{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL AGNEWS, , le 25  février 2010 – The trip is the first to Rwanda by a French leader since the 1994 genocide. It aims to cement diplomatic ties that were restored in November, three years after they broke down because of arrest warrants accusing those close to Kagame of a role in the presidential assassination that sparked the genocide.

BURUNDI :

RWANDA

French president in Rwanda in 1st visit in 25 yrs

The Associated Press /Thursday, February 25, 2010

KIGALI, Rwanda — French President Nicolas Sarkozy is meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the first visit to Rwanda by a French president in 25 years. 

The meeting comes Thursday despite French international arrest warrants for eight people close to Kagame. 

The trip is the first to Rwanda by a French leader since the 1994 genocide. It aims to cement diplomatic ties that were restored in November, three years after they broke down because of arrest warrants accusing those close to Kagame of a role in the presidential assassination that sparked the genocide. 

Sarkozy late Wednesday met with a French aid worker in Mali released by al-Qaida’s North Africa offshoot this week. Sarkozy thanked Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure for his efforts to help free the aid worker.

UGANDA

U.S. May Look Past Uganda’s Museveni
By Norman S. Miwambo /blackstarnews.com/February 25th, 2010 

[Global: Africa News Review]

Is the United States looking past Yoweri K. Museveni, the Ugandan dictator who’s been in office for 24 years and enjoyed backing from various U.S. Administrations since Ronald Reagan’s?

That’s the question that the political establishment in Uganda is now debating with the recent visit of the U.S. ambassador to a Uganda hereditary monarch who has been at odds with Museveni.

For years, the U.S. uncritically supported the Ugandan general, who bullied and paid off lawmakers before the last presidential elections to lift the constitutional limit on presidential terms, which allowed him to run again.

Now Washington seems to be creating distance from the Ugandan, especially following the gunning down of as many as 30 unarmed demonstrators in the region of Buganda last year by Museveni’s security forces. Washington has trained and armed many of Uganda’s security personnel and the Obama Administration seems to have been embarrassed by the deadly show of force last September coming barely one month after President Obama had denounced tyranny in Africa, during his visit to Ghana.

Last month in a development that caught Kampala off guard, the U.S. Congress issued a directive to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling on her to closely monitor the preparation for next year’s Uganda presidential run and the voting itself. In the unprecedented development, Congress also called on Clinton to issue reports every four months and another one after the elections.

Ugandan politicians seem to have been emboldened by the unambiguous statement calling for democracy by the Obama Administration. The Directive also calls for protection of political candidates, a credible voter registry as well as an independent Election commission. Museveni had already unilaterally appointed his own rubber stamp commission, which the political opposition says it will reject.

What’s more, tension between the Museveni regime and Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II, the powerful hereditary monarch revered by the Baganda –they are the country’s most populous ethnic group– has never been worse. The civilians gunned down last year had protested against the Museveni government’s arm-twisting the Kabaka into cancelling a trip to visit some of his subjects in Buganda, which is a hereditary kingdom within Uganda, dating back more than six centuries.

After the Kampala massacres, as the incident is now referred to, the government also shut down CBS Radio, in which Kabaka Mutebi II is a shareholder, accusing it of inciting a riot. The Kabaka’s officials deny the charges and critics of the president contend the radio shutdown puts the Museveni regime at odds with the Congressional U.S. directive. Washington and London have primarily sustained the Museveni regime through the years with outside donors subsidizing as much as half of his government’s budget. Tighter Western purse strings could impact the government’s ability.

Washington has suddenly shifted its policy towards Uganda. “There was recognition that coming out of the disastrous Idi Amin and Milton Obote eras it would take some time for the country to recover and for democratic institutions to develop. But a long time has elapsed and people have become impatient,” Tim Rieser, a senior adviser to Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee which funds U.S. foreign aid programs, told The Black Star News last month, referring to the Museveni regime, after the Congressional directive became public.

Separately, Leahy also called for an investigation of an automobile incident involving a key Uganda opposition figure Olara Otunnu, in December, when his car was allegedly forced off the road by cars driven by Museveni’s Presidential Guard Brigade. Otunnu said it was an assassination attempt; Uganda’s minister in charge of international relations, Oryem Okello, denied the charges.

Washington has been playing a more even handed role since the September killings. Recently, Jerry P. Lanier, the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, met with Kabaka Mutebi II. U.S. embassy officials wouldn’t comment, with John H. Dunne, a mission officer saying: “As a policy, the mission does not comment on private meetings between U.S. Mission officials and individuals.”

It’s unclear whether Ambassador Lanier is trying to broker better relations between Museveni and the Kabaka, whose supporters have demanded that the radio station be reopened. The Kabaka’s officials have also been pushing back against Museveni, whom they see as trying to curb the monarch’s influence in the run up to next year’s elections. Politicians crave the Kabaka’s tacit endorsement.

“What we say is that the King of this nation, Buganda, is the Kabaka,” Apollo Makubuya, who is the Buganda Attorney General, said in an interview.

He added: “We do not discriminate and have never refused any one to practice their culture.”

Makubuya denied charges by Museveni that the Baganda were promoting parochial interests at odds with national ones.

Miwambo reports for The Black Star News from Europe.
Norman@blackstarnews.com

TANZANIA:

World Cup to boost tourism, says minister
By Mkinga Mkinga /thecitizen.co.tz/2010-02-25 

Tanzania’s tourism industry expects to cash in on the FIFA World Cup tournament, which will be held for the first time in Africa. 

The government projects tourist arrivals to increase by up to 20 percent during the World Cup period in June this year. 

The minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Shamsa Mwangunga, said the government was prepared to capitalise on the biggest soccer show to woe tourists. 

She said Tanzania, with diverse tourist attractions that cannot be found in any other African country such as Mount Kilimanjaro, will do doubt be tourists’ destination top choice. 

“Most of soccer fans from different continents would love to visit Tanzania because of our attractions, and we have prepared for the overflow of tourists,”Ms Mwangunga said. She said the Tanzania Tourist Board was working with South African tour operators to bring more tourists in the country. 

“They have assured us� and it’s our hope that we will benefit from the upcoming FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa,” Ms Mwangunga said. She said the government had sent fliers to tour operators in South Africa, which publicise tourism attractions that are found only in Tanzania. 

She said the tourism sector has been expanding rapidly, saying in 2000 a total of 501,669 tourists visited the country and the number increased to 770,376 which enabled the country to boost its tourism income from $736.06 million to $1269.68 million. 

Ms Mwangunga said in preparation for the World Cup, the government has set standards for hotels in Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions. She said 203 hotels were inspected and only 99 of them met the set standards and were graded. 

“Only 65 hotels qualified to graded in stars, 34 others were not qualified according to the set standards,”Adding that the exercise was ongoing in Arusha and Manyara regions. 

Tourist arrivals declined by 10 per cent in the first 10 months of 2009, to reach 576,643 down from 641,951 in 2008. 

The UN’s World Tourism Organisation�s 2009 report World Tourism Barometer projects that the negative trends in international tourism emerged in the second half of 2008 and intensified in 2009 due to the global economic downturn and swine flu pandemic. 

According to the report, international tourism dropped by 8 per cent, from 269 million in 2008 to 247 million in the first quarter of 2009.The organisation also speculates that the trend will carry on to June 2010. 

This is despite statistics showing declining figures with the exception of July, which recorded 79,171 visitors compared to 77,775 visitors in 2008. 

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the average length of stay for visitors in Tanzania mainland was nine nights which earns the country $299 per visitor.

Kenya’s EABL, SABMiller, Tanzania brewer end dispute
Thu Feb 25, 2010/Reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s East African Breweries said on Thursday it had agreed to settle a dispute with SABMiller Africa and Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) over the Tanzanian beer market.

Last year, EABL said it planned to buy a stake in another Tanzanian brewer, Serengeti, and end a manufacturing and distribution deal with TBL, SABMiller’s subsidiary. SABMiller then sought an injunction against the move at a London High Court.

“TBL will cease to brew and distribute EABL’s brands in Tanzania following a transitional period. TBL and SABMiller International BV’s brands will continue to be brewed and distributed in Kenya,” EABL said in a statement published in local newspapers.

Barrick targets Sh1.3tr in Initial Public Offer (IPO)

By The Citizen Reporter & Agencies /2010-02-25 

African Barrick Gold (ABG), the new company, which has taken over four gold mines in Tanzania, hopes raise up to $1 billion (about Sh1.3 trillion) when it sells 25 per cent of its stake to investors in London next month. 

According to reports released yesterday in the United Kingdom, after raising the targeted capital during the initial public offer (IPO), some of the proceeds will be used to enhance and expand the new company’s operations in Africa, and clear debts 

The Sh1.3 trillion is almost equivalent to one-eighth of the Tanzania Government�s current Budget. 

The amount is also nearly a fourth of the current value of the total shares being traded on the Dar es Stock Exchange (DSE), which recorded a turnover of only Sh94 million in yesterday�s trading session. 

However, some local experts have raised doubts over the decision to float ABG shares in London, instead of Tanzania, where the company has most of its assets. 

These comprise Bulyanhulu, North Mara, Tulawaka and Buzwagi mines, representing 9.6 per cent of total gold production of the parent company, Barrick Gold Corporation, which has a market capitalisation of about $37 billion (about Sh48.1 trillion). 

The new vehicle established to cater for the interests of the world’s biggest gold producer in Africa will target institutional investors in the IPO. 

The UK headquartered spin-off has assets worth about $4 billion (about Sh5.2 trillion) and is likely to be admitted to the FTSE 100 Index after selling the 25 per cent of its enlarged share capital. 

According to people familiar with the flotation, the biggest gold producer in Tanzania started pre-marketing its $875 million to $1 billion IPO on Monday. 

UK capital markets sources said the IPO would be London’s biggest in almost two years. Two of Tanzania’s mostly oversubscribed IPOs, Twiga Cement in 2006 and National Microfinance Bank in 2008, raised Sh92.5 billion and Sh224 billion, respectively. 

British papers have reported that some analysts believe Barrick’s new African subsidiary, which will later list on the DSE, is an attempt by the Canadian multinational to reduce portfolio risk. 

Barrick has been operating in Tanzania for a decade, producing 716,000 ounces in 2009, which would make it the largest UK-listed gold producer at flotation and the fourth largest working in Africa. 

Mr Greg Hawkins, the new chief executive of ABG, said Barrick had been looking at how to develop its African assets and maximise their value. 

“With the African assets sometimes it’s been difficult to grow because there are so many other huge Barrick projects around the world and Africa is often a bit smaller and hard to get on the radar,” he said. 

Barrick’s primary listing is on the Toronto Stock Exchange but the AGB offering was seeking to tap London-based investors seen as more favourable toward African assets. 

“Our understanding is that Africa is more attractive for the investor base in Europe and London,” said Mr Hawkins. “There’s a variety of reasons for this: London’s neatly in the time zone, there’s the history.” 

But local economists and other experts have warned that the secondary listing of ABG at the DSE would not be of much benefit, as was being anticipated in some quarters. 

They argued that the London flotation would raise the price of the shares beyond the reach of the majority people in Tanzania. 

Barrick’s new move came as it reported a fourth-quarter net income of $215 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a loss of $468 million, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. 

Mr Joe Lunn, an analyst at British firm FinCapp, said: “It�s a marketing thing. London is starved of large-cap gold miners. 

Randgold Resources is the only mid-to large-cap producer in London and as such commands a significant premium. In spinning off its African assets, Barrick will be hoping this new company commands a similar premium.” 

The sceptical local experts are calling for a careful assessment of the DSE listing plan even as other stakeholders laud the move as a major development in the quest for public participation in the ownership of the country’s mineral wealth. 

The latter also argue that the listing will boost the Dar bourse�s operations and performance, which currently has only 15 companies. 

In wide-ranging interviews since last Thursday, when Barrick officials announced the development to reporters at a briefing in Dar es Salaam, the local experts have given insights into what the public should expect. 

The most notable concern is whether the intended listing of the company on the local stock market will be affordable for the majority. 

Barrick officials say the DSE listing will facilitate local ownership of the company. 

“Listing on the DSE will allow for local investors to participate in the gold business and increase our profile both in Tanzania and Africa,” said Mr Deo Mwanyika, the vice-president for corporate affairs in the new firm, ABG. 

But the Civic United Front (CUF) national chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, said the share-trading plan at the DSE following the London IPO would not be of benefit to the national economy. He said that due to the immaturity of DSE, the foreign IPO would dictate the prices of the shares, putting them out of reach for many Tanzanians. 

“Will Barrick set different prices for the shares in London and Dar es Salaam? The firm is out to raise capital and I doubt any such considerations are a priority,”said Prof Lipumba, a renowned economist and former university lecturer.

CONGO RDC   :

KENYA :

Serena to build schools for Africa
Feb 25, 2010/By AFP 

US tennis star Serena Williams said on Wednesday she planned to help to build one new school every year in parts of Africa where education is beyond the reach of most children. 

The women’s world number one has helped in the construction of schools in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, as well as providing student grants and has joined in the fight against the killer disease, malaria, in Ghana. 

“It is my goal to open many schools for thousands of children who do not have the opportunity to get good education. I plan to do one every year,” said Serena, at the end of her whirlwind three-day tour of Kenya where she opened a second school in Makueni, some 150 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Nairobi. 

During her first trip to Kenya in November 2008, Serena commissioned her first school in the same region where, according to the national census statistics, 63.2 per cent of the local population live below the poverty line and most of the households are dependent on relief food due to severe drought conditions. 

“Without education, life is going to be very difficult. My parents always stressed the importance of getting an education and I hope I am bringing to fruition their word by opening this school to the community of Wee,” Serena said.

Tutu wants Kenyan TJRC chair to quit
BY CORRESPONDENT/www.capitalfm.co.ke/Feb 25 

NAIROBI/NEW YORK, Feb 25 – The head of Kenya’s Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission should heed the call that he immediately resign his post, as demanded by 10 eminent past members of truth commissions from around the world, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) said.

The 10 former chairpersons and commissioners of truth commissions urged Bethuel Kiplagat to step down as chairperson of the TJRC on the basis of findings by two government bodies that he allegedly committed improper or illegal acts. 

They would create a conflict of interest with his role as TJRC chairperson and put commission’s work and reputation at risk.

The former chairpersons and commissioners include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former chairperson of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Bishop Joseph Christian Humper, former chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone; and Salomon Lerner Febres, former chairperson of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“If the TJRC is to be effective, it has to be free of any taint of real or perceived bias and impropriety,” said Suliman Baldo, Director of ICTJ’s Africa Program. “To safeguard the commission’s work, we believe these international justice figures are exactly right in calling for the chairperson’s resignation.”

Below is full text of their call:

We, former chairpersons and commissioners of truth commissions from around the world, respectfully call upon Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, Chairperson of the Truth Justice &
Reconciliation Commission’s (TJRC) to step down from his positions as Chairperson and Commissioner.

We are deeply troubled by serious allegations of bias and misconduct that have been made against Chairperson Kiplagat. The allegations about his role in the former Moi government have generated a widely held perception that he labours under an unavoidable conflict of interest and that he is unable to bring an impartial mind to bear on his important duties as TJRC Chairperson.

We are advised that in previous years, a statutory Commission of Inquiry as well as a
Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry have made disturbing findings against Ambassador Kiplagat on matters that fall squarely within the TJRC’s mandate. The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Illegal and Irregular Allocation of Public Land (released in 2004) makes references to instances of the illegal acquisition of public land on the part of Ambassador Kiplagat. 

The Report of the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into the Murder of Dr. Robert Ouko includes a report from an investigation team which concluded that Ambassador Kiplagat was untruthful in his submissions. While Ambassador Kiplagat has disputed the references to him in these reports, they nonetheless have a direct and serious impact on public perceptions in relation to his fitness to hold high office in the Commission.

All truth commissioners must be seen to be upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity. They need to be seen to be scrupulously independent and objective. We are constrained to point out that Ambassador Kiplagat does not meet these essential standards.
We note that truth commissions must enjoy the confidence of the public to succeed. Since objective grounds of a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of Ambassador Kiplagat exist in the minds of the public, he is duty bound to resign for the greater good of the commission and country.

We believe that if the current state of affairs is not addressed the TJRC will not be able to deliver truth, justice and accountability for past injustices and gross human rights violations. For these reasons we call upon Ambassador Kiplagat to immediately step down so that the TJRC may proceed with its critical tasks of promoting justice and combating impunity in Kenya.

Statement endorsed by:
Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Former Chairperson of the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission
Former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Former General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches
Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Bishop Joseph Christian Humper
Former Chairperson of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone
Bishop of the United Methodist Church, Sierra Leone
Member of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
Recipient of the Distinguished Peacemaker Award – Africa

Salomon Lerner Febres
Former Chairperson of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Former President of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Current President of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights at the Catholic University,
Lima

Alexander Lionel Boraine
Chairperson of the Mauritian Truth & Reconciliation Commission
Former Deputy-Chairperson of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Chairperson of the Board of the International Centre for Transitional Justice
Former member of the South African Parliament
Former President of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa
Global Visiting Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law

Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Member of the South African Judicial Services Commission
Acting Judge of the Cape High Court
Member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur
National Chairperson of Advocates for Transformation (South Africa)

Yasmin Sooka
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Former Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone
Former Acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa
Director of the Foundation for Human Rights

Reverend Bongani Blessing Finca
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Provincial Electoral Officer for the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Mary Burton
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Former President of the Black Sash
Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the University of Cape Town
Recipient of National Order of Luthuli Award

Dr Fazel Randera
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Former Inspector-General of Intelligence (South Africa)
Medical Director of the Aurum Institute
Former National Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Committee

Richard Lyster
Former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Former Director, Legal Resources Centre, Durban

Kenya’s Unga Group H1 pretax surges
Thu Feb 25, 2010 /Reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan miller Unga reported a 335 percent jump in pretax profit to 237.9 million shillings for the six months ended December, thanks to rising turnover and stronger regional currencies.

Turnover rose by 9 percent to 6.2 billion shillings compared with a similar period a year before, while operating profit dipped to 212.2 million shillings from 219.1 million, it said in its unaudited results.

“Turnover grew 9 percent in line with volume growth across all our segments. Measures implemented to ensure product supply, as well as the strengthening of both the Kenya and Uganda shillings versus the U.S. dollar, enabled the group to realise positive operating results,” Unga said.

The group said a waiver on import duty on maize during the first half of the financial year was crucial, given that there was a shortage of grain in the country at the time.

“The reinstatement of duty will result in significant increases in finished product prices with a consequential impact on maize and animal feed volumes,” it said.

The firm said wheat volumes recorded double-digit growth compared with a similar period a year before, helped by growing demand in Uganda and Kenya.

Earnings per share rose to 1.32 shillings from 0.35 shillings in the six months ended December 2008, Unga said.

Its shares closed trade at 8.35 shillings on Wednesday.

ANGOLA :

Cobalt International Energy, Inc. Announces Execution of Risk Services Agreements for Blocks 9 and 21 Offshore Angola
Feb. 25, 2010/www.marketwatch.com
HOUSTON, Feb 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (“Cobalt”) /quotes/comstock/13*!cie/quotes/nls/cie (CIE 12.54, -0.13, -1.03%) today announced Cobalt’s execution of Risk Services Agreements for Blocks 9 and 21 offshore Angola with the national oil company of Angola, Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola — Empresa Publica (Sonangol E.P.), as well as Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao, S.A. (Sonangol P&P), Nazaki Oil and Gaz, S.A. and Alper Oil, Limitada. 

The Risk Services Agreements, which were executed and dated on February 24, 2010, govern Cobalt’s 40% interest in and operatorship of Blocks 9 and 21 offshore Angola and form the basis of Cobalt’s exploration, development and production operations on these blocks. Their execution is a key milestone that allows for the commencement of Cobalt’s offshore Angola drilling program, currently planned to begin within the next twelve months. The terms of the executed Risk Services Agreements are substantially the same as the terms that were finalized and initialed by Sonangol E.P. and Cobalt in October 2009 and disclosed as part of Cobalt’s initial public offering. 

Cobalt’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph H. Bryant, said “We are delighted to announce the execution of the Risk Services Agreements for Blocks 9 and 21 offshore Angola. We have worked closely with Sonangol for the past several years regarding the pre-salt play offshore Angola, beginning before the announcement of the Tupi discovery offshore Brazil. We are pleased that these agreements have been signed so that we can now embark with Sonangol and the contractor group on a robust drilling program to prove the Angolan pre-salt play on these blocks as soon as possible.” 

About Cobalt 

Cobalt is an independent oil exploration and production company focusing on the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore Angola and Gabon. Cobalt was formed in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. 

Forward Looking Statements 

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — that is, statements related to future, not past, events. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “plan,” “will” or other similar words. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that ultimately may not prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. For further discussion of risks and uncertainties, individuals should refer to Cobalt’s SEC filings. Cobalt undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. 

SOURCE: Cobalt International Energy, Inc. 

Cobalt International Energy, Inc. 
Investor Relations 
John Wilkirson, +1 713-452-2322 
Vice President, Strategic Planning and Investor Relations

SOUTH AFRICA:

Coal of Africa, Exxaro, Massmart: South African Stock Preview
February 25, 2010/By Nasreen Seria/Bloomberg

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — The following stocks may rise or fall in South Africa. Symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the last close.

The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell for a second day, declining 122.42, or 0.5 percent, to 26,933.08 in Johannesburg.

Coal of Africa Ltd. (CZA SJ): The coal explorer said it’s taken its interest in the Vele project to 100 percent. The shares rose 40 cents, or 2.4 percent, to 17.34 rand.

Exxaro Resources Ltd. (EXX SJ): The coal producer said annual net income declined 71 percent to 1 billion rand ($128 million). Exxaro shares rose 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 109 rand.

Liberty Holdings Ltd. (LBH SJ): The insurer controlled by Standard Bank Group Ltd. said annual profit dropped to 44 million rand from 1.1 billion rand a year earlier. The shares fell 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 69.05 rand.

Liberty International Plc (LBT SJ): The U.K.’s largest owner of shopping centers is in talks to sell its U.S. office buildings and malls, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Liberty shares lost 60 cents, or 1.1 percent, to 56.50 rand.

Massmart Holdings Ltd. (MSM SJ): The country’s largest food and goods wholesaler said first-half profit decreased 20 percent to 693.7 million rand. The shares declined 1.50 rand, or 1.7 percent, to 88 rand.

Nedbank Group Ltd. (NED SJ): The country’s fourth-largest bank said full-year net income slipped to 4.83 billion rand from 6.4 billion rand. Nedbank’s shares increased 1.60 rand, or 1.3 percent, to 122 rand.

Reunert Ltd. (RLO SJ): Nedgroup Securities raised its recommendation on the stock to “buy” from “hold.” The shares rose 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 55.85 rand.

Super Group Ltd. (SPG SJ): The transport company posted a profit of 25.8 million rand in the six months through Dec. 31 compared with a 361 million rand in the year-earlier period. The shares were unchanged at 63 cents.

Ububele Holdings Ltd. (UBU SJ): The food processing company said first-half profit more than doubled to 15.4 million rand compared with a year ago. The shares were unchanged at 3 cents.

Verimark Holdings Ltd. (VMK SJ): The retailer of fitness equipment and household goods said per-share earnings in the year through Feb. 28 was 9.2 cents, compared with a 3.3 cents loss in the year-earlier period. The shares were unchanged at 68 cents.

Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:

Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) fell 0.6 percent to $18.18. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) dropped 0.4 percent to $34.72. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) rose 1 percent to $61.81. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) increased 0.3 percent to $5.91. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) retreated 0.7 percent to $11.08. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) advanced 1.1 percent to $8.89. Impala Platinum Holdings (IMPUY US) dropped 1.3 percent to $23.60. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) increased 3.2 percent to $3.89. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) rose 0.1 percent to $36.26.

–Editor: Vernon Wessels, Alastair Reed.

Tanzania campaigns to woo World Cup 2010 tourists

www.eturbonews.com/By Apolinari Tairo, eTN / Feb 25, 2010 
A few months ahead of FIFA World Cup kick-off in South Africa, Tanzania has launched a campaign that would attract global football fans and sports tourists to visit the country’s premier attractions.

In kicking off the campaign, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has organized and invited 28 travel and tourism executives from leading South African tourist companies to visit Tanzania’s key sites to assess the available tourist attractions and services being offered to the foreign visitors.

The senior official of the board’s marketing department, Mr. Amant Macha, said a delegation of South African tour operators were in Tanzania in early February, while the second group was in Tanzania this week. Two other groups composed of travel agents, hotel stakeholders, and tour and airline operators are expected to fly into Tanzania in March. 

During their stay in Tanzania, the South Africans took an educational tour in northern Tanzania’s tourist circuit including the Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Lake Manyara wildlife parks to familiarize them with the wildlife attractions and services offered to tourists while visiting these most tourist-pulling sites in East Africa.

Other than the wildlife parks, the delegation viewed Mount Kilimanjaro and visited Mazimbu and Dakawa areas in Morogoro region to pay an homage tour to witness the places where South African youths took their military and political education to fight against the former apartheid policies in their country.

Mazimbu and Dakawa, about 250 kilometers southwest of the capital city of Dar es Salaam, are the sites where Black South Africans concentrated their forces and took military training to fight back the separatist apartheid politics in their county.

After the visit by South African tourist stakeholders there, the two sites have been earmarked to become historical and tourist sites where South Africans of all races will be going to pay homage visits.

Tanzanian and South African governments are negotiating the best options to make these two places tourist sites. 

While in Tanzania, the South African tourist delegation met the minister for natural resources and tourism, Mrs. Shamsa Mwangunga, for discussions.
“All of them enjoyed their stay in Tanzania and experienced the country’s environment in perfect weather conditions,” the TTB official said.

“Tanzania has remained in the hearts of many South Africans as the country gave its moral and material support to South African freedom fighters in the struggle to root out apartheid policy in the country,” he added.

On their side, the South African tourist executives vowed to promote tour packages to Tanzania during the World Cup event by encouraging sports fans and other stakeholders to visit Tanzania and experience its unique attractions including Zanzibar Island, Selous Game Reserve, Kilwa Ruins, and Kondoa Irangi, apart from northern wildlife parks.

Through a joint tourism promotion between Tanzania and South Africa, a sort of a promotional project will be launched just before the World Cup tournaments in June with an aim to market the two countries during and after the World Cup event.

The Tanzania Tourist Board is on its side, looking to attract sports fans and spectators from South Africa to visit key tourist attractive sites in Tanzania during recess periods or before and after the match. 

In order for this campaign to succeed, the Tanzania Tourist Board has teamed up with South African Airways (SAA), looking for more seats or added daily flights between Johannesburg and Tanzanian airports so as to ensure that every tourist from South Africa can fly to Tanzania.

AFRICA / AU :

Thai Customs Seizes 2 Tons of Ivory
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Published: February 25, 2010

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled as mobile phone parts in the country’s largest ivory seizure. 

Thai Customs officials valued Wednesday night’s haul at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at 120 million baht ($3.6 million). It is further sign that Thailand is emerging as a hub for the illicit trade. 

Poaching of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years, with much of the illegal ivory exported to Asia. 

Seree Thaijongrak, the direct of investigation and suppression bureau for the Customs Department, said that acting on a tip, officials seized two pallets found to contain 239 tusks of African elephants. 

The consignment, which originated in South Africa, was labeled as mobile phone parts in a consignment destined for Laos — apparently to confuse customs officials, as Laos has an agreement with neighboring Thailand not to check cargo in transit. 

A Thai national, however, attempted to pick up the cargo and was detained, Seree said. Customs officials suspect the tusks would have been crafted into trinkets and jewelry in Thailand. 

”This is the biggest seizure we have ever had,” Seree said. ”This is a real accomplishment for Thailand. Normally, this would have gone right through but we got the tip-off.” 

Seree said smuggling of ivory from Africa is on the rise in Thailand as in much of Southeast Asia. 

Ivory shipped to Thailand typically goes to carvers who fashion it into Buddhist statues, bangles and jewelry for sale to tourists or sale in other countries. Thailand is also a transit point for ivory forwarded to other markets like China. 

Last month, Thailand arrested two Thai women accused of dealing in illegal African ivory, a day after an American and a Thai national were indicted in California on charges of smuggling ivory into the United States. Police believe the women supplied ivory to the Thai national whom prosecutors say sold several pieces of ivory on eBay, disguising shipments as gifts and toys. 

The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned all international ivory trade in 1989. Traders in Thailand have thrived in part because the 1989 ban did not address domestic trade. That loophole allows them to deceive authorities by claiming their African ivory came from domestic sources — a tactic that is effective because it can be difficult without DNA testing to tell the difference between African and Asian ivory. 

Authorities say 10 tons of African ivory was seized in Southeast Asia last year, including three seizures in Thailand.

N Africa wing of al-Qaeda releases hostage
By Heba Saleh in Cairo /www.ft.com/Published: February 25 2010

A French hostage abducted in Mali and held for three months by al-Qaeda’s north African wing arrived yesterday in the capital Bamako, hours after his release. It follows concessions by the Malian government to his captors, which have angered neighbouring states.

Both Algeria and Mauritania have withdrawn their ambassadors from Mali in protest at a court ruling earlier this week that resulted in the release of four Islamist militants, including two Algerians and a Mauritanian.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, had threatened to kill the Frenchman unless Mali released the four militants who had been in possession of automatic weapons and a rocket launcher when they were arrested last year.

Algeria described the decision as “unfriendly” and said it “forcefully condemned and denounced” it.

AQIM is still holding five other western hostages: an Italian couple abducted in December in Mauritania and three Spanish aid workers who were also taken in Mauritania.

Last year it executed a British captive after London refused to release a radical Jordanian cleric.

Largely comprised of Algerians, AQIM operates in the vast borderless Saharan territories of southern Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, exploiting the absence of state control.

The group is the latest reincarnation of a militant organisation born in the civil war, which gripped Algeria in the 1990s.

In 2007, it merged with al-Qaeda and adopted a global jihad agenda, focusing on western targets. Experts believe this was a way of reviving its flagging fortunes after its ranks had been depleted by amnesties and by successful pressure from the Algerian army.

Having rebranded itself as al-Qaeda, the group started to stage big attacks in Algeria including ambushes against the army and suicide bombings against high-profile targets.

But experts say AQIM was forced to turn its attention to the Saharan south because it failed in the global jihad objectives it took on when al-Qaeda made it its north African wing.

“It was supposed to turn global, so fighting the Algerian army could not be the end of the day for it,” said Jean-Pierre Filiu, professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris.

UN /ONU :

USA :

Liberian denies US claims of civil war killings
The Associated Press / February 25, 2010

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A significant figure in Liberia’s civil war now living in upstate New York has denied charges that he is responsible for killings overseas and is in the United States without valid documents. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities are moving to return George Boley Sr. to Liberia based on allegations that he was the leader of a warring faction that committed grisly human rights abuses during the West African country’s more than decade-long civil war. 

Boley, the 60-year-old former leader of the Liberian Peace Council, appeared briefly Wednesday before an immigration judge at the federal detention facility where he has been held since his Jan. 15 arrest. The proceedings are to continue March 16.

US transfers Guantanamo detainees

english.aljazeera.net/2010/02/25

Four detainees held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have been transferred to Albania and Spain, according to the US justice department.

Three detainees, originally from North Africa, were sent to Albania.

They were identified as Saleh Bin Hadi Asasi, originally from Tunisia, Sharif Fati Ali al Mishad, an Egyptian national and Abdul Rauf Omar Mohammad Abu al Qusin from Libya.

The fourth man, transferred to Spain, was not identified beyond that he was from the occupied Palestinian territories.

The justice department said on Wednesday that it worked with the governments of Albania and Spain to “ensure the transfers took place under appropriate security measures and consultations”.

Barack Obama, the US president, had pledged to close the prison by last month, but 188 people continue to be imprisoned there.

He reiterated his commitment to shut down the prison last month, saying: “We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al-Qaeda.”

But his administration has encountered various legal and political hurdles in trying to close the jail, including finding alternative places to continue holding some of the inmates.

Since his administration took office in January 2009, 48 detainees have been transferred overseas and one has been sent to New York to face criminal charges for the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Africa.

Yemeni petitions rejected

Separately, a US judge in Washington has rejected petitions by two Yemeni detainees, Suleiman Awadh bin Agil al-Nahdi and Fahmi Salem al-Assani, to be released from the Guantanamo prison.

About 32 detainees have won release from Guantanamo through petitions in US courts while 11 have had their requests rejected.

Last month, Obama suspended the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to Yemen following revelations that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to destroy a Detroit-bound US airliner on December 25, reportedly received al-Qaeda training in Yemen.

The suspension also came shortly after reports that at least a dozen former Guantanamo prisoners had rejoined al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Around half of the detainees left at Guantanamo are from Yemen, and some of them had already been cleared to be sent home before the suspension.

Black History Month celebrates our differences, pulls us apart

bgnews.com/By Bryan Warrick, General Reporter /Published: February 25, 2010
February is known as Black History Month. It is a time to remember the people and struggles that helped form not just the black culture, but the United States as a whole. And while the names and achievements of people like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall cannot, and will not, be forgotten, the idea of a whole month dedicated to any one group seems to be bordering on racist itself.

Now there is no way to argue there have been significant trials and hardships black people have faced, from slavery to segregation. These were real evils that brave men and women fought for centuries to destroy. But in today’s society, at a time many feel racism may finally be on its way to extinction in the U.S., putting this much emphasis on any race seems to go against everything that the great people worked to achieve.

Case in point: Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man and revolutionary who showed an entire generation that change is possible. The most defining moment of his life was his “I Have a Dream” speech. In it, he declares the vision he has for the future, where people of all races live together in peace and judge one another on character, not skin. And yet for some reason there is a month-long celebration with the sole purpose of drawing attention to the color of someone’s skin. Does this make sense to anyone else?

The trials and problems of the past are still a large part of America, but we have MLK Day to remember the man who best defines that struggle to everyone. Why also add a month that makes people feel different races mean something? Isn’t that the definition of racism, putting a special emphasis of race and acting like it is different from others?

We are all Americans, and that should be the No. 1 thing we are proud of. If you are proud of your racial or ethnic heritage, then more power to you. But it should not be the thing that defines an American.

For example, I’m Irish and very proud of that. But I am an American first. Why do the Irish only have one day in the year to show off their pride? Don’t they deserve a whole month, too? The Irish went through centuries of suffering too. Their nation was occupied by a foreign power that treated them like dirt. Hundreds of thousands died during the Potato Famine and were forced to move to America where they suffered fierce racism and prejudice that rivals that of the South during segregation.

Better yet, why doesn’t the Jewish community have a whole month of remembrance in the United States? They went through slavery, thousands of years of prejudice and were the victims of genocidal programs. Where is Hebrew History Month?

Could it simply be the Irish and Jewish no longer care about their heritage? Not at all, but they realize this is America, not Europe hundreds of years ago. We do need to learn the lessons of the past, but focusing so much on a race and the troubles they went through is not remembrance. That is not letting go the problems of the past. That is not moving forward together as an American race to better the nation.

Black History Month is meant to honor the past and remember the achievements of the great men and women who changed the nation. But if you really want to honor them and make their dreams a reality, stop saying there is a difference between the races. Stop acting like there is such a big difference between blacks and whites. That is the definition of racism and is exactly what a month-long celebration of race is. 

We are all the same, we are all Americans. That is the bottom line.

CANADA :

AIDS talks centre on ant-retroviral drugs
Albuquerque Express/ 25th February, 2010 

Scientists at the American Association for the Advancement of Science have suggested blanket HIV testing and anti-AIDS drugs to wipe out the disease over the next few decades. 

The scientist have said they will need to try the new approach as they have turned up nothing new in the search for a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Some researchers believe the real focus now should be on anti-retroviral drugs that suppress the amount of the virus in the blood to very low levels.

In so-doing, they have said, HIV-positive individuals should be virtually non-infectious.

The blanket testing method is now being discussed at strategy meetings, aimed at the possibility of treating some of the world’s most at-risk populations in conjunction with a program of early testing and treatment.

Trials are also under way in the US, Canada and Africa to see whether giving antiretroviral drugs to uninfected individuals in high risk populations lowers transmission rates.

More than 30 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, which takes two million lives each year.

Britain says sorry to children shipped to Australia
www.earthtimes.org/By : dpa /Posted : Thu, 25 Feb 2010 

Sydney – British children shipped to Australia from 1947-67 gathered as adults Thursday to receive an apology from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for what he called the “deportation of innocent lives.”The formal apology, to a group of 150,000 children ages 3 to 14 who sometimes refer to themselves as the Orphans of Empire, was delivered by Brown to the House of Commons Wednesday in London and is being relayed at British missions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which was then called Rhodesia. 

Brought up in orphanages where neglect, brutality and even sexual abuse were commonplace, child migrants to Australia received a formal apology last year in the Canberra Parliament. 

As many as 10,000 children that Britain didn’t want because they were born to single mothers or into poor homes were shipped to Australia as “good, white stock.” 

Often falsely labeled orphans and not told they had brothers and sisters as well as mothers and fathers, they were dumped in institutions run by the church or the state. The migration programme has no parallel in history, anywhere else in the world. 

Many Orphans of Empire say their lives were ruined by abuse and neglect while in care in Australia. 

“As children, we were a commodity,” London-born George Walden, 82, said before attending a ceremony at the British consulate in Sydney. 

Others hold no grudge. 

David Hill, who was sent to Australia with his twin brother at the age of 12, rose to become head of public broadcaster ABC and chairman of Australian Railways. 

“That says what a fantastic country Australia is despite all its flaws,” he said. “At least that aspect of the great egalitarian Australian tradition prevails.” 

Black History Month brings historic issues to the forefront

bgnews.com/By Hama Bbela, Columnist /Published: February 25, 2010

Black History Month is set aside to celebrate the history of the peoples of the African Diaspora. It’s celebrated in England in October and in Canada and the United States in February. It was started by historian Carter G. Woodson, the son of former slaves, who emphasized and encouraged the intellectual study of black history. 

Woodson picked February because it marked the birthdays of two men who affected black history profoundly, namely Abraham Lincoln and former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Despite it being established in 1926, the month has faced criticism from within and outside the black community.

Some have asked why a month should be set aside for one race; others say setting aside a month for one race’s history makes it harder to become part of mainstream American history. Some have argued that, like many things, it has been co-opted by mainstream society into another excuse to sell boxed-set DVDs or some other black history related merchandise. 

Despite the controversy, Black History Month is still the celebration of a shared history. One cannot take away from the necessity of celebrating Black History Month.

You don’t need to be an academic or scholar to understand modern civilization has historically marginalized all peoples of color. Western academic tradition has emphasized Western literature, art and history more than any other. The contributions of people of color to world history are ignored. We study everyone from the great Napoleon to Isaac Newton, but black history is only taught as far back as when the first black slaves were brought to America.

Yet, even then this history very tacitly ignores that black American history also stretches thousands of years to Africa where great civilizations and powerful states existed. The emphasis has always been on the wretched and often sad aspects of black history. Black History Month is essentially an attempt by a people to reclaim a proud and important culture that makes them as American as any large immigrant group. 

Racial identity is a complex issue because everyone wants to believe in racial neutrality. Everyone wants to believe they can be any color and walk down the street and have someone look at them and see a human being. This is a very nice, upbeat view of the world; sadly, by and large images of blackness on TV and in academia are associated with deeply held misconceptions about the black experience. 

Black History Month gives everyone an opportunity to engage in a full-on discussion of race and racial identity. The view of every young black male as a potential gang-banger or ex-convict is still common today. By having Black History Month, we give people a chance to question these misconceptions and get an accurate, more humanistic view of the black experience. It isn’t made to emphasize differences, it actually is an opportunity to humanize the black experience. It’s a chance for people of color around the world, all taken to the New World by slavery, to celebrate each other and their struggles. 

Slavery afflicted the whole New World. People rarely think of black people in Latin America. The reality is they exist in huge numbers, yet in this century still haven’t gotten a fair share in those societies. Black History Month is a chance to celebrate in a shared history that is sad but eventually is a celebration of the transcendent nature of the human spirit. 

Embracing our unique identities isn’t an attempt to forfeit our own, but is an attempt to live in another person’s shoes. Black History Month opens hearts and minds to the black experience and shows how authentically unique and American it truly is.

AUSTRALIA :

EUROPE :

GM crops down in Europe as rest of world increases adoption
Science|Business reporting
25 February 2010/bulletin.sciencebusiness.net

Planting of genetically modified crops fell in Europe in 2009, as countries elsewhere increased adoption, and in the most significant breakthrough China approved biotech food crops for the first time.

Six European countries planted 94,750 hectares of biotech crops in 2009, down from seven countries and 107,719 hectares in 2008, as Germany discontinued its planting. Spain planted 80 per cent of all the Bt maize in the EU in 2009 and maintained its record adoption rate of 22 per cent from the previous year.

In November 2009 there was a landmark decision when China issued biosafety certificates for biotech insect-resistant rice and phytase maize. Rice is the most important food crop globally and maize is the most important animal feed crop in the world, meaning these biosafety clearances will have enormous implications for future biotech crop adoption in China. The crops must complete 2 to 3 years of standard registration field trials prior to commercialisation. 

As the largest rice producing country, China suffers significant losses from rice borer. According to the 2009 survey of biotech crop planting by ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications) Bt rice has the potential to increase yields up to 8 per cent, decrease pesticide use by 80 per cent and generate $4 billion in benefits annually. 

“This would have a direct and extensive increase on the prosperity of about 440 million Chinese who rely on rice production,” said Dafang Huang, former director at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. “With hundreds of millions of small farmers in our country, biotech crops can serve as an engine for agricultural economic growth and bring prosperity to these small farmers.” 

China is also the second largest maize producer in the world, with about 100 million farmers growing 30 million hectares. Increasing prosperity in the country is creating an increased demand for animal protein, making maize a key resource. The phytase maize will allow China’s 500 million pigs and 13 billion chickens and other poultry to digest more phosphate, improving the animal’s growth and reducing the amount of the nutrient excreted. Currently, phosphate must be purchased and added to feed, and it contributes to environmental pollution.

China is just one of 16 developing countries that grew biotech crops in 2009. Growth of biotech crops has been substantially higher in developing nations – 13 per cent or 7 million hectares in 2009 compared to just 3 per cent or 2 million hectares in industrialized countries. As a result, almost half (46 per cent) of the global hectarage of biotech crops were planted in developing countries. 

“This strong adoption puts to rest the idea that biotech crops can only benefit larger farmers and industrialised countries,” Huang said. “In fact, countries like China, with hundreds of millions of small farmers, have identified biotech crops as a key to self-sufficiency to make it less dependent on others for food, feed, and fibre.” 

Overall, in 2009, 14 million farmers planted 134 million hectares (330 million acres) of biotech crops in 25 countries, up from 13.3 million farmers and 125 million hectares (7 per cent) in 2008. Notably, in 2009, 13 of the 14 million farmers, or 90 per cent, were small and resource-poor farmers from developing countries. 

ISAAA says biotech rice and the drought tolerant trait have been identified as the two most important drivers globally for future biotech crop adoption. China’s biosafety clearance of insect-resistant rice is likely to spur faster development of biotech rice and other biotech crops in other developing countries. Meanwhile drought tolerant maize is expected to be deployed in the US in 2012 and sub-Saharan Africa in 2017.

2009 saw the beginning of the second generation of biotech crops with the approval of SmartStax, a maize containing eight different genes for insect and herbicide resistance; and planting in the US and Canada of the first Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, the first product of a new class of technology that allows more efficient, precise insertion of genes in a fashion that is said to increase yields. 

ISAAA predicts future adoption increases will also come from:

significant expansion of biotech soybean, maize, and cotton in Brazil. 

commercialisation of Bt cotton in 2010 by Pakistan, the fourth-largest cotton growing country.

expansion of Bt cotton in Burkina Faso with potential adoption of biotech cotton and/or maize in other African countries including Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, and Mali. 

adoption of golden rice by the Philippines in 2012 and Bangladesh and India before 2015. 

Other crops are also expected to be approved by 2015, including potatoes with pest and/or disease resistance, sugarcane with quality and agronomic traits, and disease resistant bananas. Wheat remains the last major staple crop without approved biotech traits. China may be the first country to approve biotech wheat as early as 5 years from now. Traits such as disease resistance are well advanced while sprouting tolerance and enhanced quality traits are being field-tested. China’s public investment in the crop is likely the largest worldwide.

Italy Convicts Google Execs of Privacy Violation
By SAM GUSTIN/ www.dailyfinance.com/02/25/10

Google , Microsoft 
It’s getting a little dicey for Google (GOOG) in Europe.

On Wednesday, an Italian judge found three Google executives — including the company’s top lawyer — guilty of violating the privacy of a youth over a 2006 video that depicted the child, who has Down Syndrome, being bullied. In what Internet experts are calling a dangerous precedent, the judge held the executives responsible after a copy of the video was posted on Google Video.

Meanwhile, the company said Wednesday it faces antitrust scrutiny from European Union regulators over complaints leveled by three European Internet companies. The court ruling and the E.U. probe, which officials said was preliminary, are signs of Google’s increasingly rocky road in Europe.

Google expressed shock at the Italian decision, calling it “astonishing.”

The Milan-based judge found Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, Chief Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer and former Chief Financial Officer George Reyes, guilty of violating the privacy of the youth, whose father had brought the case along with an Down Syndrome advocacy group. Each of the executives face suspended six-month prison sentences. Google said it will appeal the case.

Google Says Ruling Attacks Internet Freedom

None of the executives was even aware of the video until it was taken down, shortly after being posted, the company said. But even more troubling, the company said, was the that the ruling “attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built.”

“European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence,” Matt Sucherman, Google’s Deputy General Counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, wrote in a blog post. “The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy.”

In the United States, federal law grants Web-hosting providers protection from similar prosecution.

Freedom Of Internet Or Dignity Of Individual?

Fleischer, Google’s privacy chief, issued statement saying, “If company employees like me can be held criminally liable for any video on a hosting platform when they had absolutely nothing to do with the video in question, then our liability is unlimited.” Drummond called the verdict “a dangerous precedent” that “imperils the powerful tool that an open and free Internet has become for social advocacy and change.”

Italian Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo disputed that notion. “This trial wasn’t about freedom of the Internet, as some people have said. Instead, for the first time in Italy, there has been a discussion of the serious question of the rights of the individual in today’s society,” Robledo told reporters. “The rights of a business enterprise cannot take precedence over the dignity of the individual.”

In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Rome expressed concern over the verdict. “While we recognize the reprehensible nature of the material, we disagree that Internet service providers are responsible prior to posting for the content uploaded by users,” the embassy said. “The fundamental principle of Internet freedom is vital for democracies which value freedom of expression and is protected by those who value liberty.”

Company Faces “Scrutiny” From EU Antitrust Regulators

Google’s legal troubles in Italy aren’t the only European headache for the company. On Wednesday, Google said it has been notified of by E.U. antitrust authorities of complaints filed against the company by three web firms: Foundem, a United Kingdom price-comparison website; ejustice.fr, a French legal search engine, and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Bing-powered Ciao! shopping site. In a statement, the E.U. said the probe was merely preliminary, but it’s an uncomfortable development for Google, which dominates the search market in the U.S. and Europe.

The companies accuse Google of manipulating its search rankings to disadvantage the sites. In a company blog post, Julia Holtz, Senior Competition Counsel, denied that Google’s practices were unjust and said the company works hard “to compete fair and square in the market.” She added that Foundem belongs to an organization called ICOMP that is funded partly by Microsoft, meaning two of the three complainants have ties to the Redmond, Wash. software giant, a bitter rival of Google.

As Google’s power grows, it should come as no surprise that it is attracting unwelcome attention from antitrust regulators and privacy advocates. In Europe, those are two areas that authorities take very seriously, as this week’s events show.

CHINA :

Thai customs seizes 2 tons of ivory
By MICHAEL CASEY/The Associated Press /Thursday, February 25, 2010

BANGKOK — Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled as mobile phone parts in the country’s largest ivory seizure. 

Thai Customs officials valued Wednesday night’s haul at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at 120 million baht ($3.6 million). It is further sign that Thailand is emerging as a hub for the illicit trade. 

Poaching of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years, with much of the illegal ivory exported to Asia. 

Seree Thaijongrak, the direct of investigation and suppression bureau for the Customs Department, said that acting on a tip, officials seized two pallets found to contain 239 tusks of African elephants. 

The consignment, which originated in South Africa, was labeled as mobile phone parts in a consignment destined for Laos – apparently to confuse customs officials, as Laos has an agreement with neighboring Thailand not to check cargo in transit. 

A Thai national, however, attempted to pick up the cargo and was detained, Seree said. Customs officials suspect the tusks would have been crafted into trinkets and jewelry in Thailand. 

“This is the biggest seizure we have ever had,” Seree said. “This is a real accomplishment for Thailand. Normally, this would have gone right through but we got the tip-off.” 

Seree said smuggling of ivory from Africa is on the rise in Thailand as in much of Southeast Asia. 

Ivory shipped to Thailand typically goes to carvers who fashion it into Buddhist statues, bangles and jewelry for sale to tourists or sale in other countries. Thailand is also a transit point for ivory forwarded to other markets like China. 

Last month, Thailand arrested two Thai women accused of dealing in illegal African ivory, a day after an American and a Thai national were indicted in California on charges of smuggling ivory into the United States. Police believe the women supplied ivory to the Thai national whom prosecutors say sold several pieces of ivory on eBay, disguising shipments as gifts and toys. 

The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned all international ivory trade in 1989. Traders in Thailand have thrived in part because the 1989 ban did not address domestic trade. That loophole allows them to deceive authorities by claiming their African ivory came from domestic sources – a tactic that is effective because it can be difficult without DNA testing to tell the difference between African and Asian ivory. 

Authorities say 10 tons of African ivory was seized in Southeast Asia last year, including three seizures in Thailand.

GMSA: Hummer’s end won’t impact SA
Feb 25, 2010 / By Sapa 

The announcement by General Motors that it will wind-down the Hummer brand will have no impact on General Motors’ operations in South Africa.

In a statement, GMSA said while it no longer distributed and sold Hummer vehicles, it remained fully committed to looking after its customers. 

“Hummer customers can be assured that we will continue to offer full after sales support and that we will honour all warranty agreements,” GMSA spokeswoman Denise van Huyssteen said. 

She said that GMSA halted Hummer H3 production in May 2009 and the process of consolidating manufacturing operations at the Struandale production facility had commenced. 

GMSA’s parent company in the United States said the deal to sell Hummer to a Chinese automaker had fallen through, forcing the company to shut down the loss-making brand. 

Hummer is the third brand that GM has had to wind-down following its bankruptcy.

Equivocal ebullience
By Richard Lapper and William Wallis /www.ft.com/Published: February 25 2010

Each week, as part of a promotional campaign for the World Cup championship that their country is to host in June, South Africans are encouraged to spend a day wearing an item of football garb. Always one to join a party, the jovial Jacob Zuma has donned a brightly striped supporters’ scarf, which hangs – somewhat incongruously – around the shoulders of his presidential blue suit.

The 67-year-old leader’s festive mood seems a bit incongruous, too, after a difficult few months in which the political alliance that brought him to office last April has been riven by disputes. There has been a setback too on another front.

Last year, the president seemed to be making progress in mending a reputation tarnished by charges of corruption – dropped a few weeks before the election – and a rape count, on which he was acquitted in 2006. But revelations that Mr Zuma – a polygamist who has married five times – had fathered a 20th child, this time out of wedlock, have led many to question his judgment anew, not least because the government’s anti-Aids campaign urges citizens to limit themselves to one sexual partner.

He apologised this month, saying he had assumed his responsibility for the child, whose mother is the daughter of Irvin Khoza, a football magnate who chairs South Africa’s World Cup organising committee. Still, critics say the affair leaves Mr Zuma vulnerable to accusations of weakness and, along with squabbles within the governing alliance, is in danger of turning him into a lame duck president after just 10 months in office.

Yet, seated in one of the elegant, colonial-era reception rooms at the presidential residence in Pretoria as he prepares for a state visit to the UK next week, Mr Zuma is very much at ease. In ebullient form, he insists that Bafana Bafana (“the Boys, the Boys”), the underperforming national side, will surprise everyone when the sports contest starts. When the conversation turns to South Africa’s social and economic challenges he is equally confident, frequently tossing his head back to chuckle at ironies in the political complications ahead.

Sixteen years after Nelson Mandela was elected to head South Africa’s first post-apartheid government, these difficulties are considerable. South Africa is still a deeply divided society with high unemployment, educational underachievement and poverty continuing to plague the majority black population. But the current uncertainties raise fresh questions about the ability of Africa’s largest economy and most sophisticated democracy to rise to the challenge.

Mr Zuma came to office amid popular expectations that he was about to write a new chapter in South African politics, bringing a fresh focus on poverty and job creation. But it has not been easy. Recession has made it difficult to reduce unemployment. To get his administration working took a long time. It is only now, with his first anniversary fast approaching, that the president can say: “2010 will be the year of action.”

Evidence of action may placate some of the allies who have become restive, though not all. Last week, within hours of the government’s annual budget being announced, the Communist party and the Congress of South African Trades Unions – which together with the ANC form the ruling alliance – were taking pot shots at Pravin Gordhan, finance minister, and threatening strikes. A few days later, Julius Malema, the demagogic leader of the ruling party’s radical Youth League, spoke of his determination to drive through a nationalisation of the country’s strategically important mines, directly challenging existing government policy.

The Sowetan, a tabloid newspaper read widely in the black community, said this week that by failing to put Mr Malema in his place, “Zuma has again portrayed himself as a weak leader beholden to the whims of the bellicose youth wing of the ruling party”.

Mr Zuma, however, brushes aside talk of division. “You know, since 1994 people have been prophesying that the alliance is dying . . . But it is here.” He also dismisses speculation that rivals within the ANC might seek to profit from the bad publicity over his new child, saying: “I have said, I think, enough on this matter.”

Not surprisingly, he prefers to point to his achievements. For one thing, South Africa has defied the sceptics and looks able to stage the World Cup smoothly. “We have proved them wrong. We are ready in every respect,” he says. “I think the fact that we have finished all the stadiums four months before the scheduled time . . . goes a long way to show the capability of South Africa.”

Public investment linked to tournament preparations has helped ease the scale of recession, while improved roads and public transport systems should boost productivity in the future. All that has helped the economy recover – growth in gross domestic product of 2.3 per cent is expected this year after a 1.8 per cent contraction in 2009.

Mr Zuma’s leftwing allies have pressed for looser fiscal and monetary policies in order to generate jobs and ease upward pressure on the rand’s exchange rate, which is making exports less competitive. But fears that he might head off the rails of economic orthodoxy have so far proved groundless, with Mr Zuma arguing that the existing policy framework has allowed South Africans “to cushion ourselves from the global financial crisis”.

What is more, his government is beginning to face up with apparently greater seriousness and honesty than its predecessors to issues such as crime, HIV/Aids, the skills deficit and an inefficient and often unaccountable public sector. Supporters say Mr Zuma’s affable and inclusive approach to administration marks a refreshing change from the distant, top-down style associated with Thabo Mbeki, the last elected president.

Mr Zuma says his biggest achievement has been to “reconfigure government departments so that we can be more effective”. The establishment of a ministry of basic education has focused attention on the need to improve literacy and numeracy, for example. Procedures being developed by Collins Chabane, the minister in the presidency for performance monitoring and evaluation, will allow the government to measure the success of ministers and departments, and hold those in office accountable for failures. “In other words, we have made government move,” says Mr Zuma.

As part of the drive to improve services, a telephone hotline based partly in the presidency has been set up, to encourage people to denounce inefficiency or corruption at any level of government. “We now have a very clear idea about the problems. People are talking. We are gearing the machinery and we are working on shortening the distance between the discovery of corrupt people and actions taken,” he says, insisting that “rotten apples” – be they ministers or mayors – would be dealt with. “I am sure down the line this year you will realise we mean business.”

Mr Zuma’s critics argue, however, that some successes have little to do with his leadership. Credit curbs introduced under Mr Mbeki helped insulate the local financial system from the global crisis. The rise of India and China – the latter replaced Germany last year as South Africa’s biggest trading partner – and the surge in their demand for iron ore and coal have helped offset a slide in orders from Europe.

There is some truth to this, although Mr Zuma has also welcomed Chinese influence in the region more warmly than Mr Mbeki, who cautioned at one point that Beijing’s rapidly evolving relationship with Africa risked repeating colonial patterns. By contrast, Mr Zuma says: “China is coming as an equal partner saying, ‘let us do business’.” Provided African countries play their cards right, the interest of China and other developing nations in Africa’s res
ources and markets provides a real opportunity for the continent, he adds.

“If the old countries [former colonial powers] did not develop the countries in Africa, but China comes to Africa and it is ready to build roads, bridges, everything, what must they [the African countries] do?”

But the president is vulnerable to criticism that reform has been too slow. The breadth of the political alliance that supported him, first during his long political battle with Mr Mbeki and then in last year’s campaign, has made it difficult to provide decisive leadership. Rather than rule out the mine nationalisation demanded by Mr Malema or the looser fiscal and monetary policy favoured by the unions, Mr Zuma has equivocated, encouraging “debate”.

It is easy to see why investors might be unnerved by a lack of clarity from the president. Mr Zuma implies, for example, that it is Cosatu’s role to be outspoken about its opposition to conservative macro-economic policies. “They have always raised the stakes and it is their duty to do so,” he says of the country’s union leaders.

Asked whether he is sympathetic more to the orthodoxy pursued by Mr Gordhan at the finance ministry or Cosatu’s proposals for more radical change, he seems to sit precariously – and confusingly – on the fence, arguing that policy is determined by the alliance and that he simply implements it: “You know the ANC policy; I can’t be aligned to anything.”

He plays down the ideological battles at the heart of the alliance and seems oblivious to the confusion that these might create among investors. “I don’t know what causes problems with investors. We have a policy that is very clear within the government and the ANC” – yet “one member raises the issue and everybody takes that issue as if it is policy”.

The answer for anyone who is worried, he says, is to pay more attention to the traditions of the ANC and its allies. “By its nature, historically, the alliance is dynamic in debating things,” says Mr Zuma. “The Youth League has always been vocal and it has made suggestions at times on things, and old people have said, ‘what are you doing?’ The alliance partners have always raised huge issues. In fact, that is what brings vibrancy in the alliance.”

This consensual – some might say indulgent – style may help to keep Mr Zuma’s fractious allies on board. But it is at best a recipe for slow and pragmatic change. Whether that pace will meet the expectations of the voters who put him into the Pretoria presidential residence is another matter.

The organiser

Like Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, the other two elected presidents of post-apartheid South Africa, Jacob Zuma has dedicated his life to the African National Congress. Born in 1942 to a poor rural family in Natal, Mr Zuma received no formal schooling and was educated through his political involvement.

Arrested in 1963, he spent 10 years imprisoned on Robben Island. On his release he was instrumental in re-establishing the ANC’s underground structures. Based in Swaziland and then Mozambique, he organised armed resistance to the white government. He became head of ANC intelligence in 1987 and after the party was legalised in 1990 was one of the first leaders to return to South Africa to begin negotiations.

In the early 1990s he also took a prominent part in negotiations between the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom party and the ANC. He became national chair of the ANC in 1994 and deputy president of South Africa in 1999, serving alongside Mr Mbeki until Mr Zuma was sacked in 2005 amid allegations of corruption.

Charges were eventually dropped last April, by which time Mr Mbeki had been ousted. Mr Zuma was elected president that month.

‘People do not want to have a bad name with the presidential hotline’ 

When Fundiswa Ngaleka called a telephone hotline to complain about a pension problem the 50-year-old domestic worker was shocked to find Jacob Zuma himself answering the call. “I couldn’t really believe it,” says Ms Ngaleka, who is one of several thousand South Africans to have benefited from the new facility.

The hotline – staffed by about 50 telephone operators and run partly from a room next to the president’s office in Pretoria – is an initiative to help cut through local and central government red tape. Since it was established last October, more than 1,000 calls a day have been received and 43,000 cases opened, with many involving allegations of malpractice by local government officials. The president occasionally takes calls himself or listens in on a line connected to his office.

Complaints about public housing are among the most common. “Many people complain about housing and the behaviour of councillors,” says Arthur Dikgali, one of the operators. “People are on a list to receive an RDP house [made available under government schemes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme] only to find their house is being sold on to other people.”

Operators can resolve some problems themselves but pass on most complaints to liaison officers appointed to ministries or provincial government departments. The system may introduce an additional layer of bureaucracy but Dudu Fakudze, a former social worker who is the director of the hotline, says the threat of presidential involvement frequently produces immediate results. After receiving calls from presidential officials, local government officials quickly reconsidered their refusal to pay Ms Ngaleka her pension, for example.

Complaints from private contractors about slow payments have also been quickly resolved. “They do not want to have a bad name with the presidential hotline,” says Ms Fakudze. About 43 per cent of cases have so far been resolved.

The pattern of complaints also gives the government valuable information about potential sources of problems. Results are passed on to Collins Chabane, the minister for performance, monitoring and evaluation and, say officials, help the government formulate policy. As Mr Zuma himself puts it: “We now have a very clear idea about the problems. If the hotline were not there, it would be much more vague.”

INDIA :

Stocks to watch: Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Gammon India, MindTree, L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank

economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET Bureau /25 Feb 2010

MUMBAI: Banks are discussing a $7-billion, five-year, offshore loan to back Bharti Airtel’s $9-billion offer to buy Zain’s African cellular assets. 
The remaining $2 billion equivalent will come from the rupee market, the sources said, adding the currency mix was yet to be finalised. 

Wipro Infotech, the domestic arm of Wipro Technologies, on Wedneday, bagged a Rs 100-crore IT contract from Punjab & Sind Bank, to integrate its branches with an IT network and implement Infosys’ core banking solution. 

Construction firm Gammon India today said it has bagged a project worth Rs 137.28 crore from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness for construction-related works in West Bengal. 

MindTree has decided to raise $100 million by way of debt. The board of directors of the company has also approved raising of equity by issuing 15 per cent of the current issued capital. 

L&T’s current order book is worth Rs 90,000 crore. The company is not looking at diluting stake or selling any of its business for raising funds. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank will replace Grasim in Nifty from April 8.

BRASIL:

Repsol Profit Falls 48% as Refining Margins Narrow (Update2)
February 25, 2010/By Joao Lima and Paul Tobin/Bloomberg

(Adds analyst comment in fourth paragraph.)

By Joao Lima and Paul Tobin

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — Repsol YPF SA, Spain’s largest oil producer, said fourth-quarter profit fell 48 percent after a slump in fuel demand cut earnings from refining.

The refining businesses of oil companies such as Repsol were hurt last year from a decline in demand following the global economic slump. The refining margin indicator for Spain, a measurement of the profit from turning crude into fuels, dropped to zero from $8.60 a barrel a year earlier, Repsol said.

“The low refining margin for the quarter penalized the refining business,” Bruno Silva, an analyst at Banco BPI SA with an “accumulate” rating, said in a note. “The exploration and production unit should continue to be the driver of the investment case on the back of the extensive drilling campaign taking place mainly in Brazil.”

Repsol shares rose 0.2 percent to 16.63 euros as of 9:50 a.m. in Madrid. The stock has dropped 11 percent this year, valuing the company at 20 billion euros.

The company is investing on exploration in Brazil’s offshore Santos Basin and other regions to boost production and improve profitability, while trying to reduce its exposure to Argentina. “During 2009, the company carried out a record exploration campaign with 15 finds, three of which are amongst the world’s biggest discoveries,” Repsol said in a statement.

Unit Halts

Total SA, Europe’s biggest refiner, earlier this month said fourth-quarter profit fell 28 percent. The Paris-based company has said it was losing about 100 million euros a month from its six French refineries.

Repsol’s Petronor in September halted production at one of its two crude-distillation units, citing the “economic situation.” Repsol, Spain’s biggest refiner, also delayed some projects at refineries to save costs and said this month that it was considering selling part of its stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos SA, a Spanish pipeline and storage tank operator.

Repsol’s oil and gas production, excluding the Argentine unit YPF, rose 5.8 percent to 349,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, helped by the Shenzi project in the Gulf of Mexico.

Output from Buenos Aires-based YPF, of which Repsol owns 84 percent, dropped 14 percent to 524,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day as fields matured and gas demand fell.

YPF Offering

Repsol on July 2 said it was approached by companies interested in YPF, adding that none of the proposals was “firm.” The possibility of a public offering of a minority stake in YPF also remains “open,” Repsol said at the time.

Repsol in 2008 delayed a public offering of a stake in YPF that it had planned to use for raising cash to expand operations in Libya, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. It sold a 15 percent stake in YPF for $2.2 billion to Argentine investor Enrique Eskenazi, who has an option to buy an additional 10 percent.

The company is working with the Eskenazi family to find buyers for a stake in YPF and may sell shares to one investor or through a public offering, spokesman Kristian Rix said Jan. 4.

Repsol on Nov. 16 said it will invest an estimated 8.76 billion euros in exploration and production from 2008 through 2012. The company last year announced finds in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and northern Africa. In September, Repsol said it discovered a Venezuelan gas field containing as much as 8 trillion cubic feet of fuel, one of the world’s largest finds.

The company has stakes in blocks in Brazil’s offshore Santos, Campos and Espirito Santo basins. Since 2007, Repsol and partners BG Group Plc and Petroleo Brasileiro SA have made the offshore Carioca, Guara and Iguacu finds in the Santos Basin’s offshore BM-S-9 block.

–Editors: Jonas Bergman, Stephen Cunningham

EN BREF, CE 25 février 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,25/02/2010