{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL AGNEWS, , le 3 février 2010 Africas hope on Mutharika – … ADDIS ABABA – Africas transformation towards democracy was celebrated prematurely, according to Vice President Lt Gen. Mompati Merafhe. While his predecessor Libyan President Colonel Muammar Gaddafi fancied the establishment of a single government for a United States of Africa, Mr Mutharika, on the other hand, has vowed to push for food security.

 

BURUNDI

KenolKobil Buys 10 Service Stations From SICOPP in Burundi

By Eric Ombok/Bloomberg/Feb. 3
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — KenolKobil Ltd., a fuel retailer with operations in seven African countries, said it acquired 10 service stations from Societe d’Importation et de Commercialisation de Produits Petroliers in Burundi. 

The acquisition brings to 14 the number of service stations the Nairobi-based company has in the East African country, Group Managing Director Jacob Segman said in an e-mailed statement today.

RWANDA

LOST’s Evangeline Lilly Ready To Quit Acting, Focus On Charity Work

p-alt: auto; margin-right: 4.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; margin-left: 4.0pt; line-height: normal;”>Filed under: donations — Michael d’Estries 
www.ecorazzi.com/February 3 2010 
The final season of ABC’s LOST kicks off tonight — and star Evangeline Lilly is already looking forward to “dropping off the radar” when all is said and done.

The 30-year-old actress, who plays Kate on the hit show and also recently starred in the Oscar-nominated Hurt Locker, says that her first priority will be focusing on charity work in Rwanda. Speaking at the premiere party for the last series of the drama in Honolulu this weekend, she said: “Acting is something I appreciate, and I think it’s been an amazing experience. I’m not passionate about acting the way you probably should be to call yourself an actor.”

“I want to have some quiet space… and enjoy a little bit of normalcy again (before deciding what’s next).”

UGANDA

Prayer Breakfast Group Member is Behind Uganda’s Infamous Anti-Gay Bill
by Kilian Melloy /www.edgeboston.com/ Feb 3, 2010
As reported previously at EDGE, there is some evidence that Uganda’s anti-gay bill–which would steepen punishments against gays, and inflict the death penalty in certain cases of same-sex intimacy–was prompted in part by claims made by American evangelicals who visited the country nearly a year ago. 

In March of 2009, several American evangelicals traveled to Uganda and presented what they called the “Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals’ Agenda.” Their talks contained assorted claims about gays and the “dangers” that gays pose to society. The views set out by the Americans ranged from highly dubious claims that gays can be “converted” to heterosexuality to wild, undefined assertions that a “gay agenda” was at work “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity,” as well as stereotype-based pronouncements that gay men prey on teenaged boys.

Now it’s come to light that a right-wing American religious group called The Fellowship Foundation–also known as “The Family”–includes both Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, and the lawmaker who introduced the anti-gay bill, David Bahati, among its membership. The Family sponsors an annual religious event called The National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., for the purpose, some claim, of influencing policy and giving like-minded, powerful individuals the opportunity to network. It is traditional for members of Congress to attend and for the United States President to speak at the Washington, D.C. event. President Obama attended last year’s Prayer breakfast.

The Prayer Breakfast Network Web site set out the group’s aims and motivations, with text informing readers that, “Our PURPOSE is to reach leaders for Jesus Christ…. Our STRATEGY is to use Prayer Breakfast events. 

“Prayer Breakfasts have shown to be highly effective at reaching into our community and impacting our leaders,” the site’s text adds. “Leaders desire to come, get involved and experience a fresh reminder of our country’s Spiritual Heritage.”

The Washington, D.C. event is coordinated with similar prayer breakfast gatherings around the country on the first Thursday of every February. The next such prayer breakfast event is scheduled to take place Feb. 4. 

That same day, counter-events around the nation will also take place this year. The American Prayer Hour is deigned to offer people of faith who believe in inclusiveness to gather, express their devotion, and network in a similar fashion. A Feb. 2 article at Examiner.com cites the anti-gay Ugandan bill as a major reason for the alternative prayer gathering.

“The American Prayer Hour will show that such cruelty and extremism does not represent most people of faith,” the Examiner article says, going on to bullet-point several articles on which the event is predicated.

“Everyone in the world knows it is time to reject violence against gay and transgender people,” the article claims. “No religion calls on us to harm our neighbor.

“People just want to be free to be who they are, be safe and love their families,” the article continues. “Our prayer is that all people will be safe, including gay and transgender people.”

Adds the article, “Gay people are in every nation and every nation must be fair with all of their citizens.” 

The article states that Yoweri and Bahati both belong to The Family, and says that both politicians “are among their ’key men’ in Africa.” Recently, faced with mounting international pressure and the possibility of losing aid money, Museveni disavowed the bill, but Bahati rejected an appeal from the Ugandan government to withdraw the anti-gay legislation he’d authored and introduced, which not only provides the death penalty for gay men who repeatedly have sex with other men, and for HIV-positive men who have sexual relations, but also carries steep penalties for anyone failing to report gays to the authorities.

Cities where The American Prayer Hour is slated to take place include Anchorage, Alaska; Berkeley, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Boynton Beach, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

Anti-gay blogger Peter LaBarbera upbraided gay-friendly American people of faith at his site, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, where he posted an article critical of the relative tolerance toward gays that exists in the United States and lambasted American protests of the proposed anti-gay law.

“Here’s the question I keep asking myself about the Uganda controversy: just what is it that qualifies the United States of America to lecture the Ugandans about homosexuality?” LaBarbera wrote. “Is it our public policy that enshrines immoral sexual behavior (oops: ’sexual orientation’) and gender confusion (er…’gender identity and expression’) as a ’civil right’? Is it our homosexual ’marriage’ laws that make a mockery of this divine institution…? 

“How about our pro-homosexuality educational propaganda in K-12 schools that corrupts young students’ minds in the name of ’tolerance’? Or the 24/7 ’gay bathhouses’ and sex clubs that proliferate in urban centers across the United States to facilitate quick-and-easy (and anonymous) deviant sexual hook-ups?”

LaBarbera targeted an instructor at the evangelical Grove City College, Warren Throckmorten, writing, “Sadly, Warren has lost his faith in the ability of God to radically change homosexuals through Christ, and now busily works–even in Uganda!–to promote the faithless and disheartening message that most ’gays and lesbians’ cannot change their basic ’orientation,’” before going on to write, “Tell me: does Uganda have something to learn from Christian ’defectors’ like the opportunistic Prof. Throckmorton–who is now a de facto promoter of homosexuality as normal, natural and healthy while ostensibly still claiming some sort of ’Christian’ mission at GCC?”

LGBT groups have also joined in on the alternate prayer breakfast event. In Boston, the Anti-Violence Project of Massachusetts will co-host a rally against what it calls “the secretive right-wing network, the so-called ’Family,’ which is tied to the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill (’AHB’) pending in the Ugandan Parliament.

The Boston event is meant to “expose and denounce the homophobia of groups like the ’Family,’ to demand that the US Government step up efforts to stop the AHB, and to demand political asylum for LGBT refugees from Uganda,” a release from The Anti-Violence Project explains. “Organizers draw inspiration from writer Émile Zola’s famous J’Accuse, addressed to the President of the French Republic in 1898, which denounced anti-Semitism in connection with the infamous Dreyfus Affair.”

TANZANIA:

CONGO RDC   :

KENYA :

Intimidation of witnesses to Kenya clashes condemned
www.irishtimes.com/NICK WADHAMS in Nairobi/ 2010/0203

WITNESSES WHO came forward to testify about Kenya’s 2008 post-election violence have become targets of harassment and death threats, as the people who orchestrated the clashes fear they will deliver evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Rights activists say the political leaders behind the clashes, in which 1,300 people died, are waging another well-planned, systematic campaign to silence witnesses who would dare speak out.

A man who calls himself Victor – not his real name – testified twice last year before panels investigating the violence that shook Kenya after the rigged vote in 2007. He told how leaders of his Kalenjin tribe whipped up ethnic fury and paid boys to kill people and torch their homes.

Victor’s testimony helped prove what people now take to be fact – that the violence was a well-organised political power play, not some paroxysm of tribal rage. Now, Victor gets text messages warning he will die if he ever speaks out again. He says strange men knocked over his eight-year-old son as he walked back from school a few days ago. “Someone ran over my son with a bicycle. He was lucky to run away,” Victor said in an interview. “The man told him, ‘You are lucky this time around, but maybe next time around you will not be so lucky.’”

In the last year, 22 people who testified before the two major Kenyan panels investigating the violence have reported being harassed, said Ken Wafula, director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. In early January, says the Nairobi Star newspaper, men driving a Toyota Prado left an envelope with 3,000 shillings (€28) for one witness. The note said he should use it to buy his own coffin.

Mr Wafula says the intimidation has got worse now that trials of those responsible for the post-election violence look more likely. The prosecutor for the Hague-based ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has asked the court to allow him to investigate those believed to be responsible for the clashes.

Mr Ocampo wrote a letter to the Kenyan government on January 22nd reminding it of its responsibility to protect witnesses. In an interview, however, he said Kenya is an easier place to work than other nations where he has investigated suspects, including Darfur and Congo. “Any witnesses I take, I will organise a way to protect them,” he said. “It’s not a good situation, but we’ll do the job. We are factoring in this problem and we think we can manage it.”

The EU and US want to help Kenya set up a witness protection programme that might include moving some witnesses to other countries. Yet anyone trying to help witnesses faces one problem: government ministers and police officials who normally run such a programme may be the ones who don’t want witnesses to testify.

“Without a credible legal system and without honest police and without a judiciary that you can trust, how can you do such a programme?” asked a western diplomat involved in the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Police officials refused to comment yesterday. They have told Kenyan newspapers that witnesses made up the claims of intimidation for money or to live abroad.

Groups criticise Raila’s call for fewer MPs

February 3 2010/www.nation.co.ke

Civil society groups have criticised Prime Minister Raila Odinga for utterances against the number of constituencies proposed in the draft compiled by MPs in Naivasha last week. 

The groups are now accusing the PM of interfering, politically, with the work of the bodies charged by law to deal with the review process.

The groups said in a statement that they were in full support of the work done by the Parliamentary Select Committee in Naivasha as it represented the “wishes of the Kenyan public”. They added that though the document was not perfect, it was the closest Kenya had come to achieving a new constitution.

“We condemn as utter disrespect of the wishes of Kenya and unwarranted political opportunism the ongoing drumming of war against the draft by some voice including the prime minister who was clearly and fully represented in Naivasha,” the statement signed by Sande Oyolo, the convenor of the Constitutional Reforms Consortium said. 

The groups said that the country was currently under-represented in parliament hence the need to raise the number of constituencies from 210. They gave the examples of South Africa which with a population of 40 million people has 400 seats and Uganda which with 30 million people has 340 seats.
The PSC has recommended that the number of elective parliamentary seats in Kenya be raised from 210 to 290. The discussions in Naivasha guided by experts are reported by the PSC to have revealed that some existing constituencies would be lost if the country reorganised its elective boundaries using the existing number of seats.

“We feel the PM and other opposed to the allocated parliamentary seats are using the debate to scuttle the Naivasha deal by creating unnecessary contentious issues,” the statement read.

The statement also took issue with criticism over the creation of 47 special seats for women. They added that the proposal to increase constituencies by 80 would ensure that marginalised areas are not disadvantaged through the principle of equitable representation.

Two Studies Give a Lift to Running Barefoot
Researchers say the design of most running shoes may increase the risk of injuries. But runners have to be careful if they want to give up shoes. Transcript of radio broadcast: 
03 February 2010/www.voanews.com

This is the VOA Special English Health Report. 

Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners. 

One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine. Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot. 

Researchers from the JKM Technologies company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.

They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.

The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine. 

The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.

Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.

Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings. 

But the researchers do not suggest that runners immediately start running barefoot. They say it takes some training. And there can be risks, like running when your feet are too cold to feel if you get injured.

The study was partly supported by Vibram, which makes a kind of footwear that it says is like running barefoot. The findings have gotten a lot of attention. But the researchers say there are many problems in the way the press has reported on their paper. So they have tried to explain their findings on a Harvard Web site. For a link, go to voaspecialenglish.com. 

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.

ANGOLA :

Angolan President Dos Santos Appoints Vice President, RNA Says

By Candido Mendes/ Bloomberg/Feb. 3 

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos appointed Fernando Dias da Piedade dos Santos as the country’s first vice president, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, citing the government. 

Piedade dos Santos, who is known as Nando, was previously the speaker of parliament, the Luanda-based broadcaster said. He will be replaced by Antonio Paulo Kassoma, who has been prime minister of the southern African nation since 2008. 

The president also appointed Carlos Alberto Lopes as the country’s finance minister, replacing Eduardo Severim de Morais, RNA said. Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos remains oil minister, it said. 

Angola last month approved a new constitution that scrapped the position of prime minister and replaced it with a vice president. Angola’s Constitutional Court yesterday rejected the draft constitution because of what it called irregularities.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Anglo American, JD Group, Spar: South Africa Equity Preview
By Franz Wild and Mike Cohen/Bloomberg/Feb. 3 

Feb. 3 (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 snapped three days of losses, gaining 324.77, or 1.2 percent, to 26,812.25 at the close in Johannesburg, trimming the year’s decline to 3.1 percent. 

Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd. (AIP SJ): The pharmaceutical company holds its annual general meeting. The stock rose 76 cents, or 1.4 percent, to 54.16 rand. 

Anglo American Plc (AGL SJ): UBS AG raised its rating on the diversified mining company’s stock to “buy” from “neutral.” The shares rose 11.27 rand, or 4 percent, to 291.67 rand. 

Dimension Data Holdings Plc. (DDT SJ): The technology- services provider holds its annual general meeting. The Hampshire, U.K.-based company rose 37 cents, or 3.9 percent, to 9.77 rand. 

First Uranium Corp (FUM SJ): Raymond James Financial Inc. equity analyst Bart Jaworski downgraded his recommendation on the mine developer’s shares to “market perform” from “outperform.” The stock was unchanged at 16.15 rand. 

JD Group Ltd. (JDG SJ): The furniture retailer holds its annual general meeting in Johannesburg. The shares lost 20 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 43.30 rand. 

Nampak Ltd. (NPK SJ): The packaging manufacturing group holds its annual general meeting. The Johannesburg- based company gained 36 cents, or 2.4 percent, to 15.53 rand. 

Spar Group Ltd. (SPP SJ): Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the grocery and liquor distributor to “overweight” from “equal weight.” The shares rose 1.26 rand, or 1.8 percent, to 71.66 rand. 

Zambia Copper Investments Ltd. (ZCI SJ): The Bermuda- based copper miner with three mines in Zambia said it completed the refinancing of a bridge loan it provided to subsidiary African Copper Plc in May 2009. This places African Copper’s borrowings from Zambia Copper “on a more permanent footing”, according to a statement to the stock exchange. Zambia Copper was unchanged at 13 rand. 

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

Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) rose 3.7 percent to $19.70. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) climbed 1.1 percent to $37.45. BHP Billiton Plc (BBL US) advanced 2.9 percent to $62.97. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) fell 0.8 percent to $5.92. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) increased 0.3 percent to $12.13. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) added 2.6 percent to $10.01. Impala Platinum Holdings Co. (IMPUY US) rose 4.4 percent to $26.63. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) rose 5.7 percent to $4.45. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) climbed 1.2 percent to $39.24. 

Summit agrees tougher sanctions on coup leaders
MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent/The Irish Times/ Wednesday, February 3, 2010

ONE OF the hardy perennials of any African Union summit is Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy’s grand plan for a “United States of Africa”.

A laudable vision, some say – despite wariness from major continental powers such as South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria – but most agree Africa still has some distance to go before even contemplating the idea. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU), with its long-term goal of complete political union, fills the gap.

In 2002, the AU replaced the Organisation of African Unity, which had, since its establishment in 1963, earned a reputation as something of a crusty old dictators’ club. Developed along similar lines to the EU, the African Union has 10 commissioners responsible for departments such as political affairs, agriculture and peace and security.

The body’s founding charter outlines its mandate to work for “democracy, human rights and development”. Critics say progress has been slow, but the fact that the AU has sometimes suspended coup leaders makes a change from the days of its predecessor.

The 53-member body faces many challenges, not least maintaining peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur – where yesterday the Sudanese government accused the joint UN-AU mission of aiding rebels. It has also struggled to prove its legitimacy both in Africa and to the wider world.

As delegates gathered for this week’s AU summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper offered this gloomy assessment: “The African Union, just like its predecessor . . . has not proved itself in any major way, and it is not clear whether in its present format, we can’t do without it.”

Funding for the AU comes from a variety of sources, including international donors. Last year, Ireland donated €1.5 million in support of its agriculture development programme. The Government also provided €3 million to support the AU mission in Darfur, which preceded the hybrid UN-AU force.

In his opening speech at this week’s summit, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon told delegates that Africa needed to address the issue of power grabs. The continent has witnessed four recent coups – in Madagascar, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania – prompting fears of a slide back to the era when so much of Africa chafed under dictatorships. As a result, member states this week decided that the AU needed more clout to act against unconstitutional changes of power. Tougher measures to censure coup leaders were approved.

Somalia, where an AU mission consisting of 5,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops is tasked with helping to ensure the survival of the country’s fragile UN-backed government, was high on this week’s agenda. As was Sudan, where tensions are rising in the run-up to April elections, and a 2011 referendum that could result in the south seceding from Khartoum. Many fear that major unrest in Sudan, which, as Africa’s largest country, borders nine other states – could trigger instability far beyond its borders.

But there was good news too. African Development Bank chief Donald Kaberuka said he expects the continent’s economy to grow by between 4.5 and 5 per cent this year, and by some 6.0 per cent in 2011.

As ever, Gadafy could be relied on for some of the summit’s most colourful moments. Smarting after other member states declined to support his bid for a second term as chairman of the AU, the Libyan leader launched into a tirade in which he declared such summits boring and his fellow delegates too long-winded.

The appointment of Gadafy’s successor, Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika, will no doubt soothe nerves left frazzled by the tumultuous chairmanship of the man who in 2008 declared himself “king of kings” at a ceremony attended by more than 200 African kings and traditional rulers.

AFRICA / AU :

Africas hope on Mutharika
03 February, 2010 /BOPA 
ADDIS ABABA – Africas transformation towards democracy was celebrated prematurely, according to Vice President Lt Gen. Mompati Merafhe. 

We thought democracy was holding on in Africa, but I think we celebrated too early because we are still far from attaining objectives of democracy which is really the beginning of any development, lamented Gen. Merafhe. 

He was speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the just ended African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday. 

Consequently, the world has its eyes fixed on the newly appointed Assembly of the African Union (AU) chairperson and Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, to see how he will tackle the multifaceted vices bedevilling the continent. 

While his predecessor Libyan President Colonel Muammar Gaddafi fancied the establishment of a single government for a United States of Africa, Mr Mutharika, on the other hand, has vowed to push for food security. 

This might seem like an ambitious task, but Mr Mutharika is of the view that it can be realised. 

Accordingly, Gen. Mompati Merafhe stated that Africa and southern Africa in particular was optimistic about Mr Mutharikas leadership of the continental body. 

He underscored the importance of Mr Mutharikas leadership giving priority to measures that would ensure Africa was rid of conflicts, which have bedevilled her for so long. 

About 17 African countries are currently embroiled in conflict. 

Asked if Mr Mutharika would advance Col Gaddafis idea of uniting Africa, Gen. Merafhe said we have dealt with issues Gaddafi raised about his vision and wisdom of a United States of Africa, but we would like to believe that heads of states of the AU have the capacity to exercise their wisdom and we dont believe Gaddafi has the monopoly of that attribute. 

He said African countries were so divergent in terms of governance issues, saying a United States of Africa was Col Gaddafis view, but other African leaders did not necessarily share that view. 

However, Gen. Merafhe said the new chairman had promised to consult with other African leaders so that all could assume collective ownership of what goes on in the AU. 

Meanwhile, the tradition for assuming AU chairmanship has been by geographical rotation among the five African regions. Col Gaddafi was elected last year by the Northern African countries and this year it was southern Africas turn who endorsed Mutharika. 

Though Mr Mutharika has his eyes firmly set on ensuring that Africa fed its people, this will not be easy given that a lot of African member states are not yet self sufficient on food security. 

However, Gen. Merafhe explained that the economic recession that hit the continent was a result of the cost of imported primary commodities, resulting in a high cost of living in Africa. Until Africa was able to produce her own food, Gen. Merafhe said the continent would remain vulnerable for ever, but stated that Botswana has already made efforts by introducing ISPAAD and other programmes. The VP is expected back home today. BOPA 

Quick Response to Study of Abstinence Education
By TAMAR LEWIN/www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03

A study of middle-school students that found for the first time that abstinence-only education helped to delay their sexual initiation is already beginning to shake up the longstanding debate over how best to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. 

“This is a rigorous study that means we can now say that it’s possible for an abstinence-only intervention to be effective,” Dr. John B. Jemmott III, the University of Pennsylvania professor who led the study, said Tuesday, hours after results of the study were released. “That’s important, because for some populations, abstinence is the only acceptable message.” 

In Dr. Jemmott’s research, only about a third of the students who participated in a weekend abstinence-only class started having sex within the next 24 months, compared with about half who were randomly assigned instead to general health information classes, or classes teaching only safer sex. Among those assigned to comprehensive sex-education classes, covering both abstinence and safer sex, about 42 percent began having sex.

Dr. Jemmott’s research followed 662 African-American students at urban middle schools, who were paid $20 a session to attend the classes, plus follow-up and evaluation sessions. The abstinence-only classes covered HIV, abstinence and ways to resist the pressure to have sex. 

“Because African-Americans tend to have a higher rate of early sexual initiation than others, we thought that within two years, a reasonable number would start having sex,” Dr. Jemmott said. “If we went younger, we couldn’t show that intervention works.” 

The research, published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, appears just as the Obama administration is eliminating federal financing for abstinence-only programs, and starting a pregnancy-prevention initiative that will finance programs that have been shown in scientific studies to be effective. 

Recognizing the political sensitivity of the research, and how unexpected are its results, the journal ran an accompanying editorial cautioning that public policy should not be based on the results of a single study and that policy makers should not “selectively use scientific literature to formulate a policy that meets preconceived ideologies.”

“The results may be surprising to some in that the theory-based abstinence-only curriculum appeared to be as effective as a combined course and more effective than the safer-sex only curriculum in delaying sexual activity,” the editorial said. “None of the curricula had any effect on the prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse or consistent condom use.”

The executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, Valerie Huber, said she hoped that the new study would lead to restored federal support for abstinence programs. 

“The current recommendation before Congress in the 2011 budget zeroes out abstinence education, and puts all the money into broader comprehensive education,” Ms. Huber said. “I hope that either the White House amends their request or Congress acts upon this, reinstating abstinence education.” 

Ms. Huber also said she found it especially interesting that African-Americans were the focus of Dr. Jemmott’s study since, she said, “our critics would contend that the abstinence message would be least effective with the most at-risk youth.” 

Even longtime advocates of comprehensive sex education heralded the findings. 

“This new study is game-changing,” said Sarah Brown of t
he National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, in a statement. “For the first time, there is strong evidence that an abstinence-only intervention can help very young teens delay sex and reduce their recent sexual activity as well. Importantly, the study also shows that this particular abstinence-only program did not reduce condom use among the young teens who did have sex.” 

Ms. Brown noted that the abstinence-only classes in the Jemmott study centered on people with an average age of 12 and that unlike the federally supported abstinence programs now in use, did not advocate abstinence until marriage. 

The classes also did not portray sex negatively or suggest that condoms are ineffective, and contained only medically accurate information. Dr. Jemmott’s abstinence-only course was designed for the research, and is not in current use in schools. 

Title: Zuma returns to SA

03 Feb 2010/ BuaNews
Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma is heading back to South Africa after the 14th African Union Summit concluded in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

Zuma and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi and Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda attended the summit under the theme “Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for the Future”.

During the summit, Zuma encouraged African leaders to harness the potential of ICT for greater integration of African governance structures. 

“We meet here in Addis Ababa with the objective of advancing our vision of a united Africa. Information and communication technology can help us to realise that vision. It can help us to advance economic growth and development,” he said.

Zuma pledged South Africa’s support of the resolutions taken by the summit that include the draft decision on Madagascar wherein the Assembly underscored the leading role played by SADC in the mediation process in that country.

The Assembly also expressed their support to former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, SADC mediator and his mediation team for their endeavours towards re-establishing constitutional normalcy in Madagascar. 

The AU also took note of the election of the Peace and Security Council of the AU by the Executive Council for a three year term with effect from 1 April 2010. South Africa was also elected as a member for a two year term with effect from 1 April 2010. 

Zuma attended the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee and the African Peer Review Forum of Heads of State and Government meetings.

He also met with Malawian President Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika who has assumed the Chairpersonship of the AU. Zuma pledged South Africa’s support to his leadership of the organisation.

Malawi takes over the chairmanship from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Zuma also invited all African Heads of State and Government to attend the FIFA 2010 World Cup in June as South Africa views it as an African World Cup. – BuaNews

Toyota recall may affect SA
Feb 3, 2010 /By Sapa 

Toyota’s recall of millions of its vehicles globally due to accelerator pedal problems may affect South Africa, the company says.

“Last night [Monday], it was announced that the recall would officially be expanded to other geographies, including South Africa,” Toyota SA spokesman Leo Kok said in a statement. 

Given this development, some vehicles sold by Toyota South Africa Motors may possibly be involved in the expanded recall.Toyota recalled 4.2 million cars and trucks in North America, Europe and China to fix the accelerators which may be harder to depress, slow to return to the idle position or remain in a partially depressed position. 

The Japanese car giant indicated it would expand the recall to Middle East, Africa and Latin America — taking back about 180,000 cars imported from the United States and sold in these areas. 

Toyota South Africa said it was currently investigating which Toyota vehicles would be affected and would make an announcement “in due course”. 

Kok could not immediately be reached for further comment. 

AU allows Eritrea to open diplomatic mission at AU HQ in Addis Ababa
02/03/10/By Omar Faye, APA Special Correspondent in Addis Ababa/nazret.com

AU allows Eritrea to open diplomatic mission at AU HQ in Addis Ababa

APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The African Union (AU) has allowed Eritrea to open a diplomatic representation at the AU Commission ’’as soon as possible’’ to enable the authorities of that country to participate in the meetings of the pan-African organization, APA learns on Tuesday from a source close to the Union.

The Eritrea mission to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will be solely accredited to the AU, said the President of the Commission in a letter addressed to the Foreign Minister of Eritrea, copied to APA during the 14th ordinary session of the summit of the continental organization that has ended its work on the same day in the Ethiopian capital.

According to Jean Ping, the mission will neither undertake, nor pursue bilateral activities and the staff will hold office only in Addis Ababa at the headquarters of the AU.

In a letter addressed to the President of the AU Commission, the Eritrean Minister of Foreign Affairs condemned the Ethiopian government’s refusal to accept a representation of his country to the AU.

Eritrea has no ambassador to the AU for ten years, he said.

“Eritrea was denied its right to participate in summits and other meetings of the AU in Addis Ababa because of the refusal of Ethiopia to grant the same diplomatic and security guarantees granted to all member states”, the Eritrean official said in his letter to Ping.

14TH AU SUMMIT NOMINATES ETHIOPIAN PM TO REPRESENT AFRICA IN CLIMATE CHANGE FORA
news.brunei.fm/2010/02/03

NAM NEWS NETWORK Feb 3rd, 2010 

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 3 (NNN-ENA) — The 14th Summit of the African Union (AU) heads of state and government here has unanimously nominated Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to again represent Africa in international fora in future global climate conferences.

The AU Summit, which ended here Tuesday, commended the same leading role played by Meles on behalf of the continent at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in december last year which witnessed tough negotiations involving many stakeholders.

Meles presented a report on the negotiations and outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference to the AU Summit on Monday and the African leaders expressed their appreciation to Meles for his outstanding contribution to maintain and further the benefits and interests of Africa.

The Summit also endorsed the Copenhagen Accord. Each member state should report their consent individually for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Meles maintained his role to represent Africa as chief negotiator in upcoming climate change conferences in Mexico this year and in South Africa in 2012 consecutively. 

Meanwhile, the AU Summit at its third day of deliberation Tuesday called for concrete action to be taken against the Eritrean government which is still busy destabilizing the region after being sanctioned by the UN Security Council. 

The governments of Djibouti and Somalia said although the UN Security Council had imposed sanctions on Eritrea, the country was continuing to send insurgents across its borders. They urged the AU and international community to establish a strong organization for the enforcement of the sanctions to halt the mutinous act of the Eritrean government.

The Summit also deliberated, among other matters, on the report presented by the Chairman of the Committee of Ten on the reform of the UN Security Council. — NNN-ENA

African group leader says “never again” to coups
Wed Feb 3, 2010 /By Barry Malone and Duncan Miriri/Reuters

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – African Union leaders said on Tuesday they intended to strengthen the group’s powers to fight a rising tide of coups and electoral fraud on the continent.

“We must say ‘never again’ to conflict and war in Africa,” Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, the new AU chairman, said on the last day of its annual summit in Addis Ababa.

Coups in Madagascar last March and in Mauritania and Guinea in 2008 — made some African politicians and international investors fear for a return to the days when revolts were a more regular occurrence on the continent.

The AU is expected to reveal its new measures by next week.

“We have all agreed on a new set of measures to combat unconstitutional changes of government,” AU peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told Reuters.

“It will improve our ability to protect democracy.”

Lamamra did not say what the measures would be but diplomats at the summit told Reuters they would include the ability to sanction leaders who refuse to hold elections or who engage in electoral fraud.

The summit was dominated by discussion of the coups and the festering conflicts in Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite a main theme of developing the continent’s information technology infrastructure.

“We must declare war on unconstitutional changes of government on African soil and resolve to take strong and necessary measures against all offenders of coups and those that provide them the means to succeed elected governments,” wa Mutharika said.

HAMPERED BY BUREAUCRACY

The AU in 2002 replaced the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) in 2002, which had been criticised for welcoming dictators and coup leaders into its ranks.

The AU tried to distance itself from its predecessor by taking firmer action, including suspending membership and imposing sanctions on coup leaders.

But analysts say the AU is hampered by bureaucracy, under-funding and the fact that some member states are led by presidents who took power in coups.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi — who came to power in a military coup in 1969 — was voted out as AU chairman this year. He frequently clashed with the AU’s top diplomat, Jean Ping, and refused to speak out against coup leaders.

The AU’s founding charter says it can impose sanctions such as travel bans in the case of coups but the proposals to be introduced will be more forceful.

Analysts say the move was inspired by Niger, where President Mamadou Tandja last year refused to hold an election, extended his mandate for three years and increased his presidential powers at the expense of parliament.

Niger remains a member and Tandja has not been sanctioned.

“There are questionable leaders accepted into the AU,” a Western ambassador to the AU, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

“But they’re from the past, like Zimbabwe’s (Robert) Mugabe. They’re now genuinely freezing out new coup leaders.”

Of the countries that have had coups in recent years, Madagascar and Guinea are still suspended from the AU. Mauritania is still a member because the body says that “constitutional order has been restored”.

Lead AU diplomat Ping said there would be unspecified consequences for parties that ignore AU power-sharing proposals as a means of solving Madagascar’s political impasse. They have been given 15 days to accept.

The body has demanded elections in Guinea within six months.

Where Will ‘We Are The World’ Remake Money Go?
AEG Live CEO and Lionel Richie’s manager Randy Phillips explains how song/video will benefit Haitian earthquake relief.
Feb 3 2010 /By Kyle Anderson/ www.mtv.com

On Monday, producer Quincy Jones and singer Lionel Richie accomplished a tremendous feat in the name of charitable outreach: They brought together dozens of superstars from the music world (along with a handful of Hollywood guests) to record a new version of “We Are the World.” 

When the tune, which was originally recorded 25 years ago as a way to raise money for hunger relief in Africa, is finally released, the proceeds will go to help survivors of the catastrophic earthquake that destroyed a large portion of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. But where exactly will the money go, and who will benefit the most? 

“All my executives and staff that are here are working for nothing,” said Randy Phillips, the CEO of AEG Live and Richie’s manager. (AEG Live underwrote much of the operational costs for the recording of the track, as did Visa.) “No one’s making any money. This is strictly a charitable event. We want as much as possible, if it’s 99 percent, to go to charity. That’s what we want to happen here. What we’re going to do is we’ve formed a charitable foundation called the We Are the World Foundation LLC.” 

Phillips explained that for some people, their involvement in the song won’t end when the tape stops rolling. “The money will go [to the foundation] as a pit stop, and then it will be distributed. There’s a board that’s going to decide where it goes,” he said. “And on that board is Quincy and [‘Crash’ director] Paul Haggis and Luis Alberto Moreno, who runs the [Inter-American] Development Bank.” 

The entire recording process was filmed by Haggis, who will turn it into a special called “We Are the World — 25 for Haiti,” which will premiere on NBC during the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 12. 

Stars gather at fabled studio to re-record ‘We Are The World’

03022010/www.sfgate.com
Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie’s revamped “We Are The World” recording session is taking place at the same Los Angeles recording studio where the original tune was recorded 25 years ago.

Stars like Akon, Jason Mraz, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Usher and Lady Gaga are expected to flood the historic A&M complex in Hollywood on Monday night to re-record the charity anthem.

The new song will benefit the aid relief in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Stars like Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen and Diana Ross originally joined songwriters Richie and Michael Jackson and producer Jones in the studio on January 28, 1985 to record the track.

That record raised more than $30 million for USA for Africa, a nonprofit organization founded by the singers to fund hunger relief in Africa.

UN /ONU :

USA :

Having a black president does not end racism in U.S.
By Byron Edgington / Lantern columnist/February 3, 2010

From one racist to another, welcome to Black History Month. Not a racist, you say? Baloney, I say. 

Our first black president notwithstanding, we’re all racists, and to deny it would be an insult to the icons of equality — Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Barbara Jordan. The list goes on and on of people who devoted their lives to, if not ending racism, at least making us aware of its insidious presence in our lives.

And the “R” word infects all of us, make no mistake. My wife and I lived in Hawaii for a number of years, and as “haoles (foreigners),” we had the privilege to sense and experience racism, albeit a nominal strain hardly worth mentioning. I say privilege because the subtle rejections gave us a minor taste of what a lot of “different” people simply incorporate into their daily lives: we were ignored at lunch counters and retail checkouts, local people often snapped at us over the smallest matter, we were steered in nuanced ways on a choice of where and where not to find housing, and yes, I did once get pulled over by a Hawaiian policeman for no apparent reason.

“You know what you did was illegal, sir.” It was a statement, not a question. The crime could have been “driving while haole,” I guess. The fellow wouldn’t tell me why he’d stopped me, and he let me go with a “warning.”

And racism is itself color blind, and pervasive. The Reverend Jesse Jackson was walking home one night in Chicago when he heard footsteps fall in behind him. Alone, several blocks from home, he walked on, his heart racing, beginning to sweat, as the person gained on him. He finally gathered the courage to turn and face his stalker, and the result was chilling. Reverend Jackson said later, “Imagine my humiliation when I saw it was a white man, and I was relieved!” It’s quite a statement about our culture’s collective assumptions that are, hopefully, fading away. 

Here’s a list of questions: Have you ever needed a blood transfusion, or donated blood or plasma for a relative? Every college student has given plasma for book or beer money, of course, so the answer is yes. Have you ever stopped at a traffic signal? Flipped on an incandescent light? Seen an energetic person traipsing door to door selling beauty products? Ever crunched into a crispy potato chip? Opened a refrigerator? Heard the furnace click on in the dead of a winter night? Have you ever taken any of those inventions and devices for granted? We all do, and that’s too bad, because they all have something in common. All were invented or perfected by black Americans. Each in their own way enriched the American experience, while chipping away at the racism that kept them second class citizens for much of their lives.

Perhaps what we need, in addition to a black history month, is a “different” history month. Our approach to eradicating racism in America hasn’t worked, and that’s because we’re intent on creating a race-blind society that we all secretly know will never be. Perhaps a different history month might help, by forcing us to look at the diversity in front of us, learning to celebrate it, and bringing us the understanding that those differences are what make Americans unique in all of history.

Black history month is an opportunity to begin celebrating that singularity. 

Behind the scenes for ‘World: ‘A good vibe going on’

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY/2010-02-03
HOLLYWOOD — The scene inside Henson Recording Studios Monday evening was eerily familiar and altogether altered. Quincy Jones in headphones raised a victorious fist before conducting a fresh take of We Are the World before a celebrity choir. Déjà vu.
But this was a fresh slate of singers. Not a single returnee stood among the 80-plus celebrities linking voices on We Are the World: 25 for Haiti, an updated twist on the classic that raised $63 million for African famine relief efforts.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the original, envisioned a new generation for the remake benefiting Haiti earthquake victims, said Randy Phillips, president/CEO of AEG Live. “He didn’t want to do the same thing again. That would have been an easier way to book this thing.”

The lyrics have been tweaked by Richie, and will.i.am wrote a rap “Greek chorus” extension. Producer RedOne gave the music a rhythmic face lift, and Wyclef Jean will apply a Haitian lilt to the track.

Turnout was stupendous, with stars ranging from Pink, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson to Zac Brown, LL Cool J and Carlos Santana. Some invitations were rejected by those unwilling to readdress an iconic tune, Phillips said. Others, like Taylor Swift, couldn’t untangle scheduling conflicts. A few, such as Janet Jackson, will be added remotely. And a handful simply declined.

“The stars who turned us down will regret not doing it,” he said.

Despite a total cast turnover, Nancy Wilson of Heart saw a strong parallel to the 1985 lineup.

“I just remember thinking, ‘What an odd collection of unlikely people that somehow managed to be cool together anyway,’ ” she said. “That’s how it felt tonight.”

Those in attendance reveled in the party atmosphere. “It’s a good vibe going on,” Idol judge Randy Jackson reported.

Behind the scenes:

•Babs nails it: In a side studio, infamous perfectionist Barbra Streisand struggled to get the proper emphasis and cadence as she taped her solo lines over and over. “Are you getting the right sound?” she asked the engineer. “It’s faster than the original, isn’t it?”

Patti Austin stepped in to coach her, singing along at one point, then exulting, “That’s smokin’! Do it just like that!”

•Somebody to lean on: Her feet aching during the marathon session, Melanie Fiona leaned against Musiq Soulchild at one point, triggering a musical detour.

“I said, ‘This is We Are the World, not Lean on Me,’ and then Celine Dion just started going in (singing Lean on Me),” Soulchild said. “Everybody started chiming in. It was very organic. I started an avalanche. People were gracious enough to let us go. We’re artists, we’re creative people. We need to let it out. I apologize if it was inappropriate. My bad.”

•Newbies: Among the younger singers were Ethan Bortnick, the 9-year-old composer/pianist, and Season 6 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, 20.

“I wasn’t born yet, but the song has had a huge impact on me,” Sparks said. “They’ve changed it up a little bit, so it’s a new version with a little more — I hate this word — but swag.”

She felt a little lost in the sea of longtime music pals. “There’s a lot of inside jokes, and I’m like, I don’t get it.”

Justin Bieber, 15, was a little anxious, not about reprising the opening verse, but about his proximity to Nicole Scherzinger. “It was hard to take my eyes off her, she’s so gorgeous.”

•No bad raps:Brandy was surprised to see so many rappers in the crowd and found Snoop Dogg’s presence “hilarious,” but not because he can’t carry a tune. “To hear him sing in key and with vibrato is pretty cool,” she said.

•Weezy’s reminder: Lil Wayne was surprised to find himself in such an illustrious crowd of fine singers. “I’ve never been involved in something like this,” he said. “I feel blessed (but) I was like, what am I doing? My mother just wanted me to take Gladys Knight’s picture.”

His parting shot: “It’s amazing what’s been done for Haiti, but it’s also amazing what hasn’t been done for New Orleans (since Hurricane Katrina).”

•Happy campers: “It feels like the first day at camp,” said Josh Groban, who was in no rush to go home. “I don’t have a softball game to run to like the Jonas Brothers. The 10-minute breaks become, ‘So what are you working on?’ So many of us are fans of the people around us. It’s a party in there.”

He exchanged phone numbers with Zac Brown. For his solo, Groban did Kenny Rogers’ original harmony part “with some riff at the end, the token classical note.”

Giddiness aside, the singers were nervous, he said. “We were all cognizant of the fact that the original had such a powerful impact.”

•New and improved: Co-producer Wyclef Jean understands that purists don’t want the original World retooled. “When you have a classic, you don’t want to touch it,” he says. But he promises his contemporized take will be “a big version” and a boon for his native Haiti.

He’s also delighted to be at the hub of such a stellar cast.

“I feel like a kid in a candy store,” he says. “The first time I heard (Richie’s) All Night Long, I was 15, working at a Burger King (and) barely spoke English.”

•It’s no joke: Did actor Vince Vaughn think it was a prank when Jones summoned him for the chorus?

“Nope!” he says emphatically, declining to share a taste of his vocal skills. “You don’t want the pink little spoon. You want the whole sundae. You’re going to have to wait for it.”

Turning serious, he said he was grateful to be included in a project with such strong potential for good.

“Music is the highest art form,” he said. “Music can take you the farthest, the fastest emotionally. All songs on some level are prayers. To come and say a prayer with all these very talented people tonight was a great thing to do.”

•Akon’s tale: Thanks to his ties to Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, Akon heard loads of stories about the original World recording sessions. “I never felt that I’d be in a position to be remaking it and actually be able to tell my own story someday.”

•Egos? Checked: Anthony Hamilton was impressed by the camaraderie. “I was blown away,” he said. “We all turned into groupies. Even Tony Bennett probably had a handheld (camera), just like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Lil Wayne.’ Everybody’s egos were at coat check. It was clean energy.”

He reported only one kink in the love fest: “I think Jamie Foxx stole my wallet.”

•Going green: A few figures clad head-to-toe in green were planted amid the celebrities so that, through green-screen technology, fans later will be able to insert themselves into the video online.

•A family affair: Richie’s daughter Nicole, who was in the chorus, brought 2-year-old daughter Harlow, cradled by dad Joel Madden of Good Charlotte. Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, Joel’s twin brother, also participated. Nicole was 3 when she was in the studio with her dad during the original recording.

•The bottom line: The joyous nature of the event did not undercut the serious mission. “People are having a great time singing that song even though it is a tragedy,” Dion said. “We are feeling every word of it. We will make a difference. We’re enjoying ourselves because we want to change what’s going on. People are very touched to be there.”

Election of Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, President of Malawi, as Chairperson of the AU

www.state.gov/Philip J. Crowley/February 3, 2010
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public AffairsWashington, DC

The United States congratulates Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, President of Malawi, on his election by the African Union General Assembly to serve as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) and looks forward to continuing our partnership with the AU to promote peace, prosperity, and security for all Africans. We share Chairperson Mutharika’s goals of ending child hunger and malnutrition and welcome his interest in promoting the critical goal of agricultural development and food security on the continent. The U.S. stands ready to partner with the AU on promoting democracy and good governance and to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections on the continent in the coming year. We also welcome Chairperson Mutharika’s pledge to isolate those in Africa who seek power through unconstitutional means.

The United States will continue to work with the African Union to confront ongoing stability challenges in Guinea, Niger, and Madagascar and to further peace and reconciliation in Somalia, Darfur, Zimbabwe and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We also hope to work closely with our African partners to confront the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence on the continent and ensure the full participation of Africa’s women in its socio-economic development.

We commend the AU for its efforts to work on these issues and pledge our continued assistance on these and other matters.

CANADA :

Toyota recalls 7.6m cars
www.thenews.com.pk/By By Irfan Siddiqui /Wednesday, February 03, 2010

TOKYO: Toyota Motor on Tuesday announced a plan to recall up to 7.6 million vehicles in Europe, the United States, Canada, China, the Middle East and Africa due to some problem in accelerator pedals which could get stuck and cause accident.

Toyota Motor representative in Europe Tadashi Arashima said: “We understand that the current situation is creating concerns and we deeply regret it.”

However, he said problem in the accelerator pedal only occurred in rare circumstances and the recall by Toyota was a preventive measure aimed at guaranteeing highest safety standards for all customers.

Toyota Motor Corp Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki offered an apology to customers for the massive recall during a press conference in Nagoya on Tuesday. Sasaki is in charge of quality and customer service operations.

The number of cars being recalled by Toyota worldwide exceeds total sales of the company in 2009. Toyota sold around 6.98 million cars last year.

AUSTRALIA :

Greenback Sinks, but the Aussie Tumbles .
By BRADLEY DAVIS /online.wsj.com/FEBRUARY 3, 2010
The dollar slipped against the euro as concerns eased somewhat over Greek sovereign debt, but wary investors kept currencies in tight ranges ahead of the key U.S. jobs report Friday 

The Australian dollar was the worst performer among major currencies, sinking more than 1% against the greenback before recovering some of those losses by midafternoon. The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised investors by leaving key interest rates unchanged and raising concerns about China putting the brakes on economic growth. 

Aside from Tuesday’s move in the Australian dollar, “we’re pretty much marking time” until the jobs report, said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, N.J. The report comes out on Friday morning and is seen as key to gauging the pace of the economic recovery. A positive report could boost the dollar. 

Late Tuesday in New York, the euro was at $1.3965 from $1.3932 late Monday. The dollar was at 90.38 yen from 90.65 yen, while the euro was at 126.22 yen from 126.30 yen. The U.K. pound was at $1.5984 from $1.5960. The dollar was at 1.0552 Swiss francs from 1.0559 francs. 

The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 79.000 from 79.194. 

Along with Friday’s payrolls data, investors are focusing on Wednesday’s verdict from the European Commission on Greece’s plan to narrow its government budget deficit as well as the European Central Bank’s rate-setting meeting Thursday. 

The euro got some support after spreads between 10-year Greek government bonds and similar German securities narrowed on speculation the EC will endorse Greece’s plan. 

The spread on 10-year Greek government bonds over bunds dipped below 330 basis points, down from the peak of 400 basis points at the end of last week. 

Australia, N.Z. Stocks: Beach, Boral, Fortescue, IAG, Rio, Roc

By Shani Raja/Bloomberg/Feb. 3 

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.9 percent to 4,647.90 at the close of trading in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 0.4 percent to 3,135.11 in Wellington. 

The following were among the most active shares in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. 

Mining stocks: Copper climbed for a third day, extending a rebound from a 10-week low. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1 percent to $6,885 a metric ton. 

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP AU), the world’s largest mining company, advanced 2.6 percent to A$41.50. Equinox Minerals Ltd. (EQN AU), which mines copper in Africa, rose 3.7 percent to A$3.90. Mirabela Nickel Ltd. (MBN AU) rose 3.1 percent to A$2.02 after nickel gained 1.7 percent yesterday in London. 

Gold producers: Gold futures rose in New York, capping the biggest two-day gain in almost three months. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia’s largest gold producer, added 2.3 percent to A$32.45. 

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG AU), Australia’s third- largest iron-ore exporter, rose 6.2 percent to A$4.98. UBS AG increased its forecast for iron-ore contract prices for the next Japanese fiscal year to a 40 percent gain. That compared with a previous forecast for a 20 percent increase, it said in a report. 

Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG AU) gained 4.5 percent to A$3.96, after the company increased its insurance-margin forecast, citing fewer natural disaster payouts and a favorable move in credit spreads. 

Boral Ltd. (BLD AU) surged 4.5 percent to A$5.60. Australia’s largest seller of building materials was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at UBS AG by equity analyst David Leitch. 

James Hardie Industries NV (JHX AU) climbed 3.8 percent to A$7.96. The building materials company was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at UBS AG. 

News Corp. (NWS AU) rose 5.4 percent to A$17.78, as second- quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates and the company raised its 2010 earnings forecast after “Avatar” broke box-office records. 

Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO AU) gained 1.4 percent to A$72. The iron ore producer’s Group Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott said $10 billion of asset sales and a rights issue have “transformed” the company’s balance sheet and it may boost project spending and consider acquisitions. 

Separately, Rio Tinto was raised to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup Inc. 

Roc Oil Ltd. (ROC AU) tumbled 31 percent to 44 Australian cents, after slashing estimated reserves at the Basker-Manta project off southeast Australia by as much as 25 percent. Beach Energy Ltd. (BPT AU), a 30 percent partner in the field, slumped 7.1 percent to 78 Australian cents.

Tip-offs led to many drug busts

Wed, Feb 03, 2010/New Straits Times /news.asiaone.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has become a melting pot for international drug syndicates, drawing traffickers from Pakistan, India, West Africa, Iran and Latin America. Each syndicate smuggles in a specific type of drug.

Pakistani traffickers bring in heroin, the Indians deal in ketamine, the Iranians come with syabu or ice, the Latin Americans bring in cocaine while the West Africans account for cannabis.

Investigations indicate that the West African syndicates also use mules to smuggle in illicit drugs to other countries, such as Thailand, China and Australia.

It is learnt that due to the nature of Malaysia’s multi-racial community and the fact that there are small groups of foreigners already established here, these syndicates find it easy to blend in.

The Immigration Department statistics shows that there are about 100,000 African students studying in Malaysia.

Federal Narcotics deputy director (intelligence/operations) Datuk Othman Harun said police had taken steps to combat the international drug menace posed by foreign syndicates.

“The most effective weapon is intelligence networking with foreign drug enforcement agencies as it is not an isolated issue, but a scourge that plagues most countries.

“There have been several instances where successful drug busts in Malaysia were the result of tip-offs from our counterparts abroad.”

Investigations revealed that some West Africans have been making money on the side by selling cannabis to their countrymen or to students at private colleges here.

“Not all of the drugs brought into Malaysia are for the local market. Most are smuggled to other countries,” Othman said. “For example, heroin grade IV is smuggled to Australia while cocaine is taken to Thailand.”

(Heroin grade IV is made by adding ether and hydrochloric acid to a heroin base, the purest form of heroin. Grade IV has a purity of 80 to 90 per cent and has a street value of RM80,000 per 350g.)

The high price puts off local addicts, who are also not used to the purity of the drug.

The heroin sold in Malaysia is normally of the grade 3 type, which has a lower purity rating and retails at RM12,000 per 455g.

It is also learnt that there is a demand for cocaine in Japan and Thailand due to the large number of Western tourists who go there for holidays. Cocaine, which is sold at RM700,000 per kg in Malaysia, can fetch a higher price abroad.

Police said the drugs were smuggled into Malaysia by mules and passed to syndicates based here. The drugs are then given to another mule who takes them abroad.

SA players may quit IPL over safety fears
2010/02/03/ Sapa
A NUMBER of South African cricketers could withdraw from the third season of the megabucks Indian Premier League that is due to start in April. 

This may become the state of play, unless organisers are prepared to let the game’s superstars have information relating to their own security around the matches in India. The South African players have joined with other players around the world in a call for their players’ associations to be involved in assessing security arrangements.
IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi has refused to allow the players’ global governing body – the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations – to have any input into security arrangements for the tournament. He also refuses to share any details of the security arrangements with players or their representatives.
“Players around the world have become increasingly reliant on their player associations to check security arrangements so it’s only natural that they should want us and our global body involved or at least consulted,” said South African Cricketers’ Association chief executive, Tony Irish.
With the exception of India, South Africa has more players involved in the tournament than any country, and the level of concern from players is such that a letter has been sent by all of the 17 players to the IPL expressing their need for peace of mind and for the right to be able to nominate “a representative of my choosing to review security arrangements”. A recent security report commissioned by the Australian Cricketers’ Association concluded that there was a genuine possibility that the high-profile IPL and its players could be terrorist targets – particularly foreign players. Australian and New Zealand players have all expressed their deep concerns about security arrangements for the tournament, which was staged in South Africa last year because security could not be guaranteed in India.
“Players should have a fundamental right to assess measures designed to protect their safety,” said Heath Mills, chief executive of the New Zealand Cricketers’ Association.
Asked whether he believed players would seriously consider withdrawing from the tournament given the enormous sums of money they stood to lose by not travelling, Irish said: “I have met many very wealthy people in cricket but I haven’t yet met anyone who could spend money if they weren’t around to enjoy it.” 
l Twenty20 cricket has rapidly become the most visible and lucrative form of the game, with South Africa a leader in bringing it into the 21st century. 
Speaking at the launch of this year’s Standard Bank Pro20 competition, the sponsor’s cricket ambassador, Jonty Rhodes said South Africa had introduced many innovations which had become standards internationally.
“We were the first to have dancing girls, hard hats, fireworks and dugouts,” he said.

The theme for the SA 2010 series is “Rock Star cricket” and unsigned local rock bands will perform live at each of the matches. This year’s competition starts today, with the Dolphins taking on the Titans at Kingsmead in Durban.
The final will be played on March 12. — Sapa

EUROPE :

Copenhagen – striking accord?
Richard Black / www.bbc.co.uk/ 3 February 2010 

Arguably, it’s a deadline that isn’t a deadline for an accord that isn’t an accord.

“It” is – or was – the 31 January target date by which governments were supposed to tell the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) secretariat what pledges they are prepared to make on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

The date stems from the Copenhagen Accord – the agreement cobbled together at the end of December’s UN climate summit in the Danish capital.

It received less than universal support at the summit, and since then UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer has indicated that 31 January isn’t a deadline anyway.

So does who sends in what really matter?

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes it does; and in an open letter, he’s just set out some of the reasons why.

If countries that indicated support for the accord at the summit send their submissions in, he writes:

“For the first time, the world will see, collected together, strong mitigation commitments by countries representing more than 80% of global emissions.

“If those commitments are then implemented to their maximum potential, they could lead to emissions peaking by around 2020 or before, representing the crucial first step towards the level of reductions required to hold global temperature increases to under 2C.”
The UNFCCC hasn’t released details of who has sent in what – they’re expected to do so during Monday or Tuesday – but a number of key players have said they would make submissions, including the US, the EU and the Basic group of Brazil, China, India and South Africa. (NB: SEE UPDATE BELOW)

An argument made in some quarters as to why it matters is that the number of countries sending in submissions will indicate the extent of support for the Copenhagen Accord.

Implicit in this argument is a belief that the accord might be instrumental in holding countries to their pledges. It also ties in with a belief that the accord can be the basis for the bigger, more legally framed treaty that the EU and a number of developing countries say they want to secure at this year’s UN conference in Mexico.

Do these views hold water, though? One reason why they might not is that the accord didn’t bring any commitments from any countries above and beyond what they had pledged in the run-up to Copenhagen.

Compare countries’ statements of intent as of November, say, with what they have sent to the UNFCCC and my guess is that you will not see a jot of difference. Some were going to do what they pledged anyway, unilaterally, accord or no accord.

And some, such as the EU, have indicated they’ll now adopt targets at the weak end of the ranges they’d proposed – an action confirming that the accord is regarded as lacking in ambition.

And as I’ve asked before on this blog: given the way Copenhagen turned out, what basis does anyone have for believing that there is appetite among all significant parties for a stronger agreement with at least a whiff of legal obligation?

The agenda in those final hours of the summit was set and driven by the Basic bloc, who are most insistent that their own pledges must be regarded as voluntary. This view has been given additional emphasis by a report in the Danish press that the Basic countries had agreed how far they would go a week before the Copenhagen summit convened, during a meeting on 28 November in Beijing.

The bloc now plans to hold quarterly ministerial meetings on climate change.

So here’s a provocative question: given the outcome of Copenhagen, and given the strength of the sinews that these powerfully developing nations are beginning to flex on a more regular basis in all sorts of arenas – see our coverage of the Davos economic forum last week – are these regular four-nation meetings now the most important events for deciding where the world is going on climate change?

UPDATE: The UNFCCC has now released details of submissions so far received. Top stats are: 55 countries, accounting for 78% of global emissions from energy use.

According to Yvo de Boer:

“The commitment to confront climate change at the highest level is beyond doubt.”

CHINA :

AfBD and China Strengthen Cooperation
3 February 2010/allafrica.com
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SPONSOR WIRE

The main objective of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s high-level visit to the People’s Republic of China led by its President, Donald Kaberuka, is to strengthen relations between the two partners that share similar perspectives on Africa’s future.

The 3-6 February 2010 mission will also provide the Bank Group’s President and his delegation an opportunity to gain fist-hand knowledge on China’s phenomenal economic growth and industrial expansion in the past decade.

AfDB-China bilateral cooperation dates back to 1996, eleven years after Beijing joined the Bank Group. Since then, China has provided support to the Bank Group’s institutional activities, projects, programmes and technical assistance operations in Africa, through the People’s Bank of China, the China Development Bank, the Export – Import Bank of China and the recently established China-Africa Development Fund with a US$14.59 million initial contribution hosted by the AfDB.

So far, the country has participated in eight replenishments of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the Bank Group, and pledged a total contribution of US$ 486 million, including a US$ 122 million to ADF XI (2008-2010). Both the regional and non-regional members of the Bank Group severally acknowledge and commend Beijing’s contribution to Africa’s development and poverty reduction efforts.

China joined the ADF’s Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2006 and submitted the instruments of commitment for 2006-2007 and 2008-2015 with a contribution of UA 18.71 million.

The Bank Group’s 2007 Annual Meetings in Shanghai, the institutions’ first major event in Asia, is considered to be a high point serving as an occasion to highlight the ideas of both parties for the continent’s development.

China’s Governor and Chair of the Board of Governors, Zhou Xiaochuan, aptly described the meetings as the starting point in the intensification of cooperation with the Bank Group as well as promoting development agenda in Africa.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was even more forthright on the importance of AfDB-China-Africa relations in his welcome speech where he urged developed countries to deliver on their pledged assistance to Africa; take effective measures to reduce or cancel African debt; improve trade terms, facilitate market access for Africa and promote technology transfer; thus helping the continent to build adequate capacity for self development. He also assured the audience that the Chinese government and people were committed to peace and development in Africa.

AfDB-China cooperation and the nation’s relations with African countries have taken a quantum leap in various areas since the Shanghai meetings.

These are among the key issues President Kaberuka and his team will discuss during talks with Chinese political and financial authorities including China Central Bank Governor and leaders of the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim-Bank).

The delegation is also scheduled to visit Shenzhen City, capital of new technology development in southern China.

Factbox: Pipelines from Myanmar to China

Wed Feb 3, 2010/Reuters

(Reuters) – China will soon start receiving oil and gas through two controversial pipelines which run through military-ruled Myanmar.

Here are some facts about the pipelines:

WHAT THE PIPELINES WILL CARRY

One pipeline will carry oil from the Middle East and Africa, which will be offloaded from tankers at a Myanmar port and then piped into China, so avoiding the narrow Malacca Strait.

It will take 12 million metric tons of crude oil a year into China, roughly 6 percent of China’s total imports last year, or about as much as the country imported from Sudan, its fifth largest supplier. There is no exact date for its opening yet.

The other pipeline will have capacity to bring 12 billion cubic meters of Myanmar gas every year into China, and is expected to come online within the next two years.

WHERE THE PIPELINES WILL BE LAID THROUGH

Both pipelines will start from the Myanmar port of Kyauk Phyu in the western state of Rakhine (also known as Arakan), then head in a northeasterly direction toward the city of Mandalay before arriving in the Chinese border town of Ruili in southwestern Yunnan province.

From there the pipelines go to Yunnan provincial capital Kunming and eventually on to the cities of Chongqing and Nanning.

WHICH COMPANIES ARE INVOLVED

CNPC, China’s top oil and gas producer, is the main Chinese firm involved in the project. The firm does much of its business via listed PetroChina (601857.SS)(0857.HK)(PTR.N), while keeping politically-sensitive overseas operations in its own hand.

PetroChina is at an early stage of planning a 200,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Kunming to process oil from the Myanmar pipeline.

State-run Gail India (GAIL.BO) will pick up a 4 percent stake and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) (ONGC.BO), will take another 8-8.5 percent, Indian media reported last month.

Other partners in the blocks, operated by South Korea’s Daewoo International (047050.KS), are Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise, and Korea Gas Corp (036460.KS).

THE COST OF THE PROJECTS AND PROJECTED REVENUES

The Shwe Gas Movement, which is campaigning against the pipelines, estimates the total cost of the oil and gas pipes at $3.5 billion. The development of the offshore fields for the gas component will cost more than $3 billion.

But sales of the gas alone will generate more than $29 billion for the Myanmar government over the next three decades, they say, an important source of income for the sanctions-hit government.

WHY THE PIPELINES ARE CONTROVERSIAL

Rights groups say the people of Myanmar will see little of the money from the pipelines, with profits likely filtered away by the military government for their own purposes, like buying arms.

Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in the world, suffers from serious energy shortages of its own.

Rights groups also point to land confiscations to make way for the pipelines, and worry that the Myanmar military will resort to forced labor to construct the pipelines, as it has done in the past for similar projects.

Sources: Chinese state media, Shwe Gas Movement (www.shwe.org), Human Rights Watch.

(Writing by Ben Blanchard and Chen Aizhu; editing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Sanjeev Miglani)

INDIA :

BRASIL:

Wife of South African security minister denies drug trafficking allegations

AFP/Wednesday, February 03, 2010

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — The wife of South Africa’s intelligence minister denied yesterday that she had knowingly taken part in drug trafficking, four days after her arrest in a cocaine running scandal.

Sheryl Cwele, wife of state security minister Siyabonga Cwele, is accused of conspiring with a Nigerian man to bring cocaine into South Africa by enlisting young white women as mules to travel overseas to collect the drugs.

“I wish to categorically state that I never knowingly participated in any drug trafficking, conspiracy or incitement to deal in drugs as set out in the indictment or at all,” Cwele said yesterday in a bail application filed with the provincial high court.

Cwele, a 50-year-old municipal director of health and community services, was arrested last week at her workplace. The Pietermaritzburg High Court has scheduled her bail hearing for Friday.

Allegations of Cwele’s drug trafficking surfaced last year after the arrest of Tessa Beetge, a South African woman caught in Brazil in June with cocaine worth almost $300,000 .

Beetge’s family told a South African newspaper last year that Cwele had offered to find a job for her friend and former neighbour Beetge, who is listed in the indictment.

Cwele and Frank Nabolis, a Nigerian arrested last month, face charges of conspiring to traffic drugs between Turkey, South America and South Africa.

Cwele’s bail application said she met Nabolis through an acquaintance and agreed to help him recruit two white people to work for his company.

EN BREF, CE 03 février 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,03/02/2010