PEACE RUN IN AFRICA!
Running for Horn of Africa peace.
Haile Gebrselassie has expressed interest in the peace race.
A diplomat in Ethiopia is trying to organise a peace run to ease growing tension along the disputed border territory between Ethiopia and Eritrea. EU envoy Tim Clarke said he wanted athletes from both countries to take part and meet on a border bridge. Ethiopian running legend and Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie has already said he will participate in it.
Meanwhile, four Ethiopian soldiers have died after their vehicle hit a newly laid landmine near the disputed border. United Nations spokesman Phil Lewis says the incident occurred last week on the road between Sembel and Badme, which is used by the Ethiopian military and United Nations peacekeepers monitoring a buffer zone along the border.
This news comes as Ethiopia and Eritrea have renewed diplomatic skirmishing over the border situation, with each accusing the other of risking a further war.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
MADAGASCAR BEATS SOUTH AFRICA IN RUGBY!
Madagascar rugby inspires new passion.
By Tim Cocks - BBC News.
Captain Noe Mboazafy has given impressive performances. Madagascar is not the first country that springs to mind when you think of rugby. Partly that is because they have never excelled on the international stage. That changed three weeks ago with a surprise 33-31 home victory against a strong South African amateur side, in the semi-finals of the African Top Nine cup.
On Saturday, the Madagascar Makis, named after the island's national animal, a species of the legendary lemur, face Morocco in the Top Nine final. The team is rated one of Africa's best, with several players in the French league. Though it looks like a bit of a David and Goliath contest, the Makis have surprised so far. In the game against the South African side, their quick backs consistently broke through a lacklustre defence.
About 40,000 people packed into the national stadium to watch. Those who could not afford tickets hiked up to the top of Queen's Palace on a cliff-face that overlooks the stadium to get a bird's eye view. Captain Noe Mboazafy kicked a spectacular drop goal from the half-way line that visibly delighted President Marc Ravalomanana, who turned up especially.
KENYA BANS RALLY
Kenya opposition defies rally ban.
The opposition has called for a fresh round of elections.
Kenyan opposition leaders say they will continue to hold rallies demanding new elections, despite a government ban. Kenya outlawed opposition rallies and dismissed calls for elections, after voters rejected a new constitution. Vice-President Moody Awori said demonstrations supporting calls for elections would be seen as a "threat to national security".
Opposition leader Raila Odinga said it is unconstitutional to deny people freedom of assembly. Mr Odinga headed the "No" campaign in the constitutional referendum a week ago, arguing that the new constitution proposed by the government concentrated power in the hands of the president. "This is a government in panic and it wants to run away from the people" William Ruto, secretary general of the opposition Kanu party, told the AFP news agency.
President Mwai Kibaki's defeat in the referendum prompted calls for new elections. Opposition parties have called for a series of nationwide rallies, starting on 10 December. The government declared a ban on pro-election rallies following Saturday's "No" campaign victory rally in the capital, Nairobi. Mr Awori said in a statement that opposition calls for nationwide protests were "inappropriate".
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at November 29, 2005 07:13 |
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africa
GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK!!!
Malawi wants Scottish 'aid' back.
Links between Scotland and Malawi date back to 1859.
Civil rights activists in Malawi have stepped up a campaign for the return of donations made to Scottish and US bodies by former leader Hastings Banda. Collins Magalasi from ActionAid Malawi says "millions of dollars" was donated to institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, where Banda studied. Activists say it is immoral for rich countries like Scotland to benefit from philanthropy from poor Malawi. But officials from Banda's party say the donations were his own money.
Earlier this month, Scotland pledged to increase aid to Malawi following a visit by President Bingu wa Mutharika. The campaign comes as a new $500,000 mausoleum to Banda is due to be unveiled on Saturday. "The total amount may not be known - at least as of now - because we are everyday uncovering new donations or hand-outs made by Dr Banda," Mr Magalasi says.
We believe that the donations were received in good faith said Collins Magalasi ActionAid Malawi.He said Banda donated $2m to Wilberforce University in the United States in 1979 - which he says would be worth $12m in today's money. In 1982, Banda gave £350,000 ($600,000) to the Scottish Royal College of Surgeons after an appeal by the University of Edinburgh, according to Malawian scholar, Professor Thandika Mkandawire, Executive Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Development in Switzerland.
Mr Magalasi said that if the money could not be returned, then "technical agreements" should be worked out, for example helping Malawi to train more doctors. "We believe that the donations were received in good faith but the problem that we have is that it is clear this money did not belong to Dr Banda but were public funds for the people of Malawi.But this was denied by Nicholas Dausi, spokesman for the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) - which ruled Malawi under Banda between 1964 and 1994. "This was Dr Banda's personal money from his personal resources," he said. Hastings Banda, who died eight years ago, qualified as a doctor in Scotland. After 40 years abroad he returned to Malawi in the 1950s to lead the fight for the country's independence from Britain. Links between Scotland and Malawi date back to 1859, when Scottish explorer David Livingston arrived in Malawi.
Posted by: Mara at November 28, 2005 22:49 |
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africa
Gaza gang seizes lion in zoo raid.
In captivity, as in the wild, lion mates share a close bond. A lioness and two Arabic-speaking parrots have been kidnapped from a zoo in Gaza.
Gunmen overpowered the zookeeper before flinging a blanket over the lioness, called Sabrina, and the two birds.
Palestinian officials kept the theft secret for several weeks in an effort to track down the thieves. But the zoo's owners have now offered a reward, hoping to bring back the animals - and cheer up Fakhra the lion, Sabrina's mate, said to be heartbroken. Suod al-Shawaa, chairman of the zoo's board, told Palestinian newspapers that it took four gunmen to carry out the attack.
Police believe the animals have not been taken out of the Gaza Strip, and are being imprisoned, perhaps by a Mafia-style gang. They have received intelligence suggesting that Sabrina is still alive, but appear no closer to catching the kidnappers. Mr Shawaa has offered a $1,000 (£586) reward for information leading to Sabrina's return. The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says human abductions in the Gaza Strip usually end with the victim being freed quite quickly and unharmed.
Sabrina and Fakhra are among the star attractions at Gaza's small zoo, which opened last month. As well as lions and parrots, the zoo is home to squirrels, monkeys, an ostrich and some household pets. Gaza's previous zoo, in the southern town of Rafah, was levelled in an Israeli raid in 2004.
BBC NEWS REPORT by Alan Johnston in Gaza.
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Harvest of Hunger
Saturday 26th November 2005.
Dear Family and Friends,
There is a massive, massive crisis underway in Zimbabwe. As I write this letter on Saturday the 26th November 2005, history will remember this date as the one on which elections for a Senate that we didn't want and couldn't afford were being held. Ordinary people, however, will remember this as the time when MDC leaders were tearing their party apart and Zanu PF were squabbling for the last few scraps on the political bone. This is the November when both the MDC and Zanu PF seem to have lost track of the most important struggle in Zimbabwe: the one for food, food and more food. The rains have begun, the soils are wet, the temperatures high and yet only weeds are growing as each precious day ticks past. All around us peasant farmers in the communal areas and new farmers on seized commercial land, have still not been given seeds to plant. It is ludicrous that five years into Zimbabwe's land take-overs, these new farmers are still unable to plough the land they were allocated or even buy their own seed. In a country where inflation is over 400% and great convoys of trucks stream endlessly over our borders bringing in food in from other countries, Zimbabwe it seems is not even going to try and save herself this year.
The question that every Zimbabwean asks their neighbour in November is how much rain they've had and how their crop is doing. It doesn't matter if the "crop" is a few lines of maize plants in the back garden, seven acres in the rural village or a hundred acres on a farm. This year, the answer to the question is - "what crop." When you ask new farmers or rural villagers how their crop is coming on, they say they haven't planted yet and are still waiting for the government to come and give them seed. If you comment that it's a month into the growing season and virtually too late to plant, they sigh and shrug their shoulders and say there is "nothing to do." So far, in Marondera, we've had six inches of rain and have the makings of a perfect season. "It's looking good for farmers," I said to one man this week but he just shook his head, laughed sadly and said "But these farmers they are playing, just playing!"
To make this desperate crisis even worse, there continue to be seizures of the few productive farms still operating. Every day we hear of another farmer being evicted by some arbitrary bloke who arrives with "a letter from the governmment." As it has for five years, these evictions happen just after the farmer has planted the crop, when the fields are covered with newly germinated seed. It is plain, outright theft of another man's labour, seed and fertilizer and yet no one does anything because, "it is political". This week the former president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Kumbirai Katsande said: "As we sit right here I do not hear any senior government official condemning the farm invasions which are taking place across the country...It's criminal when we do not do what we are supposed to do."
Times are very hard for ordinary Zimbabweans in November 2005 but as the days pass and crops do not get planted, it does not bear thinking what things will be like this time next year. A harvest of hunger in 2006 seems inevitable and yet all our combined leaders talk about is the Senate.
Until next week, love cathy.
RAMBLINGS
IT IS NOT THE MOUNTAIN WE CONQUER - BUT OURSELVES!
ZIMBABWE CAPTAIN RESIGNS !
Taibu quits as Zimbabwe captain.
Taibu has played 24 Tests for Zimbabwe, captain in 10 of them. Tatenda Taibu has retired from Test cricket at the age of 22 after handing in his resignation as Zimbabwe captain. Wicket-keeper Taibu, who received threatening phone calls last week, said he was quitting because of the current state of Zimbabwean cricket. "I am doing this, 80% because of the current situation in Zimbabwe Cricket and 20% because I do not like the terms of my offered contract. "The personal threats I have also had do not help," he said. "I remember going on my first tour to the West Indies in 2000 and straight from there to England, and saying in one of my first interviews as a cricketer that I wanted to play cricket for my country for 20 years. "To have this come along and destroy that dream is very sad."
Taibu, who played 24 Tests and 84 one-day internationals, took over the captaincy in April 2004 when Heath Streak was sacked. When he led the team out against Sri Lanka the following month at the age of 20 years and 358 days, he became Test cricket's youngest ever skipper. He was initially without a number of senior players, including Streak, because of their row with the cricket board and results on the field were woeful. Some of the so-called rebels were eventually drafted back into the squad after making their peace with the board but Zimbabwe continued to perform badly. Since Taibu took over as captain, Zimbabwe have lost nine Test matches and drawn one against Bangladesh. In 29 one-dayers, they have lost 27 and beaten Bangladesh twice. In August, Zimbabwe Cricket offered new contracts in August that were heavily based on incentives and incorporated much smaller basic salaries than the players had been paid in the past.
A total boycott by the country's professional players was threatened before Zimbabwe Cricket offered improved terms. But they were not good enough for Taibu, who is now set to play for South African provincial side Cobras for four months and is also aiming to play club cricket in England next summer. "I have considered this very carefully and I'm certain it's the right decision for me in the long term," he added. In a statement, Zimbabwe Cricket said they could not afford to increase the monthly salary offered to Taibu. They praised him for the "sterling effort" he has put in as a player "and for the way he has led the Zimbabwe team as captain, winning acclaim at home and abroad". The national team returns to action next April when they tour the West Indies.
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at November 25, 2005 00:26 |
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africa
NO STOCKPILE OF FOOD IN NIGER!
Niger leaders deny food shortage.
Niger's government says harvest has produced a food surplus. Niger's government has accused the World Food Programme (WFP) of exaggerating fears the country could face another food crisis within months. The WFP has asked for $19m (£11m) to avert shortages affecting 3m people. But Niger's government - which denied there was mass starvation earlier this year - claims the recent harvest has in fact produced a food surplus.
Analysts say the impending crisis is the result of poverty, rather than the drought which affected crops in 2004. This year the rains were good but because people used all their stocks to survive shortages before the harvest, they have little in reserve for the months ahead, the WFP says. More than 1.2m of Niger's 12m population are thought to have sufficient cereal stocks only for the next three months, while a further 2m have stocks for five months at most. Nearly 2m more face a precarious year struggling to maintain a bare livelihood, a WFP assessment found.
The BBC's Hilary Andersson in Niger says the government also has no stockpiles of food because all its reserves were used up this year. Many people had to sell off their land to survive and now cannot produce enough food for the year ahead, she says, while others borrowed and are now in debt. In the villages, most people are already living on a porridge of little nutritional value. Although harvests this year were good, families' stocks are depleted
The feeding centres are filled with emaciated children and in some areas malnutrition rates are increasing, our correspondent adds, increasing the need for continued aid. WFP spokesman Marcus Prior told the BBC: "If we don't get the money, there's a very strong risk that there are children here who will not receive the food that they need. "We've already seen, in very graphic detail, exactly what that means. We cannot allow that to happen."
BBC Africa editor Martin Plaut says the impending shortages in Niger are a normal situation in one of the world's poorest countries, where many people live on the edge of hunger all the time. Vast swathes of sub-Saharan Africa are similarly affected, he says, as population growth forces families to move into semi-desert areas that barely support farming. Large families mean plots are then divided and sub-divided until they become so small they cannot provide food for everyone, he adds.
BBC NEWS REPORT
Posted by: Mara at November 25, 2005 00:16 |
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africa
FURTHER SANCTIONS AGAINST MUGABE
Zimbabwe officials' assets frozen.
President Mugabe has been censured by the US since 2003. The United States has widened sanctions against Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe, freezing the assets of 128 people and 33 institutions. US President George W Bush issued an executive order targeting those "hindering democratic reform in Zimbabwe", including Mr Mugabe himself. Mr Bush had already issued sanctions against Mr Mugabe and 76 other officials two years ago. He said deteriorating conditions in Zimbabwe had forced him to act again.
The White House said suppression of opposition groups, free media and the judiciary had prompted the measures. In a letter to congressional leaders, President Bush said the opposition and civil society in Zimbabwe remained suppressed. "Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections in March 2005 were not free or fair," he wrote. "Recent demolitions of low-income housing and informal markets have caused 700,000 people to lose their homes, jobs or both. Additional measures are required to promote democratic change." The new additions to the censured list will be banned from business dealings with US citizens.
Under the new order, US treasury secretaries and the state department will now be allowed to add to the list without a presidential order.
"This action is not aimed at the people of Zimbabwe but rather at those most responsible for their plight," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Posted by: Mara at November 24, 2005 23:57 |
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africa
MASS GRAVES FOUND IN NAMIBIA.
Namibia seeks help in grave probe.
South African troops fought Swapo fighters in Namibia until 1990.
Namibia has asked South Africa to send forensic experts to help investigate at least five mass graves discovered in the north of the country. The graves, near a South African army base, are thought to date from South African occupation of Namibia. Before independence in 1990 South African was engaged in conflict with Namibian Swapo liberation fighters in northern Namibia and in Angola. Police say clothes found at the site resemble those worn by Swapo fighters. President Hifikepunye Pohamba has asked his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki for help in investigating the sites.
Earlier this month, President Pohamba visited two of the sites shortly after their discovery and called on former soldiers of both sides of the liberation struggle to come forward with more information. The graves were found during construction work near the former Eenhana military base. Eenhana was the site of a battle between Swapo and the South African Defence Force in 1989, after a UN-supervised peace process had already begun. Swapo is now Namibia's ruling party.
Posted by: Mara at November 23, 2005 20:02 |
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africa
LIVE
LIVE EVER DAY AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST,
AND SOME DAY YOU WILL BE RIGHT !
AIR ZIMBABWE GROUNDED AGAIN!
Fuel crisis disrupts Air Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe regularly uses Air Zimbabwe flights.
Flights on Zimbabwe's national airline are not yet back to normal, a day after all its seven aircraft were grounded when the airline ran out of fuel.
The authorities said services resumed after a shipment of fuel arrived, but some domestic services were still not operating on Tuesday. A foreign exchange crisis has led to a severe fuel shortage in Zimbabwe. State media said hundreds of passengers were stranded, and airline officials had been suspended from their jobs. Air Zimbabwe has suffered cancellations in the past, but Monday was the first time the airline was forced to ground all its planes.
Fuel for motor vehicles has long been in short supply. Motorists have to contend with long fuel queues, and petrol trades on the black market at premium prices. The state-owned Herald newspaper said Air Zimbabwe's board had suspended chief executive Tendai Mahachi and company secretary Tendai Mujuru "pending investigations into serious disruptions of the national airliner's operations and services". Air Zimbabwe serves the country's main cities and tourist centres as well as southern African destinations, and long-haul routes to London, China, Singapore and Dubai.
"All planes have been grounded because there is no adequate foreign currency to buy fuel and flights have been suspended until further notice," an Air Zimbabwe official told Reuters news agency on Tuesday morning.
Posted by: Mara at November 23, 2005 00:40 |
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africa
The NO's WIN
Kenyan leader accepts poll defeat
To help illiterate voters, the "No" team used oranges and bananas meant "Yes". Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has conceded defeat in a crucial vote on a new constitution. "My government will respect the will of the people," he said, looking sombre, in a live television address.
The BBC's Adam Mynott says the result is a huge setback for Mr Kibaki who led the "Yes" campaign. Many used the poll to protest at Mr Kibaki's leadership. Crowds of people have been celebrating the result on the streets of the capital, Nairobi. "No, no, no," they shouted, some wearing orange - the colour of the "No" campaign. "We were voting to show our frustrations, we were rebelling against the government's empty promises," one of the crowd, Yonah Opiyo, 23, told Reuters news agency.
PARTIAL RESULTS
No: 3,548,477 (57%)
Yes: 2,532,918 (43%)
Turnout: 54%
206/210 constituencies declared
Source: ECK
Posted by: Mara at November 22, 2005 17:54 |
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africa
A New Train for South Africa!
Trouble on the line for new SA train
By Justin Pearce
BBC News website, Johannesburg
It is a single project which, if it goes ahead, will cost almost three times South Africa's transport budget for this year. Critics say the Gautrain will serve only an elite group of passengers. Depending on who you believe, it will either revolutionise the way South Africans see public transport and tempt them away from gridlocked roads - or it will swallow public money while transporting only a handful of white-collar professionals.
The Gautrain is intended to link Johannesburg - South Africa's economic hub - with the national capital, Tshwane (previously called Pretoria), 50km away in 40 minutes. That would be a huge improvement on a journey that can take up to two hours by car when the traffic is particularly bad. Pressure on the transport system will intensify when South Africa hosts the 2010 Football World Cup and proponents of the Gautrain see it as a way of moving visitors to and from the airport, their hotels and the match venues around Gauteng province.
On the way it will stop at the main commercial suburbs between the two city centres, and there will also be a branch to Johannesburg International Airport, which currently is not served by public ground transport. If this thing goes ahead and fails, then we will have a very costly white elephant said MP Jeremy Cronin. In a country where passenger train services have been in a slow decline over the last few decades, the idea of a new railway route using new technology sounded like something out of science fiction.
Posted by: Mara at November 21, 2005 23:38 |
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africa
MUGABE FINDS URANIUM!
Mugabe reveals uranium power plan.
Robert Mugabe has been ostracised by many world leaders.
Deposits of uranium have been unearthed in Zimbabwe, the country's President Robert Mugabe has said.
Mr Mugabe said Zimbabwe would use the uranium to boost its energy supplies, but would not pursue nuclear weapons. Zimbabwe has a chronic energy shortage, blamed on a lack of foreign currency for spare parts, and imports power from several neighbouring countries. It also has close ties with Iran and North Korea, two states in the spotlight for their nuclear policies.
Zimbabwe state television carried reports of Mr Mugabe's comments, without giving details of where any uranium has been discovered. There have been no previous reports of uranium deposits existing in the country. "We recently discovered uranium which is used for many purposes, including electricity generation," Mr Mugabe said. "Uranium also makes nuclear bombs such as those which were used to massacre the Japanese at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That was sad indeed. "But we will not use it to make bombs but to generate electricity," he added. "The discovery of uranium will go a long way in further enhancing the government rural electrification programme." Zimbabwe has two main power stations - one thermal and one hydro-electric, but has failed to produce enough domestic power in recent years.
It imports electricity from Mozambique, DR Congo and South Africa to meet its needs.
Posted by: Mara at November 21, 2005 23:26 |
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africa
Ramblings
WHEN ONE HAS A GREAT DEAL TO PUT INTO IT,
A DAY HAS A HUNDRED POCKETS !
TIME
THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO DO
ALL THE NOTHING YOU WANT!
S P I E S !!!
SA to work with Zimbabwe's spies.
Minister Ronnie Kasrils apologised for questions about Zimbabwe's human rights record. South African and Zimbabwe have signed an agreement to increase co-operation on defence and security matters. The two neighbours undertook to share security information and to co-operate in enforcing immigration laws. After the signing, South Africa's intelligence minister scolded a journalist who raised questions about Zimbabwe's record on human rights.
Details of the deal were not released but Zimbabwe's secret police is accused of torturing opposition activists. South Africa is a key player in attempts to negotiate an end to Zimbabwe's political crisis. President Thabo Mbeki has been criticised at home and abroad for not putting more pressure on President Robert Mugabe's government to end abuses. "This week's historic meeting further consolidates a long-standing socio-political and economic relationship between our two countries," South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said at the signing of the agreement in Cape Town on Thursday.
After the signing, a journalist asked Mr Kasrils how South Africa, with a "good human rights track record", could sign agreements with Zimbabwe, which had a "poor human rights record". Mr Kasrils apologised to his Zimbabwean counterpart, Didymus Mutasa, for the question. "We have very strong ties with our neighbour and we are indebted to our neighbour for achieving freedom and liberty," Mr Kasrils said. Mr Mutasa suggested praying for the journalist. "Lord forgive him for he does not know what he is saying," Mr Mutasa said. Numerous activists from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have said they have been detained and assaulted by Zimbabwe's secret police - the Central Intelligence Organisation. Thursday's agreement also provides for South Africa pilots and instructors to be trained in Zimbabwe.Also on Thursday, Zimbabwean and international human rights groups called on the African Union to speak out against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
"The silence of African leaders on Zimbabwe represents a failure to honour their commitments to the human rights of ordinary Africans," said a statement from a human rights coalition that includes Amnesty International, Zimbabwe's Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Zimbabwe Lawyers or Human Rights. "Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have seen their homes demolished. Now desperate, displaced and homeless people are being denied the aid they so badly need - and forced evictions and demolitions continue to take place." The UN says 700,000 people were affected by a Zimbabwe government clampdown on illegal housing and trading earlier this year.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at November 19, 2005 20:55 |
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africa
Ramblings
THE FUTURE HAS A WAY OF ARRIVING
UNANNOUNCED !
