QUOTES
"SHALL WE MAKE A NEW RULE OF LIFE FROM TONIGHT:
ALWAYS TRY TO BE A LITTLE KINDER THAN IS NECESSARY"!
## J.M. BARRIE ##
ANGOLA SET TO JOIN OPEC OIL GROUP !
Joining Opec will be a boost to Angola and its president. Angola has announced it is to apply to join oil producers' group Opec, a move that, if successful, should boost the African nation's global profile. The Angolan oil ministry said the country hoped to become Opec's 12th member by March, adding that it would produce "deep financial advantages".
Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest oil exporter, behind Nigeria. Driven by its oil revenues, Angola's economy grew by 18% in 2005, and more of the same is expected this year. The country is now producing 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, and this is expected to hit 2 million next year.
"Angola is joining because revenues are rising so spectacularly fast at the moment that it gives it more influence on the world stage," said Nick Shaxson, Angola head at the UK-based Chatham House think-tank. Joining Opec, which should be a formality, will also be a boost to the prestige of Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Opec's 11 current members are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Iraq.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
TUTU TO LEAD BEIT HANOUN MISSION !
Mr Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.The UN says Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu will lead its fact-finding mission into Beit Hanoun where 19 Palestinians died in Israeli shelling on 8 November. Mr Tutu - the former archbishop of Cape Town - will report back to the UN's Human Rights Council in December. The mission aims to "recommend ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli attacks", the UN says.
Israel has said the strike, which hit a civilian area in the Gaza Strip town, was due to a "technical failure". Mr Tutu - the winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against apartheid in South Africa - will present his findings by the middle of December, the Geneva-based council said. Many of the dead were from one extended family.
Earlier this month, the council approved a resolution that condemned "gross and systematic" human rights violations by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories and ordered an inquiry into the Beit Hanoun incident. Most of the victims were from one extended family. Several children and women were among the dead.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has described the killings as a massacre, and demanded intervention by the United Nations. Israel launched its operation in and around Beit Hanoun last month in an effort to root out militants firing rockets.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CHALRES ARRIVES FOR NIGERIAN TOUR !
Prince Charles has attended a state reception hosted by the president of Nigeria following a "low key" arrival in the West African country. President Olusegun Obasanjo flew in just minutes ahead of the prince, who was then whisked away to a reception, marking the start of his royal visit.
British High Commissioner Sir Richard Gozney also greeted the prince at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. This is the prince's third tour of the state, after visits in 1990 and 1999.
The prince, who is embarking on the two-day visit without his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, received a warm welcome from the president when he arrived for the reception at the State House banqueting hall in Abuja. The two men met during Charles's last visit to the country in 1999.
The pair both own farms. President Obasanjo, 69, a former soldier, has a chicken farm, while the prince established Home Farm in Gloucestershire, which is run on organic principles. It is thought that they discussed their mutual interest in agriculture on Tuesday evening. The Nigerian government's plan to expand its railway systems was also thought to be among subjects discussed.
The prince is on the second leg of his tour of West Africa, promoting regional stability, sustainable development and national reconciliation. He earlier spent a day in Sierra Leone. His tour of Nigeria will take him to remote villages, religious buildings and meetings with regional tribal chiefs
Years of military rule in Nigeria ended in 1999, when a civilian government came to power, but since then the country has experienced increasing religious and ethnic tensions. The introduction of Sharia law in 12 northern states, which have a large Muslim population, in 1999 has provoked problems between followers of Islam and Christians. Outbreaks of violence in Kano in 2000 and Kadena in 2002, left several thousand people dead.
Despite being the world's eighth largest oil exporter, Nigeria is a poor country. Corruption and misrule has led to many of its population of more than 130m having to survive on very little.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
'COUP' IN OLD KENYA RULING PARTY
Mr Biwott was Kenya's most powerful politician under Mr Moi. A key ally of Kenya's ex-President Daniel arap Moi has gained the upper hand in a battle for control of Kanu, the former ruling party. Nicholas Biwott has been registered as Kanu chairman by the registrar of societies, making him the official opposition leader in parliament.
Ousted leader Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed not to relinquish his offices and is refusing to accept the decision. Kanu split over a row to join a popular opposition political alliance. Mr Biwott's faction accused his rival of failing to consult members over his backing for a loose coalition of political parties known as the Orange Democratic Movement, which is set to compete in presidential elections due next year.
Mr Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first post-independence leader, said President Mwai Kibaki's government was in league with Mr Moi in an attempt to destroy the opposition. "This does not come as a surprise to us. We were aware of this Government ploy to demobilise and destroy the Official Opposition. We dismiss it as complete utter nonsense," he was quoted by the Daily Nation newspaper as saying.
Kanu was in power for almost 40 years after independence in 1963. Mr Moi has openly expressed his support for Mr Biwott, who continues to be seen by many Kenyans as a symbol of the darkest days of the former president's rule. Correspondents say the Kanu split marks a realignment in Kenyan politics.
Last year, the Narc coalition that brought President Mwai Kibaki to power in 2002 crumbled, which led to the formation of ODM.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
NIGERIAN ARMY RAPE 'IMPUNITY' !
The Nigerian government is failing to prosecute police and soldiers who rape women and girls with impunity, says rights group Amnesty International. The country's police authorities acknowledge rape is a problem within the service, but say that they are working to overcome it. An AI report alleges security forces use rape and sexual violence to torture and extract confessions from suspects.
It blames the judicial system for a 10% rape prosecution success rate. The report calls for drastic reforms of the judiciary and security agencies. "The perpetrators invariably escape punishment, and women and girls who have been raped are denied any form of redress for the serious crimes against them," the report says. It also documents cases of soldiers raping mothers in front of their husbands and children and detainees being sexually tortured with broken bottles.
"The harsh reality is that if you are a woman or a girl in Nigeria who has suffered the terrible experience of being raped, your suffering is likely to be met with intimidation by the police, indifference from the state and the knowledge that the perpetrator is unlikely to ever face justice," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Africa Director of Amnesty International.
Although Nigerian law stipulates life sentence - or death by stoning under Sharia law in the predominantly Muslim north - the report says most rape cases in Nigeria go unreported because the victims fear they would be rejected by the community.
The victims also fear that the soldiers and policemen who raped them in the first place might hurt them again if they reported the crime. One report cited the case of two teenage students it said were kidnapped and gang-raped by three policemen for several hours in Enugu State in 2004. There has been no judgment yet from the Nigerian courts on the case and the victims and their families said they have received death threats.
Another case cited in the report was that of another woman who was raped along with her mother and daughter. "The armed people held my mother, they raped her ... they raped me. I was two months pregnant and I had a miscarriage," she said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
'PREGNANT' MAN FINED IN S.A. COURT, !
'Pregnant' man fined in SA court. A South African man has been fined $140 for taking a week off work, telling his employers he was pregnant. Charles Sibindana, 27, stole a certificate from a clinic during his pregnant girlfriend's checkup, a court near Johannesburg heard.
He then added his own details to the note and submitted it and took seven days off work, seemingly unaware that only women consult gynaecologists. His employers became suspicious and investigated the matter.
On passing sentence Magistrate Bruno Van Eeden warned Mr Sibindana "not to walk around faking sick letters from gynaecologists" as if he was pregnant, the South African Press Association news agency reported.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
GADDAFI IN NIGERIA AIRPORT DRAMA !
Gaddafi in Nigeria airport drama
By Alex Last - BBC News, Lagos.
Muammar Gaddafi always travels with his female bodyguards. Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been involved in a diplomatic incident as he arrived in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, for a summit. Nigerian officials say Col Gaddafi was accompanied by more than 200 heavily armed Libyan bodyguards.
When security officers refused to allow them to keep their weapons, an argument ensued and Col Gaddafi stormed off. Only when Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo intervened did the bodyguards agree to hand in their weapons. Foreign ministers from Africa and Latin America have been preparing for the summit which gets under way on Thursday.
The size of Libya's delegation was not a problem, it seems, just the sheer amount of weapons and ammunition they carried. So Nigerian security refused to let them proceed to the capital. As arguments raged, the Libyan leader angrily set off on foot, intending to walk some 40km (25 miles) to the capital, before he was persuaded to return to the airport lounge.
By sheer coincidence, President Obasanjo was passing through the airport at the same time. He intervened in person and proposed that the weapons could be allowed through if they were registered first. But the Nigerians say that was rejected and the Libyan delegation threatened to fly home.
Incensed, the Nigerians said that was fine with them and told the delegation that instead of the original compromise, they could now only carry eight pistols if they wanted to enter Nigeria, like any other diplomatic security detail. They ordered that the rest of the weaponry had to be put back on the Libyan official jet.
After a stand-off lasting several hours, the Libyans backed down and finally made their way to Nigeria's capital.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ANGER AT TOGO'S HERBAL ADVERT BAN !
Anger at Togo's herbal advert ban
By Ebow Godwin - BBC News, Lome.
Many markets sell ingredients used by traditional healers. Togo's authorities say they will enforce a ban on advertisements for traditional medicines and pastors who claim to have healing powers. Private radio and TV stations have been angered by the move as they say much of their revenue comes from such adverts.
After ignoring the order last month, stations have been given until 18 December to comply or face sanctions. Traditional healers are also upset at allegations that their medicines are dangerous and do not cure people. Herbal cures are very popular in Togo where the cost of medical treatment is high.
Many of Togo's 60 private radio stations say their very survival is at stake as they earn more than 60% of their advertising revenue from traditional medicine slots. But the president of Togo's High Audio Visual and Communication Authority, Phillipe Evegnon, has refused to back down.
He told the BBC that while freedom of expression was guaranteed by the constitution, the media regulatory body was legally empowered to protect the population against the diffusion of false information likely to endanger lives. He said gullible people had been misled by adverts to believe that herbal concoctions, not subjected to scientific medical tests, would instantly cure their ailments. Some patients had abandoned treatment in hospitals because of promises of a herbal cure.
He cited instances of people suffering from hepatitis and diabetes who died some 48 hours after taking advertised remedies.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
U.N. BATTLES DISSIDENTS IN DR CONGO !
Mr Nkunda says the minority Tutsi community has been excluded. A UN helicopter gunship has fired on troops loyal to a dissident general to halt their advance towards Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier the followers of renegade Gen Laurent Nkunda took control of parts of Sake, close to the Rwandan border, after attacking army positions.
Thousands of civilians fled their homes in the town. Casualties are unclear. The clashes are the most serious in the east since DR Congo's first elections were held earlier this year. Tension is already high in the capital, Kinshasa, where the Supreme Court is due to deliver its verdict on the legal challenge to last month's presidential run-off election brought by the former rebel leader and current Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
In his appeal, Mr Bemba said the results that gave victory to President Joseph Kabila did not reflect the reality at the ballot box.
United Nations forces said their helicopters and peacekeepers opened fire against the dissidents after being attacked in and around the volatile eastern town of Sake. "Monuc troops were threatened by effective fire by 81st and 83rd brigades," said Monuc military spokesman Major Ajay Dalal.
"Attack helicopters fired on 81st and 83rd soldiers [dissidents loyal to Gen Nkunda] in Sake and a few kilometres east in Kasingazi
"Ground troops have also opened fire on both fronts."
At least eight soldiers are reported to have been killed in the attacks by the dissidents on Sake and eight rebels killed.
The dissident troops used machine-guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Sake is a small town about 25km (15 miles) west of the provincial capital of Goma. Mr Nkunda left the army and launched his own low-level rebellion after DR Congo's war ended, saying that the country's transition to democracy was flawed and had excluded the minority Tutsi community.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
OLD KENYAN RULING PARTY SPLINTERS !
Mr Biwott was Kenya's most powerful politician under Mr Moi. Kenya's former ruling party Kanu has split over a row to join an opposition political alliance formed last year. Uhuru Kenyatta's faction are to decide on Monday whether to back the popular Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in presidential elections due next year.
But Mr Kenyatta was ousted as leader on Friday by another faction in favour of Nicholas Biwott, one time right-hand man to ex-President Daniel arap Moi. Kanu was in power for almost 40 years after independence in 1963. Mr Moi has openly expressed his support for Mr Biwott, who continues to be seen by many Kenyans as a symbol of the darkest days of the former president's rule.
"Having been president of this country and knowing the wellbeing of the citizens, I cannot just join a tribal grouping. I am a nationalist," he said over the weekend, The East African Standard newspaper reports.
But Mr Uhuru rejected his former mentor's comments and attempts to remove him as Kanu chairman. "Their time has gone. We are working on the future of Kanu and will not agree to be dragged to the past," Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper quotes him as saying. Correspondents say the Kanu split marks a realignment in Kenyan politics.
Last year, the Narc coalition that brought President Mwai Kibaki to power in 2002 crumbled, which led to the formation of ODM.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
NIGERIA VP TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT !
Atiku Abubakar helped thwart a third term for President Obasanjo. Nigeria's Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has ended months of speculation by announcing he will stand for the presidency in next year's elections.
However, Mr Abubakar did not tell the political rally in the capital, Abuja, what party he would be representing. His candidacy is strongly opposed by President Olusegun Obasanjo and his governing People's Democratic Party.
Mr Abubakar fell out with Mr Obasanjo over the president's plan to amend the constitution and run for a third term. The vice-president was suspended from the party earlier this year and has been accused of corruption. Mr Abubakar denies allegations he diverted $125m into personal business interests. Speaking to thousands of supporters at the rally, Mr Abubakar said an opposition candidate could win and that it was the people who decided elections, not the ruling party.
He said the corruption charges against him were politically motivated and designed to stop him running for the presidency. The BBC's Alex Last in Nigeria says Mr Abubakar's speech gave the strongest hint yet that he may stand for a new opposition coalition, Action Congress.
But Mr Abubakar faces a difficult road to the presidency because elections in Nigeria are largely about money and power, and whoever is in government has plenty of both, our correspondent says.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CHAD REBELS 'MARCHING ON CAPITAL' !
The French embassy in Chad says a large column of rebel vehicles has been spotted heading towards the capital. The embassy said the possibility of fighting near N'Djamena within the next 24 hours could not be discounted.
Earlier, the Chadian government said it had retaken two towns near the Sudanese border, a day after rebels seized them. One rebel leader said his forces had withdrawn from the town of Abeche after inflicting heavy losses on the army, and were preparing to strike again. Abeche, about 700km (440 miles) east of N'Djamena, and the nearby town of Biltine, were captured by two different groups opposed to the rule of President Idriss Deby.
The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in N'Djamena says that for the second time in as many months, the capital is on full alert in fear of a rebel attack. Some reports say that between 100 and 120 vehicles may be on their way In a statement sent to the AFP news agency, the French embassy said: "The military situation changed swiftly at the end of the morning. The presence of a large rebel column has been confirmed in the Bata region of the country, heading west."
The sighting puts the rebels at less than 400km from the capital. The statement urged French residents in N'Djamena not to leave their homes after nightfall. AFP, quoting an unnamed Chadian military source, said the advancing rebels were from the Rally of Democratic Forces (RAFD) - the group that briefly took Biltine on Saturday. Rebels last attacked the capital in April, when hundreds of people were killed before the offensive was repelled. Last month rebels also threatened to approach the capital, but eventually turned round without attacking.
Chad's Defence Minister, Bichara Issa Djadallah, told the BBC that another rebel group, the Forces for Development and Democracy (UFDD), had fled Abeche on Sunday morning after the Chadian Army surrounded their positions. Extensive looting took place in Abeche on Saturday night, and there are reports that at least three humanitarian compounds were targeted.
Abeche, about 160km from the Sudanese border, is the centre of a huge relief operation, to assist refugees from the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. About 200,000 refugees have crossed the border into Chad to escape the violence in Darfur. The Chadian government has accused Sudan of backing the rebels - a charge Sudan denies - while Chad denies Sudanese claims that it supports black African rebels in Darfur.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
BEMBA FORCES LEAVE CONGO CAPITAL !
Soldiers have been stationed across Kinshasa. Forces loyal to a Democratic Republic of Congo presidential candidate have started to leave Kinshasa, following an ultimatum from President Joseph Kabila. About 50 men have left their base at Jean-Pierre Bemba's residence in the city centre, the army says.
Mr Bemba's forces had been given until Friday to leave Kinshasa, amid high tensions after he complained of fraud in last month's election run-off. The electoral commission says Mr Kabila won, with 58% of the vote. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Mr Bemba's claims of fraud later on Thursday. Mr Bemba, a former rebel leader, has an armed guard of around 600 men, the UN says, although he is only allowed to have 100, as a vice-president in the outgoing power-sharing government.
The first batch of his guards have been moved in a military truck to Maluku, a residential area on the banks of the Congo river, 80km (50 miles) east of Kinshasa. Correspondents say Mr Bemba had come under intense diplomatic pressure to agree to the relocation. "It shows that Jean Pierre Bemba's party has understood that it is necessary," said a spokesman for the UN's peacekeeping mission in DR Congo.
Mr Bemba has challenged the election result in court. The chief of staff of the Congolese army said that it was an ongoing process. The operation was carried out by the Congolese army, without foreign peacekeepers. The BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in Kinshasa says soldiers are deployed at strategic points and this has created fear of further fighting. Security forces loyal to the two men clashed in August, leaving at least 23 people dead in the capital, Kinshasa.
The capital is a stronghold of Mr Bemba. Armoured vehicles of the UN peacekeeping force and European troops are also patrolling the city, but a UN spokesman said disarming soldiers by force was not part of its mandate. On Tuesday, a protest by Mr Bemba's supporters outside the Supreme Court led to violence.
The court was set on fire and its hearings had to be suspended. The court must still confirm the provisional results. The elections were supposed to draw a line under a five-year conflict in which some four million people died. The polls were organised under the terms of a 2002 peace deal that drew in the armies of nine other African countries.
Under the deal, former rebels forced were supposed to be integrated into the army but progress has been slow and the three former rebel leaders who are vice-presidents have retained large personal security forces. The world's biggest peacekeeping force - some 17,000 men - is in DR Congo to prevent unrest.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
FURORE OVER NIGERIA'S RESCUE ATTEMPT !
Furore over Nigeria's rescue attempt
By Senan Murray - BBC News, Abuja.
Delta militants have carried out a series of attacks and abductions. The death of a British oil worker and three others in Nigeria's first attempt to use force to free hostages in its troubled Niger Delta has drawn criticism from security experts. "Quite frankly, I think the entire operation was a fiasco," the head of security for a major multinational oil company operating in the delta region told the BBC.
"Anyone with even the least understanding of the Niger Delta will tell you that strong-arm tactics don't work there. "There's nothing wrong with negotiating with the hostage-takers like we have done in the past, and safely, with huge success. Any time strong-arm tactics are applied, this sort of thing is bound to happen."
But the Nigerian Navy, which led the operation, has described it as a success. "It was a precise and very successful operation," Nigerian Navy spokesman Obiora Medani told the BBC. "If out of seven people, you are able to rescue six and people still go ahead to call it a fiasco, then I think they are not being sincere."
Expatriate oil workers are frequently kidnapped in the volatile Niger Delta, but this is the first time a foreign hostage has been killed. Usually, the kidnappers release the hostages unharmed after a few days or weeks and generous ransom payments that are never publicly admitted. Despite its oil resources, the Niger Delta area remains poor.
The only other known hostage death occurred in August under similar circumstances after Nigerian troops mistakenly opened fire on a group of militants that had helped with the rescue of the captive, a Nigerian employee of Royal Dutch Shell. "It was unfortunate that someone died, but that is something that is bound to happen when you have to shoot," Captain Medani said.
Gunmen abducted the seven hostages early on Wednesday morning from a supply vessel belonging to a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant ENI SPA off the coast of southern Nigeria in the latest attack by militants on oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The Briton was killed later in the day when his captors ran into a Nigerian naval patrol boat in the remote mangrove creeks of the Niger Delta swamp and a gun battle ensued. A soldier and two militants also died in the shootout, security sources say. It was learnt that the other six expatriates who survived the firefight are receiving medical attention on an oil rig owned by Lone Star Oil in Odiama creek, which lies a few kilometres south of Port Harcourt.
"In the future, if we had people taken, I would be talking to the government security forces to make sure that they don't try and rescue them," said an expert who coordinates security for another major Western oil company operating in the delta. "Oil workers are obviously going to be more concerned for themselves. But will this affect production or the way we do business? I would say probably not," he said.
Nigerian authorities, as usual, are silent on what went wrong. "I have not been briefed by the Navy and so I cannot say anything about the issue for now," said Anthony Aziegbemi, who is the chair of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Navy. "If we have a hostage policy in Nigeria, to be quite honest I don't know," Mr Aziegbemi said. "But I would think that we should have one."
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil exporter, producing roughly 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) pumped mainly from the Niger Delta, where most inhabitants remain poor. The country is the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter and the fifth-largest source of US oil imports.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Dear Family and Friends,
The prolonged effects of trying to survive the highest inflation in the world are grinding us down. When you ask people how they are, I mean how they really are, they say they are tired, they can't sleep, the worries just go round and round and there is no relief in sight.
Almost every day the propaganda machine here cranks out the usual rant and rave
about how private companies and businesses are putting their prices up. The
state media say that these people are "sabotaging the economy" and "fuelling
inflation" and they keenly name names of who has been arrested or fined that
day. No sensible or even rational explanations are given as to how a businessman
can stay afloat when he is ordered by the state to sell goods for a lower price
than he paid for them. Blind adherence to government stipulated prices is
dictated and common sense does not seem to enter into it. The state media says
nothing, however, about the price rises and complete lack of ethics and fair
trading in government organizations and companies. It seems they are exempt from
obeying their own rules
You don't ever post a letter here now without first checking how much postage
rates are. They change - every month! Last month it cost 60 dollars to post a
local letter, this month that same stamp costs 100 dollars and no one arrests
the Postmaster! (And please remember that you have to add three zeroes onto
every price in order to get the real costs - before the convenient removal of
digits a couple of months ago ) Postage rates now go up so often that it is very
rare to buy a local stamp which actually has a price printed on it. Local stamps
these days just bear the words: 'Standard Postage.' It is not clear what
standard is at hand, so we just take it to mean 'inflation standard.'
Parents all around are already beginning to panic about how they are going to
afford government school fees in January. One friend I spoke to said his
daughters fees at a government school were two and half thousand dollars this
term and were increasing to 15 thousand for the January term - an increase of
six hundred percent.
Then we come to water. In my home town on the same day that the water bills
were hand delivered there was a national news report on the colour and quality
of the water in the area. Actually, to say the bill is "hand delivered" is a bit
silly because in reality the flimsy bit of paper, not stapled closed or even
folded in half, is just thrown through the gate onto muddy ground! The news
report said, yes - it was true that raw sewerage was flowing into the dam which
supplies the town with water and yes, it was true the pump was also broken.
Appropriate film footage of foul brown slush pouring into our only source of
drinking water and a man kicking the broken pump, illustrated the report. For
this disgusting service there are no apologies or medical assistance, refunds
have not been given and the costs for deteriorating service continues to go up
and not down.
Then comes the mess that is called electricity. It is now not unusual to see
factories working at night. They do so, not because they are working double
shifts to keep up with demand, but because at night there is less chance of
machines shutting down in the incessant power cuts. This week a notice appeared
in the state run Herald newspaper advising people to conserve electricity
promising that if they did: "the streets will be safer with better lighting." Oh
Right, you say, what street lights! In a four kilometre journey in a built up
residential area, passing one church, one hospital, one nursery school, one
junior school and scores of private homes, just six street lights are working.
It has been like this for over a year. Knowing that less than five percent of
our street lights presently work, does not offer much of an incentive to save
power. I am sure the fifty or so families near me who had no electricity for
three days this weeks, feel likewise!
There is good news from Zimbabwe this week. It is raining, our vegetable
gardens are growing and so are the sounds of protest. For the next fifteen days
people are being called on to bang pots and make noise for a few minutes at
exactly 8 pm every night. This week there were five minute noise protests during
the lunch hour in Harare and Bulawayo and prayer protest gatherings too. Storm
clouds are gathering. Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy.
Copyright cathy buckle 25 November 2006.
My books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are both available at:
orders@africabookcentre.com
Recent letters can be read at:
http:/africantears.netfirms.com
U.N. FINDS MASS GRAVES IN D.R. CONGO !
UN investigators in the Democratic Republic of Congo say they have found mass graves with about 30 bodies in an army camp in the east of the country. The dead included women and children who appeared to have been murdered, a UN spokesman said. He believed they had disappeared in the last few months. The authorities have arrested two soldiers in connection with the finding in the town of Bavi in Ituri district.
The army has been deployed in the area to stop fighting between local militia. The discovery comes amid continued uncertainty in the capital Kinshasa following the re-election of incumbent leader Joseph Kabila in presidential elections. The finds followed a tip-off from a military witness, military prosecutor John Penza said. He said two army officers had been arrested in connection with the discovery. "There are bodies of men, of women, of children, some still not decomposed. It is horrible," he added.
A UN spokesman said witnesses had accused the Congolese army of involvement. "There are witnesses who directly accuse the First Brigade, which is based there (in Ituri), of being responsible," Kemal Saiki said. Correspondents say the First Brigade is one of several Congolese army brigades made up of fighters from factions who fought in Congo's 1998 - 2003 war.
Violence continues in the east and north of the country, despite the presence of thousands of UN peacekeeping troops. Ituri, on the Ugandan border, is one of the most volatile regions because of intense rebel activity. The Lendu and Hema ethnic groups are at war in the area, where Uganda's influence is strong.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ROW OVER 'AIDS' DEATH CERTIFICATE !
More than 10% of South Africans - some 5.5 million people - have HIV. A South African doctor should face a charge of unprofessional conduct for naming Aids on a death certificate against family wishes, officials say. A complaint was filed with the national health watchdog against Dr Leon Wagner after the woman died in April 2005. Dr Wagner has not yet entered a plea, saying it is unclear what rule he has broken. The hearing has been adjourned.
A BBC correspondent says the stigma attached to Aids means doctors do not commonly list it as the cause of death. Deaths are attributed on death certificates to related diseases, such as tuberculosis or pneumonia, rather than Aids, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says. The charge of unprofessional conduct has sparked debate in South Africa about the extent to which Aids-related deaths are covered up, he says. South Africa, where 5.5 million people are living with HIV, is one of several countries where the HIV epidemic is continuing to worsen, according to a UNAids report released this week.
Proceedings against Dr Wagner were triggered by a complaint by the family of a 30-year-old woman to the national health watchdog. After a disciplinary hearing in Bloemfontein, the South African Heath Professions Council said Dr Wagner should face a charge of "unprofessional conduct". South Africa's health minister promotes natural remedies. The case has been adjourned, probably until early next year.
The labour union to which Dr Wagner belongs, Solidarity, has said the case could be "a watershed for South Africa". "If he is exonerated and it is found that doctors may in future indicate Aids as the real cause of death on certificates, it would have tremendous consequences for the statistical documentation of this pandemic," a Solidarity spokesman said. The opposition Democratic Alliance has argued that current policies that protect the confidentiality of Aids patients at all costs may not be helping the national Aids awareness campaign.
The government approach to the HIV epidemic in South Africa has been controversial. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has promoted the use of natural remedies - such as telling people with HIV to eat garlic and beetroot - rather than the anti-retroviral drugs used in the West. More than 60 international experts on HIV/Aids called for her resignation in September, saying people were "dying unnecessarily" because they were being denied Aids drugs.
The United Nations special envoy for Aids in Africa has also criticised the South African government for its "negligent" attitude to rolling out treatment. However, hundreds of traditional healers demonstrated in support of Dr Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday, carrying placards warning of the dangers of anti-retrovirals.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
S.A. COURT BOOSTS GAY INHERITANCE !
Gay rights activists have challenged several existing laws.South Africa's highest court has ruled that gay people can inherit the property of their partners who die without a will. The Constitutional Court said existing succession laws discriminated against same-sex couples. The court said that whenever the word "spouse" was mentioned in the laws, the words "or partner in a same-sex life partnership" should be added.
South Africa's parliament last week legalised gay weddings. The law is expected to come into effect on 1 December, making South Africa the first country in Africa to legalise same-sex unions. Gay rights groups have welcomed the ruling on property rights. The parliamentary vote on gay weddings followed a Constitutional Court ruling last year that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married.
The change was strongly opposed by some religious groups and traditional leaders. South Africa has one of the world's most liberal constitutions - it was the first to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ETHIOPIA 'READY FOR ISLAMIST WAR' !
The Islamists have made rapid advances this year.Ethiopia has made preparations for a conflict with the Islamists who control much of southern Somalia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has told MPs. The Islamists have repeatedly declared Jihad, or Holy War on Ethiopia, accusing it of backing their rivals in Somalia's interim government. "This group represents a clear threat," Mr Meles said in Ethiopia's first prime minister's question time.
Some fear a regional war, as Ethiopia's rival Eritrea is seen as pro-Islamist. The Union of Islamic Courts has denied claims by Ethiopia and the Somali government that it has links to al-Qaeda. Some Islamist leaders want Somalia to take control of Somali-speaking areas of Ethiopia and Kenya.
Mr Meles said he did not believe the peaceful path of negotiations with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) was completely exhausted but he said they could not close their eyes or look the other way when the country was being attacked. He said the government had completed preparations to defend itself against UIC attack.
Opposition politicians said a resolution put forward by the ruling party calling on the house to back whatever moves the government thought necessary amounted to a declaration of war on Somalia. A UN report this month accused Ethiopia and Eritrea, among other countries, of breaking an international arms embargo by supplying arms to Somalia.
The UIC further accuses Ethiopia of having thousands of troops backing government forces in Somalia. Mr Meles has denied these claims but admits to having hundreds of military trainers in Somalia. Eritrea equally denies claims that it has sent troops and weapons to the UIC. Somalia's interim government only controls a small patch of territory around the town of Baidoa.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
