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BURUNDI :
RWANDA
Rwanda: Genocidaires Should Be Hunted Down and Punished – Sarkozy Kigali — President Nicolas Sarkozy of France yesterday said that everyone who took part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi should be hunted down and punished. He said this while on a one-day visit to Rwanda where he held talks with President Paul Kagame at Urugwiro Village. “There should be no ambiguity; we want all those responsible to be hunted down and punished, the tough-talking Sarkozy told a joint press conference after the meeting. “I told President Kagame, that those who carried it out, wherever they are, must be found and punished. Are there any in France? It is up to justice to tell us”. He pointed out that France recently denied political asylum to one of them and that a judicial inquiry targeting others is currently ongoing. Though Sarkozy did not officially apologise for whatever role his country played in the Genocide, he admitted that great mistakes were made that cost the lives of over a million people. “There were serious errors of judgment. Political mistakes were committed here that absolutely had dramatic consequences,” admitted the French President. “What happened here was a failure by humanity, it left an indelible mark. What happened obliges the international community, including France, to reflect on the errors that made them fail to prevent and stop the heinous crime”. President Kagame thanked the French Head of State for his “openness” and the “frank dialogue” both have had in the past two years. He revealed that they had discussed how both countries could foster a strong partnership for the future, and agreed to explore mutually beneficial opportunities in a number of sectors, including trade and investment, education and health as well as cultural exchanges. “We look forward to a friendship based on mutual respect and close collaboration in pursuing our shared interests”. On the issue of Rwanda switching from French to English as the language of instruction in schools, President Kagame set the record straight, saying that it was not triggered by the collapse of diplomatic relations in 2006, but rather by the need for Rwanda ‘to be the best it can be’. “I want to make it clear, that in the first place, we did not stop teaching, learning or speaking French in Rwanda. In fact, we have not stopped our membership to the francophone family of nations. We are still members and want to continue being a member,” he pointed out. “We are basically ready to speak other languages including French and English. In fact there have been suggestions that we should maybe start learning Chinese”. President Sarkozy announced that he had personally invited President Kagame to a Franco-Africa summit that will be held in Nice mid this year. “I think it is a great symbol of our reciprocal trust and our capability to turn the page It does not take away the pain, the mistakes or the difficulties, but it makes it possible to think about the future,” underlined the French President. Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations with France following a string of controversial and subsequently discredited indictments by a French judge against senior Rwandan officials in November 2006. Rwanda: Setako Handed 25 Years for Genocide Crimes Kigali — The former Director of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Defence of the genocidal regime, Lieutenant Colonel Ephrem Setako, was yesterday sentenced to 25 years for Genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The 55-year old had been accused of Genocide, complicity to genocide, crimes against humanity including murder and extermination. The court found him guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity (extermination) and serious violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II (murder). However, it acquitted him of other charges like complicity to commit genocide, murder as a crime against humanity and pillage as a war crime. The Chamber found that Setako ordered the killings of 30 to 40 Tutsi civilians at Mukamira military camp in Ruhengeri, Northern Province on 25 April 1994 and around 10 other Tutsis on 11 May 1994. In an Interview with The New Times yesterday, Ms. Ifeoma Ojemeni Okali the head of the Prosecution team expressed dissatisfaction at the sentence, saying that given the Genocide crimes Setako committed, he should have been handed a life sentence. “We are not satisfied at all with the 25 years he was given. I’m sure the Prosecutor will appeal against it after looking at the reasons for which the twenty five years were given,” she said in a phone interview from Arusha, Tanzania. This is the second judgment rendered the court this year after that of former Rwandan military officer, Col. Tharcisse Muvunyi, who was early this month sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of public incitement to commit genocide. Setako has been in detention since February 2004 when he was arrested in Amsterdam at an asylum seekers’ office and transferred to the UN Detention Facility in Arusha the same year. The trial opened in 2008 and closed in June last year, after sixty trial days. The Prosecution presented 21 witnesses and the Defence 34, including Setako. Closing arguments were heard on November 5 and 6, 2009. Rwanda: Tanzania to Borrow Leaf From Governance Experience Kigali — The Executive Committee in the Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT) secretariat yesterday met with Local Government Minister, James Musoni at the end of their five-day study tour. The Tanzanians said they had come to see how the two countries can exchange ideas for better service delivery to their respective citizens. Musoni explained to the delegates Rwanda’s descentralisation system from the central government to the lowest level of governance, Umudugudu and how the citizens have been empowered to take part in decision making. Agrey M. Mwanri, Tanzania’s Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s office who headed a 24-man delegation hailed Rwanda’s governance system which he described as ‘a better system for development.’ “Rwanda has gone through hard times, especially the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. However, it has made tremendous steps in development in various sectors that we also feel should be applied in our country,” Mwanri said. He appreciated President Paul Kagame’s political will in transforming the government which he said has lifted the country from the ashes it was left in the Genocide to the current development trend. Protecting the environment, performance contracts, hygiene and sanitation and how central government financially empowers local authorities in fields of agriculture and healthcare are the other fields Mwanri said would be emulated by his country. 2-day summit kicks off at Clinton Library www.todaysthv.com/26022010 This program started in Arkansas at Hendrix College back in 2007 with just four students. Now there are 81 of them studying here and across the South, enriching their lives and ours. Rwandan music and dance fill the Clinton Library on Thursday night from native students, like Fidele Bingwa, achieving steps well beyond the dance floor. “I’m planning on graduating and hopefully do masters degree, that would be great,” Bingwa said. Bingwa is a sophomore at Hendrix College taking part in the Rwandan Presidential Scholars Program. And he’s clearly on board with the mission. “When you come here, you feel like you have the responsibility to take them there and have them where this country is,” Bingwa said. The scholars program recruits high-performing Rwandan students for college in the United States, arming them with education to help rebuild a country destroyed by the 1994 genocide. “We look at this program as one of the key areas of investment because we know this will be the engine of our development,” said James Kimonyo, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the U.S. “I’m studying physics, so what I’m hoping to going back home and either be a teacher or I’ll be working in an engineering field,” Bingwa said. Hendrix President J. Timothy Cloyd says these students are performing well. “They come here and they set the curve in physics, math and biology,” Cloyd said. He says they’re shattering stereotypes that their impoverished roots mean meager results in the classroom. “It factures that I think that’s a beautiful thing,” Cloyd said. It’s a beautiful thing appearing at Hendrix and 20 other college campuses across the South. And real passion from the students involved. “I love Rwanda and I would love to see it develop. That’s where my heart is,” Bingwa said. Thursday’s celebration was also a kick off for a two-day summit at the Clinton library. Representatives from the participating schools will spend Friday discussing the program’s progress as well as its challenges. There was some initial talk Thursday that President Clinton would be at Thursday’s event. He was in town earlier Thursday doing an interview with Tom Brokow. But he never made it to the dinner. Other Arkansas schools in this program include UALR, UCA, Harding and Henderson State.
Kigali — This year’s Kwita Izina ceremony has been set for June 5, the day Rwanda will be the global host of the World Environment Day (WED). The date for the ceremony that is held annually at the foot of Virunga Mountains was announced yesterday by Rwanda Development Board/ Tourism and Conservation (RDB/T&C) office. According to Annette Mbabazi Tamara, the RDB/T&C Communications Officer, this year’s Gorilla Naming ceremony (Kwita Izina) which will be the 6th edition, is being organized in collaboration with Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA). The theme for this year’s Kwiti Izina according to Tamara, is “Raising global awareness of biodiversity conservation as we give names to our baby gorillas.” “As we celebrate the birth of newborn mountain gorillas, we shall also urge Rwandans and the international community to engage in environmental protection and bring an end to the loss of biodiversity,” Tamara said. “We will also be looking for innovative solutions and approaches to reduce threats to biodiversity including the majestic mountain ranges, the habitat to our gorillas.” Kwita Izina will also be used as a platform to raise public awareness on the importance of biodiversity and its protection from underlying threats. “We shall portray the significance of establishing interconnections between biodiversity, conservation and green economy,” Tamara add The week-long celebration will include a number of activities scheduled to take place including community service (Umuganda), Kwita Izina cycle race, conservation conference, launch of community projects and a community party-Igitaramo. Kwiti Izina is one of the major events on the country’s tourism calendar. UGANDA
TANZANIA:
Arusha, Tanzania (AHN) – Rwanda’s former top military officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Ephrem Setako headed the Division of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Defense in 1994 when an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during a 100-day period. Setako was thought to be one of the main architects of the genocide. Setako was arrested in the Netherlands in 2004. Some 55 witnesses took part in his trial, which was conducted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania. The United Nations war crimes tribunal was set up in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The ICTR found that Setako “ordered the killings on 25 April 1994 of 30 to 40 Tutsis at Mukamira military camp in Ruhengeri prefecture and around 10 other Tutsis there on 11 May,” the U.N. said Thursday in a statement. Along with being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity (extermination), Setako was found guilty of “serious violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II (murder), but acquitted of complicity to commit genocide, murder as a crime against humanity and pillage as a war crime,” U.N. officials said. CONGO RDC :
KENYA :
Kenya Power shares jump 15 pct on H1 profit rise At 0705 GMT, shares in Kenya’s sole power distributor were trading at 172.00 shillings, up from 149.00 shillings at Thursday’s close. “We think the results have been impressive. KPLC comes out very strong partly because of an increase in sales, and cost management,” said Wycliffe Masinde, an analyst at Kestrel Capital in Nairobi. ANGOLA :
Market Report — In Play (FTI) February 26, 2010 /news.moneycentral.msn.com Total awards FMC Technologies $65 mln contract Co announces that it has signed an agreement with Total Exploration and Production Angola for the manufacture and supply of subsea production equipment. The award has a value of approximately $65 mln in revenue to FMC Technologies. The equipment will support Total Angola’s Block 17 development, located offshore Angola, West Africa. Briefing.com is the leading Internet provider of live market analysis for U.S. Stock, U.S. Bond, and world FX market participants.
[ 2010-02-26 ] /(macauhub) Luanda, Angola, 26 Feb – The Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) earned net profits of US$2.4 billion in 2009, company president Manuel Vicente announced in Luanda. During the reference period sales by Angola’s state-held oil company totalled US$13.2 billion, while associated costs are calculated at US$1 billion, he said. “The results are still provisional, in the calculation phase, with efforts now concentrating on the disclosure of definitive results,” Vicente said at a Thursday press conference marking Sonangol’s 34th anniversary. Regarding tax and national treasury obligations, he specified that the company had settled US$936 million in taxes last year and as a result of dividends for financial year 2007/2008 had paid the state nearly US$436 million. The year 2009 was a difficult one, with many constraints and an unfavourable national and international economic situation, Vicente said. Regarding subsidiaries, he said Sonangol continued to consolidate the role of operating company, having entered the refining business and consolidated control of the Luanda refinery and its operation. Also, some studies have been conducted with a view to improvement and modernization. Sonangol’s figures for 2009, in terms of indicators with an average oil price of US$61.64, indicate production of 684,000 barrels per day, using an average exchange rate of 89 kwanzas per US dollar. SOUTH AFRICA:
S.Africa winter raises World Cup swine flu risk (AFP)/2/26/2010 The World Cup kicks off at the height of South Africa’s winter, bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors during peak flu season and raising concerns aboout a resurgence of swine flu. The H1N1 strain has killed nearly 16,000 people, proving less lethal than regular flu despite the global alarm. But health minister Aaron Motsoaledi said recently that a possible new swine flu flare-up was one of his “biggest nightmares” about the 2010 showcase to be played as night-time temperatures in several host cities dip toward freezing. Football body FIFA has advised the tournament’s 32 teams to be vaccinated against the H1N1 strain, but has warned against panic. “We are very carefully monitoring with the WHO and the health authorities in South Africa,” Jiri Dvorak, FIFA’s chief medical officer told AFP on the sidelines of a recent pre-tournament football medicine conference in the Sun City resort. “We are really not worried about a special situation. We have to deal with the situation as it comes. Up to now, we have absolutely no indication that we should be worried.” Despite accusations of inflating the swine flu threat, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday said it was too early to declare that the pandemic had peaked. Last year, 12,000 people caught swine flu in South Africa, with nearly 100 fatalities. South Africa’s medical facilities — which range from first-class private clinics to overstretched state hospitals — will be beefed up by military health services during the June 11-July 11 tournament. “Everything that we are doing is geared up to deal with any eventuality,” Victor Ramathesele, general medical officer for South Africa’s 2010 organising committee, told AFP. “Everything is in our plans and we are confident that we deal with any public health and emergency medical situations that might arise during the tournament.” Seasonal flu sufferers accounted for 90 percent of cases at clinics set up for players and VIPs at the 2009 curtainraiser Confederations Cup, staged during the midst of the swine flu hype last June. “If you’re going to have a major event like the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it becomes critical that we prepare ourselves adequately both for seasonal flu and H1N1,” said Ramathesele. While several nations have scaled down controls due to waning infections, caseloads have risen in western Africa including Senegal and Mauritiana. South Africa’s private Netcare Travel Clinics has cautioned against complacency ahead of the Cup. “The H1N1 virus could well make a big return to South Africa during our next flu season,” said Pete Vincent. “We will have a lot of people visiting the country over the period of the World Cup. Therefore, the conditions for a rapid spread of the virus will be good.” The National Institute of Communicable Diseases warns in its World Cup vistors guide that the H1N1 strain is expected to cause the majority of infections in 2010. “There will be a lot — we can expect that. You can’t contain an outbreak of influenza,” said the institute’s Lucille Blumberg. But the majority of cases will be mild, she said, with many northern hemisphere visitors likely to be immune to the strain as many would have been exposed to the virus last year. “If you look back on it now, it (the 2009 outbreak) wasn’t that different to a severe influenza season. I don’t think we are going to see huge, huge problems.” South Africa reports seizing NKorea tank parts being exported in violation of sanctions UNITED NATIONS (AP) — South Africa sent a report to the United Nations saying it confiscated a shipment of North Korean tank parts hidden among sacks of rice which were headed for the Republic of Congo in violation of U.N. sanctions. In the report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the South African government said the two containers are currently stored in a state-secured warehouse in Durban while its investigation continues. It estimated the value of the conventional arms at 6 million rand (about $770,000) The shipment’s final destination, according to the bill of lading, was the port of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo, the small oil-rich country often overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Congo. The Republic of Congo, whose capital is Brazzaville, has reportedly experienced a wave of recent violence. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in testimony Wednesday to a Senate committee that the South African seizure was another example of the effectiveness of U.N. sanctions, adding that hardly a week goes by without a report of a new seizure. In one of the major seizures, Thai authorities, acting on a tip from the U.S., found 35 tons of weapons on an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane that stopped in Bangkok en route from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang on Dec. 12. Thailand and some independent arms trafficking experts say flight documents indicated the plane’s cargo — listed as oil drilling equipment — was headed for the Iranian capital, Tehran. The U.N. Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea last June, banning the export of all weapons and authorizing ship searches on the high seas to try to rein in its nuclear program. The resolution was adopted after Pyongyang’s second nuclear test on May 25, 2009, which violated a council resolution adopted after its first nuclear blast in 2006. The report to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea is entitled “breach of the Security Council resolutions…” It traced the shipment from the DGE Corporation via the “Machinery Expand Imp Corp (cq),” both established to be in North Korea, to the Chinese port of Dalian where it was put on board the CGM Musca on Oct. 20. The bill of lading described the contents of the two containers as “spare parts of bulldozer,” according to the report. At Port Klang, Malaysia, the shipment was transferred to another vessel, the Westerhever, which was chartered by Delmas Shipping, a subsidiary of the French shipping company, CMA-CGM, the report said. Delmas requested that CMA-CGM Shipping Agencies South Africa (Pty) Ltd. represent the Westerhever on its voyage to South Africa. The captain was instructed to refuel in Durban on Nov. 28-29, but due to fuel shortages in Durban, the Westerhever was ordered to take on fuel in Walvis Bay, the report said. While en route to Walvis Bay on Nov. 27, the captain “received an email instruction from Delmas to make a U-turn and discharge the two containers in Durban, the report said. A U.N. diplomat familiar with the report, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the email informed the captain that the ship was carrying suspicious cargo which should be turned over for inspection to South African authorities in Durban. Martin Baxendale, a spokesman for CMA-CGM, said in Paris that the company was in contact with South African authorities but said “we cannot enter into discussions relating to any details in regard to this matter.” According to the report, “a large quantity of rice grains in sacks lined the containers and was utilized as protective buffers for the conveyance of the conventional arms.” The containers included a large number of components for T54 and T55 tanks, including gun sights, seats, tracks, tank periscopes, and communications equipment, the report said. A high frequency radio with Chinese markings, protective headgear for tank crewmen, and search lights including infrared lights were also included, it said. T54 and T55 tanks were initially produced in the former Soviet Union but have since been upgraded and manufactured in other countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, asked about the letter Thursday at a regular media briefing in Beijing, said “China is looking into it.” Burundi, Congo, South Africa: Sub-Sahara Bond, Currency Preview Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — The following events and economic reports may influence trading in sub-Saharan African bonds and currencies today. Bond yields and exchange rates are from the previous session. Burundi: The central-east African nation may announce the amount of Treasury bills it will put on sale at its next auction. The Burundian franc, which is pegged to the value of a composite of currencies, was unchanged against the dollar at 1,230 at 7:30 a.m. in the capital, Bujumbura. Democratic Republic of Congo: The central African nation may release bi-weekly inflation data. The Congolese franc was unchanged at 921.345 to the dollar as of 6:30 a.m. in the capital, Kinshasa. South Africa: The country’s National Treasury will sell 5.75 billion rand ($734 million) of bills. The rand gained 1.1 percent to 7.7525 to the dollar as of 7:30 a.m. in Johannesburg. The yield on the benchmark 13.5 percent government bond due September 2015 was unchanged at 8.23 percent. Uganda: The central bank of the East African country releases inflation data. The Ugandan shilling weakened 0.5 percent to 2,035 per dollar at 7:30 a.m. in the capital, Kampala. –With assistance from Garth Theunissen in Johannesburg. Editors: Vernon Wessels, Alastair Reed. AFRICA / AU :
UN /ONU :
Abuse of date-rape drugs on the rise, UN anti-narcotics panel finds In its annual report released today, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) called on all governments to implement a 2009 resolution of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to combat the misuse of pharmaceutical products to commit sexual assault as soon as possible and to be vigilant about the worrying increase in ‘date-rape drug’ abuse. The report highlighted the need to focus drug prevention programmes on young people who use drugs frequently as well as those who are not using or not seriously involved with drugs, as part of so-called primary prevention efforts. Preventing drug abuse is a crucial area of demand reduction. Primary prevention encompasses measures taken to prevent and reduce drug use in populations that are either not using or not seriously involved with drugs, said INCB President Sevil Atasoy. She added that governments need to partner with civil society to apply scarce resources effectively at all levels, locally, nationally and internationally. There is good reason for society to give concerted attention to preventing drug abuse. Even a single early drug using experience can result in serious consequences, such as unintentional injury, overdose or arrest, said Ms. Atasoy, the first woman to head the INCB in nearly two decades. The report also raised the alarm about abuse from new psychoactive substances, which are easier to obtain and under less stringent international controls, and prescription drugs. The INCB recommended that governments either prohibit or closely control sales of internationally controlled substances by Internet pharmacies and telephone call centres, noting that abuse from prescription drugs is greater in some countries than from heroin, cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) combined. The INCB warned that highly organized and powerful criminal networks were using new processes, routes and substances to keep drug manufacturing operations alive, despite stricter controls over chemical trade. Despite a decline in seizures of cocaine trafficking, smuggling remains a serious problem and contributes to increasing drug abuse in West Africa, noted the report. Speaking to the Security Council in December, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called drug trafficking a leading threat to global peace and security and called for greater international cooperation in fighting organized crime network. He noted that drug trafficking was fuelling brutal insurgencies in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Myanmar, spreading violence in West Africa, Central Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, and threatening to reverse UN peacebuilding efforts in Afghanistan, Haiti, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and elsewhere. INCB members serve in an individual capacity and monitor compliance with the provisions of the international drug control treaties. The panel ensures that adequate supplies of legal drugs are available for medical and scientific purposes, and makes certain that no leakage from licit sources of drugs to illicit trafficking occurs. The Vienna-based body also identifies and helps to correct weaknesses in drug control systems and determines which chemicals used to manufacture drugs should be under international control. Source: UN Ivory seized in Thai custom bust Thai authorities have confiscated more than two tonnes of ivory from Bangkok’s main international airport believed to be on its way from Dubai to Laos, officials have said. Customs officials acting on a tip-off searched a transit cargo warehouse at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday evening and found a consignment of 239 African elephant tusks. The Thai Customs Department said in a statement that the seizure is the country’s largest-ever haul of ivory, valued at $3.6m, and originated from South Africa. The shipment flown on an Emirates flight was declared at Thai customs as mobile phone parts, to take advantage of Thailand’s agreement with Laos not to check cargo in transit. No arrests have been made so far. Ivory shipped to Thailand typically goes to carvers who fashion it into Buddhist statues, bangles and jewellery for sale to tourists or sale in other countries. Biggest haul Thailand is also a transit point for ivory forwarded to other markets such as China. Seree Thaijongrak, the director of the investigation and suppression bureau “This is the biggest seizure we have ever had. This is a real accomplishment for Thailand,” he said. “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. Last month, authorities arrested two Thai women for 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. Thai police believe the women supplied ivory to the Thai national, who prosecutors say sold several pieces of ivory on Ebay, the online shopping site, disguising shipments as gifts and toys. Legal loophole The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) banned all international ivory trade in 1989, but traders in Thailand have thrived partly because the 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 tonnes of African ivory was seized in Southeast Asia last year, including three seizures in Thailand. Wildlife experts say Thailand is a commonly-used transit point for the illegal trafficking of animal parts, with African ivory often bound for China. Some 38,000 African elephants are killed each year for their tusks, they say, out of a total estimated population of half a million. African nations are currently in dispute over whether to allow a new round of legal ivory sales, with a decision to be made by the UN’s international wildlife protection body when it meets next month in Doha, Qatar. Tanzania and Zambia are seeking permission from the CITES to be exempted from a 1989 ban on ivory sales. USA :
First Uranium, Mustek, Ububele: South Africa Equity Preview Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close. South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell for a third day, losing 201.23, or 0.8 percent, to 26,731.85 in Johannesburg. First Uranium Corp. (FUM SJ): The developer of uranium deposits in South Africa said environmental authorization has been reinstated for a plant it wants to build in the country’s North West province. First Uranium was unchanged at 9 rand. Massmart Ltd. (MSM SJ): South Africa’s largest wholesaler was raised to “neutral” from “sell” at UBS AG. The stock rose 2.10 rand, or 2.4 percent, to 90.10 rand. Mustek Ltd. (MST SJ): The South African distributor of computers said fiscal first-half net income advanced to 34.9 million rand ($4.5 million) from 22.8 million rand a year earlier. The stock added 12 cents, or 3.9 percent, to 3.24 rand. Ububele Holdings Ltd. (UBU SJ): The food-processing company said it plans to consolidate its share capital on a 50 to 1 basis. The shares were unchanged at 3 cents. Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows: Anglo American Plc (AAUK US) fell 1.5 percent to $17.90. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) added 3.7 percent to $36. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) fell 0.9 percent to $61.28. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) gained 0.3 percent to $5.93. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) advanced 3.2 percent to $11.43. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) rose 2.7 percent to $9.13. Impala Platinum Holdings (IMPUY US) shed 0.08 percent to $23.58. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) slipped 0.3 percent to $3.88. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) rose 0.7 percent to $36.01. –Editors: Vernon Wessels, Alastair Reed. Why is Black History Month Important? www.washingtoninformer.com/February 26, 2010 Local Black History month is an annual event which has been recognized in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom since 1926. It is celebrated in honor and remembrance of important people and events in the history of African Diasporas and African American Heritage. Every month of February significant figures in African American History are recognized for their national, social, scientific and political contributions to the country. People come together in remembrance of how their heroic acts influence the nation. Historical accounts related to the civil rights movement, the civil war, mainstream technological advances and its effects on the country’s economy are often recalled and appreciated. This period of the year is important in the fact that, it honors the importance of black achievement and contribution in the United States. The legacy of African American heritage is acknowledged and kept alive. Homage, respect and appreciation are shown towards heroic figures that symbolically changed the nation in numerous ways through Art, Music, Literature, Science and Civil-rights movements. African Americans have played a significant role in the culture and history of the nation in numerous ways. Strong leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., who was the leader of the civil rights movement of 1955-1965 is still remembered and recognized for his major accomplishments and significance to the nation. His fight against racial segregation has been of great influence to the uprising of our society. King’s dream of one day living in a color blind society gave him the strength, courage and determination to fight for racial justice and equality. By establishing a non-violence movement against segregation, King was able to unite and bring the nation to embrace people in all faiths of love, truth, peace and justice. In his fight, his endurance of threats, beatings and harassments eventually led to a successful triumph over poverty, racism, war and violence. Without him there is a possibility that this nation would still be undergoing horrors of slavery and segregation. King laid a strong foundation for America’s future and it is therefore important that we celebrate and pay tribute to him. Other African American leaders also played a huge role in the advancement and upbringing of our society. Writers such as Frederick Douglass, Maya Angelou, and Ralph Ellison used literature to speak out and call for a change in society. As poets, historians and civil-rights activists, their works continue to travel around the world spreading their legendary wisdom and captivating readers. They have successfully been idols to the African-American heritage and ancestry. Great musicians and artists such as Billy Holiday, Duke Ellington, Sargent Johnson and Palmer Hayden also contributed to our present society through the influence of their music and art. They have been inspirations and idols in our world of entertainment and have opened new interest and ideas for social improvements. During this time period we also remember inventors and self-educated scientists such as Benjamin Banneker and George Washington Carver. Who laid a foundation to new technological inventions which has helped us advance in society. Without people like them our society would never have been what it is today. Although their works have been renovated, they are still recognized as the founders of most technology we depend on. Most importantly this month, we recognize former African-American slaves who survived the horrors of slavery and made brave efforts to guarantee freedom for all colored people. Important figures like Harriet Tubman led the Underground Railroad. Brave enough, she led more than three hundred slaves to freedom in just eleven trips to the North. Her accomplishments are of great importance to history and so during this month she is recognized as a heroin. The significance and importance of Black History month is not just to celebrate and honor all these great African-American leaders but also to educate others of the African American heritage. By doing this, we are able to keep the legacy of the African Heritage alive and passed down form one generation to the other. Celebrating black history month helps us learn from the mistakes of our past, improve on the present and build a firmer future for tomorrow. CANADA :
First Uranium stock soars after South Africa grants environment permit Shares of First Uranium Corp. (TSX:FIU) soared in frenzied trading on the Toronto Stock Market on Thursday after officials in South Africa granted it a critical environmental permit. First Uranium stock closed up 51 cents or more than 39 per cent at $1.81 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with more than 16.7 million shares changing hands. That was the second most of the day on Canada’s main exchange. The company’s financing plans had been disrupted earlier in the month due to suspension of the permit for a new tailings reclamation project near Stilfontein, in North West Province. On Thursday, the company said it had been notified of a “positive decision” by environmental officials in the province on an amendment application for the Mine Waste Solutions project. “Now that we have the environmental authorization reinstated, we can concentrate on the process of securing the necessary financing for the construction of this tailings storage facility . . . and our plans for ramping up our production,. . .” First Uranium president and CEO Gordon Miller said in a news release. First Uranium is focused on becoming a significant low-cost producer of uranium and gold through the expansion of the underground development to feed the new uranium and gold plants at its Ezulwini mine and through the expansion of plant capacity of the Mine Waste Solutions tailings recovery facility. AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
MoneyGram International Targets Benelux Growth with Acquisition of Blue Dolphin Financial Services Feb. 26, 2010/www.marketwatch.com MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — MoneyGram International /quotes/comstock/13*!mgi/quotes/nls/mgi (MGI 2.77, -0.07, -2.46%) , a leading global money transfer company, announced today it acquired Blue Dolphin Financial Services as part of the company’s strategy to grow its owned retail network in regions with strong remittance potential. Today, there are 18 Blue Dolphin locations in Belgium and the Netherlands and the acquisition, along with the expanded opportunities for payment institutions introduced by the European Union in November, are the foundation for MoneyGram’s growth across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. “Blue Dolphin has exceeded our expectations as an agent and we’re eager to grow both locations and transactions across this important remittance region,” said John Hempsey, MoneyGram’s executive vice president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. “This region is a key source of remittances for Turkey and many countries in Europe and Africa, including Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco.” In addition to its recent acquisition, MoneyGram operates retail branches in France and Germany. “Owning our own network in key European markets has been essential to our growth,” Hempsey said. “Our retail expansion in France was a catalyst for adding eight French-speaking countries across Africa and Oceania since 2008. The recent directive from the EU encourages trade within payments businesses and owning our own network supports our growth in highly regulated countries. “Blue Dolphin has served our customers for several years and we’ll now begin to manage these locations directly to grow our Benelux business and our opportunities in receive countries as well,” Hempsey said. About MoneyGram International MoneyGram International offers more choices for people separated from friends and family by distance or those with limited bank relationships to meet their financial needs. A leading global provider of money transfer services, MoneyGram International helps consumers to safely send money around the world with funds arriving at available agent locations in as little as 10 minutes. Its global network is comprised of 190,000 agent locations in more than 190 countries and territories. MoneyGram’s convenient and reliable network includes retailers, international post offices and financial institutions. To learn more about money transfer at an agent location, please visit www.moneygram.com or follow us on Facebook. SOURCE: MoneyGram International CHINA :
China-Africa relations based on equality, mutual benefit and common development February 26, 2010/english.people.com.cn In recent years, China has established solid and friendly cooperative relations with Africa, drawing extensive attention from the international community, which is very common. However, some western media groups take every chance to poke at China’s African policy and even “demonize” China. No convincing content can be found in their reports, for what these media groups excel at is publishing groundless news, criticizing the imaginary “resource exploitation” and “neo-colonialism,” and irresponsibly citing the “China Threat Theory.” The wide-awake and alert people at home and abroad have already drawn conclusions of significant credibility and proved the absurdness of those reports released by some western media groups after careful and scientific analysis time and time again. It is necessary to find the cause of such baseless remarks. It should also be noted that some westerners still like to think from a perspective of colonialism and observe the world with a Cold War mentality. In their eyes, Africa is still their sphere of influence and other people should never set foot on the continent without their permission. In their minds, jungle law is a must in dealing with the naturally unequal international relations, without taking into consideration the changing times and continuously progressing human civilization, thus they inevitably go wrong when treating new international relations with outdated views. The China-Africa relationship is a new type of international relationship formed after the Second World War and is characterized by an equal, reciprocal and a win-win principle. These 3 characteristics are the result of many factors. The first is excellent tradition. China and Africa had established relations as early as 2,000 years ago, during which, there were no wars, aggression or looting but only exchanges and friendship between China and Africa. The history and tradition of China-Africa relations not only exerted positive and enormous influence, but also laid a solid foundation on the relationship development between countries in modern times. Secondly, developing countries have common qualities. Both China and African countries are developing countries meaning they have not only common history, but also share similar targets for development. Developing countries’ common qualities determine that there is no conflict of interest between them, and also that the countries have the same or similar opinions on many major international issues (such as the establishment of a new international political and economic system). Thirdly, they are all eager to develop themselves. Currently, developing countries are still weak compared with the strong developed countries. When dialogue between developing and developed countries is progressing slowly, the cooperation between developing countries becomes especially important. Both China and African countries are developing countries, and strengthening cooperation is the request of the era and the common need to develop. Fourthly, the countries stood the test of practice. The establishment of the People’s Republic of China and African countries gaining independence proved that the equal, reciprocal and win-win relationship between China and Africa has strong vitality and the prospect of sustainable development. Fifthly, the relationship can be guaranteed by a system and mechanism. China and Africa launched the Sino-African Cooperation Forum in 2000, which established a new strategic partnership between them, determined the equal, reciprocal and win-win relationship, and in turn ensured such relationship through a system and mechanism. The practice of developing China-Africa relations has comprehensively interpreted the essence of equality, mutual benefit and mutual interests. Firstly, in terms of international relationships, China is committed to the philosophy of peaceful development, and has adhered to developing the China-Africa relationship on the basis of respecting sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit, and not interfering in internal affairs. Over the past half century, the 2 sides have respected and supported each other, and their relationship has continued to expand and deepen, setting a good example in international relations. Secondly, in terms of trade, China and Africa are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and complement each other’s advantages. Africa has offered China energy and raw materials to support China’s high-speed growth, and China has provided Africa with urgently-needed funds and techniques to help Africa develop its economy and combat poverty. Thirdly, in terms of investment, with the mutual-beneficial and win-win principle, China has made investments in Africa’s various fields, which has not only met the consumption needs of the local people, but has also increased local job opportunities and tax revenues, achieving win-win results. Fourthly, in terms of assistance to Africa, China has fully respected the wills of African countries and sincerely helped recipient countries develop their economies, with enormous effective work done in fields such as agricultural production, infrastructure, personnel training as well as debt reduction and exemption. China put forth 8 measures in 2006 to promote substantial cooperation with Africa, and announced another 8 measures in 2009 to further China-Africa cooperation, both of which have advanced the course of African countries’ economic development and poverty reduction. Just like the words from an ancient Chinese poem, “Mountains cannot keep the river from flowing eastward to the sea,” the groundless reports by some western media groups will not distort the essence of equality, mutual benefit and mutual interests seen in the China-Africa relationship, let alone obstruct its development and advancement. Today, there are an increasing number of rational people around the world who have recognized and appreciated the development of the China-Africa relationship, which is the best counterattack to such groundless remarks. (The author Shu Yunguo is the director of the Africa Research Center under Shanghai Normal University.)
Feb 26 2010/— Sapa On Thursday, GMSA said while it no longer distributed and sold Hummer vehicles, it was committed to looking after Hummer buyers. INDIA :
African firm launches Mi Fone series of mobiles in India Posted by: Azhar Fayaz/ infocera.com/ 26/02/2010 Mi-Fone Inc. is only in its second year of operation throughout whole Africa and has already established its market in 15 different countries including Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritius, DRC, Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Madagascar and Nigeria. It took around a year for Mi-Fone Inc for framing-up its distribution channel throughout the country. CEO Mi-Fone even stated in his statement that they are very convinced with their current sale forecasts, that this is the right time to venture on their brand awareness campaigns across the country. The Mi-Q range mobile phones are embedded with full color screen, QWERTY keypad and FM Radio. And particularly Mi-Q338 is featured with additional features like LCD touch screen, Dual Sims with analog TV, MP3 and video potentiality as well as multi-media functions like SMS, MMS, GPRS, WAP and a shake sensor. Mi-Q is going to launch some more handsets in future including Mi 323, Mi 338, Mi 2010 and the Mi 350a; and they will come with more advanced technologies including “MI-APPS” which will empower its users to experience what Mi-Fone terms a lighter version of the “Blackberry experience”. This Application will also include Push email and Messenger facilities. The Mi-350a comes with an antenna which helps in increase in the reception by 2-3db, and is also featured with two batteries, with an innovative way of changing a battery when the phone remains on. Both these characteristics with the new Mi-Fone keeps the user connected at all times. Mi-2010 is a very low cost and efficient handset with the Dual Sim feature and includes a camera to catch all the memorable moments. Mi-Fone Inc. is expecting a huge response in India as people here are always ready for something in the Market with much more advanced and high-tech features. It will be very challenging for them as India is being counted one of the top Technical Giants among the whole world and it’s full of competitors globally and within the country also. We just have to wait and watch how mobile freakers are responding towards these new Mi-Fone handsets. Bharti-Zain Deal ‘Attractive And Mutually Beneficial’: India Feb 26, 2010 /www.indiajournal.com Issuing a statement on Bharti’s $10.7 billion offer to buy Zain’s African assets, other than those in Sudan and Morocco, India’s Ambassador to Kuwait Ajai Malhotra said: “It is always most welcome when our companies pursue arrangements that both partners consider to be attractive and mutually beneficial, as is the case in the present instant.” “I am pleased that a leading Indian company, Bharti Airtel and Zain are engeged in exclusive discussions for the acquisition by Bharti of Zain’s African operations, excluding those in Morocco and Sudan,” the Indian envoy said while replying to media queries. With the acquisition of Zain’s African operations, Bharti would get access to nearly 42 million subscribers over and above the 125 million user base in the Indian market. This is Bharti’s third attempt to enter the fast growing African market with potential for higher growth in the coming years. The Indian telecom sector has been one of the major success stories in the post-liberalization era in India, Malhotra said. Bharti has offered an enterprise value of $10.7 billion to acquire Zain’s operations, of which $1.7 billion would be debt. The company has said that actual outgo would be only $9 billion for the deal. India’s policies in the telecom sector have led to mobile telephony availability at low or vastly reduced charges, resulting in the speedy expansion of the Indian telephone network to include over 562 million subscribers, the Indian envoy had said in a statement yesterday. “It is good that Bharti Airtel, one of the leading telecom companies to have emerged in the context of implementing those policies, is now on the verge of acquiring a global profile by venturing deep into international markets and bringing its strengths to the telecom sector of a large number of African countries,” Malhotra added. (PTI) BRASIL:
.Ultra-Deepwater Drilling For Oil, Gas Defies Recession online.wsj.com/By Jason Womack /FEBRUARY 26, 2010 Transocean Ltd. (RIG), the largest offshore drilling rig contractor, saw its revenue from ultra-deepwater drilling jump 32% to $890 million during the fourth quarter from the same period last year. In contrast, revenue from its jack-up rigs, which drill shallow water fields, fell 40% to $422 million. The company, which posted earnings Wednesday, said all of its rigs that can drill at depths greater than 7,500 feet are booked through 2010, even though more than 40% of its jack-up rig fleet is idle. The rift in the rig market underscores how oil companies that are hard-pressed to find new oil reserves are still willing to spend big, as long as it’s in such frontier regions as offshore Brazil, West Africa and the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where giant fields are thought to lie. Therefore, such companies as Transocean, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) and Noble Drilling Services Inc. (NE), which maintain a fleet of deepwater drilling rigs, have been relatively shielded from the recent volatility in oil and gas prices. The projects on which these mammoth rigs can take years to complete, and hinge on a long-term view of commodity prices and energy demand rather than near-term market forces, which can drive down investment in smaller, short-term projects. Phil Weiss, an analyst with Argus Research Co. in New York, said companies have yet to tap all the deepwater offshore drilling opportunities. “Cheap oil has all been found. If you want more oil you are going to have to pay for it,” Weiss said. Ultra-deepwater rigs are massive structures that can accommodate hundreds of people and may stretch the length of a football field or more. That size, though, comes at a price. Transocean’s new ultra-deepwater drilling rig Development Driller III, which can drill to a depth of 35,000 feet, went to work on a seven-year contract with oil giant BP plc. (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the exact terms of the rig contract were not disclosed, average day rates for the Transocean’s ultra-deepwater rig fleet are $486,200, up about 15% from the previous year. “Today there are opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Brazil, and a number of operators are expressing interest in limited capacity we have available in 2011,” Steven Newman, Transocean president and incoming chief executive officer, said Wednesday during a conference call with investors. -By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com
EN BREF, CE 26 février 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,26/02/2010 |
BURUNDI – AFRICA / INTERNATIONAL : 26 FEVRIER 2010 [Rwanda: Genocidaires Should Be Hunted Down and Punished – Sarkozy]
