{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL, AGNEWS, le 26 juin 2010 -A court to try suspected pirates has opened in the Kenyan port cit y of Mombasa, the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said Friday.
BURUNDI :
PREVIEW: Burundi presidential elections overshadowed by boycott
Sat, 26 Jun 2010/DPA
A Nairobi/Bujumbura Burundi’s forthcoming presidential election was meant to consolidate democracy and the peace process after more than 10 years of civil war. Instead, mistrust, allegations of manipulation and the withdrawal of all opposition candidates has overshadowed the vote in the small, densely populated East African country.
As in 2005, the former rebel leader and incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza will be the only candidate, since his rival from the Union for National Progress (UPRONA) party, Yves Sahinguvu, has pulled out of the race.
Local elections at the end of May had spurred the withdrawal of all opposition candidates. According to official results, the governing National Council for the Defence of Democracy won 64 per cent of the vote.
But the opposition alleged electoral fraud.
Opposition parties have since formed the Alliance of Democrats for Change and called on their supporters to boycott the Monday’s presidential polls, in protest at the alleged fraud.
One of the candidates, Agathon Rwasa, justified his withdrawal saying that “the elections have already been decided”. After the withdrawal of all six presidential candidates the opposition has been prohibited from further campaigning. Political rallies have also been banned.
Interior Minister Edouard Nduwinmana blames the expected election dilemma on the opposition who, in his view, deprived the population of the possibility of any real elections.
Burundi looks back on a history full of conflicts between the army, which is dominated by ethnic Tutsi, and several Hutu-rebel groups.
It has been plagued by ethnic tensions between the Tutsi majority and Hutu minority, similar to those that led to genocide in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994.
Violence in Burundi from 1993 onwards has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives, with most of the victims civilians.
Given the scale of the Rwandan genocide, the violence in Burundi was for a long time not given the same amount of attention, even though United Nations experts now also speak of a genocide in Burundi.
It was only last year that the last of the rebel groups, National Liberation Forces (FNL), officially laid down their weapons.
Ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi played no role in the election campaigns. However, opposition candidates had already been complaining about reprisals and attempts of intimidation before their boycott.
“The international community seems ready to accept any election result as long as there is no new outbreak of violence in Burundi,” a development aid worker complains in Bujumbura. In his view there is a lot of disinterest in the situation in Burundi. He adds that given the widespread corruption in the country, most voters had only very little hope for fair elections anyway.
RWANDA
Killing of suspended newspaper editor in Rwanda shocks CPJ
New York – Pana 26/06/2010
News – Africa news .New York, US – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed shock and sadness at the killing of the deputy editor of the suspended independent newspaper Umuvugizi, Jean-Léonard Rugambage, in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
In its reaction to the international media reports that Rugambage was shot dead late Thursday, CPJ said in a statement, made available to PANA here Friday, “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the brutal murder of Jean-Léonard Rugambage.”
The CPJ statement, signed by Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita, charged that “We call on Rwandan authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation exploring all leads for possible motives and masterminds and make the results available to the public.
“This murder will add to the climate of uncertainty among independent journalists in Rwanda ahead of the August presidential election,” the committee noted.
UGANDA
TANZANIA:
Doug Pitt Honored with Goodwill Ambassador of Tanzania. Doug Pitt Awarded
Celeb News | Nick | June 26, 2010
Doug Pitt awarded the United Republic of Tanzania’s Goodwill Ambassador. Doug Pitt lives in lunar eclipse, solomon islands, steve mcnair. Doug Pitt is none other than Brad Pitt’s elder brother looks almost handsome like Brad Pitt. Doug Pitt was honored with the humanitarian award. He attended the ceremony along with his wide Lisa Pitt.
Well, Doug Pitt was honored because of his supply of pure water to Africa. Another strong reason to get this award is Doug Pitt is the brother of Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt. The ceremony was held at New York.
Unfortunately the family of Doug Pitt was not attended the ceremony including Brad Pitt and Angelina Julie due to bad weather conditions. But they have sent their greeting to Doug Pitt through their official assistants.
Congratulations to Doug Pitt.
CONGO RDC :
DRC to open consulate in Cabinda within three months
6/26/10 ,Cabinda,http://www.portalangop.co.ao
Cabinda – The vice-governor of the Congolese province of Lower Congo, Deo Nkusu, arrived Friday in the Angolan northern province of Cabinda to discuss the opening, within three months, of his country’s consulate in this neighbouring territory.
Speaking to the press, Deo Nkusu said that the relations between Cabinda and Lower Congo will be strengthened with the opening of the consulate and enable solving of several issues between citizens of both countries.
On his turn, the governor of Cabinda, Mawete João Baptista, informed that the vice-governor of Lower Congo is carrying out a joint work on some aspects related to the creation of a consulate of the DRC.
KENYA :
Kenya Opens New Criminal Courts For Pirates
June 26, 2010 Mombasa, Kenya (AHN)
– A court to try suspected pirates has opened in the Kenyan port cit yof Mombasa, the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said Friday.
The court, opened on Thursday in Mombasa, was built by the U.N. office’s Counter-Piracy Program with contributions from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany and the United States.
“Kenya has taken on a heavy burden in dealing with a crime that affects the entire international community,” said John Sandage, Officer-in-Charge of UNODC’s Division of Treaty Affairs.
Pirates based in neighboring Somalia have made the Gulf of Aden one of the world’s most dangerous shipping lanes.
Kenya has 123 prisoners in custody charged with, the largest number in the region. 18 pirates have already been tried and convicted.
The UNODC has plans of creating a regional trial center in the Seychelles, which currently holds 31 pirate suspects arrested by the EU Naval Force Somalia operation.
Earlier this year, Kenya refused to prosecute piracy cases unless other countries agreed to share the costs.
A Dutch court last week sentenced five Somali men to five years in prison for attacking a Dutch Antilles-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden in 2009. It believed to be the first such trial in Europe.
Kenya: FAO, EU bolster support to drought-ridden Sahel
Nairobi – Pana 26/06/2010
News – Africa news .Nairobi, Kenya – Amid a growing food crisis in the Sahel that is putting millions at risk of hunger, FAO has started providing quality seeds to 100,000 vulnerable farmers in Burkina Faso, as part of an 18 million euros operation funded by the European Union (EU).
According to FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), the food situation is of grave concern in parts of the Sahel, where more than 10 million people are at risk of hunger.
In Burkina Faso, poor rains led to an estimated 17 per cent decline in cereal production in 2009, the UN food and agriculture agency said in a news dispatch Friday.
“This drought exacerbates an already difficult food security situation caused by persisting high food prices,” said FAO’s Emergency Coordinator in Burkina Faso, Jean-Pierre Renson.
FAO has started distribution of improved seeds to 100,000 farmers for the coming planting season, benefiting about 700,000 people.
The EU-funded operation will improve food security of more than 860,000 rural households, over six million people.
The aim is to boost food production by making improved seeds available to needy farmers and to promote sustainable seed multiplication and certification.
The effort falls under the auspices of the – EU Food Facility’, Europe’s – ,1 billion response to the global food crisis, spurred on by soaring food prices in 2007 and 2008.
FAO is also supporting some 900 seed producers in irrigated areas in southern Burkina Faso. For them, the current crisis could turn into a win-win situation; while increasing their revenues, seed producers will also contribute to improving the food security in the rest of the country.
“Areas with high production levels can compensate for areas which do not produce as much, which lack seeds, and which face food insecurity,” said Renson, adding “So part of the production goes to the high risk areas to fill the deficit.”
FAO is working closely with the government and civil organizations in pursuing other priorities, such as the reinforcement of the seed chain by providing institutional and technical support to national public services.
This includes the Institute of the Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA) and the national seed service.
Kenyan stock market ends week low
Nairobi – Pana 26/06/2010
News – Africa news .Nairobi, Kenya – The Kenyan stock market ended the week low, with turnover this week declining to Kshs.1.72 billion from the previous week’s Kshs.1.78 billion.
The number of shares traded stood at 96 million against 90 million posted the previous week. The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) main share index, the NSE-20 share index was down 0.37% during the week to close at 4296.61 points.
The NSE All share index notched up a total of 0.41 points during the week to stand at 94.73, according to a weekly market report obtained by PANA.
The agricultural sector traded 524,000 shares, which accounted for 0.54% of the week’s traded volume, as Sasini was the most heavily traded counter in this sector, with 479,000 shares changing hands at between Kshs.13.60 and Kshs.14.40.
Kakuzi, another agricultural firm, saw its shares inch up 11.11% to Kshs.80.00, moving 24,000 shares.
The commercial sector had 50 million shares traded, which accounted for 52.44 per cent of the week’s traded volume.
Mobile phone company, Safaricom Ltd was the week’s biggest mover, with 45 million shares changing hands at between Kshs.5.45 and Kshs.5.90.
Motor vehicle assemblies firm, CMC Holdings moved 2.2 million shares during the week and closed at a reduced price of Kshs.12.95.
The financial segment of the market had 34 million shares traded and represented 35.30 per cent of the week’s volume.
Equity Bank’s share price was unchanged at Kshs.23.50, as the bank moved 12.9 million shares.
Co-operative Bank competitively moved 10.5 million shares at between Kshs.14.50 and Kshs.16.00, while Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) moved 3.3 million shares and closed at Kshs.18.40.
The industrial and allied sector had 11 million shares traded, accounting for 11.66 per cent of the week’s volume.
Cables firm, East African (EA) Cables was down 5.24 per cent to Kshs.19.90, as the electric wires maker moved 267,000 shares.
Sugarcane miller, Mumias sugar moved 4.2 million shares during the week and closed at Kshs.13.00.
KenolKobil moved 2.9 million shares and closed at Kshs.9.65
The bond market witnessed improved activity, with bonds totaling to KSh.24.23bn transacted compared to KSh.23.68bn posted the previous week.
ANGOLA :
11,000 Guinea-Conakry immigrants go to poll Sunday in Luanda
www.portalangop.co.ao/6/26/10
Luanda – Almost 11,000 immigrants from Guinea-Conakry will go to polls on Sunday in Luanda to elect a new president for the west african country, the consul general, Elhadj Soriba Thiam, told Angop today.
He said that the polls will be held only in Luanda, as conditions were not met to organize them in other provinces.
According to the diplomat, 24 political parties will run at the elections, but in Angola the voters will choose only the candidates of three parties (PEDN, UFDG and PDN) who campaigned here for these elections.
Guinea-Conakry became independent from France in 1958 and was ruled by late presidents Sekou Toure for 26 years and Lansana Conte (24).
Education minister inaugurates Child Friendly Schools project
6/26/10/www.portalangop.co.ao
Benguela– The Angolan minister of Education, Pinda Simão, Friday in central Benguela province, inaugurated 10 new primary schools, under the “Child Friendly School” Project, built with Japanese Government funds and support from United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF).
At the ceremony that marked the inauguration of the project that included another 10 school in Luanda, Pinda Simão unveiled a six-classroom Child Friendly School at Damba Maria locality, district of Lobito.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the “Child Friendly Schools” Project is being carried out in the country, under a partnership in Luanda and Benguela.
“This school is just one of the various built both in Luanda and Benguela”, said Pinda Simão who added the project is intended to increase the capacity to receive new students, both through the construction of more classrooms and enlargement of small-sized schools.
While the project is for the time being covering the provinces of Luanda and Benguela alone, the minister said, it is a great contribution to the expansion of the access to primary education.
He said as well the inauguration marked the official launch of a new concept of school with a pleasant environment where children will learn good education experiences, learn to learn, to play and be happy.
The model, he explained, is based on the organised participation of children, parents and guardians and the community, as the “Child Friendly School” is safe, protected, sound, warm, effective and empathic, and is also the result of the collective commitment to children rights.
The ceremony that marked the symbolic inauguration of the “Child Friendly Schools” project was attended by Benguela vice-governor for organisation and technical services, Eliseu Domingos Epalanga, the Japanese ambassador to Angola, Kazuhiko Koshikawa, UNCEF representative, Koenraad Vanormelingen, and other figures.
SOUTH AFRICA:
NPP: Mills Is In South Africa For Medical Treatment
26 June 2010/Source: NPP
The Opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dared the presidency to make known to Ghanaians the very purpose of President Mills’ visit to South Africa.
According to a statement issued by the party on Friday June 25, the President’s visit to South Africa appears to be for a different purpose, other than his purported talks with the South African President Jacob Zumah, following the issues that arose from the visit of Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos to Ghana few days ago.
President Mills left the country on Thursday evening, to meet South African President Jacob Zumah on Saturday June 26, and return to Ghana on Monday.
However, the NPP says it has information that Mr. Zumah would be at the AU Summit in Addis-Ababa within that period. The party therefore believes that the trip has a hidden agenda.
In effect, the party suspects that President Mills is in South Africa to seek medical attention. It says Ghanaians deserve to know an end to speculations about the President’s health.
The Following is the full Statement:
PRESIDENT MILLS SHOULD TELL GHANAIANS THE TRUTH
On Thursday, the 24th June 2010, the Office of the President issued a statement announcing the visit of President Mills to South Africa to hold talks with the South African government. We believe the President is hiding something.
We quote from the statement signed by Communications Director, Koku Anyidoho:”Following from [sic] the visit of President Eduardo Dos Santos, Head of State of Angola, and matters that have arisen out of the visit, and also leading up to the AU summit to be held in Kampala, Uganda, between the 24th and 27th of July, 2010, His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills leaves for South Africa tonight [Thursday, 24th June, 2010] to hold talks with the South African Government.”
Strangely, on the preceding Tuesday, 22nd of June, 2010, the South African Government issued the following statement on its official website:
“The President of the Republic, H E Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, accompanied by Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan and a contingent of senior officials, will depart South Africa tomorrow for Toronto, Canada. The President will participate in the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit on 26 to 27 June.”
It is obvious that the true reason for President Mills’ visit to South African is not to hold discussions with the Zuma Government. President Mills cannot hold meetings with President Zuma in South Africa when President Zuma and his top officials are in Canada, along with other African leaders who were invited to attend the G-20 Summit.
This is a matter of public interest: Why should the Mills Government lie about the true reason for the President’s visit to South Africa? What is there to hide?
We are not questioning the President visiting South Africa, but Ghanaians deserve to know what has taken him to South Africa. We are told that whilst in South Africa, he will take the opportunity to visit the Black Stars and watch the Ghana vs USA match on Saturday. Therefore, he is not in South Africa purposely to watch the match.
We find it strange that after sending his Vice President, John Mahama, to represent him at the all-important AU’s 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments in Addis Ababa in January 2010, with the excuse that he had important domestic duties to attend to, President Mills has suddenly find it very important to personally go to South Africa to hold talks with the South African Government on matters arising out of a visit to Ghana from the President of another country (Angola) and matters to do with next month’s AU meeting in another country, Uganda. And, the purported discussions in South Africa will take place at the time when his host, President Zuma and his top officials are in Canada.
We believe the President is not being truthful to Ghanaians. As has been the case in the past, is President Mills in South Africa for medical attention? Ghanaians deserve an end to speculations about the President’s health, and only the Presidency can do so.
Kwaku Kwarteng Communications Director
AFRICA / AU :
UN /ONU :
Guinea to Hold Historic Presidential Elections on Sunday
2010-06-26/Xinhua/Web Editor: Zhang Jin
As the curtain is about to rise at Guinea’s upcoming June 27 presidential elections, local people said the polling will be the first democratic one that will end a dictatorial regime in the West African country since its independence in 1958.
HISTORIC ELECTIONS
Interim Guinean President Sekouba Konate said the “real” multi-party elections would bring all the Guinean people “glory and happiness,” and would end dictatorship and unfairness in the country.
“We need a leader elected from ballot boxes, a leader who can improve solidarity and unity of all nations in Guinea,” said a local observer, who viewed the elections as the most transparent ones in Guinea’s history.
Since 1958, free elections have been a desire that is difficult to be accomplished for decades for all the Guinean people, whose country remains one of the poorest in the world.
From 1958 to 1984, the country was led by Ahmed Sekou Toure under a one-party regime. Lansana Conte came to power in a military coup in April 1984 after Toure died a month earlier. He was elected president in 1993 and won re-elections in 1998 and 2003. But the three elections during Conte’s rule were accused of dictatorship.
Guinea won independence from France in 1958. With an area of 245,857 square km and a population of 10.1 million people, the country is known for its rich mineral deposits, especially bauxite which accounts for half of the world’s total reserves.
“WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?”
A total of 24 candidates are in the race for Sunday’s vote, and there are 4.2 million registered voters.
Of the known candidates were four former prime ministers — Cellou Dalein Diallo of the Union of Democratic Forces in Guinea (UFDG), Sidya Toure of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), Francois Louceny Fall of the United Front for Democracy and Change (FUDEC), Lansana Kouyate of the National Development Party (PEDN) — and Doyen Alpha Conde of the opposition Rally of Guinean People (RPG).
Observers said Diallo and Conde might be the winners in the first round of elections, adding that Diallo, who did not have working experience in government and was seen as “clean,” would possibly win in the second round.
The election date was announced in March after the 2008 military coup. Under the agreement mediated by Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore on Jan. 15, this year in Ouagadougou, the junta’s No. 2 Sekouba Konate led the country in his capacity as the interim president during a transitional period. A transitional government was soon formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Jean-Marie Dore. The presidential elections will be held without the participation of the junta.
TIGHTENING SECURITY MEASURES
The international community has urged Guinea to play its part in ensuring successful presidential polls and has sent observers and peacekeepers to the country to supervise the elections.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged the people and institutions of Guinea to play their role in ensuring that Sunday’s presidential polls are conducted peacefully and result in the formation of a government fully reflecting the will of the public.
The United Nations Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (ONUCI) has deployed military and police officers along the border between Cote d’lvoire and Guinea to ward off any eventuality during the presidential electoral period in Guinea.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Thursday handed over a donation of materials and equipment to the special forces for securing Guinea’s electoral process (FOSSEPEL).
A delegation of 200 members of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has been sent to Guinea to supervise the first round of the elections.
A group of 38 observers from the European Union (EU) on Wednesday joined the first group of 32, bringing to 70 the number of EU observers during Guinea’s Sunday elections.
4th All African Convocation Marks Africa-Isreal Day
Saturday, 26 June 2010/(ENA)
June 26, 2010 — The Fourth All African Convocation concluded marking Africa-Israel Day here on Friday at the UN Conference Center.
His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of Ethiopiaan Orthodox Church said in his video message to the conference that the marking of the Day in Addis will further the good relationship between Africa and Israel.
He said the conference not only discussed historical ties between Africa and Israel but also discussed a vision of establishing convocation center for the peace in the Africa.
He said in Africa over 50,000 churches are serving 60 million people, which he said, is vital to revamp social development.
Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia General Secretary, Alemu Sheta on his part said it is very important for the church to go back to Jewish roots, which is the source of Christianity.
Africa-Israel day is important for reminding the faithful their root, he said.
USA :
CANADA :
Leaders play down austerity split on eve of G20
Jun 26, 2010/Reuters
Ontario (Reuters) – The world’s richest economies, saddled with huge debts after spending their way out of the credit crisis, papered over differences on Friday on how to clean up their finances with minimal damage to growth.
World
Leaders from the Group of Eight, a club that spans the large industrialized nations and Russia, met in Canada before a broader summit with China and other rising economic powers of the G20, now the world’s dominant economic policy forum.
Washington appeared to be at loggerheads with Berlin in the run-up to the Canada summits. U.S. officials expressed concerns that a nascent recovery from the global recession could be derailed by accelerating austerity in much of Western Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, however, that the G8 talks had not produced any conflict over economic policy.
“The discussion was not controversial but was based on great mutual understanding,” she told reporters.
A U.S. official said, “There is a broad consensus among the G8 leaders, a convergence of views … about how to maintain durable growth while also reaffirming, of course, the common shared commitments to fiscal consolidation going forward.”
According to off-the-record briefings by European officials, U.S. President Barack Obama told his counterparts he was worried that excessively deep and fast cuts in Europe could eat into growth, but he did not question the need for cuts themselves.
The Group of 20 has struggled to keep the unity of last year when governments pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to prevent recession turning into depression and vowed to prevent another credit crisis from endangering the world economy.
Obama, buoyed by a deal in the U.S. Congress in the early hours of Friday to toughen rules for Wall Street, urged other G20 leaders to make good on promises to curb risky bank behavior that sparked the financial crisis in 2007.
“We need to act in concert for a simple reason: this crisis proved, and events continue to affirm, that our national economies are inextricably linked,” Obama said, calling on other leaders to match the U.S. progress on financial reform.
SURGING DEBT BURDEN
Burdened by surging debt, G8 leaders said on Friday they would spend $5 billion over five years for mothers and their newborns in Africa, shying away from bold aid pledges to the world’s poor after failing to meet previous targets.
As rich economies slowly heal, helped by strong Asian growth and demand, disagreements over the next steps in the response to the crisis have unsettled investors who fear that a splintering of policy could undermine recovery.
“The cohesion generally evident among policymakers in dealing with the global crisis is in danger of giving way to a more divisive debate about how to manage the recovery,” Credit Agricole analysts said in a note to clients.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he was cautiously optimistic the G20 nations could reach an agreement on targets for cutting their budget deficits, while South Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun highlighted concern the recovery is too fragile.
“No one knows for certain how the post-crisis world economy will look like. It is my opinion that we will enter a phase of jobless and low economic growth,” Yoon said.
Obama, concerned that the recovery is tenuous, faces high U.S. unemployment and the possible loss of his Democratic Party’s control of Congress in elections in November and he has been reluctant to adopt spending cuts to curb the deficit.
The aggregate debt of the rich countries within the G20 is expected to hit 107.7 percent of GDP this year, almost three times the 37 percent debt forecast for emerging market economies of the G20 and up from 80.2 percent at the outset of the crisis in 2007, the International Monetary Fund says.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government unveiled an austere budget this week, said smoothing out imbalances between export-rich countries and debt-laden consumer nations would require belt-tightening by America too.
“Part of dealing with the imbalances is for the worst deficit countries to roll up their sleeves, get on with the job and make sure they are living within their means,” he said.
The G20 pledged last year to coordinate a string of banking reforms by the end of 2012. [ID:nLDE65O0RV] Obama can boast he is meeting the bulk of those commitments. Europe has yet to come up with comprehensive rules for financial reform.
SECURING RECOVERY
Other G20 conflict zones include trade and China’s yuan currency.
China seemed to defuse some of the G20 trade tension last weekend when it said unexpectedly it would ease its grip on the tightly managed yuan. But some economists have questioned whether the move was anything more than symbolic.
A Brazilian official said G20 negotiators were considering including a line in the summit communique that would welcome Beijing’s latest shift and urge it to follow through with a stronger appreciation in its currency.
“The communique might come up with this idea, it depends on China. The Chinese are still negotiating over the terms and the language of this particular statement,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
About 2,000 anti-G20 demonstrators marched to within a couple of blocks of the U.S. Consulate in Toronto before they were halted by riot police. At least one person was arrested.
Should the G20 need a moment of levity, it has the soccer World Cup in South Africa.
Asked if he and Merkel would watch England play Germany on Sunday, Britain’s Cameron said: “There is an idea we might try and watch it together. I will try not to wrestle her to the ground during penalties, but we will have to see.”
AUSTRALIA :
All bodies recovered from Congo wreck: Australia miner
(AFP)/260610
SYDNEY — An Australian mining company which lost its entire board in a plane crash in the Congo said Saturday all the bodies had been recovered and transported to Brazzaville for formal identification.
All 11 people on board the chartered twin turboprop were killed when it smashed into dense jungle last weekend 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the small mining town of Yangadou, near the border with Gabon.
Sundance Resources said all the bodies had now been retrieved from the crash site and were flown to Brazzaville with the help of French and Congolese military aircraft.
“The Congolese prime minister, seven senior Congolese Ministers, the Australian High Commissioner and representatives of Sundance were on hand to pay their respects when the bodies arrived in Brazzaville,” the miner said in a statement Saturday.
“They are being held at a secure facility where the formal identification process will commence.”
Sundance said it was working closely with Australian and Congolese authorities “to ensure an appropriate and dignified process is followed” in repatriating the bodies “in a timely manner.”
“Upon the completion of all necessary procedures in Brazzaville, including formal identification, a specialist repatriation team will continue to work toward repatriation,” the company said.
Mining tycoon Ken Talbot was among six Australians, two Britons, two French and one US national who died when the CASA C-212 Aviocar aircraft crashed.
The wreckage was found two days later following a search involving French military aircraft and officials from Congo and Cameroon.
Cameroon Friday indicated the investigation would be handled by Congolese authorities, as the French military indicated it was ending its mission.
EUROPE :
CHINA :
UPDATE 1-China Mobile CEO says mulling Africa M&A
Sat Jun 26, 2010/Reuters
* China Mobile considering M&A in Africa -CEO
* Would be happy to take minority or majority stake -CEO
* Sees subscriber growth at Q1 pace for rest of year
(Adds background, details)
By David Dolan
CAPE TOWN, June 26 (Reuters) – China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote), the world’s largest mobile-phone carrier, is looking for acquisitions in Africa but does not have any targets at the moment, its chief executive told Reuters on Saturday.
The company would be willing to take either a minority or majority stake in a local African operator, Wang Jianzhou said on the sidelines of the Fortune Global Forum in Cape Town.
He also said he expects subscriber growth to keep the same pace for the rest of the year as in the first quarter.
“We pay much attention to the African operators, but we don’t have a target company currently … It is not easy to get an agreement for M&A (mergers and acquisitions). We can have a majority, we’d also like to be the minority,” he said.
Fast-growing Africa is increasingly a focus for wireless operators in developed markets, due to its quickly rising middle class and relatively low mobile-phone penetration.
But the continent is also seeing stiffer competition among wireless carriers.
MTN Group (MTNJ.J: Quote), Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator, is facing a threat from India’s Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO: Quote), which recently bought the African operations of Kuwait’s Zain (ZAIN.KW: Quote).
Bharti said this month it plans to spend a total of $350 million in the next three years to improve its networks in Uganda, Zambia and Malawi.
Wang declined to say if China Mobile had considered acquiring the sub-Saharan assets of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA: Quote), which may have been part of MTN’s recent failed acquisition talks with Orascom.
While China is the world’s biggest mobile market, with around 700 million subscribers, operators there face stiff competition and have been forced to chase less lucrative subscribers in smaller cities to maintain growth.
China Mobile added an average of 5.5 million users per month in the first quarter, lower than the average of 6.6 million a year earlier. Wang told Reuters he expects that pace to continue for the rest of the year.
“I think there will be no big changes from now to the end of this year, because the rural areas still have huge potential. The pace will continue.”
China’s cultural diplomacy in Africa
26 June 2010/ By Bram Posthumus /www.rnw.nl
This year – or the next – China will become Africa’s Number One trading partner. The value of their business will exceed US$100 billion. But Sino-African relations are not just about money. Culture and language are now an integral part of the equation, as Dr Chris Alden explains. He is an expert on China and Africa.
By Bram Posthumus
“China is a major power with long-term aspirations of engagement with Africa, so increasing cultural ties makes perfect sense. It is all part of a strategy to position China in more complete and complex way in the global sphere.” And for China, Africa sits right at the centre of that global sphere.
Confucius Institute
Like Britain, France and Germany, China has set up a dedicated organisation to make contact with cultures worldwide: the Confucius Institute. There are 282 of them across the planet, 21 in Africa. Li Haiwen is a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has just finished teaching a three month course. Who are his students?
“I have had students who work for the university library, the information centre and the linguistic department. There are a lot of Chinese living in Nigeria now, and so Nigerians want to learn the language. It’s either that – or they want to go to China to further their education.”
Chinese gives you an edge
Across the African continent, students are keen to take up the language. Chris Alden thinks they have good reason:
“It gives them an edge. They realise that the dynamics of trade are changing across their continent. It’s no longer North-South. So an African who knows the Chinese language will trump the competition.”
It is not only language that the Confucius Institutes bring to the fore. “We have brought a cultural performance troupe to the University of Lagos,” says Li Haiwen. “We also brought a youth group here. We will have other cultural activities and new courses – not only language things like Kung Fu.”
All former European colonial powers have a cultural presence in Africa, through a network of cultural centres. It is the model China has adopted, even though most Confucius Institutes do not have their own building. For now, they are housed in universities, from Cape Town to Rabat. And, of course, China likes to gain cultural currency from the fact that, unlike the Europeans, it never colonised Africa. But in these modern times, the name of the game they all play is the same: cultural diplomacy.
So be on the lookout: there may well be a Confucius centre coming soon to a place near you…
INDIA :
India’s Tata Motors plans assembly unit in SAfrica
Jun 26, 2010/Reuters
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Tata Motors, India’s largest vehicles maker, is working on setting up a trucks assembly unit in South Africa by the end of the current financial year, a top company official said on Friday.
“We are looking at assembling medium-sized and small trucks there for now,” its India head P.M. Telang told reporters. The details of the unit are being worked out and initial capacity could about 3,000-4,000 units annually, he said. The company exports about 2,000-3,000 trucks annually to South Africa now.
Tata Motors currently has truck assembly units in Thailand and Bangladesh.
The company’s truck exports in 2009/10 stood at 30,000 units and it expects exports to be good this year.
“Some markets are looking up … there is a revival happening across the globe,” said Ravi Pisharody, its commercial vehicles head.
Tata Motors, the country’s largest commercial vehicles maker with more than 60 percent market share, is looking at a 10-15 percent rise in domestic truck sales in 2010/11, Pisharody said.
In 2009/10 it sold 373,615 units of trucks, up 41 percent from a year earlier.
BRACING FOR COMPETITION
The company, which is celebrating five years of the launch of its hugely successful Ace mini-trucks, is confident of retaining market share despite the imminent competition, by launching new trucks and variants across all ranges.
India is the world’s fourth-largest truck market, and the opportunities in the sector are attracting both domestic and global players.
“In the small commercial vehicle segment, the success of the Ace has attracted competition and interest in the segment,” Pisharody said.
Indian utilities vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra last year entered the mini-truck segment with its Maxximo, which competes directly with the Ace.
Providing competition to the domestic firms will be the General Motors and SAIC Motor Co combine, which will be launching its mini-trucks in late 2011, Germany’s Daimler entering the segment in mid-2012 and Nissan’s joint venture with Ashok Leyland in 2011.
Shares in Tata Motors valued at $9.1 billion, closed down nearly 2 percent at 769.45 rupees, while the main index ended down 0.9 percent
Zimbabwe holds Pakistani men linked to terror acts
(AP)/260610
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean police say they have contacted Pakistan’s security agencies for information on two men arrested in the southern African nation and who are suspected of links to November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said Saturday the men were arrested in the southern border town of Beitbridge on June 20 for trying to use fake passports to enter South Africa.
Zimbabwean state media, citing unnamed sources, reported that Imran Muhammad, 33, was wanted in Pakistan for alleged involvement in the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. The second man was identified as Chaudry Parvez Ahmed.
Pakistani officials could not immediately be reached for comment. South African police officials say they do not suspect terrorism.
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 26 juin 2010… AGNEWS /OMAR, BXL,26/06/2010
