{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 11 mars 2010 – The Associated Press- March 11, 2010–Islamist insurgents and government forces battled for a second day in the Somali capital after medical officials Thursday said 23 people had already been killed.
RWANDA
Rwanda: Kagame Addresses Common Wealth Business Council
11 March 2010/The New Times/allafrica.com
Kigali — President Kagame, attended a lunch held in his honour at the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), in London yesterday, and addressed the business members of the Commonwealth for the first time since Rwanda joined the Commonwealth.
The event was hosted by Dr Mohan Kaul, Director General of the CBC, who took the opportunity to welcome Rwanda and President Kagame into the Commonwealth.
In his speech at the beginning of proceedings, Dr Kaul told the Council about the benefits Rwandan businesses would receive as members of the Commonwealth.
This was also emphasised by President Kagame in his speech.
“The joining of the Commonwealth presents a huge opportunity for Rwandan businesses and we are looking forward to forging partnerships with all of the member states,” he said.
The President acknowledged that, while Rwanda has shown great commitment to economic development in recent years, there is still a long journey ahead in the path to development and that Rwanda would continue to focus on its main asset – its people – in order to reach the set goals.
President Kagame took the opportunity to invite the members to the Rwanda Investment Forum, to be held in Kigali, May 10-11, 2010. The event, which is being jointly organised by the CBC and Rwanda Development Board, aims to bring together business and political leaders from Commonwealth member countries, to discuss the investment opportunities in Rwanda.
The forum aims to promote the fact that, through Rwanda, businesses can access an East African Market of around 150 million people, which is experiencing a rapid growth.
The forum will be the first of its kind since 2008, when Rwanda held the East African International Business Forum, which saw around 500 leaders from business and government attend.
President Kagame hoped the forum would allow the government to expand its network of relationships, created by joining the Commonwealth, encouraging inward investment.
Rwanda says its allies key to securing justice
Thu Mar 11, 2010 /By Jim Drury/Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) – Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo said on Wednesday the thawing of her country’s relations with France may have paved the way for last week’s arrest of a leading Rwandan genocide suspect in Paris.
French judges had sped up their investigation into Agathe Habyarimana since the diplomatic rapprochement in November, Mushikiwabo said on a visit to celebrate Rwanda joining the Commonwealth.
The widow of former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, who died in a plane crash in 1994, is suspected of having instigated the genocide in Rwanda in which 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in less than 100 days.
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence that she’s been apprehended but we’ve had four French judges come to Rwanda to look for evidence since November after years of delay,” she told a news conference at the Rwandan High Commission in London.
Habyarimana was briefly arrested on an international warrant issued late last year by Rwandan authorities, who have called on Paris to pursue genocide suspects living in France. She has been forbidden from leaving French territory.
Rwanda has made no official extradition request for the 68-year-old who fled to France in 1994. A French judicial source said it was unlikely she would be returned to Rwanda for trial.
Her lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, rejected the accusations against his client as baseless. But Mushikiwabo said the Rwandan people were convinced of Habyarimana’s guilt.
“From the mid 1980s she was a woman who was central in the genocide enterprise. Every single Rwandan in the country at the time will tell you stories about her,” she said.
Mushikiwabo praised French President Nicolas Sarkozy for helping restore diplomatic ties between the two countries.
“When he came to power President Sarkozy reached out and said ‘I want to have direct dialogue with Rwanda’, and he showed a lot of good will. We responded to his personal involvement and request for trust,” she said.
Mushikiwabo said she was hopeful Rwanda’s high commissioner to India would be extradited by South Africa to face questioning on his alleged links to recent grenade attacks in Kigali.
Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former army chief of staff, fled to South Africa last month after being questioned by police about the attack, which killed two people and injured 30.
“We are hopeful we will get good help from South Africa. We know for a fact that Mr Nyamwasa has links with another defector and he’s part of a network trying to spark instability,” she said.
Mushikiwabo told reporters Rwanda was no nearer to returning captured rebel general Laurent Nkunda to authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing concerns over the possibility of his being sentenced to death.
Nkunda was arrested in Rwanda in January 2009 and DRC officials want him returned to face war crimes charges.
UGANDA
Tullow cuts Ugandan oil stake
The Times / business.timesonline.co.uk/ March 11, 2010
Tullow Oil’s stake in its big oil project in Uganda will be cut to below 50 per cent if the Ugandan Government approves the proposal next month.
The Africa-focused oil explorer, which is in talks with China’s CNOOC and Total, of France, about jointly developing the Lake Albert field, said yesterday that all three companies were likely to take a one-third stake under the terms of a new agreement.
Ian Springett, chief financial officer, said that Tullow wanted to keep its 50 per cent stake in the Lake Albert field, where its discovery of an estimated two billion barrels of oil promises to make Uganda a big oil exporter, but he said that an equal split of 33 per cent each had proved the preferred option for its partners and the Ugandan Government. He said: “We believe this is a better outcome. The Government was also supportive of a one-third ownership structure.”
Mr Springett said that talks were well advanced and an agreement, which is expected to give Tullow a £1.7 billion windfall, was likely to be finalised in the next few weeks.
Phil Corbett, an oil and gas analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, said that the proposed ownership structure would be preferable for Tullow as it would allow it to reduce some of its capital outlay on Uganda and to focus more on other projects. Up to $6.5 billion of investment will be required to develop the field by building production facilities, a refinery, roads, railways and pipelines.
The news came as Tullow unveiled a 93 per cent slide in pre-tax profits to £20 million for 2009, driven by lower output and weaker crude prices. Tullow’s final dividend was frozen at 4p a share for a second year running.
Tullow said that a huge new oilfield in Ghana contains at least 60 per cent more crude than previously thought. Tullow raised its reserve estimate for the offshore Tweneboa discovery from 250 million to 400 million barrels of oil, increasing its total reserves in the country to 4.5 billion barrels.
The High Stakes Gay Debate in Uganda
March 11, 2010 /blogs.abcnews.com
Obviously, homosexuality remains a sensitive topic in America — with every opinion from every inch of the spectrum.
The face of the gay debate is much different in Uganda, as Dan Harris reports in tonight is a segment that will likely come as a shock to many.
Harris, along with producers Almin Karamehmedovic and Katie Hinman, traveled to the Christian African nation to look at a bill before the Ugandan parliament called The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009.
Some advocates say up to 95 percent of Ugandans oppose homosexuality and gay people and supporters are often targets of harassment.
The bill would further criminalize homosexuality in a serious way, up to life in prison or even capital punishment. Ugandans found to be “housing” homosexuals can be jailed.
Among those Harris interviews are Americans evangelicals and a Ugandan pastor named Martin Ssempa who has made a name preaching about and showing pictures of graphic acts of homosexuality.
As always, we want your input on the topic.
UN health agency funds urgent medical supplies in landslide-hit Uganda
www.un.org/11 March 2010
10 March 2010 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is sending $50,000 in emergency funding to Uganda where deadly mudslides and flooding have left hundreds of thousands of people in need of shelter, food, safe water and proper sanitation, and at an increased risk of water-borne diseases.
The $50,000 will be used to procure urgently needed medical supplies, the agency reported. It will also help alleviate the costs associated with relocating or recruiting health workers, assisting with psycho-social support and training village health teams.
At least 92 people have been killed and hundreds of others are unaccounted for after a massive landslide on 1 March in Bududa district, near the extinct volcano of Mount Elgon on the Kenyan border.
More than 300,000 people in the Mount Elgon region and the neighbouring lowlands of Butaleja, Budaka and Tororo districts have been displaced, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 104 people, mostly children, have been reported to suffer from diarrhoea at the Bukalsi Health Centre in Bududa.
Working with the Ugandan Government, which is leading the emergency response, UN officials have said that so far there are no reports of cholera, but warned about the possible health risks of increased malaria, acute malnutrition and psychological disorders.
WHO also cautioned that the likelihood of water-borne disease outbreaks remains high given the lack of proper sanitation at temporary camps, where large numbers of people are huddled, and water systems may be damaged or contaminated.
WHO Uganda is in urgent need of emergency medical and surgical supplies, including medicines and surgical equipment, and water quality surveillance kits. Insecticide-treated bed nets are also required for preventing malaria infection.
U.K. millionaire to move to mud hut
Business tycoon to sell house, start charity in Africa
msnbc.com/ March 11, 2010
LONDON – A 41-year-old millionaire businessman who nearly died in a car crash eight years ago is leaving behind his exquisite 16th-century farmhouse and lavish lifestyle to move to a mud hut in Uganda and start a children’s charity.
Jon Pedley plans to sell his telecommunications businesses, a $1.5 million Essex farmhouse with a 1-acre garden and his furniture to raise cash for African orphans, the U.K. Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
His charity, Uganda Vision, will send troubled British children to Uganda where they will help locals orphaned by AIDS and poverty.
The self-made tycoon has a troubled past that includes a criminal record, alcoholism and affairs. He says a serious car crash in 2002 in which he almost died led him to find God.
“I’ve lived an incredibly selfish existence,” Pedley, of Finchingfield, Essex, was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail. “I’ve been convicted of crime, slept rough, been an alcoholic, had affairs, and damaged people’s lives including my own. I’ve always put the pursuit of money in front of everything else.”
In college, Pedley said, he began smoking and drinking and stealing from shops and his parents. After leaving school, he received a suspended jail sentence for fraud and theft after scams including selling the furniture at a rented flat, the Daily Mail reported.
Pedley married, continued to drink heavily, cheated on and later divorced his wife.
In 2002, he had been drinking when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a van. He was in a coma for six weeks.
After making a full recovery he said he found religion and gave up alcohol.
‘I’m now teetotaler and I try to live my life in a way that pleases God,’ he told the Daily Mail.
TANZANIA:
Government turns to WHO for new Malaria guide
thecitizen.co.tz/By Frank Kimboy /11032010
The government has asked for the new guidelines on treatment of malaria from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The guidelines will enable Tanzania make necessary changes in the local policy.
Speaking to this paper yesterday, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s head of communication unit Mr Nsachris Mwamaja said the document would be used by a team of experts to examine the guidelines before making any decision.
However, Mr Mwamaja said, according to the abridged copy of the document, Tanzania has already started implementing some of the recommendations issued by WHO.
He said for instance that the country’s malaria treatment policy is discouraging the use of oral artemisinin-based monotherappy as the new WHO malaria guidelines advocates. The global health watchdog has released a new Malaria treatment guidelines as well as the first guideline on procurement of safe and effective medicines, in a move to intensify the campaign against the leading killer disease.
The new guidelines also endorse the use of the artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), as the major treatment regime for malaria while discouraging the use of artemisinin-based monotherapy since its use will hasten the development of parasite resistance.
The WHO also cautions in its new guidelines on the need for proper application of the recommended treatments.
“In recent years, a new type of treatment called artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) has transformed the treatment of malaria, but if not used properly, the medicine could become ineffective,” says the WHO statement.
CONGO RDC :
Ex-rebels accused of extortion in DR Congo mines
Thursday, 11 March 2010/news.bbc.co.uk/By Karen Allen
BBC News
Former rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo who now serve in the army are running mafia-style extortion rackets in the mines, campaigners say.
The country has some of the world’s richest mines, which provide minerals to the global electronics industry.
Ex-rebels of the CNDP group are said to have gained far greater control of the mines than they did as insurgents.
Campaign group Global Witness says the government and international community have failed to demilitarise the mines.
The ongoing conflict in Eastern Congo, which has claimed some six million lives in a little more than a decade, has long revolved over access to its mineral wealth, not just by DR Congo but also its neighbour Rwanda through its proxy forces.
After last year’s high profile government offensive against one rebel group which controlled many of the mines in Eastern Congo, the military has moved in and transferred power to a competing armed group.
A move to integrate rebels from the CNDP – whose leader Laurent Nkunda has been under house arrest in Rwanda since last year – into Congo’s national army has seen them enjoying more control of the country’s mineral wealth than ever before, according to Global Witness investigators.
In one mine in South Kivu, civilian miners claimed they were being forced to pay $10 each to the military for permission to spend a night working in the mines.
Researchers say that instead of protecting civilians, the military is taxing them illegally, and subjecting them to abuse.
They also claim that high profile international companies are still knowingly sourcing minerals from these militarised mines – a contravention of UN sanctions, which campaigners say are not being enforced.
KENYA :
Cooperative Bank of Kenya Full-Year Profit Climbs 24% (Update1)
March 11, 2010/By Sarah McGregor/Bloomberg
March 11 (Bloomberg) — Cooperative Bank of Kenya Ltd., the country’s fourth-biggest lender by assets, posted a 24 percent increase in full-year profit as its customer base nearly doubled, Chief Executive Officer Gideon Muriuki said.
Net income climbed to 2.97 billion shillings ($38.8 million) in the 12 months through December from 2.4 billion shillings a year earlier, Muriuki told reporters today in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Net interest income, the money banks make from interest on loans, advanced 19 percent to 6.8 billion shillings, he said.
Cooperative’s customer base grew to 1.2 million by Dec. 31, 2009, compared with 700,000 a year earlier and the number of branches rose to 79 from 52, Muriuki said. Another seven outlets are planned in Kenya this year, he said.
The company is registering a unit in neighboring Southern Sudan in a joint venture with the government and it plans similar partnerships in Uganda and Tanzania. The bank will own 70 percent of the new operation, while Southern Sudan’s government will control the rest, he said.
–Editors: Paul Richardson, Vernon Wessels.
ANGOLA :
SOUTH AFRICA:
Winnie Mandela’s Remarks Raise Stir
By CELIA W. DUGGER/www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, said Wednesday that its leaders would talk to Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, when she returned from abroad about published remarks attributed to her in which she caustically described him as a figurehead who had made a bad deal with the country’s former white rulers.
She was quoted in the London newspaper The Evening Standard this week as saying that her former husband, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, had let the black majority down. “He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks,” she was quoted as saying. “Economically, we are still on the outside.”
It is the harsh, belittling tone of the quoted remarks, as much as their substance, that has created a stir here. Ms. Madikizela-Mandela, still admired by many for enduring harsh treatment from apartheid authorities during Mr. Mandela’s 27-year-long imprisonment, has long cast herself as a champion of the dispossessed.
Just last month, on the 20th anniversary of Mr. Mandela’s release from prison, she sat with him and his current wife, Graça Machel, in Parliament as he was honored. The frail 91-year-old leader, widely revered here, is rarely seen in public these days. Ms. Madikizela-Mandela, despite convictions over the years on kidnapping and fraud charges, serves on the A.N.C.’s national executive committee.
She has not yet commented on her quoted remarks in the article, written by Nadira Naipaul, the wife of the writer V. S. Naipaul. The Naipauls met with Ms. Madikizela-Mandela in her home in Soweto and Mrs. Naipaul, who was a newspaper columnist in Pakistan before her marriage, relates the conversation that the three of them had in The Evening Standard. The article does not say when the conversation took place.
In the article, Ms. Madikizela-Mandela is quoted as describing the Mandela name as “an albatross around the necks of my family” and declaring that she cannot forgive Mr. Mandela for accepting the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with “his jailer” F. W. de Klerk. The two men were honored for negotiating a peaceful end to apartheid.
She also suggested that the foundation that bore his name found him useful in raising money.
“Look what they make him do,” she said. “The great Mandela. He has no control or say anymore. They put that huge statue of him right in the middle of the most affluent white area of Johannesburg. Not here where we spilled our blood and where it all started. Mandela is now a corporate foundation. He is wheeled out globally to collect the money, and he is content doing that. The A.N.C. have effectively sidelined him, but they keep him as a figurehead for the sake of appearance.”
There has been some speculation in the press here that Ms. Madikizela-Mandela may have thought that the conversation was off the record. Mrs. Naipaul, reached by phone at her home in Wiltshire, England, replied, “At this moment, I’m saying nothing,” then hung up before any further questions could be posed.
Ismael Mnisi, a spokesman for the African National Congress, said the party had sought to contact Ms. Madikizela-Mandela since the article appeared, but without success. She is abroad — either in the United States or Britain, he said — and may be back in time for a meeting of the party’s national executive this weekend. “We are likely to see her there, and we’ll engage her then,” he said.
Anglo American, MTN, Mutual, Sanlam: South Africa Stock Preview
March 11, 2010/by Franz Wild and Nasreen Seria/Bloomberg
March 11 (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 rose for the eighth day in nine, rising 189.53, or 0.7 percent, to 28,087.67 in Johannesburg.
Anglo American Plc (AGL SJ): De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer, said it had met “relevant regulations” in the sale of shares in African Diamonds Plc. African Diamonds said in a statement yesterday that 1 million shares in an account believed to be controlled by De Beers had been sold without African Diamonds being notified.
Anglo American, which owns 45 percent of De Beers, rose 3.54 rand, or 1.2 percent, to 296.54 rand.
Basil Read Holdings Ltd. (BSR SJ): The South African construction company releases its full-year earnings at 8.30 a.m. Basil Read gained 15 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 12.45 rand, its first gain in five days.
Coal of Africa Ltd. (CZA SJ): The exploration company said it received approval from the Department of Mineral Resources to take a bulk sample from its Makhado coking-coal project. The shares fell 17 cents, or 1 percent, to 16.29 rand.
Investec Plc (INL SJ): The investment and private bank will join the U.K.’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index after the close of trading on March 19. The shares rose 78 cents, or 1.3 percent, to 60.70 rand.
MTN Group Ltd. (MTN SJ): Africa’s biggest telecommunications company will publish its full-year earnings at 8 a.m. in Johannesburg. The company fell 95 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 117.95 rand, its biggest drop since Feb. 22.
Old Mutual Plc (OML SJ): The biggest insurer in Africa will announce full-year earnings at 9 a.m. The London-based company rose 4 cents, or 0.3 percent, to 13.58 rand, its seventh day of increases.
Sanlam Ltd. (SLM SJ): The largest South African-based insurer releases its full-year earnings at 8.30 a.m. in Johannesburg. The stock rose 25 cents, or 1 percent, to 25.40 rand.
Uranium One Inc. (UUU SJ): The Canadian producer of the metal said its loss per share narrowed to $0.08 in the year through Dec. 31 from $5.24 in the year earlier period. The shares rose 33 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 20.49 rand.
Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:
Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) rose 2 percent to $20.14. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) dropped 0.5 percent to $37.23. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) increased 0.5 percent to $66.98. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) fell 1 percent to $5.85. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) retreated 0.7 percent to $12.07. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) slipped 1 percent to $9.50. Impala Platinum Holdings (IMPUY US) climbed 0.6 percent to $26.50. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) increased 3.2 percent to $4.24. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) dropped 0.6 percent to $39.89.
–Editors: Ana Monteiro, Paul Richardson.
Africa: Something New Out of Africa: A Global Player
Dominique Strauss-Kahn/International Monetary Fund (Washington, DC) /allafrica.com/11 March 2010
Johannesburg —
The sense of African energy and dynamism that I described during my visit to Kenya is reinforced strongly here in South Africa. And it’s not just World Cup fever—though there are plenty of signs of that too.
By some estimates, close to 10 million people are expected to visit South Africa this summer for the football (soccer) extravaganza—a further boost to its economy and its image in the world. South Africa is a global player.
This country has long been seen as the growth hub in the south and eastern part of the continent. But this past year, as a member of the G-20 group of nations, South Africa has come to be seen as much more–an emerging market, yes. And now also an influence on how global decisions are shaped. This is a new role for Africa in the world—and a new way for Africa to be seen by the world.
I see President Zuma regularly at these G-20 meetings. It has been a special pleasure to meet him again in his homeland and to see him at work in leading the economic and political forces at play in a young country that puts forward a vision for itself in the 21st century.
From the IMF’s perspective, South Africa weathered the financial crisis well—with a set of pragmatic countercyclical policies that enabled the country to withstand its first recession in 20 years. It is no surprise that, in 2009, growth fell below the average 4.2 percent achieved during 2000-2008. But the worst appears to be over and we expect a relatively healthy 2.5 percent in 2010.
That does not mean that there are no challenges ahead. Quite the contrary, there are some big ones. And in my discussions with South Africans—over dinner with the Minister of Finance and other ministers, with business leaders over breakfast, and with a wonderful group of young students at the University of the Witwatersrand—they did not shy away from laying out what they saw as the priorities to be addressed. They include:
? Tackling unemployment. South Africa lost close to 1 million jobs last year. And, in a country of about 50 million people, unemployment is expected to peak at around 25 percent. That’s a lot of people without jobs. Too many. Growth has resumed, but job creation is as yet anemic—a problem which South Africa shares with many of the advanced countries also trying to recover from the financial crisis. Where are the jobs going to come from? It’s a huge challenge for South Africa, for Europe, and for the United States in the post-crisis world.
? Reducing inequality. A little known fact: South Africa has now surpassed Brazil as having the highest level of inequality in the world. South Africa has taken remarkable steps to address anti-apartheid injustices in housing, education, and health care. But much remains to be done. With one-third of the population less than 14 years old, social tensions can only fester if these young people grow up without a clear sense of a better quality of life for them and their families.
? Building a flexible, competitive economy. A growing economy is not the only answer to meeting these challenges, but it is an indispensable ingredient. While here, I have been making the point that barriers to competition should be brought down across a number of key sectors—to strengthen South Africa’s position in global markets. Other reforms to enhance flexibility in labor and product markets can also help. A successful global player needs to build resilience to global economic shocks.
Forward-looking society
These are tough challenges. Can South Africa meet them? There is no doubt in my mind that it can.
This is a forward-looking, life-affirming society. I saw this in many places. But perhaps, above all, I saw it in Soweto where Anne and I visited an inspirational group called Grassroots Soccer.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOUauv9tDC8]
Grassroots Soccer delivers HIV/AIDS counseling, as well as more general life skills, to youth. The group bases its work on the devastation wrought by AIDS—and the popularity of football (soccer). Over 300,000 kids have graduated from the program. As I watched those children play, I was filled with emotion—and inspiration.
Yes, South Africa is going to meet its challenges.
Also see my earlier posts on this trip: Africa Is Back and IMF—Delivering on Promises to Africa
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
South African President Zuma invites President Mills for a visit
Marc
h 11, 2010/www.ghananewsagency.org
Accra, March 10, GNA – South African President Jacob Zuma has invited President John Evans Atta Mills for discussion on investments for mutual benefits.
The invitation was made in a message delivered by the South African Minister for International Affairs and Co-operation, Mrs. Maite Nkoana Mashabame at the Osu Castle in Accra on Wednesday.
President Mills receiving the message called on African leaders to focus on issues that would unite Africans.
“We should use the available natural resources to improve the living standards of our people,” he added.
President Mills said Ghana valued her relationship with South Africa and participated in the anti-apartheid struggle adding, “Ghana and South Africa have a lot in common and should exchange ideas on issues of common interest and her great potentials”.
Mrs. Mashabame commended Ghana for her democratic credentials, good governance, rule of law and ECOWAS, a bloc for stronger African Union (AU).
She stressed the need for collaboration of efforts among African countries to make the Continent maintain peace, security and development.
Mrs. Mashabame said South Africa was working towards the upgrading of its agrarian practice and investment in food security, and prepared to learn from other countries.
She extended South Africa’s invitation to competing African countries to the FIFA World Cup tournament this year.
GNA
AFRICA / AU :
DJ Coal Of Africa To Take Bulk Sample At Its Makhado Project
Thu, 11 Mar 2010/www.tradingmarkets.com
JOHANNESBURG, Mar 11, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) —
Coal of Africa Ltd. (CZA.AU) said Thursday it has received approval from South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources to take a bulk sample from its Makhado coking coal project.
The project, which is 100% owned by CoAL, is located in Soutpansberg, close to Rio Tinto Ltd.’s (RTP) Chapudi project and covers more than 23,000 hectares.
Following processing and laboratory analysis of the bulk sample, the coal will be provided to steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. (ACL.JO) to test in its coking ovens at Vanderbiljpark, CoAL said. The testing is necessary in order to finalize terms of a proposed agreement between the coal company and ArcelorMittal SA, including conditions relating to pricing and volumes, it said.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +27 11 783 7848; robb.stewart@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
AU Forces Battle Insurgents in Mogadishu
Associated Press /MARCH 11, 2010
MOGADISHU, Somalia—Islamist insurgents and government forces battled for a second day in the Somali capital after medical officials Thursday said 23 people had already been killed.
Insurgents attacking from the north on Wednesday reached within a mile of the presidential palace in the heart of the city before being beaten back with the help of African Union peacekeepers in tanks, residents said.
The exchange of gunfire and mortars made it impossible to get an accurate death toll for Thursday’s fighting because ambulances couldn’t get to the wounded and dying.
Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, said he saw 20 bodies lying in the streets on Wednesday before the clashes prevented him from going out any more. Sixty-five people were wounded, mostly civilians, he said. Three of the wounded died overnight, said Abdi Mahad, a doctor at Medina Hospital.
“A mortar shell has just fallen into the house next to me. We can hear neighbors crying and can see smoke over their building, but I do not know if there is a casualty,” Sahra Haji Abdulle said by phone from her home in northern Mogadishu. “We could hardly sleep last night. The sky was lit up by shelling all night. We have nowhere to escape.”
African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help government forces when the insurgents got within a mile of the presidential palace, said resident Omar Salad. Other residents confirmed his account.
The insurgents, the government and the peacekeepers have all been criticized by human rights groups for indiscriminately firing into and shelling residential neighborhoods.
More than half of those living in Somalia’s seaside capital have fled. Those remaining are mostly too poor to move or fear being attacked as they leave. Compounding their dilemma, an Islamist group issued a series of demands at the beginning of the year that caused the United Nations’ World Food Program to pull out of much of southern Somalia. Soon families fleeing into the countryside may find nothing to eat.
Neither the Islamists or the U.N.-backed government can take and hold enough ground for a decisive victory. The government is supported by around 5,300 African Union peacekeepers, whose tanks and armored vehicles help them to outgun the insurgents. The insurgents favor mobile hit-and-run attacks, using snipers and mortar fire to make it hard for the government’s poorly trained and irregularly paid soldiers to hold their position.
The government hopes to break the stalemate with an upcoming offensive, but its launch has been delayed by problems that include inadequate equipment and training.
There has been a surge in fighting since the beginning of the year, when the offensive was first being publicly discussed. Even if the government push succeeds, few Somalis trust an administration that has failed to deliver even a semblance of services or security more than a year after it took power.
The arid Horn of Africa nation hasn’t had a functioning government since the overthrow of a socialist dictator in 1991. Its civil war, which began into clan warfare, has morphed in recent years into a fight between an administration favored by the international community and an Islamist insurgency backed by hundreds of newly arrived foreign fighters.
Norway Urges African Union Intervention in Zimbabwe Unity Government Impasse
www1.voanews.com/11 March 2010
Norwegian Development Minister Solheim told reporters in Lilongwe, Malawi, that he wants Malawian President Bingu wa Mutarika, now AU chair, to take a ‘leading role’ in resolving the crises in Zimbabwe and Kenya
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington
Norwegian Development Minister Erik Solheim, who met with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year in Harare, called on the African Union Wednesday to intervene to break the political deadlock between the partners in the power sharing government in Harare.
Solheim told reporters in Lilongwe, Malawi, after meeting with President Bingu wa Mutarika, now in the African Union chair, that Oslo wants Mr. Mutarika to take a “leading role” in the resolution of crises in Zimbabwe and Kenya which both plunged into political turmoil following disputed 2008 election results.
Norway last year increased its aid to Zimbabwe to fund basic education and health and promote democracy.
The AU has been criticized for failing to take action on Zimbabwe even political violence erupted in 2008.
But Executive Director Nicole Fritz of the South African Litigation Center told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that there is little the AU can do, especially with Harare on its security council.
Elsewhere, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told reporters in Johannesburg that his institution was concerned about the political deadlock in Harare and is not ready to make new loans to Zimbabwe.
The IMF executive said South African President Jacob Zuma had pressed the IMF to resume extending loans to Zimbabwe, but Strauss-Kahn responded that Harare must pay down its substantial arrears and make further progress on governance issues.
The IMF restored Zimbabwe’s voting rights last month at the request of Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
In Harare, meanwhile, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai celebrated his 58th birthday with a small gathering at his Strath Avenue residence. He thanked members of his formation of the Movement for Democratic Change for showing resilience in their fight for democracy. President Mugabe was not invited, MDC sources told VOA.
UN /ONU :
UN: ‘Africa Spends $33bn on Food Imports Yearly
From Dele Ogbodo in Abuja/www.thisdayonline.com/ 03.11.2010
The Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr. Abdoulie Janneh yesterday said food imports from the developed world into the African continent annually gulps $33 billion.
This, he said, is besides the $3bn which comes in the form of aid from international donor agencies. He said the continent has had to resort to food import to bridge the gap between domestic food supply and demand which is mainly fueled by urban demand for processed food.
“Overall, the performance of the food and agriculture system of the continent has been far below its potential and far short from expectation. Despite, proven comparative advantage, Africa relies heavily and increasingly on food imports, standing now at about $33billion,” Janneh said at the three Day High Level Conference on the Development of Africa Agrobusiness and Agro-industries Development Initiative (HLCD-3ADI)
He said that achieving a paradigm shift in African agricultural development business requires a new vision, top level political commitment and leadership, as well as renewed efforts of both national and international policy makers.
He noted that several key features of the agricultural sector in most African countries present significant challenges, saying overall, the sector remains predominantly subsistence-oriented and severely under capitalized.
He pointed out that Africa’s agriculture is “thirsty* as less than four percent of the total arable land is irrigated, compared to 33 percent in Asia and the Pacific and 29 percent in the Middle East.
Also, he said African agriculture is “hungry” as it receives only 14.6kg of fertilizer per hectare, against 114.3kg per hectare for all developing countries.
As a result, he said the productivity of African agriculture lags significantly behind that of other developing countries.
At the global level he said the situation is not any better as the share of Africa in world agricultural trade has declined from 15 percent in the 1960’s to 5.4 percent in the 1980’s and down to 3.2 percent in 2006.
He expressed disappointment that intra- African trade represents barely 10 percent of total agricultural trade.
He said Africa’s small share in both regional and global agricultural trade is strongly associated with the fact that world agricultural trade is no longer dominated by bulk commodities.
World’s top scientists to review climate panel
By JOHN HEILPRIN and SETH BORENSTEIN (AP)/11032010
UNITED NATIONS — At a tumultuous time in U.N.-led climate negotiations, one of the world’s most credible scientific groups agreed Wednesday to plug the recent cracks in the authoritative reports of the United Nations’ Nobel Prize-winning global warming panel.
“We enter this process with no preconceived conclusions,” said Robbert Dijkgraaf, a Dutch mathematical physicist who co-chairs the group, the InterAcademy Council of 15 nations’ national academies of science.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted “there were a very small number of errors” in the 3,000 pages of the beleaguered U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s last major synthesis of climate data in 2007.
But those errors, which include projections of retreats in Himalayan glaciers, have put public confidence in the panel’s work at risk, and have been seized on by climate skeptics opposed to the U.N.-led efforts to conclude a legal international agreement on global warming this year.
The nonbinding Copenhagen accord brokered by President Barack Obama in the final hours of the December climate change summit in the Danish capital has the support of major polluters and ecomomies such as the U.S., China and India. But it fell well short of its original ambition of a legally binding treaty controlling the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming.
Dijkgraaf told reporters that his Netherlands-based group, which agreed to the U.N.’s request to review the panel’s work, “will definitely not go over all the data, the vast amount of data in climate science,” but will instead focus on how the panel does its job, in light of the unsettling errors that have surfaced recently.
The group will first pick a panel of outside experts, no easy task since the bulk of climate experts already participate in the U.N. panel. It will then wrap up its independent review by the end of August, said Dijkgraaf, also president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Chris Field, a Stanford University professor who in 2008 took over as head of an IPCC group studying climate impacts, said the InterAcademy Council faces a challenge picking outside experts for the review since “almost anybody who has been involved in climate science has some connection with the IPCC.”
Among the questions are whether the U.N. climate panel should use non-peer reviewed literature, how governments review IPCC material, and even how the IPCC communicates with the public.
No errors surfaced in the earlier and most well-known of the reports, which said the physics of a warming atmosphere and rising seas is man-made and incontrovertible.
But there have been several mistakes discovered in the second of the four climate research reports produced in 2007, mainly owing to the use of government reports or even advocacy group reports instead of peer-reviewed research.
For example, in the Asian chapter, five errors in a single entry on glaciers in Himalayas say those glaciers would disappear by 2035 — hundreds of years earlier than other information suggests — with no research backing it up. A sentence in the chapter on Europe says 55 percent of the Netherlands is below sea level, when it’s really about half that amount.
And a section in the Africa chapter that talks about northern African agriculture says climate change and normal variability could reduce crop yields. But it gets oversimplified in later summaries so that lower projected crop yields are blamed solely on climate change.
Ban said the mistakes in the IPCC reports, found in recent months, don’t undercut the broad consensus on global warning.
“Nothing that has been alleged or revealed in the media recently alters the fundamental scientific consensus on climate change,” the secretary-general said. “Nor does it diminish the unique importance of the IPCC’s work.”
That view was bolstered Wednesday by more than 150 U.S. scientists who wrote federal agencies and lawmakers to express support for U.N. panel’s work and main findings.
Ban did not respond to a question about how the errors might be affecting U.N.-led negotiations. IPCC Chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri said the panel is “receptive and sensitive to” criticism of its work.
The errors have shaken the credibility of climate scientists and given skeptics of global warming ammunition.
Longtime climate skeptic John Christy of the University of Alabama said he wasn’t familiar with the InterAcademy Council, but he cheered the outside review.
“I hope people like me have input, otherwise its just the usual members of the establishment defending to themselves what’s been done,” said Christy, a researcher.
The review will involve a mix of outside experts and climate scientists who have worked with the IPCC before but are “far enough removed to be truly independent,” Dijkgraaf told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The idea is to have expertise and insight into how IPCC works without including current leaders, he said.
“The full panel needs gravitas and I think scientific stature,” Dijkgraaf said. The members of the panel haven’t been chosen, but they likely will be 10 scientists.
The evaluation group will be chosen when the InterAcademy’s board meets on March 22, Dijkgraaf said. The InterAcademy has done science reviews before for the United Nations.
The IPCC was formed in 1989 by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization to study global warming and its causes and effects.
Prominent mainstream climate scientist Kevin Trenberth at the National Center for Atmospheric Research said “climate science has become a political hot potato.” He said the reviewers should not just look at the IPCC but the standards of its critics.
The IPCC, which is mostly a collection of volunteer scientists, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former Vice President Al Gore.
___
AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein reported from Washington.
USA :
Old Mutual Resumes Dividend, Plans to Sell U.S. Unit (Update1)
March 11, 2010/By Renee Bonorchis/Bloomberg
March 11 (Bloomberg) — Old Mutual Plc, the biggest insurer in Africa, said it may sell its unprofitable U.S. Life business and pay its first dividend since 2008 after posting a full-year loss.
The net loss of 340 million pounds ($508 million), compared with a profit of 441 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement today. The insurer, which didn’t pay a dividend for 2008, recommended a payout of 1.5 pence a share, giving investors the option of taking stock instead of cash.
“We benefited from improved market conditions in the second half, which resulted in greater demand for equity-based products from our clients,” Chief Executive Officer Julian Roberts said in the statement. “We are exploring the disposal of U.S. Life and anticipate a partial initial public offering of U.S. Asset Management.”
Old Mutual, with operations in South Africa, the U.K and the U.S., was forced to write down investments after global equity markets fell in 2008. The insurer has closed some lines of business and changed reporting methods since Roberts, 52, became CEO in September 2008.
The company swung to a loss as gross premiums fell and claims increased. Financing and administrative costs also rose.
Old Mutual, formed in Cape Town in 1845, said in January it may increase its 1.7 percent stake in Oceanic Bank Plc, one of 10 Nigerian lenders previously bailed out by the country’s central bank.
The insurer, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, is the best-performing stock in the past 12 months on the five- member FTSE/JSE Africa Life Assurance Index, having returned 148 percent. Old Mutual rose 1.3 percent as of 9.08 a.m. in Johannesburg trading.
–Editors: James Amott, Vernon Wessels
One in Six Americans Ages 14 to 49 Has Herpes
CDC reports that African-American women have the highest prevalence of the disease
Mar 11, 2010/www.modernmedicine.com
WEDNESDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) — Overall, about one in six Americans in the 14 to 49 age group is infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), with higher rates found among women and African-Americans, according to the results of a nationwide survey released March 9 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The statistics come from the CDC’s 2005 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationwide representative survey of U.S. households. Analyzed by gender, the survey found HSV-2 prevalence was 20.9 percent in women and 11.5 percent in men. By race, the prevalence was 39.2 percent in African-Americans and 12.3 percent in Caucasians. The highest prevalence was 48 percent in African-American women. Overall, the prevalence was similar to the previous national estimate of 17 percent for 1999 to 2004.
Further, the CDC said that more than 80 percent of people with HSV-2 are unaware of the infection, which increases the risk they will transmit it to others; and, that people with herpes are two to three times more likely to acquire HIV.
“This study serves as a stark reminder that herpes remains a common and serious health threat in the United States. Everyone should be aware of the symptoms, risk factors, and steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of this lifelong and incurable infection,” Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement.
U.S. Trade Panel Reviews Tensions over Global Access to Medicines
Howard Lesser/www1.voanews.com/ 11 March 2010
A government hearing on U.S. trade policy has produced more than 700 recommendations to help developing countries purchase affordable, life-sustaining medicines to fight AIDS and other afflictions.
Testifying in Washington this month, the organization Doctors without Borders (MSF, or Medcins Sans Frontieres) joined other groups in asking the U.S. trade representative to make it easier for poor countries to obtain generic drugs without being penalized for circumventing robust intellectual property rights protections secured by western drug companies.
MSF treats neglected tropical diseases and more than 140,000 HIV/AIDS patients in more than 30 developing countries. Emi MacLean, who directs the group’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, says she alerted the panel that U.S. trade policies and intellectual property protections are having a detrimental effect on international efforts to expand access to affordable pharmaceuticals.
“It’s essentially the U.S. government attempting to strong-arm countries through our trade policies in a way that has a seriously detrimental effect on access to medicines around the world,” she says.
This month’s first-ever public hearing on Section 301 provisions of the U.S. Trade Act stem from a commitment by the Obama administration to greater transparency in formulating U.S. trade policy. MacLean says that in past years, the closed hearings generated annual reports that favored the drug companies and enabled them to impose strong sanctions, which limited the ability of poor countries to provide relief for their vulnerable populations.
“Every year, the U.S. government produces a report of countries that they think are not adequately protecting intellectual property. What the U.S. has done, among other things, is criticize countries that are using completely legal tools to try to ensure access to affordable, generic medicines for their populations,” she noted.
Countries coming under particular scrutiny are emerging industrial powers with generic manufacturing capacity, like India, and Thailand and Brazil. Such states are cultivating the capacity to produce an abundance of affordable generic medicines for countries throughout Africa.
MacLean says the upstarts have certain legal rights to limit patents and maximize access to less costly medicines, but that unless evolving U.S. trade provisions find a way to encourage innovation and accommodate the new avenues of distribution, American global health goals are headed on a collision course.
“The cost of HIV/AIDS drugs at the time when we started providing treatment was $10,000 per person, per year. With access to generic medicines, many from India, the cost has plummeted to under $80 per person, per year. And that’s something that because of some of the changes in international intellectual property law over the last decade will not be possible in the future unless countries use the tools within their toolbox to ensure that they have access to generic drugs,” she said.
As commercial drug manufacturers push for U.S. help to extend their patents, they employ strategies that permit them to renew patents and other tools to allow their monopoly to expand. Developing countries deploy other tools to obtain cheaper drugs by overriding a patent, a tactic which MacLean says they are permitted to do with a compulsory license. Another poor country tactic consists of importing drugs from other countries where they are sold for a cheaper price.
Administrations from Clinton to Bush to Obama have admirably led global efforts to raise the flow of medicines to stop the spread of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa through PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund. However, MSF’s Emi MacLean maintains that unless Washington makes sure that research and development is needs-driven and geared to encourage innovation and access to everyone, U.S. trade policy will increasingly undermine U.S. global health policy.
“The United States government with regards to AIDS drugs and with regard to PEPFAR has highlighted the importance of affordable generic drugs in maintaining AIDS programs that the U.S. government operates, making sure that the money that is available goes further. And yet, at the same time, there are a lot of mechanisms in the U.S. I.T. (international trade) policy that are actually having a counterproductive effect,” said MacLean.
She welcomes the escalated response from concerned humanitarian groups and individuals. This year’s report by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office on Section 301 trade policies is due to be released in April.
World Cup could be disrupted by violent housing protests
Township dwellers in South Africa have threatened to disrupt this summer’s World Cup with violent protests against their squalid living conditions.
11 Mar 2010/www.telegraph.co.uk
The government has faced repeated riots over its failure to provide proper homes for millions of people, nearly 16 years after the advent of democracy.
Now squatters are vowing to cause chaos as the global spotlight falls on the host nation when the month-long tournament kicks off in June.
Police could be forced to flood high-risk zones to protect foreign fans from demonstrations which commonly involve the throwing of stones and burning tyres.
The latest threats came on Tuesday in Mamelodi East, a sprawling area of shacks where thousands live without electricity or running water five miles from 2010 host city Pretoria.
Vusi Nkosi, one of the camp’s 6,000 squatters, told South Africa’s Beeld newspaper: “If the government could spend millions of rands and prepare for the World Cup so quickly, it’s a disgrace that people are still living in squalor in squatter camps.
“The soccer means nothing to us because we won’t be able to watch it anyway, since we don’t have electricity.”
Locals have also threatened to lash out in front of World Cup visitors with aggressive foot stamping and singing previously used by freedom fighters in the African National Congress party (ANC) before Nelson Mandela led them to victory in 1994.
Mr Nkosi added: “This time we will fight and toyi-toyi like the ANC taught us.”
Mamelodi is around 40 miles from Soccer City, the World Cup flagship stadium in Johannesburg where the opening match and final will be played.
The government has budgeted £113m for security during the Fifa event, with millions also being channelled into new stadiums, roads, airports and tourist accommodation.
Shack dwellers who have endured more than a decade of democratic rule without decent housing are livid that their needs have been overshadowed by the football spectacular.
Riots have also recently erupted in townships surrounding Brits, a town near host city Rustenburg where England will play their first match against the USA.
At the scene of Tuesday’s protests, Veronica Mphahlele, the Mamelodi community leader, hit out at the government for promising deprived families permanent homes and land of their own in 2000.
She said: “It’s 10 years later and we’re still in the same position. All they do is send police to come and shoot at us.”
The Mamelodi protests prompted a nearby campus of the University of Pretoria to close its doors, students said.
Officers opened fire with rubber bullets, a routine form of control over protesters who blockade roads and force public buildings to close.
Kgaogelo Lekgoro, the provincial housing minister, reacted to the demonstration by repeating a government pledge that 5,000 houses would be built over the next three years.
Around 450,000 foreign fans are expected to travel to South Africa for the World Cup, 25,000 of them from England.
CANADA :
China mulls investment in South African mines
China Knowledge/March 11, 2010
March 11, 2010 (China Knowledge) – China is considering increasing its investment in the mining sector in South Africa, according to South Africa’s mines minister.
China has shown much interest in South Africa’s manganese, platinum and uranium, and in the processing of the minerals, according to Susan Shabangu, Mineral Resources Minister.
She added that South Africa will carefully consider whether investment from China would yield benefits and hopes to attract as many investors as Australia and Canada.
China established its first RMB mining investment fund last year. The fund focuses on quality domestic and overseas mineral resources as well as listed mining firms with great potential.
On This Day in History: March 10 An African-American ‘Moses’
by Vernon Parker (history@brooklyneagle.net)/ www.brooklyneagle.com/ 03-11-2010
Harriet Tubman passed away 97 years ago today. We see her legacy all around us, especially in Brooklyn, which was a hotbed of abolitionist activity, most notably as home to Plymouth Church pastor Henry Ward Beecher, a famous and outspoken opponent of the institution of slavery.
Harriet Tubman was born a slave named Araminta Ross, in Bucktown, Dorchester County, Md., about 1820 or 1821. Harriet worked as a field hand in her youth. She seldom lived with her “owner,” but was usually “hired out” to different persons. She “hired her time,” and would perform the crudest farming labors, plowing, carting, driving the oxen, etc., to such good advantage that she was able in one year to buy a pair of steers worth $40.
When quite young, she lived with a very pious mistress, but the slaveholder’s religion did not prevent her from whipping the young girl for any slight or fancied fault. Araminta found that this was usually a morning ritual; so she prepared for it by putting on all the thick clothes she could procure to protect her skin. She made sufficient outcry, however, to convince her mistress that the blows had full effect.
When invited to family prayers, she preferred to stay on the landing, and pray for herself: “And I prayed to God,” she said, “to make me strong and able to fight and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since.” In her youth, she recalled a severe blow on her head from a heavy weight thrown by her master at another slave, but which accidentally hit her. The blow severely damaged her brain, which made her very lethargic for years afterward.
She was married in about 1844 to a free black man named John Tubman, but never had any children. Owing to changes in her owner’s family, it was determined to sell her and some other slaves. But her health was so bad at the time that a purchaser was not easily found. Eventually she became convinced that she would soon be sold and carried away, so she decided to escape. Her brothers did not agree with her plans, so she walked off alone, following the guidance of the streams which she had observed ran North.
She arrived in Philadelphia where she worked hard for two years and carefully hoarded her earnings. Then she rented a room, furnished it as well as she could, bought a nice suit of men’s clothes, and went back to Maryland for her husband. But the faithless man had taken another wife. Harriet did not dare venture into her presence, but she sent word to her husband where she was. He declined joining her. At first her grief and anger were great, but finally she thought: “If he could do without her, she could without him,” and so “he dropped out of her heart,” and she determined to give her life to brave deeds. Thus all personal aims died out of her heart, and with her simple brave motto, “I can’t die but once,” she began the work that made her a modern day Moses — the deliverer of her people.
Seven or eight times she returned to the neighborhood of her former home, always at the risk of death in the most terrible forms, and each time she brought away a company of fugitive slaves and led them safely to the free states or to Canada. Every time she went, the dangers increased. At one time slaveholders posed a $40,000 reward for the capture of the “Black Moses.” In 1857, she brought away her old parents, and, as they were too feeble to walk, she was obliged to hire a wagon, which added greatly to the dangers of the journey.
Before the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, she helped more than 300 slaves to escape through the Underground Railroad, guiding most of them herself on their way to freedom in Canada. During the Civil War, she served the Union army as cook, nurse, spy, and scout, working particularly in the coastal regions of South Carolina. Harriet Tubman died in Auburn, N.Y., March 10, 1913. Her home in Auburn was an important station on the Underground Railroad and is now a museum.
— Vernon Parker
Baja Hollywood? Mexico sets sights on California’s film production business
March 11, 2010 /latimesblogs.latimes.com
As if California didn’t have enough to worry about from north of the border.
The state’s neighbor to the south, Mexico, has launched a new program to entice filmmakers with incentives in a bid to snare some of the lucrative movie and TV production business.
President Felipe Calderon unveiled the program Wednesday at a film studio in Rosarito, Baja, declaring that he wants Mexico to become “Latin America’s movie capital,” competing with countries like Canada, South Africa and Australia, according to the Associated Press.
That may be a tall order, however. Mexico’s incentive program is relatively minor compared to incentives offered in most U.S. states and Canada. The country would reimburse producers just 7.5% of their expenses on projects that cost at least $5.5 million.
“It’s nice they are giving something back, but I don’t think it’s going to have any impact on productions in the U.S.,” said Jeff Begun of The Incentives Office, which helps filmmakers navigate incentive programs around the world. “It’s just not competitive.”
— Richard Verrier
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
Sweet dreams are made of EU sugar reforms
www.busrep.co.za/By SAMANTHA ENSLIN-PAYNE/March 11, 2010
African expansion to boost Illovo, Tongaat
South African sugar producers Illovo Sugar and Tongaat Hulett have been hard at work to take advantage of sugar reforms in the EU, but Illovo is likely to do better than its rival, says Kagiso Asset Management equity analyst Rubin Renecke.
In a recent report, Renecke said that of the two companies, Illovo was by far the better positioned to benefit from the EU reforms because of the countries in which it operated and the expansions it had done.
Renecke said Illovo operated mostly in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and least developed countries, and the bulk of its expansion had been in anticipation of the EU reforms.
The group expanded its operations in Zambia and Malawi by buying farms and investing in irrigation equipment and plantings, which was followed by expansions in Tanzania and Mozambique.
The final phase of the reforms that kicked in last year aims to restructure the EU market. This follows the dumping of excess sugar supply by the EU onto the world market some years ago.
As a result of the changes, sugar supply from the EU has fallen by about 6 million tons. This shortfall will be picked up by African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and least developed countries.
Renecke said: “Illovo management recognised that increased volumes meant a decrease in the unit cost of production as well as guaranteed export prices.”
Illovo operates in Swaziland and South Africa in addition to Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique . The firm is also working on a greenfields project in Mali.
In the medium term, Illovo’s production is set to expand to about 2.6 million tons a year from the current 1.8 million tons, with most of its sugar going to protected markets.
Mohamed Shafee Loonat, a portfolio manager at Element Investment Managers, said while Illovo was more focused outside South Africa than Tongaat, both companies were operating in low-cost producing countries with good irrigation so in terms of their sugar businesses they would both benefit equally from EU sugar reforms.
Illovo’s greater focus outside South Africa is underpinned by the fact that it has recently sold two mills in South Africa. With its majority shareholder Associated British Foods, it already has good access to European markets.
Loonat said Tongaat, which is more focused on South Africa, believed in the longer-term prospects for the South African sugar industry that could benefit from the finality of land reform as well as potential from green energy production, be it ethanol or electricity.
Renecke said Tongaat’s prospects for taking advantage of EU reforms were also good, but to a lesser extent than Illovo. The company has invested substantially in Mozambique and Swaziland and these investments have been timed to coincide with the liberalisation of the EU sugar market.
Tongaat also has substantial operations in Zimbabwe that will have significant earnings potential once economic and political stability is achieved.
Renecke said when production in Zimbabwe reached 600 000 tons, compared with the 290 000 tons produced there last year, it would be the lowest cost producer in Africa.
Tongaat said last week that the aim was to take sugar production from the 957 000 tons milled in the 2009/10 season to the group’s installed annual capacity of 1.9 million tons over the next few years.
Yesterday, Tongaat shares closed 0.7 percent down at R103.14, and Illovo was 2.9 percent down at R32.20.
CHINA :
Zambia: Chinese visit pays off for Zambia
Thursday, March 11, 2010/www.lusakatimes.com
ZAMBIA has secured a concessional loan of US$ 1 billion from the government of China for investment in development projects in hydro power, housing, road infrastructure and other sectors.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, in addition to the US$ 1 billion, the government of China agreed to give Zambia a grant of US$10 million for use of whatever purpose needed for the completion of the Ndola stadium.
Mr Mutati said Zambia was able to secure the US$1 billion because it was the first African country, with a high powered delegation to visit China after the Forum for Africa China Cooperation (FOCAC).
“We were the first among the African countries to make a presentation to China for various projects amounting to US$1 billion. The various projects are in power sector development for the two hydro power stations, housing, road infrastructure and other sectors. It’s because of the president going to China that we have been able to secure a loan of US$1 billion,” Mr Mutati said.
Zambia was able to secure the funds following the Cooperation FOCAC meeting in Egypt in November last year.
During the FOCAC meeting, China made pledges on its cooperation with Africa including a provision of US$10 billion in concessional financing for various projects in African countries.
Further, he said China pledged to set aside US$1 billion to support small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs).
Mr Mutati said it was to the advantage of Zambia to be among the first countries to seek the funds saying as a result, the nation was able to access US$1 billion, which other countries might not be able to get.
The insinuations that President Rupiah Banda’s visit to China was a sheer waste of time and resources were unfortunate considering the benefits that Zambia was set to achieve.
“There was merit for Zambia to go to China as quickly as possible and agree on the framework of accessing the resources to ensure quick delivery of goods and services,” Mr Mutati said.
He said he was particularly happy that President Banda accepted to go to China and meet his counterpart Hu Jintao who directed his government that he would want the issue of Zambia accessing the funds to be addressed expeditiously.
As minister, he said, the presence of Mr Banda in China made his work and that of the other ministers easier as the two heads of State were able to hold talks at higher level.
In addition to the funds, Zambia was able to sign memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with commercial institutions in China.
One MoU was signed between Zambia and China Non Ferrous Metals, which was currently developing the Chambishi Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) to also develop the Lusaka sub-zone.
“They will start the implementation of the Lusaka sub-zone as soon as the rain is over and they pledged $300 million,” Mr Mutati said.
He said that the Government signed an MoU with China Africa Development Fund that has appointed Zambia as the regional office on the continent.
Zambia signed another MoU with Beijing Gold Common Mining Investment Company to deal in the construction industry.
In the Government’s delegation to China, there were representatives of 50 Zambian companies that were able to secure joint investment ventures with their counterparts in China.
One such Zambian business entity was Biomass PLC, which managed to enter into a joint venture with Walhan Kaida for the development of bio-diesel using jathropha.
“The initial investment for this project is US$400 million and this is purely private sector investment,” Mr Mutati said.
As such, he said, politicians should desist from complaining that the president’s visit to China was a waste of resources and time, saying the move has proved to be beneficial.
It was Government policy to attract investment not only from China but other countries saying next week, a delegation would be sent to India to lure investors from that country.
[Times of Zambia]
South African Markets – Factors to watch on March 11
www.iii.co.uk/Reuters/March 11
(AFX UK Focus) 2010-03-11
Article layout: raw
JOHANNESBURG, March 11 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Thursday.
– – – –
EVENTS
PRETORIA – Stats S.A. releases January manufacturing production data. 1100 GMT
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks fell on Thursday as investors fretted over tighter monetary policy in China on the back of strong loan growth and quickening inflation, while the yen struggled amid signs that Japan’s economy may need more support.
The MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan shed 0.6 percent, retreating from a seven-week high touched before the Chinese data which showed the economy grew at a brisk pace, while inflation hit a 16-month high.
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South Africa’s rand inched down against the dollar on Wednesday, while stocks edged higher on the back of stronger metal prices.
Johannesburg’s blue chip Top-40 rose 0.63 percent at 25,189.96 points and the broader All-share index added 0.68 percent to 28,087.67 points.
SOUTH AFRICA MINING
South Africa’s mines minister said on Wednesday that China had shown strong interest in investing in the African country’s mining sector, and reassured investors there were no plans to nationalise mines.
China, Africa’s biggest emerging market partner, has been investing in the continent’s mining and energy sectors, and the minister said South Africa was a willing but cautious partner.
SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS
The hardline youth wing of South Africa’s ruling ANC said on Wednesday it was losing confidence in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for not following party policy and ignoring the plight of the young.
The African National Congress Youth League, which is pushing for mines in the world’s biggest platinum producer to be nationalised, said Gordhan had ignored the development of the country’s poor and unemployed youth.
SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT
South African President Jacob Zuma submitted a list on Wednesday showing he has no business interests, following widespread criticism that he had failed to declare assets for nearly a year after taking office.
Opposition parties want Zuma investigated, saying he has breached ethics laws that require senior government officials to disclose assets within 60 days of assuming office.
BASIL READ
Construction group Basil Read is report its full-year results today and sees headline earnings per share between 15-30 percent higher.
INVESTEC
South Africa-based investment bank Investec will replace insurance-focused takeover vehicle Resolution in the FTSE 100 index, FTSE Group confirmed on Wednesday, following the latest index review.
MTN
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator, is to publish its annual results today.
SANLAM
Sanlam, South Africa’s second biggest insurer, is to publish its full-year results on Thursday and expects headline earnings per share to increase by between 60-70 percent.
GOLD
Gold regained some strength on Thursday after falling to its lowest in nearly two weeks the previous day, though poor technicals and failure to sustain recent gains may spur selling, traders said.
Spot gold was at $1,108.90 an ounce by 0305 GMT, up $1.05 from New York’s notional close on Wednesday, when it fell to as low as $1,102.85 an ounce, its lowest level since Feb. 25, as safe-haven buying on Greek sovereign debt worries tapered off.
WALL STREET
Bank and technology shares lifted Wall Street on Wednesday on hopes a revival in business demand will boost corporate profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 2.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to end at 10,567.33. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 5.16 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,145.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 18.27 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,358.95.
EMERGING MARKETS
RWANDA
Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo said on Wednesday the thawing of her country’s relations with France may have paved the way for last week’s arrest of a leading Rwandan genocide suspect in Paris.
French judges had sped up their investigation into Agathe Habyarimana since the diplomatic rapprochement in November, Mushikiwabo said on a visit to celebrate Rwanda joining the Commonwealth.
– – – –
Some of the main stories out of the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
•State tender prices row threatens “buy South Africa” bid
•State will not grant winelands mining approval
BUSINESS REPORT
•Metropolitan struggles to find traction and partner in Kenya
•Tackle structural issues, Strauss-Kahn urges South Africa
THE STAR
•Zuma declares interests – eight months late
(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie) (For more Africa cover visit: http://af.reuters.com — To comment on this story email: SouthAfrica.Newsroom@reuters.com) Keywords: MARKETS SAFRICA FACTORS/ (gugu.lourie@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3162; Reuters Messaging: gugu.lourie.reuters.com@reuters.net.)
INDIA :
AstraZeneca Teams Up With India’s Torrent in Generics (Update1)
March 11, 2010/By Trista Kelley/Bloomberg
March 11 (Bloomberg) — AstraZeneca Plc signed an agreement with Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to brand and market 18 of the Indian drugmaker medicines in 9 emerging economies, marking the U.K. drugmaker’s first generic-drug partnership.
Under the terms of the alliance, AstraZeneca may purchase additional product licenses and enter new markets with Torrent, the London-based company said in a statement today. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
AstraZeneca is expanding in so-called branded generics as it seeks to boost sales in emerging markets to 25 percent of annual revenue by 2014, from 13 percent in 2009. Renaud Savary, head of its branded generics unit, said the company can achieve this with agreements that put the company’s name and marketing muscle behind widely used medicines that no longer have patent protection.
“Clearly, we see branded generics as a way to accelerate growth in emerging markets,” Savary said in an interview before the announcement. “The products were carefully selected in therapy areas we’re strong in. We believe we can be successful in building market share and brand equity.”
Savary declined to name the products or which regions they will be sold for competitive reasons.
AstraZeneca follows U.K. peer GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Sanofi-Aventis SA of France in its foray into the growing market for lower-priced copied medicines as drugmakers seek generic- drug acquisitions and product deals to cushion the loss of sales from medicines that have lost patent protection.
Competition
AstraZeneca faces competition on seven drugs by 2014, including its three biggest sellers: Nexium for ulcers, the antipsychotic Seroquel and Crestor for cholesterol. The sales erosion may result in “a period of fluctuating earnings,” Chief Executive Officer David Brennan said in a Feb. 12 interview.
Brennan said in January that external partnerships with generic drugmakers will help to maintain the company’s “double digit” growth in the developing world.
Torrent, based in Ahmedabad, in 2005 signed a deal with Novo Nordisk A/S to manufacture the Danish drugmaker’s insulin products in India.
Glaxo last year began a venture with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. to market 100 of the Indian company’s products in emerging markets, excluding India. The collaboration followed Glaxo’s agreement in May to expand a partnership with Aspen Pharmacare Ltd., supplying generic versions of the U.K. company’s medicines in South Africa.
Glaxo also paid $36.5 million for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Pakistan unit after purchasing the New York drugmaker’s Egyptian business in 2008 for $210 million. Glaxo agreed to buy a drug portfolio from UCB SA in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America for 515 million euros ($702 million) in January 2009.
–Editors: Angela Cullen, Carey Sargent
SASOL TO BUILD PLANTS IN CHINA AND UZBEKISTAN, INVEST IN INDIA
Thu, 11 Mar 2010/www.tradingmarkets.com
TASHKENT, Mar 11, 2010 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) —
Sasol Ltd., the largest producer of motor fuel made from coal, plans to build plants in China and Uzbekistan, and is considering investing in India.
Sasol converts coal, gas and oil into motor fuels and chemicals at plants in South Africa and Qatar.
The company’s first-half profit declined 52 per cent as the rand rose and the price of competing crude oil dropped. The shares climbed as output gained and costs fell, Bloomberg reported.
Net income dropped to 6.3 billion rand (US$853 million), or 11.14 rand a share, in the six months through December, from 13.2 billion rand, or 21.79 rand, a year earlier, Sasol said in a stock exchange statement today. The company increased its interim dividend 12 per cent to 2.80 rand a share.
(UzReport) rw
BRASIL:
U.S. 2010 wheat carryover tops 1 billion bushels
Thursday, 11 March 2010/www.blackseagrain.net
The U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA projected higher 2010 U.S. carryover stocks of wheat and corn but lower stocks of soybeans compared with February projections in its March 10 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. World 2010 carryover projections were raised from February for wheat, corn and soybeans.
The projected 2010 USDA carryover numbers for wheat and corn were above the average pre-report trade expectations, but the soybean number was below the average trade estimate.
Projected carryover of U.S. wheat on June 1, 2010, was 1 billion bushels, up 20 million from the February projection of 981 million bushels and up 344 million, or 52%, from 657 million bushels in 2009.
The increase in carryover was the result of a 20-million-bushel decrease in projected food use of wheat in 2009-10 based on mill grind data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the USDA said. Food use of wheat was projected at 920 million bushels, down 20 million from 940 million bushels projected in February and 7 million below 2008-09 use of 927 million bushels.
“High flour extraction rates for a second straight year are reducing the amount of grain needed to produce flour,” the USDA said. “At the same time, declining per capita consumption is reducing demand for flour and wheat.”
Other use projections were unchanged from February including seed use at 72 million bushels in 2009-10, feed and residual use at 170 million bushels and exports at 825 million bushels, which were down 190 million, or 19%, from 1 billion bushels last year. Total domestic use was projected at 1.2 billion bushels, down 20 million from February and down 98 million, or 8%, from 1.3 billion bushels in 2008-09, and total wheat use at nearly 2 billion bushels, down 20 million from February and down 288 million, or 13%, from 2.3 billion bushels in 2008-09.
Carryover projections were adjusted from February for all wheat classes except durum, which was at 45 million bushels. Projected 2010 carryover of hard winter wheat was 420 million bushels, down 1 million from February, hard spring 277 million bushels, up 5 million, soft red 207 million bushels, up 4 million, and white wheat 52 million bushels, up 12 million.
The average farm price of all wheat was projected at $4.80-$5 a bushel in 2009-10 compared with $4.75-4.95 in February, $6.78 in 2008-09 and $6.48 in 2007-08.
Global 2009-10 wheat production was projected at 678.01 million tonnes, up 570,000 tonnes from February but down 4.64 million tonnes from record large outturn of 682.65 million tonnes in 2008-09. Production in Argentina was forecast at 9.6 million tonnes, up 600,000 tonnes from February and from a year earlier.
World wheat ending stocks were projected at 196.77 million tonnes in 2009-10, up 910,000 tonnes from 195.86 million tonnes in February and up 31.2 million tonnes, or 19%, from 165.57 million tonnes in 2008-09.
Projected U.S. corn carryover on Sept. 1, 2010, was 1.8 billion bushels, up 80 million, or 5%, from 1.7 billion bushels projected in February and 8% above 1.7 billion bushels in 2009. Carryover was raised as a result of a projected 100-million-bushels decrease in 2009-10 corn exports only partially offset by a 20-million-bushels reduction in 2009 corn production.
U.S. 2009 corn production was estimated at 13.1 billion bushels, down 20 million from February but 9% above 2008 production of 12.1 billion bushels and still the largest on record. Total 2009-10 corn supply also was lowered by 20 million bushels from February, to 14.8 billion bushels.
Domestic corn use in 2009-10 was unchanged from February at 11.1 billion bushels, including 5.6 billion bushels for feed and residual, 1.3 billion bushels for food and 4.3 billion bushels for ethanol.
Corn exports in 2009-10 were projected at 1.9 billion bushels, down 100 million from February due to increasing competition from larger world supplies, the USDA said.
Total corn use was projected at 13 billion bushels, down 100 million from February but up 959 million, or 8%, from 12.1 billion bushels the previous year.
The average corn price was projected to fall in a range of $3.45-$3.75 a bushel compared $3.45-$3.95 in February, $4.06 in 2008-09 and $4.20 in 2007-08.
World corn production in 2009-10 was projected at 803.69 million tonnes, up 5.86 million tonnes from 797.83 million tonnes in February and up 9.17 million tonnes from 794.52 million tonnes in 2008-09.
Corn production in 2009-10 was raised from February by 3.8 million tonnes, to 21 million tonnes, in Argentina, and by 2 million tonnes, to 13.5 million tonnes, in South Africa, the USDA said.
Global corn ending stocks were projected at 140.15 million tonnes for 2009-10, up 6.11 million tonnes, or 5%, from 134.04 million tonnes in February but down 6.25 million tonnes, or 4%, from 146.4 million tonnes in 2008-09.
U.S. soybean carryover on Sept. 1, 2010, was projected at 190 million bushels, down 20 million, or 10%, from 210 million bushels projected in February but up 52 million, or 38%, from 138 million bushels in 2009, the USDA said.
Soybean exports were projected at a record 1.4 billion bushels in 2009-10, up 20 million from February and up 11% from 1.3 billion bushels in 2008-09.
Domestic soybean crush was projected at 1.7 billion bushels in 2009-10, up 10 million from February and up 68 million, or 4%, from a year earlier. Projected seed use at 89 million bushels was down 5 million from February and 1 million below a year earlier. Residual was unchanged from February at 83 million bushels.
Soybean production in 2009 was estimated at 3.4 billion bushels, down 2 million from February but 13% above 2.97 billion bushels in 2008 and still record large. Soybean imports in 2009-10 were raised by 7 million bushels, to 15 million bushels. Total 2009-10 soybean supply was projected at 3.5 billion bushels, up 5 million from February and 10% above 3.2 billion bushels in 2008-09. Total use was projected at 3.3 billion bushels, up 25 million from February and up 9% from 3 billion bushels in 2008-09.
The average farm price of soybeans in 2009-10 was projected at $8.95-$9.95 a bushel compared with $8.7-$10.2 in February, $9.97 in 2008-09 and $10.10 in 2007-08.
Global soybean production in 2009-10 was projected at 255.91 million tonnes, up 890,000 tonnes from 255.02 million tonnes in February and up 45.01 million tonnes, or 21%, from 210.9 million tonnes in 2008-09. Ending stocks were projected at 60.67 million tonnes in 2009-10, up 940,000 tonnes from February and up 18.65 million tonnes, or 44%, from 42.02 million tonnes the previous year.
Soybean production in Brazil was projected at a record 67 million tonnes, up 1 million tonnes from February and up 18% from 57 million tonnes in 2008-09.
EN BREF, CE 11 mars 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,11/03/2010
