OMAR, BXL AGNEWS, le 27 février 2010 – {jcomments on} BEIJING: Zambian President Rupiah Banda arrived in China for a state visit, on the heels of Zimbabwean and South African foreign ministers, which signals China’s increasing role in Africa and a deepening friendship between the continent and China. Xu Weizhong, an African studies expert with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank, said “such intensive visits indicate that Africa attaches greater importance to China-Africa relationship.”
Tanzanian Ambassador to China Omar Ramadhan Mapuri said these exchanges had played and would continue to play a crucial role in the strengthening of China-Africa relations, cooperation and friendship. In response to recent western media reports accusing China of impairing Africa’s development, Mapuri said such criticism “is unfounded.”
BURUNDI :
RWANDA
Rwandan army officer sentenced to 25 years for genocide
February 27, 2010/en.wikinews.org
Lt Colonel Ephrem Setako — a former Rwandan army officer — has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering the killing of between 30 and 40 people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He was found guilty on Thursday of genocide, crimes against humanity, and murder.
Setako was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. He was acquitted of further charges including complicity to commit genocide, murder as a crime against humanity, and pillage as a war crime.
The ICTR, set up by the United Nations in the wake of the genocide, released a statement via its website saying “the Chamber 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 1994”. He is thought to have been one of the key architects of the genocide.
Setako had been head of the Division of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Defense at the time of the genocide. He was arrested in 2004 in Amsterdam and brought to Arusha. His trial began in 2008 and lasted until June 2009; 55 witnesses gave evidence. The head of the prosecution team, Ifeoma Ojemeni Okali, responded to the sentence saying that Setako should have been imprisoned for life for his crimes.
The judgement follows the conviction earlier this month of former Rwandan military officer Col. Tharcisse Muvunyi, who was sentenced to 15 years for public incitement to commit genocide. Approximately 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were massacred over 100 days during the genocide.
We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We will be Killed with Our Families
Saturday, February 27, 2010 / By Lydia Lin, The China Post
It is hard to do justice to a people who, depending on the identity they were born into, had more or less resigned themselves to kill or be killed. True justice, however, was never the objective of Philip Gourevitch, whose unrelenting reportage and skillful prose were able to shed a discerning light on the common personalities in a most uncommon genocide.
The facts, and the subsequent empathy it aroused, may be the only salvation for the millions of dead Rwandans abandoned by an inert international community. Around the time We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families was first published, the devastating aftermath of the 1994 Rwanda genocide had wreaked havoc among its surrounding neighbors, with exiled Hutu Power leaders still wrangling for control and expounding desires to exterminate Tutsis.
Throughout this entire progress, the world barely watched. The U.N., in its confusion and ignorance, even enabled the very perpetrators of the genocide in their refugee camps with relief supplies. So what happened between the Hutus and the Tutsis of Rwanda and how did the intrigue of government upheaval, blatantly racist media propaganda and meticulously planned systematic killings escape the national radar? What happened to the world leaders who vowed that something like the Holocaust would never happen again?
The longwinded, chilling title of the book is an actual line from the letter of a Tutsi priest who, trapped in a church with thousands of fellow Tutsis, was long informed of his impending death by the Hutu majority in a decree of extermination issued by the Rwandan government. Gourevitch offers a comprehensive history of Rwandan Hutu and Tutsis, using allusions from the Bible and bigoted profiling of the early Belgium colonizers to illustrate how two, almost ethnographically indistinguishable people learned to self-segregate. When extremists of “Hutu Power” took over the government after the assassination of Rwanda’s longtime dictator in 1994, they called on every Hutu to kill their neighboring Tutsi, prepping the people with machetes and other weapons and engaging them in practice slayings. Many of the Tutsis, resigned to their fates, paid money to be executed with a bullet in lieu of being butchered.
Gourevitch, then a New Yorker staff writer, interviewed everyone who had been willing to talk —fugitive Fathers who had lead their parishioners to slaughter, old and new government officials, victims and the people who helped them survive. The reports, when filtered through a palpable humane angle, become even more shocking. The killing of Tutsis by machete was low-tech yet effective, massacring 80,000 Tutsis in 100 days. For this kind of productivity, the idea of an anarchy-driven thirst for Tutsi blood was replaced with an unsettlingly image of dull compliance on the part of Hutus dutifully exterminating the “cockroaches.” The systematic killing required physical endurance and ideological will, and the results could put the Nazis to shame.
Under circumstances where the sheer number of executioners with varying motives makes it difficult to place blame, Gourevitch directs his vitriol for the U.N. aid camps that arrived too late were unable to distinguish Hutu Power fugitives from the refugees. He also excoriates France and the United States, the former for supplying arms to the genocidaires and the latter, for its unwillingness to call what happened “genocide.” As for justice, outside help was scant; exiles and rebel groups of the impoverished country were forced to take matters into their own hands, restoring the merest semblance of peace and executing their own brand of justice at the price of ongoing massacres.
Gourevitch, by being in the country at the time, describing in his surroundings and participating in post-genocide interviews, vacillates honestly between trenchant observations, mixed emotions and utter helplessness. His determination to bring the Rwanda story to light is all the more powerful given the implicitly life-threatening circumstances under which he reported. Though it has been over a decade since the horrifying events, Rwanda must not be forgotten; the message of empathy and compassion remains universal and it is never too late to pick up Gourevitch’s masterpiece.
UGANDA
TANZANIA:
Form agricultural bank, Government told
By Al-amani Mutarubukwa /thecitizen.co.tz/2010-02-27
Stakeholders in agriculture have pressed the government to fast-track the establishment of the proposed agricultural bank that will give long-term credit to farmers with affordable conditions.
Speaking during a two-day workshop that ended in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, the stakeholders noted that the government was taking too long to set up the bank.
“Tanzanian farmers continue to face difficulties in accessing loans from commercial banks which complicate procedures before the loans are offered,” said Prof Andrew Temu, a lecturer from Sokoine University of Agriculture.
The meeting was organised by the World Bank to discuss prospects of agriculture in relation to impacts of climate change.
Official statistics show that the sector has for a long time been mainly dependent on about 10 per cent of total loans disbursed by commercial banks to the private sector.
However, players see the increasing number of commercial banks that offer loans to farmers to be not sustainable.
“As a farmer, I still need to be convinced that commercial banks could offer solutions to our problems. We really need the instrument that will offer us long-term credit to procure modern farm inputs,” said Mr Salum Shamte, the chairman of Agricultural Council of Tanzania.
In early September last year, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) invited bidders to express interest for carrying out a feasibility study leading to the establishment of the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank.
According to Tanzania National Business Council’s (TNBC) agriculture working group, an initial capital of $500 million (about Sh660 billion) is required to start the financial institution.
It is expected that the private sector could be involved in providing additional funding of the project through government guaranteed long-term bonds.
The growth and development shortcomings of the agricultural sector in Tanzania are attributed to lack of cheap and long-term loans to peasants that make 80 per cent of the country’s population.
CONGO RDC :
KENYA :
Kenya tourism edges back towards pre-crisis levels
(AFP)/27022010
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s tourism earnings soared by 18 percent in 2009, edging close to the record levels that prevailed before the December 2007 electoral violence, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) said Friday.
In sharp contrast to the global tourism slump during a year marked by the financial crisis, tourist arrivals to Kenya climbed 30 percent in 2009, KTB Managing Director Mureithi Ndegwa told reporters.
“The 2009 results resonate well with our strategic plan to recover the numbers of 2007 as you will note that the sector surpassed our projections for the year,” he said.
Ndegwa said that earnings rose from 52 billion shillings (685 million dollars) in 2008 to 62.4 billion shillings (810 million dollars) last year, while arrivals soared from 729,000 to 952,841 over the same period.
2007 remains Kenya’s best-performing year with earnings at 65.4 billion shillings (851 million dollars) and arrivals topping a million.
Tourism is the top foreign currency earner for East Africa’s largest economy and was badly affected by tribal and police violence that erupted in December 2007 after disputed elections and left around 1,500 people dead.
Ndegwa said aggressive marketing campaigns over the past two years helped the sector claw its way back towards pre-crisis levels.
“A lot of reassurance missions were done and people went down to the source markets reassuring the tourists that Kenya is safe and an ideal destination for them to experience,” he said.
A UN World Tourism Organisation report last month said international tourist arrivals fell by an estimated 4.0 percent in 2009, to 880 million, but should recover to grow by 3.0 to 4.0 percent in 2010.
ANGOLA :
SOUTH AFRICA:
Minister Davies to seek urgent meetings with Kumba, ArcelorMittal and Anglo
By: Terence Creamer/ www.engineeringnews.co.za/27th February 2010
Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies will seek urgent meetings with Kumba Iron Ore (KIO), Anglo American (KIO’s majority shareholder) and ArcelorMittal South Africa to discuss the reasons for, as well as the implications of, KIO’s announcement that it would cancel the cost plus 3% iron-ore pricing arrangement it had with the steel group as from March 1, 2010.
The decision led to the suspension of trading in ArcelorMittal South Africa’s shares on Friday, with trade only set to resume again on Wednesday March 3, 2010, when the steel group is due to make an announcement clarifying the possible implications of KIO’s move, which it planned to contest legally.
The Department of Trade and Industry’s chief director of industrial policy Nimrod Zalk tells Engineering News Online that the department had already begun to study the possible implications on steel prices should ArcelorMittal South Africa have to begin paying “commercial rates” for its key steelmaking ingredient.
Under the terms of a 2001 Iscor unbundling agreement, the steel group had a so-called undivided share of 21% of the Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, which is operated by KIO. This translates into a major cost advantage for ArcelorMittal South Africa, which last year received its 6,25-million ton entitlement at around $26/t, as compared with iron-ore contract prices of closer to $66/t. Iron-ore spot prices, meanwhile, have recovered to around $120/t mainly on the back of resurgent Chinese demand.
BENEFITS NEVER FLOWED DOWNSTREAM
However, Zalk stressed that it could not be automatically assumed that there would indeed be a steel price increase, owing primarily to the fact that Africa’ largest steel producer had not been passing on this iron-ore pricing advantage to downstream consumers.
In fact, the matter remains a sore point between the DTI and the JSE-listed steel company, owing to the fact that the group’s access to South African-mined iron-ore on favourable terms had been effectively secured for it by government in 2001, on the proviso that the company extended a so-called “developmental” price to South African consumers.
The iron-ore arrangement and the pricing promise had been central to the unbundling deal that led to the creation of separate steel and mining companies from what had previously been the Iscor group.
But controversially, the steel group clung to its unpopular policy of pricing steel on an import parity basis, which led to a breakdown of trust between the DTI, ArcelorMittal South Africa and its foreign-based shareholder, the bigger ArcelorMittal Group.
The company eventually made a unilateral decision to convert to a “benchmarked” pricing model, whereby it set domestic selling prices after an analysis of domestic selling prices in four markets (the US, Germany, Brazil and China) and then adjusting these to its expectations for the South African currency for the forthcoming month.
However, the DTI had never been comfortable with the composition of the “basket” and Zalk notes that there had been little noticeable difference between prices set under import parity pricing (IPP) and the benchmarked model.
He added that prices during the second half of 2009, as well as those charged during the first few months of 2010 were, by DTI’s calculation, consistently higher than the IPP level.
The issue came to the fore during the 2006 Competition Tribunal hearings into a complaint of “excessive pricing” against ArcelorMittal South Africa, during which the group’s pricing was found to be anticompetitive.
The tribunal fined the group R692-million, but the case was eventually settled last year, after the Competition Appeal Court sent the ruling back to the tribunal for further deliberation.
TRUST DEFICIT
Therefore, Zalk acknowledged that there was a “trust deficit” between government and the country’s leading steel producer.
Nevertheless, the department continued to believe that vertical integration was “theoretically” in the national interest, as this should ensure lower-cost production. This, in turn, could be to the benefit of job-generating downstream steel consumers should it be passed on by the steel company, rather than retained purely for the benefit of its shareholders.
The DTI was also concerned that the deal could have implications for the newly announced second version of its industrial policy action plan, or Ipap2.
A number of steel consuming sectors had been highlighted for development under the plan, which Davies told Parliament recently had the potential to add 2,5-million direct and indirect jobs over the next decade.
“Therefore, I have been instructed by Minister Davies to set up urgent engagements with Kumba, Mittal and Anglo,” Zalk told Engineering News Online, adding that he hoped these meetings would take place in the next few days.
Edited by: Terence Creamer
Can an early election thwart Zimbabwe’s Mugabe?
Saturday, February 27, 2010 /www.washingtonpost.com
IT’S BEEN a year since the launch of Zimbabwe’s national unity government, and President Robert Mugabe is celebrating — his own birthday, that is. Once again the strongman who liberated and then ruined what was one of Africa’s richest countries has spent a huge sum — $500,000 — celebrating himself, this time in a 12-hour concert broadcast live on state television Friday. Mr. Mugabe is now 86; he was recently named by his party as leader for another five years. He has refused to implement any of the reforms promised in the unity accord, and he has continued to arrest and harass his opponents. He has made a mockery of those African nations, led by South Africa, who promoted the coalition government.
So as ever in Zimbabwe’s prolonged agony, the question is, will South Africa and other neighbors finally be shamed into a different approach. There is at least some reason to be hopeful.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki promoted the union between Mr. Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a way of arresting Zimbabwe’s descent into chaos while leaving the strongman in power. From Mr. Mugabe’s point of view, this has worked out rather well. Mr. Tsvangirai’s ministers have stopped hyperinflation, reopened hospitals and returned children to school; the economy even grew a little last year. But none of the concessions promised to the opposition have been implemented. Opposition provincial governors have not been able to take up their posts, much less begun to work. Not a single independent media outlet has been licensed, and propaganda spews daily from government-controlled outlets. Appropriately, neither the United States nor the European Union has lifted sanctions.
South Africa’s new president, Jacob Zuma, seems less willing to coddle Mr. Mugabe. He has supported talks on the stalled pieces of the pact, but these have gone nowhere. So now Mr. Zuma has let it be known that he wants the two sides to focus on preparing for an early election, provided for under the political deal. He’s right to embrace democracy as a way out of the crisis. Mr. Mugabe lost the last presidential election in 2008 before reversing its results by force, and polls show that his party is now supported by less than 30 percent of the population.
Yet, if Zimbabwe is to have another election, its neighbors must ensure that it will be free and fair. That means stopping the arrests and attacks by security forces, allowing opposition access to media and providing for international monitoring of voting and counting. Under the unity accord, elections were to follow the drafting and approval of a new constitution, which would take most of this year. Now there is talk of advancing the vote to this spring — but is it possible to ensure a fair vote by then? Mr. Zuma is said to be eager to ensure that strife in Zimbabwe doesn’t spoil South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup soccer tournament this summer. If so, he needs to begin bringing concerted pressure to bear on Mr. Mugabe.
SA High Court ruling null and void: Govt
By Sydney Kawadza/www.herald.co.zw/ Saturday, February 27, 2010
Zimbabwe will not be influenced by a South African High Court ruling seeking to enforce a Sadc Tribunal order promoting white former farmers’ interests above those of resettled black Zimbabweans.
The South African government yesterday also said it was still studying Pretoria High Court judge Garth Rabbie’s ruling on Thursday with a view to appealing against it.
Chief Director in the Public Diplomacy Department of International Relations and Co-operation Mr Saul Kgomotso Molobi said: “Our position is that our State attorneys are still studying the judgment and they will revert to us as to whether we should lodge an appeal or not.”
Judge Rabbie ruled that a 2008 decision by the tribunal that the Government should compensate white farmers should be recognised and enforced by South Africa.
The tribunal also tried to put a freeze on the land reform programme.
Thursday’s judgment seeks to pave the way for the farmers to seize properties belonging to the Government of Zimbabwe in South Africa as compensation.
This includes trying to attach Air Zimbabwe planes that land in South Africa.
The former commercial farmers, represented by advocacy group AfriForum, said they were now seeking a writ of execution.
Zimbabwe’s Attorney-General, Mr Johannes Tomana, referred questions to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa whose cellphone went unanswered yesterday.
A senior official in the Justice Ministry said Zimbabwe was not under the jurisdiction of South African law and Tshwane would not, in any event, act on a ruling that was criticised at Sadc Heads of State and Government level.
He pointed out that less than the required two-thirds of Sadc’s membership had ratified the protocol seeking to create the tribunal and regional leaders concurred that the body had no legal force.
“The judgment flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s laws, especially Constitutional Amendment Number 17 Act and what Sadc has agreed on the matter.
“When the tribunal made that ruling, we objected and the fact that we have not signed an agreement on the Sadc Tribunal means we are not bound by its decisions.
“Government made its objections on the ruling. The leaders agreed that the tribunal was not properly set because it needs to be ratified by a particular number of members to make a binding ruling on a number of countries to ratify it.
“More so, Zimbabwe has not signed that agreement and it means the tribunal’s ruling has no jurisdiction on us,” he said.
Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius and Lesotho are the only Sadc member-countries that have ratified the protocol and at least another five must do so before the tribunal can act legally.
The Government official dismissed threats to attach State properties in South Africa.
“We have signed bilateral agreements with South Africa to protect our business interests in that country.
“We are not scared. We are not even worried because it is South Africa’s duty as it is ours to protect each other’s properties.”
High Court judge Justice Bharat Patel last month dismissed the tribunal’s ruling saying it could not and would not be effected in Zimbabwe.
He said enforcing the ruling would be against the national interest.
AFRICA / AU :
San Diego Students Storm Offices After Noose Found
n style=”font-size: 9pt; color: black”>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Published: February 27, 2010
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Anger boiled over on the University of California San Diego campus Friday, where students took over the chancellor’s office for several hours to protest the hanging of a noose in a campus library.
Students wearing red handkerchiefs over their faces blocked the doors to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s offices for hours, while more students inside chanted ”Real pain, real change.”
They left the office peacefully at sundown, about the same time that leaders of the university’s Black Student Union ended talks with administrators in a nearby conference room over demands that include more boosting the African-American curriculum and campus activities. A university spokesman, Jeff Gattas, said there were no arrests and no property was damaged during the takeover.
The noose found dangling from a light fixture on the seventh floor of Geisel Library on Thursday night was the latest in a string of racially charged incidents in the university community, authorities said Friday. Less than two weeks ago, an off-campus party mocking Black History Month ignited racial tensions.
A University of California statement said a student admitted she and two other people were responsible. The statement did not identify the students or their race or include a motive.
In a news conference Friday afternoon, Fox said the student has been suspended but declined to discuss her motive or other students involved.
”This person admitted her involvement in what we consider to be an abhorrent act,” said Fox.
Hundreds of students rallied for several hours outside the university administration building Friday, where speakers denounced the noose as an example of intolerance on a campus where less than 2 percent of students are black.
UC and campus authorities did not indicate whether the students would be charged with a hate crime. Under state law, hanging a noose to terrorize is punishable by up to a year in jail.
”Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred, and we are outraged,” the UC statement said. ”It has no place in civilized society, and it will not be tolerated.”
To blacks, a noose recalls the days of widespread racism and lynchings.
”How am I supposed to walk into that building? How am I ever going to be safe there?” said ethnic studies major Cheyenne Stevens, who is black.
Mustafa Shahryar, 21, said he had seen the noose as he left the library.
Shahryar, who is from Afghanistan, told the crowd he grew accustomed to racial slurs while growing up in Southern California but was stunned to see the noose.
”Nothing phased me until last night,” he said. ”I just took that noose as an attack on all of us.”
Leaders of the Black Student Union said they were disappointed with the administration’s response to their list of 32 demands. The school agreed to many, such as funding a vacant position for program coordinator for an African American Studies minor.
But the administration said requiring undergraduates to take courses in African-American, ethnic and gender studies was beyond its scope of authority. Funding the Black Student Union, it said, depended on state funding and decisions of the student government.
The administration plans to resume talks with the students Monday, said Danny Widener, a history professor who supports the Black Student Union and participated in Friday’s discussions.
The school — where about 2 percent students are black — has been in turmoil over an off-campus ”Compton Cookout” party organized by some students that urged people to dress as ghetto stereotypes and promised there would be chicken, watermelon and malt liquor.
Fox condemned the party, and the school began an investigation to determine if any students might face discipline. The school also initiated a campus-wide ”Battle Hate” campaign.
Campus administrators held a ”teach-in” against intolerance on Wednesday. The same day, hundreds of students from UCSD and other universities staged a campus protest, demanding that officials make more efforts to combat racism.
Some students countered that the reaction to the party had been overblown.
Last week, the Associated Students president pulled funding from a student-run TV station after The Koala — a campus media outlet with a reputation for being offensive — came out in support of the party, called black students ungrateful and used a derogatory term for African-Americans during a program.
The Celebration of February as Black History Month is Meaningless Unless……
www.ghanaweb.com/Source: Eyiah, Joe Kingsley/Saturday, 27 February 2010
By Joe Kingsley Eyiah, OCT, Brookview Middle School, Toronto-Canada
‘February is designated as Black History Month, a time to reflect on the arduous but triumphant civil rights movement in the United States. It is a celebration of obstacles surmounted, tests passed, and wills strengthened in conquering injustice.’ Thus, February every year is used, especially in North American, as the month to promote awareness about the contributions of people of Black ancestry to the development of freedom and justice in this part of the world. From the time of Harriet Tubman in the ‘Abolition and the Underground Railroad’; Jackie Robinson integrating major league baseball in 1947; and Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech during the 1963 march on Washington; to present, that barrack Obama has been sworn in as the first Black and the 44th President of the United States of America, the history of African Americans has struggled to find its rightful place in American History. Meanwhile, the celebration of Black History this month has spread to recognize the contributions of some notable Black personalities outside the North American continent. One such notable biography is Nelson Mandela of South Africa. This year’s celebration has incorporated the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in South Africa. He served 27 years in prison for his stand against the then apartheid regime in South Africa.
Black History has its own tall history which is not my point of discussion in this discourse. However, I emphasize here and now that history in itself must be a GUIDE for the PRESENT and must serve as an INSPIRATION for the FUTURE. In this wise, HISTORY becomes dynamic and useful! History ought to empower people to be all they can be. And all things are possible to those who believe in history and learn from its lessons as well.
Just studying about events and personalities of Black History only during the month of February each year is not enough to empower students of African heritage to succeed in the society which marginalizes the Black race. Black History ought to become permanent part of the school curriculum so that students of other races can learn to appreciate Black contributions to society. Activities planned for students during the celebration of Black History Month must not end with the month. Such promotional activities in Art, Science, Language and Mathematics must be encouraged throughout the school year. The contents of Black History must challenge students to higher feat of achievements in their studies.
Black History Is Meaningless Unless..:
Black History on its own is meaningless unless it makes lasting impact on developmen
t of society. And to borrow the words of another great son of Africa, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory: ‘The celebration of Black history month is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the Black race and the overall advancement of the human race!’
All people of African heritage must use Black History as a tool for perseverance to liberate themselves from ‘mental slavery’ and economic hardships that confront them wherever they find themselves in the world.
African governments must reflect on achievements of Black people around the world such as Obama and endeavor to create opportunities for their countries to achieve economic independence through political tolerance and sound policies. As Black people, we ought to be proud of our culture and advance it to enhance productivity for the development of our communities wherever we find ourselves in the world.
The celebration of the Black History Month should not bring us together for only ‘talk-talk’ and dancing as well as feasting but move us forward towards unity, perseverance, hard work, respect for each other and the ultimate sacrifice of making our Black communities better than we have come to meet them. We ought to develop our local talents and skills in all fields of life; and patronize our local businesses which must also be run efficiently by the local entrepreneurs. We have to demonstrate by resolute actions and practical decisions our determination to develop the welfare of the Black race. With such determination and resilience on our part, we will make our celebration of the Black History (ie recognition of the contributions of Black people to the world) Month more meaningful and relevant to progress and prosperity. Only in this way will the celebration of Black History anytime, anywhere play its full part in the advancement of true happiness of mankind.
UN /ONU :
New deal unlikely this year: De Boer
Desy Nurhayati and Stevie Emilia , The Jakarta Post , Nusa Dua/ Sat, 02/27/2010
A new climate treaty is unlikely to be inked this year, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer says, citing that there is no time for both rich and poor countries to recover from last December’s failed Copenhagen summit.
De Boer said more time was needed to set up framework for mitigation steps as well as financial and climate change aid that can persuade developing countries to support a new deal. The main priority is, he added, to rebuild confidence and trust in the process.
Developing countries need to be convinced that “there are incentives that will allow them to act on climate change but also meet national economic development goals”, he said.
“Only after that, countries can be expected to sign up,” he told AP.
De Boer said the focus should be shifted toward reaching an agreement at the 2011 summit in South Africa, a year before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Bickering between industrialized and developing countries over emissions cuts and financial assistance were blamed for the failure of the December talks. They ended up agreeing to settle only on a voluntary plan.
De Boer said 100 countries have expressed their willingness to associate with the non binding Copenhagen accord and their names are listed in the document. However, China and India have not yet said if they would sign although both have expressed commitment.
He said the two countries’ refusal to associate with the accord should not be exaggerated.
China and India are respectively the world’s top and fourth largest emitters but they are not required by the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions.
De Boer said the two countries are among 60 others that had submitted targets on climate action plans.
“I think, in that sense, there is both political and substantive commitment within the context of the Copenhagen Accord,” he said prior to the closing of the UN environment conference in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Climate change science has suffered serious blows lately, starting with the failure of Copenhagen. The latest blow was de Boer’s resignation from his post, effective July 1.
Responding to the issue, de Boer said he personally thought it would be good to have someone from a developing country to take over his job.
Indonesia, he said, certainly has some eligible candidates, who have been dealing with the issues for years, fit for the job.
The biggest challenge faced by his successor is to push for a new treaty and find a way forward to address all countries’ interests and mobilize financial assistance.
Indonesia is preparing a candidate to run for the UN climate top post and is currently screening candidates.
“We are still looking for the right person. We don’t want our candidate to fail during the first phase of the selection process,” said Tri Tharyat, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director for economic development and environment.
USA :
CANADA :
Churches unite for global – of prayer
Cameroon women inspire service for 2010
By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald/February 27, 2010
In Cameroon, it is customary to praise God constantly — but even more so during difficult times.
This year’s World Day of Prayer on Friday features an ecumenical service written by the women of Cameroon with the theme Let Everything That Has Breath Praise God.
In their Prayer of Invocation, the women of Cameroon have written: “Though the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the ocean depth, though the seas roar and rage and the hills are shaken by violence, O God, we know that you are near.”
The World Day of Prayer is a global movement of Christian women of many traditions who c-ome together to observe a com mon day of prayer each year. It is a movement initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions. And it is a m-ovementsymbolizedbyanan nual day of celebration — the first Friday of March — to which all people are welcome.
In the Calgary area, services will be held at 15 churches.
“It’s an opportunity for us to g-et together with other denomi nations, other faiths, within the city to build an awareness of the issues around the world for especially women and children. And in doing that, it makes it an enriching faith experience within our Christian community here, but also because we learn about t-he culture and some of the Chris tian practices and traditions from the Christian women around the world,” says Kathy Chapman, c-hairwoman of the Calgary plan ning committee for the event.
Each year, a country is chosen by the international committee for the World Day of Prayer to write the service for that year.
“When it comes to us, we all learn some of the music that they may use, the greetings they would use in their service. Sometimes t-here are different types of Chris tian practice they might use. And then what it also does is it informs us so that we can pray meaningfully for what is needed in that country,” adds Chapman.
She says everyone, including men and children, are welcome to attend the services. In each of the Calgary locations, there could be six to eight churches or up to 10 churches somehow involved in that particular service.
Worldwide, the event has taken place since 1927.
“For older women in the basic faith traditions, it’s something they always did even as a young person, but now our challenge is t-o be opening it up to young peo ple and introducing them to it and getting them involved. It’s always exciting for me to hear when a church is able to use youth as part of the service,” says Chapman.
Rev. Tara Livingston, at Christ Church (Anglican) in Calgary, sits on the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. One of the council’s main roles is the World Day of Prayer.
“It’s one day a year where the women all over the world are praying the same prayers for the same cause, which is really quite incredible when you think about it,” says Livingston.
“The prayers are written two y-ears in advance by a host coun try. The women from Cameroon started two years ago to put the service together. And they also suggest the songs that will be sung a-nd any kind of motions or activi ties. The prayers would come up from their own unique experience of their Christian journey and what it is that they’re praying for.”
Livingston says the goal is to m-akeFridayameaningfulexperi ence for everyone in the world who is participating in the event.
The Women’s Inter-Church C-ouncil of Canada’s website de scribes the World Day of Prayer as a global ecumenical movement which brings Christians of many traditions together to observe a common day of prayer each year.
“-Through preparation and par ticipation in the worship service, -we can come to know how our sis ters of other countries, languages a-nd cultures understand the bibli cal passages in their context. We can hear their concerns and needs a-nd can feel ourselves in solidar ity with them as we pray with and for them. In this way, it is possible to enrich our Christian faith as it grows deeper and broader in an i-nternational, ecumenical expres sion,” says the council.
“The motto of the World Day of Prayer movement is Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action. Through our participation in the World Day of Prayer, we affirm t-hat prayer and -are insepa r-able and that both have immea surable influence -the world.”
mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com———
World Day – Prayer host churches
– Holy Nativity Anglican, 12707 Bonaventure Dr. S. -2 p.m.
– Emmanuel Community, 3003 28th St. S.E., -p.m.
– S-t. Stephen’s Ukrainian Catho lic, 4903 -St. S.W., 7 p.m.
– Woodcliff United, 5010 Spruce -S.W., 2 p.m.
– Glenmore Temple Salvation Army, -68th Ave. S.W., 11 a.m.
– Campbell-Stone United, 2266 -Ave. S.W., 7 p.m.
– Holy Cross Anglican, 2828 – St. N.W., 7 p.m.
– St. Peter’s Catholic, 541 Silvergrove -N.W., 7 p.m.
– Hillhurst United, 1227 Kensington Close N.W., 7 p.m.
– Renfrew United, 956 Radnor Ave. N.E., 1:30 p.m.
– Ascension Catholic, 1100 Berkshire Blvd. N.W., 7 p.m.
– S-t. Mark’s Catholic, 5552 Madi gan Dr. N.E., 7:30 p.m.
– Cathedral Church of the Redeemer, 218 7th Ave. S.E., noon.
– Airdrie United, 216 1st Ave. N.E., Airdrie, 7:30 p.m.
– St. Peter’s Lutheran, 43015 George Fox Trail, Cochrane, 7 p.m.
Most actively traded companies on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange markets
By The Canadian Press /www.canadianbusiness.com/February 27, 2010
TORONTO – Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (11,629.63 down 1.81 points):
First Uranium Corp. (TSX:FIU). Miner. Down 28 cents, or 15.47 per cent, at $1.53 on 11,902,560 shares. The Toronto-based company cautioned investors that its financial condition remains “severely compromised” despite the reinstatement of an environmental authorization for a future storage facility in South Africa. First Uranium hasn’t yet been able to arrange acceptable financing for its operations.
Endeavour Financial Corp. (TSX:EDV). Merchant bank. Up 18 cents, or 8.57 per cent, at $2.28 on 7,752,448 shares.
Viterra Inc. (TSX:VT). Agriculture products and transportation. Up 20 cents, or 2.10 per cent, at $9.72 on 7,437,663 shares.
Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B). Transportation equipment. Down 18 cents, or 3.07 per cent, at $5.69 on 5,991,226 shares. The plane and train maker’s stock closed lower after soaring to its highest level in 17 months Thursday on the strength of a US$3-billion contract to sell 40 of its new CSeries jetliners to American carrier Republic Airways Holdings Inc.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Oil and gas. Down 13 cents, or 0.43 per cent, at $30.41 on 5,379,076 shares. Canada’s biggest energy company’s shares are at their lowest since April 2009. Suncor announced the sale of its Caribbean Sea assets to Centrica PLC, a British natural gas giant, for $396 million earlier this week. Since merging with former Crown corporation Petro-Canada last August, Suncor has been aiming to trim between $2 billion and $4 billion in assets that don’t fit with its main oilsands business.
Khan Resources Inc. (TSX:KRI). Junior miner. Down 12 cents, or 11.65 per cent, at 91 cents on 5,206,632 shares.
TSX Venture Exchange (1,531.19 up 13.25 points):
Quetzal Energy Ltd. (TSXV:QEI). Oil and gas. Unchanged at 14 cents on 14,014,350 shares.
Lakeside Steel Inc. (TSXV:LS). Steel pipe and tubing maker. Up one cent, or 3.85 per cent, at 27 cents on 7,792,242 shares.
Companies reporting major news:
ConjuChem Biotechnologies Inc. (TSX:CJB). Drug developer. Unchanged at 10.5 cents on 8,000 shares after announcing at the close of the markets that the Superior Court of Quebec has granted the company’s request for protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
FNX Mining Co. Inc. (TSX:FNX). Miner. Up 16 cents, or 1.29 per cent, at $12.57 on 1,102,928 shares after the company reported it had a $32.1-million profit in the fourth quarter. The profit compared with a loss of $397.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 when FNX reported a $500-million asset impairment charge.
Garda World Security Corp. (TSX:GW). Up 72 cents or 7.37 per cent to $10.49 on 263,465 shares. Garda said it expected full-year revenue to range between $1.08 billion and $1.09 billion, generally in line with analyst estimates.
Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. (TSX:TCM). Miner. Up 36 cents or 2.55 per cent at $14.47 on 1,981,969 shares. Thompson, which reports in U.S. dollars, said it turned a profit of US$26 million or 18 cents a share in its latest quarter even as sales fell more than 40 per cent. That compared with a loss of US$23.8 million or 19 cents per share in the last three months of 2008.
AUSTRALIA :
Nike goes to plastic for World Cup Jerseys
digitalsportsdaily.com/Feb 27th, 2010
Nike will go green for the World Cup. Business Green.com reports that many of the shirts worn by the teams at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa will be made from plastic. And not just any plastic-each jersey top will have been derived from up to eight recycled plastic bottles.
Teams wearing Nike’s new national team jerseys in South Africa are: Brazil, The Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Jerseys worn in South Africa and put on sale at retail locations will be made from 100 percent recycled polyester, a total of about 13 million plastic bottles.
Nike’s contracted with fabric suppliers who used discarded plastic bottles from Japanese and Taiwanese landfills and then melted them down to produce new yarn that was ultimately converted to fabric for the jerseys.
Also new for the 2010 World Cup, Nike will use elements of its Pro Combat line, which we saw a lot of during the College Football season.
BlackRock Closed-End Municipal Fund Data Released For January 2010
www.marketwatch.com /Feb. 27, 2010
NEW YORK, Feb 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — BlackRock, Inc. today announced that it released data for its closed-end municipal funds for January 2010. This information can be found in the “Closed-End Funds” section of www.blackrock.com.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2009, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.346 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares(R) (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions(R). Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2009, the firm has approximately 8,500 full-time employees in 24 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the firm’s website at www.blackrock.com.
SOURCE: BlackRock Closed-End Funds
EUROPE :
CHINA :
China hampering Africa accusation unfounded
(Xinhua)/www.chinadaily.com.cn/Updated: 2010-02-27
BEIJING: Zambian President Rupiah Banda arrived in China for a state visit, on the heels of Zimbabwean and South African foreign ministers, which signals China’s increasing role in Africa and a deepening friendship between the continent and China.
Xu Weizhong, an African studies expert with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank, said “such intensive visits indicate that Africa attaches greater importance to China-Africa relationship.”
Tanzanian Ambassador to China Omar Ramadhan Mapuri said these exchanges had played and would continue to play a crucial role in the strengthening of China-Africa relations, cooperation and friendship.
In response to recent western media reports accusing China of impairing Africa’s development, Mapuri said such criticism “is unfounded.”
“It’s not true that China’s engagement in Africa has hampered Africa’s development. On the contrary, China’s active participation in the improvement of infrastructure in Africa since the mid-1990s has helped stimulate Africa’s economic growth,” he said.
China fulfilled its commitment to increase investment in Africa despite the global economic downturn. According to a statement posted on the Ministry of Commerce’s website, Chinese non-financial direct investment in Africa reached 875 million US dollars during the first nine months of last year, up 77.5 percent year on year.
During the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November last year, China pledged 10-billion-US- dollar new preferential loans to Africa over the next three years. It also promised to eliminate tariffs on 60 percent of exports and to write off the debt of several countries.
Zambian President Rupiah Banda, who is in China on his first state visit to the country, expressed sincere thanks to the Chinese government as not a single Chinese funded company in his country laid off Zambian workers during the recent economic turmoil.
Liu Naiya, a senior researcher with the Western Asia and Africa Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said “China’s growing presence in Africa threatens western countries’ interests, which makes them uneasy and causes them to accuse China of plundering Africa’s natural resources.”
However, in fact, US imports more oil and minerals from Africa than China. Oil accounted for 88 percent of US imports from Africa in 2008, compared with 62 percent of China’s imports.
Mapuri noted that most of those who criticized China-Africa relations were the very same ardent advocates of competition. He said he wondered why they were now wasting their time complaining and criticizing instead of competing.
Africa has never closed its doors to its traditional partners and everyone has a chance, he said.
“China is not merely coming for Africa’s natural resources, but also brings advanced technology to it, generates jobs and stimulates the local economy,” Liu Naiya said.
China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co. (CNMM), one of the first Chinese companies that invested in Zambia, has provided 6,500 jobs for Zambian people and paid 50 million US dollars in taxes as of 2009, said CNMM’s general manager Luo Tao.
China has always attached great importance to the China-Africa relationship and it would continue to work closely with African countries in various areas to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, Xu Weizhong said.
INDIA :
Somali pirates releases Singapore-flagged chemical tanker
February 27, 2010/english.people.com.cn/Source: Xinhua
Somali pirates have freed a Singaporean-flagged chemical tanker after receiving unknown amount of ransom, a regional maritime official confirmed on Friday.
Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) said the pirates freed the MV Pramoni early on Friday and the vessel is sailing away from the Somali coast.
“The vessel which was seized on Jan. 1 with 24 crew members from China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam was released early today after its owners paid ransom,” Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa, east Kenya.
He said the MV Pramoni had 17 Indonesians, five Chinese, one Nigerian and one Vietnamese.
The owners of the Singapore-flagged chemical tanker, M/V Pramoni, on Thursday reportedly dropped off a ransom for the release of the vessel.
The vessel, which was en route to India, was captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 1 and is anchored off the Somali pirate stronghold of Eyl.
Hundreds of other people remain hostage aboard hijacked ships in the Gulf of Aden and its surrounding seas.
Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa, especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991.
Ransoms started out in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions.
An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia’s northern coast. Over 10 ships and 200 crew members are still held by Somali pirates.
The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
BRASIL:
Yellow Fever in Brazil
February 27, 2010/www.foodconsumer.org
Current Situation
Yellow fever cases have occurred throughout southern Brazil, mainly in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and São Paolo. Yellow fever occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America and is spread to people through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms can include sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, backache, nausea, and vomiting.
From December 2008 through April 2009, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, on the southern tip of Brazil, reported 20 confirmed human cases of yellow fever infection. Nine of these people died. This is the first time since 1966 that human yellow fever cases have been reported in Rio Grande do Sul. In response to the situation, the Brazilian Ministry of Health has added a number of municipalities to the yellow fever risk area, which now includes the state’s capital city of Porto Alegre.
From February through April 2009, the state of São Paolo in Southern Brazil reported 28 confirmed human cases of yellow fever, including 11 deaths. These cases occurred in municipalities that lie outside the reported yellow fever risk area. In response, the Brazilian Ministry of Health has added a number of municipalities to the yellow fever risk area for São Paolo.
Yellow Fever Risk Areas in Brazil
Currently, Brazil recommends yellow fever vaccination for travelers to the following states:
All areas of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Distrito Federal (including the capital city of Brasília), Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins, and designated areas of the following states: Bahia, Paraná, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo. Vaccination is also recommended for travelers visiting Iguassu Falls.
Vaccination is NOT recommended for travel to the following coastal cities: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife, and Fortaleza.
Please refer to the Updated CDC Yellow Fever Map for Brazil to see the areas with risk for yellow fever transmission.
For information on risk in specific municipalities in partially endemic states for yellow fever, please see the Brazilian Ministry of Health yellow fever risk area search portal (in Portuguese).
Recommendations for US Travelers
Brazil currently does not require yellow fever vaccination for entrance into the country. However, travelers are strongly urged to get the yellow fever vaccine before traveling to an area of Brazil with risk of yellow fever transmission. For additional information, see CDC yellow fever vaccination recommendations and requirements for Brazil.
Since yellow fever is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, travelers are also reminded to take steps to prevent mosquito bites:
•When outdoors or in a building that is not well screened, use insect repellent on uncovered skin. Always apply sunscreen before insect repellent.
•Look for a repellent that contains one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus/PMD, or IR3535. Always follow the instructions on the label when you use the repellent.
•In general, repellents protect longer against mosquito bites when they have a higher concentration (%) of the active ingredient. However, concentrations above 50% do not offer a marked increase in protection time. Products with less than 10% of an active ingredient may offer only limited protection, often just 1-2 hours.
•The American Academy of Pediatrics approves the use of repellents with up to 30% DEET on children over 2 months old.
•Protect babies less than 2 months old by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit.
•For more information about the use of repellent on infants and children, please see the “Insect and Other Arthropod Protection” section in Traveling Safely with Infants and Children in CDC Health Information for International Travel 2010 and the “Children” section of CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions about Repellent Use.
•For more information on the use of insect repellents, visit Mosquito and Tick Protection.
•Wear loose, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors.
•Spray clothing with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent for greater protection. (Remember: Don’t use permethrin on skin.)
Visit the Brazil destination page on the CDC Travelers’ Health website for information about other steps to take to ensure a safe and healthy trip to Brazil.
Additional Information
For more information about the yellow fever risk areas in Brazil, see the following resources from the Brazil Ministry of Health:
Ministry of Health Yellow Fever Bulletin December 2009 (PDF)
For more information about yellow fever risk and yellow fever vaccine, see the Yellow Feversection of CDC Health Information for International Travel 2010.
EN BREF, CE 27 février 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,27/02/2010
