research vice president.
Gartner said that its PC shipment findings for the quarter expressed preliminary results. The researcher expects to post adjustments to its figures in short order.
GG arrives in Africa on state visit
April 19, 2010/CBC News
Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean arrived Sunday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a state visit, her third official trip to Africa.
“I wanted to visit central Africa to encourage the efforts to bring peace to the region, to rebuild and to restore the ties of trust and the rule of law,” Jean said in a release before leaving Canada.
Her visit comes before a United Nations decision will be made on a major Canadian military role in the central African country. It’s possible that Canada will be selected to take over the leadership of a UN peacekeeping force in the coming weeks.
Jean’s trip will focus on the problem of violence against women.
Over the next two days, she plans to discuss the high incidence of rape in a speech to the republic’s National Assembly and Senate, as well as meet with abused women at a hospital in Goma.
On Sunday, she was welcomed by Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito and Canadian ambassador to the republic Sigrid Anna Johnson at N’Djili International Airport in Kinshasa.
Jean was the guest of honour at dinner with Congolese society on Sunday evening at Johnson’s official residence.
Australia, N.Z. Stocks: BHP, Qantas, Newcrest, Sigma, Sundance
April 19, 2010/By Shani Raja/Bloomberg
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.2 percent to 4,927 as of 10:43 a.m. in Sydney, set for the biggest drop in almost two months. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index sank 0.8 percent to 3,284.46 in Wellington.
The following are among the most active shares in the market today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Mining stocks: Copper fell by the most in seven weeks on April 16 as regulators accused Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of fraud and as a rising dollar cut demand for the metal as a hedge against inflation.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world’s largest mining company, lost 1.6 percent to A$42.85. Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU) declined 1.6 percent to A$78.43.
Gold producers: Gold fell by the most in two months on April 16 as investors sought haven in the dollar.
Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia’s biggest gold producer, lost 1.6 percent to A$34.05. Lihir Gold Ltd. (LGL AU), the second-largest gold mining company on the Australian stock exchange, retreated 0.5 percent to A$3.96.
Oil companies: Crude oil fell for a third day in New York. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL AU), Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer, dropped 0.7 percent to A$46.40.
Santos Ltd. (STO AU), the third largest, declined 1.7 percent to A$14.18. New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO NZ), a partner in the nation’s Tui oil project, dropped 3.2 percent to NZ$1.51 in Wellington.
Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN AU), Australia’s biggest airline, fell 2 percent to A$2.92. Northern and central Europe may remain closed to air traffic until April 22 as winds push ash from volcanic eruptions in Iceland across the continent, forecasters said. Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (VBA AU) slumped 6.1 percent to 61.5 Australian cents. Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR NZ) declined 2.8 percent to A$1.37 in Wellington.
Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (SIP AU) dropped 4 percent to 47.5 Australian cents. The Australian Taxation Office is examining a loyalty program operated by Sigma that gave participating pharmacists overseas trips, electronic goods and other rewards, the Australian Financial Review reported without saying where it got the information.
Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL AU) rose 3.2 percent to 16 Australian cen
ts. Th
e company reported “excellent” initial drilling results at the Nabeba deposit, part of its Mbalam iron- ore project in West Africa.
–Editor: John McCluskey
AU observer team terms Sudan’s elections as free, fair
2010-04-19 /english.cctv.com
KHARTOUM, April 18 (Xinhua) — The African Union (AU) Elections Observation Mission (EOM) on Sunday described the general elections in Sudan as free and fair, noting that the elections held in a developing African country such as Sudan should not be measured by the criteria of the western developed countries.
“What happened in Sudan was a historical event and a great achievement for Sudanese people,” Ambassador Kunle Adeyemi, the spokesman of the AU-EOM, told Xinhua, adding that “Sudanese voters had cast their ballots in transparent, free and fair elections in spite of the challenges.”
The AU-EOM was dispatched to Sudan on April 8 by Chairperson of the AU Commission Jean Ping and led by John Kufuor, the former president of the Republic of Ghana, to observe the general elections held in Sudan last week, which were the first multi- party elections held in this African country since 24 years.
“We are satisfied with this event,” the spokesman added.
Adeyemi further criticized comparing the Sudanese elections with western democracies and said the claim that the Sudanese elections did not meet international standards was “not fair.”
“In our own perspective, applying those standards to Sudan, a country that has not seen elections for 24 years, is not fair,” he said.
He urged the international community to help Sudanese people in their quest for democracy.
“Sudanese people have done a good job in this event, which reflects their determination to get their votes right to contribute to the democratic transformation of their country. I believe that the international community should assist them in this direction.”
In the meantime, the AU-EOM commended in its preliminary statement on the Sudanese elections Sunday the remarkable turnout on the part of the voters, particularly in Darfur states and IDP ( internally displaced people) camps, and considered the elections a historical achievement for the Sudanese people and the Sudan National Elections Commission (NEC).
“The elections constitute an important milestone in the country ‘s democratization process,” the statement said, adding that ” given Sudan’s history, its current and immense challenges on many fronts, the just-completed elections, though imperfect, are historic.”
“The AU Mission wishes to acclaim and congratulate the people of the Republic of Sudan, political parties and candidates, for the peaceful 2010 executive and legislative elections,” the statement noted.
Man Dies Queuing for World Cup Tickets in South Africa
www.betonworldcup2010.com/Posted by Stefan /Monday, April 19, 2010
With demand for FIFA 2010 World Cup tickets reaching fever pitch in South Africa, where the decision was taken to sell tickets for cash over the counter as of last Thursday, a man has reportedly died while waiting in the queue in Cape Town.
The 64 year old man, who as yet has not been named, is reported to have suffered what appeared to be a seizure while standing in line to get his hands on match tickets. The pensioner, who was placed 565th in the line for tickets when he was taken ill, is suspected to have had a heart attack.
People had been queuing for many hours in the sun to purchase the tickets, which included tickets for the World Cup Final itself, which takes place on July 11th.
South Africans have welcomed the decision to make tickets available from outlets such as supermarkets and malls. Previously, it had only been possible to buy tickets over the internet or via a balloting system, which made it difficult or impossible for fans who did not have credit cards or online facilities to use. Generally, football supporters in South Africa are used to getting tickets for cash on the gate on match days, so this new more accessible policy has had the effect FIFA were hoping for of boosting ticket sales to a massive degree. Sales had been somewhat disappointing via the original channels.
Many fans queued overnight waiting for tickets to become available at each of the 11 ticket sales centres across the country. Those who wish to buy tickets are required to produce proof of their identity and also proof of address. South Africans are being given priority, with 120,000 out of 500,000 of the available tickets being in the special “Category Four”, which is reserved for local residents only and on sale at a reduced price. These tickets, which work out at around £13, are the cheapest that have been available for a World Cup Finals tournament in many years, the intention being to ensure local people buy in to the event.
The atmosphere in the ticket queues has not necessarily been as festive as organizers may have hoped, unfortunately. As well as the aforementioned incident, police have had to get involved where scuffles have broken out as fans become frustrated standing in the seemingly endless lines for hours on end. Computer problems in the ticket issuing offices at some sales centres exacerbated problems by slowing down the process, making people yet more agitated.
At one ticketing centre at the Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria, police had to resort to using pepper spray to bring the crowd back under control. Skirmishes kept breaking out in the line, and police felt this was a necessary measure to restore order.
Fans interviewed by the press have likened to queues to those for the 1994 elections, where South Africans queued to vote for Nelson Mandela.
UN /ONU :
Landmine blast kills 10 people in Somali capital
english.peopledaily.com.cn/Source:Xinhua/April 19, 2010
An overnight roadside bomb explosion targeting a Somali government soldiers killed at least ten people including five soldiers and wounding almost 20 others mostly by-standers in Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.
Witnesses said that the remotely-controlled bomb was planted near a police station close to the international airport in the south of the Somali capital Mogadishu and detonated as Somali government troops came near it.
“The bomb killed 5 of the soldiers and wounded eight others while 5 civilians around the vicinity also died as a result of the blast. At least 12 other civilians were wounded,” Sahal Guure, police officer told Xinhua.
The wounded were rushed to the near-by hospitals in the government controlled part of the restive Somali capital.
Witnesses, local media reports and medical officials gave the same casualty figures from the explosion.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault but Islamist fighters wage near daily attacks on Somali government forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers who are based in Mogadishu.
Meanwhile Islamist rulers in the central Somali town of Jawhar, 90 km north of Mogadishu, banned the use of bells in schools to announce the beginning or ending of classes. Islamist officials said bells were used by Christians in churches thus was “un- Islamic influence” in Muslim Somali society.
It was not immediately clear what would be used in substitute for bells which has been widely used in Somali schools for decades.
Islamist rulers have previously imposed the separation of boys and girls in classes in schools and encouraged the teaching of Arabic, the language of Islam, and Islamic studies.
Somalia has been without a strong central government for nearly the past two decades of civil strife following the overthrow of Somalia strongman Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.
USA :
Choir of voices seeks freedom
BY GLORIA ESTEFAN www.miamiherald.com/ www.gloriestefan.com/2010/04/19
his is an excerpt of Gloria Estefan’s introduction of President Barack Obama at a fundraiser at the Estefans’ home Thursday:
When our parents brought us to the United States as children they never imagined that the country that had opened its arms to them at a time of crisis would eventually become their country and in turn, our country.
They came here to raise us in freedom and democracy so that we could thrive and learn. And that we did. We learned how to listen to and respect different ways of thinking, different nationalities and different political ideologies.
We learned as we watched our parents give up their homeland, their families, their history — and in the case of my father, who served proudly in the United States military, his life — so that we could live the American Dream.
My father, a refugee from a country that is still in the stranglehold of the same oppressive government from which he rescued his family; my father, who when leaving for war said to my mother not knowing if he would ever see us again, that in a man’s life there has to be “something” that is worth fighting and dying for and for him that cause was freedom!
My father, who would have been very proud to know that his little girl, years later, would be hosting in her very own home, the president of the United States, a president who just 21 days before publicly stated: “Today, I join my voice with brave individuals across Cuba and a growing chorus around the world in calling for an end to the repression, for the immediate, unconditional release of all political prisoners in Cuba and for respect for the basic rights of the Cuban people.” . . . The president who is the very first African American in history to attain this most honorable office!
Each person believes that they are living in the “best of times” and in the “worst of times.” We look around at the difficulties and challenges that our world is experiencing and we wonder (I know I do) if history has taught us “anything.” We question if there is indeed “something” still worth fighting and dying for.
Then I look at the country where I was born, a place where hope and freedom are a part of their history — not their everyday lives — and I see Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Cuban dissident and now martyr who gave his life in a hunger strike for the promise of a free Cuba. And Guillermo Fariñas who is poised to give his life at any moment merely asking that his government free 26 other sick and dying prisoners of conscience.
I see the bravery of the Damas de Blanco; women who walk peacefully, silently, heroically, yet still get beaten and arrested for simply petitioning for the freedom of their unjustly imprisoned loved ones.
I look at this magnificent country that has molded me and is now my homeland and I hear a choir of voices expressing their wishes, their desires, their demands — and even their disdain for our government — freely and without consequence, and I smile and quietly thank God that despite whatever problems we may be facing, we truly are a free people.
The beauty of this amazing nation is that anything is possible! Even hosting a very political evening to get the “ear” of my president when I am politically non-affiliated.
But the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. put it succinctly when he said, “We may have all come on different ships but we’re in the same boat now!”
And regardless of where we may have come from, what color we may be, what political party we may or may not belong to, I think there are definitely two things that we can all agree on; the first is that we all love this country and the second was beautifully put into words by Dr. Lawrence J. Peter, an American educator and writer, when he said:
“Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame.”’
And it is my distinct honor to introduce him. Ladies and gentlemen, from one hyphenated American, I present to you, another hyphenated American, the president of the United States, Barack Obama!
Radio Stations With No Music May Be Shut in Somalia
By MOHAMMED IBRAHIM/www.nytimes.com/Published: April 19, 2010
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Radio stations in the capital of this near-anarchical country, still scrambling to comply with an Islamist ultimatum to stop playing music, were jerked in the other direction on Sunday when the government said that all broadcasters who had heeded that ultimatum faced closing.
The competing warnings to the radio stations, a broader reflection of the prolonged struggle over who is in charge in Somalia, clearly touched a nerve of exasperation among the handful of independent journalists who have continued to work here despite many years of violence and threats.
“The order and counterorder are very destructive,” said Abukar Hassan Kadaf, the director of Somaliweyn radio, one of the broadcasters that could be affected. “Each group are issuing orders against us and we are the sole victims.”
Last Tuesday, at least 14 radio stations in Mogadishu halted music broadcasts, heeding a deadline issued 10 days earlier by Hizbul Islam, an insurgent group, which called music un-Islamic. The group warned of “serious consequences” to all who defied compliance.
Some broadcasters, forced to ad-lib the soundtracks on programming that had relied on music, resorted to the sounds of gunshots, roaring engines, car horns and animal braying as substitutes, at least while they devised more permanent solutions.
Angry at this new affront to its tenuous authority, the transitional government held a news conference here on Sunday to announce that any stations that had capitulated to the insurgent ultimatum would be punished with shutdowns.
Abdikafi Hilowle Osman, the general secretary of the Mogadishu administration of the Transitional Federal Government, told reporters that it considered the compliant broadcasters to “be working with the insurgents.”
He did not specify which of the stations would be closed or when.
The warning about music from Islamist insurgents is part of a broader assault on the influence of Western culture and ideology that they hope to purge from the country. Earlier the Shabab, the country’s most powerful insurgent group, which already controls some radio stations outside government-held areas, said it was banning BBC and Voice of America programming.
Last week the Shabab banned school bells in a Shabab-controlled town north of Mogadishu, decreeing that the noise was un-Islamic because it sounded like the ringing of church bells. The Shabab also banned the observance of all internationally recognized days like World AIDS Day.
CANADA :
Echoes of Boer War run through Afghanistan conflict
www.montrealgazette.com/By RICHARD FOOT, Canwest News Service/April 19, 2010
Documents reveal Canadian soldiers had reputation for rogue behaviour, murder
It’s springtime in Ottawa, and a Conservative MP is standing in Parliament defending the honour of Canadian soldiers accused of behaving badly in a foreign war.
For months allegations have swirled that Canadians abused and even killed their prisoners. Now a report in a British newspaper claims Canadians were seen after one battle stripping the socks from their dead enemies and pulling out toe nails to take home as souvenirs.
Not true, insists MP Sam Hughes, a future defence minister – speaking on April 3, 1902, in the dying days of the Boer War.
“The Canadians conducted themselves on that occasion, as on every other occasion, with the greatest gallantry,” he said in the House of Commons.
Fast-forward a century and – déjâ vu – Canadian soldiers are again facing serious claims of wrongdoing in a faraway guerrilla war, followed by political denials in Ottawa.
In Afghanistan, Canadian Forces are alleged to have knowingly handed over Taliban prisoners to local prison guards notorious for carrying out torture. They are also accused of mistakenly killing an Afghan teenager and trying to cover up the shooting.
A Canadian officer is now also on trial, accused of killing of a wounded Taliban prisoner.
Whatever the merits of the mushrooming allegations out of Afghanistan, anyone shocked by them should remember that Canada has been through all this before – long ago in South Africa.
From 1899 to 1902, more than 7,000 Canadians served in South Africa, fighting alongside Britain and other imperial allies against the commandos of the Boer Republics.
South Africa was Canada’s first foreign war and, like Afghanistan, it was a difficult and ugly counter-insurgency campaign against a determined enemy that wore no uniforms and hid among the population.
Canadians fought with skill and courage in South Africa, and won four Victoria Crosses for bravery. But, according to a series of little-known wartime documents contained in archives around the world, some Canadian units also acquired a reputation for rogue behaviour and murder.
Questions about the killing of Boer prisoners have long haunted the history of Lord Strathcona’s Horse, an Alberta-based regiment. In 1900, a squadron of mounted Strathconas allegedly lynched six Boer prisoners, after witnessing an attack against a British patrol lured into a trap by Boers deceptively flying a white flag.
The incident is retold in a letter written in Pretoria two days later by Lance Sgt. R.J. Byers, a member of the Australian Mounted Rifles.
“The Canadians have a great dislike of the Boers,” says the letter, archived in the State Library of Victoria, Australia.
“They took a few prisoners one day and what did they do, but took their lassos off their saddles and hung six of them before their officer could stop them.”
The letter also alleges a second case of killing prisoners.
“Another day, the New Zealanders had 13 Boer prisoners and they met some Canadians, who asked them if they wanted to hand over their prisoners,” writes Byers. “Well, the New Zealanders were glad to get rid of them, so they handed them over to the Canadians who took them away to a quiet place, and shot the 13 of them.”
No Canadians were ever convicted of such crimes in South Africa and no illegal killings have ever been proven by eyewitness accounts.
AUSTRALIA :
Shares slump as investors fret over Goldman
April 19, 2010/www.smh.com.au
Close Australian shares fell to their lowest level in more than two weeks, as investors dumped shares across markets after US fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
Investors also took profits amid concerns surrounding the Europe-wide flight ban arising from the ash cloud spreading from Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 69.6 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 4915.1, while the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 67.9 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 4939.4.
Among the sectors, materials slumped 1.9 per cent, financials dropped 1.5 per cent and energy shares lost 1.3 per cent.
need2know:
– Asian shares plunge on Goldman worries
– The dollar drops to 92.2 US cents
– Oil drops below $US82
– Gold hovers around $US1136
– Dow futures are 126 points lower at 10,951
‘‘The key driver here was the news out of New York on Friday that the SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) will be bringing civil charges against Goldman Sachs,” City Index market strategist Michael McCarthy said. ‘‘Perhaps we are seeing some concerns around the European volcanic haze.’’
Mr McCarthy said the sell-off of local financial stocks and airlines appeared to be based more on sentiment and the moderation of investors’ recent strong appetite for risk.
‘‘It just goes to show how vulnerable markets remain to panic selling,’’ he said.
Macquarie takes big hit
Investment bank Macquarie took one of the heaviest hit among the biggest stocks, falling 2.6 per cent to $50.25, its lowest close in a week.
Among the major banks, ANZ was off 61 cents at $25.08 after completing the acquisition of The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Taiwan businesses. National Australia Bank backtracked 29 cents to $28.08, Commonwealth Bank retreated 73 cents to $59.10 and Westpac surrendered 42 cents to $27.76.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 70 cents poorer at $42.84, and Rio Tinto dumped $1.71 to $77.96.
Macarthur Coal was steady at $16.54 after its largest shareholder said it still did not have enough information to decide whether to back a takeover bid for the collier by US coal giant Peabody Energy.
Kimberley Metals firmed 1.5 cents to 26 cents after China’s largest lead producer agreed to buy a 15 per cent stake in Kimberley Metals.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum shed 75 cents to $45.97 and Santos reversed 33 cents to $14.09.
Flight delays hit Qantas
National carrier Qantas said it was losing up to $1.5 million a day because of the european flight disruptions. Its shares descended 6 cents to $2.92 and budget airline operator Virgin Blue lost 3 cents to 62.5 cents.
In the media sector, Seven Network was 4 cents lower at $7.74 after its merger with Kerry Stokes’ privately owned Caterpillar products dealer WesTrac was likely to get the nod from the broadcaster’s shareholders at a meeting in Sydney.
News Corp was 27 cents higher at $19.58 and its non-voting stock was up 22 cents at $16.97. Consolidated Media dipped two cents to $3.10 and Fairfax sagged 1.5 cents to $1.745.
Telco Telstra scraped off 1 cent at $3.12 and Optus-owner Singapore Telecommunications nudged up 1 cent to $2.43.
Retailer Woolworths worsened 6 cents to $27.22 and Wesfarmers, which owns Coles, eased 53 cents to $31.86.
In the gold sector, Lihir was off 2 cents at $3.96 and Newcrest was 61 cents weaker at $34.00.
Among other stocks, beef producer Australian Agricultural Company was 1.5 cents lower at $1.415 after it said it would become a bigger exporter of live cattle as part of moves to return the company to profitability.
The top-traded stock by volume was Samson Oil & Gas, with 237.8 million shares worth $9.72 million changing hands. Samson Oil &nd Gas was 0.9 cents higher at 4.3 cents.
Preliminary national turnover was 2.43 billion shares worth $4.73 billion, with 814 stocks down, 320 up and 334 unchanged.
Finally part of the big picture
19 Apr 2010 /www.tradingmarkets.com
Apr 18, 2010 (The Australian Financial Review – ABIX via COMTEX) —
In late April 2010, the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade will begin hearings on Australia’s relations with Africa. Australia’s move to expand its foreign policy focus on Africa essentially corrects years of indifference. The greater interest in Africa-Australia relations has been prompted by the involvement of a number of Australian resource and service companies in Africa. Riversdale Mining plans to invest as much as $US1bn in the Benga project in Mozambique.
Publication Date: 19 April 2010
RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED – ASX RIV
AUSTRALIA. JOINT COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE
PALADIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX PDN
AUSTRALIA-AFRICA BUSINESS CONSORTIUM
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
UNITED NATIONS
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET
LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO
BLACKTHORN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX BTR
ANVIL MINING LIMITED – ASX AVM
RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG
Lonrho looks east as it revives Tiny Rowlands’ empire
Robert Lea, Industrial Editor /The Times/ April 19, 2010
Lonrho is considering quitting London and taking its primary stock market listing to Hong Kong. The move would be an historic snub to the London Stock Exchange by the 101-year-old African trading company and would indicate that African-focused stocks were looking for the better coverage and interest that they might get from the Chinese investment community.
David Lenigas, a colourful Australian entrepreneur, is setting out to rebuild a pan-African trading conglomerate similar to that overseen by his controversial predecessor Tiny Rowland. Mr Lenigas’s ambitious plans for fivefold growth in the coming years to turn Lonrho into a $1 billion turnover, $1 billion market-valued company, are to take another step forward next month when he launches the second stage of his attempt to run a pan-African airline, a first for the continent.
The growth plan has prompted the Lonrho chairman to order a review of the company’s stock market listing. It is understood that at least one of Lonrho’s big shareholders, an American fund, has advised the board to go for a primary quotation in Hong Kong, where the investment community “gets the African story”.
Geoff White, the Lonrho chief executive, confirmed the potential move, saying: “Lonrho is currently in the AIM top 50 but would like by the end of the year to be making a move to a main market.
“We are reviewing the options available. Those options include the main board of the London Stock Exchange, but also Toronto and Hong Kong. We are weighing up the pros and cons of each exchange and which will match best where we are going and how we will get there. We are considering Hong Kong because there is massive investor interest there in Africa.” Lonrho claims to have a positive brand image in Africa from a century of trading there. In London the company is best known for the three decades from 1961 to 1994 when it was dominated by Rowland. In the 1970s Lonrho was accused of sanctions-busting in what was Rhodesia at the time and the company was memorably described by Edward Heath, the Prime Minister of the day, as “the unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism”.
Mr Rowland’s sprawling empire stretched to luxury hotels and The Observer newspaper, but famously never to Harrods, despite a decade-long bloody battle for control of the Knightsbridge store with Mohamed Al Fayed.
The present-day Lonrho is the product of a rebirth of the much-diminished, moribund Lonrho Africa that was demerged at about the time of Rowland’s death in 1998. The other half of the company renamed itself Lonmin, subsequently catapulting into the FTSE 100 on the back of the platinum mining boom.
Mr Lenigas was introduced in 2006 by American funds nursing losses from their interests in Lonrho Africa, which subsequently was renamed Lonrho. Since then it has built a 17-country business shipping meat, fruit and vegetables to European supermarkets, including Tesco, J Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer; a dealership in John Deere tractors and agricultural equipment; a prefabricated building business; a ports business; a re-emerging hotels chain; and interests in IT support services.
It also runs an airline, Fly540, originally a joint venture with the Kenyan Government, which also flies out of Uganda and Tanzania. This month Fly540 will open a hub in Angola and this summer will start running services from Ghana. Lonrho is also in talks to open a hub for Fly540 in the north, possibly in Egypt.
EUROPE :
EU emergency talks called on volcanic ash air chaos
Monday, 19 April 2010/news.bbc.co.uk
EU transport ministers are to hold emergency talks by video conference on easing the air travel crisis caused by a volcanic ash cloud in Europe’s skies.
More than 6.8 million passengers have been affected so far, as the crisis enters its fifth day.
Airports and airlines are questioning the need for curbs said to be costing airlines $200m (£130m) a day.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has criticised European governments’ response.
“We must move away from this blanket closure and find ways to flexibly open air space, step by step,” IATA head Giovanni Bisignani told a news briefing in Paris.
The enormous shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north to the French Mediterranean coast in the south, and from Spain into Russia.
Airspace remains closed, or partially closed, in more than 20 countries.
Sixty-three thousand flights have been cancelled in the four days since the clampdown began.
And the prospect of a return to normal air travel remains far from clear.
Speaking ahead of the EU talks, Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said: “We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates.”
The Spanish Minister for Europe, Diego Lopez Garrido, had said on Sunday that up to half of the flights across Europe could operate on Monday.
He was speaking after talks with Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic control in 38 nations. It had recommended the current flight ban.
But Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations for Eurocontrol, told the BBC that while half of the European landmass could be clear of ash cloud, that did not mean half of the flights could go ahead.
The flight bans came amid fears that the ash – a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles – can seriously damage aircraft engines.
The international airports council, ACI, said a total of 313 airports had been paralysed by the restrictions and the global backlog was affecting more than 6.8 million travellers.
In another development, hundreds of thousands of Kenyans working in agriculture, the country’s largest export sector, face economic uncertainty because of the flight bans.
Refrigerated stores at Nairobi airport and on farms are now completely full, and a huge amount of fresh flowers and vegetables destined for the European market is in danger of perishing, the BBC’s East Africa correspondent, Will Ross, reports.
The problems have also led to the postponement of next Saturday’s Japanese MotoGP.
Data assessment
The EU transport ministers’ video conference, hosted by Spain, is set to consider a proposal that passengers from countries like Britain, who are stranded in the US or Asia, would fly into Spain and then continue their journey by train, boat or coach.
Dutch Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings was “advocating for a different approach to the problem”, the Dutch transport inspectorate said.
This would entail “drawing a distinction between areas with low concentrations and those with high concentrations” of ash when making decisions on air safety.
The UK Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, said information from various test flights on Sunday, assessing the impact of the dust on jet engines, would be considered during the conference.
Siim Kallas said European authorities were working to find a solution that did not compromise safety.
Southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense but the column of ash rising from it had eased to around 5km (3.1 miles).
Ash still ‘very worrying’
Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 1900 local time on Monday (1800 GMT).
Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands are keeping their airspace closed until 1200 GMT on Monday. Spain has re-opened its airspace after a brief closure. Officials there have suggested its airports could be used as an entry platform into Europe.
Our business editor, Robert Peston, understands that British Airways fears it may not be allowed to fly normal services until Thursday at the earliest.
One measure being discussed by the British government is the possibility of deploying the Royal Navy to collect some of the estimated 150,000 Britons who are stranded abroad.
While several airlines carried out test flights and reported planes showing no obvious damage after flying through the ash, a scientific test flight over Britain concluded that the situation could still be dangerous.
Dr Guy Gratton, who was part of the scientific team, said: “It’s still quite a complex mixture of clear air and very worrying but invisible volcanic ash at all sorts of heights.”
Weather experts say wind patterns mean the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week.
Eurocontrol said there were only 5,000 flights in European airspace on Sunday, against 24,000 normally.
Sudan votes: update
April 19/Foreign Policy Examiner/Claudio Guler
Western monitoring missions to Sudan announced Saturday that the country’s recent executive and legislative elections failed to meet international standards, but marked an important step in the northeast African state’s democratic transformation.
The Carter Center delegation, headed by former US president Jimmy Carter, and the EU Election Observation Mission, led by Member of the European Parliament Veronique de Keyser, both said that a mix of alleged electoral improprieties, a lack of transparency, logistical issues and party boycotts marred the vote.
Implications:
(1) The poll represents an important milestone in the country’s democratic development and sets a strong precedent for the much-anticipated January 2011 referendum for southern seccession.
(2) Sudanese President Bashir may have bolstered his credibility in northern Sudan, but hardly anywhere else; the monitors’ preliminary conclusions ensure that. Read also a recent New York Times story by Jeffery Gettleman, the East Africa bureau chief, on the economic appeal of Bashir in northern Sudan.
(3) The vote has aggravated, at least momentarily, the rift between the country’s government and opposition parties. AFP reports that the Umma party led by Hassan al-Turabi has rejected calls by Bashir’s National Congress Party to create a broad-based, inclusive government following the election. Similarly, Hatem al-Sirr of the Democratic Unionist Party, Sudan’s oldest political party, told AFP he will not recognize the results.
African and Arabs organisations praise the conduct of Sudanese elections
Monday 19 April 2010 /www.sudantribune.com
April 18, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union and Arab League Observation missions praised on Sunday the Sudanese elections rejecting reports by Carter Center and EU observer teams who said it did not meet the international standards.
“We cannot say that the Sudanese elections have met international standards, but that does not reduce what has happened, which is an important transition,” said Salah Halima the head of AL mission in Khartoum today.
“What happened in Sudan was a historical event and a great achievement for Sudanese people,” said Kunle Adeyemi, who is spokesperson of the AU observer mission in Sudan chaired by John Kufuor the former President of Ghana. “Looking into the fact this is a country that had not had a multi-party election for almost a generation… to say they are free and fair, to the best of our knowledge we have no reason to think the contrary,” he added.
“We have not found evidence of fraud… we saw a vote that was very transparent,” Adeyemi affirmed.
Speaking about Darfur, the Arab League official, Halima, said the turnout of the populations was at 60% in the cities and 50% in the camps of the internally displaced persons.
As for the western restive region of Darfur, Halima said the turnout in cities was estimated at 60 percent and around 50 percent in IDPs (internally displaced people) camps.
The Carter Center and EU observers agreed yesterday that April elections failed to meet all international standards.
“It is apparent that the elections will fall short of meeting international standards and Sudan’s obligations for genuine elections in many respects,” said the preliminary report of Carter Center released on Saturday. “These elections have struggled to reach international standards. They have not reached them all,” said Veronique de Keyser the head of the E.U. observer mission in Sudan.
The IGAD observers team echoed the African and Arab missions lauding the effectiveness of the Sudanese electoral board. The head of the East African team, Yousif Nezibu, said the members of the NEC reflected a high sense of professionalism and cooperation with the observers during the voting process.
He pointed out that the most important challenges facing the election commissions in the world and especially in Africa is to make the largest number of people exercising their democratic right, adding that the biggest obstacle in this matter is how to identify individuals using identity cards or passports
The chief of the African Commission, Jean Ping, on Saturday commended the peacefully conduct of the Sudanese elections.
African Union chief Jean Ping hailed Sudan on Saturday for “peacefully conducted” elections as Khartoum kicked off vote-counting after five days of balloting. He also hailed the electoral board for its efforts to address the shortcomings.
(ST)
CHINA :
World Bank Set For $3.5B Capital Boost
04-19-2010 /Source: emii.com
World Bank is gearing up for a $3.5 billion capital increase with funds coming from rich countries and new emerging powers, Reuters reports. The bank’s President, Robert Zoellick, will undertake the resource increase in two parts, through a general capital increase and through adjustments in members’ subscriptions, or quotas.
The latter would increase the voting power of developing countries that recognizes the growing economic power of India, China, Russia and Brazil, Africa and Latin America. State-owned investment vehicles from South Korea, Azerbaijan, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia have agreed to invest $600 million in a bank-sponsored equity fund for less-developed countries, adds The Washington Post.
INDIA :
SA, Brazil and India agree to joint satellite programme at trilateral summit
Written by defenceWeb /Monday, 19 April 2010
South Africa, India and Brazil have agreed to jointly develop a satellite to be launched into orbit for purposes of detecting natural disasters and for scientific research.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told a media briefing at the end of the latest India-Brazil-SA (IBSA) summit meeting that the bloc will develop two satellites. “The first for climate studies and the second to observe the earth,” he said. “They will benefit IBSA countries as well as other friendly nations”.
Speaking at the same briefing SA President Jacob Zuma said he saw “this initiative as an opportunity to reinforce our shared development objectives. A joint satellite could lend support to areas like agriculture, education, energy, health, information and communications, trade and transport.”
Zuma said SA was “particularly excited about the proposal for an IBSA satellite project. It offers an opportunity to expand our cooperation into advanced technology, increasing our collective scientific and engineering capacity. We see this initiative as an opportunity to reinforce our shared developmental objectives.
The details of the project remain obscure. The Engineering News reports the space weather satellite will be built first with a planned launch date in 2012. the earth observation satellite will follow in 2014. “As yet, no budget for the programme has been released.”
The publication speculates SA will provide the satellite bus. “The bus is the term given to the basic spacecraft – that is, the structure and the control, navigation, communications and power systems – on which the actual observation imagers and systems, experiments, transponders, etc. (depending on the type of satellite) are mounted. But most of the instruments to be mounted on the bus will be provided by Brazil.
“The Earth observation satellite … is likely – although this is not yet confirmed – to carry South Africa’s MSMI imager, developed by Stellenbosch-based Sun Space & Information Systems (SunSpace) in cooperation with the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Both satellites will be launched by India, the only one of the IBSA countries to have the capability to launch satellites at the moment.”
Science & Technology minister Naledi Pandor last month said SA had ambitions to be a regional satellite launch hub and would re-activate apartheid-era ace rocket launch sites to fast-track a national space programme. Pandor told the Sunday Times SA had two sites, the Overberg Test Range (OTB) outside Bredasdorp, and Houwteq near Grabouw. Pandor said the Houwteq site already had a “launch integration building” where a launch vehicle had been assembled by apartheid-era engineers. She said the facilities could be used to kick-start a space programme that would focus on human development rather than on defence, the paper said.
Her comments to the Sunday broadsheet followed similar observations made in February. Speaking at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Satellite Applications Centre (SAC) at Hartebeeshoek, west of Pretoria, at an event at which a live video feed from South Africa’s SumbandilaSat microsatellite was publicly shown for the first time, she said SA intended to strengthen its technological and space skills. “Sumbandila is a very significant development for us. Our new satellite provides us with a number of cost and competitive advantages.”
Last July Nomfuneko Majaja, the Chief Director Advanced Manufacturing Space Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry told the National Assembly that “it was hoped that SA would be in a position to be a launching state in five to ten years time.” It is understood Denel Dynamics has been approached to build the required rockets.
Pandor told the Sunday Times that in “starting up a space launch capability there are two issues that are of importance: in terms of the actual launch vehicle, do we build on what has been done in the past or look for an alternative, (perhaps) more cost-effective option? Can we use the support infrastructure developed as part of the previous launch vehicle programme?”
She added to the paper that SA was well advanced in satellite development and management, and had the world-renowned SAC. “The potential for South Africa to become a regional space hub is immense. We have already proved that we have the capability for the development, manufacture and operation of satellites” through the SunSpace company.
“There is certainly a need for an indigenous African (space science) capability, and other African countries are waking up to this realisation,” Pandor said. South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Kenya recently formed the African Resource Management Constellation, which plans to launch at least three more satellites for earth observation.
SunSpace’s Ron Olivier said a rejuvenated national space programme was good news for the country’s growing scientific and engineering sectors, which were eager to compete on the international market. He said investing in more satellites would entrench South Africa’s lead over African countries in the space race. “The more satellites you have, the more you are able to revisit (orbit over) the same space and the more data you can make available,” Olivier said.
But South Africa’s contribution was likely to be in the niche market and not space exploration.
“The amount of investment that is required to do outer space missions on your own is just mind boggling. We will be a niche player. Eventually, as you grow the space capability you will be able to develop payloads and assist on international collaboration, like missions to Mars, but right now that is pretty far into the future,” he told the paper.
SAC head Raoul Hodges said South Africa was already a world leader in earth observation data and the analysis of satellite images. “For years we’ve been buying the data from international sites. Now we have our own,” he said. Extending the programme to incorporate satellite launching would add to South Africa’s expertise, Hodges said.
“The general public may see a space programme as going to Mars. But for me it’s about reaching out and giving a social benefit back to the country whereby we can develop projects out of earth observation data.” Commenting on Pandor’s plans to revisit old launch sites, Hodges said a satellite launch programme would require massive investment “but there’s no doubt the technology and the engineers exist”.
Pic: An artists’ impression of SA’s Sumbandilasat
Coal India Defers Plan to Import 10 Million Tons of Fuel
April 19, 2010/By Archana Chaudhary/Bloomberg
April 19 (Bloomberg) — Coal India Ltd., the nation’s monopoly producer of the fuel, has deferred its first-ever tender to import 10 million metric tons of coal, which was to be issued in April, an official said.
Coal India, which plans to sell shares for the first time, may not be able to call for the tender before June as it waits for power producers to confirm their needs, said a company official who declined to be identified, citing policy.
State-owned Coal India, based in Kolkata, West Bengal, also needs clarity on how coal will be transported from the Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports on the east coast, where a shortage of railway wagons has led to pile up of imported coal, the official said.
State-run generators in India, Asia’s third-biggest energy consumer, are expected to import more coal this year as the nation seeks to cut electricity shortages. India’s thermal coal imports surged last year to about 60 million tons from about 30 million tons in 2008, Macquarie Group said in March.
India plans to increase its coal imports to 81 million tons in the year ending March 2012, Sriprakash Jaiswal, coal minister, said on Nov. 23.
About 75 percent of India’s power output is coal-fired, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his budget speech on Feb. 26. The South Asian nation plans to double electricity generation capacity by 2012, when the coal shortage may exceed 200 million tons.
–Editors: John Chacko, Jane Lee.
Goldman Case Won’t Prompt Hedge Fund Gold Sales, Superfund Says
April 19, 2010/By Kim Kyoungwha/Bloomberg
April 19 (Bloomberg) — A fraud suit by U.S. regulators against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is unlikely to send hedge funds scrambling to reduce gold holdings, according to Superfund Financial Singapore Pte.
Any retreat in prices will present investors, especially central banks, with a buying opportunity, Aaron Smith, managing director of Superfund, said in an interview today. Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,136.57 an ounce at 11:57 a.m. in Singapore after slumping by the most in more than two months on April 16.
“I wouldn’t expect hedge funds to unwind their positions,” Smith said. “Even if they do, I think central banks, especially in the East, whether it’s India or China or any central bank that is smart, will use it as an opportunity to acquire gold at a cheaper level.”
Goldman faces a regulatory probe in Britain and scrutiny from the German government after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the firm for fraud tied to collateralized debt obligations. The firm failed to disclose to investors that hedge fund Paulson & Co. was betting against the instruments and influenced the selections in the portfolio, the SEC said. Paulson wasn’t accused of wrongdoing.
As of Dec. 31, Paulson was the largest holder in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund back by the metal, and Goldman was the 11th biggest. Both are based in New York. Paulson is also the top investor in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa’s largest producer of bullion.
‘Good Opportunity’
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long positions in New York gold futures in the week ended April 13, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.
Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 220,742 contracts on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington- based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net- long positions rose by 17,296 contracts, or 9 percent, from a week earlier.
“In the short term, there’s a possibility of a pullback and we would recommend to any investor that’s a good opportunity” to enter the market, Smith said. “In the long run, the hard assets will have sustainable value and sustainable purchasing power.”
Gold rallied 24 percent last year as central banks and governments maintained low interest rates and spent trillions of dollars to stimulate economies, sending the dollar 4.2 percent lower against six major currencies. Bullion has gained 3.6 percent this year.
“If the upward trend in equity markets continues and interest rates continue to stay low, we won’t certainly see a large pullback in commodity markets,” Smith said.
Central banks in Russia, China, India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius have all increased their gold reserves. China has expanded reserves by 76 percent to 1,054 metric tons since 2003, the central bank said last year. India bought 200 tons from the International Monetary Fund last year as gold prices soared and the dollar weakened.
–Editors: Matthew Oakley, Richard Dobson.
The history of a subcontinent in South Africa
Events celebrating the arrival in 1860 of Indian indentured labourers in Natal, risk partitioning SA’s past, write Omar Badsha and Jon Soske
Apr 19, 2010/By Omar Badsha and Jon Soske /www.timeslive.co.za
During the latter half of 2010, a series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers in Natal will take place across South Africa.
The preparations have already inspired widespread debate – particularly about the extent to which the celebration of “Indian contributions” to South African history falsely isolates the lives and struggles of Indian South Africans?
Does celebrating an Indian past homogenize a story divided in many ways – by class, language, religion, caste, political loyalty and province? Who is authorised to speak as and for “the Indian South African community”? What role will individuals from other groups, particularly Africans, play in organising these celebrations? What histories are in danger of being forgotten?
For the most part it appears that the “150 years” committees have adopted one of three strategies.
The first tack – derived from a persistent sense that existing histories have marginalised Indians – centres on a heroic narrative of “Indian contributions” to the anti-apartheid struggle and nation building. Concerned by the possibility of an anti-Indian backlash among certain sections of the ruling party, these organisers hope to counter increasing rhetorical attacks against minorities by establishing the centrality of Indians to the struggle for national liberation.
The second approach seeks to highlight a political tradition of non-racial unity in order to demonstrate the ways that “Indian history” is inseparable from a broader legacy of oppression and common social struggle.
This strategy emphasises a broader South African, rather than an Indian, identity by celebrating political leaders, like Dr MN Naicker, who were critical to building the multiracial Congress Alliance of the 1950s.
A third outlook largely avoids the question of South African Indian history by shifting the focus to the past and present relations between India and South Africa: a celebratory narrative of bilateralism that risks sidestepping an open discussion on race and racism in post-apartheid South Africa.
This emphasis on India’s contributions to the anti-apartheid struggle speaks to a broad desire to accentuate connections between India and the diaspora.
But these narratives do not confront the most difficult issue facing SA’s historians: the urgent need to desegregate the past and write histories that transcend the racial framing of “African”, “Indian”, and “coloured” – without denying the persistent divisions and differences among those oppressed by colonialism and apartheid.
The central problem with the one-sided celebration of “Indian contributions” is that it rests on the image of a collective, racial heritage – an assumption that often feeds into different forms of anti-Indian racism.
As with every other “national group”, some individuals gave their lives to end apartheid while others collaborated with the regime; some worked to overcome racial divisions while many enriched themselves by exploiting other sectors of the oppressed.
Versions of history that whitewash these intractable realities breed cynicism.
A more adequate history would seek to accomplish four things.
First, it would do justice to the immense diversity of South Asian cultures and experiences in South Africa. It would include Indian slaves in the Western Cape as well as indentured labour in Natal and “Passengers” (migrants who came of their own accord) throughout the country, exploring the many convergences and divergences between Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi-speaking and other communities. It would also honestly address prejudices and class hierarchies that continue to exist between different sections of the Indian population.
Second, a more rigorous history would openly discuss the forms of mutual distrust, stereotypes, and even racism that persist throughout South African society.
In the context of the “150 years celebration”, special attention should be given to the history of African/Indian racial dynamics in Natal. Within the anti-apartheid movement, the issue of racism among the oppressed was either taboo or superficially handled. T
he
assumption was sometimes that, after liberation, the problems of chauvinism and inequality would solve themselves.
Under the new dispensation, anti-Indian or anti-African prejudice within black communities has never been fully confronted in a sustained discussion that draws in intellectuals, activists, unionists and community members from across the racial divide.
Finally, a more critical history would explore the failures and successes of past efforts to build social and political unity.
However, the anxieties around “150 years” are not just about history, but also reflect the rapidly changing political situation, particularly the aggressive assertion of a racialist nationalism by sections of the ANC Youth League and its open attacks on minorities.
Though anti-Indian attitudes have a long history in the youth league, stretching back to Anton Lembede, this resurgence has its basis in the rise of an aspirant African bourgeoisie, which remains heavily dependent on the state and seeks to weaken constraints on its ability to further accumulate wealth.
Hence, it employs racial demagoguery to attack sections of the alliance it perceives as political obstacles, particularly the SACP and Cosatu.
Unfortunately, the youth league’s foetid soundings ring true to many ears precisely because of the enormous privilege that white, Indian and – to a much lesser extent – coloured South Africans tenaciously maintain as groups.
Until very recently, the response to this rhetorical onslaught has been rather muted both within and outside the ANC (besides, of course, from the Afrikaner right). The events organised for “150 years” thus present a substantial opportunity.
They should strive to broaden from a narrowly “Indian” discussion, draw in the broadest possible range of participants, and use the rich and varied histories of Indians in South Africa to confront the challenge posed by the new anti-minority chauvinism.
Otherwise, the “150 years” celebrations run the risk of feeding back into this very phenomenon by once again reiterating sweeping, racial narratives that artificially partition South Africa’s complicated and entangled past.
•Badsha is head of SA History. Soske is a historian
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 19 avril 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,19/04/2010
